View source for Stourport-on-Severn

{{Short description|Town in Worcestershire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
{{infobox UK place|
|country =                 England
|official_name=            Stourport-on-Severn
|coordinates = {{coord|52.34182|-2.27624|display=inline,title}}
|population =             20,653
|population_ref = (2021 Census)<ref name="bua2011">{{cite web |title=Stourport |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/westmidlands/admin/wyre_forest/E04010455__stourport_on_severn/ |website=City population |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>
|static_image_name=High_Street_looking_towards_Mitton_Street_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1094213.jpg
|static_image_caption=High Street
|shire_district=           [[Wyre Forest (district)|Wyre Forest]]
|shire_county =            [[Worcestershire]]
|region=                   West Midlands
|constituency_westminster= [[Wyre Forest (UK Parliament constituency)|Wyre Forest]]
|post_town=                STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN
|postcode_area=            DY
|postcode_district=        DY13
|dial_code=      01299
|os_grid_reference=     SO812715
|london_distance= 135.4m
}}

'''Stourport-on-Severn''', often shortened to '''Stourport''', is a [[town]] and [[civil parish]] in the [[Wyre Forest (district)|Wyre Forest District]] of North [[Worcestershire]], England, 4 miles to the south of [[Kidderminster]] and downstream on the [[River Severn]] from [[Bewdley]]. At the 2021 [[census]], it had a population of 20,653.<ref name="bua2011" />

==History and early growth==
[[File:Stourport-on-Severn OS map 1942.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Stourport, 1942]]
[[File:Astley, Worcs, Astley Hall 2 back.jpg|left|thumb|[[Astley Hall (Stourport-on-Severn)|Astley Hall]], [[Stanley Baldwin]]'s home between 1902 and 1947]]
{{See also|History of Worcestershire}}
Stourport came into being around the canal basins at the Severn terminus of the [[Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal]], which was completed in 1768. In 1772 the junction between the Staffordshire and Worcestershire and the [[Birmingham Canal]] was completed and Stourport became one of the principal distributing centres for goods to and from the rest of the West Midlands. The canal terminus was built on meadowland to the south west of the hamlet of Lower Mitton. The terminus was first called Stourmouth and then Newport, with the final name of Stourport settled on by 1771.

The population of Stourport rose from about 12 in the 1760s to 1300 in 1795. In 1771 [[John Wesley]] had called Stourport a "well built village" but by 1788 he noted that "where twenty years ago there was but one house; now there are two or three streets, and as trade increases it will probably grow into a considerable town". In 1790 he found the town "twice as large as two years ago".

With the completion of the [[Worcester and Birmingham Canal]] in 1816, the revenue of the [[Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal]] plunged sharply and from 1812 the population of Stourport scarcely rose, with many male workers leaving the town.

[[File:Severn_River,_Stourport_Road_Bridge_(82).jpg|thumb|left|Stourport Road Bridge]]

In the area close to Stourport there are several large [[Manor house|manor]] and [[English country houses|country houses]], among which [[Witley Court]], [[Astley Hall (Stourport-on-Severn)|Astley Hall]], [[Pool House, Worcestershire|Pool House]], [[Areley Hall]], [[Hartlebury Castle|Hartlebury]] and [[Abberley Hall]] (with its [[Abberley Clock Tower|clock tower]]) are particularly significant. Hartlebury was the residence of the [[Bishop of Worcester|Bishops of Worcester]] from the early 13th century until 2007, and Astley Hall was the home of [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Stanley Baldwin]], who died here in 1947.

The [[George Gilbert Scott]] church replaced an earlier brick church of 1782 by James Rose.<ref>''The Buildings of England: Worcestershire'', Nikolaus Pevsner, 1968 Penguin. p271</ref> This building was never finished, and after suffering storm damage, had to be partly demolished. The [[Church of St Michael and All Angels, Stourport|current St. Michael's church]] sits partially within its ruins. The [[baptismal font]] was salvaged from the ruins of the old church, and is still used in the current building.

In 1944, the town was the location of a famous address to US army troops by General [[George S. Patton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pattonhq.com/speech.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020517125805/http://www.pattonhq.com/speech.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=17 May 2002|title=The Famous Patton Speech|website=pattonhq.com|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> [[Stourport Civic Centre]], which is now used as an events venue, was completed in 1966.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Civic |url=https://www.thecivicstourport.co.uk/history-of-the-civic/ |website=The Civic Stourport |access-date=13 July 2024}}</ref>

In 1968 the Transport Act designated the canal a "cruise way" for pleasure purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unlocking-stourports-past.co.uk/history/briefhistory.html|title=A brief history of Stourport|website=unlocking-stourports-past.co.uk|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>

The town is the birthplace of singer-songwriter [[Clifford T. Ward]].<ref name="Guardian obit">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/dec/22/guardianobituaries1|title=Clifford T Ward|website=The Guardian|date=2001-12-22|accessdate=2022-02-22}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Stourport Ring]]
*[[Stourport-on-Severn railway station]]
*[[Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway Company]]
*[[Stourport power stations]]
*[[Tontine Buildings, Stourport]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Stourport-on-Severn}}
<!-- Please bear in mind that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and not a directory. It may be that one or two links will add something to a page however they must only be placed on the relevant page and will always be subject to review by wikipedians.-->
*[http://www.stourporttown.co.uk/ The official Stourport-on-Severn website]

{{Worcestershire}}
{{Wyre Forest}}
{{River Severn towns}}
{{Severn from Bewdley to Gloucester}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stourport-On-Severn}}
[[Category:Stourport-on-Severn| ]]
[[Category:Populated places on the River Severn]]
[[Category:Towns in Worcestershire]]
[[Category:Market towns in Worcestershire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Worcestershire]]
[[Category:Wyre Forest District]]