Ceiling
Category
Architecture / Features & Decoration
Date
1570 - 1599
Materials
Lime plaster
Measurements
3400 x 6300 x 6000 mm
Place of origin
Shropshire
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Wilderhope Manor, Shropshire
On show at
Not on show
NT 112207
Summary
A single panel of decorative plasterwork survives to the northern bay of the ceiling (see also 112204, 112205 and 112206). Decorative plasterwork applied to the ceiling of the room above the parlour. Similar to the Great Chamber this ceiling is subdivided by a wooden beam, in this instance running along its length. Remains of decorative plasterwork survive to one side of the ceiling only; this comprises a central ribwork diamond with motifs inset and to its external corners. Further motifs circumscribe the perimeter of this section of the ceiling. Much of this decoration appears to have been reset. The room is currently used as a dormitory called Wenlock Edge.
Provenance
The Elizabethan Manor house at Wildehope lies in Hope Dale, Shropshire and was constructed on land purchased in 1583 by Thomas Smallman. The land was leased to his younger brother Francis who began the building of the house shortly afterwards. The initials of Francis and his wife Ellen appear repeatedly in the plasterwork ceilings. The building passed into the Lutwyche family in 1742, up until the Nineteenth century at which point it was sold and became a farmhouse. As the estate was sold off the building fell into dereliction. The house was purchased by the W.A. Cadbury Trust on behalf of the National Trust in 1936. This instigated a first phase of repair; including works to secure the roof to protect the decorative plasterwork, some restoration and opening up of blocked up elements and the introduction a new heating system. A second restoration programme with further works to secure the fabric and facilitate the conversion of the building to become a Youth Hostel was funded by Mr. John Cadbury between 1975-6.