Discover 4 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Henley-in-Arden (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Packwood House, Baddesley Clinton, and Beaudesert Castle. Also, be sure to include Henley Sidings in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Henley-in-Arden (England).
Table of Contents
Packwood House
Building in England. Packwood House is a timber-framed Tudor manor house in Packwood on the Solihull border near Lapworth, Warwickshire. Owned by the National Trust since 1941, the house is a Grade I listed building. It has a wealth of tapestries and fine furniture, and is known for the garden of yews.[1]
Address: Packwood House Packwood Lane, B94 6AT Lapworth
Baddesley Clinton
15th-century estate with moat and gardens. Baddesley Clinton is a moated manor house, about 8 miles north-west of the town of Warwick, in the village of Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England. The house probably originated in the 13th century, when large areas of the Forest of Arden were cleared for farmland. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the house is a Grade I listed building. The house, park and gardens are owned by the National Trust and open to the public; they lie in a civil parish of the same name.[2]
Address: Rising Ln, B93 0DQ Knowle
Beaudesert Castle
Beaudesert Castle was on a high mound overlooking the village of Beaudesert to the east of Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire. It is a scheduled ancient monument.
The remains found on the site show that it was originally an Iron Age fort which gave the mount its ancient name, Donnilee. The hilltop and the surrounding area was "sculpted" to form a motte and bailey fortification with its timber Hall following the Norman conquest. It was followed by the construction of a stone castle. According to sources it was Thurston De Montfort who built the stone castle here in 1140 during the reign of Henry II, and it remained the De Montfort seat for more than a hundred years. Peter de Montfort also resided at the castle. The Earl of Warwick took possession of the De Montfort's land in approximately 1369, and subsequently the castle's importance declined. According to some accounts it was repaired in 1411 but later abandoned. During the early years of the War of the Roses, between York and Lancaster, the castle, which was then unoccupied and had fallen into disrepair, was dismantled, and its heavy timbers were, according to some sources, used for the construction of stately houses at Henley. A single stone and earthworks remain today, along with evidence of two fishponds and some remains of the motte and bailey fortification.
The site was investigated by the archaeologists of Time Team in series 9 (2002).[3]
Henley Sidings
Nature preserve in England. Henley Sidings is a 1.4 hectare nature reserve near Henley-in-Arden in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is managed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
The site is a 500 metre long railway embankment adjacent to the North Warwickshire Line. It is limestone grassland and scrub, which has a variety of wild flowers including woolly thistle, fairy flax and lady's bedstraw. The sward is maintained by rabbits, and there are other fauna such as yellow meadow ants, 20 species of butterfly, around 200 of beetle, and butterflies and moths.
The entrance to the reserve is next to the gate to Park Farm, off the access road to the Henley Golf and Country Club.[4]