Inkberrow

Last updated

Inkberrow
Inkberrow - The Old Bull - geograph.org.uk - 2696.jpg
The Old Bull
Worcestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Inkberrow
Location within Worcestershire
OS grid reference SP014572
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WORCESTER
Postcode district WR7
Dialling code 01386
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire
52°12′47″N1°58′52″W / 52.213°N 1.981°W / 52.213; -1.981

Inkberrow is a village in Worcestershire, England. In 2001, it had a population of 5,308, and 2,170 households. [1]

Contents

History

The earliest recorded version of the village is Intanbeorgas, "Inta's mounds or barrows", from 789. [2] By the 15th century, the spelling may have become Ingtebarwe; nearby villages also mentioned include Church Lench, Abbots Morton and Arrow. [3] By the 16th century, it was known as Inkebarrow. [4]

The area was within Feckenham Forest, a royal forest with harsh forest law punishments.

Cookhill Priory stood 3 mi (4.8 km) to the east, at the edge of the county.

In 2006 Inkberrow was awarded the title of Worcestershire Village of the Year and won the Building Community Life section of the competition. [5]

Inkberrow was identified as a potential site for a new town in the 1960s,[ citation needed ] but this plan was not carried out. 275 properties were built in the village between 1969 and 1972. [6] More houses were built in the village in 2013. In 2016, 100 new houses were built by Bovis Homes. [6]

Inkberrow Millennium Green is an eight-acre public open space to the east of the village, opened in 2000, which includes a medieval moat and fishpond, a variety of wildflowers and fruit trees, and a millennium seat with extensive views. [7]

In 2024, The Daily Telegraph reported that a "class war" was taking place in the village. [6] There was disagreement over plans to increase seating at the local football ground. [6] The reporter said that "There are also fears that more developments will follow, and that Inkberrow may one day lose its village status and become a small town". [6]

The Archers connexion

The village is often thought to be the model for Ambridge, the fictional setting of BBC Radio 4's long-running series The Archers . [8] [9] In particular, the Bull, the fictional Ambridge pub, is supposed to be based on the Old Bull in Inkberrow. [8] Coachloads of fans sometimes visit the village. [10] The local health centre is called Grey Gables after a property in the programme. [11] In 2006, when the programme had a storyline in which Ruth Archer contemplated infidelity, a local councillor said "'We used to be honoured by our connection with The Archers, but now I have to admit it's more of an embarrassment ... We feel we've been labelled with an association to a world that has become rather dramatic and extreme'". [10] The local publican said "'anyone who thinks people don't get up to naughty stuff in villages wants to come and spend a few days here'". [10]

Other villages have been suggested as the original site of Ambridge, such as Rippingale, Lincolnshire, and Cutnall Green, Worcestershire. [12] [13]

St Peter's church

St Peter's church St Peter's church, Inkberrow - geograph.org.uk - 4546315.jpg
St Peter's church

The village's parish church is dedicated to St. Peter and contains the Savage family chapel. [14] It is a Grade I listed building. [15] The Domesday Book mentions a church in Inkberrow in Saxon times. It is believed that a minster existed as early as 700 AD. The current church is thought to have been built on the site of the minster, and also perhaps a 12th-century wood and earthwork castle destroyed by Henry III in 1233. The current church probably dates from the 13th century, and was not built on the site of the original church. [16]

The baptismal font dates from around 1200 AD, and is typical of the late Norman style. In 1839 it was cleaned and moved near the pulpit, under the arch linking the chancel to the south transept. It was moved again in 1887 to its current position opposite the south door of the nave. [16]

The church is part of the benefice of Inkberrow with Cookhill and Kington-with-Dormston and the Priest-in-charge is Revd. Ian Perry. [17]

Sport

The village has junior and adult football clubs with large memberships when compared to those of more populous towns and villages. Sporting Club Inkberrow play in the Southern League Division One South, and have two 11 a-side pitches and a mini soccer pitch.

There is also a tennis club, with a clubhouse near the village hall.

Notable residents

Former residents, brothers Justin Jones (guitar) and Simon Huw Jones (vocals), formed the post-punk band And Also the Trees in the village in 1979. [18]

The village has a large Christmas tree which has been a local attraction for many years. The tree, planted in 1978, is just over 50 ft (15 m) tall and needs more than 1,000 lights to decorate it. In 2023, it raised over £1,000 for a local charity. [19]

See also

References

  1. "2001 Census Worcestershire County Population Report" (PDF). Worcestershire County Council. 2006. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  2. A. D. Mills, Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford University Press (1991). "Inkberrow", page 187
  3. Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/629; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H5/CP40no629/aCP40no629fronts/IMG_0812.htm; third entry, line 4 'apud Ingtebarwe'; year 1418, the place where the trespass occurred; date accessed 6 November 2013
  4. "Parishes: Inkberrow | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  5. Inkberrow website Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 16 July 2009
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Rees, Gwyneth (1 May 2024). "The class war tearing apart the village that inspired Ambridge". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  7. "Home". Inkberrow Millennium Green. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 Brinkworth, Alison (14 November 2021). "Inside Inkberrow the village that inspired BBC's The Archers and Ambridge". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  9. Nicholls, Tom (2017). "Locating Ambridge: Public Broadcasting, Region and Identity, An Everyday Story of Worcestershire Folk?". In Courage, Cara; Headlam, Nicola (eds.). Custard, Culverts and Cake: Academics on Life in The Archers. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 151. ISBN   978-1-78743-286-4 . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Hill, Amelia (5 November 2006). "Real home of the Archers braced for racy anniversary". The Observer. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  11. Moss, Stephen (18 October 2012). The Hedgerows Heaped with May: The Telegraph Book of the Countryside. Aurum. ISBN   978-1-78131-101-1 . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  12. Fort, Tom (6 April 2017). The Village News: The Truth Behind England's Rural Idyll. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN   978-1-4711-5111-8 . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  13. Wynne-Jones, Jonathan; Howie, Michael (17 April 2011). "Have they found the real Ambridge?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  14. "St Peter's". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  15. "CHURCH OF ST PETER, Inkberrow - 1350279 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.
  16. 1 2 "St Peter's @ Inkberrow".
  17. "Welcome to The Benefice of Inkberrow with Cookhilll and Kington with Dormston".
  18. "And Also the trees Shaletown". Andalsothetrees.tripod.com. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  19. "No end in sight for huge Inkberrow Christmas tree tradition". 23 December 2023 via www.bbc.co.uk.