A historic 16th-century manor house hotel has sparked outrage after it emerged the luxury venue has been housing asylum seekers since 2021.
Madeley Court Hotel in Telford, which previously charged around £150 per night for its rooms, has been highlighted by right-wing commentators for accommodating migrants at taxpayers’ expense.
The palatial Shropshire venue, complete with four-poster beds and a turreted gate house, boasts “peaceful and historical surroundings” and was once renowned for its “superb service and cuisine”.
Reform UK has condemned the situation as “shocking”, claiming asylum seekers are living better than many British citizens.
Madeley Court Hotel in Shropshire previously charged around £150 per night for a room
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The controversy intensified after activists posted footage of themselves confronting security guards at the grounds of the popular former wedding venue. The manor house, which dates back to the mid-1500s, was once a grange of Wenlock Priory and featured a deer park in the 13th century.
Its website still advertises luxurious amenities, including a conservatory with “resplendent stylish furnishings” and lakeside views.
The venue includes a spacious outbuilding called The Mill, which previously hosted weddings and conferences for up to 230 people. Rooms feature flat-screen TVs and traditional features like stone walls and wood panelling.
The hotel was previously managed by the Mercure chain until 2021, when it began housing asylum seekers under contracts between the Talash Group and the Home Office.
Security guards now strictly control access to the property, with the public and paying guests no longer permitted entry.
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The hotel, pictured in 2019
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Iraqi migrant Jasmine Hikami, 18, who is staying at the hotel with his family, told the Daily Mail: “We love living here and we feel safe.”
However, he noted that sharing a single room with his father and younger brother was challenging: “It is a very good hotel. We are looked after well, we have a nice room and food. We don’t know who pays for it but we don’t need to.”
Local residents have expressed frustration at losing access to the venue. Rose, landlady of the nearby All Nations Inn, said: “It used to be a beautiful hotel but it was left to go to ruin. Now it is being all done again for migrants to live there.”
“We’d always go there for Christmas dinner, it was such a lovely place to visit and now everything has stopped,” she added.
The hotel is now surrounded by security guards, with builders carrying out renovation work.
A Reform UK spokesman told the Express: “At a time when pensioners are freezing, businesses are suffering, and farmers’ futures hang in the balance, it is shocking that illegals are living better than lots of British people.
“The Tories started this scandal and now Labour show no urgency to fix it, it is a wilful betrayal of the British people and it won’t be forgiven.”
A Home Office spokesperson responded: “This government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, with thousands stuck in a backlog without their claims processed.
“We remain absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and continue to identify a range of accommodation options to minimise their use.”
Officials have restarted asylum processing, which will reportedly save an estimated £7billion for taxpayers over the next decade.
The asylum backlog reached its highest level on record in June 2023, with more than 175,000 people waiting for decisions.
