Madresfield, Worcestershire

Description
Madresfield, a village and a parish in Worcestershire. The village lies under the Malvern Hills, 2 miles S of Malvern Link station on the G.W.R., 2 1/4 NE of Great Malvern, and 7 NW by N of Upton-on-Severn. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Great Malvern. The parish comprises 833 acres; population of the civil parish, 152; of the ecclesiastical, which includes part of Powick and Great Malvern, 283. The manor belongs to Earl Beauchamp. Madresfield Court, the earl's seat, is a moated Tudor mansion, and stands in a well-wooded park. It was the seat of the Bracy family till 1321, and then passed to the Lygon family, a descendant of whom was created Earl Beauchamp in 1815. The house was rebuilt and enlarged between 1863 and 1887, and retains very little of the ancient structure. It contains a quilt of flowered damask, embroidered in coloured silks by Queen Anne and the Duchess of Marlborough, some valuable MSS., and also a collection of antiques, miniatures, &c. It was occupied in turn by both parties in the Civil War, Colonel Lygon having. espoused the cause of the Parliament, and was evacuated by the Royalists before the battle of Worcester. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Worcester; gross value, £250 with residence. Patron, Earl Beauchamp. The church was rebuilt in 1867, is in the Decorated style, and has a massive-tower and spire. It contains monuments of the Beauchamps, removed from the original Norman church.