Cradley () is a village in the
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 ...
of
Cradley and Storridge Cradley may refer to:
* Cradley, Herefordshire, England
** Cradley and Storridge, a civil parish formerly called just "Cradley"
* Cradley, West Midlands, a suburb of Halesowen in the West Midlands
* Cradley Heath, a small town in the Sandwell boro ...
, in
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 Monmouthshire ...
, England. The nearest towns are
Ledbury
Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills.
It has a significant number of timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane and High Street ...
, to the south, and
Bromyard
Bromyard is a town in Herefordshire, England, in the valley of the River Frome. It lies near the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 between Leominster and Worcester. Bromyard has a number of traditional half-timbered buildings, inclu ...
, to the north west, in Herefordshire and
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dra ...
, to the south east on the other side of 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 ...
. Cradley and Storridge parish, including Storridge and Ridgeway Cross, had a population in 2011 of 1,667.
There are two villages named Cradley in the
Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
of England although the names are pronounced differently; the "other"
Cradley being situated close to
Halesowen
Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England.
Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...
.
Places of interest
St James Church. The
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 ...
was added by Sir
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
in 1868.
Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist
* Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo
* David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...
also mentions a
mediaeval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
lychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English ''lic'', corpse), also ''wych gate'', is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style ch ...
, a
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design.
In mod ...
dated 1722 and the remains of a previous carved font incorporated into a doorway in the tower. Carved stones in the fabric of the church have been identified as dating from the
Saxon period.
Cradley Village Hall is a 16th-century timbered building, which was renovated and restored after a serious fire destroyed a large part of the roof. It has 21st-century additions of meeting rooms, Heritage and village resource centre. The heritage archives and local group are available for those researching local history or genealogy. The resource centre has up to date computer and printing and copying services for village use.
Since the closure of the village shop/Post Office, a Post Office counter is manned in the village hall, two days a week, Monday morning and Thursday afternoon. All the usual Post office services are available.
Festival
2011 saw Cradley as the centre of the "Three Villages Festival", along with neighbours Storridge and Mathon. This event celebrated Village life in rural Herefordshire and in 2011 the theme was "Masquerade", an exploration of mask making and wearing.
References
External links
Cradley and Storridge village information
Cradley Primary SchoolCradley - A Village HistoryGENUKI for CradleyCradley Village HallCradley Parish CouncilCradley Mathon & Storridge annual festival( 3Villages Festival)Diary of events in Cradley, Mathon and StorridgeSt James the great Church CradleyCradley Mathon and Storridge local mart and information on local businesses and groups
Villages in Herefordshire
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