and south fronts. 19th century In 1837 serious debt forced Thomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley (1808–1869) to sell the estate to the trustees of William Ward, 11th Baron Ward (1817–1885, later 1st Earl of Dudley), who had inherited a great fortune from the coal and iron industries in the Black Country. From 1843 to 1846 Witley Court was loaned to Queen Adelaide, the widow of King William IV. Whilst at Witley Court she had two chaplains – Rev. John Ryle Wood, Canon of Worcester and Rev. Thomas Pearson, Rector of Great Witley. In the 1850s, William Ward, 11th Baron Ward (later 1st Earl of Dudley) engaged the architect Samuel Daukes, who had already altered his London house, Dudley House on Park Lane and the church at Great Witley, to remodel the house in Italianate style using ashlar stone cladding over the existing red brickwork. He also commissioned the garden designer William Andrews Nesfield to transform the gardens. In 1885 the 1st Earl of Dudley died and his son William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley (1867–1932) inherited the property. His wife was Rachel Ward, Countess of Dudley (née Rachel Gurney). 20th–21st centuries In 1920 Witley Court was sold by the 2nd Earl to Sir Herbert Smith, a Kidderminster carpet manufacturer. Sir Herbert maintained only a skeleton staff to manage the house whilst he and his family were away, and many areas were left unused. A major accidental fire broke out in September 1937, whilst Sir Herbert was at another of his houses. It started in the bakery situated in the basement room of the now least preserved tower. The staff tried to put the fire out with the ancient fire pump, which was connected to the fountain, but it failed to work as it had not been maintained for many years. Although only one wing of the house was gutted by the fire and the rest of it was almost intact, the insurance company declined to cover the major damage, so Sir Herbert resolved to sell the property. The estate was broken up and sold in lots. The house was bought by scrap dealers who stripped what they could from the house, leaving it an empty shell. In 1972 the remnants of the house and garden (excluding the church) were taken into care by the government, via a compulsory guardianship order. The ruins today are still spectacular, and the property