Offenham is a large rural village and civil parish in the

Wychavon Wychavon is a local government district in Worcestershire, England, with a population size of 132,500 according to the 2021 census. Its council is based in the town of Pershore, and the other towns in the district are Droitwich Spa and Evesh ...

district of

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, located about three miles east of Evesham, in the

Vale of Evesham A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipa ...

. The River Avon flows through Offenham. The civil parish extends beyond the area of the settlement of Offenham and includes Blackminster Middle School and the Blackminster Trading Estate. It was awarded the title of Calor Worcestershire Village of the Year in 2004.

History

Offenham was founded as a

monastic grange Monastic granges were outlying landholdings held by monasteries independent of the manorial system. The first granges were owned by the Cistercians and other orders followed. Wealthy monastic houses had many granges, most of which were largely ...

and medieval deer park by the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

s of

Evesham Abbey Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in Worcestershire, England between 700 and 710 following an alleged vision of the Virgin Mary by a swineherd by the name of Eof. According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Nor ...

in the 13th century, the old grange stood where Court Farm now stands. The grange was established to enclose the large flocks of sheep needed by the Abbots to trade wool with

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the grange became crown property and Henry VIII granted both Offenham and Evesham to

Philip Hoby Sir Philip Hoby (also Hobby or Hobbye) PC (1505 – 31 May 1558) was a 16th-century English Ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire and Flanders. Early life He was born probably at Leominster, England, the son of William Hoby of Leominster by hi ...

, one of his English Ambassadors. The grange and park later became the property of the Hazelwood family until the mid-18th century when it was sub-divided, by this time the village had formed an adequate farming and market gardening community.History of Offenham
Retrieved 1 August 2009

Maypole

Offenham village is noted for its 64 ft maypole, the tallest of only six permanent maypoles remaining in England. On

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

there is maypole dancing,

morris dancing Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...

and the crowning of the

Queen of the May In the British Isles and parts of the Commonwealth, the May Queen or Queen of May is a personification of the May Day holiday, and of springtime and also summer. The May Queen is a girl who rides or walks at the front of a parade for May Day cel ...

. It is not known for how long Offenham has had a maypole but the tradition dates back to medieval times.

St. Mary & St. Milburgh Church

The village church was built in 1538 and rebuilt in 1861/2 by

Frederick Preedy Frederick Preedy (2 June 1820 – 28 March 1898) was an architect and glass painter in England. Life Preedy was born in Offenham near Evesham in Worcestershire and died at his son's home in Croydon. During his early life his family moved from ...

who was born in Offenham in 1820.
Offenham Church Website

References

External links

Official Offenham website

Offenham parish council web site

Offenham Anglican parish web site

Offenham First School website
Villages in Worcestershire {{Worcestershire-geo-stub