Severn Stoke is an English village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District, in the south of the county of Worcestershire, alongside the A38 trunk road. It had a population of 676 in 2021.
History
In 1996 a hoard of 18 silver Saxon pennies was found near Severn Stoke.
Severn Stoke was within the bounds of the Royal forest of Horewell during the medieval period. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the Civil War.* 'Parishes: Pershore, St Andrew with Defford and Wick', A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 4, ed. William Page and J W Willis-Bund (London, 1924), pp. 163–177 Accessed 30 August 2015.
Severn Stoke War Memorial at the corner of Ham Lane and Church is a Grade II listed monument in the form of a Classical obelisk in Portland stone, unveiled in 1920. It lists 14 servicemen who died in the First World War, 82 others who served abroad, and 15 who served at home.Historic England Retrieved 24 August 2018.
Notable people Moses Browne, poet and devotional writer, born in 1704.English Poetry 1579–1830 Retrieved 23 August 2018. Ralph Taylor, clergyman, nonjuror and sometime chaplain to the court of James II.
Amenities The village has a pub and restaurant, the Rose & Crown in Church Lane, which occupies a 15th-century half-timbered building in a garden.Own website. Retrieved 23 August 2018. There is a village hall with wheelchair access in Ham Lane.Own website. Retrieved 23 August 2018. The nearest shopping facilities are in Upton-upon-Severn (3 miles, 4.8 km).
The annual Croome Hunt was held around Severn Stoke and was a popular pastime for those keen to partake in fox-hunting. In 1939, members included Lord and Lady Coventry and Capt. Alan Cecil Lupton who had lived at his estate, Severn Bank, until the late 1930s. For the April 1939 event, Lord Coventry was reportedly Master of the Hunt.
Church The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Denys. It forms part of the parish of Kempsey in the Diocese of Worcester.Kempsey, Severn Stoke, Croome Retrieved 23 August 2018.
The Grade II* listed church is built of grey rubble masonry throughout and dates mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries, but was restored in 1872 and 1890. The building consists of a nave with a south aisle and porch, a transept on the south side of the church, a tower on the north side, and a chancel. There are Romanesque carved fragments set into the chancel walls both inside and out, and reset into a niche on the N side of the nave; the niche has an arched head.Listed buildings Retrieved 24 August 2018.Romanesque architecture. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
Schools The local primary school closed in 1986.National Archives Retrieved 24 August 2018. The nearest primary schools today are at Kempsey and Upton-upon-Severn.Schools guide. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
Public transport The village has occasional daytime buses to and from Worcester and Upton upon Severn on school days.334 bus times from 6 January 2025333 bus times from 6 January 2025
The nearest railway station is at Great Malvern (10 miles, 16 km away), with hourly services to Birmingham and to London Paddington, and two-hourly weekday services to Bristol Temple Meads. (Though Severn Stoke was never connected to the railway, a highly detailed 00 gauge model can be seen, based on what the station may have looked like if there had been one.)Severn Stoke Model Railway Website
References
External links
Worcester County Museum