Rochford consists of two hamlets, Lower and Upper Rochford. A
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 authorit ...
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-Sever ...
near
Tenbury Wells
Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a market town and civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2011 census it had a population of 3,777 ...
, in the 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 H ...
, England, Rochford is 18 miles (29 km) NW 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, Engla ...
. The
River Teme
The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of B ...
, which rises in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, flows past Lower Rochford and joins 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 ...
in Worcester. The
chapelry of Rochford was an
exclave of
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
, part of the hundred of Wolphy. It was transferred by the
Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of counties in England and Wales for civil purposes. ...
to Worcestershire.
History
In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' described Rochford as follows:
ROCHFORD, a parish, with a village, in Tenbury district, Worcester; on the river Teme, 2¾ miles E of Tenbury r ilway station. It has a post-office under Tenbury. Acres, 1,379. Real property, £2,150. Pop lation, 315. Houses, 66. The property is divided among a few. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £400. Patron, J. P. Jones, Esq. The church is Norman, and was restored and enlarged in 1865. There are a national school, and charities £8.
![Rockford population graph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Rockford_population_graph.png)
'An old English name, Rochford means Hunting-dog ford. The elements of the name are ræcc A hunting dog and ford A ford'.
The
Domsday Book (1086) entry for Rochford shows it was part of the
Wolfhay Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
'It had a population of 19 households (population likely to be 5 times greater), and a total tax assessed of 2.8 geld units'. The value of Lord
Leofnoth in 1066 was £'2,' however his value reduced to '£1.5 in 1086.' Villagers paid rent to the lord, amongst other costs.
Rochford has a small population which has fluctuated between 201 and 319 people. Population data from the first UK census (1801) showed that the population was 258; and it peaked at 319 in 1881. The lowest population recorded by the census was in 1961, when the population had fallen to 201; the census data also shows that between the last two censuses, 2001 and 2011 the population was reducing. Records show that between the years 1831 and 1901, the number of vacant houses in Rochford went from zero to six, and between 1841 and 1851 a house was under construction.
![Rochford occupation structure 1881](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Rochford_occupation_structure_1881.png)
Historically, employment in Rochford was firmly based within the agriculture sector, which employed over 33.5% of the population in 1881. According to the 2011 census there was currently nobody employed within the agricultural sector: of the 118 people of working age in Rochford (those aged 16–74 in employment), 23.7% were skilled tradespersons and 15.3% were employed in a senior capacity as either directors or managers. The 1881 census also revealed that over 50% of the population were of unknown occupation or not in employment. The pie chart shows the types of occupations of the population of Rochford, and the percentage of the population employed in each sector.
St Michael's Church
'The church of ''ST. MICHAEL'' consists of a chancel 18 ft. 4 in. by 15 ft. 6 in., north vestry, nave 45 ft. 8 in. by 17 ft. 10 in., south porch, and wood bell-turret at the west end of the nave roof.' Parts of the chancel and the greater part of the nave date from the early years of the 12th century and the Norman features of the church include the nave and the north doorway. Restored in 1864/65 the church of St Michael is a
Grade II listed building and gained its status in 1966. 'The church is built of red sandstone ashlar, which has been repaired in places, and the walls of the nave are plastered internally'. The church is located on the bank of the river Teme in Lower Rochford.
Listed buildings
There are 12 listed buildings within the parish of Rochford. These include a number of cottages, farmhouses and a mansion, Old Hall. The Old Hall is a
grade II listed building on Rhyse Lane, gaining its status on 6 October 1952. It was an old house dated 1704 with possible C17 or earlier origins. 'The construction of the building is Brick faced with sandstone rubble, plain tiled and large brick stack at centre of main ridge'. A majority of the buildings that are listed were constructed within the 17th century, with the exception of Parsonage Farmhouse, which was built circa 16th century.
Modern day
Rochford population ranged from 0 – 94 years of age, (2011 census) with ages evenly spread throughout the range, causing roughly equal numbers of both older and younger people. 11 people were aged 51 in 2011, making that age the most common within the population, as it is nearly twice as many any other age. The census supports the idea that the population of Rochford is older and the area is home to families and older people without dependent children rather than young single people or new families as there was 49 families without dependent children in 2011 apposed to 39 with dependent children.
Despite this there is still a large number of families and children within the parish including 40 people under the age of 18, proving it to be popular with families. This combined with lower than average house prices, around £10,000 cheaper than UK national average (£290,000) it is a popular and reasonably priced area to live.
Transport
Like many rural villages, Rochford has limited public services close at hand. The nearest railway station,
Ludlow
Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...
, is about 8 miles (13 km) away, and there is no bus service: the nearest bus stop is in
Tenbury Wells
Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a market town and civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2011 census it had a population of 3,777 ...
, more than 2 miles (2.2 km) away. As a result, car ownership is high, with 199 cars registered within the parish. 65.6% of households have access to two or more cars, as a result of the limited public transport prevision.
References
{{authority control
Villages in Worcestershire
Civil parishes in Worcestershire
Places formerly in Herefordshire