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Belbroughton

Coordinates: 52°23′28″N 2°07′08″W / 52.391002°N 2.118988°W / 52.391002; -2.118988
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Belbroughton
High Street
Belbroughton is located in Worcestershire
Belbroughton
Belbroughton
Location within Worcestershire
Population2,685 
OS grid referenceSO919770
• London106 miles (171 km)
Civil parish
  • Belbroughton
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTOURBRIDGE
Postcode districtDY9
Dialling code01562
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire
52°23′28″N 2°07′08″W / 52.391002°N 2.118988°W / 52.391002; -2.118988

Belbroughton (/bɛlˈbrɔːtən/ bel-BRAW-tən) is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England. According to the 2021 census it had a population of 2,685.[1] It is about six miles north of Bromsgrove, six miles east of Kidderminster and four miles south of Stourbridge. The villages of Clent, Dodford and Drayton, and the hamlet of Hackmans Gate border the village. Belbroughton is served by bus service 318 (Bromsgrove-Stourbridge) operared by Kev's Cars and Coaches.

The village of Fairfield is within the parish, and one of two wards for Belbroughton and Fairfield Parish Council.[2]

History

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Development

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See also: History of Worcestershire

The earliest mention of the village was in AD817. In 1086, there was already a priest and a Saxon church, which stood on the same site as the present Holy Trinity church. The church was later rebuilt by the Normans and some remnants of this structure still remain. The church has been altered over the years with large scale restorations in the 1890s. The tower clock was erected in celebration of Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and the lychgate was built in 1912 and dedicated to Henry Charles Goodyear, who was a missionary from the parish.[3]

Aerial view of Belbroughton.

The Church is a Domesday Book Church. The present Churchyard is believed to have been the site of early Pagan religious ceremonies, The base of the existing Woodgate memorial is believed to be a Pagan preaching stone. After conversion to Christianity, it is thought a wooden Church was erected, to be replaced in Norman times with a substantial stone structure. Little of this remains but there is a Norman Chapel in the grounds of Bell Hall. The present Church was built at the beginning of the 14th century. However, the Black Death of 1348-9 had a decimated its activity and claimed the lives of three Priests. The Church at that time was highly decorated and traces of the original colours can still be seen.[3]

Belbroughton was at the core of the North Worcestershire scythe-making district.[4] Many of the mills of the area were formerly blade mills used for sharpening them, after a scythesmith had forged them from iron, with a thin strip of steel along the cutting edge. From the late 18th century until about 1870, the Waldron family of Field House Clent were the leading manufacturers. They were succeeded by Isaac Nash, whose business finally closed in 1967.[5] Scythes were formerly not just made in Belbroughton, but also several adjacent parishes, including Chaddesley Corbett.

In Belbroughton in 1831, with a population of 1,476, 68 weekly payments for poor relief were made. Poor relief however was only due to residents of a parish, provable through a certificate of residence.[6]

At the crossroads in the nearby hamlet of Bell Heath, there is a boulder that was brought by glacial process from Arenig Fawr, a mountain within Snowdonia, in Gwynedd. A plaque reads "Boulder from Arenig Mountain in N. Wales, Brought here by the Welsh Ice-Sheet in the Glacial Period".[7]

2008 flooding

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On 7 September 2008 heavy rain caused Belne Brook, which runs through the village, to swell. The rising water was held back by a seven-foot wall but the pressure of the water caused it to break. The surge of water tore through the village sweeping away cars and causing severe water damage (and in some cases structural damage) to many properties.[8][9] The current was so strong, it made tarmac ripple.[10]

Politics

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The Holy Trinity Church of the village.

Belbroughton is in the constituency of Bromsgrove, which is a traditionally Conservative safe seat. The Conservative party have held the seat since its modern establishment at the 1983 General Election. Sajid Javid, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, served as the constituency's MP from 2010 to 2024. The current MP is Bradley Thomas, who also serves as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.[11]

Belbroughton also composes the Belbroughton & Romsley ward of Bromsgrove District Council. In the latest election for the council, held in 2023, Karen May and Simon Nock of the Conservative party were elected as councillors.[12][13]

Facilities

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Facilities include a village shop, which includes the post office, a deli/coffee Shop, a hairdressers, and a recreational centre with tennis courts, children's playground and playing field.[14][15] There is an active cricket club on the outskirts of the village.[16] The area also has a number of public houses in Belbroughton itself and in neighbouring villages.[15]

Education

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Belbroughton Primary School is located in the village,[15] after which students progress to Haybridge High School, in the nearby town of Hagley.

Local events

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Belbroughton Scarecrow Festival

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Since 1996, Belbroughton has hosted Scarecrow Weekend in the last weekend of each September. The festival was founded by Steve Haywood (The Crowman) - a children's author and artist.[17] Villagers create scarecrows and display them outside their homes. It has proved very popular over recent years with thousands of visitors, raising tens of thousands of pounds for local organisations and amenities.[18]

Photogallery

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  • Church Road
    Church Road
  • Church Hall
    Church Hall
  • Belbroughton Workmen's Club and High Street in 2010
    Belbroughton Workmen's Club and High Street in 2010
  • High Street in 2016
    High Street in 2016
  • High Street in March 2018
    High Street in March 2018
  • High Street in 2021
    High Street in 2021
  • High Street in 2022
    High Street in 2022
  • Holy Cross Lane
    Holy Cross Lane
  • Belbroughton Church
    Belbroughton Church
  • Belbroughton Church of England Primary School
    Belbroughton Church of England Primary School
  • Belbroughton Workmen's Club in 2023
    Belbroughton Workmen's Club in 2023
  • Belbroughton during the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla in 2023
    Belbroughton during the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla in 2023
  • The village's cricket ground
    The village's cricket ground

References

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  1. ^ "Census 2021". Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Belbroughton and Fairfield Parish Council". Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b "History of Belbroughton".
  4. ^ "Belbroughton Conservation Area, designated 1969 extended OCTOBER 1975" (PDF). Bromsgrove District Council head of planning and environment services the council house, burcot lane, bromsgrove b60 1aa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011. "The village [of Belbroughton] was a national centre for scythe making and the mill pools and forges can still be seen along the course of the Belne Brook which runs off the Clent Hills and west to join the River Stour".
  5. ^ "English scythe making traditions at Issac Nash Ltd – the Scythe Association".
  6. ^ Lloyd 1993, p. 94.
  7. ^ belbroughtonandfairfield-pc.info
  8. ^ "VIDEO: Deluge in Belbroughton". BBC Hereford and Worcester. September 2008.
  9. ^ "Worse still to come after weekend of devastating floods". The Daily Telegraph. 7 September 2008."while in Belbroughton, near Stourbridge, a water-logged cottage collapsed"
  10. ^ "Belbroughton flood – Queens car park". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2011 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Bradley Thomas elected as Conservatives hold Bromsgrove seat". Bromsgrove Advertiser. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ^ "District council election results" (PDF). www.bromsgrove.gov.uk. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Your councillors by political grouping". Bromsgrove District Council. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Belbroughton Tennis Club". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  15. ^ a b c "Belbroughton – a village in North East Worcestershire". Operated on behalf of Belbroughton Parish Council. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Belbroughton Cricket Club". Play-Cricket. Retrieved 1 May 2014."Belbroughton Cricket Club"
  17. ^ Travis, Jo (2008). "CUTTING-EDGE OF HISTORY; DOWN YOUR WAY Jo Travis reports on a rural idyll that was once a world capital of industry". Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd.
  18. ^ "Thousands expected to flock to Belbroughton Scarecrow Festival". Bromsgrove Advertiser. 21 September 2010. "THOUSANDS of people are expected to flock to Belbroughton to see an ex-straw special scarecrow at this year's 13th annual event".

Sources

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belbroughton.
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