Great Witley
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Great Witley is a village in north west Worcestershire, England. There has been a settlement in the area since before the Norman Conquest.
The village is home to Witley Court, a Jacobean country house mansion extended on a number of occasions throughout its history, but which became derelict after a fire in 1937. The house is now in the care of English Heritage, who describe it as their number one ruin. They have restored the extensive gardens leaving the impressive skeletal ruin of the building overlooking them in a poignant and thought provoking way.
Adjoining Witley Court is the 18th century church of Saint Michael and All Angels, which is one of the finest Baroque churches in Britain. It incorporates a richly gilded ceiling with a number of paintings by Antonio Bellucci and a funerary monument by John Michael Rysbrack.
Nearby is Woodbury Hill commanding extensive views south to the Malvern Hills and over the River Teme valley to the west. On the summit is an Iron Age hillfort. Owain Glyndwr's army of Welsh and French camped here for eight days in the summer of 1405 facing an army of King Henry IV at Abberley Hill. Skirmishes took place but neither large force initiated full scale battle and the Welsh withdrew under nightfall back to Wales. The location was also used as a meeting place during the English Civil War by Clubmen from the local farms and cottages.
The village also has The Hundred House Hotel, once a collection point for agricultural tithes from the districts or 'hundred (division)s' of the local area.
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