LIVING HISTORY
Battenhall Mount
Battenhall Mount is the title of a new book by local author John Richard Hodges about a significant Worcester mansion with strong connections to Hindlip Hall and Church. John has kindly allowed the use of some of the photographs and beautiful illustrations from the book, which are by the well-known artist David Birtwhistle. The Allsopps built the main house and lived in great style there. Lillian Allsopp is buried at the church at Hindlip with her husband Alfred Percy. The couple were married there and were responsible for beautifying the church in the Arts & Crafts style. Mount
Battenhall
has
a
rich
history
encompassing just over 150 years, and was once considered to be the finest Italianate mansion in Worcester. It was built for the Quaker Worcester clothier William Spriggs in c1867/8 and later aggrandised for the Hon Alfred Percy Allsopp of the Burton brewing dynasty Allsopp & Sons in the 1890s. After spending a fortune on the beautification of the house, by 1911 the Allsopps had left Battenhall and in this same year the sale of furniture and other belongings took place at the mansion. The house was briefly used as a VAD hospital n 26 | Worcestershire Now | Issue 205 | April 2021
for recuperating servicemen during the First World War. In 1918 the ‘Mount’ was being lived in by Mr T. E. Davies, an entrepreneur Jam manufacturer who was one of 16 children and fathered 11 of his own! Battenhall was again sold by auction in 1929 to a Dr Charles Herbert Thompson who was a Director and Consulting chemist. He renamed the house ‘Mount Battenhall.’ In 1933 the house and grounds came into the hands of the Sisters of St Marie-M adeleine Postel, a French teaching order, who established an independent girls’ school, called St Mary’s Convent School. The school closed in 2014. From the late 1950s/early 1960s a series of purpose-built extensions were added to the south-east of the main house on the site of the former range of glasshouses and kitchen gardens against the boundary road fronting Battenhall Avenue. Despite the many years of non-residential use, the main buildings still retain a number of fine, original
interiors and high quality detailed features. In 2017 Enterprise Retirement Living acquired the site to create a vibrant retirement community, taking care to retain the property’s exceptional heritage. The Grade II* listed mansion is now at the heart of the retirement village, which includes apartments in the converted stables as well as the house itself. John’s book contains much detail about the house and its history, as well as information on the Allsopp family, and will also be of interest to local historians and anyone with connections to St Mary’s Convent School. The book is beautifully illustrated with drawings by David Birtwhistle and many lovely colour plates of the interiors, together with some interesting old photographs. n If you would like a copy of the book, priced at £14.95, please contact: J. R. Hodges, 7 Amber Reach, Spring Lane, Worcester, WR5 1AU. Email: richardjhodges79@gmail.com Tel: 07970 770144
