With a feast of festivals, the ghost of a one-eyed cat and a church known as the ‘Pepperpot’, the Worcestershire riverside town of Upton upon Severn is well worth a visit
UPTON UPON SEVERN
Points of interest on Katie B Morgan’s map:
St Peter & St Paul: A new church built near the old train station in 1889, replacing the ancient church, now known as the ‘Pepperpot’. The tower originally had a spire, but this was replaced with a lantern, copper-clad cupola in 1756.
Pepperpot: The Battle of Upton on the Pepperpot site, August 28, 1651.
Bunting: Festivals – Spring Folk Festival, Sunshine, Drunken Monkey Rock Festival, Summer Jazz and Blues festivals.
The White Lion Hotel: A 16th-century coaching inn, referred to in Henry Fielding’s classic 1749 novel Tom Jones as “A house of exceeding good repute”.
Star: John Dee, mathematician, astronomer and astrologer.
Golf ball: Golfer Albert Gadd (1909-2003).
Books: Margaret Elise Harkness aka John Law (1854-1923), English radical journalist and writer.
Commander Evelyn George Martin OBE (1881-1945): British sailor, writer and cricketer.
Francis George Rayer (1921-1981): British science fiction writer and technical journalist.
George William Jones (1860-1942): British printer and type designer.
Football: Roger Jones, English former footballer, born 1946.
Runner: Donald Slack (1896-1973) was a British athlete.
Poppies: War memorial and sculpture of Admiral Sir William George Tennant KCB CBE MVO DL (1890-1963).
General Sir George Alexander Weir KCB CMG DSO DL: Born in Upton upon Severn in 1876.
Lips: Goom Stool Cottage. Demolished in 1882, once the site of an old pond and ducking stool.
Apple and pear: Clive’s Fruit Farm.
Flowers: Upton in Bloom.
Theatre masks: Pepperpot Players.
Rugby players: Upton RFC, junior boys’ and girls’ teams, and men’s and ladies’ adult teams.
Chili pepper: Hot Peppers WI.
Sweets: Old-fashioned sweet shop, stocking one of my favourites: dark chocolate and ginger.
Map: Specialist map shop.
Blue Plaque: Jane Allen, the first victim of the Cholera outbreak in 1832.
Cat: The Ghost of Thomas Bound’s one-eyed cat. Thomas Bound was a fine fiddler travelling around England in the 1600s. He may still be seen riding on his horse on Rectory Road by Soley’s Orchard, but the cat is only seen on the occasion of Upton’s Folk Frolics on May Day.
Spirals: The foundations of an Iron-Age settlement have been uncovered during work to build a new roundabout.
Border pattern: Plasterwork on buildings in New Street.
Swan: Upton Ham Nature Reserve – SSI, 60 hectares of floodplain.
Traction engine: Welland Steam and Country Rally, July 28-30, 2023. Panes lorry – 1930s Deco-style Regal Garage.
Grapes: Lovells and Tiltridge vineyards.
Bridge: The last riveted construction bridge built in England.
