ALVECHURCH
Aelfgithecirce (viii cent.); Aelfythecyrcan (x cent.);
Aelfithe Cyrce (xi cent.); Alvithecherche (xii cent.);
Alninechurch, Alvechirche (xiii cent.); Alvechchirche,
Alvychurch, Alvenecherch, Alvethechirche, Alvynchurche, Alvythechurche (xiv cent.); Allchurch,
Allewchurche, Alchurch (xvi cent.).
The parish of Alvechurch is situated in the northeast of the county of Worcester and has an area of
6,800 acres, (fn. 1) of which 896 acres are arable, 5,418 acres
are permanent grass and 48 acres are wood. (fn. 2) The
land is high, varying from 400 ft. above the ordnance
datum in the south to 600 ft. in the north. The
subsoil is clay and marl, and the chief crops are wheat,
oats and beans.
Included in this parish are the village of Alvechurch and the hamlets of Forhill, Hopwood and
Lea End in the north, Barnt Green in the west and
Rowney Green and part of
Weatheroak Hill in the south.
Between the years 1650
and 1660 a court of survey
was held for the manor of
Alvechurch, when the boundaries of the parish were
accurately described. At the
end of the 18th century attested copies of this survey
were in the possession of
several of the inhabitants. (fn. 3)
The River Arrow runs
through the parish from north
to south and forms part of
the southern boundary, while
one of its tributaries forms
part of the eastern boundary.
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal, running
through the western portion
of the parish, is fed by two
large reservoirs called Upper
and Lower Bittell Reservoirs.
South of Hopwood there are
wharves on the canal, which
enters the Westhill Tunnel to the north-east of
Hopwood. On the banks of the canal, to the
west of the village of Alvechurch, there are brickworks.
The chief road in the parish is the Birmingham
and Evesham high road, which runs southwards from
West Heath through the hamlet of Hopwood and
the village of Alvechurch. Icknield Street, the old
Roman road, runs through the hamlet of Forhill in
the east of the parish.
The village of Alvechurch is situated about 4 miles
north of Redditch in a hollow upon the main road
to Birmingham. A cross-road leading eastwards in the
direction of Bromsgrove constitutes the centre of the
village, and here a small gore is formed, upon which
is built an isolated block of red brick cottages. The
church stands on high ground to the south of the
Bromsgrove road, a little to the west of the cross-roads.
On the north side of this road, between the church
and the main part of the village, is a fine 16thcentury half-timbered house, now divided into two.
There is some good half-timber work in the main
street, but the majority of the houses are of brick and
of comparatively recent date. On an elevated plateau
to the east of the village, immediately to the south of
the cross-road mentioned above, is the site of the
former palace of the Bishops of Worcester with the
remains of fishponds. The buildings have disappeared,
but the system of moats remains intact, inclosing a
large rectangular area, subdivided by a cross moat.
All but the trench on the north side are still filled
with water. Just by the cross-road is a water-mill,
still in use, worked by a stream which flows down
the valley in which the village lies. Barnt Green
House, close to the Barnt Green railway station,
is a picturesque half-timbered house of the latter
half of the 16th century. The plan is T-shaped
and of the normal central hall type, with modern
additions. There are two stories with an attic floor
in the roof. The chimney stacks have bases of stone
ashlar work surmounted by brick shafts of the intersecting diagonal type. Some original oak panelling
remains, but most of the principal rooms appear to have
been refitted in the 18th century with new panelling
of the same material. The main staircase is a good
example of the latter date.
Barnt Green House, Alvechurch
On the northern boundary of the parish is Westhill Farm. (fn. 4) At Moorgreen Hall near Weatheroak
Hill are the remains of a moat. In Rowney Green
there are several gravel-pits.
The chief houses are Bordesley Hall with Bordesley Park belonging to Lieut.-Colonel H. C. Geast
Dugdale, but now the residence of Mr. Alfred Harold
Wiggin, J.P., and the Forhill House, the residence of
Mr. Walter William Wiggin, J.P.
The Barnt Green, Evesham and Ashchurch branch
of the Midland railway runs through the parish, and
the Bristol and Birmingham branch of the same
railway runs along a portion of the western boundary.
There is a station on the former at Alvechurch opened
in 1859, and on the latter at Barnt Green.
An Inclosure Act for Alvechurch was passed in
1819. (fn. 5)
The following place-names occur: Crukedebrugg,
Levericheshull, Drayhulle, Pyrleye, Sandon, Ernaldescroft, and Pynyton (xiii cent.) (fn. 6) ; Le Graunge Wode,
the Tirlewey, (fn. 7) Cockys Bache, the Ruddyng, Swanneshull, (fn. 8) Fraunces, (fn. 9) Webfeldes, (fn. 10) Coole Croft, (fn. 11) Awcott (fn. 12)
(xvi cent.).
MANOR AND BOROUGH
ALVECHURCH seems to have
been originally included in 20 hides
at Westhill (Wærsetfelda), Coston.
Hackett (Coftune), (fn. 13) and Rednal
(Wreodanhale), (fn. 14) granted by Offa in
780 to the monastery of Bredon, (fn. 15) for later registers of
Worcester Priory state that Offa gave to the church at
Bredon, Alvechurch with the vills of Westhill, Coston,
and Rednal, (fn. 16) but no separate charter has been found
for Alvechurch. This estate passed like the rest of
the possessions of the monastery of Bredon to the see
of Worcester, and the 20 hides (fn. 17) were given by
Aelhun (Ealhhun) Bishop of Worcester in 849, in
exchange for a promise of protection, to King Berhtwulf
for five lives, with reversion to the church of Worcester, (fn. 18) and Berhtwulf granted them to his thegn
(minister) Egbert under the same conditions. (fn. 19) The
land was restored to the church of Worcester in 930
by King Athelstan, (fn. 20) and a
good argument for the identification of this estate with that
afterwards known as Alvechurch is afforded by a later
statement that Athelstan gave
'Ælfgythe Cyrcan,' as 20
hides, to the church of Worcester. (fn. 21) In 1086 Alvechurch
with its four berewicks, Coston
Hackett, Westhill, Tonge and
Overton, was numbered among
the possessions of the see of
Worcester. (fn. 22) It remained in
the possession of successive
bishops (fn. 23) until 1648, when it was sold by the
Parliamentary Trustees to William Combe, (fn. 24) the site
of the manor and the park being sold at the same
date to John Combe and Richard Quiney. (fn. 25)
See of Worcester. Argent ten rounde's gules.
At the Restoration the manor was recovered by
the bishop, and remained with the see of Worcester
until 1860, when it was taken over by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, (fn. 26) who are now lords of the
manor. (fn. 27) Court leets for the manor were held yearly
until about 1860.
Henry II seems to have afforested part of the
manor of Alvechurch and annexed it to the neighbouring forest of Feckenham, (fn. 28) but Richard I freed
6½ acres within the bishop's manor of Alvechurch
from fines due for their clearing (fn. 29) and confirmed the
manor to the bishop. (fn. 30) John granted the bishop the
same liberties in his manor of Alvechurch as he had
in his other manors, (fn. 31) and freed 34½ acres there from
payments for clearing and waste, pleas, and from all
other forest exactions. (fn. 32)
In 1531 Alvechurch was exempted from contributing to the expenses of knights going to Parliament. (fn. 33)
The exact date of the formation of the mesne
borough of Alvechurch is unknown, but the grant of
burghal rights may have synchronized with or followed
the establishment of a market and fair in the 13th
century. In Bishop Giffard's Register (fn. 34) (1268–1302)
the borough is recognized, and in the survey of
Feckenham Forest given in the Beauchamp Chartulary
it is admitted that the portion of Alvechurch which
lay 'in foro' belonged to the see. By 1288 the
rent (fn. 35) of the borough was valued at £4 2s. 9d. In
1299 there were about seventy-four burgage tenements, and their rents (fn. 36) ranged from 10d. to 15d.
each. Three years after the pleas and perquisites (fn. 37) of
the court of the manor and of the borough were worth
£6 0s. 6d. The burgesses do not seem to have ever
acquired any real independence, and the organization
of the borough was mainly of the usual manorial type.
In 1529–30 the bishop received £3 18s. 10½d.
from burgages in Alvechurch and 18s. 10d. in respect
of two new ones. (fn. 38) A view of frankpledge was taken
in 1537, in which William Staffordshire is stated to
have paid 10d. for one burgage, and Thomas Aunge
is mentioned as holding another of the bishop. In
1540–1 the rents of burgages in Alvechurch amounted
to £3 18s. 10½d. (fn. 39) Bishop Silvester (1498–1521)
granted a lease of a burgage in Alvechurch to Thomas
Porter, who fifteen years later bequeathed it to his
son William Porter. The latter granted it to Henry
Porter, who in the reign of Elizabeth took proceedings
against John Phillipps to recover possession of it. (fn. 40)
The borough of Alvechurch never returned a member
to Parliament. The town was governed by a bailiff
chosen annually at the court leet of the manor and
appeared at the lord's court by a jury of its own
inhabitants distinct from that of the manor. (fn. 41) It was
still styled a borough in 1808. (fn. 42)
In 1239 Walter, Bishop of Worcester obtained from
Henry III a grant of a yearly fair at Alvechurch for
three days at the feast of St. Lawrence (10 August)
and a weekly market on Wednesdays. (fn. 43) The grant
was renewed to Bishop Godfrey in 1270, when the
market day was changed to Saturday. (fn. 44) The market
had entirely disappeared before the end of the 18th
century, (fn. 45) but two fairs were then held, one on St.
Lawrence's Day and the other on 22 April, the latter
being famous for the number of sheep and lambs sold. (fn. 46)
The April and August fairs continued until about the
middle of the 19th century (fn. 47) ; but in 1850 a fair was
held on 3 May, and statute fairs on Lady Day and
Michaelmas Day. In 1872 only one statute fair was
held in October. At the present day
there are two fairs held at Alvechurch,
one on the first Wednesday in May
and the other on the first Wednesday
in October. They have, however, declined so much in importance that it is
impossible to say there is any ownership in them at all. (fn. 48)
In 1299 the Bishop of Worcester
owned two mills in one house in Alvechurch on the River Arrow. (fn. 49) They
are mentioned in a survey made in
1299 as worth £3 16s. yearly, (fn. 50)
but in the reign of Henry VIII
only brought in £1 6s. 8d. (fn. 51) At the
time of the sale of the bishops' lands
in 1647 one mill was sold to Henry
Haynes for £45 3s. 4d. (fn. 52) ; the second,
called the Town Mill, passed with the
manor in 1648 to William Combe. (fn. 53)
There are still two water corn-mills on
the banks of the River Arrow, the one
north and the other south of the
village of Alvechurch.
The Bishops of Worcester had a
PARK at Alvechurch in the reign of
Henry II, (fn. 54) when one Reynold held
half a hide of land for the service of
being park-keeper. (fn. 55) In 1213, the see
of Worcester being then in his hands,
the king granted to Robert de Rochelle
(Ropella) three deer from the park of
Alvechurch. (fn. 56) Free warren was granted
to the Bishop of Worcester in 1254
and in 1255. (fn. 57) According to the above-mentioned
survey of 1299 the park was then rated at 49s. 8d.
and contained two ponds with islands in them. The
fishing was worth 5s. and the pasture of the islands
2s. (fn. 58) Bishop Giffard increased the park, giving to
Nicholas de Norfolk land in Gomenhull in exchange
for that added to the park. (fn. 59) In 1529–30 and in
1535 the yearly rent of the park was £8. (fn. 60) On
13 June 1538 Bishop Latimer wrote to Cromwell
that he had intended to have asked for a good portion
of the demesne lands of Bordesley, apparently to add
to the park at Alvechurch. (fn. 61) Edward VI confirmed
the park to the bishop in 1552–3. (fn. 62) In 1648 it
was sold with the palace to John Combe and
Richard Quiney. (fn. 63) In 1652 there were proceedings
in the Court of Exchequer between Richard Booth,
then owner of Alvechurch Park, and the rector of
Alvechurch with respect to tithes. (fn. 64) The park had
been converted into farms before the end of the
18th century. (fn. 65)
Alvechurch: 16th-century House, now Cottages
The Bishops of Worcester had a palace at Alvechurch, at which they frequently resided. William
of Blois died there in 1236. (fn. 66) Bishop Godfrey
Giffard was often there, (fn. 67) many of his letters and deeds
being dated at Alvechurch. (fn. 68) Reginald Brian, Bishop
of Worcester, was at Alvechurch on 1 December 1356,
when he received a letter from the Black Prince
giving an account of the battle of Poictiers, (fn. 69) and he
died there of the Plague in 1361. (fn. 70) Leland in his
Itinerary mentions the palace and says, 'this place is
made all of Tymbre and seemeth to be noe peice of
ould Worke. It was lately in Decay and Bishop
Latimer repaired it.' (fn. 71) In 1648 'the site of the
manor or mansion-house of Alvechurch' was sold by
the trustees under the Act of 1646 to John Combe
and Richard Quiney, (fn. 72) but at the Restoration it was
recovered by the bishop. The palace soon afterwards
fell into disrepair and by 1780 had been pulled
down. (fn. 73) A chapel in the manor of Alvechurch is
mentioned in 1447. (fn. 74)
BARNT GREEN (Brante, xiv cent.; Grene, xv
cent.; Greane, xvi cent.; Barnte Green, xvii cent.)
was probably included in Alvechurch in the early
days of its history. It is first mentioned as a separate
manor in 1450–1, when William Cecil and his wife
Margaret conveyed it to William Cumberford. (fn. 75) The
next owner mentioned is Christopher St. Germain,
who demised it for forty years to William Willington
in 1527–8. (fn. 76) William seems to have acquired half the
manor in fee before 1542, when he made some settlement with regard to it to which his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Edward Boughton were parties. (fn. 77)
Stephen Agard and his wife Elizabeth conveyed a
moiety of the manor in 1547–8 to William Willington. (fn. 78) The latter apparently settled this manor on
his youngest daughter Catherine, who married three
times. (fn. 79) She and her third husband Anthony Throckmorton were dealing with land in Alvechurch in
1586, (fn. 80) and in 1589 Catherine, then a widow,
with the consent of her sons John, Thomas and
George, sold the manor to Anthony Tirringham and
John Catesby, (fn. 81) and in the following year they sold it
to Thomas Ridley, D.C.L., and Margaret his wife. (fn. 82)
In 1660 the manor, then for the first time called
Barnt Green, was conveyed by William Middlemore
to Ralph Taylor the elder, Ralph Taylor the younger
and William Moore. (fn. 83) Barnt Green seems, however,
to have belonged to Henry Taylor, father of the
younger Ralph, as he is called 'of Barn Green' in
the Worcester visitation of 1682. (fn. 84) The younger
Ralph died about 1670. (fn. 85) Shortly after the manor
of Barnt Green seems to have passed to the Moore
family. William Moore of Barnt Green died in
1714 and seems to have been succeeded by Edward
Moore, who died in 1746. (fn. 86) An Edward Moore
lived at Barnt Green in 1781, (fn. 87) but he and his
ancestors were probably only tenants of the manor,
for William Waldron was dealing with it in 1763. (fn. 88)
William seems to have been succeeded by four coheiresses—Ann wife of John
Taylor, Mary wife of John
Raybould, Elizabeth wife of
Nathaniel Wright, and Sarah
Waldron, since they were
dealing with the manor in
1766. (fn. 89) John Taylor was in
possession about 1814, (fn. 90) but
in 1816 Joshua Yates and
Ann Yates sold the manor
to Other Archer Earl of
Plymouth. (fn. 91) All manorial
rights at Barnt Green have
long since fallen into abeyance.
Windsor, Earl of Plymouth. Gules a saltire argent between twelve crosslets or.
HOPWOOD (Hopwuda, ix and x cent.), together
with Westhill, (fn. 92) was granted by Bishop Aelhun to
King Berhtwulf in 849, (fn. 93) and was restored to the
church by King Athelstan in 930. (fn. 94)
It seems to have remained part of the demesne of
the Bishops of Worcester until one of them gave it
with his niece to William de Salesweres. (fn. 95) Thomas
de Hopwood was impleaded for this manor by
William of Blois, Bishop of Worcester (1218–36), but
Thomas died while the suit was pending. (fn. 96) The
bishop probably recovered it, for Bishop Giffard was
in possession in 1299. (fn. 97) Hopwood seems again to
have passed out of the hands of the bishop, for in
1344–5 Thomas de Grotene released to Bishop
Wulstan all his claim in the manor of Hopwood. (fn. 98)
After this date Hopwood probably merged into the
manor of Alvechurch.
An estate at Hopwood was held in the 12th century
by the lords of Talton, William de Armscote having
acquired it before 1182 by exchange with Hamme
and Roger for land in Fladbury. (fn. 99) It was held early
in the 13th century by William son of Auger de
Talton under the Bishop of Worcester's manor of
Tredington. (fn. 100) It was evidently closely connected
with the manor of Talton in Tredington, for it was
held like that manor under Auger de Talton by
Robert Waleraund in 1272–3, (fn. 101) and in 1299 Robert
le Chaumbre held a hide of land at Hopwood. (fn. 102)
At the date of the Domesday Survey Urse
D'Abitot owned a hide of land at OSMERLEY
(Osmerlie, xi cent.; Osemeresleia, xii cent.) in Alvechurch, and Herlebald held it of him. Attached to
this estate was a house in Worcester worth 16d. and
a saltpan in Droitwich paying a rent of 12 'mits' of
salt. There was also half a league (lewa) of wood. (fn. 103)
The overlordship of this land remained with the
Beauchamps, the descendants of Urse, until the end
of the 12th century, when the estate was granted
to the abbey of Bordesley. (fn. 104)
Urse's under-tenant Herlebald also held the manor
of Stone in 1086, and Osmerley passed with that
manor from him to the family of Stanes. William
de Stanes gave the estate about the middle of the
12th century to the abbey of Bordesley at a rent of
4 marks, and his gift was confirmed in 1178 by his
son Walter, (fn. 105) and in 1200–1 by his grandson William. (fn. 106)
This grant was confirmed by various members of the
Beauchamp family, as overlords of the fee. (fn. 107)
It remained with the abbey of Bordesley until the
dissolution of the house in
1538, (fn. 108) and was granted in
1542 as land at Alvechurch,
together with the other lands
of the abbey, to Andrew Lord
Windsor. (fn. 109) Land at Alvechurch still belongs to his
descendant, the Earl of Plymouth, but the name Osmerley has disappeared.
Windsor-Clive, Earl of Plymouth. Argent a fesse sable with three molets or thercon, quartered with Windsor.
The early history of WESTHILL (Waersetfelda, viii cent.;
Warstelle, xi cent.; Wasthull,
xiii cent.) has been given
under the manor of Alvechurch. At the date of the
Domesday Survey Westhill
was one of the berewicks attached to that manor, (fn. 110)
and probably remained a part of the bishop's demesne
until 1243–4, when the bishop granted land at
Alvechurch to William de Norfolk and his wife
Prudence. (fn. 111) Hugh de Norfolk sold an estate at Alvechurch to William son of William de Westhill in
1273–4. (fn. 112) He gave a messuage and land in Alvechurch to his eldest son William in 1275–6, (fn. 113) and
the latter granted the same estate to his son, another
William, in 1282–3. (fn. 114)
In 1283 William de Westhill and Matthew Cheker
or del Excheker released to the Bishop of Worcester
all their right to a messuage and 3 carucates of land
in Westhill. (fn. 115) This grant was confirmed by the
Crown in 1289, (fn. 116) but in the following year William
de Westhill complained that Matthew Cheker had
fraudulently obtained a fine conveying this estate to
him, and that the conveyance to the bishop was made
without his consent and to the disinheritance of his
son William. (fn. 117) Judgement was given for William, but
he seems never to have recovered the estate. In 1289
the bishop obtained from the commonalty of Westhill
a release of all their right to common at Westhill. (fn. 118)
From that time Westhill seems to have been part
of the manor of Alvechurch, and is possibly to be
identified with the land of the Bishop of Worcester
called 'hyghe Wastels,' mentioned in a deed of
1546. (fn. 119) In 1648 it was sold with the manor as part
of the demesne called Wastills or Wastehills. (fn. 120) Its
site is still marked by Westhill and Westhill Farm in
the north of the parish.
Nicholas de Warwick was in possession of land at
Alvechurch at the end of the 13th century. One hide
he had acquired before 1299 of Nicholas de Norfolk,
another half-hide he had bought of Hugh de Norfolk,
whose predecessor in possession had been Hugh le
Boteler. (fn. 121) Nicholas also held a messuage at 'Gouchmonesgreen' and half a virgate at Mornhill. (fn. 122) Nicholas
de Warwick, by an undated charter, gave to Sir
Thomas Blaunfront all the lands in Alvechurch which
his father had held. (fn. 123) Thomas forfeited all his possessions about 1324, (fn. 124) but they were evidently restored
to him or a descendant of the same name, for in 1329
Thomas Blaunfront obtained a grant of free warren
at 'Gomondesgreen' at Alvechurch. (fn. 125) Thomas was
still in possession of land at Alvechurch in 1332–3, (fn. 126)
and purchased land at 'Gomondesgreen' in 1358. (fn. 127)
By a deed, without date, he acquired land in Alvechurch and 'La Tange' from John Pichard. (fn. 128) Nothing
further is known of this estate.
At the beginning of the 13th century Ralph Hacket
was holding of William de Beauchamp a hide of land
in Alvechurch, (fn. 129) which had probably been given to
his ancestor William Hacket (see Coston Hackett) by
Bishop Simon (1125–50). (fn. 130) Little is known of the
descent of this estate, but it seems to have passed with
the manor of Coston Hackett, of which it probably
formed part, to the Leicester family. (fn. 131) It is mentioned
for the last time in 1431, when it was held by Henry
Leicester. (fn. 132)
CHURCH
The church of ST. LAWRENCE consists of a chancel 42 ft. by 20 ft., nave
51 ft. by 23 ft., north and south aisles,
with chapels of two bays on either side of the chancel,
about 75 ft. in total length by 16½ ft. wide on the
north side and 10½ ft. on the south, and a west
tower 15½ ft. square. These measurements are all
internal.
The whole of the church, with the exception of
the north aisle and the tower, was rebuilt in 1859 by
the late Mr. W. Butterfield. The north aisle is of
14th-century date with later 15th-century insertions
at the west end, and appears to have replaced a
12th-century building. The nave was probably of
the same size as that of this building and had
a 13th-century chancel to the east. The north
arcade is modern, except the west respond, and is in
the style of the 12th century, but in the rest of the
church the later styles have been used. The tower
is a rebuilding of the 15th-century work, bearing on
the west face the date 1676.
The chancel is lit by lancet windows, and in the
south wall is a sedile with a label enriched with
re-used 'dog-tooth' ornament. Further west is a
tomb recess of late date, partly original. Arcades of
two bays with pointed arches open into the side
chapels, and the chancel arch has responds of clustered
shafts.
The modern north arcade of the nave is of three
bays and has heavy round columns with scalloped
capitals. The south arcade consists of three large
bays and a small western one in the style of the
13th century. The clearstory is lighted by four
windows on each side.
The east window of the north aisle is of five lights;
the tracery appears to be later than the jambs, and
may have been part of the east chancel window mentioned by Dr. Prattinton in 1826. (fn. 133)
The first two north windows, which are largely
original, are each of two lights, with cusped tracery
under two-centred heads. Between is a recess containing a tomb. The north door has a plain ogee arch,
and was blocked in 1869. The third north window
is of three lights with 15th-century tracery under a
four-centred head, and the west window is modern.
The south doorway, placed very close to the west
end, is of 12th-century work re-used. It is recessed
in two orders and has an original label with billet
ornament and diapering and modern jamb shafts. A
similar porch covers the doorway.
The tower is of three stages with diagonal
buttresses to its western angles carried up to the
parapet string, and a stair turret in the north-east
angle. The doorway at the foot into the tower was
blocked by Mr. Butterfield and an outer doorway
substituted. The tower arch is of two continuous
orders, and above it are marks of the former roof, and
a window of two lights opening into the nave. The
west window is of three lights with vertical tracery
under a four-centred head. The jambs are evidently
part of the original 15th-century work, perhaps reworked, but the tracery appears to be later. The
moulded string-course around the tower passes over
the head as a crocketed label.
In the second stage are rectangular lights to the
north, south and west, and over the last is a disused
clock-dial in a square panel with an inscription above
and the date 1676. A similar panel on the south
face with an angel sculptured above it is partially
hidden by a modern skeleton clock-face. The bellchamber is lighted by windows of two lights each.
The parapet is a 17th-century balustrade with
crocketed angle and intermediate pinnacles. The
roofs are all modern, those of the nave and chancel
being gabled and open timbered below.
The rood screen is said to be old, but it is covered
with modern paint.
The tomb in the north aisle is set in a wide recess
flanked by diagonal pinnacles and having an ogee
cinquefoiled arch crocketed and terminating in a
carved finial. The whole appears to be work of
about 1400. The recess contains an effigy of a
knight in plate armour and jupon, with legs crossed,
and two angels supporting the cushion. The head
rests on a peaked bascinet with the visor raised. His
shield, hung by a strap, on the left side is blank. A
pleated short skirt reaches to the knee and is buttoned
down the front. The legs and arms are cased in
plate and the feet in pointed sollerets.
In the east part of the north aisle is a brass to Philip
Chalwyn, gentleman usher to Henry VIII, died 1524,
consisting of an armed figure with gauntlets at the
feet, and four shields: the first of Chalwyn charged
with a cheveron between three molets; the second
has the arms of Chalwyn quartering three defaced
shields, impaling quarterly (1) and (4) three roses, (2)
and (3) a fesse between three lions; the third shield
bears the impaled quarterly coat last mentioned; the
fourth is quartered, the first quarter Chalwyn, the
second and fourth defaced, the third three fusils in a
fesse.
In the chancel is the gravestone of a priest with a
cross flory on a stepped calvary. On one side is a
chalice and host and on the other a shield of the arms
of John Carpenter, Bishop of Worcester (1446–76):
Paly azure and gules a cheveron argent with three
crosslets gules thereon and a mitre or in the chief.
Other late 17th and 18th-century stones and brass
inscriptions also remain.
There are eight bells, six by Jos. Smith of Edgbaston,
1711, rehung and increased by two in 1890.
The communion plate is composed of two cups and
patens of 1861 and a silver credence paten and cover
and two silver-mounted cruets of later date; the old
plate is said to have been stolen about 1835.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) mixed
entries 1545 to 1652; (ii) baptisms and burials 1653
to 1797 and marriages to 1754; (iii) baptisms and
burials 1798 to 1812; (iv) marriages 1754 to 1812.
There is a Mission church at Rowney Green. In
Alvechurch is a Baptist chapel built in 1860, and at
Rowney Green a Wesleyan chapel.
ADVOWSON
At the date of the Domesday
Survey there was a priest at Alvechurch. (fn. 134) The advowson belonged
to the Bishop of Worcester, and it has remained with
the see of Worcester until the present day. (fn. 135)
In 1288 the bishop instituted Robert de Wich to
the church of Alvechurch, (fn. 136) and in the following year
granted him a licence to be absent for three years
and to let his benefice to farm. (fn. 137) In 1291 the
church was taxed at the rate of £20, (fn. 138) and in 1328
the Bishop of Worcester appointed the Dean of Wich
to inquire into the structural defects of the church,
more particularly the chancel. (fn. 139)
There was a chantry of Saint Mary in the parish
church of Alvechurch, which owned land in the
parish. There is no record of the donors, but it
appears that at the date of the suppression of the
chantries in the reign of Edward VI the lands of
this chantry were worth £5 2s. 8d. a year. (fn. 140) These
lands were granted to John Hereford and William
Wilson in 1549, (fn. 141) and afterwards passed into the
possession of Thomas Lewknor, who died in 1571,
having settled them on his wife Jane, and after her
death on his son Nicholas and his wife Margaret. (fn. 142)
Nicholas Lewknor died without issue, and these lands
passed to Jane, his sister and heir, (fn. 143) who married
Anthony Sheldon of Broadway. (fn. 144) Anthony died
seised of the chantry lands in 1584, when his son
William succeeded. (fn. 145)
CHARITIES
Educational Charities.
—The
grammar school is regulated by a
scheme under the Endowed Schools
Acts, 19 May 1899. The endowment consists of
11 a. 1 r. 26 p., known as Birchy Fields; 1 a. 1 r. 23 p.
at Hopwood, and five cottages, producing in rents
£80 a year; £779 Midland Railway 2½ per cent.
stock, arising from the sales in 1901 and 1902 of
the old schoolhouse erected in 1742 with a legacy by
will of the Rev. William Wood, D.D., and land
adjoining; and £222 10s. 8d. consols, representing
for the most part accumulations of income and proceeds of sale in 1883 of a garden at Withybed Green.
The sums of stock are held by the official trustees,
producing together £25 0s. 6d. yearly.
The scheme provides that a sum of £50 shall be
applied towards the maintenance of an upper department in connexion with a public elementary school,
and that the residue of the net income shall be
applied in exhibitions.
A sum of about £16 a year from the income of
the distributive charities is also applied for educational purposes, and the official trustees also hold a
sum of £40 consols derived under the will of the
Rev. John Welch, dated in 1800, the dividends of
£1 a year being applicable towards the support of the
Sunday school.
The distributive charities comprise the following
charities, namely:—
Christian Smith, founded by will, 1634, consisting
of an annuity of 20s. issuing out of lands and
tenements near Rowney Green.
Thomas Jolliffe, will, 1693, annuity of 20s. paid
by the Earl of Plymouth out of the Coston estates.
Job Marston, will, 1701, being 20s. received from
the parish of Yardley.
John Smith, deed, 1713, being 20s. issuing out of
a house in London Street, Alvechurch.
Parish House, cottage, and garden, no. 31 on the
tithe map, producing in weekly rents £7 16s.
yearly.
Edward Moore, deed, 1746, consisting of an
annuity of £2 10s. charged on land known as
Pinton's Croft.
The Rev. John Welch, will, 1800, trust fund,
£43 15s. 1d. consols, the annual dividends, amounting to £1 1s. 8d., to be applied in the distribution
of bread.
William Smith, will, proved in 1838, trust fund,
£69 0s. 8d. consols, producing £1 14s. 4d. a year.
Out of the net income of these charities about
£16 a year is applied for educational purposes, and
the remainder is distributed among the poor in bread
and other articles in kind.
The hospital of Nicholas Lewknor, founded by
will, dated in 1580, was erected by Thomas Coploie
under Letters Patent, 28 April 1588, upon 2 acres
of land devised by the donor's will for a master, six
brethren and two sisters. In the result of certain
proceedings in Chancery an annuity of £33 6s. 8d.
was settled as an endowment, which was redeemed in
1884 by the transfer of £1,111 8s. 3d. consols, now
producing £27 15s. 8d. yearly, to the official trustees,
who also hold a sum of £366 13s. 4d. consols, producing £9 3s. 4d. yearly, as a repair fund. The real
estate consists of nine cottages and gardens, of which
six are occupied by inmates of the hospital rent free,
the remainder being let at £16 a year.