Astley is a village, and a civil parish (with Dunley) in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, England, about two miles outside

Stourport-on-Severn Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest (district), Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, 4 miles to the south of Kidderminster and downstream on the River Severn from Be ...

and seven miles south-west of

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

. A range of English

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...

s including

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...

s have been produced in Astley since 1983. The wines have won over 100 awards, and are now Quality Wine status, three of which have received

International Wine and Spirit Competition The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine and spirit competition founded in 1969 by the German/British oenologist Anton Massel. Each year the competition receives entries from over 90 List of wine producing countries, countrie ...

(IWSC) awards.Astley Vineyards

History

There is evidence in the village of Norman heritage. The house Astley Towne has a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

cellar. Near St Peter's Church are the remains of a priory built in 1088. The priory was founded by Ralph de Todeni who was given the manor of ''Eastlie'' (Astley) following 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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. It was an alien Benedictine House, belonging to a parent monastery in Normandy. The prior's well remains, but is overgrown. To the East of the priory, well-defined earthworks of a medieval village have been found. Astley was in the lower division of

Doddingtree The Hundred of Doddingtree was granted to Ralph Todeni, or ''Ralph de Toni'', a relative of the Duke of Normandy, in 1066 by William the Conqueror as a reward for his services as Standard bearer during the Norman Conquest. It consisted mainly of ...

Hundred.''Worcestershire Family History Guidebook'', Vanessa Morgan, 2011, p20 The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire.Open Domesday: Astley, Doddingtree Hundred
accessed March 2020. Following the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the British Whig Party, Whig government of Charles ...

Astley Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to

Martley Poor Law Union Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 individual parishes ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in their parish. Poor law unions were established. In west Worcestershire the Martley Poor Law Union was established to take the po ...

. St Peter's church is of possible c12 century originsPevsner, Nikolas and Brookes, Alan ''Worcestershire'' 2007 Yale University Press p114-115 although its origins may have been based on an existing priory. There are several memorials within the church to the Winford family.

Education

Astley

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

is a small, rural CoE

Voluntary Aided school A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

with about eighty pupils between 4 and 11 years old. A free school was first established in Astley in 1729, endowed by the will of Mercy Pope. The present school was built in 1893. Although the school is isolated, it is popular with children travelling some distance each day. On leaving Astley school the 11 to 16s go on to The Chantry School at

Martley Martley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the English county of Worcestershire. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farming ...

.The Chantry School Admissions Map Accessed 8 June 2014

Facilities

Astley Burf contains an Outdoor Education centre, owned by

Dudley Council Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Dudley Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The town of Dudley had been a B ...

, and used by Dudley schools during the spring and summer

Glasshampton

Glasshampton means ''the home of clear water''.Ray Mace ''A potted History of Glasshampton Lodge'', n.d., manuscript, Shrawley, Worcestershire. Glasshampton was a separate manor from Astley, but like Astley, was in the lower division of

Hundred. The manor of Glasshampton and its associated estate was held by the Winford family. The house was said to contain 365 windows but was burnt down in 1917. The stable block survived and was converted in 1918 to accommodate a monastery for the Anglican Franciscan order.

Notable people

Frances Ridley Havergal Frances Ridley Havergal (14 December 1836 – 3 June 1879) was an English religious poet and hymnwriter. ''Take My Life and Let it Be'' and ''Thy Life for Me'' (also known as ''I Gave My Life for Thee'') are two of her best known hymns. She also ...

(1836–1879), poet and hymnist was born in the village, the youngest daughter of

William Henry Havergal William Henry Havergal (18 January 1793 – 19 April 1870) was an Anglican clergyman, writer, composer and hymnwriter, and a publisher of sermons and pamphlets. He was the father of the hymn-writer and poet Frances Ridley Havergal and the clergym ...

, the Rector of Astley. Both are buried at Astley. * Major General Hill Wallace, CB (1823–1899), former

officer commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

, buried at Astley. * Former Prime Minister,

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

lived at

Astley Hall Astley Hall may refer to * Astley Hall (Chorley) Astley Hall is a country house in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The building is now owned by the town and is known as Astley Hall Museum and Art Gallery. The extensive landscaped grounds are ...

in his later years. His home has now become a nursing home. There is also a monument dedicated to him on the main road between Holt and

Stourport Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, 4 miles to the south of Kidderminster and downstream on the River Severn from Bewdley. At the 2021 cens ...

. After Baldwin's death, a national appeal failed to raise sufficient money for this memorial.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

personally made up the shortfall and attended the dedication of the memorial. * Winford baronets, of Glasshampton * Captain

Andrew Yarranton Andrew Yarranton (1619–1684) was an important English engineer in the 17th century who was responsible for making several rivers into navigable waterways. Biography He was born at Astley, just south of the town of Stourport-on-Severn in Wor ...

, engineer and agriculturalist

References

External links

* Astley and Astley Hall o
www.british-history.ac.uk
* Gordon Lovett, ''A history of the people and places of Astley'', 2000

* {{authority control Villages in Worcestershire Malvern Hills District