Newnham Bridge is a village in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Knighton on Teme, 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 ...

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, United Kingdom. The village derives part of its name from the bridge over the

River Rea The River Rea (pronounced "ray") is a small river which passes through Birmingham, England. It is the river on which Birmingham was founded by the Beorma tribe in the 7th century. Since 2012, TA Media had obtained the rights and access to t ...

Location

Newnham Bridge is situated on the A443 road and the junction of the A456 road between Tenbury Wells and Great Witley, in the valley of 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 ...

History and amenities

The village formerly had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

, designed by William Clarke, on the Tenbury Line 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 Riv ...

to Woofferton Junction. After the railway closed in the 1960s the station became a garden centre. This has now closed, but the platforms and buildings are still in place. The neighbouring station yard was recently developed as a housing estate and the station site has been bought by a housing association. The name of the station was Newnham Bridge rather than Newnham to avoid confusion with Newnham, Gloucestershire, which also had a GWR station; previously the village was known as Newnham and some maps still show it as such. The Talbot Inn closed in 2009 but reopened in 2012 after a year-long refurbishment. The former Railway Tavern Inn, closed in the late 20th century and was almost completely demolished during the second decade of the millennium to be replaced with a development of detached houses along Tavern Lane.

Flooding

Located to the east of the confluence of the River Rea, Shropshire and

, Newnham Bridge has appeared on the news during various flood events during which the River Rea overtops its banks. Despite widespread media attention the village itself is less affected by floods than is through traffic, given that the A456 on which the village sits is one of few major routes west from Birmingham. During the widespread floods caused by

Storm Dennis Storm Dennis was a European windstorm which, in February 2020, became one of the most intense extratropical cyclones ever recorded, reaching a minimum central pressure of . The thirteenth named storm of the 2019–20 European windstorm season, D ...

and Storm Ciara in February 2020, Yvonne Booth of Birmingham was swept away at the Eastham Bridge to the south of Newnham Bridge, when the vehicle she was travelling became stranded. Booth and the driver made it to the bridge but were swept away as they tried to traverse the swollen River Teme towards Eastham. The driver of the car was rescued by emergency services shortly after they entered the water, however Booth's body was recovered downstream at Woodston near Lindridge Church several days later.

References

{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire