Shatterford Hill is an
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 ...
geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
feature that extends from
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 ...
in north
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 ...
to Birdsgreen near Alveley, just over the border in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
. The hill is a long ridge running up the east side of the Severn Valley and peaks at 202 metres near the village of Shatterford on the
A442 road
The A442 is a main road which passes through the counties of Worcestershire and Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England.
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Route
From Droitwich in Worcestershire it runs towards Kidderminster where it meets the A449 from Worc ...
between
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...
and
Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079.
History
B ...
.
The ridge offers unhindered views across the Severn Valley out west to the
Clee Hills
The Clee Hills are a range of hills in Shropshire, England near Ludlow, consisting of Brown Clee Hill , the highest peak in Shropshire, and Titterstone Clee Hill . They are both in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Geograph ...
,
Caer Caradoc
Caer Caradoc ( cy, Caer Caradog, the fort of Caradog) is a hill in the English county of Shropshire. It overlooks the town of Church Stretton and the village of All Stretton and offers panoramic views to the north towards the Wrekin, east t ...
, the
Long Mynd
, photo =
, photo_alt =
, photo_caption = View down Townbrook Valley toward Burway Hill
, country_type =
, country = England
, subdivision1_type = County
, subdivision1 = Shropshire
, border ...
and on clear days to the hills of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. To the east is
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...
and the
Clent Hills
The Clent Hills lie south-west of Birmingham city centre in Clent, Worcestershire, England. The closest towns are Stourbridge and Halesowen, both in the West Midlands conurbation (and also Historic counties of England, historically in Worceste ...
, and the urban West Midlands areas of Dudley beyond. To the north the
Wrekin
The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some five miles (8 km) west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising above the Shropshire Plain to a height of 4 ...
dominates the horizon near
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...
, whilst to the south are the
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit affo ...
. Although the triangulation pillar that officially marks the summit of the hill is in a field with no public access, next to a small mast, a viewpoint is provided on the Shatterford-Trimpley road with a small layby opposite.
Villages along the hill include (south to north),
Trimpley
Trimpley (grid reference ) is a hamlet in the parish of Kidderminster Foreign. It lies on the ridge of Shatterford Hill, north of Wribbenhall and east of Habberley. The village (such as it is) lies along Trimpley Green, a small common. At th ...
, Shatterford and
Romsley. The road following the crown of the ridge was probably the ''Micclan strete'' (great made-road), mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon bounds of
Wolverley
Wolverley is a village; with nearby Cookley (1 mi northeast), it forms a civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. It is 2 miles north of Kidderminster and lies on the River Stour and the Staffordshire and ...
. This may have been part of an ancient road from
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
and
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 ...
to
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. From Shatterford through Romsley and
Quatt
Quatt is a small village in Shropshire, England in the Severn Valley. The civil parish, formally known as Quatt Malvern, has a population of 219 according to the 2001 census, reducing to 200 at the 2011 census.
It lies on the A442 south of Brid ...
, thus became part of the
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...
to
Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079.
History
B ...
turnpike, until an easier road (now
A442) was built in the 1830s.
The ridge comes to a fairly abrupt end to the south, capped by Wassell Wood, where earthworks can still be seen from fortified enclosure of unknown date. The name "Wassell" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon "''Weardsetl''" meaning a watchplace. This was the westernmost of a chain of such watchplaces, also including Wassell Grove (near
Wychbury Hill
Wychbury Hill is a hill situated off the A456 Birmingham Road, at Hagley, Stourbridge, on the border of West Midlands and Worcestershire.
It is divided between the parish of Hagley and former parish of Pedmore. It is one of the Clent Hills. ...
),
Waseley Hills
Waseley Hills Country Park is a Country Park and Local Nature Reserve owned and managed by Worcestershire County Council's Countryside Service.
It consists of rolling open hills with old hedgerows, pastures and small pockets of woodland with p ...
and Wast Hills in
Alvechurch
Alvechurch ( ) is a large village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove district in northeast Worcestershire, England, in the valley of the River Arrow. The Lickey Hills Country Park is 2.5 miles (4 km) to the northwest. It is south of Birmi ...
.
Below Wassell Wood to the east is
Habberley Valley
Habberley was one of the hamlets of the ancient parish of Kidderminster in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is now divided so that part of it is an area of the town of Kidderminster (to the northwest of the town centre) and part of it (i ...
, a
local nature reserve of lowland
heathland
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
, which is a popular picnic site locally.
References
{{Reflist
Hills of Worcestershire
Hills of Shropshire