The village of Upper Arley was an estate village owned in the early 19th century by the Earls of Mountnorris and the heirs, the Viscounts Valentia, from whom the village's second (and now defunct) pub took its name. In the late 20th century, it was owned by the philanthropist and iron & steel tycoon Roger Turner, who bought the estate after selling his family's Staffordshire tubemaking businesses, called the Wellington Steel Tube Co. Ltd. There are a number of subtle references or in-jokes to this legacy on the estate — a large redwood tree of the Wellingtonia variety stands very much out-of-place at the entrance to the manor house of Arley House, as does one by the footbridge across the River Severn in the village; and the estate buildings, be they commercial or residential, are coloured green and cream, the corporate colours of the Wellington companies. By 2000 and the death of Roger Turner, part of his private park was opened to the public as Arley Arboretum. Symbolically, Turner lies buried in the churchyard and next to the gate leading to the Arboretum and Arley House.