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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Roger Norreis (died between 1223 and 1225) was Abbot of Evesham in England. He was a controversial figure, installed in several offices against opposition. In his appointment to Evesham, he was accused of immoral behaviour and failing to follow monastic rules. In 1202, Norreis became embroiled in a dispute with his monks and his episcopal superior the Bishop of Worcester; litigation and argumentation lasted until his deposition in 1213. He was then appointed prior of a subsidiary monastic house of Evesham, but was deposed within months, then re-appointed to the office five years later. (Full article...)

List of Featured articles
Edward Elgar Battle of Powick Bridge Urse d'Abetot

General images

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

Image 1Lea & Perrins advertisement (1900) (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 2Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 3Summit of the Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills, the county's highest point (from Worcestershire)
Image 4John's tomb, Worcester Cathedral (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 5The former Slingfield Mill (from Kidderminster)
Image 6The hand axe discovered in 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from Worcestershire)
Image 7Evesham Abbey bell tower (from Evesham)
Image 8The hand axe discovered in the 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands. (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 9Bewdley Guildhall (from Bewdley)
Image 10Tithe 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 11St Peter's Church, Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 12Malvern Theatres entrance 2024 (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 13The North West View of the City of Worcester (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 14St John the Baptist's Church (Church of England), built in 1843 (from Kidderminster)
Image 15Portrait of Sir William Waller, 1643, whose raids thoroughly depleted the Vale of Evesham (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 16Dudley Castle (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 17Aggborough is the home ground of the professional club Kidderminster Harriers, formerly of the Football League. (from Kidderminster)
Image 18Droitwich transmitting station, Wychbold (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 19Interior 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 20St John's Court: 19th-century vicarage, served as council offices from 1920s to 1980s, now a care home (from Bromsgrove)
Image 21Richard 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 22A statue of Richard Baxter in Kidderminster outside St Mary and All Saints' Church. (from Kidderminster)
Image 23Halesowen 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 24Bewdley Bridge and Severn Side South, 2003 (from Bewdley)
Image 25Parish church of St John the Baptist (from Bromsgrove)
Image 26The former Redditch Bus Station, c. 1996 (from Redditch)
Image 27Stourport Road Bridge (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 28Stafford tomb, St John the Baptist Church, Bromsgrove: one of the most powerful families in Worcestershire, living just south of the town (from Bromsgrove)
Image 29The 1906 sandstone and red brick Evesham Methodist Church on the banks of the River Avon (from Evesham)
Image 30Grave of Sir Thomas Chavasse (1854–1913) and his family in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 31The flag of the historic county of Worcestershire (from Worcestershire)
Image 32Caldwall Castle (from Kidderminster)
Image 33Grave of Mabel Tolkien (née Suffield, 1870–1904), mother of J. R. R. Tolkien, in Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 34The art deco Regal Cinema (from Evesham)
Image 35Hanbury Hall, completed around 1706 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 36New Road is the home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, across the River Severn from Worcester Cathedral. (from Worcestershire)
Image 37View of the QinetiQ facility from the Malvern Hills. Malvern College campus in the foreground, and the village of Poolbrook to the rear
Image 38Malvern post office, town centre
Image 39Astley Hall, Stanley Baldwin's home between 1902 and 1947 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 40Landsdown Methodist Church, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 41Evesham Town Hall (from Evesham)
Image 42Priory Park with Malvern Theatres complex and Priory Church tower in the background (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 43The Lickey Incline in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 44View across Arrow Valley Lake (from Redditch)
Image 45Oswald and Eadnoth (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 46A bottle of Shanghainese "spicy soy sauce", Taikang Yellow brand (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 47Malvern Theatres pre 2023 (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 48All Saints Church Evesham (from Evesham)
Image 49The coat of arms of Worcestershire County Council (from Worcestershire)
Image 50Coat of arms of the former Bromsgrove Rural District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 51The Battle of Powick Bridge on the River Teme on 23 September 1642 began the English Civil War. (from Worcestershire)
Image 52The Lickey Incline about 1845 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 53The former Bromsgrove railway station (from Bromsgrove)
Image 54Council House (built 1874), viewed from Priory Park, is the headquarters of the District Council. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 55St Mary's and All Saints Parish Church, seen from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (from Kidderminster)
Image 56Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 57James McConnell (from Bromsgrove)
Image 58The Abbey Gateway in the town centre is now the home of the Malvern Museum
Image 59Graves of railway engineers Tom Scaife and Joseph Rutherford, killed in an engine explosion in Bromsgrove in 1840 (from Bromsgrove)
Image 60A.E. Housman, poet, lived at Perry Hall, Bromsgrove (from Bromsgrove)
Image 61The Old Town Hall (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 62Due to its cathedral (pictured), the county town of Worcester is the only settlement in the county with city status. (from Worcestershire)
Image 63St Ann's Well spout (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 64Droitwich Spa High Street on St. Richard's Day 2009 (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 65Bromsgrove Guild maker's mark on a main gate of Buckingham Palace (from Bromsgrove)
Image 66Commemorative pavement plaque in Alcester Street (from Redditch)
Image 67Worcester Square (from Redditch)
Image 68Saltworkers by British sculptor John McKenna in the town centre (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 69Hand-drawn map of Worcestershire by Christopher Saxton from 1577. (from Worcestershire)
Image 70Worcester Bosch; Bosch Thermotechnology are in Warndon (from Worcestershire)
Image 71Sanders Park (from Bromsgrove)
Image 72The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904 by Edmund Hort New (from Evesham)
Image 73Bewdley Bridge (from Bewdley)
Image 74Bromsgrove War Memorial (from Bromsgrove)
Image 75Qinetiq at the Malvern Hills Science Park, or Malvern Technology Centre; the integrated circuit was invented here in 1952 (from Worcestershire)
Image 76Malvern St James girls school main building (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 77William Lloyd (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 78Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce — the invention of two Worcester chemists (from Worcestershire)
Image 79Prior's Croft, Grange Road (Victorian Gothic architecture)
Image 80Bewdley and surrounding area (Ordnance Survey) (from Bewdley)
Image 81Brintons carpet factory in Kidderminster, c. 1870 (from Kidderminster)
Image 82Iron Age earthworks, British Camp
Image 83Battle of Worcester (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 84The Enigma Fountain and statue of Edward Elgar, a group of sculptures by artist Rose Garrard, on Belle Vue Terrace (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 85Bewdley from the racks, 2019 (from Bewdley)
Image 86Nailmakers in Bromsgrove c.1896 (from History of Worcestershire)
Image 8715th-century Merchant's House formerly located on Bromsgrove's High Street, now at Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings (from Bromsgrove)
Image 88Detail of buildings and shops in Church Street, Great Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 89The Riverside Shopping Centre (from Evesham)
Image 90The Almonry, originally part of Evesham Abbey (from Evesham)
Image 91Roosevelt plaque, Aldwyn Tower, Malvern (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 92The Malvhina Fountain in the town centre, a sculpture by artist Rose Garrard. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 93The spa town of Great Malvern was laid out and developed largely during the 19th century
Image 94Broadway Tower, one of several Worcestershire follies (from Worcestershire)
Image 95Thai Gy-Nguang brand Formula 2 Worcestershire sauce (2010) (from Worcestershire sauce)
Image 96Great Malvern Priory
Image 97Victorian pillar box on the corner of Priory Road and Orchard Road
Image 98Classical composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in this house in Broadheath, Worcestershire, currently used as the Elgar Birthplace Museum. (from Worcestershire)
Image 99Honeybourne railway station on the Cotswold Line and the potential Honeybourne Line (from Worcestershire)
Image 100Bromsgrove Museum (from Bromsgrove)
Image 101Map of Stourport, 1942 (from Stourport-on-Severn)
Image 102Welcome to Malvern, on an approach road to the town centre. (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 103Grafton Manor, home of the Catholic Talbot family, holding leading military posts in Worcestershire's Royalist forces in the Civil War (from Bromsgrove)
Image 104Council wards of Malvern town (from Malvern, Worcestershire)
Image 105Seven 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 106St Stephen's Church (Church of England) (from Redditch)
Image 107Chateau Impney, near Droitwich (from Droitwich Spa)
Image 108Parkside, headquarters of Bromsgrove District Council (from Bromsgrove)
Image 109Bewdley Station, now restored as part of the Severn Valley Railway (from Bewdley)

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Philip John Smith (born 10 July 1965) is an English spree killer serving a life sentence for the murders of three women in Birmingham in November 2000. A former fairground worker employed at the Rainbow pub in Digbeth, Smith killed his victims over a four-day period. All three victims were mutilated almost beyond recognition, but Smith was quickly identified as the killer on the strength of overwhelming evidence.

Smith's first victim was Jodie Hyde, a recovering butane gas addict whom he met at the Rainbow before killing her hours later. He is thought to have strangled her before setting her body on fire near a recreation ground. Three days later, he met mother-of-three Rosemary Corcoran at the same public house and drove her to a rural location, where he bludgeoned her to death and drove over the body. Then, as he drove home, he hit care worker Carol Jordan with his car and, fearing capture, beat her to death. All three bodies were discovered soon after the murders were carried out. (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 Walter de Beauchamp (nobleman) Whittington Tump Worcester Castle

Selected quotes

“

This is his uncle's teaching, this Worcester,

Malevolent to you In all aspects, Which makes him prune himself and bristle up The crest of youth against your dignity.

”

— William Shakespeare

More selections • Read more...

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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