Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the West Midlands of

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 ...

. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On ...

in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see History of Worcestershire). Over the centuries the county borders have been modified, but it was not until 1844 that substantial changes were made. Worcestershire was abolished as part of local government reforms in 1974, with its northern area becoming part of the West Midlands and the rest part of the county of Hereford and Worcester. In 1998 the county of Hereford and Worcester was abolished and Worcestershire was reconstituted, again without the West Midlands area.

Location

The county borders

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 Monmouths ...

to the west,

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 ...

to the north-west,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

only just to the north, West Midlands to the north and north-east,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

to the east and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

to the south. The western border with Herefordshire includes a stretch along the top of the Malvern Hills. At the southern border with Gloucestershire, Worcestershire meets the northern edge of the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of J ...

. Two major rivers flow through the county: the Severn and the Avon.

History

Hallow Handaxe, early middle Palaeolithic

The geographical area now known as Worcestershire was first populated at least 700,000 years ago. The area became predominantly agricultural in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, leading to population growth and more evidence of settlement. By the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

, hill forts dominated the landscape. Settlement of these swiftly ended with the Roman occupation of Britain. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

period saw establishment of the villa system in the Cotswolds and Vale of Evesham. Droitwich (Salinae) was probably the most important settlement in the county in this period, due to its product of salt. There is also evidence for Roman settlement and industrial activity around Worcester and King's Norton.

Anglo-Saxon Worcestershire

The area which became Worcestershire formed the heartland of the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

kingdom of the Hwicce. It was absorbed by the Kingdom of Mercia during the 7th century and became part of the unified

in 927. Worcestershire was established as an administrative and defensive unit in the early tenth century. Its purpose was to take into account and defend the estates within the northern area of the historic See of Worcester, held by the Episcopus Hwicciorum and Worcester Priory, along with the Abbots of Pershore,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

and Evesham. The shires and its sub-divisions known as hundreds, formed a framework for administering the resources of each

burh A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new const ...

s' outlying estates. It was a separate

ealdorman Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

ship briefly in the 10th century before forming part of the Earldom of Mercia in the 11th century. The last known

Sheriff of Worcestershire was Cyneweard of Laughern.

Norman Conquest

During the

Middle Ages 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 ...

, much of the county's economy was based on the wool trade. Many areas of its dense forests, such as

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 ...

Horewell Forest Horewell Forest was a royal forest, i. e. a royal game preserve.Grant, p. 227. In the west, it bordered the river Severn, and Strensham in the south and extended to Pershore. Parts of it ceased to belong to the royal forest in 1229. Inclusions A ...

and Malvern Chase, were royal hunting grounds subject to forest law. After the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conqu ...

; 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 ...

noted in 1086 that in seven of the twelve hundreds covering Worcestershire, the Crown had no authority. The Crown's authority was replaced by the Bishop of Worcester and the Abbots at Pershore, Westminster and Evesham.

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

gave to his allies and friends manors and

parishes 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 ...

captured from the Anglo-Saxons. Despite the Norman Conquest, the rest of the county was still held by the Abbeys of Pershore and Evesham, the

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

. The first Norman Sheriff Urse d'Abetot, built the castle of Worcester and seized much church land, some of which became part of the Crown's hundreds in Worcestershire. and was in dispute with the Bishop of Worcester over the rights of the sheriff.Brooks "Introduction" ''St Wulfstan and His World'' p. 3; Williams "Cunning of the Dove" ''St Wulfstan and His World'' pp. 33–35 Bishop Wulfstan was the last Anglo-Saxon bishop in England, and remained in post until his death in 1095. Under his tenure

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bless ...

began major reconstruction, and he opposed political interventions against William and the Normans. He was later made a saint.

High Medieval

During Henry III's disputes and wars with his Barons, in 1263

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, Engla ...

's Jewish residents were attacked by a baronial force led by Robert Earl Ferrers and Henry de Montfort. Most were killed. The massacre in

was part of a wider campaign by the De Montforts and their allies in the run-up to the Second Barons' War, aimed at undermining Henry III. Worcestershire was the site of the

Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led t ...

in which Simon de Montfort was killed on 4 August 1265. A few years later, in 1275, the Jews that were still living in

were forced to move to

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

, as they were expelled from all towns under the jurisdiction of the queen mother.

Civil War

Old Powick Bridge over the River Teme - geograph

In 1642, the

Battle of Powick Bridge The Battle of Powick Bridge was a skirmish fought on 23 September 1642 just south of Worcester, England, during the First English Civil War. It was the first engagement between elements of the principal field armies of the Royalists and Parli ...

was the first major skirmish of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

. The county suffered from being on the Royalist front line, as it was subject to heavy taxation and the pressing of men into the Royalist army, which also reduced its productive capacity. The northern part of the county, which was already a centre of iron production, was important for military supplies. Parliamentarian raids and Royalist requisitioning both placed a great strain on the county. There were tensions from the participation of prominent Catholic recusants in the military and civilian organisation of the county. Combined with the opposition to requisitioning from both sides, bands of Clubmen formed to keep the war away from their localities. The

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

in 1651 effectively ended the third civil war. There was little enthusiasm or local participation in the mostly Scottish Royalist army, whose defeat was widely welcomed. Nevertheless, Parliamentarian forces ransacked the city of

, causing heavy damage, looting and destruction of property. Around 10,000 mostly Scottish prisoners were sent into forced labour in the New World or fen drainage schemes. The small bands of Scots that fled into Worcestershire's countryside were attacked by local forces and killed.

Nineteenth century

In the 19th century,

was a centre for the manufacture of gloves; the town of Kidderminster became a centre for carpet manufacture, and

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

specialised in the manufacture of needles, springs and hooks.

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. T ...

, situated on large deposits of salt, was a centre of salt production from

times, with one of the principal

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

s running through the town. These old industries have since declined, to be replaced by other, more varied

light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...

. The county is also home to the world's oldest continually published newspaper, the '' Berrow's Journal'', established in 1690. Malvern was one of the centres of the 19th-century rise in English spa towns due to Malvern water being believed to be very pure, containing "nothing at all".Bottled Waters of the World
. Retrieved 9 August 2009

Demographics

The 2011 census found the population of Worcestershire to be 566,169, an increase of 4.4% from the 2001 population of 542,107.

Ethnicity

Though the total number of people in every ethnic group increased between 2001 and 2011, the White British share of Worcestershire's population decreased from 95.5% to 92.4%, as did the share of White ethnic groups as whole, which went from 97.5% to 95.7%. Worcestershire is still much more ethnically homogeneous than the national average. In 2011, 79.8% of the population of England identified as White British; much lower than Worcestershire's figure of 92.4%.

Local government

Local government in Worcestershire has changed several times since the middle of the 19th century.

1844–1911

St John the Baptists Church Halesowen - geograph

Worcestershire contained numerous exclaves, which were areas of land cut off from the main geographical area of Worcestershire and completely surrounded by the nearby counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...

. The most notable islands were Dudley, Evenlode, Blockley and the area around Shipston-on-Stour. Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and

had their own exclaves within the main part of Worcestershire at Rochford, Broome, Clent, Tardebigge (

Tutnall and Cobley Tutnall and Cobley is a civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England. It has a population of 1,543. The villages of Tutnall and Tardebigge Tardebigge () is a village in Worcestershire, England. The village is most fa ...

) and Halesowen respectively. Tardebigge's history outside the county is even more colourful, changing hands from Worcestershire to Staffordshire and Warwickshire, before returning to Worcestershire at differing times over the centuries. The southern boundary of the county was also complex, with parish boundaries penetrating deep into Gloucestershire and vice versa. Worcestershire County Council came into existence following the Local Government Act 1888 and covered the historic traditional county, except for two designated

county boroughs County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ...

at Dudley and Worcester.HM Government LegislationLocal Government Act 1888
– Retrieved 7 May 2020 Birmingham's continuous expansion has been a major cause of Worcestershire's fluid boundary changes and associated housing issues. The district of Balsall Heath, which had originally constituted the most northerly part of the parish of King's Norton, was the first area of the county to be added to the County Borough of Birmingham, on 1 October 1891. This was followed by Quinton

Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

, which was ceded to Birmingham in November 1909, and then by the Rural District of Yardley and the greater part of the

Urban District of King's Norton and Northfield King's Norton and Northfield Urban District was a local government administrative district in north Worcestershire, England, from 1898 until 1911. Much of its area was afterwards absorbed into the neighbouring Borough of Birmingham, under the ...

, which were absorbed into Birmingham under the Greater Birmingham Scheme on 9 November 1911. Thus these areas were transferred from Worcestershire to Warwickshire. Dudley's historical status within the Diocese of Worcester and through its aristocratic links ensured that the exclave was governed on a largely autonomous basis. Worcester was designated a

county corporate A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for local government in England, Wales, and Ireland. Counties corporate were created during the Middle Ages, and were effectively small self-governing county-empo ...

, and thus became separate from the rest of Worcestershire.

1926 boundary changes

In 1926,

Dudley County Borough The County Borough of Dudley was a local government district in the English Midlands from 1865 to 1974. Originally a municipal borough, it became a county borough in 1889, centred on the main town centre of Dudley, along with the suburbs of Ne ...

council purchased several square miles of land to the north of the town centre, mostly in Sedgley (

), including Dudley Castle. This was to build the Priory Estate, a large new council estate on which construction began in 1929. The boundaries of Worcestershire were altered to include all of the proposed new housing estate in Dudley.

1966–1974

During the Local Government reorganisation of April 1966, Dudley expanded beyond its historical boundaries and took in the bulk of Sedgley, Staffordshire County Councilbr>Staffordshire Place Guide – Sedgley
– Retrieved 7 May 2020 Brierley Hill and the south of Coseley as well as a small section of

Amblecote Amblecote is an urban village and one of the most affluent areas in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It lies immediately north of the historic town of Stourbridge, extending about one and a half miles from it, a ...

. Staffordshire County Councilbr>Staffordshire Place Guide – Amblecote
– Retrieved 7 May 2020 The Local Government Act redefined its status and the County Borough of Dudley became part of Staffordshire, the county of which all of these areas had been part. At the same time, Worcestershire gained a new

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

named Warley, which was an amalgamation of Oldbury Urban District, Rowley Regis Urban District, the

County Borough of Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bui ...

and parts of Dudley and Tipton. During this reorganisation, the area of the administrative county grew only where Stourbridge took in the majority of Amblecote Urban District from Staffordshire and the designation of Redditch in 1964 as a

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. This in turn saw expansion into the area in and around the villages of

Ipsley Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England. The town is divided into separate districts. All street-name signs in Redditch have the street name in white lettering on a blue background and the district ...

and Matchborough in Warwickshire. The Redditch New Town designation coincided with a considerable programme of social and private house building in Droitwich, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and along the Birmingham boundary at Frankley, Rubery and

Rednal Rednal is a residential suburb on the south western edge of metropolitan Birmingham, West Midlands, England, southwest of Birmingham city centre and forming part of Longbridge parish and electoral ward. Rednal is home to approximately 2,000 res ...

. Frankley parish was later split into two: New Frankley and the area around

Bartley Reservoir Bartley Reservoir is a reservoir for drinking water in Birmingham, England, operated by Severn Trent Water.Environment Agency public register of Large Raised Reservoirs, as at 2 November 2020, via It covers . The reservoir is about long, ove ...

transferred from Bromsgrove District to Birmingham in April 1995; but the small village of Frankley remained in Worcestershire and became a new

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 ...

under the same name.

1974–1998

From 1974, the central and southern parts of the county were amalgamated with Herefordshire and with Worcester County Borough to form a single non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester. The County Boroughs of Dudley and Warley, along with Stourbridge and Halesowen, were incorporated into the new West Midlands

Metropolitan county The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...

. The

West Midlands County Council West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England. History The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April ...

existed for only a few years before abolition in April 1986, although the West Midlands still exists as a

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

1998–present

In the

1990s UK local government reform The structure of local government in the United Kingdom underwent large changes in the 1990s. The system of two-tier local government introduced in the 1970s by the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 was aboli ...

, the county of Hereford & Worcester was abolished, and the non-metropolitan county or shire county of Worcestershire regained its historic border with Herefordshire.HM Government LegislationThe Hereford and Worcester (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996
– Retrieved 7 May 2020 The recreated County of Worcestershire came into existence on 1 April 1998 as an administrative and ceremonial county, although this excluded the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ...

towns of Dudley, Halesowen, Oldbury and Stourbridge (which remained part of the West Midlands). Worcestershire County Council was reformed, although some services are shared with the newly formed Herefordshire Council,Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Hereford and Worcester. December 1994
– Retrieved 16 May 2013 including waste management and the youth offending service. The former Hereford and Worcester districts of Redditch, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Wychavon and Wyre Forest were retained with little or no change. However the Leominster and Malvern Hills districts straddled the historic border, so a new Malvern Hills district was constituted which straddled the pre-April 1974 county boundary to the west, south-west and north-west. The remaining parts of the former Hereford and Worcester district of Leominster, returned to Herefordshire.

Summary of main changes

These settlements were historically part of the county as noted above, that now fall under the counties of

and West Midlands.

Physical geography

The Malvern Hills, which run from the south of the county into Herefordshire, are made up mainly of

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...

s and

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

s, some of which date from more than 1,200 million years ago. They are designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The

Worcestershire Beacon Worcestershire Beacon, also popularly known as Worcester Beacon, or locally simply as ''The Beacon'', is a hill whose summit at is the highest point in Worcestershire. It is part of the Malvern Hills which run about north-south along the Herefo ...

, which at is the highest point in the county, lies in this range.; The rest of the county consists of undulating hills and farmland stretching either side of the Severn valley. The Severn is the United Kingdom's longest river and flows through Bewdley, Stourport-on-Severn and

. The River Avon flows through the Worcestershire town on Evesham and joins the Severn at

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

. Several coniferous and deciduous woodlands are located in the north of the county. The Vale of Evesham runs through the south of the county and to its south are the

AONB.

Honeybourne station-Geograph-3549213-by-Rob-Newman

Green belt

Worcestershire contains a broad expanse of

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which h ...

area, widening to over in places. It is part of the larger belt surrounding the West Midlands county, and first drawn up from the 1950s. All of the county's districts other than Malvern Hills contain some portion of the belt.

Sport

New Road Worcester - 3 - geograph-891443

The largest and most successful football club in the county is

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

. Founded in 1877 as a running club and doubling as a rugby club from 1880, the football club was founded in 1886. In 1987, the club won the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The com ...

for the first time, and seven years later reached the fifth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

, also winning the GM Vauxhall Conference title in 1994 but being denied

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

status as their

Aggborough Stadium Aggborough Stadium is a football stadium in Kidderminster, England. It is the home ground of Kidderminster Harriers, and has a capacity of 7,000, of which 3,140 can be seated. The ground was also the home of Worcester City between 2013 and 20 ...

did not meet capacity requirements. However, when the club next won the Conference title six years later, their stadium had been upgraded and promotion was granted, giving the county its first (and thus far only) Football League members. However, the club's Football League membership was short-lived, as Harriers were relegated back to the Conference in 2005 after just five years in the Football League, and have yet to reclaim their status. The county is also represented by Alvechurch, Bromsgrove Sporting and Redditch United of the Southern Premier League, and Worcester City of the Midland Football League. The county is home to

Worcestershire County Cricket Club Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Worcestershire. Its Vitality Blast T20 team has been rebrande ...

, traditionally the first stop on any touring national side's schedule in England. Formed officially in 1865, the Club initially played in Boughton Park, before moving to its current New Road ground, which today can host 5,500 spectators, in 1895. The club has won five County Championships in its history, most recently in 1989. Worcester Rugby Football Club, the Worcester Warriors, are the county's largest and most successful Rugby Union team, having been promoted to the Premiership in 2004. The Warriors were relegated to the RFU Championship in 2010 but rebounded back to the Premiership in 2011. Worcester Warriors play at the Sixways Stadium on the outskirts of Worcester, holding over 12,000 spectators, thus making it the largest stadium in the county. Sixways has hosted the final of the LV Cup on three occasions.

Culture

The village of Broadheath, about northwest of the city of Worcester, is the birthplace of the composer

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

. It is claimed that the county was the inspiration for the Shire, a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in '' The Hobbit'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

''. Tolkien was thought to have named Bilbo Baggins' house " Bag End" after his Aunt Jane's Worcestershire farm. Tolkien wrote of Worcestershire, "Any corner of that county (however fair or squalid) is in an indefinable way 'home' to me, as no other part of the world is." Worcestershire is one of the three counties associated with the

Border Morris Border Morris is a collection of individual local dances from villages along the English side of the Wales– England border in the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. They are part of the Morris dance tradition. History ...

style of English folk dancing. Worcestershire Monkey is a popular Border Morris dance; although normally performed as a group of eight, it is sometimes danced ''en masse'' with multiple Border Morris sides performing the dance together. Worcestershire appeared as one of the main settings in the DreamWorks Animation animated film '' Shrek the Third''. The director Chris Miller said they chose Worcestershire because it is always being mispronounced. "It just made us laugh. Plus we love the sauce, it's hugely popular in the States." The film make multiple references to the real Worcestershire in the film, even commenting on the famous Worcestershire Sauce.

Media

Worcestershire has a long history in radio broadcasting. The county is home to the Droitwich Transmitting Station near Wychbold, currently broadcasting

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

and commercial radio services -

Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW. History 1993–1997: Vi ...

and TalkSport on Medium Wave/AM and

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

on Long Wave. The site is the location of the

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Location

History

Anglo-Saxon Worcestershire

Norman Conquest

High Medieval

Civil War

Nineteenth century

Demographics

Ethnicity

Local government

1844–1911

1926 boundary changes

1966–1974

1974–1998

1998–present

Summary of main changes

Physical geography

Green belt

Sport

Culture

Media

Local and regional radio

Economy

Industry and agriculture

Education

Towns and villages

Places of interest

Local groups

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links