Birtsmorton is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills of Worcestershire, England, which at the 2021 census had a population of 257.[1] It is in the south-west of the county, not far from the borders with Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

Birtsmorton
Birtsmorton Church
Birtsmorton is located in Worcestershire
Birtsmorton
Birtsmorton
Location within Worcestershire
Population257 
OS grid referenceSO799355
• London100 miles (160 km)
Civil parish
  • Birtsmorton
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMALVERN
Postcode districtWR13
Dialling code01684
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
  • West Worcestershire
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire
52°01′03″N 2°17′28″W / 52.01759°N 2.29108°W / 52.01759; -2.29108

History

edit

The church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul and dates from the 14th century.[2] There is a large manor house, Birtsmorton Court, which is used today as a wedding venue.[3] It was the home for many centuries of the Nanfan family, some of whose tombs are in the church.

In 1703, the Rev. Samuel Juice, a former rector, endowed a village school in Rye Street. [4]

Birtsmorton was the birthplace of the chairmaker Philip Clissett who lived in the parish from his birth in 1817 until about 1842.[5]

Toponymy

edit

The village belonged to the Le Bret family from the 12th century onwards. Bret means Breton. The same family name is associated with Westonbirt House near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Birtsmorton". City population. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  2. ^ "St Peter & St Paul, Birtsmorton - a church near you". Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  3. ^ Birtsmorton Court Archived January 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ British History Online "Birtsmorton". Online reference
  5. ^ Rowell, T.A. "Philip Clissett, Chairmaker 1817-1913". Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  6. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1951). Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. 3rd ed., reprinted with corrections. Oxford University Press. pp. 316, 485.