Bransford
| Bransford | |
|---|---|
 Bransford – Powick junction |
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 Bransford
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| Bransford shown within Worcestershire | |
| Population | 389 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SO791525 |
| • London | 105 miles (169 km) |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WORCESTER |
| Postcode district | WR6 |
| Dialling code | 01886 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
Bransford is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated close to the River Teme and the village of Leigh. It is on the primary route between Worcester and Hereford, the A4103 that runs through the centre of the village. According to the 2011 census, Bransford has a population of 389. The parish shares its parish council with Leigh.
The main church in Bransford is St. Johns the Baptist church, a small Norman building, lit by candlelight. Bransford is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency and its current Member of Parliament is Harriet Baldwin, who is a Conservative representative.
The origins of the name 'Bransford' are uncertain, but it is believed to mean 'hill-top ford' or 'ford at Bragen'. This is dervied from 'braegen', old English for crown of the head or topographically a hill and then 'ford'. In the Doomsday Book, Bransford was called Bradnesforde and included information about Urso from the Pershore Church and mill. Bransford was home to Wulstan de Bransford, the Bishop of Worcester from 1338–49. Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Bransford Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish, a responsibility transferred to Martley Poor Law Union. In the 1870s, Bransford was described as
"...a chapelry in Leigh parish, Worcestershire; on the river Teme, adjacent to the Malvern railway, 4½ miles SW by W of Worcester."
It was in 1894 that Bransford was separated from Leigh as an ecclesiastical parish and made into a civil parish of its own right. Bransford was once devoted to pasture and had 2,366 acres of arable land as well as a further 1,062 separate acres of land. There was once a clothing factory by the Teme, explaining why 7 women worked in dress in 1881. There was also a snuff-mill, which then became a corn-mill. When the clothing factory and snuff-mill disappeared, people became involved heavily in agriculture, which explains why in 1881 at least 46 people were engaged in agriculture as their occupation. It was at this time that men were involved in agriculture, whilst women were working in occupations such as domestic services (12 women) and dress services (4 women). Ninety women that lived in Bransford had an unspecified occupation, which was representative of the time. Today, there are 186 residents in employment. 8 people now work in agriculture, compared to 46 in 1881. Wholesale and retail trade now has the highest level of works in Bransford, with 35 people (18.8% of employment) working in this field. Human health and social work has the second highest level of employment in Bransford with jobs in education being third highest. This shows a huge change from 1881 where the majority of jobs were in agriculture, mining and domestic services.
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Wikipedia