NORTH CLAINES

Descriptive Notes:
Bevere Island in the Severn afforded shelter to the inhabitants of Worcester in 1041, when the city was attacked by Hardicanute, [following their refusal to pay the Danegelt] and again in 1637, when the city was visited by plague. [15]
The Worcester & Birmingham Canal flows from east to west in the southern part of the parish.

 Status:
Civil Parish [25]
Created in 1885 from the part of Claines Ancient Parish not in Worcester Municipal Borough.[25]

Location:
OS Reference (approx):
NW corner SO8459 NE corner SO8659
SW corner SO8457 SE corner SO8755

The northern boundary of the parish is defined by the River Salwarpe, from its junction with the Severn near Hawford Lodge to Porters Mill and subsequently by the Martin Brook dividing the parish from the parish of Martin Hussingtree.
Its eastern boundary runs along the western boundaries of the adjacent parishes of Hindlip and Warndon.
The southern boundary is defined by the municipal boundary of the City of Worcester, running north of Barbourne and along Checkett's Lane and Bilford Lane.
The western boundary of the Parish is the River Severn.

The parish includes the hamlets of Fernhill Heath, Bevere, Northwick, Astwood, Blackpole and Tapenhall.

Perdiswell Hall, the property of the Wakemans until 1892, stood in a large park on the Southern boundary. Other properties listed were Bevere House, Hawford House, The Grange, Porters Mill, Rose Place, Northwick Hall, Severn Grange and Glenthorn. Other features include Cornmeadow Green and Lower Town.

Hundred:
Lower Oswaldslow [15]
[28] [25]

Poor Law Union:
Droitwich (1885-1930) [3] [25]

Census Records:
All the censuses between 1841 and 1901 are now available on a number of fee-paying (Subscription or PayAsYouGo) sites including Ancestry.co.uk, FindMyPast.co.uk, thegenealogist.co.uk and genesreunited.co.uk. The 1911 census is available in full or in part on some of these sites. We are unable to advise on the choice of site since researchers' personal preferences will be influenced by the content and search facilities offered by each site. Some sites offer a free trial.

Access to the library edition of Ancestry.co.uk is widely available at most record offices, including Worcestershire Library and History Centre, and some libraries. You are advised to book time on their computers before making a visit.  

A free-to-view site is being developed at freecen.org.uk for the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1891 censuses.  Coverage of Worcestershire parishes is rather sparse at this time.

Census returns can usually be viewed at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' Family History Centres.

Some repositories offer census details on microform, disc or printed copy. These include:
1851 81 91 1901 at Worcestershire Library and History Centre [14]

Schools Records:
A handlist of the records of schools and of other educational establishments held by Worcestershire Record Office for this parish can be found here.

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© Arthur Lewis and contributors 2008
Comments, additions, corrections etc to Arthur Lewis
Last updated on 21st November 2011

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