Upper Arley
Upper Arley () is a village near
Kidderminster in the
Wyre Forest District of
Worcestershire,
England. It has a station called
Arley on the
Severn Valley Railway, one of Britain's
preserved steam railways the station has been used in many films and television programmes (including the BBC's
Oh, Doctor Beeching!); and has one
pub; and is an estate village, formerly owned in the 19th century by the Earls of
Mountnorris - whose heir,
Viscount Valentia, gave his name to the village's second and now defunct pub.
In the late 20th century, it was owned by the
philanthropist and
iron &
steel tycoon
Roger Turner, who bought the estate after selling his family's
Staffordshire tubemaking businesses, called the
Wellington Steel Tube Co.Ltd. There are a number of
in-jokes to this legacy on the estate - a large
redwood tree of the
Wellingtonia variety stands very out of place at the entrance to the manor building called Arley House; and the estate buildings - be they commercial or residential - are coloured green and cream, the corporate colours of the Wellington companies.
By
2000 and the death of Turner, part of his private park was opened to the public as
Arley Arboretum. Symbolically, Turner lies buried in the churchyard and next to the gate leading to the
Arboretum and House. The Village is very picturesque and many visitor come in by train since parking is difficult and road access is limited.