Kempsey and Kempsey Common

Kempsey sits by the River Severn at a fordable point and has probably been inhabited since ancient times. The surrounding area is rich in marks of enclosures, ditches and pits, and Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery has been found at Baynhall nearby to the south.

The spur of land on which the church sits has ramparts of an Iron Age promontory hill fort, at one time almost surrounded by marsh. A Saxon monastery and church was built here in 868 and Kempsey is mentioned in the Royal Charter of 964. It is believed that the Bishop of Worcester's Summer Palace which sat to the west of the church was within the Iron Age ramparts. By late Saxon times, Kempsey was an important Christian centre and this continued into Mediaeval times: Henry II visited, Henry III was brought here as prisoner by Simon de Montfort prior to the Battle of Evesham, and Edward I was a frequent visitor.

SWAG's walk, led by Deborah Overton, took in the Iron Age ramparts and the (possible) fishponds to the south of Hatfield Brook, before moving on to the flood plain, where World War II anti-glider defences still remain. The walk then led up from the flood plain to a housing estate where excavation had uncovered prehistoric ditches and iron scale, suggesting an Iron Age smithing site.

A short car ride took members to Kempsey Common, the site of several Bronze Age barrows. Deborah gave a short talk on the different types of round barrow and although the mounds are quite low nowadays, 20-metre circular ditches are still easily visible.

The above is an edited version of Bruce Officer's report on the day, available in the SWAG newsletter for June 2005, issue No.94.

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