Woodcote Hall
Coordinates: 52°44′11″N 2°20′47″W / 52.7364°N 2.3463°W
Woodcote Hall is situated on the edge of Newport, Shropshire on the Staffordshire border and is a nursing home.[1]
House
It was the seat of the Cotes family, and already by 1752 to have been set in well established grounds (J . Rocque, Map of Shropshire (1752)). Those grounds, and Woodcote Hall, are shown in a fine portrait of John Cotes, M.P. (d.1821) (V.C.H. Shropshire 4 (1989), pl. facing p. 188). A park, however, may not have been established until 1808 (cf. R. Baugh, Map of Shropshire (1808); C. and J. Greenwood, Map of Shropshire (1827)).
Hannah Cullwick worked as a kitchen scullion at Woodcote for at least a small period of time around Christmas of 1854. Her sister Ellen is also known to have worked there as a servant.
Rebuilt in 1875 by F.P. Cockerell[2] after the 18th century mansion was destroyed by fire. There are remains of the original house at the north-west and south-west sides and there are vestiges of 17th century fabric at the rear (south), one room contains fireplaces with inscription "T. C. 1767" and stopped and chamfered ceiling beams. 'T. C. ' stands for Thomas Cotes. Also a small stone rubble rear wing with stopped and chamfered ceiling beam and tiebeam roof truss with angle struts. The 1875 rebuild is in a Jacobean/Queen Anne style had brick with stone dressings and tiled roof. Traces of the former house were still discernible c.1882 (O.S. 6, I.SW (1887 ); VII.NW (1891)).
Grounds
In 1752 avenues ran north-east and south-east from the Hall to the road bounding the grounds (J. Rocque, Map of Shropshire (1752)). By 1827 the grounds had been imparked. The park was well wooded with large numbers of clumps of trees, especially in its southern part, Woodcote Hill. Running between Woodcote Hall and Woodcote Hill was a series of fish ponds (C. and J. Greenwood, Map of Shropshire (1827)).
By 1882 the park had been extended east of the Newport-Albrighton-road and a lodge had been built at its southern extremity (O.S. 6, I.SW (1887); VII.NW (1891)). The Hall was surrounded by extensive gardens, remarked upon in 1851 ( S. Bagshaw, Directory of Shropshire (1851), 442), notably to the south where there were large, walledkitchen gardens. In the mid 19th century there were also lavish formal pleasure gardens, and a photograph of c.1860 shows intricate geometric cutwork beds or parterre set in gravel walks (S.R.O. 4688)<1>The park was studied in greater detail by Paul Stamper in c 1995.
The southerly avenue was located on the ground during the survey, preserved as the trackway illustrated in the same position as the avenue on the 1st Edition OS Map of 1891.