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, Engla ...

, in

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. It neighbours Stock Green, with the large farm house Hill Top Farm standing on the border. In 1377, or 1378,

Henry de Ardern Henry de Ardern, or Henry Ardern, was a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire in 1377 and again in 1380, and for Worcestershire from November 1381. In 1373 Henry bought Park Hall, near Castle Bromwich, from Sir John Botetourt.Driver, J. T. ' ...

was granted the manor of Grafton Flyford by the

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation ...

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 or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. 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 (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

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 FRS (2 February 179313 October 1866) was an English mathematician and geologist. He is famous as a private tutor of aspiring undergraduate Cambridge mathematicians, earning him the ''sobriquet'' the " senior-wrangler maker." ...

."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 and ...

) showing the remains of a

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...

. 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 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. It is also known as rig (or rigg) and f ...

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. It was founded in 1968 to conserve, protect and restore the county's wildlife. The Trust owns and manages over 70 nature reserves across the county, part ...

. It is

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

, 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