Stoke Prior is a village in the civil parish of Stoke in the Bromsgrove district of Worcestershire. The parish includes the settlement of Stoke Wharf and hamlet of Woodgate, along with neighbouring Stoke Heath.
| Stoke Prior | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Michael, Stoke Prior | |
  Stoke Prior Location within Worcestershire | |
| Population | 4,559 (parish) (2001 census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SO946672 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bromsgrove |
| Postcode district | B60 |
| Dialling code | 01527 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
History
editIn 1086 Stoke Prior was listed in the Domesday Book as Stoche, in the ancient hundred of Came in Worcestershire. The landlord and tenant-in-chief was the bishop of Worcester St Mary.[2]
When the hundred of Halfshire was formed (probably in the mid-12th century), Stoke Prior was one of three Came manors annexed to the hundred of Oswaldslow.[3]
In the 19th century, Stoke Prior was closely associated with the industrialist John Corbett (mentioned below, by Elliot Collins).
In 1853, after he had sold his share of the family canal business, he purchased disused salt works in Stoke Prior from the British Alkali Company. Corbett brought all the innovations of the Industrial Revolution to mechanise and commercialise the business, soon making his salt workings the largest in Europe and built a great fortune.
The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels dates from the 12th century.[4]
Economy
editThe Worcester and Birmingham Canal passes through the parish. In the 19th century, John Corbett turned the salt works in Stoke Prior into one of the largest in Europe. The tall chimney of the Stoke Salt Works was for many years a dominating landmark. Stoke Prior still houses the headquarters of LG Harris Ltd, a paint brush and decorators tool manufacturer (known locally as "Harris Brush" or just "The Brush").
Notable people
edit- Zoë Lister was born in Stoke Prior.
- John Corbett, the Salt King, buried in the churchyard of St Michaels, Stoke Prior.
- Elliot J. Collins, the boy with the utmost respect for a sack of potatoes - born and raised in Stoke Prior
Gallery
edit-
Gate to St Michael's Church -
Harris Brush Works -
Track in the fields -
Stoke Prior Wharf
References
edit- ^ "Area: Stoke Prior CP (Parish): Parish Headcounts". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ Open Domesday: Stoke (Prior), accessed 22 October 2020
- ^ Survey of English Place Names: Came Hundred, accessed 22 October 2020
- ^ St Michael, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire, accessed 21 November 2020
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