Alcester historic house gets flood defences

Mar 11 2010 by Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

ESSENTIAL flood alleviation work is underway to protect one of the region’s great historic houses.

The National Trust has begun to create a swale, or grass covered ditch, at Coughton Court, near Alcester, as used by famous landscape gardener ‘Capability’ Brown.

The Tudor house, which has connections with the Gunpowder Plot, suffered severe damage during the devastating floods in July 2007 but the unique scheme should protect the Court from flooding in the future.

Flood water will be diverted away from the house and run out on to Coughton Fields Lane and back in to the River Arrow in the £380,000 project.