- Martley
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Coordinates: 52°14′09″N 2°21′37″W / 52.23584°N 2.36018°W
Martley 
The Crown
Martley
Martley shown within WorcestershireOS grid reference SO754597 Parish Martley District Malvern Hills Shire county Worcestershire Region West Midlands Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town WORCESTER Postcode district WR6 Dialling code 01886 Police West Mercia Fire Hereford and Worcester Ambulance West Midlands EU Parliament West Midlands UK Parliament West Worcestershire List of places: UK • England • Worcestershire Martley is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the English county of Worcestershire. It is approximately nine miles north-west of Worcester. The population of the village is approximately 1200 people. The mixed farming of the area includes arable, formerly cherry, apple, damson orchards and hopyards.
It is a popular village for retired people and professionals working in the city and surrounding towns, and has a large high school to which around 700 pupils are bussed daily from the surrounding area. It has a sports hall with rock climbing wall and a gym within the grounds of the school can be used by the public out of school times.
History & Amenities
Martley has a post office, a village shop, the Crown public house, a petrol station/garage and a petting zoo. Schools in Martley include a primary school and the Chantry High School which has approximately 700 students and has a special technology status. It serves a large rural catchment area. Its sports hall is shared with the public. Berrow Hill, an Iron Age hillfort, is one of several in the area, which hosts a beacon. There are many walks in the local area such as the Worcestershire Way which passes close by Rodge Hill, and the River Teme is also near the village.
The red sandstone parish church of St Peter is Norman in origin. Its peal of six bells, cast locally in 1673 by the bellfounder Richard Keene of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, is the only complete set of original bells in the county. The bells are a Maiden Ring, a peal of bells that sounds the correct notes immediately after casting and needs no further tuning. St. Peter's was one of the first churches in Worcestershire to have as many as six bells and at the beginning of the 18th century[1] very few churches had more than three or four bells. In 1894 the bells were rehung on the original frame and no further major work has been required since.
The church also contains some medieval wall paintings and an alabaster effigy of Sir Hugh Mortimer, Lord of Kyre & Martley, killed in battle at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. In 1999 a new stained glass window was cut, leaded & installed by Patrick Costeloe for the Artist Tom Denny.[2]The village is home to a cricket club, running teams in the Worcestershire League (Sat). In 2000 Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath played a match in Martley.[3] The football club has two Saturday teams and a Sunday team. Martley is the birthplace of the equine artist, Martin Stainforth (1866-1957) and prolific engraver Francis Jukes (1745-1812).
References
- ^ The bells of St Peter's Church, Martley Retrieved 21 June 2009
- ^ St Peter's, Martley. Stained glass window Retrieved 21 June 2009
- ^ DJ fractures kneecap playing for Lampitt's XI Retrieved 31 July 2011
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1968) p221-2 The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, Penguin
External links
- Village website (collaborative)
- Map sources for Martley
- Chantry High School website
- Martley Cricket Club Website
- photos of Martley and surrounding area on geograph
Categories:- Villages in Worcestershire
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