Bransford

History

The origins of the name 'Bransford' are uncertain. It may mean 'hill-top ford' or 'ford at Bragen', derived from the Old English term 'braegen', literally meaning 'crown of the head' but also used topographically to refer to a hill.

Bransford was anciently a manor in the Pershore hundred of Worcestershire. It is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Bradnesforde".

A church dedicated to John the Baptist was built at Bransford in the 13th century. It was never a parish church, being instead a chapel of ease. There is some evidence that Bransford was anciently part of the parish of Powick, but it subsequently became part of the parish of Leigh, and St John's therefore served as a chapel of ease to St Eadburga's Church at Leigh.

Bransford gave its name to Wulstan Bransford, who was born at Bransford and served as Bishop of Worcester from 1338 to 1349. He commissioned the construction of Bransford Bridge across the Teme in 1338, improving the main road from Worcester to the west.

Parish functions under the poor laws from the 17th century onwards were exercised separately for the chapelry of Bransford and the rest of Leigh parish. As such, Bransford became a separate civil parish in 1866 when the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws. It remained a chapelry of Leigh parish for ecclesiastical purposes.

Bransford Road railway station opened in 1860 on the Worcester and Hereford Railway, which was later taken over by the Great Western Railway. The station stood a short distance to the east of the village, just over the parish boundary in the neighbouring parish of Powick. The station closed in 1965.{{Cite web | access-date = 25 February 2016

In the 1870s, Bransford was described as"...a chapelry in Leigh parish, Worcestershire; on the river Teme, adjacent to the Malvern railway, 4½ miles SW by W of Worcester."

St John's remains in use as a chapel; the small building is lit by candlelight. The chapel is now also used by a Greek Orthodox congregation.

Occupation

Bransford was once devoted to pasture and had 2,366 acres of arable land as well as a further 1,062 separate acres of land. There was once a clothing factory by the Teme, explaining why 7 women worked in dress in 1881. There was also a snuff-mill, which then became a corn-mill. When the clothing factory and snuff-mill disappeared, people became involved heavily in agriculture, which explains why in 1881 at least 46 people were engaged in agriculture as their occupation.{{Cite web | access-date = 25 February 2016

Population and Age

The mean age in Bransford is 49.4 and the median age is 53. The largest age bracket is 45–59 years old, as 23.9% of people in Bransford are of this age.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Bransford, at parish, district and county level: Leigh and Bransford Parish Council, Malvern Hills District Council, and Worcestershire County Council. The parish council is a grouped parish council, also covering the neighbouring parish of Leigh.

Bransford is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency.

Transport

Bransford lies on the A4103 road. It is served by the 417{{cite web |access-date=13 March 2016}} and 423{{cite web |access-date=13 March 2016}} bus services{{Cite web | access-date = 25 February 2016 | access-date = 25 February 2016

References

References

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