Alvechurch

History

Alvechurch means "Ælfgyth's Church." In the eighth century, Ælfgyth founded a church on the site of the church of St. Laurence.

King Offa of Mercia gave the land forming the parish to Bishops of Worcester in 780. The parish is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1068 as "Alvievecherche" with a small population of under 20 people. In the 13th Century the Bishop of Worcester built a palace in the village, and a weekly market and an annual fair were established.

The Bishop's Palace was pulled down in the 17th century, the only remnants being part of the moat and a yew tree which formerly stood in the palace grounds.

From the 19th century to the mid twentieth century there was a brick factory in the hamlet of Withybed on the edge of the village. Other local industries included nail and needlemaking. Dellow cars were made in Alvechurch between 1949 and 1956.

Architecture

The village has a number of medieval half-timbered buildings, as well as a plethora of Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian buildings.

The church of St Laurence dates back to 1239. It is situated on high ground, and was probably the site of an earlier Mercian church, although nothing remains of the earlier wooden building. Much of the church was rebuilt between 1858 and 1861 by William Butterfield. There is a 1,348-pipe organ. The tower has a peal of eight bells, rung regularly by the North Worcestershire and District Change Ringing Association. These bells are in need of repair and, after a five-year fundraising project, work is due to start in January 2012. The Ark, a £1m extension to the church was built in 2005 despite a village referendum in February 2004 voting against the erection of the building.

There are also many newer residential buildings and a First and Middle school with library. In 2008 a new first and middle school were built north-east of the village, the old school has since been demolished and the new estate has road names commemorating the house names of the school.

Arts and entertainment

There is an attractive arts and crafts style Baptist church in the centre of the village.

There is also a renowned local amateur dramatic society which produces two plays per year at the village hall.

Sport

The football team that serves the village is Alvechurch FC, which was founded in 1929 and played in the local park prior to a move to Lye Meadow. They reached the Third Round of the FA Cup in 1973, losing 4-2 to Bradford City, the club was at its greatest in the 80's when it spent a large stint in the Southern League Premier. In November 1993 they folded, but a group of supporters resurrected the club in 1994, in season 2002-03 the club gained promotion to the Midland Football Alliance, now know as the Midland Football League Premier, and are currently aiming for promotion.

The village also has a local cricket team.

Travel and transport

The M42 motorway runs across the north side the village; the nearest junction is north of the village at Hopwood junction 2.

Alvechurch station is on the Cross-City Line. It serves local trains to Birmingham, Lichfield and Redditch. The station is un-manned. On 1.9.14 a passing loop and second platform was completed and officially opened.

The village is accessible by narrowboat along a rural canal. Alvechurch Marina is on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (built 1789) is just across a hedgerow from the station.

The A441 road used to pass through the village, but now a relief road by-passes the village, helping to reduce traffic and pollution. Recently, specific traffic-calming measures have been added to the village's main thoroughfares. These 'pinch-points' reduce the road width to one raised central lane, preventing drivers from speeding and promoting considerate road use.

The railway station was opened in 1859 with one platform at first, but in 2015 a second platform was added. There are now two lines from Alvechurch, one heading towards Redditch, and the other towards Birmingham.

Alvechurch F.C. play their home games at Lye Meadow on Redditch Road.

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