Powick

Powickis a village and civil parish in theMalvern Hills districtofWorcestershire,England, located two miles south of the city ofWorcesterand four miles north ofGreat Malvern.The parish includes the village ofCallow Endand the hamlets of Bastonford,Clevelode,Collett's Green, and Deblins Green.

Powick
The Red Lion
Powick Location withinWorcestershire
OS grid reference	SO833513
Civil parish	Powick
District	Malvern Hills
Shire county	Worcestershire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WORCESTER
Postcode district	WR2
Dialling code	01905
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	West Worcestershire

Powick Parish Church, Worcester. The tower is said to be from whereOliver Cromwellobserved the Battle of Worcester in 1651 whilst his enemyCharles II of Englandobserved the battle fromWorcester Cathedral.DuringWorld War IIthe tower was used by the Home Guard to watch for incoming German bombers heading towards the City of Worcester.

Powick lies on theA449and has two bridges across theRiver Teme,one ancient and one modern. The village contains aprimary school,three pubs - The Crown, The Red Lion and The Three Nuns, a garage and a Chinese restaurant/takeaway. It is locally pronounced "Pow-ick" (the "ow" rhyming with the word "mow" ).

History

See also:History of Worcestershire

Powick Old Bridge

Powick Old Bridge over the River Teme

The old bridge across the Teme at Powick is late mediaeval with 17th-century alterations, built of sandstone with brick parapets. It is a grade I listed scheduled monument.

In 1642 the bridge was the scene of one of the first skirmishes between Royalist and Parliamentarian soldiers in theEnglish Civil Warin what became known as theBattle of Powick Bridge.It was a short, sharp, but decisive cavalry engagement that resulted in a victory for the Royalists and showed the Parliamentarian cavalry their shortcomings, setting the tone for the early stages of the conflict. A long ballad gives a surprisingly detailed account of the battle.

The more famousBattle of Worcesterlater on in the war, in 1651, was fought in part in much the same locality close to the River Teme, when the two northern-piers of the bridge were destroyed by the Royalists. The church in Powick village was used by the Royalists as a lookout point as it commanded elevated views over the surrounding countryside and the bridge and its approaches. Its tower has a lot of pockmarks from small bore cannon balls which were fired by Parliamentarian gunners to deter the Scottish Royalist forces using the tower. They extend up the south face of the tower from as low as head height up to the top.

In late January 2024, the bridge, which is normally open to pedestrians and cyclists, was closed for "the foreseeable future" due to collapse of some structure and foundations, washed away after storms.

Powick Hospital

Collett's Green - the former hospital

Main article:Powick Hospital

A mile from the village towardsMalvernwas the site of the Victorian complex of the county psychiatric hospital, generally referred to asPowick Hospital.The hospital was notorious for its use of LSD in therapy and mistreatment of patients. Built in 1852, the hospital finally closed in 1989 and was mostly demolished shortly thereafter. The namePowickentered the localcolloquialismsand became synonymous for mental disorder in many informal expressions relating to madness or stupidity.

Before he became England's most famous composer, in 1879 at the age of 22Edward Elgarwas appointed bandmaster of the asylum until about 1886, and wrote compositions for the asylum's band.

Victorian power station

Powick Mill

A formerwater mill,next to Powick Bridge, was converted in 1894 to become the world's first combined steam/hydro electricpower station.Electricityfrom this mill provided about half the city ofWorcester's needs. The Powick site continued generating until the 1950s. When it closed, it was converted into a laundry and has since been converted into residential apartments.

The site was chosen as a mill site from at least the 11th century, and very probably earlier than that. The millleatwas dug in 1291. A succession of water mills replaced each other throughout theMiddle Agesand into the 16th century and later. The mill is a Grade II Listed Building.

Notable residents

• John Wall,physician, was born at Powick in 1708.
• James Piers St Aubyn,architect, was born at Powick Vicarage in 1815
• Lord Alfred Douglas,lover ofOscar Wilde,was born at Ham Hill House in 1870.

Gallery

• 
  Monument commemorating theBattle of Powick Bridge(1642) and theBattle of Worcester(1651), located on Powick Old Bridge
• 
  Memorial to the Scottish soldiers who died at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, located by Powick Old Bridge
• 
  Damage to Powick Parish Church allegedly caused by Oliver Cromwell's troops firing their muskets at it around the time of the Battle of Worcester in 1651
• 
  Damage to Powick Parish Church allegedly caused by Oliver Cromwell's troops firing their muskets at it around the time of the Battle of Worcester in 1651
• 
  Damage to Powick Parish Church allegedly caused by Oliver Cromwell's troops sharpening their swords on it around the time of the Battle of Worcester in 1651

External links

• Powick parish community web site
• Powick primary school
• Worcester Museum website - page including Powick Mills
• British history online entry
• Bell-ringing in Powick
• Powick watercolours of Burney