Worcestershire

Worcestershire lies in the centre of the United Kingdom and is an administrative, ceremonial and historic county which forms part of the West Midlands. The county town for Worcestershire is the cathedral city of Worcester which lies on the River Severn which is the longest river in England and there is another major river in the county, the River Avon.

The principal towns in Worcestershire are Bromsgrove, Redditch, Droitwich, Pershore, Evesham, Malvern and Kidderminster.

Worcestershire was formed in 927 when it became part of the unified Kingdom of England in Anglo Saxon times. In medieval times Worcestershire’s economy was based on the wool trade and it saw considerable action in the English Civil War culminating in the Battle of Worcester in 1651. In the nineteenth century, the various towns specialised in local industries including glove making, needles, springs and hooks and carpets. In the twentieth century, many varied light industries grew in all of the towns across Worcestershire as well as Worcester.

 

Worcestershire has excellent transport links with M% motorway running down the centre and railways link most of the towns as well, as with Birmingham, and London.

Much of Worcestershire is subject to the Green Belt which restricts new developments and retains much of the beautiful countryside there.

In culture, the classical composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in Worcestershire as was the classical poet A E Houseman.

In sport, the county has two major teams Worcestershire County Cricket Club and Worcester Warriors for sport. It has a wide range of house types form period cottages for the middle ages, regency and Victorian terrace houses, much interwar developments in Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and Malvern as well as very recent ones the largest being Redditch which is a new town and Warndon Villages in Worcester.