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WORCESTERSHIRE

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 825 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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WORCESTERSHIRE , a midland See also:

county of See also:England, bounded N. by See also:Staffordshire, E. by See also:Warwickshire, S. by See also:Gloucestershire, W. by See also:Herefordshire, and N.W. by See also:Shropshire. The See also:area is 751 sq. m. It covers a portion of the See also:rich valleys of the See also:Severn and See also:Avon, with their tributary valleys and the hills separating them. The Severn runs through the county from N. at See also:Bewdley to S. near See also:Tewkesbury, traversing the Vale of See also:Worcester. • Following this direction it receives from the E. the See also:Stour at See also:Stourport, the Salwarpe above Worcester, and the Avon, whose point of junction is just outside the county. The Avon See also:galley is knownin this county as the Vale of See also:Evesham, and is devoted to orchards and See also:market gardening. The Cotteswold Hills rise sharply from it on the S.E., of which Bredon See also:Hill, within this county, is a conspicuous See also:spur. The Avon forms the county boundary with Gloucestershire for a See also:short distance above its mouth. The Teme joins the Severn from the W. below Worcester, and forms short stretches of the W. boundary. See also:Salmon and lam-preys are taken in the Severn; See also:trout and See also:grayling abound in the Teme and its feeders. Besides the Cotteswolds, the most important hills are the See also:Malvern and the Lickey or. Hagley ranges.

The Malverns rise abruptly from the See also:

flat Vale of Worcester on the W. boundary, being partly in Herefordshire, and reach a height of 1395 ft. in the Worcester See also:Beacon, and 1114 in the See also:Hereford Beacon. They are divided by the Teme from a See also:lower N. continuation, the Abberley Hills. The Lickey Hills See also:cross the N.E. corner of the county, rarely exceeding loon ft. Their N. See also:part is called the Clent Hills. Partly within the county are the sites of two See also:ancient forests. That of Wyre, bordering the Severn on the W. in the N. of Worcestershire and in Shropshire, retains to some extent its ancient See also:character; but Malvern See also:Chase, which clothed the slopes of the Malvern Hills, is hardly recognizable. See also:Geology.—Archean gneisses and See also:schists (Malvernian) and volcanic rocks (Uriconian) See also:form the core of the Malvern Hills; being the most durable rocks in the See also:district, they form the highest ground. Similarly tuffs and volcanic grits (Barnt See also:Green rocks) See also:crop out in the Lickey Hills near See also:Bromsgrove. They are succeeded by the See also:Cambrian rocks (Hollybush See also:Sandstone and Malvern Shales), which are well See also:developed at the S. end of the Malvern Hills, where in places the Archean rocks have been thrust over them. The Lickey See also:Quartzite, probably of the same See also:age as the Hollybush Sandstone, is extensively quarried for roadstone. Strata of Ordovician age being absent in Worcestershire, the See also:Silurian rocks See also:rest unconformably on the earlier formations; they include the Upper See also:Llandovery, See also:Wenlock and See also:Ludlow See also:series. These See also:dip steeply W. from the Malvern and Abberley See also:axis and plunge under the Old Red Sandstone; some of the lower beds are represented at the Lickey, while the Wenlock See also:Limestone forms some See also:sharp See also:anti-clines at See also:Dudley.

The Silurian strata are rich in marine fossils, and the included limestones (Woolhope, Wenlock and Aymestry) are all represented in the Malvern district. The Old Red Sandstone succeeds the Silurian on the W. See also:

borders of the county. The Carboniferous Limestone and Millstone Grit were not deposited, so that the See also:Coal See also:Measures rest unconformably on the older rocks. These are represented in the Wyre See also:Forest coalfield near Bewdley and in the S. end of the S. Staffordshire coalfield near See also:Halesowen; they contain rich seams of coal and ironstone and several intrusions of See also:basalt (dhustone, See also:Rowley-rag). The so-called See also:Permian red rocks are now grouped with the Coal Measures; some intercalated breccias cap the Clent Hills (1036 ft.). The Triassic red rocks—unconformable to all below—See also:cover the centre of the county, and on the W. are faulted against the older rocks of the Malverns; they include the See also:Bunter sandstones and pebble-beds, and the See also:Keuper sandstones and marls, the beds of See also:rock-See also:salt in the latter yielding brine-springs (See also:Droitwich, Stoke See also:Prior). A narrow and seldom-exposed outcrop of See also:Rhaetic beds introduces the marine Liassic formation which occupies most of the S.E. of the county; the Lower See also:Lias consists of See also:blue See also:clays and limestones; the latter are burnt for See also:lime and yield abundant See also:ammonites. The sands and limestones of the See also:Middle Lias and the clays of the Upper Lias are See also:present in the lower slopes of Bredon Hill and of the Cotteswolds, and are succeeded by the sands and oolitic limestones of the Inferior Oolite. Glacial deposits—See also:boulder-See also:clay, isolated boulders, See also:sand and See also:gravel—are met with in many parts of the county, while later valley-gravels have yielded remains of See also:mammoth, See also:rhinoceros, &c. Coal, ironstone, salt, limestone and road-See also:stone are the See also:chief See also:mineral products. See also:Climate and See also:Agriculture.—The climate is generally equable and healthy, and is very favourable to the cultivation of See also:fruit, vegetables and hops, for which Worcestershire has See also:long held a high reputation, the red marls and the rich loams being See also:good both for market gardens and tillage.

About five-sixths of the area of the county is under cultivation, and of this about five-eighths is in permanent pasture. Orchards are extensive, and there are large tracts of woodland. See also:

Wheat and oats are the See also:principal See also:grain crops. Turnips are grown on about one-third of the green crop acreage, and potatoes on about one-See also:fourth. There is a considerable acreage under beans. In the neighbourhood of Worcester there are large nurseries. See also:Industries.—In the N. Worcester includes a portion of the See also:Black See also:Country, one of the most active See also:industrial districts in England. Dudley, Netherton and See also:Brierley Hill, See also:Stourbridge, Halesowen, See also:Oldbury and the S. and W. suburbs of See also:Birmingham, have a vast See also:population engaged in See also:iron-working in all its branches, from See also:engineering See also:works to See also:nail-making, in the See also:founding and See also:conversion, galvanizing, See also:finishing and extracting of metals, in chemical and See also:glass works. Worcester is famous for See also:porcelain, See also:Kidderminster for carpets and See also:Redditch for needles, See also:fish-hooks, &c. Salt is produced from brine at Droitwich and Stoke. The See also:fire-clays and limestone of the N. unite with the coal measures to form a basis of the industries in the Black Country.

See also:

Furniture, clothing and See also:paper-making and See also:leather-working are also important. Communications.—The See also:Great Western railway serves Evesham, Worcester, Droitwich and Kidderminster, with branches from Worcester to Malvern and into Herefordshire, from Kidderminster to See also:Tenbury and the W., and from the same junction to Dudley and Birmingham. The See also:London & See also:North-Western See also:system touches Dudley. The Midland See also:company's See also:line between See also:Derby, Birmingham and See also:Bristol runs from N. to S. through the county, with a See also:branch diverging through Droitwich and Worcester, another serving Malvern from Ashchurch, and an alternative route from Birmingham to Ashchurch by Redditch and Evesham. The Severn is an important See also:highway; the Avon, though locked up to Evesham, is little used See also:save by See also:pleasure-boats. Canals follow the courses of the Stour and the Salwarpe, and serve the towns of the Black Country. See also:Administration and Population.—The area of the ancient county is 480,560 acres, with a population in 19oI of 488,338. The area of the administrative county is 480,059 acres. The county is of very irregular shape, and has detached portions enclaved in Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire. It comprises five hundreds. The municipal boroughs are Bewdley (2866), Droitwich (4201), Dudley (48,733), Evesham (7101), Kidderminster (24,681) and Worcester (46,624). Dudley and the See also:city and county See also:town of Worcester are county boroughs.

The See also:

urban districts are Bromsgrove (8418), See also:King's See also:Norton and See also:Northfield (57,122; forming a S. suburb of Birmingham), See also:Lye and Wollescote (10,976; adjacent to Stourbridge), Malvern (16,449), North Bromsgrove (5688), Oldbury (25,191), Redditch (13,493), Stourbridge (16,302) and Stourport (4529). Halesowen (4057), See also:Pershore (3348), Tenbury (2080) and Uptonupon-Severn (2225) may be mentioned among other towns. The county is in the See also:Oxford See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Worcester. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter-sessions, and is divided into 17 See also:petty sessional divisions. Worcester and Dudley have See also:separate courts of quarter-sessions, and all the boroughs have commissions of the See also:peace. The See also:total number of See also:civil parishes is 239. The ancient county, which is mostly in the See also:diocese of Worcester, with a few parishes in that of Hereford, contains 231 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part. The county contains five See also:parliamentary divisions—See also:West or Bewdley, See also:East, See also:South or Evesham, See also:Mid or Droitwich, and North or Oldbury. The parliamentary boroughs of Kidderminster and Worcester return one member each, and parts of the boroughs of Dudley and Birmingham are included in the county. See also:History.—The earliest See also:English settlers in the district now known as Worcestershire were a tribe of the Hwiccas of Gloucestershire, who spread along the Severn and Avon valleys in the 6th See also:century. By 679 the Hwiccan See also:kingdom was formed into a separate diocese with its see at Worcester, and the Hwiccas had made themselves masters of the See also:modern county, with the exception of the N.W. corner beyond the Abberley Hills. From this date the town of Worcester became not only the religious centre of the district, but the chief point of trading and military communication between England and See also:Wales.

A See also:

charter of the reign of See also:Alfred alludes to the erection of a " burh " at Worcester by See also:Edward and YEthelf ead, and it was after the recovery of See also:Mercia from the Danes by Edward that the See also:shire originated as an administrative area. The first See also:political event recorded by the Saxon See also:Chronicle in Worcestershire is the destruction of Worcester by See also:Hardicanute in 1041 in revenge for the See also:murder of two of his tax-gatherers by the citizens. In no county has the monastic See also:movement played a more important part than in Worcestershire. See also:Foundations existed at Worcester, Evesham, Pershore and Fladbury in the 8th century; at Great Malvern in the 11th century, and in the 12th and 13th centuries at Little Malvern, Westwood, Bordesley, Whistones, Cookhill, Dudley, Halesowen and See also:Astley. At the See also:time of the Domesday Survey more than See also:half Worcestershire was in the bands of the See also:church. The church of Worcester held the triple See also:hundred of Oswaldslow, with such privileges as to exclude the See also:sheriff's See also:jurisdiction entirely, the profits of all the See also:local courts accruing to the See also:bishop, whose bailiffs in 1276 claimedto hold his hundred outside Worcester, at Dryhurst, and at Wimborntree. The two hundreds owned by the church of See also: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 See also:Abbey had been converted into Blakenhurst hundred; and the irregular boundaries and outlying portions of these hundreds are explained by their having been formed out of the scattered endowments of their ecclesiastical owners. Of the remaining Domesday hundreds, Came, Clent, Cresselaw and Esch had been combined to form the hundred of Halfshire by the 13th century, while Doddingtree remained unchanged. The shire-court was held at Worcester. The vast possessions of the church prevented the growth of a great territorial See also:aristocracy in Worcestershire, and Dudley See also:Castle, which passed from See also:William Fitz-Ansculf to the families of Paynel and Someri, was the See also:sole See also:residence of a feudal See also:baron. The Domesday See also:fief of Urse d'Abitot the sheriff, founder of Worcester Castle, and of his See also:brother See also:Robert le See also:Despenser passed in the 12th century to the Beauchamps, who owned Elmley and See also:Hanley Castles. The possessions of William Fitz Osbern in Doddingtree hundred and the Teme valley See also:fell to the See also:crown after his See also:rebellion in 1074 and passed to the Mortimers.

Hanley Castle and Malvern Chase were granted by See also:

Henry III. to See also:Gilbert de See also:Clare, with exemption from the sheriff's jurisdiction. The See also:early political history of Worcestershire centres See also:round the city of Worcester. In the Civil See also:War of the 17th century Worcester-shire was conspicuously loyal. On the See also:retreat of See also:Essex from Worcester in 1642 the city was occupied by See also:Sir William See also:Russell for the king, and only surrendered in 1646. In 1642 See also:Prince See also:Rupert defeated the parliamentary troops near Powick. Sudeley Castle surrendered in 1644, and Dudley and Hartlebury by command of the king in 1646. The Droitwich salt-See also:industry was very important at the time of the Domesday Survey, Bromsgrove alone sending 300 cartloads of See also:wood yearly to the salt-works. In the 13th and 14th centuries Bordesley monastery and the abbeys of Evesham and Pershore exported See also:wool to the Florentine and Flemish markets, and in the 16th century the Worcestershire clothing industry gave employment to 8000 See also:people; fruit-culture with the manufacture of See also:cider and See also:perry, nail-making and glass-making also flourished at this See also:period. The clothing industry declined in the 17th century, but the See also:silk-manufacture re-placed it at Kidderminster and Blockley. Coal and iron were See also:mined at Dudley in the 13th century. As early as 1295 Worcestershire was represented by sixteen members in See also:parliament, returning two knights for the shire and two burgesses each for the city of Worcester and the boroughs of Bromsgrove, Droitwich, Dudley, Evesham, Kidderminster and Pershore. With the exception of Droitwich, however, which was represented until 1311 and again recovered See also:representation in 1554, the boroughs ceased to make returns.

Evesham was re-enfranchised in 1604, and in 16o6 Bewdley returned one member. Under the Reform See also:

Act of 1832 the county returned four members in two divisions; Droitwich lost one member; Dudley and Kidderminster were re-enfranchised, returning one member each. In 1867 Evesham lost one member. Antiquities.—Remains of early camps are scarce, but there are examples at Berrow Hill near the Teme, W. of Worcester, at Round Hill by Spetchley, 3 M. E. of Worcester, and on the Herefordshire Beacon. See also:Roman remains have been discovered on a few sites, as at Kempsey on the Severn, S. of Worcester, at Ripple, in the S. near Upton, and at Droitwich. There are remains of the great abbeys at Evesham and Pershore, and the See also:fine priory church at Malvern, besides the See also:cathedral at Worcester. There are further monastic remains at Halesowen and atBordesley near Redditch, and there was a See also:Benedictine priory at Astley, 3 m. S.W. of Stourport. There. are fine churches in several of the larger towns, as Bromsgrove. The See also:village churches are generally of mixed styles. Good See also:Norman See also:work remains in those of Martley, 8 m.

N.W. of Worcester, Astley, See also:

Rous Lench in the Evesham district, Bredon near Pershore, and Bockleton in the N.W. of the county; while the Early English churches of Kempsey and Ripple are noteworthy. In domestic See also:architecture, the half-timbered See also:style adds to the picturesqueness of many streets in the towns and villages; and among country houses this style is well exemplified in Birts See also:Morton Court and Eastington See also:Hall, in the district S. of Malvern, in Elmley Lovett See also:Manor between Droitwich and Kidderminster, and in Pirton Court near Kempsey. Westwood See also:Park is a See also:mansion of the 16th and 17th centuries. with a picturesque See also:gatehouse of See also:brick; the site was formerly occupied by a Benedictine nunnery. Madresfield Court, between Worcester and Malvern, embodies remains of a fine Elizabethan moated mansion. See See also:Victoria County History, Worcestershire; T. R. See also:Nash, Collections for the History of Worcestershire (2 vols., London, 1781–1799); Sir See also:Charles See also:Hastings, Illustrations of the Natural History of Worcester-shire (London, 1834) ; W. D. Curzon, Manufacturing Industries of Worcestershire (Birmingham, 1883) ; W. S. Brassington, Historic Worcestershire (Birmingham, 1893). See also publications of the Worcester See also:Historical Society.

End of Article: WORCESTERSHIRE

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