Stourport-on-Severn
Stourport-on-Severn | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN | |
Postcode district | DY13 | |
Dialling code | 01299 | |
Police | West Mercia | |
Fire | Hereford and Worcester | |
Ambulance | West Midlands | |
UK Parliament | ||
Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a
History and early growth
Stourport came into being around the canal basins at the Severn terminus of the
The population of Stourport rose from about 12 in the 1760s to 1300 in 1795. In 1771 John Wesley had called Stourport a "well built village" but by 1788 he noted that "where twenty years ago there was but one house; now there are two or three streets, and as trade increases it will probably grow into a considerable town". In 1790 he found the town "twice as large as two years ago".
With the completion of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal in 1816, the revenue of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal plunged sharply and from 1812 the population of Stourport scarcely rose, with many male workers leaving the town.
In the area close to Stourport there are several large
The George Gilbert Scott church replaced an earlier brick church of 1782 by James Rose.[2] This building was never finished, and after suffering storm damage, had to be partly demolished. The current St. Michael's church sits partially within its ruins. The Font was salvaged from the ruins of the old church, and is still used in the current building.
In 1944, the town was the location of a famous address to US army troops by general George S. Patton.[3]
In 1968 the Transport Act designated the canal a "cruise way" for pleasure purposes.[4]
The town is the birth place of singer-songwriter Clifford T. Ward. [5]
See also
- Stourport Ring
- Stourport-on-Severn railway station
- Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway Company
- Stourport power stations
- Tontine Buildings, Stourport
References
- ^ a b "Stourport". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, Nikolaus Pevsner, 1968 Penguin. p271
- ^ "The Famous Patton Speech". www.pattonhq.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "A brief history of Stourport". www.unlocking-stourports-past.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "Clifford T Ward". The Guardian. 22 December 2001. Retrieved 22 February 2022.