Martley is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the Malvern Hills district of the English county 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 ...

. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farming of the area includes arable, formerly cherry, apple, damson orchards and hopyards. It is a popular village for retired people and professionals working in the city and surrounding towns, and has a large secondary school to which around 700 pupils are bussed daily from the surrounding area. It has a sports hall with rock climbing wall and a gym within the grounds of the school can be used by the public out of school times.

Geology

The village and its extensive parish sits astride the

Malvern Line The Malvern Line or Malvern Lineament is the name applied to a north-south aligned lineament which runs through the Malvern Hills of western England and extends southwards towards Bristol and northwards past Stourport. It consists of a series o ...

, a north–south aligned lineament originating in

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...

times. To the east are

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s whilst to the west are

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...

mudstones. Along the lineament itself are a complex mix of rocks of

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million years ag ...

and

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozoi ...

age.

History

Berrow Hill, an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post- Rom ...

, is one of several in the area, which hosts a

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

. Martley 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'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relie ...

Martley Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to Martley Poor Law Union. A lane leads south from the village to the church which stands close to a spring known as St Peters Well, suggesting a pre-Christian origin for the site. The red

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

of St Peter is Norman in origin. Its peal of six bells, cast locally in 1673 by the bellfounder Richard Keene of Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, is the only complete set of original bells in the county. The bells are a

Maiden Ring Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, a peal of bells that sounds the correct notes immediately after casting and needs no further tuning. St. Peter's was one of the first churches in Worcestershire to have as many as six bells and at the beginning of the 18th century very few churches had more than three or four bells. In 1894 the bells were rehung on the original frame and no further major work has been required since.
The church also contains some medieval wall paintings and an

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

effigy of Sir Hugh Mortimer, Lord of

Kyre Kyre is a small village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the county of Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire w ...

& Martley, killed in battle at the

Battle of Wakefield The Battle of Wakefield took place in Sandal Magna near Wakefield in northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the captive King Henry VI o ...

in 1460. In 1999 a new stained glass window was cut, leaded and installed by

Patrick Costeloe Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick o ...

for the artist Tom Denny.

Notable people

* Sir Charles Hastings (1794-1866) founder of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

was raised in Martley. * Francis Jukes (1745-1812) engraver was born in Martley. * Martin Stainforth (1866-1957) equine artist was born in Martley.

Amenities

Martley has a village shop, the Crown

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, a petrol station/garage . Schools in Martley include a primary school and the Chantry High School which has approximately 700 students and has a special technology status. It serves a large rural catchment area. Its sports hall is shared with the public. There are many walks in the local area such as the Worcestershire Way which passes close by Rodge Hill, and the River Teme is also near the village. The village is home to

Martley Cricket Club Martley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the English county of Worcestershire. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1,200 people. The mixed farmin ...

, running teams in the Worcestershire League Division 3(Sat), Division 8 (Sat) and the Worcester Evening League (Tues) with friendly games on Sunday's throughout the season. In 2000 Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath played a match in Martley. The

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

has two Saturday teams and a

Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...

team. Martley has its own radio station, ''

Longside Radio Longside is a village located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, consisting of a single main street. It lies seven miles inland from Peterhead and two miles from Mintlaw on the A950. Its population in 2001 was 721. The River Ugie flows through it. ...

'', currently broadcasting over the Internet. It has growing support locally and hopes to develop links with Chantry High School and youth club. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music and live shows broadcast every evening. Now broadcasting from the heart of the village in the old weighbridge. Details of how to listen and contact the station are on their website.

References

External links

Village website (collaborative)
*
Chantry High School websiteMartley Cricket Club Websitephotos of Martley and surrounding area on geograph Longside Radio - Where Variety Matters
{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire