GREAT WITLEY - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"GREAT WITLEY, a parish in the lower division of Doddingtree hundred, county Worcester, 5 miles S.W. of Stourport, and 10 N.W. of Worcester. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Redmarley, is intersected by the roads from Worcester to Ludlow, and from Staffordshire into Herefordshire. An abundant supply of water is obtained from the Abberley and Woodbury hills, on the latter of which are traces of an ancient British encampment, also said to have been occupied by Owen Glendower in his war with Henry IV. Limestone is abundant, containing various descriptions of fossils, and some bivalves are found in the argillaceous stratum.

Many of the women are employed in making gloves for the manufacturers of Worcester. It is a meet for the Worcestershire hounds. Petty sessions for the hundred are held on the last Thursday in each month. Queen Adelaide resided here in 1843. Witley Court, until recently the seat of the Foley family, who inherited the manor from the Cookseys and Russells, is now the property of Earl Dudley. The living is a rectory* [the asterisk denotes that there is a parsonage and glebe belonging to the living] in the diocese of Worcester, value £400.

The church, dedicated to St. Michael, was built in 1760 by the first Lord Foley, and is now undergoing restoration, at the cost of Earl Dudley. The interior contains a monument by Rysbrach to the first Lord Foley, and some frescoes; the windows, painted by Price in 1719, and the ceiling by Verrio, were brought from the chapel at Canons, when that mansion was taken down. The charities produce about £5 per annum. Abberley Lodge, once the residence of Walsh the poet and friend of Pope, is situated partly in this parish.

"REDMARLEY, a hamlet in the parish of Great Witley, lower division of Doddingtree hundred, county Worcester, 8 miles N.W. of Worcester. It comprises the Lawband estate, which was purchased by F. O'Connor for his land scheme."

It seems probable that this is a mistake. Modern sources suggest that Feargus O'Connor had land at Lowbands in Redmarley D'Abitot, a different place altogether from Redmarley near Great Witley. The estate also gets a mention in the entry for Redmarley (d'Abitot) in Noake's Guide to Worcestershire, 1868, under Description and Travel.

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