Bredicot (St. James)

BREDICOT (St. James), a parish, in the union of Pershore, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Worcester and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3¾ miles (E.) from Worcester; containing 53 inhabitants. It is a small parish, comprising only 337 acres, whereof two-thirds are arable, and the remainder pasture; the surface is undulated, the soil a good rich marl, and the scenery picturesque. The Birmingham and Gloucester railway intersects the parish from north to south, nearly on a level with the surface. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 18. 1½.; net income, £120, derived from land: patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. The church, an ancient structure, was thoroughly repaired, re-pewed, and beautified, in 1843, at a cost of £300, defrayed principally by the rector, the Rev. William Godfery. In 1839, some workmen excavating for the railway, found a small Roman urn of red clay, containing about 140 copper coins; it was met with at the depth of two feet in the earth, under the boughs of an old pollard elm, just by Bredicot Court.