ECKINGTON - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"ECKINGTON, a parish in the upper division of the hundred of Pershore, county Worcester, 3 miles S.W. of Pershore; its post town, and 9 S. of Worcester. It is situated on the river Avon, and has a railway station on the Birmingham and Gloucester line. The river is here crossed by a stone bridge of ancient date. Lime is obtained in the parish. The living is a vicarage* [the asterisk denotes that there is a parsonage and glebe belonging to the living] in the diocese of Worcester, value £210, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The church is a stone structure, with a square embattled tower. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and has monuments of the Hansford family, and others, some very old. The register commences in 1621. The charities consist of the church and bridge lands, producing nearly £60 per annum. The Baptists have a chapel, and there is a National school. John Compton Hanford, Esq., is lord of the manor, whose seat is Wollershill Hall, the principal residence here."
"NAFFORD, a hamlet in the parish of Eckington, hundred of Pershore, county Worcester. It was formerly a distinct parish, but is now united with Eckington. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1773. The church, formerly dedicated to St. James, has long been demolished, and the living consolidated with that of Eckington."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]