Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands county to the north, Warwickshire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south, and Herefordshire to the west. The city of Worcester is the largest settlement.
The county, which is largely rural, has an area of and had an estimated population of in . Worcester is near the centre of the county on the River Severn. Other settlements include Kidderminster in the north, Redditch and Bromsgrove in the north-east, Evesham in the south-east, and the spa town of Malvern in the south-west. For local government purposes Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county with six districts. The county historically had complex boundaries, and included Dudley and the southwestern suburbs of Birmingham.
The River Severn flows through the centre of the county from north to south, forming a wide plain. The south-west of the county contains part of the Malvern Hills, a National Landscape which contains Worcestershire Beacon, at the county's highest point. The southeast contains a small part of the Cotswolds, and in the northwest is part of the Wyre Forest, a national nature reserve.
There is some evidence of Roman occupation in Worcestershire; the area later became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Hwicce, and then Mercia. Worcestershire was constituted as a county around 927, as the Kingdom of England formed. During the High Middle Ages the county was the site of the Battle of Evesham, in which Simon de Montfort was defeated, and in 1651 the Battle of Worcester was the last major engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the Industrial Revolution the north of the county was part of the Black Country, a major manufacturing centre, Kidderminster became famous for carpet production, and Worcester for porcelain.
Location The county borders Herefordshire to the west, Shropshire to the north-west, Staffordshire only just to the north, West Midlands to the north and north-east, Warwickshire to the east and Gloucestershire 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. Two major rivers flow through the county: the Severn and the Avon.
History
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, leading to population growth and more evidence of settlement. By the Iron Age, hill forts dominated the landscape. Settlement of these swiftly ended with the Roman occupation of Britain.
The Roman 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 kingdom of the Hwicce. It was absorbed by the Kingdom of Mercia during the 7th century and became part of the unified Kingdom of England in 927. Worcestershire was established as an administrative and defensive unit in the early tenth century.Brooks N, Cubitt C (1996). "St. Oswald of Worcester - Life and Influence". The administrative landscape of the Diocese of Worcester in the tenth century. p147 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 and Evesham. The shires and its sub-divisions known as hundreds, formed a framework for administering the resources of each burhs' outlying estates. It was a separate ealdormanship briefly in the 10th century before forming part of the Earldom of Mercia in the 11th century. The last known Anglo-Saxon Sheriff of Worcestershire was Cyneweard of Laughern.
Norman Conquest
During the Middle Ages, much of the county's economy was based on the wool trade. Many areas of its dense forests, such as Feckenham Forest, Horewell Forest and Malvern Chase, were royal hunting grounds subject to forest law.
After the Norman conquest of England; the Domesday Book 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.Tinti F.(2010) Sustaining Belief: The Church of Worcester from c.870 to c.1100
William the Conqueror gave to his allies and friends manors and parishes 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 and Priory.
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.Laird, "A Topographical and Historical Description of the County of Worcester" c. 1814; http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol3/pp1-4 British History Online: The hundred of Halfshire: Introduction and map, Pages 1-4. A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 3. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1913. 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 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's Jewish residents were attacked by a baronial force led by Robert Earl Ferrers and Henry de Montfort. Most were killed. The massacre in Worcester 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 in which Simon de Montfort was killed on 4 August 1265. A few years later, in 1275, the Jews that were still living in Worcester were forced to move to Hereford, as they were expelled from all towns under the jurisdiction of the queen mother.
Civil War
In 1642, the Battle of Powick Bridge was the first major skirmish of the English Civil War. 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 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 Worcester, 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, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of gloves; the town of Kidderminster became a centre for carpet manufacture, and Redditch specialised in the manufacture of needles, springs and hooks. Droitwich Spa, situated on large deposits of salt, was a centre of salt production from Roman times, with one of the principal Roman roads running through the town. These old industries have since declined, to be replaced by other, more varied light industry. 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%.
Ethnic group 2001population 2001% 2011population 2011% White: British 517,747 95.5 522,922 92.4 White: Irish 4,163 0.8 3,480 0.6 White: Irish Traveller/GypsyIn 2001 part of the White Other category. New category created for the 2011 census 1,165 0.2 White: Other 6,869 1.27 14,491 2.6 White: Total 528,779 97.5 542,058 95.7 Asian or Asian British: Indian 1,640 0.3 3,634 0.6 Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 2,917 0.5 4,984 0.9 Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 970 0.2 1,316 0.2 Asian or Asian British: Chinese 1,106 0.2 1,601 0.3 Asian or Asian British: Asian Other 455 0.1 2,206 0.4 Asian or Asian British: Total 7,088 1.3 13,741 2.4 Black or Black British: Caribbean 1,153 0.2 1,275 0.2 Black or Black British: African 332 0.1 767 0.1 Black or Black British: Other 153 0.03 330 0.1 Black or Black British: Total 1,638 0.3 2,372 0.4 Mixed: White and Caribbean 1,704 0.3 3,150 0.6 Mixed: White and African 221 0.04 592 0.1 Mixed: White and Asian Other 1,099 0.2 2,053 0.4 Mixed: Other Mixed 771 0.1 1,250 0.2 British Mixed: Total 3,795 0.7 7,045 1.2 Other: ArabIn 2001 part of the 'Other' category. New category created for the 2011 census 236 0.04 Other: Any other ethnic group 807 0.1 717 0.1 Other: Total 807 0.1 953 0.2 Total 542,107 100 566,169 100 Economy
In Redditch are Halfords, to the south in Washford, and GKN (it has the second largest turnover in the West Midlands) is in Riverside. Mettis Aerospace are in Enfield, north Redditch, and make light metal components ( former High Duty Alloys, which made most of the forged pistons for Britain's aircraft engines in WWII). Phoenix Group (non-public life assurance schemes) is in the north-east of the county near the Warwickshire boundary, at Wythall, and has a large turnover; nearby to west Metalrax, headquartered in Alvechurch, make (via subsidiaries) most of the bakeware sold in the UK.
Roger Dyson Group manufactures auto-recovery vehicles in north Droitwich. South of Bromsgrove, L.G. Harris & Co make paintbrushes. Lea & Perrins is in Worcester. Joy Mining Machinery are in the west of Worcester. Worcester, Bosch Group make 1,200 boilers a day. Mazak UK have the parent company's European manufacturing facility (for CNC machine tools) in the north of Worcester. Nearby on the Blackpole Ind Est, Froude Hofmann have their world headquarters, who make dynamometers.