Great Witley, Worcestershire
Historical Description
Witley, Great, a village and a parish in Worcestershire. The village stands 5½ miles SW of Stourport, is a seat of petty sessions, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Stourport. The parish includes Redmarley hamlet, and comprises 2672 acres; population of the civil parish, 472; of the ecclesiastical, with Hillhampton, 606. Witley Court is the seat of the Earl of Dudley, and is a large mansion in the Italian style. The gardens cover an area of 10 acres, and contain fountains, the largest of which is the colossal group of Perseus and Andromeda. The park is extensive and picturesque, and contains some fine oaks. The Dowager Queen Adelaide resided here in 1843. An ancient camp is on Woodbury Hill, and was held for some weeks by Owen Glendower against the English. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Worcester; gross value, £304 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Dudley. The church was rebuilt by the first Lord Foley, and was restored in 1862. The interior exhibits rich decorations of Renaissance character. The ceiling was painted by Verrio, and a large monument of the first Lord Foley is by Rysbrach.
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 | Witley St. Michael | |
Hundred | Doddingtree | |
Poor Law union | Martley |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Great Witley from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Witley, Great (St. Michael))
Land and Property
The full transcript of the Worcestershire section of the Return of Owners of Land, 1873.
Maps
Online maps of Great Witley 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:
Villages, Hamlets, &c
RedmarleyVisitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Worcestershire 1569 is available on the Heraldry page.