HOLT - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"HOLT, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, county Worcester, 6½ miles N.W. of Worcester, its post town, and 6 W. of Droitwich railway station. It is a small parish, situated near Holt Fleet Bridge, on the river Severn, and contains the chapelry of Little Witley. Hero are the remains of a castle, built by Urso d'Abitot in the reign of William the Conqueror, which was afterwards rebuilt by Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and for some time continued to be the residence of that family. The land is partly in hops, and good building-stone is quarried.

The road from Worcester to Ludlow passes through the village. The living is a rectory* [the asterisk denotes that there is a parsonage and glebe belonging to the living] with the curacy of Little Witley annexed, in the diocese of Worcester, value £579. The church, dedicated to St. Marlin, is an ancient structure, with a tower containing four bells, and has been lately restored. The font is embellished with grotesque ornaments. The parochial charities produce about £16 per annum. There is a National school. The Earl of Dudley is lord of the manor."

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