Strensham
Strensham Village Hall
Strensham is located in Worcestershire
Strensham
Strensham
Location within Worcestershire
Area3.07 sq mi (8.0 km2) [1]
Population314 (2001)[2]
• Density102/sq mi (39/km2)
OS grid referenceSO903393
• London95 miles (153 km)[3]
Civil parish
  • Strensham
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWORCESTER
Postcode districtWR8
Dialling code01684
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands

Strensham is a village in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire. In the 2001 census, the civil parish of Strensham had a population of 314 across 127 households.[2] Since 1991, the population has risen 28.7% from 244 residents.[2]

History

Strensham Church

The Church of St John the Baptist lies in Lower Strensham atop a hill overlooking the River Avon, constructed in the 14th century.[4]

Strensham was once part of the Royal forest of Horewell. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the Civil War.[5]

Geography

The eastern edge of the parish lies on the banks of the River Avon, while the River Severn is 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west.[3] Both rivers converge 4 miles (6.4 km) to the south in the Gloucestershire town of Tewkesbury.[3]

Nearby villages include Twyning, Bredon, Eckington and Ripple. The town of Upton-upon-Severn lies 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north west.[3]

Strensham services

The village gives its name to a motorway service area located just to the north of the village on the M5 motorway which opened with the motorway in 1962.[6] The Midlands Air Ambulance service has been operating one of its helicopters from the services site since 1991 following a deal with the then operator, Take a Break.[7]

Strensham Court

Strensham Court was an early 19th-century country house in a landscaped park. It was built of ashlar in two storeys to a rectangular plan. A substantial portico was added later with large Ionic pillars.[8]

The manor of Strensham belonged historically to the Russell family. The Strensham estate was purchased in 1817 from descendants of the Russell family by John Taylor, grandson of John Taylor, the wealthy Birmingham industrialist. He had a new building constructed in 1824 to replace an earlier house on the site.[9] Taylor was High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1817 and died unmarried in 1848. The property passed to his brother James who died soon after, then to James's son James Arthur (MP, died 1889) and to the latter's son Arthur James.[10]

The house was vacated in 1935, occupied during World War II by the Convent School from Acocks Green in Birmingham, thereafter becoming derelict, and demolished after a fire in November 1974.

Notable residents

Samuel Butler's tenement in Strensham

References

  1. ↑ "Parishes: Strensham | British History Online".
  2. 1 2 3 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Gazetteer (how far)". GENUKI. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Church of St John the Baptist, Strensham", Heritage Gateway website, Heritage Gateway (English Heritage, Institute of Historic Building Conservation and ALGAO:England), 2006, retrieved 30 October 2010
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "MSA Chronology". Msatrivia.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  7. ↑ "Ambulance lands a new base - on the M5". Birmingham Evening Mail. 6 May 1998.
  8. ↑ "Strensham Court, Strensham". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Strensham Court, England Record Id: 3163". Parks and Gardens. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "A History of the County of Worcester: volume 4". British History Online. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Strensham". Worcesterbmsgh.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
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