110-489: Worcestershire ( / ˈ w ʊ s t ər ʃ ər / WUUST -ər-shər , /- ʃ ɪər / -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
220-406: A centre for carpet manufacture, and Redditch specialised in the manufacture of needles, springs and hooks. Droitwich Spa , situated on large deposits of salt, was a centre of salt production from Roman times, with one of the principal Roman roads running through the town. These old industries have since declined, to be replaced by other, more varied light industry . The county is also home to
330-613: A day. Mazak UK have the parent company's European manufacturing facility (for CNC machine tools) in the north of Worcester. Nearby on the Blackpole Ind Est, Froude Hofmann have their world headquarters, who make dynamometers . Roxel UK develops solid-fuel rockets for missiles south of Kidderminster and in Hartlebury . The West Midlands Safari Park is in Bewdley , west of Kidderminster. Morgan Technical Ceramics
440-762: A hearth, gullies and a pit. This site has been dated to roughly 6,800 BC, making it the oldest settlement yet identified in Worcestershire. Pollen evidence shows that crops were already being grown and woodlands cleared. The evidence for the Neolithic period is more extensive. Finds were first located before the Second World War in Bewdley , Lindridge, Broadwas and, at Worcester, a skull. Farming has left many traces, for instance cropmarks on gravel terraces. Settlements can be identified from post holes, for instance at Huntsman's Quarry, Kemerton . However,
550-577: A large turnover; nearby to west Metalrax , headquartered in Alvechurch , make (via subsidiaries) most of the bakeware sold in the UK. Roger Dyson Group manufactures auto-recovery vehicles in north Droitwich. South of Bromsgrove, L.G. Harris & Co make paintbrushes . Lea & Perrins is in Worcester . Joy Mining Machinery are in the west of Worcester. Worcester, Bosch Group make 1,200 boilers
660-475: A number of roads have been detected. The Roman administrative system appears to have disappeared swiftly after the withdrawal of their troops. However, Worcestershire probably remained Romano-British in cultural, linguistic and religious terms. There is little archaeological evidence. There appears to have been farming activity in Worcester, such as a few farmhouses and evidence for grazing at Deansway. There
770-406: A portion of local taxations and ecclesiastical law applied to Christian morals and could result in punishments. It had close political associations with leading gentry and aristocracy. As such, Worcester's Cathedral had a central role in the medieval life of the city and county. In the early medieval period, as the settled areas of the country expanded into the more wooded areas in the north and west,
880-592: A running club and doubling as a rugby club from 1880, the football club was founded in 1886. In 1987, the club won the FA Trophy for the first time, and seven years later reached the fifth round of the FA Cup , also winning the GM Vauxhall Conference title in 1994 but being denied Football League status as their Aggborough Stadium did not meet capacity requirements. However, when the club next won
990-533: A single non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester . The County Boroughs of Dudley and Warley, along with Stourbridge and Halesowen, were incorporated into the new West Midlands Metropolitan county . The West Midlands County Council existed for only a few years before abolition in April 1986, although the West Midlands still exists as a ceremonial county . In the 1990s UK local government reform ,
1100-491: A small Romano-British settlement, including kilns for pottery manufacture, and more recently Roman pottery and a Roman ditch at Parsons Hill, near Icknield Street. Worcestershire as a whole does not seem to have been prominent in the villa system, except in its south eastern corner, near the Cotswolds, where Romanised agriculture was deeply established. Worcestershire was also not on the network of major Roman roads, although
1210-520: A small section of Amblecote . The Local Government Act redefined its status and the County Borough of Dudley became part of Staffordshire, the county of which all of these areas had been part. At the same time, Worcestershire gained a new county borough named Warley , which was an amalgamation of Oldbury Urban District , Rowley Regis Urban District , the County Borough of Smethwick and parts of Dudley and Tipton . During this reorganisation,
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#17327660191661320-620: A wider county for lieutenancy purposes, except the City of London which had its own lieutenants. The geographical counties were relatively stable between 1889 and 1965. There were occasional boundary changes, notably following the Local Government Act 1894 which said that parishes and districts were no longer allowed to straddle county boundaries. After that most boundary changes were primarily to accommodate urban areas which were growing across county boundaries, such as when Caversham
1430-684: Is evidence that St Helen's Church in Worcester could have had a British origin. Salt workings in Droitwich appear to have continued. The conquest of the area by Anglo-Saxons appears to have been relatively late. Gloucester and Bath were taken around 577 by the West Saxons at the Battle of Deorham . In 613, the Battle of Chester pushed the Welsh beyond the River Dee. In these early years, it
1540-671: Is hard to come by, not least because hunter-gathering societies would roam extensively and not congregate in towns and villages. Tools have mostly been recovered from sand and gravel quarries in the county. The lack of finds appears to be contributing to under-investment in seeking out and preserving them. The first inhabitants appear to have followed the Bytham River system, which at the time drained eastwards from Evesham to East Anglia. Glaciation pushed settlement back, and humans again appear around 300,000 years ago. Nearly 40 hand axes from this period have been recovered, mostly from near
1650-813: Is headquartered at Lickhill in Stourport-on-Severn . Egbert H. Taylor in Elmley Lovett , near Hartlebury is a manufacturer of metal bins. Liquid crystal displays were developed in 1972 in conjunction with the Royal Radar Establishment , where Geoffrey Dummer invented the idea of the integrated circuit in 1952. It was based in Malvern , and became the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment , which developed thermal imaging and pyroelectric infrared detectors , and
1760-401: Is in an indefinable way 'home' to me, as no other part of the world is." Ceremonial counties of England Ceremonial counties , formally known as counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies , are areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed. They are one of the two main legal definitions of the counties of England in modern usage, the other being the counties for
1870-655: Is little evidence of Roman military presence in the county, excepting some ten small road defences, such as one near Kempsey that appears to have belonged to the Roman Second Legion Augusta , headquartered at Isca Augusta , Caerleon in South Wales. There are also bridge remains over the Severn near Kempsey which have been attributed to the Romans. Two forts have been found at Dodderhill next to
1980-780: Is now a large site owned by QinetiQ . Morgan Motor Company is in Malvern Link . Commsoft RMS is in Evesham . For many years Group 4 Security , which was the largest security company in Europe, had its headquarters in Broadway , on the edge of the Cotswolds ; G4S Integrated Services now has its HQ there. Local government in Worcestershire has changed several times since the middle of the 19th century. Worcestershire contained numerous exclaves , which were areas of land cut off from
2090-653: 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
2200-507: Is possible that very minor kingdoms or fiefdoms were established, for instance of the Weorgoran , from which it is believed Worcester takes its name. The area now known as Worcestershire was part of the early English kingdom of the Hwicce , which was quickly made subordinate to Mercia . The exact boundaries of their kingdom are uncertain, but it is likely that they coincided with those of
2310-705: Is still important for agriculture, particularly in the Vale of Evesham . Local government reorganisations meant that the Dudley enclave and the King's Norton area of southern Birmingham are no longer in Worcestershire. Other smaller boundary changes have taken some parishes out of the county and added others. There is evidence of human presence in Worcestershire from the paleolithic period, roughly 700,000–500,000 years ago. Flint axe heads have been found near at Hallow near Worcester , for instance. However, evidence from this period
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#17327660191662420-498: Is the largest settlement and the county town . The county is largely rural, and has an area of 1,741 km (672 sq mi) and a population of 592,057. After Worcester (103,872) the largest settlements are Redditch (87,036), Kidderminster (57,400), and Malvern (30,462). 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
2530-1012: The Battle of Worcester in 1651, and local Catholic aristocrats aided his escape. Northern Worcestershire produced a number of prominent religious leaders, many of whom left the Anglican church in the Great Ejection . The northern part of Worcestershire, including the Dudley and Netherton enclave, was one of the major centres of the British Industrial Revolution. Dudley specialised in iron and coal production, Kidderminster in carpet production, Stourbridge in glass, Bromsgrove and areas of southern Birmingham in nail making, Redditch in needles and fish hooks. Canals and later railways aided export of local goods. Further south, Worcester's glove and porcelain industries became less important than manufacturing. Worcestershire
2640-506: The Cotswolds AONB. Worcestershire contains a broad expanse of green belt area, widening to over 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) in places. It is part of the larger belt surrounding the West Midlands county, and first drawn up from the 1950s. All of the county's districts other than Malvern Hills contain some portion of the belt. The largest and most successful football club in the county is Kidderminster Harriers . Founded in 1877 as
2750-733: The County Borough of Birmingham , on 1 October 1891. This was followed by Quinton Urban District , which was ceded to Birmingham in November 1909, and then by the Rural District of Yardley and the greater part of the Urban District of King's Norton and Northfield , which were absorbed into Birmingham under the Greater Birmingham Scheme on 9 November 1911. Thus these areas were transferred from Worcestershire to Warwickshire. Dudley's historical status within
2860-469: The County of London where the administrative county was larger on account of the City of London and the rest of the county being separate for both judicial and lieutenancy purposes. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972, after which the main functions of the counties were the administrative functions of local government. Despite the loss of their functions, sheriffs continued to be appointed to
2970-573: The Crown had no authority. The Crown's authority was replaced by the Bishop of Worcester and the Abbots at Pershore , Westminster and Evesham . At this time, more than half of Worcestershire was in the hands of the church. The church of Worcester held the triple hundred of Op.waldslow, with such privileges as to exclude the sheriff's jurisdiction entirely, the profits of all the local courts accruing to
3080-531: The Diocese of Worcester and through its aristocratic links ensured that the exclave was governed on a largely autonomous basis. Worcester was designated a county corporate , and thus became separate from the rest of Worcestershire. In 1926, Dudley County Borough council purchased several square miles of land to the north of the town centre, mostly in Sedgley ( Staffordshire ), including Dudley Castle . This
3190-669: The La Tène people around 250 BC. Evidence of Iron Age salt production has been found at Droitwich itself. A pottery industry exporting into the surrounding area began in the Malvern area, continuing into the Middle Ages. A period of client state relations, with tributes and political arrangements being made between the Roman Empire and Celtic Britons preceded the invasion. Caesar attempted it and Augustus planned to
3300-465: The Local Government Act 1888 , taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions . Certain towns and cities were made county boroughs , independent from the county councils. In counties where the quarter sessions had been held separately for different parts of the county, such as the Parts of Lincolnshire , each part was given its own county council. The area administered by a county council
3410-458: The Malvern area are attributed to early Bronze Age settlers Burial sites are also important sources of information about the Bronze Age. Around twenty barrows have been found in the county and two have been excavated, at Holt and Wyre Piddle . Worcestershire changed during the Bronze Age to a predominantly agricultural landscape. Peat evidence from near Bredon Hill and Birlingham in
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3520-715: The Norman conquest of England ; the Domesday Book noted in 1086 that in seven of the twelve hundreds covering Worcestershire, the Crown had no authority. The Crown's authority was replaced by the Bishop of Worcester and the Abbots at Pershore, Westminster and Evesham. William the Conqueror gave to his allies and friends manors and parishes captured from the Anglo-Saxons. Despite the Norman Conquest,
3630-543: The Severn valley. The Severn is the United Kingdom's longest river and flows through Bewdley , Stourport-on-Severn and Worcester . The River Avon flows through the Worcestershire town on Evesham and joins the Severn at Tewkesbury , Gloucestershire . Several coniferous and deciduous woodlands are located in the north of the county. The Vale of Evesham runs through the south of the county and to its south are
3740-647: The Sheriffs Act 1887 and specifying the areas for the appointment of lieutenants were accordingly brought in with effect from 1 April 1996. The regulations were then consolidated into the Lieutenancies Act 1997 . When Herefordshire, Rutland and Worcestershire were re-established as local government counties in 1997 and 1998 no amendment was made to the 1997 Act regarding them, allowing them to also serve as their own lieutenancy areas. The lieutenancy counties have not changed in area since 1998, although
3850-495: The Sheriffs Act 1887 as amended, in a similar way to the lieutenancies defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997. Each has a high sheriff appointed (except the City of London, which has two sheriffs ). The Lieutenancies Act 1997 defines counties for the purposes of lieutenancies in terms of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties (created by the Local Government Act 1972 , as amended) as well as Greater London and
3960-425: The Sheriffs Act 1887 . Both are defined as groups of local government counties. The historic counties of England were originally used as areas for administering justice and organising the militia , overseen by a sheriff . From Tudor times onwards a lord-lieutenant was appointed to oversee the militia, taking some of the sheriff's functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate , which gave them
4070-829: The Southern Premier League , and Worcester City of the Midland Football League . The county is home to Worcestershire County Cricket Club , traditionally the first stop on any touring national side's schedule in England. Formed officially in 1865, the Club initially played in Boughton Park, before moving to its current New Road ground, which today can host 5,500 spectators, in 1895. The club has won five County Championships in its history, most recently in 1989. Worcester Rugby Football Club,
4180-480: The West Midlands ). Worcestershire County Council was reformed, although some services are shared with the newly formed Herefordshire Council , including waste management and the youth offending service. The former Hereford and Worcester districts of Redditch, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Wychavon and Wyre Forest were retained with little or no change. However the Leominster and Malvern Hills districts straddled
4290-746: The Worcester Warriors , are the county's largest and most successful Rugby Union team, having been promoted to the Premiership in 2004. The Warriors were relegated to the RFU Championship in 2010 but rebounded back to the Premiership in 2011. Worcester Warriors play at the Sixways Stadium on the outskirts of Worcester, holding over 12,000 spectators, thus making it the largest stadium in the county. Sixways has hosted
4400-565: The kings of Mercia . Through royal support the bishopric was able to gradually extend its control over prominent minsters . Initially, these were under the control of Hwiccan royals, as family property. This appears to have been gradually transferred to the control of the Bishopric, under the sponsorship of the Mercian kings, the process driven by the self-interest of the Mercian monarchy. As well as undermining local rivals through this process,
4510-465: The 13th and 14th centuries Bordesley monastery and the abbeys of Evesham and Pershore exported wool to the Florentine and Flemish markets. Coal and iron were mined at Dudley from the 13th century, coal since at least 1292. The first Norman Sheriff of Worcestershire, Urse d'Abetot oversaw the construction of a new castle at Worcester, although nothing now remains of the castle. Worcester Castle
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4620-489: The Avon area shows that it was cleared by the earlier part of the period. A lack of cereal grain finds has been interpreted as indicating that the land was used for cattle farming. The clearance of forest land is also evidenced by alluvium deposits on the lower lands in the county, caused by river flooding. A move towards open settlements may be detected as the lands became more fully occupied. Current field systems may date from
4730-533: The Birmingham boundary at Frankley , Rubery and Rednal . Frankley parish was later split into two: New Frankley and the area around Bartley Reservoir transferred from Bromsgrove District to Birmingham in April 1995; but the small village of Frankley remained in Worcestershire and became a new civil parish under the same name. From 1974, the central and southern parts of the county were amalgamated with Herefordshire and with Worcester County Borough to form
4840-596: The Conference title six years later, their stadium had been upgraded and promotion was granted, giving the county its first (and thus far only) Football League members. However, the club's Football League membership was short-lived, as Harriers were relegated back to the Conference in 2005 after just five years in the Football League, and have yet to reclaim their status. The county is also represented by Alvechurch , Bromsgrove Sporting and Redditch United of
4950-551: The Danish Harthacanute . Two huscarls were killed in May 1041 while attempting to collect taxes for the expanded navy, after being driven into the priory, where they were murdered. A military force was sent to deal with the non-payment, while the townspeople attempted to defend themselves by moving to and occupying the island of Bevere, two miles up the river, where they were then besieged. After Harthacnut's men had sacked
5060-419: The Droitwich salt workings. A villa or other high-profile building with mosaics has also been found here in 1847 during the construction of the canal and railway. There is evidence for Roman industrial production such as iron works in Worcester, but no sign of municipal buildings, although a small defended site has been detected, perhaps to guard the river crossing. Excavations at Kings Norton found signs of
5170-445: The Iron Age, the area was dominated by a series of hill forts, and the beginnings of industrial activity including pottery and salt mining can be found. It seems to have been relatively unimportant during the Roman era, with the exception of the salt workings. During the Anglo-Saxon era, Worcestershire was an important base of Church power and learning. The county as a named political entity dates to this time, being formed in 918. From
5280-412: The Isles of Scilly (which lie outside the 1972 Act's system). Although the term is not used in the act, these counties are sometimes known as "ceremonial counties". The counties are defined in Schedule 1, paragraphs 2–5 as amended (in 2009, 2019 and 2023). Generally, each time a new non-metropolitan county is created the 1997 Act is amended to redefine the existing areas of the lieutenancies in terms of
5390-493: The Lake District. Pottery finds also start in this period. Finds at Clifton, Severn Stoke , include Grooved ware pottery, axes, and burnt stones used to heat water for cooking or possibly a sauna . Bronze Age finds include weapons come from Worcestershire's valleys especially near potential fordable river crossings on the Avon such as Harvington, Evesham and Defford, and on the Severn, Bewdley, Holt , Worcester, Kempsey and Pixham. Flint axes, arrowheads, and flakes found in
5500-473: The Mercian kings also derived revenue from church lands in this period. Consequently, in the 9th century, the bishopric of Worcester can be seen to be the most powerful ecclesiastical power in Mercia during this time. From this position the church was able to use its great wealth to buy privileges from the kings of Mercia. Later in the period it was from Mercia, in particular Worcester, that King Alfred began to recruit priests and monks with whom to rebuild
5610-431: The Middle Ages, the role of the city of Worcester becomes particularly important in the county. The city's merchants, Church, aristocracy and gentry become the main power brokers, and tensions between them can be seen. The county had an important role in the English Civil War , being part of the Royalists' front line, and already important for metal working and small arms. It was later the site of Charles II 's defeat at
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#17327660191665720-427: The Normans. He was later made a saint. During Henry III 's disputes and wars with his Barons, in 1263 Worcester 's Jewish residents were attacked by a baronial force led by Robert Earl Ferrers and Henry de Montfort . Most were killed. The massacre in Worcester was part of a wider campaign by the De Montforts and their allies in the run-up to the Second Barons' War , aimed at undermining Henry III. Worcestershire
5830-441: The Royalist front line, as it was subject to heavy taxation and the pressing of men into the Royalist army, which also reduced its productive capacity. The northern part of the county, which was already a centre of iron production, was important for military supplies. Parliamentarian raids and Royalist requisitioning both placed a great strain on the county. There were tensions from the participation of prominent Catholic recusants in
5940-410: The Severn at Kempsey . Many are visible to each other, suggesting that they were centres of organisation and power. Their functions may have included meeting places, a means to control livestock, grain storage, residences and tribal centres. Farming in the period shows a mixture of settlements lasting long periods, but not being fully stable and permanent. The middle of the period seems to be marked by
6050-425: The abandonment of both farms and hill forts. However, there is also continuity between this period and the Roman occupation. The Wyche Cutting, a pass through the Malvern hills, was in use the Iron Age as part of the salt route from Droitwich to South Wales. A 19th-century discovery of over two hundred metal money bars near the Wyche cutting has been said to suggest that the Malvern area had been inhabited by
6160-521: The abolition of the offices of Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex , Lord Lieutenant of the County of London , and Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire and the creation of the Lord Lieutenant of Greater London and of the Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdon and Peterborough . History of Worcestershire#Bronze Age The area now known as Worcestershire has had human presence for over half a million years. Interrupted by two ice ages , Worcestershire has had continuous settlement since roughly 10,000 years ago. In
6270-484: The area of the administrative county grew only where Stourbridge took in the majority of Amblecote Urban District from Staffordshire and the designation of Redditch in 1964 as a New Town . This in turn saw expansion into the area in and around the villages of Ipsley and Matchborough in Warwickshire. The Redditch New Town designation coincided with a considerable programme of social and private house building in Droitwich , Worcester, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and along
6380-482: The bishop, whose bailiffs in 1276 claimed to hold his hundred outside Worcester, at Dryhurst, and at Wimborntree. The two hundreds owned by the church of Westminster, and that owned by Pershore, had in the 13th century been combined to form the hundred of Pershore, while the hundred of Evesham owned by Evesham Abbey had been converted into Blackenhurst hundred; and the irregular boundaries and outlying portions of these hundreds are explained by their having been formed out of
6490-567: The church in Wessex during the 880s (Asser, ch. 77). It has been argued that these priests brought with them a new attitude towards the church's place within society and its relationship with the monarchy. Consequently, from the bishopric of Worcester there developed a new ecclesiastical ideology that would become the accepted Anglo-Saxon church . The chaos of the period 900–1060 led to the loss of ecclesiastical lands, through leases and loss of records. Leases were often made for three lifetimes, but tended to become permanent arrangements. The result
6600-447: The church was able to increase its share of the wealth of Worcestershire, as it dominated the newly settled areas that brought in new income, such as settlements at Kempsey, Wick Episcopi , Hanbury, Hartlebury , Wolverley and Inkberrow . The Cathedral was one of a number of religious institutions in Worcester. Rivalry between the different religious orders sometimes resulted in disorder, including on occasion, removing dead bodies when
6710-433: The city and set it alight, agreement was reached. The last Anglo-Saxon sheriff of the county was Cyneweard of Laughern . During the Middle Ages , much of the county's economy was based on the wool trade, and many areas of its dense forests, such as Feckenham Forest , Horewell Forest , Ombersley , Wyre Forest and Malvern Chase , were royal hunting grounds . Droitwich Spa, being situated on large deposits of salt,
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#17327660191666820-419: The city of Worcester , causing heavy damage, looting and destruction of property. Around 10,000 mostly Scottish prisoners were sent into forced labour in the New World or fen drainage schemes. The small bands of Scots that fled into Worcestershire's countryside were attacked by local forces and killed. In the 19th century, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of gloves; the town of Kidderminster became
6930-407: The city, as well as the role of the King in relation to the roads. Worcester's fortifications would most likely have established the line of the wall that was extant until the 1600s, perhaps excepting the south-east area near the former castle (see Worcester city walls ). It is referred to as a wall by contemporaries, so may have been of stone. Worcester became the focus of tax resistance against
7040-417: The county is even more colourful, changing hands from Worcestershire to Staffordshire and Warwickshire, before returning to Worcestershire at differing times over the centuries. The southern boundary of the county was also complex, with parish boundaries penetrating deep into Gloucestershire and vice versa. Worcestershire County Council came into existence following the Local Government Act 1888 and covered
7150-408: The county of Hereford & Worcester was abolished, and the non-metropolitan county or shire county of Worcestershire regained its historic border with Herefordshire. The recreated County of Worcestershire came into existence on 1 April 1998 as an administrative and ceremonial county, although this excluded the Black Country towns of Dudley, Halesowen, Oldbury and Stourbridge (which remained part of
7260-440: The county. During King Alfred 's reign, the earls of Mercia fortified Worcester "for the protection of all the people" at the request of Bishop Werfrith. It appears that maintenance of the defences was to be paid for by the townspeople. A unique document detailing this and privileges granted to the church also outlines the existence of Worcester's market and borough court, differentiation between church and market quarters within
7370-542: The county. Yorkshire had three lieutenancies, one for each riding, but was a single judicial county with one sheriff, and was counted as one geographical county by Ordnance Survey. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972 under the Courts Act 1971 which abolished the quarter sessions and assizes . Sheriffs continued to be appointed for each county despite the loss of the judicial functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate appointing their own sheriffs. The counties corporate were all included in
7480-430: The county. Poor harvests in 1315, 1316 and 1322 pushed food prices up and probably weakened the population's resistance to disease. The Black Death arrived in Worcestershire in 1348–9. Outbreaks in 1361, 1369 and 1375 together reduced the population by around a third, as in other parts of England . Some villages were abandoned entirely, sometimes leaving churches alone with no supporting settlement. The Priory Cathedral
7590-460: The creation of county councils in 1889, there were counties for judicial and shrieval purposes, counties for lieutenancy purposes, and administrative counties and county boroughs for the purposes of local government. The 1888 Act used the term 'entire county' to refer to the group of administrative counties and county boroughs created within each judicial county. The Ordnance Survey used the term 'geographical county' to refer to this wider definition of
7700-438: The definitions of which local government counties are included in each lieutenancy have been amended to reflect new unitary authorities being created since 1997. In legislation the lieutenancy areas are described as 'counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'; the informal term 'ceremonial county' has come into usage for such areas, appearing in parliamentary debates as early as 1996. The shrieval counties are defined by
7810-576: The final of the LV Cup on three occasions. The village of Broadheath , about 6.2 miles (10 km) northwest of the city of Worcester, is the birthplace of the composer Edward Elgar . It is claimed that the county was the inspiration for the Shire , a region of J. R. R. Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth , described in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien was thought to have named Bilbo Baggins ' house " Bag End " after his Aunt Jane's Worcestershire farm. Tolkien wrote of Worcestershire, "Any corner of that county (however fair or squalid)
7920-586: The former judicial counties up until 1974. In 1974, administrative counties and county boroughs were abolished, and a new system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties was introduced instead. Sheriffs were renamed 'high sheriffs' and both they and the lieutenants were appointed to the new versions of the counties. The counties of Avon , Cleveland and Humberside , each of which had only been created in 1974, were all abolished in 1996. They were divided into unitary authorities ; legally these are also non-metropolitan counties. As part of these reforms, it
8030-410: The historic traditional county , except for two designated county boroughs at Dudley and Worcester. Birmingham's continuous expansion has been a major cause of Worcestershire's fluid boundary changes and associated housing issues. The district of Balsall Heath , which had originally constituted the most northerly part of the parish of King's Norton , was the first area of the county to be added to
8140-450: The historic border, so a new Malvern Hills district was constituted which straddled the pre-April 1974 county boundary to the west, south-west and north-west. The remaining parts of the former Hereford and Worcester district of Leominster, returned to Herefordshire. These settlements were historically part of the county as noted above, that now fall under the counties of Warwickshire and West Midlands . The Malvern Hills , which run from
8250-523: The last glaciation of around 10,000 BC. 15 axes were recovered at Kemerton . Between 10,000 and 3,500 BC, at the start of the current Holocene period, the climate improved. Forests grew, allowing humans to reinhabit the area, again with a hunter-gatherer economy. Settlers of the Mesolithic period are often identified through their use of flint tools, such as the 1,400 fragments found near Kidderminster at Wribbenhall . Other finds included post holes,
8360-543: The later Bronze Age. For instance, the evidence at Kerton and Wyre Piddle shows a relationship between the Bronze Age boundaries and contemporary fields. The "Shire Ditch", a late Bronze Age boundary earthwork possibly dates from around 1000 BC, its boundary being respected by later settlement patterns. Similarly, Roman field boundaries seem to have kept their alignment with a Bronze Age boundary at Childswickham. Bronze Age evidence also shows bronze casting and textiles at Kemerton. From around 600BC, Iron Age became
8470-518: The main geographical area of Worcestershire and completely surrounded by the nearby counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire . The most notable islands were Dudley, Evenlode, Blockley and the area around Shipston-on-Stour. Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire had their own exclaves within the main part of Worcestershire at Rochford , Broome , Clent, Tardebigge ( Tutnall and Cobley ) and Halesowen respectively. Tardebigge's history outside
8580-432: The military and civilian organisation of the county. Combined with the opposition to requisitioning from both sides, bands of Clubmen formed to keep the war away from their localities. The Battle of Worcester in 1651 effectively ended the third civil war. There was little enthusiasm or local participation in the mostly Scottish Royalist army, whose defeat was widely welcomed. Nevertheless, Parliamentarian forces ransacked
8690-528: The most obvious Neolithic evidence comes from their ritual landscape. At Fladbury , a possible cursus has been found, enclosures that may be defined in relationship to changes in the sky and stars. At Whittington Tump a hill has been heightened to make another ceremonial or burial monument. Stone axes from the Neolithic show extensive trade links, including examples from Brittany and northern Italy or Switzerland , as well as Cornwall , North Wales and
8800-444: The new areas. No such amendment was made in 1997 when Rutland was made a unitary authority or in 1998 when Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established; those three therefore have been given their own lieutenants again since the passing of the 1997 Act. The actual areas of the ceremonial counties have not changed since 1998. These are the 48 counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies in England, as currently defined: After
8910-552: The north, West Midlands to the north and north-east, Warwickshire to the east and Gloucestershire to the south. The western border with Herefordshire includes a stretch along the top of the Malvern Hills . At the southern border with Gloucestershire, Worcestershire meets the northern edge of the Cotswolds . Two major rivers flow through the county: the Severn and the Avon . The geographical area now known as Worcestershire
9020-405: The old Diocese of Worcester . The kingdom would, therefore, have included Worcestershire except for its northwestern tip. The toponym Hwicce survives in Worcestershire in the names of Wichenford , Wychbury Hill and Droitwich . The diocese was founded in 679–680, and early bishops bore the title Episcopus Hwicciorum . The diocese seems to have benefited in the 8th century from the support of
9130-548: The predominant technology, being harder than bronze and easy to manipulate into many tools. In Worcestershire, the most visible reminder of the period is hill forts . There around ten or twelve extant, including British Camp , Wychbury Hill and Hanbury . The full list may include east of the Severn Bredon Hill , Conderton Camp , and Headless Cross ; and west of the Severn, Woodbury Hill , Berrow Hill Camp and Gadbury Bank A promontory fort can be found by
9240-412: The purposes of local government legislation. A lord-lieutenant is the monarch 's representative in an area. Shrieval counties have the same boundaries and serve a similar purpose, being the areas to which high sheriffs are appointed. High sheriffs are the monarch's judicial representative in an area. The ceremonial counties are defined in the Lieutenancies Act 1997 , and the shrieval counties in
9350-623: The resources of each burhs ' outlying estates. It was a separate ealdormanship briefly in the 10th century before forming part of the Earldom of Mercia in the 11th century. The last known Anglo-Saxon Sheriff of Worcestershire was Cyneweard of Laughern . During the Middle Ages , much of the county's economy was based on the wool trade. Many areas of its dense forests, such as Feckenham Forest , Horewell Forest and Malvern Chase , were royal hunting grounds subject to forest law. After
9460-763: The rest of the county was still held by the Abbeys of Pershore and Evesham, the Bishop of Worcester and Priory . The first Norman Sheriff Urse d'Abetot , built the castle of Worcester and seized much church land, some of which became part of the Crown's hundreds in Worcestershire. and was in dispute with the Bishop of Worcester over the rights of the sheriff. Bishop Wulfstan was the last Anglo-Saxon bishop in England, and remained in post until his death in 1095. Under his tenure Worcester Cathedral began major reconstruction, and he opposed political interventions against William and
9570-480: The right to appoint their own sheriffs and hold their own courts. Whilst in theory the counties corporate could have had separate lieutenants appointed for them, in practice all of them except London shared a lieutenant with the wider county from which they had been created. London had instead a commission of lieutenancy , headed by the Lord Mayor . The long-standing practice of appointing lieutenants jointly to
9680-466: The right to bury a prominent person was disputed. Sponsorship of the differing orders also reflected family interests, with particular families having strong associations with specific orders. This was also true in the county as a whole. The Droitwich salt-industry was very important at the time of the Domesday Survey , Bromsgrove alone sending 300 cartloads of wood yearly to the salt-works. In
9790-407: The same. Emperor Claudius successfully conquered Britain in a campaign starting in 43AD. Excavations at Midsummer Hill fort, Bredon Hill , and Conderton Camp all show evidence of violent destruction around the year 48 AD. This may suggest that British Camp was also abandoned or destroyed around the same time. Worcestershire was quickly behind Roman front lines. This means that there
9900-786: The south in Washford , and GKN (it has the second largest turnover in the West Midlands) is in Riverside . Mettis Aerospace are in Enfield, north Redditch, and make light metal components ( former High Duty Alloys , which made most of the forged pistons for Britain's aircraft engines in WWII). Phoenix Group (non-public life assurance schemes) is in the north-east of the county near the Warwickshire boundary, at Wythall , and has
10010-466: The south of the county into Herefordshire, are made up mainly of volcanic igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks , some of which date from more than 1,200 million years ago. They are designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Worcestershire Beacon , which at 425 metres (1,394 ft) is the highest point in the county, lies in this range. The rest of the county consists of undulating hills and farmland stretching either side of
10120-409: 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 southwest contains a small part of the Cotswolds , and in the northwest
10230-593: The total number of people in every ethnic group increased between 2001 and 2011, the White British share of Worcestershire's population decreased from 95.5% to 92.4%, as did the share of White ethnic groups as whole, which went from 97.5% to 95.7%. Worcestershire is still much more ethnically homogeneous than the national average. In 2011, 79.8% of the population of England identified as White British; much lower than Worcestershire's figure of 92.4%. 95.7 0.4 1.2 0.2 100 In Redditch are Halfords , to
10340-546: The wider county and any counties corporate it contained was formalised by the Militia Act 1882. Apart from the inclusion of the counties corporate, the counties for the purposes of lieutenancy generally corresponded to the judicial counties. The exception was Yorkshire, which was one judicial county, having a single Sheriff of Yorkshire , but from 1660 onwards each of Yorkshire's three ridings had its own lieutenant. In 1889 elected county councils were established under
10450-505: The world's oldest continually published newspaper, the Berrow's Journal , established in 1690. Malvern was one of the centres of the 19th-century rise in English spa towns due to Malvern water being believed to be very pure, containing "nothing at all". The 2011 census found the population of Worcestershire to be 566,169, an increase of 4.4% from the 2001 population of 542,107. Though
10560-449: Was a centre of salt production from Roman times, with one of the principal Roman roads running through the town. Farming in the early Middle Ages tended to increase production through expanding the area of land cultivated, particularly from the forested and waste areas. Surplus production was quite limited, especially after feudal dues were given or paid, leaving peasant farmers making only slightly more than subsistence levels in most of
10670-440: Was a major landowner and economic force, both in Worcester and the county. The Church and other monastic communities together controlled more than half of the land in Worcestershire, a particularly high proportion. The Priory's properties for instance included the priory manor of Bromsgrove after it was donated by Henry III . It was a centre of learning and provided schooling. It was associated with hospitals. The Church received
10780-626: Was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, when it was also first constituted as a county. It was a separate ealdormanship briefly in the 10th century before forming part of the Earldom of Mercia in the 11th century. In the years leading up to the Norman conquest in 1066, the Church, including the Priory Cathedral , Evesham Abbey , Pershore Abbey , Fladbury , Malvern Priory and other religious houses, increasingly dominated
10890-465: Was called an administrative county . As such, some of the judicial or lieutenancy counties comprised several administrative counties and county boroughs. The Ordnance Survey adopted the term 'geographical county' to describe the widest definition of the county. In most cases this was the lieutenancy county; the exceptions were Yorkshire, where the judicial county was larger on account of it being split into its three ridings for lieutenancy purposes, and
11000-422: Was decided to define counties for the purposes of lieutenancy differently from the local government counties in some cases, effectively reverting to the pre-1974 arrangements for lieutenancies. Whereas the lieutenancies had been defined slightly differently from the shrieval counties prior to 1974, it was decided in 1996 that the high sheriffs and lieutenants should be appointed to the same areas. Regulations amending
11110-681: 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 . The county borders Herefordshire to the west, Shropshire to the north-west, Staffordshire only just to
11220-493: Was established as an administrative and defensive unit in the early tenth century. Its purpose was to take into account and defend the estates within the northern area of the historic See of Worcester , held by the Episcopus Hwicciorum and Worcester Priory , along with the Abbots of Pershore , Westminster and Evesham . The shires and its sub-divisions known as hundreds , formed a framework for administering
11330-584: Was first populated at least 700,000 years ago. The area became predominantly agricultural in the Bronze Age , leading to population growth and more evidence of settlement. By the Iron Age , hill forts dominated the landscape. Settlement of these swiftly ended with the Roman occupation of Britain. The Roman period saw establishment of the villa system in the Cotswolds and Vale of Evesham. Droitwich (Salinae)
11440-495: Was in place by 1069, its outer bailey built on land that had previously been the cemetery for the monks of the Worcester cathedral chapter. The motte of the castle overlooked the river, just south of the cathedral. Worcester's Bishop Wulfstan was the last Anglo-Saxon bishop in England. After the Norman conquest of England ; the Domesday Book noted in 1086 that in seven of the twelve hundreds covering Worcestershire,
11550-588: Was placed entirely in Norfolk for those purposes. The county borough of Stockport straddled Cheshire and Lancashire for judicial and lieutenancy purposes - it was placed entirely in Lancashire for judicial purposes in 1956 but continued to straddle the two counties for lieutenancy purposes until 1974. More significant changes to the geographical counties were made in 1965 with the creation of Greater London and of Huntingdon and Peterborough , which resulted in
11660-451: Was probably the most important settlement in the county in this period, due to its product of salt. There is also evidence for Roman settlement and industrial activity around Worcester and King's Norton. The area which became Worcestershire formed the heartland of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the Hwicce . It was absorbed by the Kingdom of Mercia during the 7th century and became part of the unified Kingdom of England in 927. Worcestershire
11770-416: Was that by Domesday, some 45% of the diocese's church lands were held by tenants under leases. Worcester was a centre of monastic learning and church power. Oswald of Worcester was an important reformer, appointed Bishop in 961, jointly with York. The last Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Worcester, Wulfstan , or St Wulstan, was also an important reformer, and stayed in post until his death in 1095. Worcestershire
11880-538: Was the site of the Battle of Evesham in which Simon de Montfort was killed on 4 August 1265. A few years later, in 1275, the Jews that were still living in Worcester were forced to move to Hereford , as they were expelled from all towns under the jurisdiction of the queen mother. In 1642, the Battle of Powick Bridge was the first major skirmish of the English Civil War . The county suffered from being on
11990-533: Was to build the Priory Estate , a large new council estate on which construction began in 1929. The boundaries of Worcestershire were altered to include all of the proposed new housing estate in Dudley. During the Local Government reorganisation of April 1966, Dudley expanded beyond its historical boundaries and took in the bulk of Sedgley , Brierley Hill and the south of Coseley as well as
12100-526: Was transferred from Oxfordshire to Berkshire as a result of being absorbed into the County Borough of Reading in 1911. The lieutenancies and judicial / shrieval counties were defined as groups of administrative counties and county boroughs, and so were automatically adjusted if the boundaries of those administrative areas changed. There were two exceptions to this rule (one only briefly). The county borough of Great Yarmouth straddled Norfolk and Suffolk for judicial and lieutenancy purposes until 1891 when it
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