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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Attingham Park is a country house and estate in Shropshire, England. Located near the village of Atcham, on the B4380 Shrewsbury to Wellington road. It is owned by the National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building. Attingham Park was built in 1785 for Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick, who received his title in 1784 during the premiership of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. Noel Hill was a politician who aided William Pitt in the restructuring of the East India Company. Noel Hill already owned a house on the site of Attingham Park called Tern Hall, but with money he received along with his title he commissioned the architect George Steuart to design a new and grander house to be build around the original hall. The new country house encompassed the old property entirely, and once completed it was given the name Attingham Hall. The Estate comprises roughly of 4000 acres, but during the early 1800s extended to twice that amount at 8000 acres (3000hectares). The extensive 640 acres (270 hectares) parkland and gardens of Attingham have a Grade II* Listed status. Across the 640 acre parkland there are five Grade II* listed buildings, including the stable block, the Tern Lodge toll house which can be seen on the B4380, and two bridges that span the River Tern. There are also twelve Grade II listed structures including the retaining walls of the estate, the bee house, the ice house, the walled garden, the ha-ha, which can be seen in the front of the mansion, and the Home Farm.