Besford, Worcestershire

Description
Besford, a village and a parish in Worcestershire, near the river Avon, 2 miles NE of Defford station on the M.R., and 3 WSW of Pershore, wliich is the post town and money order office; telegraph office, Defford station. Acreage, 1383; population, 178. The manor was anciently held by the Besford family, which became extinct in the reign of Henry IV.; thence it passed successively to the Harewell and Sebright families, and is now the property of Earl Beauchamp. Besford Court, originally built in the time of Henry VIII., is an interesting manor house, retaining much of the ancient structure. It has an ancient chapel, a large tithe-barn, and a fine avenue of old yew trees. the living is a vicarage, united with Defford under the name of Defford-cum-Besford, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The church is a small ancient half-timbered structure, partly Early English and partly Later. It was carefully restored in 1880. It has an ancient rood-screen, a triptych, and some ancient monuments to the Harewell and Sebright families.