Alvechurch

Alvechurch
Tudor Rose Fish Bar, Alvechurch
Alvechurch Alvechurch shown within Worcestershire
Population	6,564
OS grid reference	SP025725
– London	99 miles (159 km)
Civil parish	Alvechurch
District	Bromsgrove
Shire county	Worcestershire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BIRMINGHAM
Postcode district	B48
Dialling code	0121
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Bromsgrove (Conservative)
List of places UK England Worcestershire

Coordinates: 52°21′02″N 1°57′53″W / 52.35056°N 1.96472°W / 52.35056; -1.96472

Alvechurch is a large village and civil parish of Bromsgrove district, in the northeast of the county of Worcestershire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Arrow, the nearest city is Birmingham, 17 km / 11 miles to the north, with the closest towns being Redditch, 8 km / 5 miles to the south and Bromsgrove, 9.5 km / 6 miles to the west. At the time of the last UK Census in 2001 the population was 5,316.^[1]

History

Alvechurch means The church of the Lady Aelfgiva, possibly a relative of King Athelstan. King Offa gave the land forming the parish to the local church in the late 8th century. The parish is mentioned in the Domesday Book. In the 13th Century the Bishop of Worcester built a palace in the village, and a weekly market and an annual fair were established. The Bishop's Palace was pulled down in the 17th century, the only remnants being part of the moat and a yew tree which formerly stood in the palace grounds.

From the 19th century to the mid twentieth century there was a brick factory in the hamlet of Withybed on the edge of the village. Other local industries included nail and needlemaking. Dellow cars were made in Alvechurch between 1949 and 1956.

Architecture

The village has a number of medieval half-timbered buildings, as well as a plethora of Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian buildings.

The church of St Laurence dates back to 1239.^[2] It is situated on high ground, and was probably the site of an earlier Mercian church, although nothing remains of the earlier wooden building. Much of the church was rebuilt between 1858 and 1861 by William Butterfield. There is a 1,348-pipe organ. The tower has a peal of eight bells, rung regularly by the North Worcestershire and District Change Ringing Association. These bells are in need of repair and, after a five-year fundraising project,^[3] work is due to start in January 2012. The Ark, a £1m extension to the church was built in 2005 despite a village referendum in February 2004 voting against the erection of the building.

Alvechurch railway station was built in 1859. There are also many newer residential buildings and a First and Middle school with library. In 2008 a new first and middle school were built north-east of the village, the old school has since been demolished and the new estate has road names commemorating the house names of the school.

Arts and entertainment

There is an attractive arts and crafts style Baptist church in the centre of the village.

There is also a renowned local amateur dramatic society which produces two plays per year at the village hall. ^[4]

Alvechurch Football Club was founded in 1929 and played in the local park prior to a move to Lye Meadow. They reached the Third Round of the FA Cup in 1973, losing 4-2 to Bradford City. In November 1993 they folded, but a group of supporters resurrected the club in 1994.

Travel and transport

The M42 motorway runs across the north side the village; the nearest junction is north of the village at Hopwood junction 2.

Alvechurch station is on the Cross-City Line. It serves local trains to Birmingham, Lichfield and Redditch. The station is un-manned. On 1.9.14 a passing loop and second platform was completed and officially opened.

The village is accessible by narrowboat along a rural canal. Alvechurch Marina is on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (built 1789) is just across a hedgerow from the station.

The A441 road used to pass through the village, but now a relief road by-passes the village, helping to reduce traffic and pollution. Recently, specific traffic-calming measures have been added to the village's main thoroughfares. These 'pinch-points' reduce the road width to one raised central lane, preventing drivers from speeding and promoting considerate road use.

Alvechurch F.C. play their home games at Lye Meadow on Redditch Road.

Famous people

Alvechurch was the birthplace of Fay Weldon the novelist and Godfrey Baseley, creator of The Archers.
Alan Smith who scored the winning goal for Arsenal in the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup final played for Alvechurch F.C.
Lord Digby Jones lived in Alvechurch; his parents owned a shop in the village.
Home of Tracie Andrews who murdered Lee Harvey in 1996 in the high-profile case which Tracie initially blamed on a 'road rage' killer.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alvechurch.

Settlements in the Bromsgrove district

Towns	Bromsgrove

Villages	Alvechurch Aston Fields Barnt Green Belbroughton Bell End Beoley Blackwell Bordesley Bournheath Burcot Catshill Clent Charford Cofton Hackett Dodford Fairfield Finstall Frankley Hagley Hollywood Holt End Holy Cross Hopwood Hunnington Lickey Lickey End Marlbrook Romsley Rowney Green Rubery Sidemoor Stoke Heath Stoke Prior Tardebigge Tutnall Upper Bentley Wythall

Civil parishes	List of civil parishes in the Bromsgrove district

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.