Our Village

The parish of Hartlebury, Worcestershire, which has approximately 2,500  inhabitants, is formed from a collection of scattered hamlets with an historic village centre, bordered on the west by the River Severn and Hartlebury Common, an area of heathland which is a SSSI and an important nature reserve. The surrounding area is comprised mainly of fertile arable  farmland.

The hamlets include Charlton, Chadwick, Whitlenge, Torton, Norchard, Crossway Green and Lincomb.

The spelling of the name Hartlebury’, Heortlabyrig in 817AD,  has changed over time, but it stems from ’heortla’ meaning hart, as in deer, and ’byrig’ meaning an enclosed or fortified place, in effect ’The Hill of the Deer’.  The land was granted by Burghred, King of Mercia, to the Bishops of Worcester in 850AD. There was an extensive deer park at Hartlebury Castle, which for centuries was the home of the Bishops of Worcester. The house, at first a simple structure which  was first mentioned in 1237, changed over the years as it became fortified and crenulated and acquired a moat. The medieval part of the castle, which is seen today dates from 1375 - 1395, and only part of the moat is still in existence.

Through the troubled times of Welsh, Danish and Saxon incursions, Hartlebury sheltered some remarkable history makers amongst it’s lords. Before there was a King of England, there was a Bishop of Worcester; before there was a castle at Windsor, there was one at Hartlebury. In those times, the bishop was a temporal as well as a spiritual lord. Some of the bishops were very important in the land, among them Dunstan who made himself the virtual ruler under weak and irresolute kings, and Wulstan, whose army repressed the rebellion of Roger, the Norman Earl of Hereford, against William the Conqueror. In the eighteenth century, we see Bishop Hurd establishing a very important Library which is still valued by academics today.

Hartlebury has grown considerably and is now very much a dormitory village for surrounding industrial areas and modern houses have been built in and around the old village centre.

There are still two historic inns in the village, The White Hart opposite the church and The Talbot Inn opposite the Post Office, which itself is a very important part of village life in Hartlebury.

There are also several thriving  Farm Shops, selling local produce, in the village.

Quick Facts

• The village hall was financed and built by local effort in the early 1950s. It is used by village organisations and individuals alike. It is now in need of work in order to upgrade it, and initiatives are being taken to obtain funding for refurbishment.

MORE ABOUT THE VILLAGE

• Hartlebury Common

• Norchard Cottage

• The Village of Wilden

• The County Museum

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