Neen Sollars railway station

Neen Sollars is a village and civil parish in south east Shropshire, England. It is situated close to the border with Worcestershire, three miles south of the small market town of Cleobury Mortimer. Other large local centres of population include Ludlow, situated 12 miles to the west, which has an estimated population of 10,500 and Kidderminster, located 12.5 miles to the north east in the county of Worcestershire, which has a population of over 55,000.The River Rea, which was historically known as the River Neen, flows by the village. The area surrounding Neen Sollars is pretty hilly, with maps showing several hills such as Neens Hill to the south and Birch Hill to the north. It is estimated that Neen Sollars lies between approximately 70 and 100 metres above sea level.The village of Neen Sollars was formerly known as Neen Baldwin until about the year 1200. The new name came about from the merging of two family names, Baldwin le Poer and De Solers, when Elena and Eustacia Baldwin were married to members of the Sollars family.

Marlbrook is a hamlet in Shropshire, England, right on the border with Worcestershire.

Eastham bridge was a Grade II listed bridge over the River Teme at Eastham, near Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, England. Built as a toll bridge in 1793, tolls ceased to be charged in 1907, when the bridge was purchased by Worcestershire County Council.The listed bridge collapsed in 2016 and a replacement opened in April 2017.The small village of Eastham is situated just on the south bank of the Teme, and the bridge connected that village and other settlements in its parish with the north bank, where the A443 and A456 main roads pass. The north bank is the civil parish of Lindridge.

Lindridge is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the north of the county of Worcestershire, England, near the Shropshire border and the town of Tenbury Wells. The area around the village is known for its extensive hop fields.

Newnham Bridge is a village in the parish of Knighton on Teme, near Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom. The village derives part of its name from the bridge over the River Rea.

Eastham is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It had a population of 254 in 2021.Eastham was in the upper division of Doddingtree Hundred.In 2016 Eastham bridge collapsed. The Grade II listed monument was demolished and a replacement bridge was constructed which opened on 27 April 2017.

Newnham Bridge railway station was a station on the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway in Newnham Bridge, Worcestershire, England. The station was named 'Newnham' when it opened on 13 August 1864, being renamed 'Newnham Bridge' in May 1873. It closed on 1 August 1962.Unusually, the main station building was at rail level. From there, passengers used a foot crossing over the passing loop and running line to reach the single platform. The station survives, it was a garden centre for many years but the up yard was turned into a housing estate.

Mamble is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is located on the A456 between Bewdley and Tenbury Wells. Notable buildings include the 13th century sandstone church and the nearby 17th century Sun & Slipper Inn.

The River Rea is a small river that flows through south east Shropshire, England.

Castle Toot, or Cleobury Castle, was a motte castle by the River Rea in the town of Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire. It is a scheduled monument, first listed in 1951. The castle was built in the early 12th century and owned by the Mortimer family. Hugh de Mortimer rebelled against Henry II and as a result the castle was destroyed in 1155. The site consists of a motte situated on a natural promontory on the east side of the River Rea. It is surrounded by a dry moat on three sides, but the fourth is a steep drop into the river. The entrance is in the northeast corner of the motte. Fragments of the walls and the remains of a gatehouse were visible at the end of the 18th century. In 1911, stones forming the base of a causeway or bridge were observed. The current house that is situated on the property was built in the 1950s. The earthworks remain largely intact. Towards the end of the 18th century, some stonework of the entrance and causeway to the castle was visible, but has now presumably been buried or dismantled. There have been no archaeological finds at the site, despite excavations for building works being made in recent years.

Sodington Hall is an early 19th-century country house in the parish of Mamble in Worcestershire, England. The Grade II listed building was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "neat and modest" and by James Lees-Milne in the Shell Worcestershire Guide as a "red brick dolls house". It sits on the site of a Schedule A monument with a Grade II listed bridge in the grounds surrounded by a moat and stands elevated and secluded yet with spectacular far reaching views over border countryside to the Welsh mountains. The site is believed to date back to a Roman fortification at around AD 418. The earliest modern records of Sodington describe it as a fortified house with four drawbridges over its moat, held by Sir Richard de Sodington in the mid 13th Century, when it passed by marriage to the Blounts – a Norman dynasty renowned for their loyalty to the Crown and their robust attitude towards negotiations with the Welsh. For nearly 400 years Sodington remained the principal seat of one of England’s most prominent families – Sir Walter Blount even appears as a leading character in Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Then, in approximately 1646, it was burnt by Parliamentary forces, in reprisal for the refusal by Sir Walter Blount, 1st Baronet (1594-1654) to grant them access to his weapons forge. He was sent to the Tower of London. The estate of Sodington was confiscated by Parliament in 1652 but was returned intact on the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Local legend holds that the Yew tree close to the house was planted in 1662 to commemorate the visit of King Charles II to Sodington. The present house was built in 1806-7 and it was while excavating its foundations that the evidence of Roman settlement was discovered in the form of a Roman pavement and a beautifully engineered water pipe of interlocking ceramic sections leading from the spring at Clows Top. Sodington Hall remained a seat of the Blount family until 1958, when it was sold to Richard Jensen, the manufacturer of the Jensen Interceptor motor car at West Bromwich. The original moat surrounds the house today, crossed by listed Late Georgian bridges. The site within the moat is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The manor of Sodington came to the Blount family (later Blount baronets) in the 14th century when Walter Blount married the heiress Johanna de Sodington. The manor house occupied a moated site and was said to have four drawbridges. The Blounts were Roman Catholics and strongly supported the Crown during the Civil War and their house was badly damaged by Parliamentary forces. Sir Walter Blount Bt was imprisoned by Parliament in 1645. His estate was sequestered and was only recovered by his family after the English Restoration.The Blounts then lived at nearby Mawley, Shropshire where Sir Edward Blount, a wealthy coal owner and iron master, built a substantial mansion, Mawley Hall, in about 1730. The Sodington manor house was demolished in about 1807 and was replaced on the same site by the present brick built plain Georgian style, three storeyed, three bayed house. The house has undergone various changes over the years with two wings to the rear, one having been removed in the early 20th century and subsequently rebuilt. The Hall is undergoing a slow and detailed restoration after having been empty for many years using a firm reputed nationally for their expertise in the renovation, repair and conservation of old and historic buildings. The house sits high up on an old fortified site and the house and grounds are known to have a very high levels of security for protection and privacy.Sodington Hall attracted media attention when the American actor Tom Cruise expressed interest in buying it.

Mawley Hall is a privately owned 18th-century country mansion near Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.The Blount family of Sodington Hall, Mamble, Worcestershire, wealthy coalowners and ironfounders, acquired estates in neighbouring Shropshire. They were prominent Roman Catholics and Walter Blount was created a baronet in 1624 (see Blount baronets). As Royalist supporters and therefore on the losing side during the English Civil War they suffered financial difficulties in the 17th century but their fortunes recovered following the English Restoration of 1660. In 1730 Sir Edward Blount commissioned Francis Smith of Warwick to design a new mansion house for the estate at Mawley. It is built on a rectangular plan of nine by seven bays with a nine bay three storey entrance front to the north east. The advanced three central bays carry Doric pilasters and pediment. The garden front to the south west is similar in design and decoration with a central entrance approached by a double flight of steps with wrought iron balustrades. The house is particularly noted for its Baroque interiors, plasterwork by Francesco Vassalli and the Adam style dining room.Lady Elizabeth Blount had married the 9th baronet and she brought up their family here. Afterwards she attracted much attention as an exponent of the flat earth theory, conducting convincing, but flawed experiments to prove the claim.The Blounts were in residence until the mid-20th century. In 1962 the house was sold to Anthony Galliers Pratt, who carried out a total restoration and whose son, Rupert, remains in residence. The house is open to the public at restricted times.