Portal:Worcestershire

The Worcestershire portal

Flag of Worcestershire	Armorial banner of Worcestershire County Council

Worcestershire (/ˈwʊstərʃər/ ^ⓘ WUUST-ər-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠sheer; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands county to the north, Warwickshire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south, and Herefordshire to the west. The city of Worcester is the largest settlement and the county town.

The county is largely rural, and has an area of 1,741 km² (672 sq mi) and an estimated population of 609,216 in 2022. After Worcester (103,872) the largest settlements are Redditch (87,036), Kidderminster (57,400), and Bromsgrove (34,755). It contains six local government districts, which are part of a two-tier non-metropolitan county also called Worcestershire. The county historically had complex boundaries, and included Dudley and the southwestern suburbs of Birmingham.

The River Severn flows through the centre of the county from north to south, forming a wide plain. The southwest of the county contains part of the Malvern Hills, a National Landscape which contains Worcestershire Beacon, at 425 m (1,394 ft) the county's highest point. The southeast contains a small part of the Cotswolds, and in the northwest is part of the Wyre Forest, a national nature reserve.

There is some evidence of Roman occupation in Worcestershire; the area later became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Hwicce, and then Mercia. Worcestershire was constituted as a county around 927, as the Kingdom of England formed. During the High Middle Ages the county was the site of the Battle of Evesham, in which Simon de Montfort was defeated, and in 1651 the Battle of Worcester was the last major engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the Industrial Revolution the north of the county was part of the Black Country, a major manufacturing centre, Kidderminster became famous for carpet production, and Worcester for porcelain. (Full article...)

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Powick Bridge pictured in 2006

The battle of Powick Bridge was a skirmish fought on 23 September 1642 south of Worcester, England, during the First English Civil War. It was the first engagement between elements of the principal field armies of the Royalists and Parliamentarians. Sir John Byron was escorting a Royalist convoy of valuables from Oxford to King Charles's army in Shrewsbury and, worried about the proximity of the Parliamentarians, took refuge in Worcester on 16 September to await reinforcements. The Royalists despatched a force commanded by Prince Rupert. Meanwhile, the Parliamentarians sent a detachment, under Colonel John Brown, to try to capture the convoy. Each force consisted of around 1,000 mounted troops, a mix of cavalry and dragoons. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Worcestershire-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Due to its cathedral (pictured), the county town of Worcester is the only settlement in the county with city status. (from Worcestershire)
Image 2Landsdown Methodist Church, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 3Hand-drawn map of Worcestershire by Christopher Saxton from 1577. (from Worcestershire)
Image 4Bewdley Station, now restored as part of the Severn Valley Railway (from Bewdley)
Image 5The 1906 sandstone and red brick Evesham Methodist Church on the banks of the River Avon (from Evesham)
Image 6The Enigma Fountain and statue of Edward Elgar, a group of sculptures by artist Rose Garrard, on Belle Vue Terrace (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 7Council wards of Malvern town (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 8Portrait of Sir William Waller, 1643, whose raids thoroughly depleted the Vale of Evesham (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 9Halesowen was an exclave of neighbouring Shropshire until 1844 when it was reincorporated into Worcestershire. It is now within the metropolitan county of the West Midlands. (from Worcestershire)
Image 10The hand axe discovered in the 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 11Stourport Road Bridge (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 12Grafton Manor, home of the Catholic Talbot family, holding leading military posts in Worcestershire's Royalist forces in the Civil War (from Bromsgrove)
Image 13Summit of the Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills, the county's highest point (from Worcestershire)
Image 14Droitwich Spa High Street on St. Richard's Day 2009 (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 15Classical composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in this house in Broadheath, Worcestershire, currently used as the Elgar Birthplace Museum. (from Worcestershire)
Image 16Brintons carpet factory in Kidderminster, c. 1870 (from Kidderminster)
Image 17The coat of arms of Worcestershire County Council (from Worcestershire)
Image 18Parkside, headquarters of Bromsgrove District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 19Grave of Mabel Tolkien (née Suffield, 1870–1904), mother of J. R. R. Tolkien, in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 20North-west view of Worcester, 1752 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 2115th-century Merchant's House formerly located on Bromsgrove's High Street, now at Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings (from Bromsgrove)
Image 22John's tomb, Worcester Cathedral (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 23The former Bromsgrove railway station (from Bromsgrove)
Image 24Bewdley Bridge (from Bewdley)
Image 25Bewdley from the racks, 2019 (from Bewdley)
Image 26Worcester Bosch; Bosch Thermotechnology are in Warndon (from Worcestershire)
Image 27The former Slingfield Mill (from Kidderminster)
Image 28St Peter's Church, Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 29View of the QinetiQ facility from the Malvern Hills. Malvern College campus in the foreground, and the village of Poolbrook to the rear
Image 30Coat of arms of the former Bromsgrove Rural District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 31St Stephen's Church (Church of England) (from Redditch)
Image 32Bewdley and surrounding area (Ordnance Survey) (from Bewdley)
Image 33Sanders Park (from Bromsgrove)
Image 34Malvern post office, town centre
Image 35Stafford tomb, St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove: one of the most powerful families in Worcestershire, living just south of the town (from Bromsgrove)
Image 36The flag of the historic county of Worcestershire (from Worcestershire)
Image 37Bewdley Bridge and Severn Side South, 2003 (from Bewdley)
Image 38A statue of Richard Baxter in Kidderminster outside St Mary and All Saints' Church. (from Kidderminster)
Image 39Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 40Malvern St James girls school main building (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 41Thai Gy-Nguang brand Formula 2 Worcestershire sauce (2010) (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 42The Lickey Incline about 1845 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 43St John's Court: 19th-century vicarage, served as council offices from 1920s to 1980s, now a care home (from Bromsgrove)
Image 44The Malvhina Fountain in the town centre, a sculpture by artist Rose Garrard. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 45Grave of Sir Thomas Chavasse (1854–1913) and his family in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 46The hand axe discovered in 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from Worcestershire)
Image 47Richard Baxter, the leading Puritan in Kidderminster, noted the rising opposition to King Charles' policies of taxation and rule without Parliament (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 48Bewdley Guildhall (from Bewdley)
Image 49The Old Town Hall (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 50The Battle of Powick Bridge on the River Teme on 23 September 1642 began the English Civil War. (from Worcestershire)
Image 51Hanbury Hall, completed around 1706 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 52Detail of buildings and shops in Church Street, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 53Lea & Perrins advertisement (1900) (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 54Interior of a Bromsgrove Nailmaker's shed in 1896; occupied by the tenant and two stallers, the latter worked each on his own account, and paid 6d. a week apiece and one-third of the firing. The oliver, or heavy hammer used for heading the nails, is attached to the bench in front of the little anvil. (from Bromsgrove)
Image 55St Mary's and All Saints Parish Church, seen from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (from Kidderminster)
Image 56Aggborough is the home ground of the professional club Kidderminster Harriers, formerly of the Football League. (from Kidderminster)
Image 57William Lloyd (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 58A.E. Housman, poet, lived at Perry Hall, Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 59The art deco Regal Cinema (from Evesham)
Image 60Astley Hall, Stanley Baldwin's home between 1902 and 1947 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 61Malvern Theatres entrance 2024 (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 62Battle of Worcester (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 63A bottle of Shanghainese "spicy soy sauce", Taikang Yellow brand (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 64Parish church of St John the Baptist (from Bromsgrove)
Image 65Saltworkers by British sculptor John McKenna in the town centre (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 66Map of Stourport, 1942 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 67Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce — the invention of two Worcester chemists (from Worcestershire)
Image 68Commemorative pavement plaque in Alcester Street (from Redditch)
Image 69Worcester Square (from Redditch)
Image 70Caldwall Castle (from Kidderminster)
Image 71The spa town of Great Malvern was laid out and developed largely during the 19th century
Image 72Prior's Croft, Grange Road (Victorian Gothic architecture)
Image 73James McConnell (from Bromsgrove)
Image 74Priory Park with Malvern Theatres complex and Priory Church tower in the background (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 75Oswald and Eadnoth (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 76View across Arrow Valley Lake (from Redditch)
Image 77St Ann's Well spout (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 78Bromsgrove Museum (from Bromsgrove)
Image 79Droitwich transmitting station, Wychbold (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 80Victorian pillar box on the corner of Priory Road and Orchard Road
Image 81Great Malvern Priory
Image 82Honeybourne railway station on the Cotswold Line and the potential Honeybourne Line (from Worcestershire)
Image 83All Saints Church Evesham (from Evesham)
Image 84The Lickey Incline in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 85Evesham Bell Tower (from Evesham)
Image 86Qinetiq at the Malvern Hills Science Park, or Malvern Technology Centre; the integrated circuit was invented here in 1952 (from Worcestershire)
Image 87New Road is the home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, across the River Severn from Worcester Cathedral. (from Worcestershire)
Image 88Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 89St John the Baptist's Church (Church of England), built in 1843 (from Kidderminster)
Image 90Evesham Town Hall (from Evesham)
Image 91Tithe barn of St Johns, Bromsgrove, shortly before it was sold and demolished in 1844. It was used as a theatre in the 1700s. (from Bromsgrove)
Image 92The Riverside Shopping Centre (from Evesham)
Image 93Graves of railway engineers Tom Scaife and Joseph Rutherford, killed in an engine explosion in Bromsgrove in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 94Welcome to Malvern, on an approach road to the town centre. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 95The Almonry, originally part of Evesham Abbey (from Evesham)
Image 96Bromsgrove War Memorial (from Bromsgrove)
Image 97Council House (built 1874), viewed from Priory Park, is the headquarters of the District Council. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 98Broadway Tower, one of several Worcestershire follies (from Worcestershire)
Image 99Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 100The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904 by Edmund Hort New (from Evesham)
Image 101The Abbey Gateway in the town centre is now the home of the Malvern Museum
Image 102Chateau Impney, near Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 103The former Redditch Bus Station, c. 1996 (from Redditch)
Image 104Dudley Castle (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 105Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 106Bromsgrove Guild maker's mark on a main gate of Buckingham Palace (from Bromsgrove)
Image 107Malvern Theatres pre 2023 (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 108Seven shillings a week: this nailmaker in 1896 worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and turned out 11 lb of nails a week. (from Bromsgrove)

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A view over the town

Malvern (/ˈmɔːlvərn, ˈmɒl-/, locally also: /ˈmɔːvərn/) is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dramatically in Victorian times due to the natural mineral water springs in the vicinity, including Malvern Water.

At the 2021 census it had a population of 30,462. It includes Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, as well as the former independent urban district of Malvern Link. Many of the major suburbs and settlements that comprise the town are separated by large tracts of open common land and fields, and together with smaller civil parishes adjoining the town's boundaries and the hills, the built up area is often referred to collectively as The Malverns. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that Simon de Montfort was killed and had his testicles cut off at the Battle of Evesham (pictured)?
...that Whittington Tump in Worcestershire was the site of a motte castle?
...that the investigation into the murder of Céline Figard saw the UK's first national DNA screening programme in the hunt for a suspect?
...that the medieval nobleman Walter de Beauchamp was granted the right to keep pheasants on his lands and fine any who poached them by King Henry I of England?

Things you can do for WikiProject Worcestershire

WORCS/ToDo is a list of urgent tasks. If they have been addressed, please do not remove them from the list, but check them off with the {{done}} ( Done) template, and sign your name with four tildes: ~~~~ (Full article...)

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