A visit to Dudmaston affords the visitor many options on how to spend their day.

The property consists of the house, gardens, pools with waterfowl and wildlife, the Dingle, parkland walks, picnic areas, café and a gift shop (located in what was the old Tudor wing of the former house). At the end of the estate drive if you cross the A 442 onto the lane directly opposite you can also visit to the working saw-mill.

The present house is quite a large building of simple designs and was built in period from the late 1600’s to approximately 1730. It is a 9 bay red brick and stone structure. Formerly, there was a manor house on the grounds of much older origins, the gift shop being the only remaining remnants of the former estate.

Entry into the property is by way of a long parkland drive with a fine collection of trees. The car park is in a small orchard area which is directly next to the café.

The House

To access the house, walk past the café and along the brick wall with old fashioned roses emitting their perfume into the air, go under a huge old mulberry tree, past the shop and onto the main drive for entry through the main door and into the grand entrance hall.

The hall is impressive and has a feeling of being a comfy country home with dark panelling; massive pictures (including one of the late Lady Labouchere); a huge fireplace; and a wonderful very long wooden table, usually displaying floral arrangements. You will be struck by the fact as you look about that there is evidence of the family in residence with walking sticks in the corner, dog water bowls on the stone floor and the adjoining study containing the old way of life and the modern. The study has wood panelling, game trophies (boar, cheetah), the traditional family furniture of the times plus the modern computer, fax and photos of the family and their dogs. It gives you a nice feeling to think the family is welcoming you into their home.

Leaving the grand entry hall, you come into a small inner hall with an impressive Georgian staircase, marble floor, twinkling chandelier, clocks which chime or ring and more art work.

You will find that Dudmaston is a mingling of the traditional and the contemporary in terms of the lifestyle, the collections, the methods of land management, a theme which has been in the family throughout the centuries, always on the edge of both styles of life.

Each room that you wander through seems to be in contrast to the one you just left or are entering.

The Library is bright and cheerful with floor to ceiling windows which make you feel as if you are standing on the patio just outside. The sweeping views of the gardens, rolling lawns, pool, grazing cattle and woodland could not portray a more serene setting if an artist had put it on canvas.

The Oak Room, next door, is very dark with wood panelling and heavy dark paintings as well.

Again comes another contrast as you enter what was an 1820’s octagonal dining room, but what now is the display area for Sir George Labouchere’s famous contemporary art collection. It is a collection of major importance to the family because most of the work was collected by artists that Sir George knew himself and he took pride in arranging the work to his taste. The collection includes mid-20th century Spanish art, sculpture, china/pottery and it is a permanent collection. There are non-figurative abstracts that he started collecting in the 1950’s that might not suit everyone’s taste, but interestingly enough as you look at the work and try to figure out what it looks like, someone next to you doing the same will come up with their own interpretation. Such is the power of human nature that the result usually evokes a conversation as to how your idea vs theirs evolved.

Sir George was a foreign diplomat, thus many works of art were presented to him while in diplomatic service.

As you go upstairs the hallway and each of the rooms has more art of varying ages and topics.

The Botanical Art Room will appeal to all interested in plants and flowers, depicting samples of the collections that people made whilst travelling abroad, collecting specimums to bring home. There is a book by George Maw (of the Jackfield Tile Works) titled “Monograph on the genus Crocus”-1886. One can see in the spring and autumn George Maw’s crocus collections still blooming at Benthall Hall (National Trust) in Benthall, Shropshire. The room also contains works of Lady Labouchere, John Nash, Mary Grierson, and P. Francis Hunt. You will find a depiction of the wildflowers of Ironbridge Gorge as well.

The Costume Room has Lady Labouchere’s evening clothes worn at the Great International Exhibition in Brussels in 1958.

There is a good collection of children’s clothing exhibiting the needlework of the day with smocking, embroidery, laces from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.

Probably the dearest object in the room is Jane, a doll which has lived at Dudmaston since her birth in 1760.

After completing the rooms on this floor you descend downstairs to the servants’ area where you are met with the 15 bells for the various rooms of the house plus old beams, antlers, tusks, portraits and proclamations given to the servants by their employers upon their being wed or returning from the wars.

Under the bells is a display honouring Charles Babbage who some call the father of today’s computers. He was an inventor who changed the way people counted from people power to machine power, so in 1824 he began his invention. Charles married into the Wolryche-Whitmore family who were residents of the estate since 1403. William Wolryche from Much Wenlock married Margaret de Dudmaston, thus the two names became entwined for 100’s of years.

Sir George and Lady Labouchere lived at the hall for 40 years and have left a lasting influence on how the hall looks today.

Not only was Lady Labouchere a descendent of the Darby’s, she was also a descendent of the Wolryche Whitmore family.

Dudmaston has been in continuous family ownership since 1126.

The Darby Room shows the family tree connecting the important families of the time-Darby’s (Coalbrookdale), Christy’s, Fells, Wolryche-Whitmores(Dudmaston).

Because Lady Labouchere was the 5th generation grand daughter of Abraham Darby and was herself a Quaker, you will find items from the Darby’s at Dudmaston and at Rosehill House and Dale House (in Ironbridge). Lady Labouchere was president of the Ironbridge Gorge Trust from 1973-1987 and instrumental in saving the Darby houses from dereliction.

Lady Labouchere died March 22, 1996, aged 87 at Dudmaston.

The old kitchen shows the typical equipment used by cooks and servants in the 17th century.

The housekeeper’s room is a joy with a collection of naturalist photos and books by Francis Pitt (1888-1964), Ernest Seton (1860-1946), and Gilbert White (1720-1793).

Francis Pitt was the most noted female naturalist of her time and in addition to her wonderful wildlife photographs (many of the subjects were her pets) and there is also a video from an old film she shot. Francis believed “when you are close to nature you are close to the heart of life itself”.

Thus the tour of the house is one which can be done alone or in combination with the other activities on the grounds.

The Park & Gardens

The gardens amount to about 9 acres. By the house there is a patio, a rockery, and circles of herbaceous plants and shrubs with borders of un-mowed lawn to allow the wild flowers to also share the space.

The Dingle is an 18th century woodland walk and the other estate walks which are longer are through woodland and fields. One walk takes you down to the Hampton Loade Ferry (pedestrian). If you cross the river, you could actually board the Severn Valley Steam line for a long or short ride up the tracks.

A special feature in the garden is the Eternity Gates which were specially commissioned by Sir George and Lady Labouchere for their ruby wedding anniversary. The gates were meant to welcome people into their special garden and represent one’s journey through life.

Francis Alexander Wolryche-Whitmore (1845-1927) was responsible for the main garden and woodland format you see today. He began the revive the planting that had been over forested and neglected and incorporated forestry planting as a means of helping to bring in income to the property. He chose hard and soft woods to fit the property and various uses.

The 18th century woodland walks were an asset to the property. Most of what you see today was planted in the 1920’s -30’s, hedgerows were replanted and ponds cleared. Old varieties of apples were reintroduced in the orchards, so although the trees are relatively young in estate terms, they are quite interesting and also a potential viable resource.

The saw-mill was started in 1910 and today if you cross the A442 you can watch a tree being processed from its cut stage to the final stage of timber planks. You can purchase rough timber, garden products and the mill serves both commercial and domestic trade. The timber is from the estate and if demand is too high comes from English and Welsh woodlands. For enquiries-tel: 01746 780338.

Dogs

Dogs are allowed on the footpaths, if kept on leads. Guide dogs only are allowed in the buildings.

Access

The site does have some stairs in the house and uneven, unpaved gardens and parklands, so disability access varies. The house has some ground floor rooms and the shop and café are accessible. There are wheelchairs available for use, however numbers are limited. There are special toilets for the disabled and families with small children and babies in the car park by the café. There is the option of someone being