Martley 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 the

Malvern Hills district Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Malvern, and its area covers most of the western half of the county, including the outlying towns of Tenbury Wells and Upton-upon-Severn ...

of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

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 ...

. It is approximately nine miles north-west of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farming of the area includes arable, formerly cherry, apple, damson orchards and hopyards. It is a popular village for retired people and professionals working in the city and surrounding towns, and has a large

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

to which around 700 pupils are bussed daily from the surrounding area. It has a sports hall with rock climbing wall and a gym within the grounds of the school can be used by the public out of school times.

Geology

The village and its extensive parish sits astride the

Malvern Line The Malvern Line or Malvern Lineament is the name applied to a north-south aligned lineament which runs through the Malvern Hills of western England and extends southwards towards Bristol and northwards past Stourport. It consists of a series o ...

, a north–south aligned

lineament ''See also Line (geometry)'' A lineament is a linear feature in a landscape which is an expression of an underlying geological structure such as a fault. Typically a lineament will appear as a fault-aligned valley, a series of fault or fold-aligne ...

originating in

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

times. To the east are

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

s whilst to the west are

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

s. Along the lineament itself are a complex mix of rocks of

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

and

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

age.

History

Berrow Hill, an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hillfort, is one of several in the area, which hosts a beacon. Martley 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. Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Martley Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to

Martley Poor Law Union Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 individual parishes ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in their parish. Poor law unions were established. In west Worcestershire the Martley Poor Law Union was established to take the po ...

. A lane leads south from the village to the church which stands close to a spring known as St Peters Well, suggesting a pre-Christian origin for the site. The red

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Peter is

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 ...

in origin. Its peal of six bells, cast locally in 1673 by the

bellfounder Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by casting ...

Richard Keene of Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, is the only complete set of original bells in the county. The bells are a

Maiden Ring Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, a peal of bells that sounds the correct notes immediately after casting and needs no further tuning. St. Peter's was one of the first churches in Worcestershire to have as many as six bells and at the beginning of the 18th century very few churches had more than three or four bells. In 1894 the bells were rehung on the original frame and no further major work has been required since.
The church also contains some medieval wall paintings and an alabaster

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

Sir Hugh Mortimer ''Henry VI, Part 3'' (often written as ''3 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1, ...

, Lord of

Kyre Kyre is a small village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the county of Worcestershire, England, and shares its parish council with neighbouring Stoke Bliss and Bockleton. Kyre Minor and Kyre Wyard were both in the upper divisio ...

& Martley, killed in battle at the

Battle of Wakefield The Battle of Wakefield took place in Sandal Magna near Wakefield in northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the captive King Henry VI of ...

in 1460. In 1999 a new stained glass window was cut, leaded and installed by Patrick Costeloe for the artist Tom Denny.

Notable people

* Sir Charles Hastings (1794-1866) founder of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

was raised in Martley. * Francis Jukes (1745-1812) engraver was born in Martley. *

Martin Stainforth Martin Frank Stainforth (14 August 1866 – 22 April 1957) was a British-born artist best known for his portraits of Thoroughbred racehorses he painted in England and while living in Australia and the United States. Biography Born at Martley, ...

(1866-1957) equine artist was born in Martley.

Amenities

Martley has a village shop, the Crown

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, a petrol station/garage . Schools in Martley include a primary school and the Chantry High School which has approximately 700 students and has a special technology status. It serves a large rural catchment area. Its sports hall is shared with the public. There are many walks in the local area such as the

Worcestershire Way The Worcestershire Way is a waymarked long-distance trail within the county of Worcestershire, England. It runs from Bewdley to Great Malvern. History When launched back in 1989 the Worcestershire Way was long and ran partly into Herefordsh ...

which passes close by Rodge Hill, and the River Teme is also near the village. The village is home to Martley Cricket Club, running teams in the Worcestershire League Division 3(Sat), Division 8 (Sat) and the Worcester Evening League (Tues) with friendly games on Sunday's throughout the season. In 2000 Australian cricketer

Glenn McGrath Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...

played a match in Martley. The

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

has two Saturday teams and a

Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...

team. Martley has its own radio station, '' Longside Radio'', currently broadcasting over the Internet. It has growing support locally and hopes to develop links with Chantry High School and youth club. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music and live shows broadcast every evening. Now broadcasting from the heart of the village in the old weighbridge. Details of how to listen and contact the station are on their website.

References

External links

Village website (collaborative)
*
Chantry High School websiteMartley Cricket Club Websitephotos of Martley and surrounding area on geograph Longside Radio - Where Variety Matters
{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire