Portal:Worcestershire

The Worcestershire portal

Flag of Worcestershire	Armorial banner of Worcestershire County Council

Worcestershire (/ˈwʊstərʃər/ ^ⓘ WUUST-ər-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠shea; 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 a population of 592,057. 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 southwest 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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Urse d'Abetot (c. 1040 - 1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, and was appointed sheriff in about 1069. Little is known of his family in Normandy, who were not prominent, but he probably got his name from the village Abetot (today Saint-Jean-d’Abbetot, Abetot about 1050–1066, hamlet of La Cerlangue). Although Urse's lord in Normandy was present at the Battle of Hastings, there is no evidence that Urse took part in the invasion of England in 1066. (Full article...)

List of Featured articles
Edward Elgar Battle of Powick Bridge Roger Norreis

General images

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

Image 1Parkside, headquarters of Bromsgrove District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 2The coat of arms of Worcestershire County Council (from Worcestershire)
Image 3Halesowen 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 4The Malvhina Fountain in the town centre, a sculpture by artist Rose Garrard. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 5Chateau Impney, near Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 6Council House (built 1874), viewed from Priory Park, is the headquarters of the District Council. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 7Brintons carpet factory in Kidderminster, c. 1870 (from Kidderminster)
Image 8Map of Stourport, 1942 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 9The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904 by Edmund Hort New (from Evesham)
Image 1015th-century Merchant's House formerly located on Bromsgrove's High Street, now at Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings (from Bromsgrove)
Image 11Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce — the invention of two Worcester chemists (from Worcestershire)
Image 12Battle of Worcester (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 13The former Redditch Bus Station, c. 1996 (from Redditch)
Image 14Priory Park with Malvern Theatres complex and Priory Church tower in the background (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 15The North West View of the City of Worcester (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 16Bewdley from the racks, 2019 (from Bewdley)
Image 17Grave of Sir Thomas Chavasse (1854–1913) and his family in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 18The Almonry, originally part of Evesham Abbey (from Evesham)
Image 19Parish church of St John the Baptist (from Bromsgrove)
Image 20The Enigma Fountain and statue of Edward Elgar, a group of sculptures by artist Rose Garrard, on Belle Vue Terrace (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 21William Lloyd (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 22Welcome to Malvern, on an approach road to the town centre. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 23The former Slingfield Mill (from Kidderminster)
Image 24Council wards of Malvern town (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 25Classical composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in this house in Broadheath, Worcestershire, currently used as the Elgar Birthplace Museum. (from Worcestershire)
Image 26St John's Court: 19th-century vicarage, served as council offices from 1920s to 1980s, now a care home (from Bromsgrove)
Image 27Astley Hall, Stanley Baldwin's home between 1902 and 1947 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 28Interior 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 29St Mary's and All Saints Parish Church, seen from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (from Kidderminster)
Image 30Lea & Perrins advertisement (1900) (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 31Droitwich transmitting station, Wychbold (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 32New Road is the home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, across the River Severn from Worcester Cathedral. (from Worcestershire)
Image 33A bottle of Shanghainese "spicy soy sauce", Taikang Yellow brand (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 34Saltworkers by British sculptor John McKenna in the town centre (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 35Commemorative pavement plaque in Alcester Street (from Redditch)
Image 36The Riverside Shopping Centre (from Evesham)
Image 37St Stephen's Church (Church of England) (from Redditch)
Image 38Sanders Park (from Bromsgrove)
Image 39Qinetiq at the Malvern Hills Science Park, or Malvern Technology Centre; the integrated circuit was invented here in 1952 (from Worcestershire)
Image 40A statue of Richard Baxter in Kidderminster outside St Mary and All Saints' Church. (from Kidderminster)
Image 41Portrait of Sir William Waller, 1643, whose raids thoroughly depleted the Vale of Evesham (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 42Evesham Town Hall (from Evesham)
Image 43Summit of the Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills, the county's highest point (from Worcestershire)
Image 44Hanbury Hall, completed around 1706 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 45Bewdley Bridge and Severn Side South, 2003 (from Bewdley)
Image 46Malvern Theatres pre 2023 (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 47Honeybourne railway station on the Cotswold Line and the potential Honeybourne Line (from Worcestershire)
Image 48The art deco Regal Cinema (from Evesham)
Image 49Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 50Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 51Bromsgrove Guild maker's mark on a main gate of Buckingham Palace (from Bromsgrove)
Image 52Hand-drawn map of Worcestershire by Christopher Saxton from 1577. (from Worcestershire)
Image 53Tithe 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 54The hand axe discovered in the 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 55The former Bromsgrove railway station (from Bromsgrove)
Image 56John's tomb, Worcester Cathedral (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 57St Ann's Well spout (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 58Oswald and Eadnoth (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 59Malvern Theatres entrance 2024 (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 60The flag of the historic county of Worcestershire (from Worcestershire)
Image 61Grafton Manor, home of the Catholic Talbot family, holding leading military posts in Worcestershire's Royalist forces in the Civil War (from Bromsgrove)
Image 62Great Malvern Priory
Image 63Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 64Richard 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 65Malvern St James girls school main building (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 66James McConnell (from Bromsgrove)
Image 67The Battle of Powick Bridge on the River Teme on 23 September 1642 began the English Civil War. (from Worcestershire)
Image 68Aggborough is the home ground of the professional club Kidderminster Harriers, formerly of the Football League. (from Kidderminster)
Image 69The 1906 sandstone and red brick Evesham Methodist Church on the banks of the River Avon (from Evesham)
Image 70Broadway Tower, one of several Worcestershire follies (from Worcestershire)
Image 71Bromsgrove Museum (from Bromsgrove)
Image 72A.E. Housman, poet, lived at Perry Hall, Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 73Worcester Bosch; Bosch Thermotechnology are in Warndon (from Worcestershire)
Image 74St Peter's Church, Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 75Coat of arms of the former Bromsgrove Rural District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 76Stourport Road Bridge (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 77Seven 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)
Image 78The Lickey Incline about 1845 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 79The Abbey Gateway in the town centre is now the home of the Malvern Museum
Image 80Evesham Abbey bell tower (from Evesham)
Image 81Bewdley Bridge (from Bewdley)
Image 82Caldwall Castle (from Kidderminster)
Image 83Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 84View of the QinetiQ facility from the Malvern Hills. Malvern College campus in the foreground, and the village of Poolbrook to the rear
Image 85Prior's Croft, Grange Road (Victorian Gothic architecture)
Image 86St John the Baptist's Church (Church of England), built in 1843 (from Kidderminster)
Image 87Detail of buildings and shops in Church Street, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 88Bromsgrove War Memorial (from Bromsgrove)
Image 89Worcester Square (from Redditch)
Image 90The spa town of Great Malvern was laid out and developed largely during the 19th century
Image 91Dudley Castle (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 92Landsdown Methodist Church, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 93Grave of Mabel Tolkien (née Suffield, 1870–1904), mother of J. R. R. Tolkien, in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 94Droitwich Spa High Street on St. Richard's Day 2009 (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 95Bewdley Station, now restored as part of the Severn Valley Railway (from Bewdley)
Image 96Bewdley Guildhall (from Bewdley)
Image 97Stafford tomb, St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove: one of the most powerful families in Worcestershire, living just south of the town (from Bromsgrove)
Image 98Victorian pillar box on the corner of Priory Road and Orchard Road
Image 99The hand axe discovered in 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from Worcestershire)
Image 100The Old Town Hall (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 101The Lickey Incline in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 102Thai Gy-Nguang brand Formula 2 Worcestershire sauce (2010) (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 103Graves of railway engineers Tom Scaife and Joseph Rutherford, killed in an engine explosion in Bromsgrove in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 104Bewdley and surrounding area (Ordnance Survey) (from Bewdley)
Image 105View across Arrow Valley Lake (from Redditch)
Image 106Due to its cathedral (pictured), the county town of Worcester is the only settlement in the county with city status. (from Worcestershire)
Image 107All Saints Church Evesham (from Evesham)
Image 108Roosevelt plaque, Aldwyn Tower, Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 109Malvern post office, town centre

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The administrative boundaries of Worcestershire, England have been fluid for over 150 years since the first major changes in 1844. There were many detached parts of Worcestershire in the surrounding counties, and conversely there were islands of other counties within Worcestershire. The 1844 Counties (Detached Parts) Act began the process of eliminating these, but the process was not completed until 1966, when Dudley was absorbed into Staffordshire.

The expansion of Birmingham and the Black Country during and after the Industrial Revolution also altered the county map considerably. Local government commissions were set up to recommend changes to the local government structures, and as early as 1945 recommendations were made to merge Worcestershire with Herefordshire. Eventually in 1974, a form of this recommendation was carried out, most of Worcestershire was combined with Herefordshire to form a new county named Hereford and Worcester, while the northern Black Country towns and villages of Worcestershire, along with adjoining areas of Staffordshire and Warwickshire, formed the new administrative county of West Midlands. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Hanley Castle High School Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern water Julius Harrison Malvern Water (bottled water) Strensham services Battle of Evesham Murder of Céline Figard Philip Smith (criminal) Walter de Beauchamp (nobleman) Whittington Tump Worcester Castle

Selected quotes

“

The Most I Have To Fear While Hiking In Worcestershire, Is Whether Or Not The Mud Awaiting Me In The Narrow Lanes Ahead Is Deep Enough To Foul My Socks.

”

— Jim Crace

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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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