TIBBERTON
Tidbrihtingctune (x cent.); Tidbertun (xi cent.);
Titbrictune, Tibrithtun (xii cent.); Tiburtone,
Tibritton, Tybryton (xiii cent.); Tyberton (xvi
cent.).
The parish of Tibberton lies in the middle of the
county to the north-east of the town of Worcester.
Its area is 1,271 acres, (fn. 1) of which 473 are arable land
and 747 permanent grassland. (fn. 2) The soil is clay
with a subsoil of Keuper Marl, and the chief crops
are wheat, beans and oats.
The village lies to the west of the Droitwich road,
which turns westward to Worcester at Ravenshill
Farm, south of the village. The church and vicarage
stand on an eminence, about 200 ft. above the ordnance
datum, but the land falls to the east and south to the
valleys of the brooks which form the eastern and part
of the southern boundaries of the parish. The
vicarage, which lies near the church, was built in
1884, mainly at the cost of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. To the south of the church is a good
half-timber farm-house of the early 17th century; a
house of similar type and date stands a little distance
to the north of the church. Ravenshill Farm is a
red brick house, built on a sandstone base, of two
stories and an attic, with twin tiled roofs. The
eastern half, dating from the 17th century, has a
brick string-course between the ground and first floors
and two gables on the east front, while the west part,
added early in the 18th century, has no string-course
or gables. Some windows on the east and south are
blocked. Internally the house retains its original
oak floors, stairs and doors. In the first floor rooms
of the earlier part of the house are two panelled oak
fireplaces with cornices. In the centre panel of the
overmantel of the fireplace in the southern room is a
painting on canvas of Europa and the bull. To the
north-east of the house is a 17th-century half-timber
and brick barn with a thatched roof, and to the south
is a sheet of water extending in three directions in
the form of a Y, which may be the remains of a
moat. There is a parish room, opened in 1905.
Foredraught Lane is a district in the north of the
parish near the Worcester and Birmingham Canal,
which here passes through Tibberton, and Moor End
is a district to the south.
An Inclosure Act for Tibberton was passed in 1810. (fn. 3)
Chaunters Close is a place-name found in the 17th
century. (fn. 4)
MANORS
Though there is no record of a grant
of TIBBERTON to the church of
Worcester, it must have owned it before
the end of the 10th century, when Oswald, Bishop of
Worcester and Archbishop of York, (fn. 5) leased 7 acres of
meadow there to a priest named Godingc for three
lives, (fn. 6) on condition that he should be amanuensis to
the see. At the date of the Domesday Survey
Tibberton was a member of the bishop's great
manor of Northwick, (fn. 7) and probably had been granted
to the church with that manor. It doubtless remained
part of Northwick until Bishop Samson (1096–1112) gave it to the Prior and convent of Worcester. (fn. 8)
It was confirmed to them by Bishop Simon in 1148. (fn. 9)
Waleran Count of Mellent in the reign of Stephen
directed William de Beauchamp to give to the Prior
and monks of Worcester the 'forestage' of Tibberton,
and he pardoned the prior the king's geld in the
forest which belonged to him. (fn. 10)
Richard I made the church's lands in Tibberton
free from all forest dues, pleas and exactions. (fn. 11) In
1244 the prior bought some heathland near Tibberton
of Alexander D'Abitot. (fn. 12) Four years later William
de Bracy gave the prior a pasture in Tibberton, and
gave him licence to inclose a field called Purnewude
and to make a path 8 ft. wide through the wood of
Warndon from the manor of Tibberton to the king's
highway which goes to Worcester. The prior was
to make a bec to protect the corn, and to give William
a messuage and croft in Trotteswell and 10 marks of
silver. (fn. 13) In the same year the king granted that the
prior might hold free of rent 7 acres of land in
Tibberton which he had assarted in the forest of
Feckenham. (fn. 14) It was the custom in the 13th century
for the prior to lease the manor to the villeins for
102s. a year. (fn. 15)
The manor remained in the possession of the Prior
and convent of Worcester until the Dissolution, (fn. 16)
when it passed to the Crown. It was granted in
1542 to the Dean and Chapter of Worcester, (fn. 17)
and confirmed to them in 1609. (fn. 18) In 1650 the
Parliamentary commissioners sold the manor of
Tibberton to William Garland and John Houghton
for £1,033 5s. 3d. (fn. 19) At the Restoration the dean
and chapter recovered the manor. It was confirmed
to them in 1692, (fn. 20) and remained with them until
1859, when it was taken over by the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, (fn. 21) who are in possession of the manor
at the present day. (fn. 22)
The lords of the manor of Tibberton held a court
baron which was included in the sale of 1650. (fn. 23) In
1812 this court was held at Himbleton, and the
tenants of Tibberton presented the Dean of Worcester with 6s. 8d. saddle money. (fn. 24) No court is
held at the present day.
In 1291 the prior owned a windmill in Tibberton. (fn. 25) This mill is again mentioned in 1315, (fn. 26)
but seems to have disappeared before 1535.
RAVENSHILL
RAVENSHILL (Raefneshyl, ix cent.; Raeveneshyll, xi cent.) was evidently given to the church
of Worcester before 816, when Coenwulf, King of
Mercia, freed it from all secular services except
building of bridges and strongholds and from military
service. (fn. 27) It was then a vill of Hallow. It was
given by Bishop Brihteah (1033–8) to his kinsman
Brihtwine, (fn. 28) but afterwards Urse the Sheriff seized
this land and the church lost it. (fn. 29) Shortly afterwards, however, they must have recovered it, for it
is evidently to be identified with part of the 2 nameless hides in the manor of Hallow which two radmanni held in 1086. (fn. 30) The mesne lordship, however,
passed with Urse's other estates to the Beauchamps
of Elmley, for in the 12th century it was held under
William de Beauchamp by Osbert D'Abitot, of whom
it was held by John Haltham. (fn. 31) A certain John
rendered 40s. for Ravenshill in 1166–7, (fn. 32) and may
perhaps have been John Haltham.
Habington mentions a Richard de Ravenshill who
flourished in 1305, (fn. 33) and Robert de Ravenshill
(Reveshutt) paid a subsidy of 8d. at Tibberton in
1327. (fn. 34) Richard Baugh held the estate in Habington's time (17th century), and it had been in his
family for some time before that. (fn. 35) It was purchased
of the Baughs by the Berkeleys of Spetchley, (fn. 36) and
is perhaps included in the land at Tibberton of which
Rowland Berkeley died seised in 1611. Ravenshill
was the residence in 1655 of Thomas son of Sir
Robert Berkeley of Spetchley, and in 1681 it is
recorded that there was a Roman Catholic chapel
at the house of Mr. Thomas Berkeley at Ravenshill. (fn. 37)
In 1689 a warrant was issued for the protection of
Mrs. Anne Berkeley of Ravenshill and her son
Thomas. (fn. 38) The estate has since remained in the
possession of the Berkeley family, and now belongs
to Mr. Robert V. Berkeley of Spetchley Park.
An estate belonging in the 16th century to the
Winters, and known as the manor of TIBBERTON,
is said by Habington to have been the half hide of
land in 'Ivelinge' granted by Ralph Prior of
Worcester to Thomas Fitz Aldred for 8s. yearly. (fn. 39)
In 1240 Alexander de Iveling was paying this rent
to the prior for half a hide of land at Tibberton, (fn. 40)
and in 1280 Richard de Iveling paid a subsidy at
Tibberton. (fn. 41) He had been succeeded before 1327
by John de Iveling. (fn. 42) Habington states that this
property afterwards passed to the Hodingtons, and
descended with the manor of Huddington (q.v.)
to the Winters. (fn. 43) Certainly Roger Winter held
it at the time of his death in 1535, (fn. 44) and it
then passed with Huddington in the Winter family
until the middle of the 17th century. (fn. 45) After the
Revolution of 1688 the Jesuit fathers of the Catholic
Mission at Worcester retired to Evelench. (fn. 46) Nash
writing at the end of the 18th century does not
give the owner of the Evelench estate, which was purchased in 1851 by the Rev. H. W. Walmesley and
others. It is now in the possession of the Jesuits
of St. George's, Worcester. (fn. 47)
CHURCH
The small church of ST. PETER AD
VINCULA, built in 1868, consists of
a chancel, nave, porch and west bellt-urret. The walls are of brick faced with stone,
and it is in 13th-century style. In the east wall
of the chancel is a pointed window of three lights,
and in the side walls are two lancets on the north
side and one on the south, with a square-headed
two-light window further west.
The nave is lighted by three pairs of lancets on
the north and two pairs on the south, while to the
west are single lancets on either side. In the west
wall are four lancets with a traceried circular
window above. The entrance is by a pointed doorway in the south wall covered by a wood porch. A
timber turret stands above the roof at the west end
and above it is an octagonal spire. Some oak work
from the old church is said to have been used in
the present flooring and alter rails.
The former building is described by Dr. Prattinton
in 1818 as consisting of a nave, chancel and south
porch, with a timber bell-turret at the west end.
The chancel was lit by a three-light east window
and three single-light openings in the side walls. He
also mentions two uninscribed bells in the turret.
The font is now octagonal, but from the remains
of a horizontal roll at the corners it would appear to
have formerly been round in plan and was probably
of the 13th century.
There are two modern bells, both by J. Taylor.
The communion plate consists of an Elizabethan
cup and cover paten dated 1571, the maker's initials
being H.W., a stand paten of 1839, and a flagon of
1869.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i)
baptisms 1680 to 1760, burials 1684 to 1760, and
marriages 1683 to 1754; (ii) baptisms and burials
1761 to 1812; (iii) marriages 1756 to 1811.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the church of
Tibberton belonged to the Prior
and convent of Worcester until the
Dissolution. (fn. 48) In 1314 the church was appropriated
to the office of precentor of the convent (fn. 49) for the
provision of new books and rolls, the repair of the
old ones, and the keeping of horses for the business
of the convent. (fn. 50) A vicarage to the value of 5 marks
was ordained in the following year. (fn. 51) In 1535 the
rectory of Tibberton was returned as annexed to
that of Himbleton. (fn. 52) The advowson and rectory (fn. 53)
were granted to the Dean and Chapter of Worcester
in 1542, (fn. 54) and the advowson has remained with
them ever since. (fn. 55) The vicarage was annexed on
6 October 1841 to the rectory of Bredicot. (fn. 56)
The precentors of Worcester seem to have had a
residence at Tibberton, for in 1657 the Parliamentary
trustees sold to Robert Urwyn the site of the rectory
of Tibberton and the mansion-house belonging to
the same, with land called Chaunters Close, which
had been leased by the dean and chapter in 1641 for
three lives to Mary Gibson. (fn. 57) The rectory seems to
have been leased from time to time by the dean and
chapter, and was in 1666 and at the beginning of
the 19th century in the possession of the Bearcroft
family. (fn. 58)
The church house of Tibberton was granted in
1573–4 to John and William Mersh. (fn. 59)
There is a Wesleyan Methodist chapel in the parish.
CHARITIES
In or about 1813 Mrs. Anne
Sumner, late wife of the Rev. Dr.
Sumner of King's College, Cambridge, and widow of Mr. George Wingfield, by her
will, in pursuance of her first husband's will, bequeathed £500, the interest to be applied in buying
gowns to clothe poor women, the said £500 to be
equally divided between the several parishes of
St. Martin and St. Nicholas, Worcester, and the
parishes of Claines, Warndon and Tibberton in the
county of Worcester.
The sum of £100 coming to this parish, reduced
by the legacy duty, is represented by £105 consols
with the official trustees, the annual dividends of
£2 12s. 6d. being duly applied.