Worcestershire Megafinal
Sunday 15 May 2016 at the University of Worcester

‹‹‹‹ Worcestershire in 1890

Worcestershire boundaries

English counties were created by the Saxons and Worcestershire was the area controlled by the Hwicce peoples from Worcester. The Diocese of Worcester was created in 680 and the cathedral was a very powerful landowner in the Mercian Saxon kingdom and during the brief period when the Vikings overran Mercia. After Alfred the Great pushed the Vikings out of the West Midlands, the Saxons fortified Worcester and made it a regional capital. After the Norman conquest, King William needed the support of the Diocese of Worcester and Bishop Wulfstan retained his position. The Bishops of Worcester shared secular power with the Norman lords D'Abitot and Beauchamp and lands of these magnates formed the County of Worcester. Sometimes these magnates owned land separated from the bulk of their estates so creating exclaves, land entirely separated from the rest of county lands.

As Britain industrialised, vagabonds often escaped justice by slipping across county boundaries and the authorities started to reduce the number of exclave parishes in 1844. Worcester gained Oldbury and Halesowen from Staffs, Clent from Shrops and Tardebigge from Warks at this time. As Birmingham grew, however, nearby Worcestershire villages fell under its influence. First was Quinton in 1909 and in 1911 Worcestershire lost Northfield, Moseley, Hall Green, and Yardley to Birmingham. The boundaries were further rationalised in 1931 so that old exclave parishes of Worcestershire were ceded to other counties. Cutsdean, Blockley, Evenlode, and Daylesford, were absorbed by Gloucestershire. Alderminster, Tredington amd Shipston-on-Stour became part of Warwickshire. In 1966, Worcestershire gained Warley including Smethwick, and Rowley Regis from Staffs, but lost Dudley. When the West Midlands was formed in 1974, Worcestershire lost Oldbury, Stourbridge Oldswinford, Cradley, Hagley and Halesowen.