Drayton is a hamlet 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 which remains part of the ecclesiastical parish of

Chaddesley Corbett Chaddesley Corbett is a village and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District Council, Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. The Anglican and secular versions of the parish include other named neighbourhoods, once farmsteads or milli ...

, which from its select

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

formed 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

and which also continues. Belne Brook, which originates in the

Clent Hills The Clent Hills are a hill range in Clent, Worcestershire, England. The closest towns are Stourbridge and Halesowen. The Clent Hills range consists of, in order from north-west to south-east: Wychbury Hill, Clent Hill (and Adams Hill), and Wal ...

and is a tributary of the River Stour, flows equally through

Belbroughton Belbroughton ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England. According to the 2021 census it had a population of 2,685. It is about six miles north of Bromsgrove, six miles east of Kidderminster and f ...

immediately upstream and through Drayton.

History

Charcoal and water-powered forges were a major feature in the area, the water used to turn sharpening wheels for

scythe A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...

-making. There was once a water-mill here: there is still a mill-pond, a mill building (which now houses local businesses) and 19th century terraced housing, all of which is evidence of the former industry.

Notes

Villages in Worcestershire {{Worcestershire-geo-stub