Oddingley 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

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 ...

, approximately north-east of the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

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 ...

History

Toponymy

Oddingley was recorded in 816 as ''Oddingalea''. It was listed in the

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 ...

of 1086 as ''Oddunclei''. The name derives from the

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 ...

for "Woodland clearing of the family or followers of man calledOdda".

19th century

In 1806, Oddingley became known for the unsolved murder of the village

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...

, George Parker. Parker was shot and beaten to death by a man widely suspected to be Richard Hemming, a carpenter from Droitwich. Hemming was never apprehended and it was believed that he had escaped the country. In 1830, a body was found which was later identified to be that of Hemming.

Governance

Oddingley is in the Bowbrook

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of the Worcestershire

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Mid Worcestershire Droitwich and Evesham is a constituency in Worcestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested in the 2024 general ...

, represented at

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

by Conservative MP

Nigel Huddleston Nigel Paul Huddleston (born 13 October 1970) is a British politician who has served as co-chairman of the Conservative Party since November 2024, serving alongside The Lord Johnson of Lainston. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...

. It was part of the West Midlands constituency of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

prior to Britain leaving the European Union in January 2020.

Geography

Oddingley lies approximately north-east of the

and about south of

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. ...

. Nearby villages to Oddingley include Hadzor, Newland, Dunhampstead, Saleway, Sale Green and Tibberton. It is situated close to the

Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long. There ...

Demography

The population of Oddingley, according to the 1801 census, was 110. In the 1991 census, the population of the village was recorded as 165. By 2001, this had grown to 197 with 77 households.

Church

Oddingley's church is dedicated to Saint James the Apostle and lies to the south of the village. In June 2014, th
church website
was launched to provide more information about the history of the church, its current services and upcoming events.

References

{{authority control Villages in Worcestershire