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61-461: The Worcestershire County Cricket League (WCL) is an English club cricket league, and consists of club teams primarily from Worcestershire and Herefordshire , several other clubs from bordering counties Shropshire , Staffordshire and Warwickshire , and Wales . The Worcestershire County Cricket League was created in 1999 as part of the new 'pyramid system' in English club cricket, and acts as

122-613: 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

183-811: A feeder league to the Birmingham and District Premier League . It was formed mainly as a merger between the old Worcestershire Clubs' League and the Autobag/Plumb Centre League. Other clubs came from the Midland Combined Counties League, the 3D Cricket PLJ League, and in the case of Herefordshire sides, the Marches Cricket League and the Willowsticks Three Counties Cricket League. For the 2023 season

244-577: 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

305-436: 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 the southwestern suburbs of Birmingham . The River Severn flows through

366-592: 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

427-536: 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 ,

488-522: 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,

549-475: 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 km (672 sq mi) and

610-467: Is also home to 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

671-813: 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

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732-411: Is in an indefinable way 'home' to me, as no other part of the world is." Barnt Green Cricket Club They play their home games at Cherry Hill Road, Barnt Green, which is also used by Worcestershire County Cricket Club 2nd XI. Former internationals who have played for the club include Grant Flower , Richard Illingworth , Dougie Brown and Gus Mackay . In 2016 the boys U15 team appeared in

793-844: 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

854-630: 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

915-507: 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

976-734: 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

1037-534: 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

1098-790: 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

1159-597: 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

1220-831: 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,

1281-482: 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

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1342-746: 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

1403-499: The 19th century, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of gloves; the town of Kidderminster became 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

1464-471: The 2019 season the league adopted a 'linear structure' so that 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th XIs would all be part of the same 'ladder system', and theoretically a 2nd, 3rd or 4th XI etc. would be able to be promoted as far as the new WCL Premier Division (one division below the Birmingham and District Premier League). For the 2021 season several of the league's lower divisions were regionalised, so that

1525-511: The 4 sides at the end of the season). In the two regionalised Division 7 leagues (North & South) the winners go up to Division 6 and the two bottom placed teams in each division are relegated to the Division 8 regional leagues. In the five regionalised Division 8 leagues (North, South, East, West, & Marches League Division 1) the winners of each of the five divisions and the three best-placed runners-up go into end of season playoffs, with

1586-546: The B&;DPCL no longer holding a 2nd XI competition from 2019 onwards. The 1st XIs to be relegated were Astwood Bank , Old Elizabethans , Old Hill , Pershore , Redditch and Stourbridge . The 2nd XIs that were absorbed by the WCL were Astwood Bank, Barnards Green , Barnt Green , Brockhampton , Bromsgrove , Halesowen , Himley , Kidderminster , Old Elizabethans, Old Hill, Ombersley , Pershore, Redditch, and Stourbridge. For

1647-475: 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

1708-597: 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

1769-634: The Norman Conquest, 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

1830-489: The Premier Division, with knock-on effects on other divisions, if one or more Worcestershire (also Herefordshire in the past) side is relegated from Birmingham League Division 1. Other exceptions to this are in the Premier Division (where the winner is only promoted to the Birmingham and District Premier League if they finish in the top 2 out of the 4 feeder league champions, after a round-robin competition between

1891-530: The WCL took over the administration of the Marches League (the only open age cricket league based in Herefordshire, which also included some clubs from Wales), thereby adding another 29 sides and 17 new clubs. There is promotion and relegation and most divisions of the league operate on a two up/two down basis, although the feeder league status means that more than two sides may be relegated from

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1952-818: The Worcestershire County Cricket League will be made up of the following divisions and clubs: For the 2024 season, 79 different clubs will have sides in the league (193 sides in total across the 18 divisions). 89 First-Class and List A cricketers have played in the Worcestershire County Cricket League, including 20 internationals: England New Zealand West Indies Pakistan Sri Lanka Zimbabwe Scotland England Australia South Africa West Indies New Zealand India Pakistan Sri Lanka Zimbabwe Namibia Worcestershire Worcestershire ( / ˈ w ʊ s t ər ʃ ər / WUUST -ər-shər , /- ʃ ɪər / -⁠sheer ; written abbreviation: Worcs )

2013-602: 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

2074-615: The bottom of the league, Division 9 has two divisions of North and South. For the 2023 season the league took over the administration of the Marches Cricket League, with the winners (and potentially 2nd-placed team) in Marches League Division 1 being offered the chance to compete in the Division 8 playoffs. The rest of the Marches League Divisions will operate on a two-up, two down basis, apart from there being no relegation from Division 3. For 2024

2135-520: 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 is part of the Wyre Forest , a national nature reserve . There

2196-489: 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

2257-471: 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

2318-790: 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)

2379-413: 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

2440-450: 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

2501-526: 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 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,

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2562-526: 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

2623-460: 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

2684-624: 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

2745-635: The restructuring of the Birmingham & District Premier League. In 2020 there was no promotion from any of the four county feeder leagues due to the shortened season resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2019 onwards the winners of the Worcestershire County League's new Premier Division went into a round-robin playoff at the end of the season with the winners of the Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire leagues, with

2806-445: The same applied to Division 3, and from 2014 this also applied to Division 4. Clubs could only be promoted from Division 5 if they were able to field two XIs in the following season, and there was a space available in Division 4. At the end of the 2018 season the league absorbed six 1st XIs that were relegated out of the Birmingham and District Premier League due to the league downsizing from 48 to 24 clubs, as well as 14 2nd XIs, due to

2867-725: 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

2928-467: 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

2989-501: 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 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

3050-509: The top 8 divisions (Premier to Division 7) remained county wide, but Divisions 8 and 9 were regionalised into North, South, East and West divisions. For the 2022 season a county wide Division 8 was added, with three regional divisions in Division 9 and four regional divisions in the new Division 10. This was adjusted again for 2023, with Divisions 7 & 8 being regionalised into Division 7 North & South, and Division 8 being split into four regional divisions of North, South, East & West. At

3111-482: The top two sides out of the four being promoted to the Birmingham & District Premier League. From 1999 until 2018 from Division 1 down to Division 4 there were separate 2nd XI Divisions, with the 4th XI of those sides whose 3rd XIs played in the league competing against other clubs' 2nd XIs. From 2006, Division 1 and 2 2nd XIs were promoted and relegated independently of their 1st XIs (and 4th XIs could be promoted or relegated independently of their 3rd XIs), from 2007

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3172-531: 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

3233-408: The winners of the first round of playoffs going into Divisions 7 North & South for the following season. Winners of Division 1/Premier Division of the Worcestershire County Cricket League, who have been promoted to the Birmingham and District Premier League , since 1999 are: WCL Division 1 WCL Premier Division In 2018 there was no promotion from any of the four county feeder leagues due to

3294-424: 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

3355-421: 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)

3416-450: 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 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

3477-409: 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 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

3538-452: 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

3599-486: 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 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

3660-411: 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 the north, West Midlands to

3721-406: 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

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