Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for BEWDLEY

BEWDLEY, a town, a borough, and a subdistrict in the district of Kidderminster,-Worcester. The town stand on a rising-ground, on the right bank of the river Severn, and on the Severn valley railway, 3 miles WSW of Kidderminster. It was originally an extra-parochial liberty; but was united, in the time of Henry IV., to the parish of Ribbesford. It lay anciently within the marches of Wales; but was annexed, in the time of Henry VIII., to the county of Worcester. It belonged to the Beauchamps, but became afterwards a royal domain. A palace was erected at it by Henry VII. for his son Arthur, who was married here by proxy; and the palace was occupied by Charles I., suffered much in the war with his parliament, and was subsequently taken down and erased. The surrounding scenery is remarkably fine, and has been supposed by some to have given rise to the name Bewdley, as a corruption of the French Beaulieu. A Roman camp is on the neighbouring hill Basall or Wasall; and an isolated mound of red sandstone, called the Devil's Spadefull, the subject of a curious legend, is in a hollow. The town has wide streets; and, in general, is well built. Wribbenhall, on the other bank of the Severn, is a suburb, with some good streets; and is reached by a handsome stone bridge, erected in 1797 The town hall is a neat edifice of 1818; and the market-place behind it has side-arcades and an open area. Bewdley church is a spacious structure, with a tower; and Ribbesford church is an ancient building, with Norman porch and low tower. There are chapels for Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and Unitarians; a grammar school with endowed income of £44; a literary institution, with free library; and almshouse and other charities, with income of £234. The town has a railway station, a head post office,‡ a banking office, and two chief inns. A weekly market is held on Saturday; and fairs on 23 April, the Monday before 26 July, and 11 Dec. Large employment formerly arose from the carrying trade on the Severn; but was severely and permanently damaged by the formation of the Stourport and Stourbridge canal. Manufactures are carried on in combs, leather, and malt. John Tombes, the opponent of Baxter, and Richard Willis, an artizan's son who rose to be Bishop of Winchester, were natives.

The borough was constituted by Edward IV.; reconstituted by James VII.; constituted again, on its original basis, after a long lawsuit, in the time of Anne; and reconstituted, on its present basis, by the reform bill. It now, as a municipal borough, includes most of the parish of Ribbesford; and as a parliamentary borough, includes also the rest of that parish, and the hamlets of Wribbenhall, Hoarstone, Blackstone, Netherton, and Lower Mitton, in the parish of Kidderminster. It is governed by a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors; and it sends one member to parliament. Direct taxes in 1857, £4,060. Real property in 1860, £11,160. Electors in 1868, 361. Pop. of the m. borough in 1841, 3,400; in 1861, 2,905. Houses, 686. Pop. of the p. borough in 1851, 7,318; in 1861, 7,084. Houses, 1,598.-There are five ecclesiastical charges within the borough,-Bewdley, Ribbesford, Far-Forest, Wribbenhall, and Lower Mitton. The Bewdley one is a vicarage, in the diocese of Hereford; income, not reported; patron, the Rector of Ribbesford. The other four will be separately noticed.-The subdistrict comprises three parishes; one of them electorally in Salop and one electorally in Stafford. Acres, 9,021. Pop., 4,142. Houses, 914.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Worcestershire AncC
Place: Bewdley

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