St Johns is a large suburb of Worcester

Worcester

The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, west of the city centre and the River Severn

River Severn

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

. There is also a road of the same name, part of which is the A44

A44 road

The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales.-History:The original route of the A44 was Chipping Norton to Aberystwyth. No changes were made to the route of the A44 in the early years...

.

Location

St Johns is the home of the Worcestershire County Cricket Club

Worcestershire County Cricket Club

Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...

. The New Road

New Road, Worcester

New Road, Worcester, England, has been the home cricket ground of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896. Immediately to the northwest is a road called New Road, part of the A44, hence the name.- Overview :...

 cricket ground and surrounding area is frequently affected by flooding.

Within the suburb of St Johns are several traditional pubs including The Brewers Arms, The Bush, The Bell, The Fox, and The Crown.
It has a sport centre, several shops, and a large Sainsburys supermarket, which opened in early 2009.|

St Johns encompasses a high percentage of students from the University of Worcester

University of Worcester

The University of Worcester is a British university, based in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. It was granted university status in September 2005.-History:...

, who mainly live in rent-based accommodation in the west and north of the area.

History

St Johns played a role in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

. The Parliamentary

Roundhead

"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...

 commander Fleetwood

Charles Fleetwood

Charles Fleetwood was an English Parliamentary soldier and politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1652–55, where he enforced the Cromwellian Settlement. At the Restoration he was included in the Act of Indemnity as among the twenty liable to penalties other than capital, and was finally...

 forced his way across the River Teme

River Teme

The River Teme rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown in Powys, and flows through Knighton where it crosses the border into England down to Ludlow in Shropshire, then to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border there, on its way to join the River Severn south of Worcester...

, to the south of the parish and successfully managed to force his way into St Johns, pushing back Royalist forces. Parliamentary soldiers plundered the nearby parish church and set it on fire. The soldiers also used the church walls to sharpen their pikes and even today the scars are still visible on the sandstone. The tower was also used by the soldiers as an observation post, but the spire was shot off by cannon fire, most likely being hit by Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

's artillery bombardment on the city, from Red Hill and Perry Wood across the river on the western heights of the city. When the civil war was over, Parliament gave £80 towards its restoration.

St Johns Parish was once an independent township having only been part of Worcester since 1837. St Johns was able to expand and flourish because of its location on the roads leading from the city centre, westwards into Mid Wales

Mid Wales

Mid Wales is the name given to the central region of Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales covered the counties of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC...

. It was also situated close to the River Severn Bridge which was a very important crossing on the River Severn linking the city to Western areas of the country and other western towns, such as Hereford. This attracted many people to trade and settle in St Johns. The parish also provided lodging for Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 people trading with the city, who were not permitted to sleep on the streets within the city walls. The Parish was allowed its own fayre and bullring

Bullring

A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with Spain, but they can also be found in neighboring countries and the New World...

, maintaining its independence from the city. The bullring was located on the eastern side of the parish, outside the city walls. In the bullring, cattle were enraged before being slaughtered because this was believed to improve the quality of the meat.

St Johns was the first suburb of Worcester to have high rise flats, three of these dominate the St Johns skyline.

External links

• Worcester St Johns Cycling Club