Tenbury Wells
Encyclopedia
Tenbury Wells is a market town
and civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District
administrative area of Worcestershire
, England
. The 2001 census reported a population of 3,316.
, which forms the border between Shropshire
and Worcestershire
. It is in the north-west of the Malvern Hills District. The settlement Burford
in Shropshire lies on the north bank of the river.
, comprising itself and other villages such as Stoke Bliss
, Eastham
and Rochford
. From 1974 Tenbury was in the borough of Leominster
until it became part Malvern Hills
District when Leominster District Council was taken over by Herefordshire Council
in April 1998.
The history of Tenbury Wells is extends as far back as the Iron Age
. The town is often thought of as the home to the Castle Tump, but this is now in Burford
, Shropshire
due to boundary changes. Though the Tump, believed to be the remains of an early Norman
motte and bailey castle
, can be seen from the main road (A456
) there are no visible remains of the castle, which was constructed to defend and control the original River Teme
crossing. It has also been described as "... the remains of an 11th century Norman Castle."
Originally named "Temettebury", the town was granted a Royal Charter to hold a market in 1249. Over time, the name changed to "Tenbury", and then added the "Wells" following the discovery of mineral springs and wells in the town in the 1840s. The name of the Railway station, which was on the now-defunct Tenbury & Bewdley Railway, was changed in 1912, in an attempt to publicise the mineral water
being produced from the wells
around the town.
For over 100 years Tenbury has been well known throughout the country for its winter auctions of holly
and mistletoe
(and other Christmas products). It is also known for its "Chinese-gothic" Pump Room buildings, built in 1862, which reopened in 2001, following a major restoration Photo. They are now owned by Tenbury Town Council, having been transferred from Malvern Hills District Council in September 2008.
was available. One of the baths is on show at Tenbury Museum
as is the drinking fountain from the Pump Rooms.
Other notable structures in Tenbury include the parish church
with a Norman
tower, and a number of monuments.
The part-Mediaeval bridge
over the River Teme, linking Tenbury to Burford Photo, Shropshire
was rebuilt by Thomas Telford
following flood damage in 1795.
The Victorian era
Workhouse
, designed by George Wilkinson
, has recently been sold to a private investor having formerly been used as the local Council Buildings. The Workhouse's infirmary
currently survives, but is threatened with demolition to make way for a Tesco car park. The unique Victorian era
corrugated iron isolation hospital was demolished on October 24, 2006.
Tenbury was also known as 'the town in the orchard' due to the large numbers of fruit orchard
s of apple
trees and also pears, quince
and plum
trees, in the immediate vicinity of the town Photo. This heritage is revisited every October during the Tenbury Applefest
.
Beauty, there to see,
Hollows where breeze is tender,
Moorlands where wind breaks free;
Sowing, Lambing, and Harvest,
Overlooked by Giant Clee,
Hop Kilns, Farmsteads, and TENBURY,
This is happiness for me;
power station
on a business park failed due to residents' concern about the disruption to local businesses during its construction. The proposal continued to attract protests, and in July 2007 a petition against the plans was signed by more than 2,300 people.
In July 2009 it was announced that the £965,000 grant offered to the power station had been withdrawn and the project shelved.
was caused by the River Teme and the Kyre Brook bursting their banks. The second was caused by a combination of 15mm (0.59 in) of rain falling in an hour and the town's drainage system (much of which was blocked) failing to cope, creating flash flood
ing. The third flood again involved the River Teme and the Kyre Brook bursting their banks. The 2008 flood damage was caused by a combination of the drainage not having been upgraded since the 2007 floods and the wall on Market Street (which should hold back the Kyre Brook) not having been rebuilt following the 2007 floods.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District
Malvern Hills (district)
Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Malvern, and its area covers most of the western half of the county that borders Herefordshire. It was originally formed in 1974 and was subject to a significant boundary reform in 1998...
administrative area of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, 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...
. The 2001 census reported a population of 3,316.
Geography
Tenbury Wells lies on the south bank of the River TemeRiver 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...
, which forms the border between Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. It is in the north-west of the Malvern Hills District. The settlement Burford
Burford, Shropshire
Burford is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.- Location :The parish is situated to the north of the River Teme, on the other side of the Teme is the Worcestershire town of Tenbury Wells. To the west, the A456 road bridges the Ledwyche Brook, leading to the Herefordshire village of...
in Shropshire lies on the north bank of the river.
History
From 1894 to 1974, it was a rural districtRural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
, comprising itself and other villages such as Stoke Bliss
Stoke Bliss
Stoke Bliss is a village, and together with the villages of Kyre and Bockleton, a civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England.-External links:* *...
, Eastham
Eastham, Worcestershire
Eastham is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England....
and Rochford
Rochford, Worcestershire
Rochford consists of the hamlets of Lower Rochford and Upper Rochford. It is a civil parish in the Malvern Hills District near Tenbury Wells in the county of Worcestershire, England....
. From 1974 Tenbury was in the borough of Leominster
Leominster
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England, located approximately north of the city of Hereford and south of Ludlow, at...
until it became part Malvern Hills
Malvern Hills (district)
Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Malvern, and its area covers most of the western half of the county that borders Herefordshire. It was originally formed in 1974 and was subject to a significant boundary reform in 1998...
District when Leominster District Council was taken over by Herefordshire Council
Herefordshire Council
Herefordshire Council is the local government authority for the county of Herefordshire in England. It is a unitary authority.It is a relatively new council, formed on 1 April 1998 following the split of Hereford and Worcester back into two separate counties.It is currently run by Conservatives. It...
in April 1998.
The history of Tenbury Wells is extends as far back as the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
. The town is often thought of as the home to the Castle Tump, but this is now in Burford
Burford, Shropshire
Burford is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.- Location :The parish is situated to the north of the River Teme, on the other side of the Teme is the Worcestershire town of Tenbury Wells. To the west, the A456 road bridges the Ledwyche Brook, leading to the Herefordshire village of...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
due to boundary changes. Though the Tump, believed to be the remains of an early Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
motte and bailey castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, can be seen from the main road (A456
A456 road
The A456 is a main road in England running between Birmingham and Woofferton, Shropshire, south of Ludlow.-History:Much of the road is almost certainly medieval in origin...
) there are no visible remains of the castle, which was constructed to defend and control the original 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...
crossing. It has also been described as "... the remains of an 11th century Norman Castle."
Originally named "Temettebury", the town was granted a Royal Charter to hold a market in 1249. Over time, the name changed to "Tenbury", and then added the "Wells" following the discovery of mineral springs and wells in the town in the 1840s. The name of the Railway station, which was on the now-defunct Tenbury & Bewdley Railway, was changed in 1912, in an attempt to publicise the mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
being produced from the wells
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
around the town.
For over 100 years Tenbury has been well known throughout the country for its winter auctions of holly
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
and mistletoe
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemi-parasitic plants in several families in the order Santalales. The plants in question grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub.-Mistletoe in the genus Viscum:...
(and other Christmas products). It is also known for its "Chinese-gothic" Pump Room buildings, built in 1862, which reopened in 2001, following a major restoration Photo. They are now owned by Tenbury Town Council, having been transferred from Malvern Hills District Council in September 2008.
Architecture
One notable architectural feature in the town is the unique (often described as Chinese-Gothic) Pump Rooms, designed by James Cranston in the 1860s, to house baths where the mineral waterMineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
was available. One of the baths is on show at Tenbury Museum
Tenbury Museum
Tenbury Museum is a museum in the market town of Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire. It holds a collection of local and social history objects, plus copies of the Tenbury Advertiser newspaper dating back to 1871....
as is the drinking fountain from the Pump Rooms.
Other notable structures in Tenbury include the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
with a Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
tower, and a number of monuments.
The part-Mediaeval bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
over the River Teme, linking Tenbury to Burford Photo, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
was rebuilt by Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
following flood damage in 1795.
The Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
, designed by George Wilkinson
George Wilkinson (architect)
George Wilkinson, FRIBA was a British architect who practised largely in Ireland. He was born at Witney, Oxfordshire in 1814. He was the elder brother of William Wilkinson , who practised in Oxford.-Career:...
, has recently been sold to a private investor having formerly been used as the local Council Buildings. The Workhouse's infirmary
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
currently survives, but is threatened with demolition to make way for a Tesco car park. The unique Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
corrugated iron isolation hospital was demolished on October 24, 2006.
Local interest
Markets are held on Tuesday mornings, Friday mornings and Saturday mornings, in and around the town's Round Market building, which was designed by James Cranston in the 1850s.PhotoTenbury was also known as 'the town in the orchard' due to the large numbers of fruit orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s of apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
trees and also pears, quince
Quince
The quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...
and plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
trees, in the immediate vicinity of the town Photo. This heritage is revisited every October during the Tenbury Applefest
Applefest
Applefest is a yearly village-wide food, entertainment and crafts fair, taking place in several towns in Canada, the United States and England.-Brighton, Ontario:...
.
Tenbury in poetry
Orchards gay with blossom,Beauty, there to see,
Hollows where breeze is tender,
Moorlands where wind breaks free;
Sowing, Lambing, and Harvest,
Overlooked by Giant Clee,
Hop Kilns, Farmsteads, and TENBURY,
This is happiness for me;
Power station shelved
A proposal to build a biomassBiomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
on a business park failed due to residents' concern about the disruption to local businesses during its construction. The proposal continued to attract protests, and in July 2007 a petition against the plans was signed by more than 2,300 people.
In July 2009 it was announced that the £965,000 grant offered to the power station had been withdrawn and the project shelved.
Local flooding
For several centuries Tenbury has been subject to regular flooding on many occasions, and most recently in 2007 and in 2008. The first flood2007 United Kingdom floods
The 2007 United Kingdom floods were a series of destructive floods that occurred in various areas across the country during the summer of 2007. The most severe floods occurred across Northern Ireland on 12 June; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire,...
was caused by the River Teme and the Kyre Brook bursting their banks. The second was caused by a combination of 15mm (0.59 in) of rain falling in an hour and the town's drainage system (much of which was blocked) failing to cope, creating flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
ing. The third flood again involved the River Teme and the Kyre Brook bursting their banks. The 2008 flood damage was caused by a combination of the drainage not having been upgraded since the 2007 floods and the wall on Market Street (which should hold back the Kyre Brook) not having been rebuilt following the 2007 floods.
Notable people
- Acton Adams, New Zealand Politician
- Archer BaldwinArcher BaldwinSir Archer Ernest Baldwin MC was a farmer and British Conservative Party Member of Parliament .He was born in a log cabin in Tennessee, USA, to which his parents had emigrated...
, Member of Parliament (MP) - Harold "Barehands" Bates, Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer - Dean Vincent CarterDean Vincent CarterDean Vincent Carter is an English horror and fantasy fiction author. His first published book was a fantasy horror novel entitled The Hand of the Devil, released in hardcover on 2 February 2006. On 29 March 2007, he published another fantasy horror, Hunting Season. In 2009 he released his third...
, author - Henry Hill HickmanHenry Hill HickmanHenry Hill Hickman was born to tenant farmers at Lady Halton, . He was the seventh of thirteen children....
, pioneer of anaesthesia - Jason KingJason KingJason King may refer to:* Jason King , cultural critic and musician* Jason King , British television programme* Jason King , ice hockey player* Jason King , British radio DJ...
, DJ and television presenter - Tom Matthews (politician)Tom Matthews (politician)Tom Matthews was an English local councillor, five times mayor, and councillor of the former district of Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, England. A local politician since 1947, in 1983 he was awarded the MBE for services to local government...
, mayor and chairman of former Leominster District Council - Frederick OuseleyFrederick OuseleySir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, 2nd Baronet was an English composer, organist, and musicologist.He was born in London, the son of Sir Gore Ouseley, and manifested an extraordinary precocity in music, composing an opera at the age of eight years. In 1844, having succeeded to the baronetcy, he...
, composer, organist, and musical scholar. - Wilfred ShortingWilfred ShortingWilfred Lionel Shorting was an English cricketer who played nine first-class matches for Worcestershire in the 1920s....
, cricketer