Kempsey, Worcestershire
| Kempsey | |
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 Kempsey |
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 Kempsey
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| Kempsey shown within Worcestershire | |
| Population | 2,609 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SO852490 |
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| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Worcester |
| Postcode district | WR5 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament |
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Kempsey is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is bounded by the River Severn on the west, and the A38 main road runs through it and is about 3 miles south of Worcester. The village has a long history. Its name is derived from the Saxon "Kemys' Eye", or the island of Kemys. Kemys was a Saxon chief, whose island lay between marshes and the River Severn. One of the roads in Kempsey, Lyf's Lane, is named after another Saxon chief. The village was recorded in the 11th century Domesday Book as having a value of £7.
The local Anglican church of St. Mary was built between the 12th century and 15th centuries, and the 15th century tower is 82 feet tall. The composer Sir Edward Elgar lived in the village from 1923 to 1927, during which time he was made Master of the King's Music. The village has several pubs including one named after Bishop Walter de Cantilupe.
Kempsey is named after a Saxon chief, Kemys. The full name means "Kemys' Eye", as the original settlement, where the church now stands, was a semi-island between the River Severn and marshland.
A piece of iron dated 1500-800 BC According to 'Kempsey Collection' page 9, a piece of iron dated 1500-800 BC was dug up in the Court Meadow area, and is now in the Foregate Museum, Worcester. At that time the River Severn was tidal at Kempsey, and there was extensive marshland and forest in the Severn valley.
A Roman milestone dedicated to the Emperor Constantine the Great (AD 307 – 337) was found in about 1818 when ground was being levelled for a vegetable garden for Court House, opposite the west gate of the churchyard. According to O'Neil, this was probably not its original position as the nearest Roman road was about a mile away. It could have previously been used as masonry for the Bishop's Palace due to the lack of suitable building stone in Kempsey. The Victoria County History entry describes this as "an inscription found some years before 1818, lying in two pieces with other stones 4 feet deep in the west wall of the kitchen garden of the parsonage farm, north-west of the church. Many of the other stones were cemented together and formed some kind of ancient foundation; whether the inscription was one of these, is not recorded. It is itself a flat slab of freestone, 33 inches high by 20 inches wide, and is now in the Worcester Museum. It reads as follows:
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