Astwood Bank is a district within Redditch. Astwood Bank is near the Warwickshire - Worcestershire border, near villages such as Studley,

Sambourne Sambourne, formerly spelled Sambourn, is a village and civil parish north-west of Coughton, south of Redditch, north-west of Stratford-upon-Avon and west of Warwick in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is situated on sloping ground ...

, Callow Hill,

Feckenham Feckenham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Redditch in Worcestershire, England. It lies some south-west of the town of Redditch and some east of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 670 in the 2001 census and its imme ...

, and Cookhill. Astwood Bank is noted for its successful

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

team, who have twice played at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England ...

in the National Village Knock Out Final. The

A441 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European islan ...

Evesham Road is the main trunk road through Astwood Bank from Redditch. Astwood Bank has an annual carnival. The carnival has been a big part of the village for over 30 years. Three traction engines raising steam, Astwood Bank - geograph

Three traction engines raising steam, Astwood Bank - geograph

History

Church

Residents held church services in the local school until a church was built in 1883–84. The foundation stone was laid by Lady Georgina Vernon of Hanbury Hall. The church of St. Matthias & St. George was originally designed by W. J. Hopkins as a large church with a south tower, only the east end was completed by him in 1884. The nave was added by W. Cogswell in 1911 and consecrated by Bishop Louis Mylne. The tower was never built hence the deep sloping roof. The church was built as a chapelry of

. It became an independent parish in 1950.

Railway station

A railway station called Studley & Astwood Bank railway station served the village, with service going as far north as Lichfield Trent Valley and as far south as

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

. The line was closed in 1964 so now Redditch railway station is the end of the line. The station building still exists as a domestic dwelling house and is located on the Slough, just into Green Lane, Studley, Warwickshire. It is about two miles from Astwood Bank and one mile from Studley.

Politics

Politically, Astwood Bank is part of the Astwood Bank and Feckenham ward. The councillors are: * Craig Warhurst (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

)-(Astwood Bank & Feckenham) * Brandon Clayton (Conservative)-(Astwood Bank & Feckenham) *Craig Randall (UKIP)-(Astwood Bank & Feckenham) *Josh Carter (Liberal Democrats)-(Astwood Bank) *Aaron Bwail (Green Party)-(Astwood Bank)

Education

The village is served by Astwood Bank Primary School and Ridgeway Secondary School.https://ridgewaysecondary.org.uk/

Notable residents

* Lionel Britton (1887–1971) was a working class writer from Astwood Bank. * Dan Sealey of

Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to dat ...

and Merrymouth was born in Astwood Bank. * Adam Barry of Merrymouth and co founder of Americana band The Misers has lived in Astwood Bank since leaving school in 1996. *

Charlie Clemmow Charlie Clemmow (born 31 July 1986) is an English actress. In 2009, Clemmow began portraying the role of Imogen Hollins in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''; she initially left the soap in 2012, later making a guest appearance in 2014. Clemmow ha ...

, actress.

References

External links

* Villages in Worcestershire {{Worcestershire-geo-stub