Areley Kings is a

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 His ...

village on the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

10 miles north of Worcester in the picturesque area of the

Wyre Forest __NOTOC__ Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural (partially unmanaged) woodland and forest measuring which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England. Knowles Mill, a former corn mill owned by the National Trust, lies wi ...

. The area is featured in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

and many historical places of interest, like

Areley Hall Areley Hall is a Grade II listed country house near Areley Kings in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England. It is not to be confused with nearby Astley Hall, the former home of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. In the area there are several ...

, are open to visitors. Nearby

Stourport-on-Severn Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, a few miles to the south of Kidderminster and downstream on the River Severn from Bewdley. At the 2011 ce ...

grew during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

and is still very popular with tourists and holiday makers all year round for canal and river cruising and for the many well signed walks through some of the finest Worcestershire countryside.

History

The manor of Areley Kings was from early times part of the manor of

Martley Martley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the English county of Worcestershire. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farming of ...

and the rector of Martley still has the right to appoint the rector at Areley Kings. The manor of Areley originated in a fishery at "Ernel" which, with the land belonging to it, was granted by the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

Bordesley Abbey Bordesley Abbey was a 12th-century Cistercian abbey near the town of Redditch, in Worcestershire, England. The abbey's foundation was an act of Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, who gave the monks of Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire some ...

upon its foundation in 1136, and retained until the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

Prince Rupert of the Rhine Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

is rumoured to have slept a night at Areley House during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. Areley Kings was in the upper division of

Doddingtree The Hundred of Doddingtree was granted to Ralph Todeni, or ''Ralph de Toni'', a relative of the Duke of Normandy, in 1066 by William the Conqueror as a reward for his services as Standard bearer during the Norman Conquest. It consisted mainly of ...

Hundred.

Church

St Bartholomew's Parish Church at Areley Kings was founded as a Norman Church, with a continuous history and a partial re-building by the

Victorians In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

. The church is probably first mentioned in the preface of the ''Brut'' of Laȝamon, who wrote sometime between 1189 and 1207. He describes himself as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

''at Erneleye, at a noble church upon Severn's bank''. He wrote a history of England, partly legendary, partly factual, translating earlier writings from Latin and French. The discovery, during rebuilding, of the base of a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

font under the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

floor with an inscription containing the name of Layamon, establishes the connection with the writer and shows that a church existed here c. 1200. The Church House, Areley Kings, Worcestershire

The Church House, Areley Kings, Worcestershire

The church complex includes a Queen Anne Rectory and medieval timber-framed church house.

Notable people

Charles Harrison Charles Harrison may refer to: * Charles Harrison (artist) (1942-2009), British Conceptual artist & member of the artist group Art & Language * Charles Harrison (Australian politician) (1915–1986), member of the South Australian House of Assembly ...

, MP for

Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the River Sev ...

from 1874 to 1890 lived at Areley Court, Areley Kings. * Frances Ridley Havergal wrote the hymn ''Take my life and let it be'' at Areley House in 1874.K. L. Parry ''Companion to Congregational Praise''1953 p201 Independent Press, London. *

Layamon Layamon or Laghamon (, ; ) – spelled Laȝamon or Laȝamonn in his time, occasionally written Lawman – was an English poet of the late 12th/early 13th century and author of the ''Brut'', a notable work that was the first to present the legend ...

12/13th century poet lived in Areley Kings and a local road is named after him.

References

Populated places on the River Severn Villages in Worcestershire Stourport-on-Severn {{Worcestershire-geo-stub