A charter of 980AD details the “HWITINTON” bounds which remained unchanged until 1931 when the city took Whittington Road and adjoining land in that area into its own boundaries.
The Village of Whittington lies adjacent to Worcester City’s south-eastern boundary. and straddles the M5 motorway at Junction 7.
A charter of 980AD details the “HWITINTON” bounds which remained unchanged until 1931 when the city
took Whittington Road and adjoining land in that area into its own boundaries.
“Whittington Tump”, or Crookbarrow Hill. to give it its formal name, is for many people Whittington’s chief claim to fame. It is used by many as a landmark when approaching Worcester from the south east, and I am sure this has been the case for centuries. The 17th century farmhouse and dovecote of Crookbarrow Farm that nestles beneath "The Tump” is the historic moated manor house of Whittington Manor, part of its moat is still visible, and dates back to medieval times.
The county gallows once stood in Whittington; their site is now in a private garden near to the junction of London Road and Spetchley Road. The hangman’s cottage was located behind The Elms in Walkers Lane. Father Edward Oldcorne was hung drawn and quartered there on April 7th 1606 together with his Jesuit servant Brother Ralph Ashley, both had been innocently implicated in the Gunpowder Plot of November 5th 1605. Worcester’s Roman Catholic High School bears Oldcorne’s name. On August 26th 1679 as a result of the Jesuit conspiracy against King Charles II concocted by Titus Oates, Father John Wall, a Franciscan priest, was also hung drawn and quartered here. He was beatified by Pope Pius Xl in 1929 and canonised as St. John Wall on October 25th 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
The existence of a church at Whittington can be traced back to 816AD, the present church was built between July 1842 and March 1844 when it was consecrated, by Dr. Pepys. Bishop of Worcester. It contained 247 sittings of which 139 were free, and it cost around £1,100 to build. The architect was A.E. Perkins, who went on to become Cathedral architect in 1845. Whittington was always his favourite church, and he was buried here in April 1873.
Whittington has a very active village hall with a lively community and a thriving village school.
If you would like to know more about our village, we have produced a book to commemorate the Millennium. Whittington, A History of the Village is published by Whittington Village Hall and can be obtained from Les Wiltshire on Worcester 01905 357612 or email les_wiltshire@yahoo.co.uk