Birtsmorton

Human settlement in England

Birtsmorton

District

Malvern Hills

Worcestershire

Region

West Midlands

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townMALVERNPostcode districtWR13Dialling code01684PoliceWest MerciaFire Hereford and Worcester Ambulance West Midlands UK Parliament

West Worcestershire

List of places: UK; England; Worcestershire

52°01′03″N 2°17′28″W / 52.01759°N 2.29108°W / 52.01759; -2.29108

Birtsmorton is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills of Worcestershire, England, which at the 2021 census had a population of 257.^[1] It is in the south-west of the county, not far from the borders with Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

History

The church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul and dates from the 14th century.^[2] There is a large manor house, Birtsmorton Court, which is used today as a wedding venue.^[3] It was the home for many centuries of the Nanfan family, some of whose tombs are in the church.

In 1703, the Rev. Samuel Juice, a former rector, endowed a village school in Rye Street. ^[4]

Birtsmorton was the birthplace of the chairmaker Philip Clissett who lived in the parish from his birth in 1817 until about 1842.^[5]

Toponymy

The village belonged to the Le Bret family from the 12th century onwards. Bret means Breton. The same family name is associated with Westonbirt House near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.^[6]

References

^ "Birtsmorton". City population. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
^ "St Peter & St Paul, Birtsmorton - a church near you". Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
^ Birtsmorton Court Archived January 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ British History Online "Birtsmorton". Online reference
^ Rowell, T.A. "Philip Clissett, Chairmaker 1817-1913". Retrieved 6 July 2013.
^ Ekwall, Eilert (1951). Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. 3rd ed., reprinted with corrections. Oxford University Press. pp. 316, 485.