A Christmastide farewell to a Shropshire knight of the Stihl
Here William Cash pays tribute to his uncle Jonathan Roberts, a wealth of knowledge on Shropshire history and proud head tour guide of Upton Cressett Hall who touched many lives.
He was known by our family and friends in Shropshire as the ‘Knight of the Stihl’. This nickname was in reference to the many hours my 68-year-old uncle, Jonathan Roberts, our head tour guide and resident archaeologist, lovingly spent on his orange Stihl tractor-mower mowing the lawns, moat and orchards at Upton Cressett Hall, near Bridgnorth.
The medieval hamlet, including the beautiful Grade I Norman church of St Michael’s, is one of the ‘hidden gems’ of Shropshire tourism.
Jonathan died in his sleep on December 6 in the caretaker’s flat he lived in almost like a lay-brother. On Friday, January 3, with permission being granted by the Churches Conservation Trust which owns the church, he will be buried in the very churchyard that he so lovingly looked after as ‘mower-in-chief’ at Upton Cressett.
In my eulogy at his funeral mass service at St John’s Church in Bridgnorth next Friday, I will try to highlight what made Jonathan a truly unique and kind person who was given a second lease in life as our head tour guide, and ‘greeter-in-chief’ to our all-year holiday let guests, a role he came to relish as well as he touched the lives of many hundreds of people who visited Upton Cressett.
Our Tripadvisor reviews for 2024 are peppered with specific references to Jonathan’s expert knowledge of Shropshire history and archaeology and how he was a brilliant natural tour guide. Groups he guided included Historic Houses members, National Trust Volunteers (Wyre Forest), the National Association of Retired Police Officers, Cancer Research UK, the Wellington Probus club, and various Midlands classic car clubs.
In many ways Jonathan became the tour, although in fairness some did teasingly complain that they had been ‘Uncled’, unable to escape one and a half hours of his unrivalled Shropshire local history knowledge. My tours usually last for 40 minutes!
A week before his untimely death, a Gatehouse holiday guest wrote: "We met the Uncle on our walkabouts, and he was delightful, very welcoming and we enjoyed the chats. Nothing was too much trouble."
When my wife and I were away on a Camino walking pilgrimage in May, and Jonathan was ‘holding the fort’, he gave two to three hours of his time to a descendant of the Corser family who had lived at Upton Cressett in the 19th century. Afterwards, I received an email from the couple, who had flown in from Australia: "We really enjoyed the tour with Jonathan. He was tremendously hospitable and knowledgeable."
