The building is an early 19th-century mansion which was owned by the Lea family in the first half of that century.[2][3] It then passed into the hands of a Major Winnington in the second half of the century.[4] It was converted around the end of the century for use as the headquarters of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment.[5] This unit evolved to become the 7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment in 1908.[6] The battalion was mobilised at the mansion in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front.[7][8] The battalion was also based at the mansion at the start of the Second World War.[9]
The battalion was reduced to a single company, B Company (Worcestershire), The Mercian Volunteers, in 1967.[10] The company evolved to become A Company, 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry (Volunteers) in 1992 and A (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment) Company, 5th Battalion, The (Shropshire and Herefordshire) Light Infantry (Volunteers) in 1993.[10] The Ministry of Defence decided to move the unit to a more modern adjacent building in October 1994.[11] The mansion was subsequently decommissioned and, in February 1998, it was converted into a nursing home.[12][13]
