South Littleton 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 ...

located 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 ...

, England. South Littleton is located midway between

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

Bidford on Avon Bidford-on-Avon is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire, very close to the border with Worcestershire. In the 2001 census it had a population of 4,830, increasing to 5,350 at the 2011 census, increasing again ...

. South Littleton is the largest of The Littletons, with

North and Middle Littleton North and Middle Littleton is a civil parish located in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of North Littleton and Middle Littleton, and is located near the larger settlement of South Littleton. It ...

being smaller. At the 2001 census it had 1,775 inhabitants, while North and Middle Littleton had a population of 906.

History

Though

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

human activity has been documented in the area, it is thought the first permanent settlements were constructed during Romano-British times (the important

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

of Ryknild Street runs by the area). Other nearby Romano-British at Ullington, Blakes Hill and Littleton Pastures have been documented, and all were thought to be in continuous occupation until the late 4th century. Archeological evidence suggests the area was completely abandoned after the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. The area had been repopulated to an extent by the time of 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 ...

, which documents the Littletons twice. Later stone buildings remain in the villages today. The parish remained largely as an agricultural area until the late 1940s. Today, very few of the inhabitants of the parish are employed in agriculture.

South Littleton today

The village is served by South Littleton Parish Council. The Littletons Church of England Academy is in South Littleton which also has a large recreation ground. There are also allotments and

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

an
tennis clubs
There is a shop and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and a

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

located on the village High Street. There is also a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church and a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

chapel located in the village. South Littleton is also the location of

HMP Long Lartin HM Prison Long Lartin is a Category A men's prison, located in the village of South Littleton (near Evesham) in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Long Lartin was opened a ...

, a maximum security prison for adult males.

References

External links

South Littleton Parish Council

Local information on the Littletons

HMP Long Lartin
Villages in Worcestershire {{Worcestershire-geo-stub