Portal:Worcestershire

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The Worcestershire portal

Flag of Worcestershire	Armorial banner of Worcestershire County Council

Worcestershire (/ˈwʊstərʃər/ ^ⓘ WUUST-ər-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠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 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 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 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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Powick Bridge pictured in 2006

The battle of Powick Bridge was a skirmish fought on 23 September 1642 south of Worcester, England, during the First English Civil War. It was the first engagement between elements of the principal field armies of the Royalists and Parliamentarians. Sir John Byron was escorting a Royalist convoy of valuables from Oxford to King Charles's army in Shrewsbury and, worried about the proximity of the Parliamentarians, took refuge in Worcester on 16 September to await reinforcements. The Royalists despatched a force commanded by Prince Rupert. Meanwhile, the Parliamentarians sent a detachment, under Colonel John Brown, to try to capture the convoy. Each force consisted of around 1,000 mounted troops, a mix of cavalry and dragoons. (Full article...)

List of Featured articles
Edward Elgar Roger Norreis Urse d'Abetot

General images

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

Image 1Hand-drawn map of Worcestershire by Christopher Saxton from 1577. (from Worcestershire)
Image 2The 1906 sandstone and red brick Evesham Methodist Church on the banks of the River Avon (from Evesham)
Image 3New Road is the home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, across the River Severn from Worcester Cathedral. (from Worcestershire)
Image 4Brintons carpet factory in Kidderminster, c. 1870 (from Kidderminster)
Image 5Malvern post office, town centre
Image 6Prior's Croft, Grange Road (Victorian Gothic architecture)
Image 7Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 8Chateau Impney, near Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 9Grave of Sir Thomas Chavasse (1854–1913) and his family in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 10Coat of Arms of the former Bromsgrove Rural District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 11Evesham Town Hall (from Evesham)
Image 12Honeybourne railway station on the Cotswold Line and the potential Honeybourne Line (from Worcestershire)
Image 13Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 14All Saints Church Evesham (from Evesham)
Image 15Map of Stourport, 1942 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 16The Enigma Fountain and statue of Edward Elgar, a group of sculptures by artist Rose Garrard, on Belle Vue Terrace (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 17View across Arrow Valley Lake (from Redditch)
Image 18Bromsgrove Guild maker's mark on a main gate of Buckingham Palace (from Bromsgrove)
Image 19Bewdley Guildhall (from Bewdley)
Image 20Evesham Abbey bell tower (from Evesham)
Image 21The spa town of Great Malvern was laid out and developed largely during the 19th century
Image 22View of the QinetiQ facility from the Malvern Hills. Malvern College campus in the foreground, and the village of Poolbrook to the rear
Image 23St Stephen's Church (Church of England) (from Redditch)
Image 24Welcome to Malvern, on an approach road to the town centre. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 25The former Redditch Bus Station, c. 1996 (from Redditch)
Image 26Interior 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 27Astley Hall, Stanley Baldwin's home between 1902 and 1947 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 28Roosevelt plaque, Aldwyn Tower, Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 29Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 30Council wards of Malvern town (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 31The flag of the historic county of Worcestershire (from Worcestershire)
Image 32Grafton Manor, home of the Catholic Talbot family, holding leading military posts in Worcestershire's Royalist forces in the Civil War (from Bromsgrove)
Image 33Graves of railway engineers Tom Scaife and Joseph Rutherford, killed in an engine explosion in Bromsgrove in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 34St Ann's Well spout (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 35A.E. Housman, poet, lived at Perry Hall, Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 36Great Malvern Priory
Image 37Caldwall Castle (from Kidderminster)
Image 38The North West View of the City of Worcester (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 39The former Slingfield Mill (from Kidderminster)
Image 40Aggborough is the home ground of the professional club Kidderminster Harriers, formerly of the Football League. (from Kidderminster)
Image 41Broadway Tower, one of several Worcestershire follies (from Worcestershire)
Image 42Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 43Bromsgrove War Memorial (from Bromsgrove)
Image 44Bewdley Bridge (from Bewdley)
Image 45Lea & Perrins advertisement (1900) (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 46The former Bromsgrove railway station (from Bromsgrove)
Image 47St John the Baptist's Church (Church of England), built in 1843 (from Kidderminster)
Image 48Bewdley and surrounding area (Ordnance Survey) (from Bewdley)
Image 49Droitwich transmitting station, Wychbold (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 50Tithe 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 51Commemorative pavement plaque in Alcester Street (from Redditch)
Image 52The hand axe discovered in the 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 53Parkside, headquarters of Bromsgrove District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 54Worcester Square (from Redditch)
Image 55The Abbey Gateway in the town centre is now the home of the Malvern Museum
Image 56The hand axe discovered in 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from Worcestershire)
Image 57Seven shillings a week: this nailmaker in 1896 worked from 7am to 10pm, and turned out 11lbs of nails a week. (from Bromsgrove)
Image 58Battle of Worcester (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 59Bewdley Bridge and Severn Side South, 2003 (from Bewdley)
Image 60Bewdley Station, now restored as part of the Severn Valley Railway (from Bewdley)
Image 61Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce — the invention of two Worcester chemists (from Worcestershire)
Image 62James McConnell (from Bromsgrove)
Image 63The Lickey Incline in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 64Droitwich Spa High Street on St. Richard's Day 2009 (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 65Due to its cathedral (pictured), the county town of Worcester is the only settlement in the county with city status. (from Worcestershire)
Image 66Halesowen 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 67John's tomb, Worcester Cathedral (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 68Saltworkers by British sculptor John McKenna in the town centre (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 69Portrait of Sir William Waller, 1643, whose raids thoroughly depleted the Vale of Evesham (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 70Thai Gy-Nguang brand Formula 2 Worcestershire sauce (2010) (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 71Parish church of St John the Baptist (from Bromsgrove)
Image 72Bewdley from the racks, 2019 (from Bewdley)
Image 73Worcester Bosch; Bosch Thermotechnology are in Warndon (from Worcestershire)
Image 74The coat of arms of Worcestershire County Council (from Worcestershire)
Image 75The Battle of Powick Bridge on the River Teme on 23 September 1642 began the English Civil War. (from Worcestershire)
Image 76Grave of Mabel Tolkien (née Suffield, 1870–1904), mother of J. R. R. Tolkien, in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 77The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904 by Edmund Hort New. (from Evesham)
Image 78Malvern Theatres (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 79A bottle of Shanghainese "spicy soy sauce", Taikang Yellow brand (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 80The Lickey Incline about 1845 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 81Council House (built 1874), viewed from Priory Park, is the headquarters of the District Council. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 82Sanders Park (from Bromsgrove)
Image 83St John's Court: 19th century vicarage, served as council offices from 1920s to 1980s, now a care home. (from Bromsgrove)
Image 84Oswald and Eadnoth (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 85Bromsgrove Museum (from Bromsgrove)
Image 86St Mary's and All Saints Parish Church, seen from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (from Kidderminster)
Image 87Dudley Castle (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 88Victorian pillar box on the corner of Priory Road and Orchard Road
Image 89Malvern St James girls school main building (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 90The Old Town Hall (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 91The art deco Regal Cinema (from Evesham)
Image 92The Riverside Shopping Centre (from Evesham)
Image 9315th-century Merchant's House formerly located on Bromsgrove's High Street, now at Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings (from Bromsgrove)
Image 94William Lloyd (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 95The Almonry, originally part of Evesham Abbey (from Evesham)
Image 96Hanbury Hall, completed around 1706 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 97Qinetiq at the Malvern Hills Science Park, or Malvern Technology Centre; the integrated circuit was invented here in 1952 (from Worcestershire)
Image 98Priory Park with Malvern Theatres complex and Priory Church tower in the background (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 99Summit of the Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills, the county's highest point (from Worcestershire)
Image 100Richard 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 101The Malvhina Fountain in the town centre, a sculpture by artist Rose Garrard. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 102Detail of buildings and shops in Church Street, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 103Classical composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in this house in Broadheath, Worcestershire, currently used as the Elgar Birthplace Museum. (from Worcestershire)
Image 104St Peter's Church, Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 105Landsdown Methodist Church, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 106Stourport Road Bridge (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 107Stafford tomb, St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove: one of the most powerful families in Worcestershire, living just south of the town (from Bromsgrove)

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Reconstruction of Worcester Castle as it was in 1250 AD

Worcester Castle was a Norman fortification built between 1068 and 1069 in Worcester, England by Urse d'Abetot on behalf of William the Conqueror. The castle had a motte-and-bailey design and was located on the south side of the old Anglo-Saxon city, cutting into the grounds of Worcester Cathedral. Royal castles were owned by the king and maintained on his behalf by an appointed constable. At Worcester that role was passed down through the local Beauchamp family on a hereditary basis, giving them permanent control of the castle and considerable power within the city. The castle played an important part in the wars of the 12th and early 13th century, including the Anarchy and the First Barons' War.

In 1217, Henry III's government decided to break the power of the Beauchamps and reduce the ongoing military threat posed by the castle by returning much of the castle's bailey to the cathedral. Without an intact bailey the castle was no longer valuable militarily, although it played a small part in the Second Barons' War in the 1260s. A gaol had been built in the castle by the early 13th century and the castle continued to be used as Worcestershire's county gaol until the 19th century, when a new prison was built on the north side of Worcester and the old site completely redeveloped. Today nothing remains of Worcester Castle with the exception of Edgar's Tower, a cathedral gatehouse built on the former entrance to the castle. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries since 1844 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

Selected quotes

“

The top three hardest things to say are:

I was wrong
I need help
Worcestershire sauce

”

— Unknown

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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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