Spetchley Worcestershire Family History Guide
Spetchley is an Ancient Parish in the county of Worcestershire.
Parish church: All Saints
Parish registers begin: 1539
Nonconformists in Spetchley include: Roman Catholic
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- Norton juxta Kempsey
- Warndon
- Tibberton
- Worcester St Martin
- Whittington
- Bredicot
- Churchill
- White Ladies Aston
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
SPETCHLEY, a parish in Pershore district, Worcestershire; on the Birmingham and Gloucester railway, 3 miles E by S of Worcester. It has a station on the railway, and a post-office under Worcester.
Acres, 779. Real property, £4,477. Pop., 140. Houses, 25. The manor, with S. Hall, belongs to R. Berkeley, Esq.
The living is a rectory in the diocese of Worcester. Value, £109. Patron, R. Berkeley, Esq. The church is old.
There is a Roman Catholic school.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
SPETCHLEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Pershore, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Worcester and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Worcester, on the road to Evesham; containing 155 inhabitants.
It comprises 757 acres, of which two-thirds are arable, and the remainder pasture; the surface is undulated, the soil a stiff marl, and the scenery beautifully picturesque. A station of the Birmingham and Gloucester railway is situated here.
The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king’s books at £6. 11. 3., and in the gift of Robert Berkeley, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £148. 18., and the glebe comprises nearly 24 acres. The church, built in or about the 15th century, has a fine old chancel, and contains several monuments to the Berkeley family.
At the Hall is a Roman Catholic chapel.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Worcestershire Delineated C. and J. Greenwood 1822
Spetchley – a parish in the hundred of Oswaldslow, lower division, 3 miles E. from Worcester, and 108 from London; containing 18 inhabited houses. The church is a small neat building, containing several monuments of the Berkley family. It is a rectory; Rev. George Dineley, jun. incumbent; instituted 1811; patron, R. Berkley, Esq. Population, 1801, 127 – 1811, 113 – 1821, 121.
Spetchley-House, in the above parish, the residence of Robert Berkley, Esq. The mansion-house was burnt down in the civil wars by the Royalist troops, notwithstanding Judge Berkley, who then owned the estate, was a staunch supporter of the king, and had actually suffered imprisonment in the Tower, and was fined £20,000 by the parliament: the stables, which had escaped the conflagration, were afterwards converted into a dwelling. A modern house, built of free-stone, has lately been erected by Mr. Berkley, who has a small chapel attached to it for the convenience of his tenants, who are chiefly Catholics.
Source: Worcestershire Delineated: Being a Topographical Description of Each Parish, Chapelry, Hamlet, &c. In the County; with the distances and bearings from their respective market towns, &c. By C. and J. Greenwood. Printed by T. Bensley, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London, 1822.
Universal British Directory 1791
Spetchley, three miles from Worcester, on the old London road, has the ancient mansion of Robert Berkeley, Esq. formerly the residence of Judge Berkeley, whose monument is in the church. Here is a fine park, well stocked with deer, and a long avenue of trees leading to the house, which was first intended for the entrance of the seat, but now only a foot-path remains. At Churchill, one mile and a half from hence, a spring has lately been discovered, whose water is esteemed to be equal in virtue to that at Tunbridge Spa.
Source: Universal British Directory 1791
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
Online Directories
Lascelles & Co.’s Directory and Gazetteer of the City of Worcester & Neighbourhood 1851
Bentley’s Directory of Spetchley 1840 – Archive.org
Directory Transcriptions
Spetchley Billings Directory 1855
Spetchley is a small parish, situated bout 3 ½ miles E.S.E. of Worcester, and contained in 1851 a population of 166 inhabitants.
Spetchley Park is the seat of Robert Berkeley, Esq. In the reign of Edward IV, the manor of Spetchley was purchased by Sir Thomas Littleton, K.B., and Justice of the Common Pleas. In 1508, Richard Sheldon, a descendant of the Sheldons of Rowley, in Staffordshire, married Catherine, daughter of Thomas Littleton, and thus became possessed of the manor of Spetchley. It continued in the possession of the Sheldons till Philip Sheldon sold it to Rowland Berkeley, Esq., M.P. for the city of Worcester, lineally descended from Thomas, a younger brother of William, Marquis of Berkeley, and of Maurice, Lord Berkeley, ancestors of the earls of that title. Rowland died in 1611, and his eldest son, William, settled at Cotheridge, near Worcester, in 1634, whose son, Sir Rowland Berkeley, dying without male issue, left it to Henry Green, Esq., of Wykin, in Warwickshire, who had married his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and their son Rowland Green, assumed the name of Berkeley. Sir Robert Berkeley, Knight, inherited Spetchley, with the contiguous manors of White Ladies’ Aston, Churchill, and Warndon. He was one of the justices of the King’s Bench in the reign of Charles I. Having with eleven of his brethren given his opinion in favour of shipmoney, he was impeached of high treason by the Parliament, and was fined very heavily, deprived of his post, and imprisoned in the Tower. He was afterwards plundered by the Parliamentary forces; and a little before the battle of Worcester, in 1651, the Scotch Presbyterians, though in the King’s service, burnt his house at Spetchley, as it lay in the way from White Ladies’ Aston, where Oliver himself lodged. Sir Robert died in 1636, leaving Spetchley and his other estates to his only son, Thomas, and they belong to the family at the present period. In the front of the house is the park, with a fine sheet of water, which is brought into view, as well as the luxuriant foliage of the beech and oak. The Malvern hills on the right, Bredon on the left, and the distant Gloucestershire in front, greatly contribute to give the scenery a grand and picturesque appearance.
The Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is a small, ancient edifice, consisting of nave, chancel, south chapel, and western square tower, with embattlements and pinnacles. The chancel and the chapel on the south side contain elaborate monuments to the Berkeley family, the principal of which is one to Mr. Rowland Berkeley and Catherine his wife, whose effigies lie on an altar-tomb, in alabaster, under an arched and lofty canopy of Derbyshire spar, supported by pillars of porphyry; the monument and the chapel were built in 1614. there is also on the south side of the chapel, on a raised monument of white and black marble, a recumbent figure of Sir R. Berkeley, a justice of the King’s Bench. He is represented holding a scroll in his right hand, and in his robes. There are some other mural monuments, exhibiting fine specimens of carving, and the chapel is hung with hatchments. The living is a Rectory, in the patronage of Robert Berkeley, Esq. Rev. R. Sarjeant, Rector; Mr. Samuel Bettum, Clerk. Service – 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., alternately.
Spetchley School and House were erected in the year 1840, by R. Berkeley, Esq., for the education of children of Spetchley and adjoining parishes, and are entirely supported by that gentleman. Miss Jane F. Beard, Mistress. Average number of children, 45.
Charities – Moses Hyett, in 1767, gave £80 to remain in stock for ever; the interest to be distributed annually to the poor. There is also £30 more, given for the poor, but by whom is unknown.
DIRECTORY
Berkeley Robert, Esq., Magistrate, Spetchley Park
McCann Rev. Matthew, Roman Catholic Priest, Round Hill
Broom Richard, farmer, Withy Wells
Carter Thomas, blacksmith and farrier
Cambridge Benjamin, Station Master, Station
Dale John, agent to Robt. Berkeley, Esq., Spetchley Cottage
Daniel Samuel, baker and shopkeeper
Guise John, mason
Higgins William, farmer, Spetchley Farm
Mitton Mary Anne, farmer, Old House
Tyler William, carpenter
Post Office – Thomas Carter, Sub-Postmaster. Arrival, 8 30 a.m.; despatch, 5 15 p.m.
Source: Billings Directory of Worcestershire 1855
Spetchley Lewis Worcestershire Directory 1820
Spetchley, 3 miles from Worcester, containing 19 houses, and 127 inhabitants.
Berkeley Robert, esq.
Berkeley Robt. Jun. esq.
Leadbetter W. steward
Lycett Rev. Mr.
Monslow J. smith
Shuard Wm. carpenter
Wheeler Thomas, farmer
Wheeler William, farmer
Wheeler John, farmer
Source: S Lewis Worcestershire General and Commercial Directory for 1820.
Bankrupts
Below is a list of people that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843 extracted from The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843.
Shuard William. Tibberton, late Spetchley, Worcestersh., builder, Sept. 1, 1837.
Administration
- County: Worcestershire
- Civil Registration District: Pershore
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Worcester (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Worcester
- Rural Deanery: Worcester
- Poor Law Union: Pershore
- Hundred: Oswaldslow
- Province: Canterbury