Spetchley
Quick Links
- Descriptive Notes
- Status
- Location
- Parish Church
- Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction
- Hundred
- Poor Law Union
- Adjoining Parishes
- Parish Registers at Worcestershire Archives
- Bishops' Transcripts
- International Genealogical Index (IGI)
- Register Copies
- Nonconformist
- Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents
- Census Records
- Search Services (Fee paying) - BMSGH and Independent
- Parish Records on microform
- Schools Records
- Directories
Descriptive Notes
Beside the road from Worcester to Stratford, All Saints’ Church adjoins Spetchley Park and its gardens. The church is a simple early14th century building, with a tower added within the west end of the nave in the 17th. Its glory is the south chapel, added in 1614, containing an outstanding series of monuments to the Berkeley family who owned the Park (and still do), some with good effigies and all with a fine display of heraldry. Particularly splendid is the central monument to Sir Rowland Berkeley (d. 1611) and his wife, lying under an arched canopy with obelisks at the four corners.[40]
In 1940, during World War II, top secret plans were drawn up but not implemented, for the evacuation of Winston Churchill and his key staff to Spetchley Park. [The National Archives]
Status
Ancient Parish [25]
Originally a chapel in Worcester St Mary Ancient Parish. A separate parish by 1291 [25]
Parish Church
All Saints
The church was declared redundant on 18 March 1987 and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. [80]
Adjoining Parishes
Warndon; Tibberton; Bredicot; Churchill; Whiteladies Aston; Whittington; Worcester St Martin [1]
Parish Registers at Worcestershire Archives
| Coverage | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Microform | Christenings | 1539-1962 | [5] |
| Marriages | 1539-1963 | [5] | |
| Burials | 1539-1966 | [5] | |
| Banns | 1831-1964 | [5] | |
| Originals | Christenings | 1539-1984 | [12] |
| Marriages | 1539-1963 & 1972-1986 | [12] | |
| Burials | 1539-1976 | [12] | |
| Banns | 1764-1807, 1831 - 1972 | [12] |
International Genealogical Index (IGI)
| Coverage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parish Registers | Births / Christenings | 1813-1874 |
| Marriages | 1764-1870 |
Register Copies
At Society of Genealogists [68]
SPETCHLEY : Christenings 1539-43, 1568-1840, Marriages 1539-42, 1567-1640, 1659-1730, 1748-53, 1764-1838, Burials 1539-42, 1565-1840: Worcestershire registers, vol. 2 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire registers, vol. 2 Published , 1995 Author Mulholland, J H (transcription.)
SPETCHLEY : Christenings 1539-1962, Marriages 1539-1963, banns 1764-1964, Burials 1539-1966; parish accounts & minutes 1801-1944 [Microfilm.] Published Salt Lake City : Genealogical Society of Utah, Nd.
SPETCHLEY : Christenings & Burials 1813-40, Marriages 1719-42, 1764-1813, 1820-38: Worcestershire registers, vol. 1 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire registers, vol. 1 Published , 1993 Author Mulholland, J H (transcription.)
Nonconformist
Spetchley Park Roman Catholic: Christenings 1750-1856 Marriages 1750-1841 Burials 1850-1965 (gaps); Confirmations 1856-1927.
This chapel is now closed. Worcestershire Archives [30]
Monumental Inscriptions and Associated Documents
At BMSGH Shop
All Saints Church & Burial Ground
At BMSGH Reference Library [7]
All Saints Church & Burial Ground
At Worcestershire Archives [51]
All Saints
At Society of Genealogists [59] :-
SPETCHLEY : Monumental Inscriptions: in Bloom's Worcestershire Monumental Inscriptions, part 1 [Manuscript.] IN: Bloom's Worcestershire Monumental Inscriptions, part 1 Published , Nd. Author Bloom, J Harvey (transcription.)
SPETCHLEY (All Saints) : Monumental Inscriptions in the church, churchyard & burial ground: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 11 [Typescript.] IN: Worcestershire monumental inscriptions, vol. 11 Published Birmingham : Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry, 1991 Author Farmer, G R Author Bushell, L G Source D: BMSGH
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 Archives, 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 Archives [14]
Search Services (Fee paying) - BMSGH and Independent
Burial 1660-1840 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 Archives:
St Ann's R C School
Attendance register - 1949 - 50 - Ref: BA 12349/2 (viii)
Attendance register - 1954 - 55 - Ref: BA 12349/2 (ix)
Attendance register - 1959 - 60 - Ref: BA 12349/2 (xi)
Attendance register - Note: This includes letter and certificate from Education Committee, certifying low attendance from 8 - 12 January 1945 due to measles - 1944 - 45 - Ref: BA 12349/2 (vii)
The records of schools and other educational establishments in this parish are detailed in a handlist available at Worcestershire Archives. The list refers to original documents so you will need to note the reference number and contact staff.
Directories
An extract from the Topographical Dictionary of England 1831 by Samuel Lewis:
SPETCHLEY, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of OSWALDSLOW, county of WORCESTER, 3¾ miles (E. by S.) from Worcester, containing 121 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king's books at £6. 11. 3. The Rev. George Dineley was patron in 1811. The church, dedicated to All Saints, contains several monuments worthy of notice, particularly two very handsome ones to the Berkeley family.
Last Updated: 28/01/2016
