Clifton upon Teme 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 ...

in the

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit af ...

district 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. In 2021 the parish had a population of 871.

Amenities

Named after the

River Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; ) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of Bucknell and continu ...

which runs nearby, it has a village shop, parish church (dedicated to

Saint Kenelm Saint Kenelm (or Cynehelm) was an Anglo-Saxon saint, venerated throughout medieval England, and mentioned in the ''Canterbury Tales'' ( The Nun's Priest's Tale, lines 290–301, in which the cockerel Chauntecleer tries to demonstrate the reality ...

), nursery and primary school, village hall, veterinary surgery, garage and two pubs, the New Inn and the Lion.

Notable features

There are two

grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

buildings in Clifton upon Teme: the parish church of St Kenelm, and Woodmanton Farmhouse. and further 44

grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed buildings or structures. Located outside the village at the bottom of the escarpment (and close to the river Teme), but within the parish is Ham Castle Farm which is the location of three grade II listed buildings and one other grade II structure. Close to it are the earthworks remains of Ham Castle.

History

The village is an excellent example of an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

settlement overlooking the River Teme, situated on the ancient

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

route that led from

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. ...

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

. The earliest surviving mention of the village is in the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

of King Athelstan, granting it to the

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s of St. Peter's

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

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 ...

in 934 AD when it was referred to as Clistun ultra Tame. During the time of the wars with the Welsh, the manor of Clifton became established and was granted

Royal Borough The following list of place names with royal styles in the United Kingdom includes places granted a royal title or style by express grant from the Crown (usually by royal charter or letters patent) and those with a royal title or style based on h ...

status by

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

in 1377, allowing it to hold a weekly market on Thursdays and an annual four-day fair. The original

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

, built around 1200 on the site of the present Lion Inn, eventually came to be used as a hostelry for travellers en route between Worcester and

Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a small market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Situated 6 miles southeast of Ludlow, its northern border ...

. Clifton-upon-Teme was in the upper division of

Doddingtree The Hundred of Doddingtree was granted to Ralph Todeni, or ''Ralph de Toni'', a relative of the Duke of Normandy, in 1066 by William the Conqueror as a reward for his services as Standard bearer during the Norman Conquest. It consisted mainly of ...

Hundred. Following the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the British Whig Party, Whig government of Charles ...

Clifton-upon-Teme Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to

Martley Poor Law Union Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 individual parishes ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in their parish. Poor law unions were established. In west Worcestershire the Martley Poor Law Union was established to take the po ...

.''Worcestershire Family History Guidebook'', Vanessa Morgan, 2011, p68 The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

References

External links

Clifton-upon-Teme village & community websiteBritish History Online : Clifton-upon-Temephotos of Clifton-upon-Teme and surrounding area on geograph
Villages in Worcestershire Civil parishes in Worcestershire Malvern Hills District {{Worcestershire-geo-stub