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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Wychavon
Wychavon () is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. The largest towns therein are Evesham and Droitwich Spa; the council is based in the town of Pershore. The district also includes numerous villages and surrounding rural ...
district of
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 ...
. The village is south of
Pershore
Pershore () is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2011 UK census, census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Per ...
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''Byrla–inga–hamm'', meaning "Land, in a river-bend, of a man called Byrla". It has been recorded as Byrlingahamm (972) and Berlingeham (1086,
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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
).
History
Roman Britain
Romans are believed to have settled in Birlingham during the
Roman occupation of Britain
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.
Julius Caesa ...
, suggested by the discovery of a Roman
brooch
A brooch (, ) is a decorative jewellery item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gem ...
within the village. It is possible that there was a crossing point near the village at Swans Neck, though no evidence has been found of this.
Late Middle Ages
The Swan Inn, the village's
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
, is believed to date back to the 16th century.
Governance
The village of Birlingham is primarily governed by Birlingham Parish Council, then by
Wychavon District Council
Wychavon () is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. The largest towns therein are Evesham and Droitwich Spa; the council is based in the town of Pershore. The district also includes numerous villages and surrounding rural are ...
. It falls within the
West Worcestershire
West Worcestershire is a constituency in Worcestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Harriett Baldwin, a Conservative.
The constituency first existed from 1832 to 1885, formally known as the Western Div ...
constituency.
Geography and demography
Birlingham is surrounded on the north, south and east sides by a river-bend known as Swans Neck, part of the River Avon. The village is located on a
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
. Bow Brook passes by the village's west side.
Nearby villages include
Defford
Defford is a small village in the county of Worcestershire, England, located between the towns of Pershore and Upton-upon-Severn. It was once part of the Royal forest of Horewell. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the Civil ...
and Eckington.
In 2001, the parish had a population of 325, compared to a population of 373 in 1991.
Transport
There are two bus services that serve Birlingham: the 52/53, which goes between
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 ...
Pershore
Pershore () is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2011 UK census, census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Per ...
and
Evesham
Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...
), and the 54, which goes between Worcester and Pershore. Both services are run by
Anglican Diocese of Worcester
The Diocese of Worcester forms part of the Church of England (Anglican) Province of Canterbury in England.
The diocese was founded around 679 by St Theodore of Canterbury at Worcester to minister to the kingdom of the Hwicce, one of the many ...
. The original church was built in the 12th century, with its
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
arch now located outside as the churchyard's entrance. The current west tower was built in the 15th century, the rest of the church being rebuilt around the 1870s by Rev Robert Rashleigh Duke.