Worcestershire

Flag of Worcestershire

Coat of arms of Worcestershire

Worcestershire in England

Worcestershire (ˈwʊs.təˌʃə; abbreviated Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands region of central England. From 1974 to 1998 it was part of Hereford and Worcester. The city of Worcester, where the sauce named after Worcestershire was invented, is within this county.

The county borders Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire.

Physical geography

Worcestershire is a fairly rural county. The Malvern Hills, which run from the south of the county into Herefordshire, are made up mainly of volcanic rock, some of which date from before 1200 million years ago. For more on the geology of the Malvern Hills, see the other websites section below.

Places of interest

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings
Walton Hill and the Clent Hills
Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural beauty
Severn Valley Railway
Worcester Cathedral
Great Malvern Priory
Leigh Court Tithe Barn
Claines Church
River Teme and valley
Tenbury Wells with its unique Pump Rooms.
River Severn at Worcester, River Avon at Pershore or Evesham
Witley Court at Great Witley. A burnt out shell of a large English stately home, famous for its gigantic fountain, now restored to working order. Currently owned by English Heritage.
West Midlands Safari Park
Hanbury Hall
Forge Mill Needle Museum at Redditch, the only remaining working needle mill in the world.

Local groups

Worcestershire Conservative Future Archived 2007-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust

Worcestershire Media

Worcestershire numbered districts
The hand axe discovered in 1970s in Hallow. Potentially the first Early Middle Palaeolithic artefact from the West Midlands.^[1]
Hand-drawn map of Worcestershire by Christopher Saxton from 1577.
The Battle of Powick Bridge on the River Teme on 23 September 1642 began the English Civil War.
The flag of the historic county of Worcestershire
Worcester Bosch; Bosch Thermotechnology are in Warndon
The factory opened in 1897; the recipe for Worcestershire sauce came from Lord Sandys, and was only discovered accidentally when initially discarded and left to mature for months
Qinetiq at the Malvern Hills Science Park, or Malvern Technology Centre; the integrated circuit was invented here in 1952
Halesowen was an exclave of neighbouring Shropshire until 1844 when it was reincorporated into Worcestershire. It is now within the metropolitan county of the West Midlands.
Broadway Tower, one of several Worcestershire follies