Suckley

Suckley

Affordable housing, Damson Way, Suckley
Suckley
 Suckley shown within Worcestershire
OS grid referenceSO721516
Civil parishSuckley
DistrictMalvern Hills
Shire countyWorcestershire
RegionWest Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town WORCESTER
Postcode district WR6
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK ParliamentWest Worcestershire
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire

Coordinates: 52°09′44″N 2°24′28″W / 52.162245°N 2.407894°W

Suckley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England, close to the border with Herefordshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Suckley Knowl (at grid reference SO715531), Suckley Green at SO719532 and Longley Green at SO733503.

Covering 4 square miles (10 km2), Suckley is geographically one of the largest parishes in Worcestershire, but one of the least populated with only around 250 residences. Seven farms utilise the greater part of the available land, producing apples, beef, cereals, hops, milk, oil seed rape, pears and potatoes. The eastern side of the Parish is part of the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Within Suckley there are several dozen micro-businesses operating from private homes, ranging from beauty therapy to furniture restoration, from computer maintenance to interior design, from motor mechanics to plumbing. Most of the population in employment commute to Malvern, Worcester, Hereford, Cheltenham or the West Midlands.[1][2]

The parish's population increased from 549 to 599 between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the increase being entirely attributable to older age groups. In contrast, the population of school age reduced sharply over the decade. 2011 census data shows a population with above average levels of educational attainment, lower than average unemployment and levels of poverty.[3] Car ownership is at a very high level (535 cars or vans for a population of 506 aged 17 or over), with only 5 households of 262 not having access to a car.[4]

History and amenities

Suckley, Worcestershire. From a water-colour drawing by E. A. Chadwick - 1906

The parish church is dedicated to John the Baptist.[5]

Suckley railway station was opened in 1897 on the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway. The station lay outside the parish in the parish of Knightwick, as did the nearby stations of Knightwick and Yearsett, both of which dated from the opening of the line from Worcester to a temporary terminus at Yearsett in 1877 (closed 1888 when the line was opened throughout to Bromyard). Suckley station closed with the Worcester-Bromyard line on September 5, 1964.[6] The replacement bus service ran until 2012 when the Suckley-Bromyard section was cancelled due to lack of ridership. Bus services continue to operate between Suckley and Worcester with a frequency varying between three and five return trips per day. There is one return journey weekly between Suckley and Malvern.[7]

The village has a village shop and post office serving the community, plus two public houses.[8] The village also has a small primary school for pupils between 4 and 11 years of age.[9] It was renamed from Suckley Primary School to Suckley School after being granted Academy status in September 2011.

Suckley was in the upper division of Doddingtree Hundred. [10]

Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Suckley Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to Martley Poor Law Union.[11]

Three websites document various aspects of parish life:

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References

  1. ↑ County council
  2. ↑ Village website
  3. ↑ 2011 census data
  4. ↑ 2011 census - vehicle data
  5. ↑ Rootsweb
  6. ↑ The Bromyard Branch (1998): ISBN 0 9534775 0 9
  7. ↑ Worcester CC bus service guide
  8. ↑ Shop website
  9. ↑ Ofsted report
  10. ↑ Worcestershire Family History Guidebook, Vanessa Morgan, 2011, p20 The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
  11. ↑ Worcestershire Family History Guidebook, Vanessa Morgan, 2011, p68 The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
  12. ↑ Suckley Parish Council website
  13. ↑ Suckley Post Office & Stores website
  14. ↑ Suckley.net

External links

Media related to Suckley at Wikimedia Commons