Castlemorton 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

close to Malvern in the

Malvern Hills District Malvern Hills is a Districts of England, local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Tenbury Wells and Upto ...

in the county 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 ...

, England. It consists of a village centre, a large common and many farms and houses within the area. In 2013 the

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 wildlife trusts throughout the United Kingdom, part of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the UK's largest charity network dedicated to conserving all our habitats and species. It was founded in 1968 to ...

purchased 42 acres of meadow at Hollybed Farm as part of a project to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the

Coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

and restore the meadows as a nature reserve. In 1992 the Common was the location of the controversial Castlemorton Common Festival, a week-long free festival and

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

. The event made national headlines. The 2015

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

film ''

Our Father The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, Will of God, will, and Kingship and kingdom of God, kingdom, as well as h ...

'' was filmed on location on Castlemorton Common.

History

A medieval

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

castle stood to the south of the village, the earthwork remains are still present. Castlemorton Common was once part of the vast Royal hunting grounds of the

Malvern Chase Malvern Chase was a royal chase that occupied the land between the Malvern Hills and the River Severn in Worcestershire and extended to Herefordshire from the River Teme to Cors Forest. The following parishes and hamlets were within the Chas ...

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

split up much of this hunting ground (examples are Eastnor Castle Estate, Bromsberrow Estate) and Castlemorton Common is the largest remaining tract of unenclosed public land. Much of Castlemorton is today within a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

, and protected as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) due to some very rare fauna and flora living within its boundaries.AONB Designation and Purpose - Malvern Hills AONB
Malvernhillsaonb.org.uk

References

External links

Castlemorton Parish Council website

Villages in Worcestershire Nature reserves in Worcestershire Civil parishes in Worcestershire {{Worcestershire-geo-stub