Everything about Worcestershire totally explained
Worcestershire (; abbreviated
Worcs) is a county located in the
West Midlands region of central
England. From 1974 to 1998 it was administered as part of
Hereford and Worcester.
The county borders
Herefordshire,
Shropshire,
Staffordshire,
West Midlands,
Warwickshire, and
Gloucestershire. To the west, the county is bordered by the
Malvern Hills, by which is located the spa town of
Malvern. The western side of the hills is in the county of
Herefordshire. The southern part of the county is bordered by
Gloucestershire and the northern edge of the
Cotswolds, and to the east is
Warwickshire. The two major rivers flowing through the county are the
Severn and the
Avon.
Other than the city of
Worcester, there are several other small to medium sized towns such as
Kidderminster,
Bromsgrove,
Malvern,
Pershore,
Evesham and
Redditch. In the southern part of the county, the area is still largely rural.
There are many accents and
dialects within Worcestershire. The counties' northern
commuter towns such as Redditch and Kidderminster have adopted the
Birmingham accent, whereas the rest of the county has retained the distinctive
West Country accent.
History
Main article: History of Worcestershire.
Worcestershire was the site of the
Battle of Evesham in which
Simon de Montfort was killed (4th August, 1265), and later, in the
English Civil War, the
Battle of Worcester (1651).
In the
nineteenth century, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of
gloves; the town of
Kidderminster was 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, 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 1690).
Malvern was one of the centres of the rise in water-cure establishments in this country, as
Malvern water was believed to contain "nothing at all", for example to be very pure.
Local government
Worcestershire's boundaries have been fluid for over a hundred years since the abolition of the form of administration known as the
Hundreds, though the continual expansion of
Birmingham and the
Black Country considerably altered the map. Worcestershire County Council came into existence in 1889 and covered the whole of the traditional county, except two
county boroughs -
Dudley and
Worcester. The county also had many
exclaves, completely surrounded by the adjoining counties of
Warwickshire,
Staffordshire,
Gloucestershire,
Herefordshire and
Oxfordshire. The most noticeable were
Dudley and the area around
Shipston-on-Stour. In return, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and
Shropshire had islands within Worcestershire. These were found at
Clent,
Tardebigge and
Halesowen/
Oldbury respectively, though the latter originally was outside Worcestershire for nine-hundred years. The southern boundary of the county was especially confusing, with parish boundaries penetrating deep into
Gloucestershire and vice-versa.
Dudley's historical status within the
Worcester Diocese and through its aristocracy links ensured to a certain extent that the island was self-governing.
Worcester was also self-governing and was known as The City and County of Worcester. During the Local Government reorganisation of 1966, Dudley expanded beyond its historical boundaries and took in
Sedgley,
Brierley Hill,
Coseley and parts of
Amblecote, but lost its Worcestershire status and became associated with
Staffordshire.
Other areas of Worcestershire including
Yardley,
Northfield and
Kings Heath became part of the county borough of
Birmingham (and therefore were considered part of the geographical county of Warwickshire), the surrounding islands to their respective counties,
Oldbury to
Warley County Borough and
St. John's,
Warndon,
Claines and
St. Peter's Parishes to
Worcester. The new county borough of Warley was associated with Worcestershire. In return, Worcestershire's expansion was limited to
Stourbridge, taking in the majority of
Amblecote Urban District, and the designation of
Redditch in 1964 as a
New town which saw expansion into
Matchborough in
Warwickshire.
From 1974 to 1998, the middle and southern part of county was combined 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
West Midlands Metropolitan county. The
West Midlands County Council was in existence for only a short period before abolition in 1986. In the
1990s UK local government reform, the decision was taken to abolish
Hereford and Worcester, with the new non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire having the historic border with Herefordshire, but still excluding areas in the north in West Midlands.
The post-1974 districts of
Redditch,
Worcester,
Wychavon and
Wyre Forest were retained with little or no change. However the
Leominster and
Malvern Hills districts straddled the historic border: a new Malvern Hills district was constituted covering the Worcestershire part of these.
See also:
List of Worcestershire boundary changes
Physical geography
Worcestershire is a fairly rural county. 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 before 1200 million years ago. For more on the
geology of the Malvern Hills, see the External links.
Culture, media and sport
The county is home to the
Worcestershire County Cricket Club, traditionally first stop on for the touring national side's schedule in England. The Club's players have included
Tom Graveney,
Ian Botham,
Glenn McGrath,
Graeme Hick,
Kapil Dev,
Vikram Solanki,
Don Kenyon and
Basil D'Oliveira. Worcester Rugby Football Club, the
Worcester Warriors, whose ground is at Sixways, Worcester, were promoted to the
Guinness Premiership in 2004.
The village of
Broadheath, about 10 km North-West of the city of Worcester, is the birthplace of the composer
Edward Elgar.
Malvern is the home of the
Malvern Fringe Festival, one of the oldest festivals of its kind in the world
By far the largest and most successful football club in the county is
Kidderminster Harriers FC. In 2000 they became the first Worcestershire club to compete in the Football League.
The film,
Shrek the Third, mentioned Worcestershire as an academy, resembling an American High School.
Radio
There are two commercial radio stations which broadcast to the county as well as
Herefordshire, these are:
Wyvern FM, and
Sunshine Radio, and one non-commercial local
BBC station,
BBC Hereford & Worcester. There is also one analogue commercial radio station broadcasting primarily to
Kidderminster,
Stourport-on-Severn &
Bewdley, known as
The Wyre following an extensive campaign to bring local radio to the
Wyre Forest District. A
Community radio station has been licensed within Worcestershire known as
Youth Community Radio which aims to broadcast to
Worcester, the radio station is brand new and broadcasts on 106.7FM under the name
Youthcomm Radio. In addition, there are local and regional analogue and digital radio stations broadcasting into Worcestershire from surrounding areas such as
Birmingham,
Wolverhampton,
Gloucestershire and
Warwickshire.
Radio Wyvern has been broadcasting since 4th October 1982, although the name was changed slightly to
Wyvern FM following the end of simulcasting on AM and FM in 1996. Radio Wyvern commenced broadcasting on 1530 kHz AM (196 Metres Medium Wave) and 96.2 MHz FM in Worcestershire following a campaign to establish a commercial radio station spearheaded by Severn Valley Radio. It was felt that the name was too Worcestershire-centric and was renamed Radio Wyvern after a mythical dragon or the proposed name for the short-lived County of
Hereford & Worcester. The name also symbolises the two major rivers which flowed through the two counties - the
River Severn and the
River Wye.
Radio Wyvern has had a varied history, launching careers of names such as
Neil Fox,
Eleanor Oldroyd,
Jane Garvey and
Sybil Roscoe to name but a few. Through its twenty-five years, Wyvern played host to presenters such as,
Jonathan Ross,
Ruby Wax and
Johnnie Walker, although these names arrived at
Barbourne Terrace via syndicated means.
Wyvern FM is now owned by
Gcap Media (formerly GWR Group) and now broadcast via studios at Perdiswell. Following the end of
simulcasting on
AM and
FM,
Radio Wyvern launched a new AM service known as
Wyvern AM, which was a more adult contemporary service concentrating on playing oldies and melodic music.
Wyvern AM was short lived when the company was bought by GWR Group. The AM service was renamed
Classic Gold 954/1530 and became an oldies radio station fitting into the Classic Gold Network, until it was sold to Muff Murfin. In 2003, Classic Gold 954/1530 was renamed 'Classic Hits 954/1530' and for a short period became Adult Contemporary, this was soon changed and once again became an oldies radio station. In 2007, Laser Broadcasting acquired Classic Hits 954/1530 and fellow Murfin Media station 'Sunshine 855' from
Ludlow. The station was again renamed in 2007 and became Sunshine Radio, complete with daily split programming for
Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In September 2008,
Sunshine Radio is due to begin broadcasting via
DAB Digital Radio across Worcestershire and
Herefordshire.
On the 6th September 2007 - the
Office of Communications (
Ofcom) awarded a DAB Digital Multiplex licence for
Herefordshire & Worcestershire to MuxCo (
Hereford & Worcester) Ltd. MuxCo aims to provide a number of new radio stations including
Shuffle,
Smithy Rock,
Local Live and
Easy Radio. As well as providing a digital platform for
Wyvern FM,
Sunshine Radio and
BBC Hereford & Worcester and area extensions to
United Christian Broadcasters (
UCB) and the
Highways Agency. The new multiplex aims to commence broadcasting from September 2008 utilising three transmitters; two of which are within Worcestershire at
Great Malvern and
Bromsgrove. Although the applicant has stated that they may extend coverage at a later date via a relay at
Headless Cross (
Redditch).
Ofcom received two applications; MuxCo (Hereford & Worcester) and Gcap Media (owners of Wyvern FM).
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
A large area of the county used to be traditionally devoted to
fruit farming and the cultivation of
hops; this has decreased considerably since
World War II, though in the southern area of the county, around the
Vale of Evesham, there are still sufficient
fruit orchards that the British
Automobile Association signposts a route (the "
Blossom Trail") where the orchards can be seen in blossom in
spring. Worcester City's
coat of arms includes a depiction of 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
Worcestershire is also famous for a number of its non-agricultural products. The city of
Worcester and the surrounding county are best known for
Worcestershire sauce such as that made by
Lea and Perrins and for its
porcelain works. Worcestershire sauce (also known as
Worcester sauce) is a savoury sauce made with
vinegar,
anchovies,
molasses,
tamarinds,
onions and
spices, used in flavouring various foods and the
Bloody Mary drink which is drunk worldwide. 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 sixteen independent schools including the The
Royal Grammar School, Worcester, The King's School, Worcester and
Malvern College. State schools in Worcester and the Wyre Forest are two tier
primary schools and
secondary schools whilst
Redditch and
Bromsgrove have a three-tier system of First, Middle and High Schools.
Sixth-form provision in the county is quite generous.
Towns and villages
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, and
Tenbury Wells.
For a full list of settlements, see list of places in Worcestershire.
Places of interest
Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings
Walton Hill and the Clent Hills
Malvern Hills - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Severn Valley Railway
Wadborough
Worcester Cathedral
Great Malvern Priory
River Teme and valley
Tenbury Wells with its unique Pump Rooms.
River Severn at Worcester, 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
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
Further Information
Get more info on 'Worcestershire'.
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