Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for WORCESTERSHIRE, or Worcester

WORCESTERSHIRE, or Worcester, an inland county; bounded, on the NW, by Salop; on the N, by Staffordshire; on the E, by Warwickshire; on the S, by Gloucestershire; on the W, by Herefordshire. Its outline is very irregularly quadrangular. Its boundaries, with small aggregate exception, are artificial. Its greatest length, from N to S, is about 34 miles; its greatest breadth is about 30 miles; its circuit is about 220 miles; and its area is 472,165 acres. The surface exhibits fine diversity of valley and hill, well watered and richly wooded; is all so fertile as to contain scarcely a spot destitute of verdure; abounds, everywhere, with soft pleasing scenery; and includes many vantage-grounds, particularly the Malvern hills on the SW boundary, command ing extensive delightful views. The chief rivers are the Severn, the Avon, the Stour, and the Teme. Igneous and upper silurian rocks occupy small tracts in the W and SW; carboniferous rocks, including coal and ironstone, form a considerable tract in the NW, around Bewdley; and trias rocks, variously new red sandstone, Bunters and stone, and keeper marl, form nearly all the rest of the county. Quartz occurs in the Malvern and Lickey hills; granite, syenite, and green-stone, in the Malverns; limestone, among the silurian rocks; basalt, in the Cawney and the Tansley hills; rock salt, at Stoke-Prior; brine springs, at Stoke-Prior and Droitwich; and medicinal springs, at Malvern, Evesham, Flyford-Flavel, and Kidderminster.

Strong clay is the prevailing soil; a rich loamy sand abounds in the N; lights and peat earth are in some parts of the E; and a rich alluvium is in some parts of the valley of the Severn and its tributary streams. Wheat, barley, beans, potatoes, and hops are the principal crops; and wheat yields from 20 to 32 bushels per acre,-beans, from 40 to 45 bushels. Oats, rye, pease, turnips, carrots, clover, vetches, and other crops also are grown. Market-gardening is largely carried on; and apples and pears, for the production of cider and perry, have large attention. Estates are of all sizes; and farms are mostly smalland let yearly. Various breeds of cattle are fattened; sheep of the Leicester, Cotswold, Malvern, and other breeds are numerous; and hogs are kept for bacon. Coal and ironstone are worked by about 2,000 persons; limestone, flagstone, and free stone are extensively worked; fire bricks are made in the N; hardware manufacture employs about 8,000 persons; the manufacture of iron and steel employs about 1,200; glass manufacture employs about 400; porcelain manufacture, at Worcester, employs about 500; glove-making, with its chief seat at Worcester, employs nearly 2,000; the manufacture of carpets and rugs, at Kidderminster, employs about 1,500; the manufacture of woollen cloth, Worsted, bombazine, plush, silk, ribbons, coach-lace, and kindred fabrics, employs about 2,000; and there are salt-works, alkali-works, vitriol-works, vinegar-works, paper-mills, maltings, breweries, crate-works, tan-yards, and manufactories of combs, buttons, lanterns, and other articles. Navigation seaward is enjoyed by the Severn; and very extensive inland navigation, by connected canals. Railways traverse all sections of the county, and afford facile communication both within itself and to all parts of the kingdom. The aggregate of paved streets and turnpikes, in 1814, was 443 miles; of other highways used for wheeled carriages, 1,409 miles.

The county contains 163 parishes, parts of 6 others, and 8 extra-parochial places; and is divided into 5 boroughs and 5 hundreds. The act of 1844, for consolidating detached parts of counties, severed from Worcestershire 1,590 acres, and annexed to it 18,993 acres. The registration county excludes 85,637 acres of the electoral county; includes 64,951 acres of adjoining electoral counties; comprises altogether 434,076 acres; and is divided into 11 districts. The boroughs sending members to parliament are Worcester, Bewdley, Droitwich, Dudley, Evesham, and Kidderminster; the other towns, with each more than 2,000 inhabitants, are Bromsgrove, Great Malvern, Halesowen, Oldbury, Redditch, and Stourbridge; and there are about 275 smaller towns, villages, and hamlets. The chief seats include 6 of peers and 3 of baronets, and amount altogether to about 75. The county is governed by a lord-lieutenant and custos, a high sheriff, about 40 deputy lieutenants, and about 290 magistrates; and is in the Oxford judiciary circuit, the Midland military district, and mainly Worcester diocese. The assizes and the quarter sessions are held at Worcester; and the county jailand a city jail are there. The police force in 1864, inclusive of that for Worcester, Bewdley, Droitwich, and Kidderminster boroughs, comprised 226 men, at an annual cost of £18,281. The crimes committed, in 1864, were 601; the persons apprehended, 467; the known depredators and suspected persons at large, 1,612; the houses of bad character, 328. Eight members are sent to parliament by the boroughs, two by the E division of the county and two by the W division. Electors of the E division, in 1833, 3,122; in 1865, 6,875. Electors of the W division in 1833, 5,161; in 1865, 5,221. The Poor rates of the registration county in 1863 were £119,568. Marriages in 1866, 2,495,-of which 229 were not according to the rites of the Established Church; births, 11,199,- of which 674 were illegitimate; deaths, 6,284,-of which 2,622 were at ages under 5 years, and 159 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 23,954; births, 93,211; deaths, 56,037. The places of worship within the electoral county, in 1851, were 244 of the Church of England , with 85,155 sittings; 1 of English Presbyterians, with 650 s.; 24 of Independents, with 7,404 s.; 46 of Baptists, with 9,949 s.; 7 of Quakers, with 1,440 s.; 9 of-Unitarians, with 2,461 s.; 67 of Wesleyans, with 15,155 s.; 15 of New Connexion Methodists, with 5,267 s.; 40 of Primitive Methodists, with 6,850 s.; 4 of the Wesleyan Association, with 504 s.; 1 of Independent Methodists, with 150 s.; 9 of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, with 3,015 s.; 1 of Brethren, with 150 s.; 5 of isolated congregations, with 348 s.; 3 of Latter Day Saints, with 170 s.; 12 of Roman Catholics, with 2,834 s.; and 1 of Jews, with 10 s. The schools were 233 public day-schools, with 21,279 scholars; 468 private day-schools, with 9,278 s.; 341 Sunday schools, with 35,221 s.; and 19 evening schools for adults, with 368 s. Real property in 1815, £820,021; in 1843, £1,332,538; in 1860, 1,655,524,-of which £349 were in quarries, £.82,128 in mines, £27,547 in iron-works, £52 in fisheries, £849 in canals, £121,181 in railways, and £6,351 in gasworks. Pop. in 1801, 146,441; in 1821, 194,074; in 1841, 248,460; in 1861, 307,397. Inhabited house s, 63,126; uninhabited, 3,820; building, 352. Pop. of the registration county in 1851, 258,733; in 1861, 294,953. Inhabited house s, 60,019; uninhabited, 3,487; building, 352.

The territory now forming Worcestershire was inhab- ited by the ancient British Cornavii, Dobuni, and Silures; was divided, by the Romans, between their Flavia Cæsariensis and their Britannia Secunda; formed most of the commonwealth of Wiccas; was afterwards all incorporated with Mercia; went as an earldom, after the Norman conquest, to the D'Abitots, the Beauchamps, and others; and was the scene of the great battles of Evesham and Worcester. It is traversed by Ryknield-street and the Upper Salt way; had Roman settlements at Upton and Worcester; and retains ancient British barrows on Clent Heath, Roman camps at three places, a Danish camp at Conderton, and ruined mediæval castles at four places. About 28 monastic establishments were in it; and remains of 5 of them still exist. Worcester cathedral and about 18 parish churches show interesting features of ancient architecture.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "an inland county"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 2nd order divisions")
Administrative units: Worcestershire AncC
Place names: WORCESTER     |     WORCESTERSHIRE     |     WORCESTERSHIRE OR WORCESTER
Place: Worcestershire

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