STRENSHAM

Descriptive Notes:
St John the Baptist Church, Strensham stands on a rise above its two villages now separated by the M5, looking across the River Avon to Bredon Hill in the east and to the Malverns in the west. The handsome but weathered tower and simple exterior do not prepare one for the delightful collection of fittings inside. The interior is amazing: 16th century pews with a broad aisle down the middle, a Norman tub font, a west gallery using most of the rood screen including 23 late 15th century painted panels and four centuries of Russell monuments in the chancel,and mediaeval floor tiles.[40]

Perhaps the most famous son of Strensham was the poet Samuel Butler, 1612-80, who was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Status:
Ancient Parish [25]
Originally a chapel in Pershore Holy Cross Ancient Parish, which was part of Pershore Abbey at the Dissolution. It was a separate parish by 1535.

Location:
O.S. Ref: SO911406
4 miles east of Upton-upon-Severn & 4½ miles S.W. of Pershore, adjacent to M5 motorway.

Parish Church:
St.John the Baptist.
Access is down a lane from Strensham service area.
The church was declared redundant on 16 October 1991 and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. [80] [40]

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction:
Archdeaconry & Diocese of Worcester [1] [25]

Hundred:
Upper Pershore [11] [25] [28]

Poor Law Union:
Pershore [3] [25]

Adjoining Parishes:
Defford; Eckington; Bredons Norton; Bredon; Twyning (Gloucestershire); Ripple; Hill Croome [1]

Parish Registers:

		Coverage	Source
Microform at WLHC	Christenings	1569-1986	[5]
	Marriages	1573-1985	[5]
	Burials	1573-1983	[5]
	Banns	[1754]-92	[5]
Originals at WRO	Banns	1824-1985	[12]

Bishops' Transcripts:
Begin 1608 Worcestershire Library and History Centre [22]

International Genealogical Index (IGI):
[19]

		Coverage
Parish Registers	Births / Christenings	1569-1906
	Marriages	1569-1837

Register Copies:
At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
Baptisms 1791-1908 Marriages 1754-1837 Burials 1791-1812

At Society of Genealogists [68] :-
STRENSHAM : Christenings 1569-1691, 1700-90, 1799, Marriages 1573-1688, 1704-54, Burials 1573-1695, 1704-90 [Microfilm.]   Published Salt Lake City : Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982      

STRENSHAM : Christenings 1791-1908, Marriages 1754-1837, Burials 1791-1812 [Microfilm.]   Published Salt Lake City : Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982

Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents:
At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
General interest and a few MIs

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:
1841-1901 at Worcestershire Library and History Centre [14]

Search Services (Fee paying) - BMSGH and Independent:
Burial 1659-1851 Worcestershire Burial Index
Marriage see Worcestershire Marriage Index

Schools Records:
The following school records are original documents. Note reference number and contact staff at Worcestershire Record Office:
Strensham Sunday School
Attendance register - 1851-65 - Ref: BA 8716/11

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

Directories:
STRENSHAM, a parish in the upper division of the hundred of PERSHORE, county of WORCESTER, 4½ miles (S.W. by S.) from Pershore, containing 312 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king's books at £12, and in the patronage of John Taylor, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a noble structure: it contains many memorials of the Russel family, among which are some fine specimens of Italian sculpture, in Parian and other marbles. Strensham, which is pleasantly situated on the river Avon, between the hills of Malvern and Bredon, is renowned in history for the siege it sustained against the parliamentary forces, and for the signal bravery displayed by the then lord of the manor, Sir William Russel, here, as well as in the memorable battle of Worcester: it is further distinguished as the birthplace, in 1612, of Samuel Butler, author of Hudibras. Blue stone abounds in every part of the parish, and, in some places, fossils and minerals are met with. Lady Ann Russel bequeathed a rent-charge of £10 for teaching poor children; and there are nine almshouses, endowed by some members of the same family. [Topographical Dictionary of England 1831 by Samuel Lewis]

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© Arthur Lewis and contributors 2008
Comments, additions, corrections etc to Arthur Lewis
Last updated on 16th December 2011

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