Worcestershire

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about the town of Worcestershire. You're probably thinking about the famous Worcestershire sauce right now--you're welcome! But we don't learn nearly enough about the sauce in this episode, just the town and its surroundings. Good luck staying awake with this one. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Worcestershire.

Worcestershire 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 in the county town.

The county is largely rural and has an area of 1,

741 kilometers squared and a population of 592,

057.

After Worcester,

The largest settlements are Redditch,

Kidderminster,

And Malvern.

It contains six local government districts,

Which are part of a two-tier non-metropolitan county also called Worcestershire.

The county historically had complex boundaries and included Stourbridge and the southwestern suburbs of Birmingham.

The River Severn flows through the center of the county from north to south,

Forming a wide plain.

The southwest of the county contains part of the Malvern Hills area of outstanding natural beauty,

Including Worcestershire Beacon at 435 meters,

The county's highest point.

The southwest contains a small part of the Cotswolds,

And in the northwest is part of the Weir 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 Wix,

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 Evisham,

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 center.

Kidderminster became famous for carpet production,

And Worcester for porcelain.

The county borders Herefordshire to the west,

Shropshire to the northwest,

Staffordshire only just to the north,

West Midlands to the north and northeast,

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.

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 Evisham.

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 industry activity around Worcester and Kings Norton.

The area which became Worcestershire formed the heartland of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the Wixxi.

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 10th century.

Its purpose was to take into account and defend the estates within the northern area of the historic Sea of Worcester,

Held by the Episcopus Wixiorum and Worcester Priori,

Along with the abbots of Pershore,

Westminster,

And Evisham.

The shires and its subdivisions,

Known as hundreds,

Formed a framework for administering the resources of each burgh's outlying estates.

It was a separate eel-dormantship briefly in the 10th century before forming part of the eel-dorm of Mercia in the 11th century.

The last known Anglo-Saxon sheriff of Worcestershire was Cynowyrd of Larne.

During the Middle Ages,

Much of the county's economy was based on the wool trade.

Many areas of its dense forests,

Such as Feckinham Forest,

Harwell 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 Evisham.

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 Evisham,

The Bishop of Worcester and Priory.

The first Norman sheriff,

Urst Abetted,

Built the castle of Worcester and seized much churchland,

Some of which became part of the crown's hundreds in Worcestershire,

And was in dispute with the Bishop of Worcester over the rights of the sheriff.

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.

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 Ferrars 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 Evisham,

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.

In 1642,

The Battle of Powick Bridge was the first major skirmish in 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 center 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 civil organization 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 labor 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.

In the 19th century,

Worcester was a center for the manufacture of gloves.

The town of Kidderminster became a center for carpet manufacture,

And Redditch specialized in the manufacture of needles,

Springs,

And hooks.

Droitwich Spa,

Situated on large deposits of salt,

Was a center 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 Barrow's Journal,

Established in 1690.

Malvern was one of the centers of the 19th century rise in English spa towns,

Due to Malvern water being believed to be very pure,

Containing nothing at all.

The 2011 census found the population of Worcestershire to be 566,

169,

An increase of 4.

4% from the 2001 population of 542,

107.

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 a whole,

Which went from 97.

5% to 95.

7%.

Worcestershire is still much more ethnically homogenous 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%.

In Redditch are Halfords,

To the south in Washford,

And GKN.

It has the second largest turnover in the West Midlands,

Is in Riverside.

Metis Aerospace are in Einfield,

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 the northeast of the county near the Walworkshire boundary,

At Withell,

And has a large turnover.

Nearby to West Metal Racks,

Headquartered in Alvinchurch,

Make most of the bakeware sold in the UK.

Roger Dyson Group manufactures auto recovery vehicles in North Droitwich.

South of Bronzegrove,

LG Harris & Co.

Make paintbrushes.

Lee & 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 in the north of Worcester.

Nearby on the Black Pole,

Froude-Hoffmann have their world headquarters,

To make dynamometers.

Roxul UK develops solid-fuel rockets for missiles south of Kidderminster and in Hartlebury.

The West Midland Safari Park is in Bewdley,

West of Kidderminster.

Morgan Technical Ceramics is headquartered at Lickhill,

And Stourport on Severn.

Egbert H.

Taylor & Elmley-Lovett near Hartlebury is a manufacturer of metal bins.

Liquid crystal displays were developed in 1972 in conjunction with the Royal Radar Establishment,

Where Geoffrey Dummer invented the idea of the integrated circuit in 1952.

It was based in Malvern and became the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment,

Which developed thermal imaging and pyroelectric infrared detectors,

And is now a large site owned by Kinetic.

Morgan Motor Company is in Malvern Link.

Comsoft RMS is in Evisham.

For many years,

Group 4 Security,

Which was the largest security company in Europe,

Had its headquarters in Broadway,

On the edge of the Cotswolds.

G4S Integrated Services now has its headquarters there.

Local government in Worcestershire has changed several times since the middle of the 19th century.

1844 to 1911,

Worcestershire contained numerous exclaves which were areas of land cut off from the main geographical area of Worcestershire and completely surrounded by the nearby counties of Warwickshire,

Staffordshire,

Gloucestershire,

Herefordshire,

And Oxfordshire.

The most notable islands were Dudley,

Evanlode,

Blockley,

And the area around Shipston-on-Stour.

Herefordshire,

Staffordshire,

Warwickshire,

And Shropshire had their own exclaves within the main part of Worcestershire at Rockford,

Within the main part of Worcestershire at Rochford,

Broome,

Glend,

Tardabig,

And Howison,

Respectively.

Tardabig's history outside the county is even more colorful,

Changing hands from Worcestershire to Staffordshire and Warwickshire,

Before returning to Worcestershire at differing times over the centuries.

A southern boundary of the county was also complex,

With parish boundaries penetrating deep into Gloucestershire and vice versa.

Worcestershire County Council came into existence following the Local Government Act of 1888 and covered the historic traditional county,

Except for two designated county boroughs at Dudley and Worcester.

Birmingham's continuous expansion has been a major cause of Worcestershire's fluid boundary changes and associated housing issues.

The District of Ballsall Health,

Which had originally constituted the most northerly part of the parish of Kings Norton,

Was the first area of the county to be added to the county borough of Birmingham on 1 October 1891.

This was followed by Quentin Urban District,

Which was ceded to Birmingham in November 1909,

And then by the rural district of Yardley and the greater part of the urban district of Kings Norton and Northfield,

Which were absorbed into Birmingham under the Greater Birmingham Scheme on 9 November 1911.

Thus,

These areas were transferred from Worcestershire to Warwickshire.

Dudley's historical status within the Diocese of Worcester and through its aristocratic links ensured that the exclave was governed on a largely autonomous basis.

Worcester was designated a county corporate and thus became separate from the rest of Worcestershire.

1926 Boundary Changes In 1926,

Dudley County Borough Council purchased several square miles of land in the north of the town center,

Mostly in Sedgley,

Staffordshire,

Including Dudley Castle.

This was to build the Priory Estate,

A large new council estate on which construction began in 1929.

The boundaries of Worcestershire were altered to include all of the proposed new housing estate in Dudley.

1966-1974 During the local government reorganization of April 1966,

Dudley expanded beyond its historical boundaries and took in the bulk of Sedgley,

Briarley Hill,

And the south of Cosley,

As well as a small section of Amblicote.

The Local Government Act redefined its status and the County Borough of Dudley became part of Staffordshire,

The county of which all of these areas had been part.

At the same time,

Worcestershire gained a new county borough named Worley,

Which was an amalgamation of Oldbury Urban District,

Rowley-Regis Urban District,

The County Borough of Smethwick,

And parts of Dudley and Tipton.

During this reorganization,

The area of the administrative county grew only where Stourbridge took in the majority of Amblicote Urban District from Staffordshire and the designation of Redditch in 1964 as a new town.

This,

In turn,

Saw expansion into the area in and around the village of Ipsley and Matchborough in Warwickshire.

The Redditch new town designation coincided with a considerable program of social and private house building in Droidwich,

Worcester,

Bromsgrove,

Kidderminster,

And along the Birmingham boundary at Frankly,

Rubury,

And Rednall.

Frankly Parish was later split into two.

New Frankly,

In the area around Bartley Reservoir,

Transferred from Bromsgrove District to Birmingham in April 1995.

But the small village of Frankly remained in Worcestershire and became a new civil parish under the same name.

1974 to 1998 From 1974,

The central and southern parts of the county were amalgamated with Herefordshire and with Worcester County Borough to form a single non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester.

The county boroughs of Dudley and Worley,

Along with Stourbridge and Hallisowan,

Were incorporated into the new West Midlands Metropolitan County.

The West Midlands County Council existed for only a few years before abolition in April 1986,

Although the West Midlands still exists as a ceremonial county.

1998 to present In the 1990s,

UK local government reform,

The county of Hereford and Worcester was abolished,

And the non-metropolitan county or Shire County of Worcestershire regained its historic border with Herefordshire.

The recreated county of Worcestershire came into existence on April 1,

1998,

As an administrative and ceremonial county,

Although this excluded the black country towns of Dudley,

Hallisowan,

Oldbury,

And Stourbridge,

Which remained part of the West Midlands.

Worcestershire County Council was reformed,

Although some services were shared with the newly formed Herefordshire Council,

Including waste management and the youth offending service.

The former Hereford and Worcester districts of Redditch,

Worcester,

Bromsgrove,

Whichavon,

And Weir Forest were retained with little or no change.

However,

The Lemonster and Malvern Hills districts straddled the historic border,

So a new Halvern Hills district was constituted,

Which straddled the pre-April 1974 county boundary to the west,

Southwest,

And northwest.

The remaining parts of the former Hereford and Worcester district of Lemonster returned to Herefordshire.

These settlements were historically part of the county that now fall under the counties of Warwickshire and West Midlands.

The Malvern Hills,

Which run from the south of the county into Herefordshire,

Are made up mainly of volcanic igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks,

Some of which date from more than 1,

200 million years ago.

They are designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,

AONB.

The Worcestershire Beacon,

Which at 425 meters,

Is the highest point in the county,

Lies in this range.

The rest of the county consists of undulating hills and farmland stretching either side of the Severn Valley.

The Severn is the United Kingdom's longest river and flows through Bewdley,

Stourport on Severn,

And Worcester.

The River Avon flows through the Worcestershire town on Evisham and joins the Severn at Tewkesbury,

Gloucestershire.

Several coniferous and deciduous woodlands are located in the north of the county.

The Vale of Evisham runs through the south of the county and to its south are the Cotswolds,

AONB.

Worcestershire contains a broad expanse of green belt area,

Widening to over 16 kilometers in places.

It is part of the larger belt surrounding the West Midlands County and first drawn up from the 1950s.

All of the county's districts,

Other than Malvern Hills,

Contain some portion of the belt.

The largest and most successful football club in the county is Kidderminster Harriers.

Founded in 1877 as a running club and doubling as a rugby club from 1880,

The football club was founded in 1886.

In 1987,

The club won the FA trophy for the first time and seven years later reached the fifth round of the FA Cup,

Also winning the GM Vauxhall Conference title in 1994,

But being denied football league status as their Agborough Stadium did not meet capacity requirements.

However,

When the club next won the conference title six years later,

Their stadium had been upgraded and promotion was granted,

Giving the county its first and thus far only football league members.

However,

The club's football league membership was short-lived as Harriers were relegated back to the conference in 2005 after just five years in the football league and have yet to reclaim their status.

The county is also represented by Alva Church Bromsgrove Sporting and Redditch United of the Southern Premier League and Worcester City of the Midland Football League.

The county is home to Worcestershire County Cricket Club,

Traditionally the first stop on any touring national side's schedule in England.

Formed officially in 1865,

The club initially played in Bowdoin Park before moving to its current new road ground,

Which today can host 5,

500 spectators in 1895.

The club has won five county championships in its history,

Most recently in 1989.

Worcester Rugby Football Club,

The Worcester Warriors,

Are the county's largest and most successful rugby union team,

Having been promoted to the premiership in 2004.

The Warriors were relegated to the RFU Championship in 2010 but rebounded back to the premiership in 2011.

Worcester Warriors play at the Six Ways Stadium in the outskirts of Worcester,

Holding over 12,

000 spectators,

Thus making it the largest stadium in the county.

Six Ways has hosted the final of the LV Cup on three occasions.

The village of Broadheath,

About 6.

2 miles northwest of the city of Worcester,

Is the birthplace of the composer Edward Elgar.

It is claimed that the county was the inspiration for the Shire,

A region of J.

R.

R.

Tolkien's fictional Middle Earth described in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien was thought to have named Bilbo Baggin's house Bag End after his Aunt Jane's Worcestershire farm.

Tolkien wrote of Worcestershire,

".

.

.

Any corner of that county,

However fair or squalid,

Is in an indefinable way home to me,

As no other part of the world is.

" Worcestershire is one of the three counties associated with the Border Morris style of English folk dancing.

Worcestershire Monkey is a popular Border Morris dance.

Although normally performed as a group of eight,

It is sometimes danced en masse with multiple Border Morris sides performing the dance together.

Worcestershire appeared as one of the main settings in the DreamWorks Animation animated film Shrek the Third.

The director,

Chris Miller,

Said they chose Worcestershire because it is always being mispronounced.

It just made us laugh.

Plus,

We love the sauce.

It's hugely popular in the States.

The film makes multiple references to the real Worcestershire in the film,

Even commenting on the famous Worcestershire sauce.

Worcestershire has a long history in radio broadcasting.

The county is home to the Droidwich transmitting station near Wychebold,

Currently broadcasting BBC Radio 5 Live and commercial radio services Absolute Radio and Talksport on medium wave AM and BBC Radio 4 on longwave.

The site is the location of the British Broadcasting Corporation's most powerful longwave transmitter,

Which during World War II coded messages read during normal program broadcasts were received by the French Resistance.

Lying close to the county's northwestern border is the Wofferton transmitting station,

Which was used during the Cold War to broadcast the voice of America's shortwave transmissions into the Eastern Bloc countries of Europe.

These sets of transmitters are still in use today.

In 1939,

The BBC bought the historic Wood Norton site near Evisham and equipped the premises with a dozen temporary studios.

These were to be used in the event of an evacuation of the BBC's operations in London and other urban areas.

By 1940,

Wood Norton was one of the largest broadcasting centers in Europe,

With an average output of 1,

300 radio programs a week.

The BBC monitoring service were also based at Wood Norton,

Where linguists,

Many of them foreign nationals,

Were hired to listen to the broadcasts from Europe until they were relocated to Caversham Park in early 1943.

The move was made to release space at Wood Norton so that it could be the BBC's main broadcasting center should London have to be evacuated because of the threat from Nazi Germany's V-weapons.

The site was also prepared for use during the Cold War as an emergency broadcast center.

The site is still in use for the BBC's engineering and technical training.

The county's television news is covered by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central from its studios in Birmingham.

Television signals are received from either the Ridge Hill or Sutton cold-filled TV transmitters.

BBC Hereford and Worcester and Free Radio,

Formerly Wevern,

Broadcast to both Herefordshire and Worcestershire on analogue and digital radio platforms,

Whilst Greatest Hits Radio,

Herefordshire and Worcestershire,

Formerly known as Signal 107,

Broadcast to Kidderminster,

Stourport on Severn,

Beaudley and Droitwich.

A community radio station,

Radio Wevern,

Is licensed to serve the Worcester area.

Meanwhile,

Capital mid-counties,

Formerly known as Touch FM,

Sunshine Radio and Like Radio,

Broadcast to the county on VHF FM and or DAB Digital Radio.

Historically,

West Midlands-based radio stations such as BBC Radio WM,

BRMB and Beacon Radio have considered parts of Worcestershire as their broadcast areas.

However,

Wevern,

Beacon,

BRMB,

Along with Mercia,

Are now known collectively as Free Radio and under the same Bower Radio ownership.

Other regional stations such as Heart West Midlands and Smooth West Midlands also cover the county.

In 2007,

The Office of Communications,

Ofcom,

Awarded a DAB Digital Radio multiplex license for Herefordshire and Worcestershire to Muxco Limited.

Muxco proposed new stations and a digital radio platform for Wevern FM,

Sunshine Radio and BBC Hereford and Worcester,

Who were initially licensed to broadcast on VHF FM and or AM.

Muxco eventually launched in December 2013 following changes in legislation through the Digital Economy Act 2010 and utilizes existing transmitter locations at Great Malvern,

Ridge Hill and Bromsgrove.

The multiplex continues to use the same transmission sites,

Albeit with an additional transmitter at Kitterminster,

And broadcasts a combination of local and national services.

In 2008,

MXR,

Who owned and operated the West Midlands Regional DAB Multiplex License,

Improved coverage of DAB Digital Radio across other parts of the county to include Worcester and Malvern.

This regional multiplex closed on the 27th of August 2013,

Partially replaced by CE Digital's Birmingham DAB Multiplex,

Who opened new transmitters at Licky Hills and Headless Cross.

Ofcom has earmarked two potential small-scale DAB Digital Radio multiplexes within Worcestershire,

One at Worcester and the other within Bromsgrove,

Kitterminster and Redditch.

The legal framework for the potential new multiplexes come under the Small-Scale Radio Multiplex and Community Digital Radio Order 2019.

Fruit farming and the cultivation of hobs were traditional agricultural activities in much of the county.

During the latter half of the 20th century,

This has largely declined with the exception of southern area of the county around the Vale of Evisham,

Where orchards are still worked on a commercial scale.

Worcester City's coat of arms includes three black pears,

Representing a now-rare local pear variety,

The Worcester black pear.

The county's coat of arms follow this theme,

Having a pear tree with black pears.

The apple variety known as Worcester pear main originates from Worcestershire,

And the perch or plum comes from the small Worcestershire town of that name and is widely grown in that area.

Worcestershire is also famous for a number of its non-agricultural products.

The original Worcestershire sauce,

The savory condiment made by Lee and Perrins,

Is made in Worcester,

And the now-closed Royal Porcelain Works was based in the city.

The town of Malvern is the home of the Morgan traditional sports car.

Worcestershire has a comprehensive school system with over 35 independent schools,

Including the RGS Worcester,

The King's School,

Worcester,

Malvern St.

James,

And Malvern College.

State schools in Worcester,

The Weir Forest District,

And the Malvern Hills District are two-tier primary schools and secondary schools,

Whilst Redditch and Broomsgrove have a three-tier system of first,

Middle,

And high schools.

Several schools in the county provide sixth-form education,

Including two in the city of Worcester.

Several vocational colleges provide GCSE and A-level courses and adult education such as South Worcestershire College and an agricultural campus at Warwickshire College in Pershore.

There is also the University of Worcester,

Which is located in the city itself and is home to the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit and five other national research centers.

The county town and only city is Worcester.

The other major settlements are Kidderminster,

Broomsgrove,

And Redditch.

There are also several market towns,

Malvern,

Beaudley,

Evisham,

Droitwich Spa,

Pershore,

Tenbury Wells,

Storeport-on-Severn,

And Upton-upon-Severn.

The village of Hartlebury housed the Bishop of Worcester from the 13th century until 2007.

Local groups include Worcestershire Wildlife Trust,

29th Regiment of Foot,

West Midland Bird Club.

Reviews

The sauce must be in Part 2? I’ll listen again in case I missed it. zzzzzzz 😅

Not me thinking it was about sauce..you went with the better decision.