Worcestershire

For the condiment, see Worcestershire sauce.

Worcestershire
Flag
Geography
Status	Ceremonial and non-metropolitan county
Origin	Historic
Region	West Midlands
Area - Total - Admin. council	Ranked 34th 1,741 km2 (672 sq mi) Ranked 29th
Admin HQ	Worcester
ISO 3166-2	GB-WOR
ONS code	47
NUTS 3	UKG12
Demography
Population - Total (2011 est.) - Density - Admin. council	Ranked 38th 566,500 325 /km2 (840 /sq mi) Ranked 21st
Ethnicity	91.25% White British 3.25% Other 2.86% Asian 1.26% Mixed 1.06% Black 0.32% Chinese
Politics
Worcestershire County Council http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/
Executive	Conservative
Members of Parliament	Robin Walker (C) Sajid Javid (C) Peter Luff (C) Karen Lumley (C) Harriett Baldwin (C) Mark Garnier (C) Bill Wiggin (C)
Districts
Worcester Malvern Hills Wyre Forest Bromsgrove Redditch Wychavon

Worcestershire (ⁱ/ˈwʊstərʃər/ WUUS-tər-shər or /ˈwʊstərʃɪər/ WUUS-tər-sheer ; abbreviated Worcs) is a non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands of England. In 1974, it merged with the neighbouring county of Herefordshire to form Hereford and Worcester. This was divided in 1998, re-establishing Worcestershire as a county. The Malvern Hills forms the east–west border between the two counties, with the exception of West Malvern in Worcestershire. The county borders Herefordshire to the west, Shropshire to the north west, the West Midlands to the north east, Warwickshire to the east and Gloucestershire to the south.

The cathedral city of Worcester is the largest settlement and administrative seat of the county, which includes the principal settlements of Bromsgrove, Stourport-on-Severn, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster, Malvern, and the largest town, Redditch, and a number of smaller towns such as Pershore, Tenbury Wells and Upton upon Severn. The north-east of the county includes part of the industrial West Midlands conurbation while the rest of the county is largely rural.

Location

The county borders Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire. To the west, the county is bordered by the Malvern Hills and the spa town of Malvern. The southern part of the county is bordered by Gloucestershire and the northern edge of the Cotswolds; to the east is Warwickshire. There are two major rivers flowing through the county, the Severn and the Avon.

Language

There are many accents and dialects within Worcestershire. Kidderminster in the north of the county has had an influx of the Black Country accent, whereas Bromsgrove and Redditch have an accent more closely related to Birmingham. This is due to the influx of Birmingham residents that moved to the area when Redditch became a new town in the 1964. The rest of the county has retained the distinctive tones of the West Country accent, typified and made famous by The Archers, the world's longest running radio soap opera, set in a fictional county situated somewhere between the (in reality, bordering) counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

History

The Battle of Powick Bridge on the River Teme on 23 September 1642 began the English Civil War.

Main articles: History of Worcestershire and Civil War in Worcestershire

Absorbed by the Kingdom of Mercia during the 7th century and then by the unified Kingdom of England from 927 to 1707, 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, the Church, including the cathedral, Evesham Abbey, Pershore Abbey, Malvern Priory and other religious houses, increasingly dominated county. The last known Anglo-Saxon sheriff of the county was Cyneweard of Laughern, and the first Norman sheriff was Urse d'Abetot who built the castle of Worcester and seized much church land. Worcestershire was the site of the Battle of Evesham in which Simon de Montfort was killed on 4 August 1265. In 1642, the site of the Battle of Powick Bridge the first major skirmish of the English Civil War, and the Battle of Worcester in 1651 that effectively ended it.

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 Malvern Chase, were royal hunting grounds. In the nineteenth 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, being 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 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".

Local government

Main article: Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries

Worcestershire's boundaries have been fluid for over a hundred years since the abolition of the form of local administration known as the Hundreds in 1889, but the continual expansion of Birmingham and the Black Country during and after the Industrial Revolution altered the county map considerably.

1844–1911

Halesowen was an exclave of neighbouring Shropshire until 1844 when it was incorporated into Worcestershire. It is now in the metropolitan county of the West Midlands.

Worcestershire had many exclaves and enclaves, which were areas of land cut off from the main geographical area of Worcestershire and completely surrounded by the nearby counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire. The most notable were Dudley, Evenlode, and the area around Shipston-on-Stour. In return, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire had their own exclaves within Worcestershire. These were found at Clent, Tardebigge and Halesowen/Oldbury (or the Halesowen Parish area) respectively and were transferred to or rejoined Worcestershire in October 1844 following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844. This Act of Parliament was designed to eradicate the issue of 'islands' or 'exclaves', however Shipston-on-Stour remained associated with Worcestershire until April 1931 and likewise Dudley until 1966. The southern boundary of the county was also confusing, with parish boundaries penetrating deep into Gloucestershire and vice-versa. This was also eventually resolved following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844.

Worcestershire County Council came into existence following the Local Government Act 1888 and covered the historic traditional county, except for two designated county boroughs at Dudley and Worcester.

Birmingham's continuous expansion has been a large contributory factor to 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 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 both the Rural District of Yardley and the greater part of the Urban District of King's Norton and Northfield, which were absorbed into the City as part of the Greater Birmingham Scheme on 9 November 1911. As a consequence of the transfer to Birmingham, these areas were no longer part of Worcestershire and became associated with Warwickshire. Dudley's historical status within the Diocese of Worcester and through its aristocratic links ensured that the island was governed on a largely autonomous basis. Worcester was also self-governing and was known as The City and County of Worcester.

1926 boundary changes

In 1926, Dudley County Borough council purchased several square miles of land to the north of the town centre, a large percentage of which existed within Sedgley (Staffordshire), including Dudley Castle. This was in order to build the Priory Estate, a large new council estate on which construction would begin in 1929. The boundaries of Worcestershire were altered to include all of the proposed new housing estate in Dudley.

1966–1974

During the Local Government reorganisation of April 1966, Dudley expanded beyond its historical boundaries and took in the bulk of Sedgley and Brierley Hill and the south of Coseley as well as a small section of Amblecote. The Local Government Act redefined its status and the County Borough of Dudley became part of Staffordshire, the county which all of these areas had been part of. At the same time, Worcestershire gained a new county borough known as 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 these reorganisations, the area of the county council 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 the Birmingham boundary at Frankley, Rubery and Rednal. Frankley Parish was later split into two parts with New Frankley and the area around Bartley Reservoir transferring from Bromsgrove District to Birmingham in April 1995. The small village of Frankley remained in Worcestershire and formed a new Civil Parish under the same name.

1974–present

Broadway Tower, one of several Worcestershire follies

From 1974, the central and southern part of the county was amalgamated with Herefordshire and Worcester County Borough to form 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 short period before abolition in April 1986 by the Government, though legally exists to this day as an administrative county and ceremonial county.

In the 1990s UK local government reform, the decision was taken to abolish Hereford and Worcester, with the new non-metropolitan county or shire county of Worcestershire regaining its historic border with Herefordshire.

The new county still excluded towns such as Stourbridge, Halesowen, Dudley and Oldbury, due to the reorganisation's remit of dealing with only non-metropolitan counties in England. The new County of Worcestershire came into existence on 1 April 1998 as an administrative county and ceremonial county, although some cross-boundary organisations and resources are shared with the Herefordshire unitary authority; these include waste management and the youth offending service.

The post-April 1974 Hereford & Worcester districts of Redditch, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Wychavon and Wyre Forest were retained with little or no change. However the Leominster and Malvern Hills districts crossed over 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.

See also: List of Worcestershire boundary changes

Physical geography

Summit of the Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills, the county's highest point.

While the north is part of the greater West Midlands conurbation, the remainder of Worcestershire predominantly rural. The Malvern Hills, which run from the south of the county into Herefordshire, are made up mainly of volcanic igneous rock and metamorphic rock, some of which date from more than 1200 million years ago. They are currently an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Worcestershire Beacon, which at 425m is the highest point in the county, lies in this range.

The rest of the county consists of undulating hills and farmland, in which the Severn valley cuts through. The Severn is the United Kingdom's longest river, and flows through both Stourport-on-Severn and Worcester. The River Avon flows through the Worcestershire town on Evesham but does not join the Severn until Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

Several coniferous and deciduous woodlands are located in the north of the county, while the Vale of Evesham and the Cotswolds (another AONB) run through the south.

Sport

Aggborough is the home ground of Kidderminster Harriers, the only Worcestershire club to have played in The Football League.

Football is the most popular sport in the county, and the largest and most successful football club in the county is Kidderminster Harriers F.C.. Founded in 1877 as 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 the Conference title six years later, their stadium had been upgraded and promotion was granted, giving the county its first 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 Worcester City of the Blue Square Premier North & Redditch United of the Southern Premier League.

The county is home to the Worcestershire County Cricket Club, traditionally first stop on for the touring national side's schedule in England^{[citation needed]}. Worcester Rugby Football Club, the Worcester Warriors, whose ground is at Sixways, Worcester, were promoted to the Guinness Premiership in 2004.

Culture

Classical composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in this house in Broadheath, Worcestershire, currently used as the Elgar Birthplace Museum.

The village of Broadheath, about 6 miles (10 km) North-West 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) is in an indefinable way 'home' to me, as no other part of the world is."

Media

The Worcester station of BBC Hereford & Worcester.

BBC Hereford & Worcester, Free Radio and Sunshine Radio broadcast to both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The Wyre broadcasts to the north west of Worcestershire. Youthcomm Radio, a Community radio station, broadcasts to the city of Worcester. Birmingham-based radio stations such as BBC Radio WM have traditionally considered the bordering areas of Worcestershire as part of their broadcast area. The Birmingham based West Midlands regional stations, such as Heart and Smooth Radio regionals also cover much of the county.

In 2007 the Office of Communications (Ofcom) awarded a DAB Digital Radio multiplex licence for Herefordshire & Worcestershire to MuxCo Ltd. who aim to provide several new stations in 2009, while also providing a digital platform for Free Radio, Sunshine Radio and BBC Hereford & Worcester and area extensions to United Christian Broadcasters and the Highways Agency. In 2008, CE Birmingham, who own and operate the Birmingham local DAB multiplex licencees improved coverage of DAB Digital Radio across other parts of the county to include Worcester and Malvern. Services that can be heard reasonably across much of Worcestershire are: Chill, Gold (Birmingham), Magic Radio, Sunrise Radio, Traffic Radio (Midlands), BBC Radio WM, Xfm (Midlands) and Radio XL.

Interestingly, it is widely believed that author J.R.R. Tolkien based his fictional region of The Shire on this area of England.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Worcestershire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added	Agriculture	Industry	Services
1995	5,047	225	1,623	3,200
2000	6,679	159	2,002	4,518
2003	7,514	182	1,952	5,380

Industry and agriculture

Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce - the invention of two Worcester chemists

Fruit farming and the cultivation of hops were traditional agricultural activities in much of the county. During the latter half of the 20th century, this has largely declined with the exception southern area of the county around the Vale of Evesham, where orchards are still worked on a commercial scale.^{[citation needed]} Worcester City's coat of arms includes three black pears, representing a now rare local pear variety, the Worcester Black Pear. The county's coat of arms follows this theme, having a pear tree with black pears. The apple variety known as Worcester Pearmain originates from Worcestershire, and the Pershore plum comes from the small Worcestershire town of that name, and is widely grown in that area. John Drinkwater, the poet, wrote

Who travels Worcester county takes any road that comes when April tosses bounty to the cherries and the plums.

^{[citation needed]}

Worcestershire is also famous for a number of its non-agricultural products. The original Worcestershire sauce, a savoury condiment made by Lea and Perrins, is made in Worcester, and the now closed Royal Porcelain works was based in the city. The town of Malvern is the home of the Morgan traditional sports car. The painting, A Worcestershire Cottage by Arthur Claude Strachan is also of general renown.

Education

Worcestershire has a comprehensive school system with over thirty-five independent schools including the RGS Worcester, The King's School, Worcester, Malvern St James and Malvern College. State schools in Worcester, the Wyre Forest District, and the Malvern Hills District are two-tier primary schools and secondary schools whilst Redditch and Bromsgrove have a three-tier system of first, middle and high schools. Several schools in the county provide Sixth-form education including two in the city of Worcester. Several vocational colleges provide GCSE and A-level courses and adult education, such as South Worcestershire College, and an agricultural campus of Warwickshire College in Pershore. There is also the University of Worcester, which is located in the city itself and is home to the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit and five other national research centres.

Towns and villages

Due to its Cathedral (pictured), the county town of Worcester is the only settlement in the county with city status.

The county town and only city is Worcester. The other major settlements, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove and Redditch are satellite towns of Birmingham. There are also several market towns: Malvern, Bewdley, Evesham, Droitwich Spa, Pershore, Tenbury Wells, Stourport-on-Severn and Upton-upon-Severn.

For a full list of settlements, see list of places in Worcestershire.

Places of interest

• Worcestershire County Museum
• Croome Court
• Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings
• Walton Hill and the Clent Hills
• Malvern Hills – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• Severn Valley Railway at Bewdley.
• Wadborough
• Bewdley – Riverside Historic Tudor Town
• Worcester Cathedral
• Great Malvern Priory
• River Teme and valley
• Tenbury Wells with its unique Pump Rooms.
• River Severn at Worcester and Bewdley, River Avon at Pershore or Evesham
• Witley Court at Great Witley. A burnt-out shell of a large English stately home, famous for its gigantic fountain, now restored to working order. Currently run by English Heritage.
• West Midlands Safari Park near Bewdley.
• Hanbury Hall
• Forge Mill Needle Museum at Redditch, the only remaining working needle mill in the world.

Local groups

• Worcestershire Wildlife Trust
• 29th Regiment of Foot
• West Midland Bird Club

Condiments

• Worcestershire sauce

See also

• List of Lord Lieutenants of Worcestershire
• List of High Sheriffs of Worcestershire
• Custos Rotulorum of Worcestershire - List of Keepers of the Rolls
• Worcestershire (UK Parliament constituency) - Historical list of MPs for Worcestershire constituency
• Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries

External links

• Media related to Worcestershire at Wikimedia Commons
• Worcestershire at the Open Directory Project
• Worcester City
• Worcestershire County Council main site

References

• "Spa Towns: Malvern" October 27, retrieved June 24, 2006