Frankley, Worcestershire
Historical Description
Frankley, a parish in Worcestershire, on the verge of the county, 2¼ miles NW of Northfield station on the M.R., S SE of Halesowen, and 6 NNE of Bromsgrove. It has a station (Rubery) on the Halesowen and King's Norton (G.W. and Midland Joint) railway. Post town and money order office, Birmingham; telegraph office, Rubery railway station. Acreage, 1934; population, 129. The manor has been in the possession of the Lyttelton family since, the 15th century. The famous lawyer, Sir Thomas Lyttelton, was born in the manor-house, and died here in 1481. The hall was garrisoned in 1642 by Prince Rupert, by whom, when no longer tenable, it was burnt to prevent it falling into the hands of the Parliamentary forces. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Worcester; net value, £140 with residence. Patron, Viscount Cobham. The church was originally the chapel of the manor-house; it was restored in 1873.
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 | Frankley St. Leonard | |
| Hundred | Halfshire | |
| Poor Law union | Bromsgrove |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1598.
Churches
Church of England
St. Leonard (parish church)
The church of St. Leonard, formerly the Chapel to the ancient Manor house, is an ancient building of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and an embattled western tower containing one bell, bearing the inscription "Sir John Littilton, 1588;" the battlements of the tower were restored in 1911: the communion plate is old and massive and the chalice has the following inscription: "This belongs to Frankly in the county of Worcester and chappel of St. Kenellum, 1708:" the east window is a memorial to George William, 4th Baron Lyttelton P.C., K.C.M.G., F.R.S. who died April 18, 1876, and there is another on the south side of the nave to Lady Lyttelton, and one on the south side of the chancel to the Rev. John Todd, curate for 38 years: the church was restored in 1885, at a cost of £1,100, under the direction of Mr. Frederick Preedy, architect, when the chancel wall was rebuilt, new porch, buttresses and chancel arch erected, a new font and communion table furnished, and the interior reseated and new windows inserted; the fine old waggon roof formerly covered with plaster was also restored to its original state: the organ was erected in May, 1884, at a cost of £110: there are 166 sittings, of which 100 are free.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Frankley from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Frankley (St. Leonard))
Land and Property
The full transcript of the Worcestershire section of the Return of Owners of Land, 1873.
Maps
Online maps of Frankley 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.