Dormston is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in
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 ...
about south of
Redditch
Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...
.
Name
Dormston's
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
has evolved from ''Deormodesealdtune'' in the 10th century ''via'' ''Dormestun'' in the 11th Century and ''Dormyston'' in the 15th century before reaching its present form.
[Page & Willis-Bund, 1924, pages 65-68]
History
Dormston existed in the 10th century, when
King Edgar confirmed a grant of property including five ''manses'' at Dormston to
Pershore Abbey
Pershore Abbey, at Pershore in Worcestershire, was an Anglo-Saxon abbey and is now an Anglican parish church, the Church of the Holy Cross.
History
Foundation
The foundation of the minster at Pershore is alluded to in a spurious charter of King ...
of St.Mary.
[ This was then given, with part of the manor of Pershore, to ]Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
by Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 β 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Γth ...
, and Dormston was included in 1086 among the lands of St. Peter of Westminster. William Fitz Corbucion, whose principal seat was at Studley in Warwickshire, is said by Dugdale to have been succeeded by a Robert, who had been followed before 1166 by Peter Corbucion of Studley, who was then holding a knight's fee in Worcestershire (evidently Dormston) of the Abbot of Westminster. By 1320 the fee of Dormston had by that date become annexed to the manor of nearby Inkberrow
Inkberrow is a village in Worcestershire, England, often thought to be the model for Ambridge, the setting of BBC Radio 4's long-running series ''The Archers''. In particular, The Bull, the fictional Ambridge pub, is supposed to be based on The ...
until 1633.
The manor subsequently changed hands several times. In 1388 the feudal superiority was in the hands of John Russell of Strensham and his descendant Sir John Russell of Strensham still held it in 1582. For a time, he was married to Elizabeth Sheldon, first cousin to William Savage of Elmley Castle (d.1616). (The Sheldons had also acquired the monastery lands at Studley). It appears to have been his son, another John Russell, who received a licence (presumably for the Savages) to crenellate the mansion-house at Dormston. This superiority appears to have followed the descent of Strensham until 1659, and it is possible that it still remained in the possession of the Russells and was sold after the death of the last male representative of the family, Sir Francis Russell, in 1705. What is clear is that Dormston was no longer a residential seat of the Russells, if it ever had been. By 1603 Dormston Manor was held by feu by Thomas Savage (d.1603) of Norbury Manor at Inkberrow, who settled it upon John Savage of Dormston for whom he was guardian(d. Jan 1616 and buried in St.Peter's Church, Inkberrow). The principal parts of the manorial demesne were Courts Close and Bag End farm. Russell himself was already related to the Savages as his mother, Margaret Lygon, was a first cousin to Francis Savage of Elmley Castle
Elmley Castle is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, in England, United Kingdom. It is located on the north side of Bredon Hill 3 miles south east of Pershore in the local government district of Wychavon.
Amenities and history
It ha ...
(d.1558), from whom the Inkberrow Savages descend. Dormston remained with this family until Robert Savage (1672-1749), who was married to Dorothy (d.1715), daughter of John Stanford of Salford Hall in Abbots Salford (d.1712). In 1701 he was one of local commissioners appointed in 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 ...
for collecting aid to meet the expenses of Her Majesty's navy guards and garrisons, and was again a local commissioner for the collection of a land tax in both 1710 and 1713. In 1730 Robert Savage was being sued in connection with the proposed sale of lands he held in Dormston, Kington & Inkberrow, and by indenture dated 1733 he sold the Bag End farm at Dormston which property eventually came by conveyance to Jane Suffield, aunt to the celebrated author J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 β 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
. In 1733 he was still described as Robert Savage 'The Elder', gentleman, of Dormston, implying he was still resident there. The following year his daughter Penelope was married in Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in 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 ...
, appropriate for gentry, to Giles Turberville, one of H.M. Excise Officers. Robert has signed the Marriage Licence and the Bondsman for this Marriage Bond, William Bristo, also came from Dormston. Robert Savage appears to be the last of this family seated at Dormston and he died at Alcester
Alcester () is a market town and civil parish of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England, approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 7 miles south of Redditc ...
. He is interred at Inkberrow where there is a Savage chapel in St. Peter's Church. The 1634 ''Visitation'' gives the Arms of this family.
Church
Peter Corbucion granted a Chapel at Dormston in the reign of Henry II to the monastery he had founded at Studley in Warwickshire.
The present Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 β 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
has a 14th-century 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 ...
and chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
.[ Its timber-framed ]bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
was added late in the 15th century, and the largest of its three bells is of the same period.[ The two other bells were cast in 1613 and 1640.][ The Gothic Revival architect C.C. Rolfe restored the church building in 1899.][Saint, 1970] Robert Savage of Dormston (c1600-1670) was ordained as a Churchwarden here in 1621.
Sources
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References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Worcestershire