Sorry to bore any non-history loving fans but here’s another house we recently visited. Again it’s near a canal though further south than Little Moreton Hall. Wightwick Manor (pronounced “Wittick”) is situated at Tettenhall near Wolverhampton and about half a mile from the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal.
The house is in a grand version of the half-timbered vernacular style, of which the most famous original example is Little Moreton Hall … and there’s the connection!
The house was built in 1884, so no where near as old as Little Moreton Hall but amazing all the same.
A little more grand inside with lavish decor and period furniture.
The house is decorated with an extensive collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings mostly sourced since the National Trust took over the house in 1937.
A pretty impressive party house.
With stunning wallpaper and decor by William Morris.
The Grand Hall
Theodore Mander, a wealthy local paint manufacturer, built the house for his family and was gifted to the Nation by his son Geoffrey, so not an extensive history!
Geoffrey was a liberal MP for many years and also took part in the mass trespassing in the 1930’s at Kinder Scout in the Peak District protesting against the loss of access to the countryside.
I tried visiting last year with my brother Ray but we arrived a couple of hours before it opened and decided not to wait. Shame you missed it Ray!
We’ve been trying to get as much of our National Trust membership as we can. A good excuse to seek out lots of interesting places!
Looks like a worthwhile place to visit with our National Trust memberships too.
It sure is Phil. We never tire of visiting such historic places. Love out NT membership 😉
I loved this house when I visited a few years ago and to think that it was bought with the proceeds of making paint in Birmingham. I remember a visitor was playing the piano there at the time. I continued down to Stourport, which is another place I fell in love with and have been there many times since, by boat of course.
Hi Ray, We did enjoy the house. Took our grandson along who got quite engrossed, well for a while, so it was a tiny bit rushed through at the end. Sadly no one playing the piano when we were there though. I do love the remoteness of the stretch from there down to Stourport.