Hallow Park, built 1914 After the Reformation it was retained by the Bishopric of Worcester but ‘the Estate and Demesne’ was leased to wealthy tenants for centuries. The first was William Hett, then John Habington, Vice-Treasurer or ’Cofferer’ in the royal household. There is no record of a manor house at this time, but on her Royal Progress in the West Midlands In 1574, Queen Elizabeth 1 dined at his mansion in Hindlip during her visit to Worcester and hunted in his estate in Hallow Park, killing two deer there. During her week in Worcester with her vast retinue ‘Her Majesty’s horses and geldings, to the number of 1500, were depastured on Pitchcroft’.
The Habington family fell out of favour when sons Thomas and Edward were implicated in a plot to murder Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne (for which Edward was executed) and in 1605 in the Gunpowder Plot. Thomas went on, having been sentenced to be confined to Worcestershire, to record information for a history of Worcestershire for the remaining 40 years of his life. It is probable that John Habington rebuilt the manor house that is recorded by his historian son as ‘on a small hill, a short distance from the Severn, so that it was noways annoyed with the contagious vapousinge from the water’.

In the latter part of the 16th Century, the lease passed to the Fleet (or Walgrove) family, a leading Worcester family in the cloth industry. John Fleet endowed a parochial charity in 1617 for the poor and the remuneration of a minister to preach sermons. In 1646 Parliamentary leader Colonel Edward Whalley, with 140 soldiers, were unwelcome guests in this Royalist household before removing his headquarters to Rainbow Hill in Worcester. By 1651 the Park was home to William Coombe.

By 1680 the estate was the home of Edward Bull from Warwickshire. His second wife Anne (nee Lygon of the prominent Madresfield family) left Ј100 to buy land as an endowment for teaching poor children of Hallow, Grimley and Madresfield. This legacy formed the nucleus for the endowment of a village school in Hallow in 1712.

Through much of the 18th century the lease for the Park was held by the Lygon family from Madresfield, who paid an annual rent of Ј11- 16s-8d to the Bishop of Worcester. Tenure was assured for the lifespan of three named people on the lease, one name was always of a teenage boy for greater security of tenure. The house was largely rebuilt in the 18th Century.
On Reginald Lygon’s death Hallow Park became the home of Joseph Berwick, a draper from Stroud, who founded Worcester Old Bank, which was one of England’s top 5 great Stock Banks and was eventually absorbed into Lloyds. His only daughter’s sonin- law, Colonel Samuel Wall, took over the estate in the early 19th century.

In 1842 the tenant was Mrs. Holland. A notable visitor to the estate at this time was the Scottish surgeon and scientist Sir Charles Bell. He is remembered for his pioneering discoveries on the nervous system. He was suffering from angina and died during a visit to Hallow Park and is buried in the old Churchyard in Hallow.

In the latter part of the 19th Century Hallow Park was home to Revd. Robert Burr Borne, described as a ‘clergyman of fortune’ then Captain J.P.Lord, whose widow collected funds for the building of the church tower in 1879. He was followed by Francis Wood.

The estate was bought by the clothing millionaire Joseph Banks, the benefactor who gave Hallow both the playing field and Ј500 towards the Parish Hall built in 1930. The present house in Hallow Park was built in 1914. As an old man in 1941 Mr. Banks donated Ј5000 in the war effort for a Spitfire named ‘Hallow’ in honour of the younger men of the village serving in the forces.

The neighbouring property Parkfield was built and owned in Victorian times by Mr Charles Wheeley Lea ( head of Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce). After his death his widow became a generous benefactor to Hallow and Worcester. She bought Hallow Park in1912 but it was resold after her death.

Parkfield (aka Bohun House) was gifted to the Bishop but the beautiful chateau style mansion was never used as she willed and was demolished in 1932, its magnificent scale fittings sold off at auction.

After World War 11 there was also a decline in the fortunes of Hallow Park. Dr. Barnardo’s opened a Home in the manor house in March 1947, which closed in 1959. In 1958 it was home to 62 children under the charge of Mrs. Marion Neal. Three accommodation ‘cottages’ were built in the grounds and it reopened in 1961 as a mixed Home. The children swelled the ranks of the village Primary School. In line with the charity’s changing role, Dr. Barnardo’s closed in January 1980.

The estate was next rented by Fishmore Hall School’s Group as a sister school to Nash School. Hallow Park was an independent Special School for girls, from 1981- 1988. Since 1991 the site has been owned by various property firms. The three residential ‘cottages’ built by Barnardo’s have been demolished and sold for private housing. The manor house, stables and outbuildings have been developed as a Business Park. The once elegant house and grounds however have not been restored to their former glory.

HALLOW PARISH CHURCH

The ecclesiastical parish of Hallow was originally part of a much larger parish: in 1877 it was separated from Grimley, in 1910 Broadheath, hitherto part of Hallow became a separate parish and in 1940 Comer Gardens District detached from Hallow to become part of the parish of St. Clements.

The earliest church in Hallow was a small stone building on the bank of the river at the end of Church Lane. Nash, the Worcestershire historian, says that it had Saxon masonry over the North Door.

It is recorded in 1552 that the old church had ‘one steeple bell, a little sacrynge bell’ and a little lynch bell’. In 1740 there were five bells; one had the inscription ’Cum tonat hoc signum, hostat fugat Anna malignum’. It is believed to have been cast in the foundry in Sidbury over 500 years ago. This bell hung in Hallow Church until 1900 when it was removed to the new church in Broadheath.

The old Hallow church fell into decay and was demolished in 1830. All that remains are some flat stones surrounded by railings to mark its position in the old churchyard. The memorials from it are placed on the walls of the present church where there is also a painting depicting the old church. The old church was replaced by a simple construction on the same site that served until the present church was built in 1869.

The church was designed by Worcester architect, Mr. W. Jeffrey Hopkins and is a good example of Victorian Gothic style. It is built of sandstone quarried locally at Holt. The foundation stone was laid by Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl of Beauchamp on March 5th 1867 and the church was consecrated two years later by the Bishop of Worcester Rt. Rev. Henry Philpott.

The flying buttresses that support the roof are a notable feature of the design but proved so costly to construct that the addition of the tower was delayed until 1879. Donations of Ј2800 were collected by Mrs. Lord of Hallow Park to erect the 67 foot tower. Principal benefactors were Mrs. Lord, Mr. Charles Wheeley Lea and the First Earl of Dudley. The spire was added in 1900 by Mrs. Wheeley Lea of Parkfield, in memory of her husband who died two years earlier. Her grave is near the south porch. The inaugural peal of bells was rung on February 1st 1902. The church has three stained glass windows, the remainder having lights of clear and tinted glass. Although a village church, it is of generous size and in a prominent position on high ground. Its spire is a landmark for miles around.

HALLOW C. of E. PRIMARY SCHOOL: c. 1920

A ’Free School’ was founded in 1712 by Bishop William Lloyd for both girls and boys, following an appeal to him, as Lord of the Manor, by the parishioners. Through voluntary effort, a school and master’s house were built. The bishop granted an endowment out of the manorial lands and, as founder, prescribed the curriculum; 'All the poor boys of the parish’ were to be taught reading, writing and the principles of Church knowledge’ whereas the ‘poor girls’ were limited to reading, sewing and Church catechism’. By 1829 the school had fallen into decay and was in need of renovation. Two new schoolrooms were also built thanks to income from the rent from land in Newland, endowed to the school by Anne Bull of Hallow Park in 1707.

The school was inspected in 1852 and George Griffith, a frank critic of school management, reported that the 71 boys and 56 girls received ‘a good English education’. Having outgrown the accommodation, the boys were at that time taught in a disused Baptist chapel and the school was extended in 1857. In 1866 sixty Infants were taught in one room of 33.3 ft. x 16 ft. but later a Babies Room was added. By 1888 it had become a ‘National School’, later a public Elementary School educating some pupils to the age of 15. Until 1926 there were 2 separate departments: Hallow Infants School for children of 4-8, and the ‘Mixed School where some children remained until school leaving age.

School holidays revolved around the agricultural calendar with 2 week holidays for pea-picking (June/July) and 4 weeks for hop-picking (August/ September). In times of serious illness the school was closed for 2 or 3 weeks at a time, when attendance figures dropped due to outbreaks of Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever, Measles or Influenza. The school log books record infant deaths from these illnesses. They also record frequent day and half day closures. For events such as rummage sales, whist drives, the school building was used before there was a Parish Hall. When attendance figures were sure to be low, the school was closed because of severe weather, nearby fetes and agricultural shows and, in 1898, to allow pupils to watch Barnum and Bailey’s procession through Worcester! The school was very regularly inspected for attendance and standards, and in 1895 was at risk of losing funding because it was deemed ‘inefficient’. In the Mixed School pupils worked in ‘divisions’ or ‘standards’ broadly divided by age. Fewer children reached 4th standard as some gained scholarships and others left for work at 14 or younger. As the curriculum broadened much of the education was separate for boys and girls: boys learnt gardening, woodwork and handicrafts, girls cookery, laundry and needlework. In 1916 some of the older children only went to school two days a week, and went to work for three days presumably due to labour shortages during the war. By 1930 the accommodation was licensed for 219 pupils, including 30 in the ‘Babies’ Room’. The Managers of the school were advised by HMIs to erect partitions between Standards to help concentration.

It became a Church of England Aided Primary School for pupils from 4-11 in 1963. The building was modernised and extended in 1970 and again in 2000 to accommodate its present roll of 190 pupils.

RIVERS and ROADS

Until the railways, the River Severn was the major highway and Worcester an important inland port. It could be crossed at either end of the village boundaries by ferries at the Camp Inn to the north and at Kepax ferry to the South as well as Hallow Ford at low tide. Hallow was therefore a popular destination for a rural Sunday stroll for the people of Worcester.

On the western boundary Laugherne Brook powered a number of watermills. ‘Hallow Mill’ ceased grinding corn some 75 years ago and is now an Equestrian Centre on Shoulton Lane.

The main road through the village, the A443 was probably a drovers’ road, used to avoid paying tolls at turnpikes by drovers herding cattle, sheep, pigs and geese to markets as far afield as London.

FACILITIES PAST AND PRESENT

Both the river and road were well served by local hostelries. The Royal Oak is relatively recent – opened by licensee Harry Pratt in late Victorian times. The Crown Inn, however, dates back to the 17th century and it is claimed that King Charles addressed his troops where the carpark now stands. Gone is the Barley Mow that once stood on the Green.

The thatched Post Office between Cleggs and Westfield opposite The Crown was replaced by the Post Office and store in Moseley Road. Ladygo Stores meet day to day needs admirably but the village has gradually lost butchers, bakers, a tailor, blacksmith, coal merchant, cobbler and public garages.
Methodist and Baptist chapels have also closed down. However Hallow retains a thriving working men’s club and tennis club in addition to groups that meet at the Church, Scout Hut and Parish Hall.