North and Middle Littleton is 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 ...

located 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 Evesh ...

district 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The parish comprises the villages of North Littleton and Middle Littleton, and is located near the larger settlement of South Littleton. It is bounded by the River Avon to the west, and Buckle Street (the Roman Ryknild St) to the east. At the 2001 census it had a population of 906.

History

Though

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

human activity has been documented in the area, it is thought the first permanent settlements were constructed during Romano-British times (the important Roman road of Ryknild Street runs by the area). Other nearby Romano-British settlements at Ullington, Blakes Hill and Littleton Pastures have been documented, and all were thought to be in continuous occupation until the late 4th century. Archeological evidence suggests the area was completely abandoned after the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. The area had been repopulated to an extent by 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 manus ...

, which documents the Littletons twice. "Littletune" (thought to be North Littleton), was owned by

Evesham Abbey Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in Worcestershire, England between 700 and 710 following an alleged vision of the Virgin Mary by a swineherd by the name of Eof. According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Nor ...

, and had a population of 18 who farmed the land owned by the abbey. St Nicholas Church located in Middle Littleton is thought to have been first constructed in the 12th century, though it was significantly remodelled in the 13th century. The

Tithe Barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

is an early 14th-century farm building which is now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. Middle Littleton Manor House is a 17th-century Jacobean style

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, and was constructed using local stone. Later stone buildings remain in the villages today. In the 19th century, 23 people were listed in the parish as working in farming or

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...

. It remained largely as an agricultural area until the late 1940s. Today, very few of the inhabitants of the parish are employed in agriculture.

North and Middle Littleton today

The villages are served by North and Middle Littleton Parish Council. St Nicholas (

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

) Church is located in Middle Littleton, as is Littleton

Village Hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

. Middle Littleton is home to the Farm Animal Sanctuary, whose supporters include Princess Iman bint Hussein of Jordan.

Sports

The local football team, Littleton FC, play in the .

References

External links

North and Middle Littleton Parish Council

Local information on the Littletons
Civil parishes in Worcestershire {{Worcestershire-geo-stub