The 2011
census recorded a population of 2,881 making it the smallest town in Worcestershire,
boasting a marina and noted for it’s distinctive copper clad cuppola known as
the ‘Pepper Pot’ the remnant of a former church.The Pepper Pot is the site of
the Battle of Upton in 1651 between Royalists and Rounheads as a preliminary to
Oliver Cromwells victory over Charles II during the Civil War. 12000 men
crossed the river here - then, the location of the only bridge across the River
Severn.
As the river
traffic grew so did the town with warehouses and several pubs appearing. By the
19th Century there were as many as 20 pubs in the town available to ‘refresh’
the men who hauled the boats up and down the river.
The Tudor
House Museum
The
Tudor House, erected between 1500-1550 - although stones in the two cellars
under the house possibly date back to the thirteenth century, is a fine example
of a close-studded timber framed building. The original friary which gave the
street its name was just outside the city walls, through Friars Gate at the end
of Union Street. Tudor House’s appearance today is the result of sensitive
restoration and amalgamation of three main properties by Richard Cadbury in the
early 1900s.
The present
day museum tells the story of the people who lived in Upton, their lives and
experiences covering 400 years of past industries and city history.
There is also a small restful garden in similar vane including a miniature Victorian knot garden.
Upton Ham
The first few
miles of the riverside walk are on the Severn Way through very pleasant
countryside.
Immediately
after leaving Upton the path skirts Upper Ham, a nature reserve where
fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides are banned, resulting in diverse flora
and fauna.
The ham, a
designated SSSI, is a Lammas meadow, one of only a handful remaining in the
country. The Lammas system has been in operation for over 1,000 years and
involves grazing the meadows from Lammas Day in August until early the next
year, after which they are kept stockfree to allow the grass to grow for
harvesting in summer. Lammas meadows
were traditionally managed under a common system, with the grazing shared by
the commoners on an equal basis, and with strips of meadow randomly allotted
for harvesting, with dole stones used to mark the boundaries between strips.
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| Upton with the Malvern Hills as backdrop |
