DISCLOSURE: This page may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we may receive a commission.
UK Genealogy Archives logo

Bredon (St. Giles)

BREDON (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of Tewkesbury, chiefly in the Middle, but partly in the Upper, division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Pershore and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3¾ miles (N. E. by N.) from Tewkesbury; containing, with the chapelries of Norton and Cutsdean, and the hamlets of Bredon, Hardwick with Mitton, Kinsham, and Westmancote, 1567 inhabitants. This place was given by Ethelbald, King of Mercia, before the year 716, to his kinsman, Eanulph, who founded a monastery here in honour of St. Peter, which, previously to the Conquest, was annexed to the bishopric of Worcester. The parish comprises by computation between 5000 and 6000 acres, of which 963 are in the hamlet of Bredon, and is situated on the road between Tewkesbury and Pershore; the river Avon separates it from Gloucestershire. The soil is in general strong, producing good wheat and beans. The Birmingham and Gloucester railway passes through the village, where there is a station. From Bredon Hill (on which are quarries of stone suitable for building) is a pleasing view of the vales of Evesham and Cotswold, including the winding course of the Severn: the hill is crowned by a Roman encampment with a double trench. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £72. 11. 0½.; net income, £1498, arising from 1100 acres of land, assigned in lieu of tithes, under inclosure acts, in 1775 and 1808; patron, Jacob Jones, Esq.: there is a glebe-house. The church has been recently restored by the incumbent and parishioners, and is a fine edifice with a tower and spire. The porch and principal doorways are excellent examples of the Norman style: the tower, which stands between the nave and chancel, is supported by an arch forming a good specimen of the transition style; the south transept is early English, and the north transept decorated English, as is also the chancel, remarkable for its windows. The edifice contains some very old and curious monuments; among them is a monument to the memory of Dr. Prideaux, who was dismissed from the bishopric of Worcester during the parliamentary war. There are chapels of ease at Cutsdean and Norton; and at Milton the ruins of a chapel. In the hamlet of Westmancote is a place of worship for Baptists. A Bluecoat school was founded in 1718, by William Hancocke, who endowed it with lands, which, with accumulations, now produce £115 per annum. An almshouse for eight single women was founded in 1696, by Catherine Reed, who endowed it with tithes, since exchanged for 138 acres of land worth £143 per annum.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

Advertisement

Advertisement