Ribbesford House is a historic Englishmansion in Bewdley, Worcestershire. With a history dating back a thousand years, the house is a Grade II* listed building with architectural elements ranging from the 16th to the 19th century.
History
An Anglo-Saxon charter from the early 11th century mentions that the estate was given by Bishop Wulfstan to his sister. It was seized by the Danes, then regained by the monks, only to be captured by Turstin the Fleming. In 1074 the estate was presented to Ralph de Mortimer in recognition of his services to William the Conqueror. The house seems to have been rebuilt around 1535, when the turrets were probably added. Around the same time, John Leland called it a "goodly manour place." Ribbesford House remained in the Mortimer family until the early 17th century, when it passed to Baron Herbert of Cherbury, whose coat of arms still stands at the property. The correspondence of his son Henry with Oliver Cromwell, Queen of Bohemia and other contemporaries was discovered in one of the towers. Parts of the house were renovated in 1669. The estate was purchased in 1787 by Francis Ingram, who demolished the larger part of the house. The visitors to Ribbesford House included Bewdley-born prime minister Stanley Baldwin and his cousin writer Rudyard Kipling. The mansion was used to train Free French soldiers during World War II, when 211 French soldiers stayed at the property. Charles de Gaulle is believed to have regularly visited them there. About a third of the soldiers were later killed in the war. The house was also used as the headquarters of the British 18th Infantry Division, by American military, and for Polish and Italian prisoners of war. The property was bought in 1947 by RAF Wing Commander Alfred John Howell, who converted it into private apartments.
After 1950
Ribbesford House was Grade II listed in 1952. At the time, it was described as a "Country house, now flats. Mid-C16, partly rebuilt late C17, remodelled early C19 with some mid-C20 alterations". The 1968 Pevsner’s guide, The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, included the house an property in its coverage. As of April 2018, the property was still owned by the Howell family. In 2018, Howell's daughter Merryn sold the entire estate for £810,000 to Samuel Leeds and his brother, Russell Leeds. They planned to restore the building to its original character. Work was well underway in August 2019, although the building proved to be in worse condition than had been expected. Their £1 million restoration budget was increased to £2 million, far in excess of the purchase price. They were hoping to have the main section closed to the elements by year end with a view to creating new luxury apartments in 2020. The estimated completion date was September. Two cottages on the property were to be converted into holiday lets.
Description
The house has 20 bedrooms, 10 reception rooms and nine bathrooms on three storeys. The building has two octagonal turrets. The property includes a cottage, outbuildings, and eight acres of land with gardens and a woodland. There is a description of Ribbesford House in the Pevsner Architectural Guide for Worcestershire, detailing its various elements dating from the 16th century to the 19th century.
