Astley Hall

• Name — Astley Hall • Building Type — Country house • Current Tenants — Astley Hall Care Home • Location — Astley, Worcestershire • Address — Astley Mill Road, Astley, Stourport-on-Severn DY13 0RW • Location Town — Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire • Location Country — England • Construction Start Date — 1830 • Completion Date — 1850 • Renovation Date — 1912, 2012

The main house at Astley Hall was built between 1830 and 1850 for the Lea family. Thomas Simcox Lea, of Astley Hall, was High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1845. At the beginning of the 20th century it was sold to Stanley Baldwin, who lived at Astley Hall from 1902 until his death in 1947. In 1912 he managed to buy the whole of the house and its additions. Lucy Baldwin died of a heart attack at Astley Hall in June 1945. Stanley Baldwin, then 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, continued to live at Astley Hall until his death there on 14 December 1947. After Lord Baldwin's death, Astley Hall was sold and became a school, and later a care home. The building was Grade II listed on 27 November 1984. Astley Hall was acquired by its current owners in May 2012. It is now in institutional use as a nursing home and not open to the public.

• Illustration — Memorial to Baldwin near his home, Astley Hall In the Worcestershire area close to Stourport there are several large manor and country houses, among which Witley Court, Astley Hall, Pool House, Areley Hall, Hartlebury and Abberley Hall (with its clock tower) are particularly significant. There is a monument to Stanley Baldwin just below Astley Hall, directly on the Stourport to Worcester road. After his death, a national appeal failed to raise sufficient money for this memorial. Winston Churchill personally made up the shortfall and attended the dedication. The monument originally consisted of an inscribed base topped with a statue; the statue has since disappeared.