Bengeworth, Worcestershire
Historical Description
Bengeworth, a parish and a suburb of Evesham, in Worcestershire, on the river Avon, with a station on the M.R., and a post and money order office. Population of the ecclesiastical parish, 1372. A castle here belonged to the Beauchamps, and was destroyed in 1156 by the Abbot of Evesham. Slight traces of the moat still remain. Bengeworth is connected with Evesham by a handsome bridge of three arches, erected in 1856 at a cost of £13,000. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester; net value, £174 with residence, of which the Vicar is patron. The living was formerly a rectory before the demolition of the abbey. The church was erected in 1872, and in taking down the old church a part was found to be Saxon. The font is Saxon. It is a cruciform edifice in the Decorated style, and has a lofty tower and spire. A school endowed by John Deacle, a native of Bengeworth and an alderman of London, was erected in 1729, and has an income of £300. The Evesham Sanatorium for infectious diseases is situated here, and there is a fever hospital in the parish.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Worcestershire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Bengeworth St. Peter | |
| Hundred | Blackenhurst | |
| Poor Law union | Evesham |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1538.
Churches
Church of England
St. Peter (parish church)
The old church of St. Peter, Bengeworth, a structure in the Early English and Perpendicular styles, formerly standing at the east end of Bengeworth, was pulled down and a new church erected, on a site given by the late Lord Northwick, and about 200 yards westward; this is a cruciform building of stone, with Bath stone dressings, in the Decorated style, from designs by Thomas David Barry and Sons, architects, of Liverpool, and consists of chancel, with organ chamber and vestry, nave of four bays, aisles, transepts, and a tower on the south side with spire, together 140 feet high, and containing a fine peal of 6 bells, and a clock, the gift of Henry Burlingham eeq. of Lansdowne; Evesham; the lower stage of the tower forms a porch: the east and west windows and three others are stained: the chancel retains a piscina and recessed double sedilia: the foundation stone was laid by the late Lord Northwick, Oct. 24th, 1871, and the church was consecrated in 1872: the total cost was about £5,000: the costly monument to John Deacle esq. adorned with his recumbent effigy in marble, has been re-erected in the south transept: there are 600 sittings, 200 being free.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Bengeworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bengeworth (St. Peter))
Land and Property
The full transcript of the Worcestershire section of the Return of Owners of Land, 1873.
Maps
Online maps of Bengeworth are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Worcestershire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Worcestershire 1569 is available on the Heraldry page.