Strensham ( ) is a village in the

Wychavon Wychavon () is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. The largest towns therein are Evesham and Droitwich Spa; the council is based in the town of Pershore. The district also includes numerous villages and surrounding rural ...

district of

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 ...

. In the 2001 census, the

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 ...

of Strensham had a population of 314 across 127 households. Since 1991, the population has risen 28.7% from 244 residents.

History

The Church of St John the Baptist lies in Lower Strensham atop a hill overlooking the River Avon, constructed in the 14th century. Strensham was once part of the

Royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

of Horewell. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Geography

The eastern edge of the parish lies on the banks of the River Avon, while the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

is to the west. Both rivers converge to the south in the

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

town of

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

. Nearby villages include Twyning,

Bredon Bredon is a village and civil parish in Wychavon district at the southern edge of Worcestershire in England. It lies on the banks of the River Avon on the lower slopes of Bredon Hill. Location and geography Bredon is located northwest of the ...

, Eckington and Ripple. The town of Upton-upon-Severn lies to the north west.

Transport

On 19 May 1966, in Nottingham, two new proposed 54-mile motorways were announced, planned by five counties. One motorway would join the M1 at Lockington in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, and to join the M5 at Rashwood in Worcestershire. This became the M42. The A42 would later terminate at Lockington. The proposed 54-mile

M69 motorway The M69 is a dual three-lane dual carriageway motorway in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, England. It runs between junction 21 of the M1 near Leicester and junction 2 of the M6 near Coventry. It opened in 1977. History The motorway, also k ...

was planned to extend through Warwickshire to Strensham, on the M5. This extension of the M69 was largely built as the dual carriageway A46, around Warwick.

Strensham services

The village gives its name to a

motorway service area Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...

located just to the north of the village on the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

which opened with the motorway in 1962. The Midlands Air Ambulance service has been operating one of its helicopters from the services site since 1991 following a deal with the then operator, Take a Break.

Strensham Court

Strensham Court was an early 19th-century country house in a landscaped park. It was built of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

in two storeys to a rectangular plan. A substantial portico was added later with large Ionic pillars. The manor of Strensham belonged historically to the Russell family. The Strensham estate was purchased in 1817 from descendants of the Russell family by John Taylor, grandson of John Taylor, the wealthy Birmingham industrialist. He had a new building constructed in 1824 to replace an earlier house on the site. Taylor was

High Sheriff of Worcestershire This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire. The High Sheriff, Sheriff is the oldest Secularity, secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but ove ...

in 1817 and died unmarried in 1848. The property passed to his brother James who died soon after, then to James's son James Arthur ( MP, died 1889) and to the latter's son Arthur James. The house was vacated in 1935, occupied during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by the Convent School from

Acocks Green Acocks Green is a suburban area and ward of southeast Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family, who built a large house there in 1370. It is occasionally spelled "Acock's Green". It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual p ...

in Birmingham, thereafter becoming derelict, and demolished after a fire in November 1974.

Notable residents

* Samuel Butler, a poet, was baptized in the village in February 1613. He was buried in St Paul's, Covent Garden and a memorial later placed in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

Treadway Russell Nash Treadway Russell Nash (24 June 1724 page 459 – 26 January 1811Chambers, p464) was an English clergyman, now known as an early historian of Worcestershire and the author of ''Collections for the History of Worcestershire'', an important source d ...

, Rector in 1792, partly responsible for re-popularising Butler

References

External links

Strensham Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire Wychavon