Adcote School for Girls

King James I handed the Protestant branch of the Howard family, Thomas, Earl of Suffolk, the manor of Little Ness, containing Adcote, by letter patent in 1603; he afterwards sold it to the Cravens.
Early in the eighteenth century, Adcote was separated; the Shropshire hero Clive of India brought it back together.
We learn from Clive's will that he had bought the properties extending from Little Ness to Baschurch.
The school was established on January 18th, 1907, by Mrs. Amy Gough in the village of Doseley, close to Wellington, with 2 day students and 5 boarders at Glenmore House.
A private corporation was established in 1927 to buy Adcote in Little Ness.
There were 72 boarders total, filling the school to capacity.
When the population increased once more in 1937, plans were made the next year to turn the stables and other facilities into classrooms, music rooms, and laboratories.
The Adcote Educational Trust was created in 1964 as the school continued to expand.
It's believed that Madeley Court, the former Darby family house, and Benthall Hall in Broseley were some of the local places that inspired Adcote.
Adcote was allegedly considered to be Shaw's best home. The home is regarded as "perhaps the best example of the rural residences created (by Shaw) between 1870 and 1880," according to some.
Adcote Residence "has gained notoriety mostly as a result of Shaw's autograph drawing.
A masterpiece of architectural drawing, it is now shown in the Royal Academy of Arts' Diploma Gallery in London ".
Shaw incorporated the regional building customs when designing Adcote in the Tudor style to give the home a sense of continuity with the past. The house has tall chimneys, pointed gables, mullioned windows, and is constructed of local sandstone.
Until her passing in 1909, Mrs. Darby resided in the home.
Alfred Darby II inherited the house from his mother and upon his death the house was sold to the Adcote School Trust.
The Darby family were pleased to see the house converted into a school for otherwise it could well have been demolished as happened to some of Shaw's other mansions.
In 1927, Adcote was transformed into a boarding school.
The original stable and coach houses have been converted into classrooms, science laboratories and the Junior School.