Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in the grounds of a former stately home in Staffordshire, England. It attracted 2.4 million visitors in 2007, making it the second most visited theme park in the UK after Pleasure Beach Blackpool which attracted 5.5 million visitors, and 11th most visited in Europe. It is based north of the village of Alton in Staffordshire (approximately east of Stoke-on-Trent), in the grounds of a semi-ruined gothic revival country house of the same name, the former seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury. Also on site are two hotels; The Alton Towers Hotel and Splash Landings Hotel, The Alton Towers Waterpark (Cariba Creek), Extraordinary Golf, Conference Centre and The Alton Towers Spa (Located in the Alton Towers Hotel). Alton Towers is the flagship attraction of Merlin Entertainments.

Some of the major attractions at Alton Towers include:

• Nemesis, Europe's first inverted roller coaster.
• Oblivion, the world's first vertical drop roller coaster.
• Air, the world's first B&M flying roller coaster.
• Rita - Queen of Speed, a launched roller coaster which accelerates to 100 km/h (60 mph) in approximately 2.5 seconds.

The park's promotional music is In the Hall of the Mountain King, written by Edvard Grieg.

History

The estate dates back to before 1000 BC, when an iron age fort was built in the area, known as Bunbury Hill. In circa 700, the estate became the site of a fortress, for the Saxon king Ceolred of Mercia. A castle was built soon after the Norman Conquest, but the date of its erection is unknown. In the 1100s, the estate passed to Bertram de Verdun, as a reward for his work in the Crusades. In 1318, the estate passed by marriage to Thomas de Furnival, when he married Joan de Verdun. It passed again in 1406, to Sir John Talbot, when he married Maud, the eldest daughter of Lord Furnival. He became the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1442, a title that had been resurrected after being forfeited by the third earl in 1102. The old castle was destroyed during the English Civil War.

The early Alton Towers was a hunting lodge, known as Alveton Lodge (or Alverton), which is the ancient name for Alton. It had three floors, and one of the towers was from an earlier building, which is part of the building today. It was split into two properties, one which was rented by a tenant, and one which was used by the Talbots as a summer residence, their main residence being at Heythrop in Oxfordshire.

Charles Talbot, the 15th Earl, began improvements on the house, and initiated the creation of the Gardens, at the turn of the 19th century. Through the early 1800s, 13,000 trees were planted in the grounds. In 1811, major work began on the house. Over the next ten years, several new rooms were built: a drawing room, dining room, chapel, library, long gallery, banqueting hall, conservatory and entrance hall were all added. As a result of the work done, the house doubled in size. The entire building was renovated in a Gothic style, and the foundations of the Flag Tower were also laid. The house was renamed to Alton Abbey, despite there not being any particular religious connection. Some of the architects that worked on the house were Thomas Allason, William Hollins and Thomas Hopper.