Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Worcestershire
*** Shopping-Tip: Worcestershire
{| border=1 cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width=300
|-
!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#ff9999"|Worcestershire
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|
Image:EnglandWorcestershire.png
|-
!colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Geography
|-
|width="45%"|Status:||
Ceremonial counties of England Ceremonial &
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England Non-metropolitan county
|-
|Region:||
West Midlands (region) West Midlands
|-
|
Surface area Area:
- Total
- Admin. council||
List of Ceremonial counties of England by Area Ranked 34th1 E9 m² 1,741 square kilometre km²List of Administrative shire counties of England by Area Ranked 29th
|-
|Admin HQ:||
Worcester
|-
|
ISO 3166-2:GB ISO 3166-2:||GB-WOR
|-
|
ONS coding system ONS code:||47
|-
|
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics NUTS 3:||UKG12
|-
!colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Demographics
|-
|
Population:
- Total (
2004 est.)
-
Density- Admin. Council
|
List of ceremonial counties of England by population Ranked 38th552,000
317 / km²
List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population Ranked 22nd
|-
|Ethnicity:||97.5% White
1.1% S.Asian
|-
!colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Politics
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|
Image:Worcs-coa.pngWorcestershire County Council
http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/
|-
|Executive:||
Conservative Party (UK) Conservative
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|
MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005 Members of Parliament
|-
|colspan=2|
Michael John Foster Michael Foster, Julie Kirkbride, Peter Luff, Jacqui Smith, Michael Spicer, Richard Taylor (UK politician) Richard Taylor, Bill Wiggin
|-
!colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Districts
|-
|colspan=2|
Image:WorcestershireNumbered.png
#
Worcester
#
Malvern Hills (district) Malvern Hills
#
Wyre Forest
#
Bromsgrove (district) Bromsgrove
#
Redditch
#
Wychavon
|}
'''Worcestershire''' (
IPA chart for English pronounced {{IPA|/ˈwʊs.təˌʃə/}}; abbreviated '''Worcs''') is a county located in the
West Midlands (region) West Midlands region of central
England. From
1974 to
1998 it was administered as part of
Hereford and Worcester.
Situation
The county borders
Herefordshire,
Shropshire,
Staffordshire,
West Midlands (county) West Midlands,
Warwickshire, and
Gloucestershire. To the west, the county is bordered by the
Malvern Hills AONB Malvern Hills, by which is located the former spa town of
Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern. The western side of the hills is in the county of
Herefordshire. The southern part of the county is bordered by
Gloucestershire and the northern edge of the
Cotswolds, and to the east is
Warwickshire. The two major rivers flowing through the county are the
River Severn Severn and the
River Avon, Warwickshire Avon.
Other than the city of
Worcester, England Worcester, and several large towns (notably
Kidderminster,
Bromsgrove and
Redditch (the county's largest settlement)) in the northern part of the county, the area is still largely rural.
Local Produce
A large area of the county used to be devoted to fruit-growing and the cultivation of
hop (plant) hops; this has decreased considerably since
World War II, though in the southern area of the county, around the
Vale of Evesham, there are still sufficient orchards that the British
Automobile Association signposts a route (the "
Blossom Trail") where the orchards can be seen in spring. Worcester City's
coat of arms includes a depiction of three black pears, representing a now rare local fruit variety, the Worcester Black Pear. The county's coat of arms follows this theme, having a pear tree with black pears. The apple variety known as Worcester Pearmain originates from Worcestershire, and the
Pershore 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 city of Worcester and the surrounding county are best known for
Worcestershire sauce and for its porcelain works.
Worcestershire sauce (also known as ''Worcester sauce'') is a savory sauce made with vinegar,
anchovies,
molasses,
tamarind tamarinds, onions and spices, used in flavouring various foods and the
Bloody Mary (cocktail) Bloody Mary drink which is drunk worldwide. The village of
Broadheath, about 10km North-West of the city of Worcester, is the birthplace of the composer
Edward Elgar. The town of Malvern is the home of the
Morgan (car) Morgan traditional
sports car). The painting, ''
A Worcestershire Cottage'' by
Arthur Claude Strachan is also of general renown.
History
''Main article:
History of Worcestershire.''
Worcestershire was the site of the
Battle of Evesham in which
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester Simon de Montfort was killed (4th August,
1265), and later, in the
English Civil War, the
Battle of Worcester (
1651).
In the
19th century nineteenth century, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of gloves; the town of
Kidderminster was a centre for carpet manufacture, and
Redditch specialised in the manufacture of needles and hooks.
Droitwich Spa, being situated on large deposits of salt, was a centre of salt production from
Roman empire Roman times, 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 ''Berrow's Journal'' (established
1690).It is also home to the
Worcestershire County Cricket Club, traditionally first stop on for the touring national side's schedule in England. The Club's players have included
Tom Graveney,
Ian Botham,
Glenn McGrath,
Graeme Hick,
Kapil Dev,
Vikram Solanki,
Don Kenyon and
Basil D'Oliveira. Worcester Rugby Football Club, the
Worcester Warriors, whose ground is at Sixways, Worcester, were promoted to the
Guinness Premiership in
2004.
From
1974 to
1998, it was combined with Herefordshire to form a single administrative county of
Hereford and Worcester; some areas now part of West Midlands metropolitan county used to be part of northern Worcestershire, such as
Dudley,
Halesowen,
Stourbridge. Even before then, some areas, such as
Yardley, West Midlands Yardley had been made part of
Birmingham itself (and hence
Warwickshire). The post-1998 county therefore does not correspond exactly to the pre-1974 boundaries.
Towns and villages
''See the
list of places in Worcestershire.''
Places of interest
*
Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings
*
Walton Hill and the
Clent Hills
*
Malvern Hills AONB Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural beauty
*
Severn Valley Railway
*
Worcester Cathedral
*
Great Malvern Priory
*
Leigh Court Tithe Barn
*
River Teme and valley
*
Tenbury Wells with its unique Pump Rooms.
*
River Severn at Worcester,
River Avon, Warwickshire 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
Local groups
*
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust
*
29th Regiment of Foot
*
West Midland Bird Club
External links
-
Worcestershire eHub geographic information system
-
Berrow's Journal The World's oldest newspaper
-
History of the Worcestershire Regiment
-
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
{{England ceremonial counties}}
{{England traditional counties}}
{{West_Midlands}}
Category:Worcestershire
da:Worcestershire
de:Worcestershire
es:Worcestershire
eo:Worcestershire
fr:Worcestershire
nl:Worcestershire
no:Worcestershire
ru:ВуÑ?тершир
sk:Worcestershire
This
:Category category contains articles relating to
Worcestershire.
Category:Counties of England
*** Shopping-Tip: Worcestershire
