Alton Towers Resort

Alton Towers is a former country estate located near the village of Alton in Staffordshire, England. It was the former seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury. It is now a major theme park in the United Kingdom. The area around Alton Towers has been occupied for more than a thousand years. Beginning in the Dark Ages, the site has been redeveloped several times from fortified encampment to castle and then country house. Construction on the current building was begun in the early 1800's by Charles Talbot the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury later moving into the house with his wife in 1814. The estate passed through many generations of the family until in 1924, around this time the grounds were purchased by a group of local businessmen who opened the tower ruins and the gardens up to the public (for a small fee). It was at this time that Alton Towers Limited was formed, this company still operates today under the current owners Merlin Entertainments.

During the inter-war period the many of the original plaster and wooden features of the building were sold off by the owners, including most of the lead roofing causing the building to decay. At the beginning of World War 2 the towers were requisitioned by the War Office who used the site as an officer training unit, after the war the Towers and Gardens remained closed until 1951. This was until in the 1950's part of the grounds opened with a small family fair ground with typical traveling rides, over the coming decades the site was developed as a visitor attraction with the addition of more permanent rides. Then in 1980 the attraction opened the 'Corkscrew' rollercoaster rebranding itself as a Theme Park. Since then it has passed through several owners including the Tussauds Group and Merlin Entertainments, Merlin being the 2nd biggest attraction operator in the world (after Disney).