The Elms, Abberley

The Elms Hotel in Abberley Worcestershire is a building of historical significance and is Grade II listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1710 by the architect Thomas White (1674-1748) of Worcester who was a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren. It was the home of several notable families over the next two centuries and is now a hotel

The Elms was the home of the Bury family, who were wealthy landowners, for almost the whole of the 1700s. It is likely that they bought the Estate soon after 1708 when William Walshe of Abberley Hall died. and then in 1710 built the house. Successive generations lived there until Thomas Bury (1729-1778) and his wife Cecilia (1732-1799) became the last in their line.

Thomas Bury (1729-1778) was born in Abberley in 1729. His parents were Thomas and Anne Bury whose memorials can be seen in St Michael’s Church in Abberley. In 1768 he became Sheriff of Worcestershire. In the following year of 1769 he married Cecilia Maria Newport who was the daughter of the wealthy aristocratic landed proprietor John Newport of Hanley Court. The couple had no children and when Thomas died in 1778 he left all of his property including “The Elms” to Cecilia. When she died in 1799 she left all of her Estate to her nephew Colonel James Wakeman Newport. In gratitude he erected a memorial in her honour at the Church in Hanley William which reads.

Colonel Newport did not live at the Elms but for many years he rented it to various tenants. In about 1828 it was bought by Admiral Thomas James Maling.

Admiral Thomas James Maling (1778-1849) was born in 1778. His father was Christopher Thomas Maling of Hendon Lodge, County Durham. He joined the Navy in 1791 and rose rapidly through the ranks becoming a Commander by 1798. He fought in many notable battles throughout his career. He married twice – his first wife Harriet Darwin died in Chile in 1825. Then in 1828 he married Jemima Bromley who was the daughter of Colonel Henry Bromley who at that time owned Abberley Hall. At the time of his marriage he bought “The Elms” and he and Jemima lived there with their four children for many years. The 1841 Census shows that they were living on the Elms estate with their family and eleven servants.

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Wikipedia