Local History

This adds some detail to our knowledge of the parish in the 19th century; the area of the parish was 2,603 acres, with a rateable value of £4,749 and a population in 1861 of 338. By 1871 the population had grown to 369 and there were 74 inhabited houses and 86 families or separate occupiers.

The Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot was lord of the manor and Lord Edmund Talbot owned about four-fifths of the parish with Henry Foley Vernon also being a land owner. The soil was "clayey" and chiefly produced wheat, barley, oats, turnips, peas, beans and pasture.

In the village the Rector of St Michaels was Rev. Francis Bodfield Hooper, B.A., late scholar of Christ's College, Cambridge. The school, for boys and girls, was in the village close to the church entrance, had an average attendance of 40 under the no doubt stern gaze of Miss Brocklebank the Mistress.

Records at Worcester Historic Environment and Archaeology Department show Upton Warren may date back as early as the 7th century and it is first mentioned in documentary evidence in 716 AD - there are three manors in the Parish of Upton Warren, Great Cooksy, Little Cooksey and Upton Warren itself.

UPTON WARREN is included in a spurious grant which Ethelbald of Mercia is said to have made to Egwin, first Abbot of Evesham, in 716, and is among the lands which Abbot Ethelwig redeemed from Edward the Confessor and others shortly before the Conquest. After Ethelwig's death in 1077 Upton was seized by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and he appears to have given it to Urse D'Abitot, who was holding it in 1086, although the Domesday Survey states that it ought then to have belonged to Evesham. The overlordship passed from Urse to the Earls of Warwick and remained in their possession until the 15th century. It then belonged to the Crown until it lapsed some time after 1630–1, when the last mention of it occurs.

Quads Eliza, Maria, Mary and Sarah Richardson born to mother Jane and father Jospeph a day labourer earning 10 shillings per week. Living in the Cooksey area they were christened in May 1819 by Rector George Biggs

Jane Richardson is my 3x great grandmother and Eliza - the 4th and youngest of the children was my 2x great grandmother. Both died in Birmingham in 1863 and 1870 respectively. I've found the farm where Joseph worked - it's probably Hill Farm, employing 3 labourers in 1841 and run by the Baker family. I have a suspicion but incomplete evidence that Jane Richardson was born Jane Perrins in Upton Warren and that her mother - Sarah Perrins went on to marry a Henry Garfield. Obviously I would be more than interested if further evidence was forthcoming - a fellow descendant would be interesting!!

An area in Upton Warren Parish, the affix 'Green' is self explanatory. The complete name tells us this was a 'cucus island or dry land in a marsh'. This personal name seems to have been a pet form of many names which began Cwic, from the Saxon word meaning speedy/quick. Early forms include Cochesei in Doomsday Book and Cokesay in 1212.

The Manor of Cooksey first noted in the 8th century when the Charter belonged to Evesham Abbey. In 1077 it was seized by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. Urse the sheriff was overlord of COOKSEY (Cochesei, Cochesie, xi cent.; Cokeseia, Kokeseye, xiii cent.), a member of the manor of Bromsgrove, at the time of the Domesday Survey, and the overlordship afterwards formed part of the barony of Elmley, being mentioned for the last time in 1630. Under the lords of Elmley the manor was held by knight service.

There were two manors at Cooksey, held before 1066 by Alfwine and Atilic, two thegns of Earl Edwin, and in 1086 by Herbrand and William. About 1218 a controversy arose between Maud, daughter of Henry and Richard de Montviron, and others as to the title to a hide of land at Little Cooksey. It seems probable that Richard de Montviron won the suit, for Little Cooksey appears to have subsequently followed the same descent as the manor of Woodcote (Richard was lord at that time) as it passed to the Bishopsdons in the 14th century. Before 1346 it appears to have passed to the Cookseys, lords of Great Cooksey, and probably became merged in that manor after the middle of the 15th century. Nash, writing in the latter part of the 18th century, says that 'the distinction of great and little Cokesey still prevails, though both are comprised in one manor.'

Please note - below I have highlighted the important names and dates to try to make following the succession easier

The other manor, GREAT COOKSEY, gave its name to the important family of Cooksey. Walter de Cooksey held the manor about the middle of the 13th century, and he, or a descendant of the same name, held it in about 1280. Elizabeth de Cooksey was lady of the manor in 1300 and Walter son of Walter was holding it in 1316. It was perhaps him who, as Walter de Cooksey, received the custody of the earldom of Warwick in 1325 during the minority of Thomas de Beauchamp and paid a subsidy at Cooksey in 1327. In 1335 Hugh, brother and successor of the last-mentioned Walter, who had succeeded him before 1333, received a grant of free warren in Cooksey. He died in 1356, and his wife Denise (one of the daughters and heirs of Edward le Boteler), who survived him held the manor in dower until her death in 1376–7. Walter, their son and heir, was only thirteen at the time of his father's death, but had been married three years before to Isabel daughter of Urrian de St. Peter. He settled the manor on his son and heir Walter, who succeeded him in 1404. Hugh son of Walter, who succeeded his father in 1406–7, settled the manor on his wife Alice in 1441 and died four years later without children. Alice married Sir Andrew Ogard and on her death in 1460 the manor passed to Joyce Beauchamp, widow sister and co-heir of Hugh. Joyce appears to have been married three times, first to Beauchamp, second to Leonard Stapleton, and finally to John Grevill. Her son and heir Sir John Grevill, kt., succeeded her in 1473, at the age of forty, and died seised of the manor in 1480. Owing to the importance of the estates which he had inherited from his mother his only son Thomas took the name of Cooksey, but died without children in 1498–9. His property passed to Robert Russell and Roger Winter, the heirs of Cecily wife of Thomas Cassy, another sister of Hugh Cooksey, the manor of Cooksey being assigned to Roger Winter. The manor then followed the same descent as Huddington.

'Richard Street gentleman had a true bill returned against him for stopping a certain watercourse in Upton Warren and making a pool between Droytwich (sic) and Bromsgrove which caused the highway to fall into decay'.

The old saying of only two things in life being certain - death and taxes - seems to have held true in 1535. Henry VIII commissioned The Valor to ascertain the the value of the Church in order that some may be transferred from the Pope to the King. In the Records of the Deanery of Wyche Upton Warren was valued at £11.2s.2d. In comparison Bromysgrove (sic) with the Chapel of Norton (Kings Norton) was £40.18s.6d and Stoke Prior "including oblations in the chapel of St Oswald" £9.7s.10d

This historic Spa town, very close to Upton Warren, is famous for amongst other things it's brine springs. Recovery of the salt, which was separated by fire, meant that before coal transportation a considerable portion of the Feckenham Forest was consumed by the process. In 1825 the heavy salt tax was removed and the output of Droitwich rose to 300,000 tons.

'Wych' is old Anglo-Saxon for salt. The prefix 'Droit' seems to have developed during the Middle Ages and was often omitted even much later.

This picture, belonging to Charlie Poole, was recently published in the Droitwich Advertiser. It shows the Worcestershire Hunt meeting outside the Swan Inn on 20th December 1924. In the original it is possible to see hunt followers on bycycles and the lorry outside the main windows is laden with wooden barrels. The hunt was popular and farm workers would arrange to have their bait (food) to enable them to watch and with a headteacher at the village school being a keen hunt follower it was not unknown for the school to shut.

The 1901 census shows the Parish of Upton Warren as having 55 inhabited properties of which 24 had less than 5 rooms. The total population was 270 - 123 male, 147 female.

The first mention of a postal service to Upton Warren appears in the Bromsgrove Almanac 1865, 'there is no Receiver at Upton Warren but letters arrive from Bromsgrove at 9am by messenger who leaves at 4.15pm'.

A rural sub Post Office was opened in 1909 at Hill Cottage, Mr Bolton Postmaster. A Climax rubber date stamp was issued from London to Bromsgrove to use there, it was the only stamp used there as the office closed in 1916. Run throughout by the Bolton family, Harriet Bolton was 'named for service' 1913-1916

Epiphany 1830: report of Committee to decide who built the bridge at Upton Warren
Midsummer 1839: report of Henry Rowe, Worcester surveyor - new bridge to be built by County
Michaelmas 1831: certificate re Upton Warren bridge repairs, £36.

NB at the Michaelmas Sessions 1837 there was an account for repairs to the bridge

Erlebald holds from him. Abbot Alwin of Evesham held it; it ought rightly be in the Abbey (lands), as the County testifies. 3 hides.......In lordship 2 ploughs; 7 villagers, 13 smallholders and a priest with 5 ploughs. 4 slaves. A mill at 4s; in Worcester 1 burgess at 2s; in Droitwich 3 salt houses pay 40 measures of salt; woodland 3 furlongs long and 2 furlongs wide. The value was 60s; now 50s.

Notes: A 'plough' implies a team with 8 oxen and the plough itself. 'Hide' is a measurement of approximately 120 acres (depending on local variations in the acre). 'Burgess' - townspeople. What consituted a burgess is unclear as it is thought some of these townspeople may have been rural labourers resident close to towns.

In 1638 it was reported to Sheriff Edward Dineley that 'the highway in a lane in the Parish of Upton Warren from Upton Warren Bridge leading towards Bromesgrove (sic) to the smith's shop is very dangerous for the King's subjects to travel'.

Our thanks go to Steve Kilmartin - a former landlord of The Swan Inn - during his time at The Swan he developed a love of local history which started off by metal detecting. On one of his forays into the local fields he found a small copper type coin: one side has the numbers 1 1/2 surrounded by ichanthus leaves, on the obverse is 'SWAN INN' with the name H.T GAZEY above and UPTON WARREN below. Steve's research (with the help of the Droitwich Historic Society of which he is a member) leads to the Napoleonic War. It seems that French prisoners of war were put to work on the farms in the area. They weren't allowed money but were given tokens that could be exchanged in local public houses - this token would be taken in return for one and a half pints of beer. One further point of interest is that H T Gazey is buried in St Michael's churchyard.

The quality is poor - but these are at the request of Eve Gazey and we are happy to oblige - please read on for full details.

"I came across your web site recently and was interested because H T Gazey was my husband's grandfather and I have been looking into family history.

Henry Thomas Gazey was publican at The Swan Inn from at least 1901 until 1914 and possibly longer. A young son Charles was drowned in the area in 1899 so they may have lived at the inn then.

A photo which has been handed down shows HT, his wife Maria and their youngest son Joseph with other people outside the Swan. Joseph was my husband's father. Our photo appears to be later than the photo on the web site showing horses and drays, because in ours there is a notice over the doorway and the name H T Gazey appears on the lamp over the door. The family used horses and drays so I wonder if you know the origin of the photo on your web site.

Joe used to farm behind the Swan and used to deliver milk before joining the army in 1914 and fighting in France.

Henry Thomas, his wife Maria and two of their sons, Charles and Joseph are buried in St Michael's churchyard.

I have attached a copy of the photo but am not sure of it's quality for email; a good copy could be provided if necessary.

H T is wearing a light coloured homburg (trilby) with black band just left of the lamp over door, Maria is in a light coloured dress with no hat right of girl holding baby behind the goat cart and Joseph is in the goat cart. Joseph was born in 1892 but we don't agree on how old he appears in the photo so can't give a definite date.

My husband's brother believes their father, Joe, attended school in the black and white building in Swan Lane just past the church. Have you any information about that school?

I was a little concerned that Eve's dating of this photo of Henry Thomas Gazey put into doubt the reason for the coin. However, the current H T Gazey and his wife, who still attend St Michael's Church, when looking at the coin said that Grandfather was not the first H T Gazey to have The Swan apparently his father, also H T Gazey, had the pub sometime before although they were not sure of the date.

If anyone has any old pictures of Upton Warren we would love to display them

The large lake at Moors Farm, Upton Warren, which often attracted rare species of birds and water fowl, had suddenly vanished. It was thought the removal of a willow tree that had been blocking a drain was the cause.