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Coordinates: 52°17′00″N 2°21′00″W / 52.283333°N 2.35°W
| Great Witley | |
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  Great Witley
Great Witley shown within Worcestershire |
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| District | Malvern Hills District |
|---|---|
| Shire county | Worcestershire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | West Worcestershire |
| List of places: UK • England • Worcestershire | |
Great Witley is a village and civil parish (with Hillhampton) in the Malvern Hills District in the northwest of the county of Worcestershire, England. There has been a settlement in the area since before the Norman Conquest.
The village is home to Witley Court, a Jacobean country house extended on a number of occasions throughout its history, but which became derelict after a spectacular fire in 1937. The mansion, formerly one of the finest in the Midlands, is now in the care of English Heritage, who describe it as their number one ruin. They have restored the extensive gardens leaving the impressive skeletal ruin of the building overlooking them in a poignant and thought provoking way.
Adjoining Witley Court is the 18th century church of Saint Michael and All Angels, which is one of the finest Italian Baroque churches in Britain. It incorporates a richly gilded ceiling with a number of paintings by Antonio Bellucci and a funerary monument by John Michael Rysbrack.[1].
Nearby is Woodbury Hill commanding extensive views south to the Malvern Hills and over the River Teme valley to the west. On the summit is an Iron Age hillfort. Owain Glyndwr's army of Welsh and French camped here for eight days in the summer of 1405 facing an army of King Henry IV at Abberley Hill. Skirmishes took place but neither large force initiated full scale battle and the Welsh withdrew under nightfall back to Wales. The location was also used as a meeting place during the English Civil War by Clubmen from the local farms and cottages.
The village also has The Hundred House Hotel, once a collection point for agricultural tithes from the districts or 'hundred (division)s' of the local area.
References
- ^ English Heritage. Retrieved 23 May 2009
External links
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