Grafton Flyford is a village about east of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, England. It neighbours Stock Green, with the large farm house Hill Top Farm standing on the border. In 1377, or 1378, Henry de Ardern was granted the manor of Grafton Flyford by the

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which has been created four times in English history. The name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation came in 1088, and the title was held b ...

for a red rose.

St John's Church

The Church of St John the Baptist is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The earliest parts are of the 13th to 14th century; the tower, of the 14th century, has an

embattled A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

parapet, within which is a short stone spire. The east window is 15th-century. The church was restored in 1875 by

William Hopkins William Hopkins Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (2 February 179313 October 1866) was an English mathematician and geologist. He is famous as a private tutor of aspiring undergraduate University of Cambridge, Cambridge mathematicians, earning h ...

."Parishes: Grafton Flyford", in ''A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 4'', ed. William Page and J W Willis-Bund (London, 1924), pp. 85-89
British History Online. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

Deserted medieval village

To the north-west and north-east of the church are earthworks (a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

) showing the remains of a deserted medieval village. There are enclosures, the largest about , which were once gardens or paddocks, and within some are house platforms. Sunken trackways run between the enclosures. Remains of five ponds can be discerned, and an area of medieval

ridge and furrow Ridge and furrow is an Archaeology, archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open field system, open-field system. It is a ...

Grafton Wood

To the east of the village is Grafton Wood, a nature reserve of the

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 wildlife trusts throughout the United Kingdom, part of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the UK's largest charity network dedicated to conserving all our habitats and species. It was founded in 1968 to ...

. It is

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...

, and is the centre of the only colony of brown hairstreak butterflies in the Midlands."Grafton Wood"
''Worcestershire Wildlife Trust''. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

References

{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire Wychavon Deserted medieval villages in Worcestershire