Upton Warren 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

Wychavon Wychavon is a local government district in Worcestershire, England, with a population size of 132,500 according to the 2021 census. Its council is based in the town of Pershore, and the other towns in the district are Droitwich Spa and Evesha ...

district, 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 ...

, England. The village is situated just off the

A38 road The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, Bristol, Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England. The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, mak ...

between

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...

and

Droitwich Spa Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester, Engl ...

, and on the

River Salwarpe The River Salwarpe is a long river in Worcestershire, England. It is a left bank tributary of the River Severn, which it joins near Hawford. Course The Salwarpe is formed by the confluence of the Battlefield and Spadesbourne Brooks in Bromsg ...

. In the 2001 census, the parish, which also contains the small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Cooksey Green, had a population of 291. The village, in the south-east corner of the parish, is situated between two major roads, the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

to the west and the A38 to the east and south. East of the village, on the boundary with

Dodderhill Dodderhill is a civil parish, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, England, located on the River Salwarpe. The parish is bisected by the M5 motorway, constructed in 1962. It is home to the Droitwich transmitting station in Wychbold. History One of ...

, is the

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 wildlife trusts throughout the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1968 to conserve, protect and restore the county's wildlife. The Trust owns and manages over 70 nature reserves across the county, part ...

Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve The Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve is a nature reserve of the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. It is situated near Upton Warren, between Bromsgrove and Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, England. The reserve is designated a Site of Special Sci ...

, a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and a popular location for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

. The reserve consists of several pools created by

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

as a result of

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

extraction in the area.

Medieval history

Upton Warren

Upton Warren was a Manor, for many years inherited alongside Grafton first in the hands of John de Grafton, then the Staffords, followed by the Talbots and Earls of Shrewsbury.''Parishes: Grafton Manor'', A History of the County of Worcester: volume 3 (1913), pp. 123-127. Date accessed: 27 January 2011.
/ref>

Little and Great Cooksey

There were two other Manors, Little Cooksey and Great Cooksey, the latter giving its name to the de Cooksey family.Upton Warren, A History of the County of Worcester: volume 3 (1913), pp. 231-234. Date accessed: 30 January 2011
/ref>

Forest law

The boundaries of

Feckenham Forest Feckenham Forest was a royal forest, centred on the village of Feckenham, covering large parts of Worcestershire and west Warwickshire. It was not entirely wooded, nor entirely the property of the King. Rather, the King had legal rights over game ...

were extended hugely by Henry II, which encompassed much of North Worcestershire, including Upton Warren. The area was removed from forest law in 1301 in the reign of Henry III, when the boundaries were moved back. (page 120)

St Michael’s Church

The Church probably existed at the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

survey, but was rebuilt before 1300, and consecrated that year. The present building largely dates to the 18th century; the chancel being rebuilt in 1724 and the nave in 1798. The tower dates to the late 15th century.

References

External links

Upton Warren Parish Council
Villages in Worcestershire {{Worcestershire-geo-stub