Kempsey, Worcestershire
Encyclopedia
Kempsey is a village and civil parish
in the Malvern Hills District
in the county of Worcestershire
, England. It is bounded by the River Severn
on the west, and the A38
main road runs through it and is about 3 miles south of Worcester
.
The village has a long history. Its name is derived from the Saxon
"Kemys' Eye", or the island of Kemys. Kemys was a Saxon chief, whose island lay between marshes and the River Severn. One of the roads in Kempsey, Lyf's Lane, is named after another Saxon chief. The village was recorded in the 11th century Domesday Book
as having a value of £7.
The local Anglican church of St. Mary was built between the 12th century and 15th centuries, and the 15th century tower is 82 feet tall.
The composer Sir
Edward Elgar
lived in the village from 1923 to 1927, during which time he was made Master of the King's Musick.
The village has several pubs including one named after Bishop Walter de Cantilupe
.
According to 'Kempsey Collection' page 9 , a piece of iron dated 1500-800 BC was dug up in the Court Meadow area, and is now in the Foregate Museum, Worcester. At that time the River Severn was tidal at Kempsey, and there was extensive marshland and forest in the Severn valley.
entry describes this as "an inscription found some years before 1818, lying in two pieces with other stones 4 feet deep in the west wall of the kitchen garden of the parsonage farm, north-west of the church. Many of the other stones were cemented together and formed some kind of ancient foundation; whether the inscription was one of these, is not recorded. It is itself a flat slab of freestone, 33 inches high by 20 inches wide, and is now in the Worcester Museum. It reads as follows :
Val(erio) Constantine P(io) fe(lici) invicto Aug(usto)
'Emperor Valerius Constantinus, pious, fortunate, unconquerable, Augustus.'
Probably the commencement of the inscription is lost; it may have begun IMP. CAES FL. Imp(eratori) Cs(ari) Fl(avio). Flavius Valerius Constantinus was Constantine the Great, and this stone was presumably set up in his reign (A.D. 308-337). It appears to be a milestone, or rather a road-stone, of the type common in the fourth century, in which the mileage was often omitted - though here it might have been broken off. But it might conceivably be no more than an honorary slab."
The stone is from the Oolite
s of the Cotswold Hills. It is 3 feet high, 19½" broad and 7½" thick.
Roman roads through and near Kempsey
There are three possible Roman road
s through and near Kempsey. One may have run along Old Road South, entering the oldest area of the village where a Roman camp might have been, and exiting possibly along Lyf's Lane (although Lyf was a Saxon chief) and continuing to the Roman settlement at Worcester.
The second runs along the side of the present M5 motorway
north by Holdings Lane to Taylor's Lane, where it enters St Peter's Development.
The third, Green Street, connects Kempsey Common with the centre of the village, crossing the second Roman road mentioned above at Palmer's Cross.
Roman finds from archeological digs
Pottery, brooches and a coin from the time of the Emperor Nero were found in burial cists dug out of the gravel beds north of the church.
Celtic tribe
The Celtic tribe that lived around Kempsey in Roman times were the Dobunni
.
Kingdom of Hwicce
, and then a part of the Kingdom of Mercia
.
The King of Mercia and Kempsey Monastery
Coenwulf, King of Mercia
, gave Abbot Balthun of Kempsey Monastery thirty smallholdings in return for the military service and maintenance work of Kempsey locals, according to the Victoria County History of Worcestershire.
Danish Raiders
To commemorate the departure of the Danes Bishop Aelhun
built an oratory dedicated to St. Andrew. Then the Danes raided again, and the monastery was destroyed.
The Saxon Origin of the Name 'Kempsey'
Kempsey is named after a Saxon chief called 'Kemys', the full name meaning "Kemys' Eye", as the original settlement, where the church now stands, was a semi-island between the River Severn and marshland.
Population
In 799 AD the population was about 150.
says of Kempsey:
In the Hundred (Oswaldeslow) The Bishop of the same Churche (Worcester) holds Chemesege (Kempsey) . There are 24 hides
paying geld
, 5 of these are waste. There are 2 ploughs in the demesne
, 13 villeins, and 27 bordars with 16 ploughs. There is a priest, 4 serfs
and 2 bondswomen and 40 acre
s of meadow. The woodland is a mile long and ½ a mile wide. There are 13 hides in the demesne. In the time of King Edward
it was worth £16, its present value is £7.
(visited 1186)
King Henry III of England
(visited in 1265). On 2 August 1265 Henry III was brought as a prisoner to Kempsey by Simon de Montford
, Earl of Leicester and leader of the English barons. Bishop Walter de Cantelupe
(who the pub known as "the Wally" is named after) said Mass for him in Kempsey church the next morning, before they set off to the Battle of Evesham
, where de Montford was killed.
King Edward I of England
(visited 1276) & with Queen Marguerite (26 December 1281)
(the Lord's official on the manor) of Kempsey beheaded John de Draycote, a clerk, on the highway between Kempsey and Draycote, by order of the bishops bailiff
. His head was placed before the Bishop's Palace gates, causing a riot, which was put down.
, was born on the same night as Richard the Lion-heart
, and was bought up as his foster-brother. He was the first Englishman to write about chess
, silkworms and the mariner's compass. He died at Kempsey in 1217, while visiting his friend Bishop Silvester
.
started in 1642, and Kempsey was quickly involved. On 22 September Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes
and Colonel Samuel Sandys, Governor of Worcester
, led a detachment of Lord Essex's
Parliamentary Army across the Severn at Pixham Ferry. The forces of Prince Rupert beat them at the Battle of Powick Bridge
on Powick Ham, and many of the fugitives re-crossed the river at Kempsey. However, Green writes that the victory went to the Roundhead
s, and that Prince Rupert was forced to flee.
Kempsey was raided on 2 July 1646, in an attempt to capture a Colonel Betsworth in his quarters. He was forewarned and eluded capture. According to Rev. Purton, "During the siege of Worcester in 1646, a squadron of 400 dragoon
s, under Colonel Betsworth, was quartered at Kempsey and on July 2nd an attempt was made by the garrison to seize him there, which was unsuccessful. Noake speaks of a tradition then current in the parish that Cromwell
"personally superintended the battering down of the old church, and flattened the nose of every statue then and there lying." There are bullet marks of the south side of the Church tower.
The Battle of Worcester
(3 September 1651) was the last main Battle of the Civil War, and King Charles
hid in an oak tree afterwards, while trying to elude the parliamentarians.
(later John Pakington), who later became Secretary of State for War
, and J. Parker, the Master of the Worcestershire Hounds. They were arguing over a quarrel they had while hunting. Both their shots missed, and the seconds persuaded them to make up.
"Kempsey Parish Magazine appeared in January 1877, and finished (without any explanation being given) that December."
"In January 1889 another attempt to produce a magazine was made under the vicar, the Rev. W.N.R. Longhurst, in the form of the Kempsey Church Monthly."
The Pig Club
This was "set up with the object of the insurance and relief of each of the members who might have the misfortune to lose a pig."
The Wrecking of the Revolutionary Elm
"In June on Whitsunday afternoon 1897 "The Revolutionary Elm" was wrecked by a sudden storm. It was probably the last of the trees planted to celebrate the events of 1688." Note: this was the Glorious Revolution
of 1688-9, when the catholic King James II
fled and the protestant William of Orange
(husband of the King's elder daughter Mary
) was invited by parliament to be King William III of England.
Victoria Cross
Major General Edward William Derrington Bell
, winner of the Victoria Cross
at the Battle of Alma
in the Crimean War
in 1854 is buried in Kempsey churchyard.
Kempsey Windmill
A photo of Kempsey windmill was taken by Benjamin Brecknell Turner
sometime between 1852 and 1854. The photo is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum
. The windmill burned down on 20 January 1802 in a hurricane.
In 1889 Benjamin Williams Leader's
painting of Kempsey Church from across the river, entitled "Severn Side, Sabrina's Stream at Kempsey on the River Severn", was exhibited at the Royal Academy
.
of Napleton (an area of Kempsey parish) won the Victoria Cross
on 1 October.
The composer Sir Edward Elgar
(1857-1934), lived in Kempsey from April 1923 to October 1927.
In 1940 during World War II
a stick of bombs hit the garden of The Nash country house, straddling the house.
In the late 1950s the Severn Trow (a kind of boat) named 'EFFORT' caught fire at Kempsey Moorings. Later it was used to support the eroding bank on Kempsey Ham, south of the church.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Malvern Hills District
Malvern Hills (district)
Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Malvern, and its area covers most of the western half of the county that borders Herefordshire. It was originally formed in 1974 and was subject to a significant boundary reform in 1998...
in the county of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England. It is bounded by the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
on the west, and the A38
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
main road runs through it and is about 3 miles south of Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
.
The village has a long history. Its name is derived from the Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
"Kemys' Eye", or the island of Kemys. Kemys was a Saxon chief, whose island lay between marshes and the River Severn. One of the roads in Kempsey, Lyf's Lane, is named after another Saxon chief. The village was recorded in the 11th century Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as having a value of £7.
The local Anglican church of St. Mary was built between the 12th century and 15th centuries, and the 15th century tower is 82 feet tall.
The composer Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
lived in the village from 1923 to 1927, during which time he was made Master of the King's Musick.
The village has several pubs including one named after Bishop Walter de Cantilupe
Walter de Cantilupe
Walter de Cantilupe was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.-Life:He came of a family which had risen by devoted service to the crown...
.
Pre-Roman Kempsey
A piece of iron dated 1500-800 BCAccording to 'Kempsey Collection' page 9 , a piece of iron dated 1500-800 BC was dug up in the Court Meadow area, and is now in the Foregate Museum, Worcester. At that time the River Severn was tidal at Kempsey, and there was extensive marshland and forest in the Severn valley.
Roman Kempsey
A Roman milestone dedicated to the Emperor Constantine the Great (AD 307 – 337) was found in about 1818 when ground was being levelled for a vegetable garden for Court House, opposite the west gate of the churchyard. According to O'Neil, this was probably not its original position as the nearest Roman road was about a mile away. It could have previously been used as masonry for the Bishop's Palace due to the lack of suitable building stone in Kempsey. The Victoria County HistoryVictoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 and was dedicated to Queen Victoria with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of...
entry describes this as "an inscription found some years before 1818, lying in two pieces with other stones 4 feet deep in the west wall of the kitchen garden of the parsonage farm, north-west of the church. Many of the other stones were cemented together and formed some kind of ancient foundation; whether the inscription was one of these, is not recorded. It is itself a flat slab of freestone, 33 inches high by 20 inches wide, and is now in the Worcester Museum. It reads as follows :
Val(erio) Constantine P(io) fe(lici) invicto Aug(usto)
'Emperor Valerius Constantinus, pious, fortunate, unconquerable, Augustus.'
Probably the commencement of the inscription is lost; it may have begun IMP. CAES FL. Imp(eratori) Cs(ari) Fl(avio). Flavius Valerius Constantinus was Constantine the Great, and this stone was presumably set up in his reign (A.D. 308-337). It appears to be a milestone, or rather a road-stone, of the type common in the fourth century, in which the mileage was often omitted - though here it might have been broken off. But it might conceivably be no more than an honorary slab."
The stone is from the Oolite
Oolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
s of the Cotswold Hills. It is 3 feet high, 19½" broad and 7½" thick.
Roman roads through and near Kempsey
There are three possible Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
s through and near Kempsey. One may have run along Old Road South, entering the oldest area of the village where a Roman camp might have been, and exiting possibly along Lyf's Lane (although Lyf was a Saxon chief) and continuing to the Roman settlement at Worcester.
The second runs along the side of the present M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
north by Holdings Lane to Taylor's Lane, where it enters St Peter's Development.
The third, Green Street, connects Kempsey Common with the centre of the village, crossing the second Roman road mentioned above at Palmer's Cross.
Roman finds from archeological digs
Pottery, brooches and a coin from the time of the Emperor Nero were found in burial cists dug out of the gravel beds north of the church.
Celtic tribe
The Celtic tribe that lived around Kempsey in Roman times were the Dobunni
Dobunni
The Dobunni were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions. The latter part of the name possibly derives from Bune, a cup or vessel...
.
Dark Ages
Kempsey was part of the Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
Kingdom of Hwicce
Hwicce
The Hwicce were one of the peoples of Anglo-Saxon England. The exact boundaries of their kingdom are uncertain, though it is likely that they coincided with those of the old Diocese of Worcester, founded in 679–80, the early bishops of which bore the title Episcopus Hwicciorum...
, and then a part of the Kingdom of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
.
The King of Mercia and Kempsey Monastery
Coenwulf, King of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
, gave Abbot Balthun of Kempsey Monastery thirty smallholdings in return for the military service and maintenance work of Kempsey locals, according to the Victoria County History of Worcestershire.
Danish Raiders
To commemorate the departure of the Danes Bishop Aelhun
Ealhhun
Ealhhun was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.He was consecrated between 845 and 848. He died in 872.-References:* Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961-External links:*...
built an oratory dedicated to St. Andrew. Then the Danes raided again, and the monastery was destroyed.
The Saxon Origin of the Name 'Kempsey'
Kempsey is named after a Saxon chief called 'Kemys', the full name meaning "Kemys' Eye", as the original settlement, where the church now stands, was a semi-island between the River Severn and marshland.
Population
In 799 AD the population was about 150.
The Domesday Book
The Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
says of Kempsey:
In the Hundred (Oswaldeslow) The Bishop of the same Churche (Worcester) holds Chemesege (Kempsey) . There are 24 hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
paying geld
Geld
Geld may refer to:* Money, in Dutch or German languages* Danegeld, or any Anglo-Saxon or Norman land tax often based on hides* Weregeld* Gelt, Yiddish for money* Gelding, castrated animal-See also:* Gold * Gel...
, 5 of these are waste. There are 2 ploughs in the demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
, 13 villeins, and 27 bordars with 16 ploughs. There is a priest, 4 serfs
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
and 2 bondswomen and 40 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s of meadow. The woodland is a mile long and ½ a mile wide. There are 13 hides in the demesne. In the time of King Edward
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
it was worth £16, its present value is £7.
Royal Visits
King Henry II of EnglandHenry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
(visited 1186)
King Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
(visited in 1265). On 2 August 1265 Henry III was brought as a prisoner to Kempsey by Simon de Montford
Simon de Montford
Simon de Montford was an English nobleman who had the manor of Coleshill passed onto him from the de Clinton family. He built moated manor houses at Coleshill and Kingshurst...
, Earl of Leicester and leader of the English barons. Bishop Walter de Cantelupe
Walter de Cantilupe
Walter de Cantilupe was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.-Life:He came of a family which had risen by devoted service to the crown...
(who the pub known as "the Wally" is named after) said Mass for him in Kempsey church the next morning, before they set off to the Battle of Evesham
Battle of Evesham
The Battle of Evesham was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by Prince Edward – later King Edward I – who led the forces of his father, King Henry III...
, where de Montford was killed.
King Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
(visited 1276) & with Queen Marguerite (26 December 1281)
A Beheading
In 1303, the ReeveReeve (England)
Originally in Anglo-Saxon England the reeve was a senior official with local responsibilities under the Crown e.g. as the chief magistrate of a town or district...
(the Lord's official on the manor) of Kempsey beheaded John de Draycote, a clerk, on the highway between Kempsey and Draycote, by order of the bishops bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
. His head was placed before the Bishop's Palace gates, causing a riot, which was put down.
Alexander Neckham
Alexander Neckham, Abbot of CirencesterCirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, was born on the same night as Richard the Lion-heart
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
, and was bought up as his foster-brother. He was the first Englishman to write about chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, silkworms and the mariner's compass. He died at Kempsey in 1217, while visiting his friend Bishop Silvester
Sylvester of Worcester
-Life:He was elected Prior of Worcester on 21 January 1215. He was elected to the see of Worcester on 3 April 1216 and consecrated on 3 July 1216. He was enthroned at Worcester Cathedral on 8 September 1216. He died on 16 July 1218.-References:...
.
The Civil War
The Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
started in 1642, and Kempsey was quickly involved. On 22 September Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes
Nathaniel Fiennes
Nathaniel Fiennes was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659...
and Colonel Samuel Sandys, Governor of Worcester
Governor of Worcester
Governors of the city of Worcester, England, include:* Colonel Samuel Sandys, at the time of the Battle of Powick Bridge, in the English Civil War.* Lord Astley, who had succeeded colonel Samuel Sandys, was taken prisoner and confined at Warwick....
, led a detachment of Lord Essex's
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
Parliamentary Army across the Severn at Pixham Ferry. The forces of Prince Rupert beat them at the Battle of Powick Bridge
Battle of Powick Bridge
The Battle of Powick Bridge, fought on 23 September 1642, was the first major cavalry engagement of the English Civil War and it was a victory for the Royalists who overthrew the Parliamentary cavalry. According to Hugh Peters it was "where England's sorrows began".-Prelude:King Charles I of...
on Powick Ham, and many of the fugitives re-crossed the river at Kempsey. However, Green writes that the victory went to the Roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
s, and that Prince Rupert was forced to flee.
Kempsey was raided on 2 July 1646, in an attempt to capture a Colonel Betsworth in his quarters. He was forewarned and eluded capture. According to Rev. Purton, "During the siege of Worcester in 1646, a squadron of 400 dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s, under Colonel Betsworth, was quartered at Kempsey and on July 2nd an attempt was made by the garrison to seize him there, which was unsuccessful. Noake speaks of a tradition then current in the parish that Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
"personally superintended the battering down of the old church, and flattened the nose of every statue then and there lying." There are bullet marks of the south side of the Church tower.
The Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
(3 September 1651) was the last main Battle of the Civil War, and King Charles
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
hid in an oak tree afterwards, while trying to elude the parliamentarians.
The Industrial Revolution Period
In 1827 there was a duel on Lord's Meadow, which is the large field near the site of the old Pixham Ferry. The duelists were John Somerset RussellJohn Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton
John Somerset Pakington, 1st Baron Hampton GCB, PC FRS , known as Sir John Pakington, Bt from 1846 to 1874, was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
(later John Pakington), who later became Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
, and J. Parker, the Master of the Worcestershire Hounds. They were arguing over a quarrel they had while hunting. Both their shots missed, and the seconds persuaded them to make up.
The Victorian Era
Parish Magazines"Kempsey Parish Magazine appeared in January 1877, and finished (without any explanation being given) that December."
"In January 1889 another attempt to produce a magazine was made under the vicar, the Rev. W.N.R. Longhurst, in the form of the Kempsey Church Monthly."
The Pig Club
This was "set up with the object of the insurance and relief of each of the members who might have the misfortune to lose a pig."
The Wrecking of the Revolutionary Elm
"In June on Whitsunday afternoon 1897 "The Revolutionary Elm" was wrecked by a sudden storm. It was probably the last of the trees planted to celebrate the events of 1688." Note: this was the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688-9, when the catholic King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
fled and the protestant William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
(husband of the King's elder daughter Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
) was invited by parliament to be King William III of England.
Victoria Cross
Major General Edward William Derrington Bell
Edward William Derrington Bell
Major General Edward William Derrington Bell VC CB was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, winner of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
at the Battle of Alma
Battle of Alma
The Battle of the Alma , which is usually considered the first battle of the Crimean War , took place just south of the River Alma in the Crimea. An Anglo-French force under General St...
in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
in 1854 is buried in Kempsey churchyard.
Kempsey Windmill
A photo of Kempsey windmill was taken by Benjamin Brecknell Turner
Benjamin Brecknell Turner
Benjamin Brecknell Turner was one of Britain's first photographers and a founding-member of the Photographic Society of London which was formed in 1853. His images were based on the traditionally 'picturesque' styles and subjects of the generation of watercolour painters before him.Born in London,...
sometime between 1852 and 1854. The photo is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
. The windmill burned down on 20 January 1802 in a hurricane.
In 1889 Benjamin Williams Leader's
Benjamin Williams Leader
Benjamin Williams Leader RA was an English landscape painter.-Early years and training:Leader was born in Worcester as Benjamin Leader Williams, the son, and first child of eleven children, of notable civil engineer Edward Leader Williams and Sarah Whiting...
painting of Kempsey Church from across the river, entitled "Severn Side, Sabrina's Stream at Kempsey on the River Severn", was exhibited at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
.
The 20th Century
In 1918 Lieutenant Robert Vaughan GorleRobert Vaughan Gorle
Robert Vaughan Gorle VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
of Napleton (an area of Kempsey parish) won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
on 1 October.
The composer Sir Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
(1857-1934), lived in Kempsey from April 1923 to October 1927.
In 1940 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a stick of bombs hit the garden of The Nash country house, straddling the house.
In the late 1950s the Severn Trow (a kind of boat) named 'EFFORT' caught fire at Kempsey Moorings. Later it was used to support the eroding bank on Kempsey Ham, south of the church.
External links
- British History Online
- An old parish map on Worcestershire County Council web site
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Kempsey and surrounding area
