Chaddesley Corbett is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

Wyre Forest District Wyre Forest is a local government district in Worcestershire, England, covering the towns of Kidderminster, Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley, and several civil parishes and their villages. Its council was previously based in Stourport-on-Seve ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

, England. The Anglican and secular versions of the parish include other named neighbourhoods, once farmsteads or milling places: Bluntington, Brockencote, Mustow Green, Cakebole, Outwood, Harvington, and Drayton.

History

The village was named ''Chad Lea'', or the place of Chad, in Saxon times, and is recorded in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

'' of 1086–7 as ''Cedeslai'', when it was held by a woman, Eadgifu, who also held it in the time of King Edward before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

of 1066. It consisted of eight berewicks and 25 hides of which 10 were free of geld and had the value of £12. The area was subject to forest law for around a century to 1301, as part of Feckenham Forest. (page 120)

Geography

Chaddesley Corbett is centred on the north side of the A448 approximately midway between the north Worcestershire towns of Bromsgrove and Kidderminster. In 1913 the parish was stated to have just under 5% woodland, namely . Of this the main feature is Chaddesley Woods, which is recognised as a national nature reserve and lies to the east of the village. It is thought to be a remnant of the medieval Feckenham Forest. It is under the care of the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, founded in 1968 to conserve, protect and restore the county's wildlife. The main section of the woods has a network of public footpaths to facilitate access.

Demography

Chaddesley Corbett covers a relatively large 6,079 acres, that is and had a population of 1343 persons and 280 houses in 1821. The same area had a population of 1,440 persons across 607 households in 2001.

Governance & religion

Chaddesley Corbett civil parish falls under the Wyre Forest District Council ward of Wyre Forest Rural, the Worcestershire County Council division of Chaddesley, and the parliamentary constituency of Wyre Forest, whose MP since 2010 is

Mark Garnier Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (born 26 February 1963) is a British Conservative Party politician and former banker. He was first elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wyre Forest at the 2010 general election. Garnier was re-elected at the ...

of the Conservative Party. It is within the Church of England province of Canterbury, the Diocese of Worcester, the Archdeaconry of Dudley, and the deanery of Kidderminster; and the Roman Catholic province of Birmingham, the Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the deanery of Kidderminster.

Landmarks

St Cassian's Church

Within the village urban area is the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

church of St Cassian. The

implies that there was a church at Chaddesley Corbett before 1086, although the present

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

dates from the 12th century with later additions. St Nicholas Chapel was added in the 13th century, the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and north and south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

s in the 14th century, and the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

probably added in the 16th century when the south aisle and St Nicholas Chapel were also altered. The tower and spire were added in the 18th century and the north aisle widened and vestry altered in the 19th century. The pipe organ, currently 3 manuals plus pedals, was first built in 1817 and relocated from a west gallery during major restoration and alterations in 1863–4. More recent additions include a roll of honour, housed in the tower, that lists those who served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and two windows commemorating soldiers killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The monuments include former owners of Harvington Hall as well as members of the Corbett family, local lords of the manor and benefactors of the church. Sir Thomas Holte, 1st Baronet in 1647 erected a memorial to his daughter Elizabeth. The fittings include a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

stone font, which is thought to be the work of the Herefordshire School of sculptors, active c.1125–1150, which drew on Romanesque models from southern Europe. It features a main motif of interlaced dragons—symbolising, perhaps, the evil of original sin which is washed away in baptism—with other interlacing patterns along the rim and base. The dragons resemble Romanesque north Italian models, especially the pulpit of San Giulio abbey in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, but their interlacing is a motif of indigenous Anglo-Irish origin. The churchyard contains the

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

of 4

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldiers of World War I and 2

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officers of World War II.

Harvington Hall

Harvington Hall, located in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Harvington in the

of Chaddesley Corbett, is a moated

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and Elizabethan

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

. Harvington Hall is particularly notable for its vestment-hide and seven

priest-hole A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were se ...

s, four of which are built around the main staircase and are thought to be the work of Nicholas Owen.

Chapels

There is also a Methodist Chapel in Bluntington and a Catholic chapel associated with Harvington Hall.

Amenities

The three village

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s, The Talbot, The Swan and The Fox were named in the 2007 Good Beer Guide. There is also a post office and general store, a butcher, hairdresser and beauty salon, a flower shop, delicatessen and a GP surgery.

Education

There are two schools in the village: Chaddesley Corbett Primary School and the independent Winterfold House School. The primary school caters for Reception to Year 6 and replaced the previous Chaddesley Corbett Endowed First School under the Wyre Forest education review. Each school has an associated pre-school nursery.

Sport

Chaddesley Corbett Sports Club is located in Fox Lane and has rugby, football and cricket sections, all of which play in one or more local leagues. The cricket club is one of the oldest cricket clubs in Worcestershire having been established in 1862. The football team also known as Chaddesley Ravens have two adult teams, as well as a junior section. The club was established in 1906. The village is the location for the Lady Dudley Cup, a point to point race that was first run in 1897.

Notable people

* Sir Geoffrey Corbett (1881–1937), a member of the Indian Civil Service and a mountaineer, was brought up at Chaddesley Corbett * Ellen Ferris (1870–1955), owner of Harvington Hall, who gave it to the Diocese of Birmingham * Robert Grant-Ferris, Baron Harvington (1907–1997), Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons 1970–1974, only son of Ellen Ferris (1870–1955) * Ernest Perry, first-class cricketer, was born in Chaddesley Corbett. * Jim Yardley was born in Chaddesley Corbett and played cricket for Chaddesley Corbett CC before going on to play first-class cricket for Worcestershire, and Northamptonshire.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire