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Offenham Church - Geograph
Offenham is a large rural village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England, located about three miles east of Evesham, in the Vale of Evesham. The River Avon flows through Offenham. The civil parish extends beyond the area of the settlement of Offenham and includes Blackminster Middle School and the Blackminster Trading Estate. It was awarded the title of Calor Worcestershire Village of the Year in 2004. History Offenham was founded as a monastic grange and medieval deer park by the Benedictine Abbots of Evesham Abbey in the 13th century, the old grange stood where Court Farm now stands. The grange was established to enclose the large flocks of sheep needed by the Abbots to trade wool with Flanders. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the grange became crown property and Henry VIII granted both Offenham and Evesham to Philip Hoby, one of his English Ambassadors. The grange and park later became the property of the Hazelwood family until the mid- ...
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Wychavon
Wychavon is a local government district in Worcestershire, England, with a population size of 132,500 according to the 2021 census. Its council is based in the town of Pershore, and the other towns in the district are Droitwich Spa and Evesham. The district extends from the southeast corner of Worcestershire north and west. It borders all the other districts of Worcestershire, as well as the counties of Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. The district was created under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974. It was a merger of the boroughs of Droitwich and Evesham along with Evesham Rural District and most of Droitwich Rural District and most of Pershore Rural District. The district's name, which was invented in 1973, contains two elements. "Wych" recalls the Saxon Kingdom of Hwicca, and "Avon" is for the River Avon. Wychavon District Council was a joint 'Council of the Year 2007', along with High Peak Borough Council. It was also featured as the 'Best Council to work ...
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Offenham Church - Geograph
Offenham is a large rural village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England, located about three miles east of Evesham, in the Vale of Evesham. The River Avon flows through Offenham. The civil parish extends beyond the area of the settlement of Offenham and includes Blackminster Middle School and the Blackminster Trading Estate. It was awarded the title of Calor Worcestershire Village of the Year in 2004. History Offenham was founded as a monastic grange and medieval deer park by the Benedictine Abbots of Evesham Abbey in the 13th century, the old grange stood where Court Farm now stands. The grange was established to enclose the large flocks of sheep needed by the Abbots to trade wool with Flanders. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the grange became crown property and Henry VIII granted both Offenham and Evesham to Philip Hoby, one of his English Ambassadors. The grange and park later became the property of the Hazelwood family until the mid- ...
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Queen Of The May
In the British Isles and parts of the Commonwealth, the May Queen or Queen of May is a personification of the May Day holiday, and of springtime and also summer. The May Queen is a girl who rides or walks at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age-groups dance around a Maypole celebrating youth and springtime. History James George Frazer speculated that the figure of the May Queen was linked to ancient tree worship. In the High Middle Ages in England the May Queen was also known as the "Summer Queen". George C. Homans points out: "The time from Hocktide, after Easter Week, to Lammas (1 August) was summer (''estas'')." In 1557, a London diarist called Henry Machyn wrote: "The xxx day of May was a goly May-gam in Fanch-chyrchestrett with drumes and gunes and p ...
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Morris Dancing
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers. In a small number of dances for one or two people, steps are near and across a pair of clay tobacco pipes laid one across the other on the floor. They clap their sticks, swords, or handkerchiefs together to match with the dance. The earliest known and surviving English written mention of Morris dance is dated to 1448 and records the payment of seven shillings to Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths' Company in London. Further mentions of Morris dancing occur in the late 15th century, and there are also early records such as bishops' "Visitation Articles" mentioning sword dancing, guising and other dancing activities, as well as mumming plays. While the earliest records invariably mention "Morys" in a court sett ...
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May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen (sometimes with a male companion), and setting up a Maypole, May Tree or May Bush, around which people dance. Bonfires are also part of the festival in some regions. Regional varieties and related traditions include Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, the Gaelic festival Beltane, the Welsh festival Calan Mai, and May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has also been associated with the ancient Roman festival Floralia. In 1889, 1 May was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the Second International, to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago and the struggle for an eight-hour working day. ...
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Maypole
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer (20–26 June). In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is only utilised during the festival, although in other cases it is erected specifically for the purpose before being taken down again. Primarily found within the nations of Germanic languages, Germanic Europe and the neighbouring areas which they have influenced, its origins remain unknown. It has often been speculated that the maypole originally had some importance in the Germanic paganism of Iron Age and early Medieval cultures, and that the tradition survived Christianisation, albeit losing any original meaning that it had. It has been a recorded practice in many parts of Europe throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods, although it became less popul ...
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Maypole At Offenham - Geograph
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer (20–26 June). In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is only utilised during the festival, although in other cases it is erected specifically for the purpose before being taken down again. Primarily found within the nations of Germanic Europe and the neighbouring areas which they have influenced, its origins remain unknown. It has often been speculated that the maypole originally had some importance in the Germanic paganism of Iron Age and early Medieval cultures, and that the tradition survived Christianisation, albeit losing any original meaning that it had. It has been a recorded practice in many parts of Europe throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods, although it became less popular in the 18th and ...
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Philip Hoby
Sir Philip Hoby (also Hobby or Hobbye) Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (1505 – 31 May 1558) was a 16th-century English people, English Ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire and Flanders. Early life He was born probably at Leominster, England, the son of William Hoby of Leominster by his first wife, Catherine Forster. He was the elder half-brother of Sir Thomas Hoby, father of Edward Hoby, Edward and Thomas Posthumous Hoby. Hoby became a diplomat, largely thanks to the support he gave to the Protestant Reformation during the reign of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. Career He travelled to Spain and Portugal in the royal service. On 10 March 1538 he arrived at Brussels with the painter Hans Holbein the younger. Thomas Cromwell had sent them to make a portrait of Christina of Denmark, Christina, Duchess of Milan for Henry VIII. The English resident in Brussels, John Hutton, had already obtained a portrait, but realising this portrait was not as perfect as one made ...
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Henry VIII Of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope. Henry is also known as "the father of the Royal Navy" as he invested heavily in the navy and increased its size from a few to more than 50 ships, and established the Navy Board. Domestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings in opposition to papal supremacy. He also greatly expanded royal power during his reign. He frequently used charges of treason and ...
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Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics, and history, and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is the City of Brussels, although the Brussels-Capital Region that includes it has an independent regional government. The powers of the government of Flanders consist, among others, of economic affairs in the Flemish Region and the community aspects of Flanders life in Brussels, such as Flemish culture and education. Geographically, Flanders is mainly flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. It borders the French department of Nord to the south-west near the coast, the Dutch provinces of Zeeland, North Brabant an ...
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Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see History of Worcestershire). Over the centuries the county borders have been modified, but it was not until 1844 that substantial changes were made. Worcestershire was abolished as part of local government reforms in 1974, with its northern area becoming part of the West Midlands and the rest part of the county of Hereford and Worcester. In 1998 the county of Hereford and Worcester was abolished and Worcestershire was reconstituted, again without the West Midlands area. Location The county borders Herefordshire to the west, Shropshire to the north-west, Staffordshire only just to the north, West Midlands to the north and north-east, Warwickshire to the east and Gloucestershire to the south. The western border with Herefordshire includes a ...
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