Harvington is a village near Evesham in Worcestershire, England. Bounded by the River Avon to the south and the Lench Hills to the north, three miles northeast of Evesham and now on the Worcestershire/Warwickshire border. The village today is an amalgamation of two smaller villages, Harvington and Harvington Cross, and has a population of around 1,750.
Harvington is first mentioned in the Anglo Saxon charters of 709CE when it was known as Herverton; in the Middle Ages it was called Herwynton. In 1868 there was a curious old custom still observed at Harvington; the children used to go round to all the houses on St Thomas's Day and St Valentine's Day repeating a doggerel rhyme as follows:
'Wissal, wassail, through the town,
If you've got any apples throw them down,
Up with the stocking and down with the shoe,
If you've got no apples money will do.'
Present
Harvington has a number of amenities including a convenience store, a farm shop, two children's play areas, a community orchard, youth group, sports facilities and clubs.
The village has two churches, the Anglican St James Church and a Baptist church, and two pubs, the Golden Cross and the Coach and Horses.
The River Avon is close by. A large section of the bank is owned and managed by Manor Farm Leisure, which also runs the local golf course, fishing lakes and holiday caravan site.
Towards the south end of the village, there is a natural landmark called Monkey Island, which despite its name doesn't have any monkeys or islands and is simply just a wooded area near an orchard that contains a brook flowing through it.
Education
Harvington First School is a small school of approximately 100 pupils aged 5 – 10 years. Older pupils attend nearby St. Egwins Middle School and Prince Henry's High School which are in Evesham.
Harvey Bears Nursery & Preschool offers childcare to the residents of Harvington and surrounding communities.
Sports
Harvington Cricket Club were winners of four Worcestershire league titles which they achieved in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. They are in Division 5 of the Worcestershire County League. The club hosts county matches at various representative levels. In 2010 1st XI player Nathan Gage won the Worcestershire Cricketer of the Year sponsored by Duncan Fearnley and the Worcester News. The club runs free coaching sessions for local schools and holds Junior practice on Friday evenings.[citation needed]
Harvington Harriers Football club play in division 3 in the Evesham & District Sunday Football League.
Railways
Harvington railway station previously served the village as part of the Gloucester Loop Line. In July 1858 the Redditch Railway Act authorised a line to link Redditch with the Midland Railway's Birmingham and Gloucester line at Barnt Green. The Redditch Railway opened on 18 September 1859 but was operated from the start by the Midland Railway.
British Railways (BR) closed the line under the Beeching Axe south of Alcester on 29 September 1962 after suspending the passenger service between Redditch and Evesham due to poor track condition. Freight services continued between Redditch and Alcester until 1964 when BR closed the whole line south of Redditch.
Governance and religion
Harvington parish falls under the Wychavon District Council ward of Harvington and Norton, the Worcestershire County Council division of Harvington, and the parliamentary constituency of Mid Worcestershire, whose MP since 2015 is Nigel Huddleston of the Conservative Party.
It falls under the Church of England Diocese of Worcester, the Archdeaconry of Worcester, and the deanery of Evesham.
Notable residents
Adam de Harvington, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1327–1330, took his surname from his native village. He was usually known in his own lifetime as Adam de Herwynton (the common medieval spelling of Harvington). Note: Again, he was born in Harvington, Kidderminster, not Harvington, Evesham.
William de Harvington, who was Adam's cousin and left him his personal property, was Abbot of Pershore Abbey 1307–1340.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harvington.
