Upton-upon-Severn

infobox UK place

country = England
latitude= 52.0627

longitude= -2.2151

official_name= Upton-upon-Severn
population= c. 3000
shire_district= Malvern Hills
shire_county = Worcestershire
region= West Midlands
constituency_westminster= West Worcestershire
post_town= Worcester
postcode_district= WR8
postcode_area=WR
dial_code= 01684
os_grid_reference= SO852405
london_distance= 113.5m

Upton-upon-Severn is a small town in Malvern Hills district, Worcestershire, England, on the River Severn, often incorrectly called Upton-"on"-Severn. The [http://www.upton.uk.net/history/bridge/bridge.html bridge] at Upton is the only one across the river Severn between Worcester and Tewkesbury. The present [http://www.upton.uk.net/history/bridge/thebridgeatupton.pdf bridge] was built in 1940. Upton was founded in 897. Oliver Cromwell's soldiers crossed the Severn here before the Battle of Worcester in the English Civil War.

The town is known for its distinctive tower and copper-clad cupola known locally as the " [http://www.upton.uk.net/history/church/church.html Pepperpot] ", (the sole surviving remnant of a former church), and for its summer jazz festival, [http://www.uptonbluesfestival.org.uk/ Blues Festival] and spring folk festival. Upton is 5 miles from Malvern.

It is said to be the model for Market Snodsbury, the fictional town in the Jeeves and Wooster novels of P. G. Wodehouse and the site of Brinkley Court. It is also notable for being the birthplace, in 1953, of Formula 1 racing-driver Nigel Mansell, (though he moved shortly afterwards to Hall Green, Birmingham).

Upton used to have a railway station, on a branch line from Ashchurch to .

Upton Marina is home to Mercia Inshore Search and Rescue.

The current population (2005) is around 3000. It is in the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency.

The location is at coord|52|03|45|N|02|12|54|W|.

Low lying areas of Upton suffered serious flooding in 2000. In [http://www.upton.uk.net/archives/floods/jul07/0index.html July 2007] flood levels exceeded those in 2000, and the town was inaccessible by road. The town has been dubbed 'Upton under Severn'. However it should be borne in mind that the overall proportion of properties that were flooded remains low - the large majority of properties in Upton were not flooded.

In December 2007 the Star Inn and Hotel in Upton was taken to an Employment Tribunal by three former employees. The Birmingham tribunal agreed that the Star had failed to pay wages and awarded additional compensation to the employees who had lived and work in the pub between December 2006 and May 2007. The Star was owned by Penn Street Taverns and leased to Alastair and Diane Gilhooley who set up a trading company, C J Coleshill and Son. In February 2008 Penn Street Taverns took over the running of the Star. Mr Gilhooley continued to live on the premises and was seen working there but no payments have yet been made in respect of the Tribunals judgment. [ [http://archive.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/2007/12/13/498252.html redditchadvertiser.co.uk] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.uptonuponsevern.net Upton upon Severn Community Site]
* [http://www.uptonuponsevern.net/folk2007 Upton upon Folk Festival 2007 - Pictures]
* [http://www.upton.uk.net/ Upton upon Severn website]
* [http://community.webshots.com/album/248574880CjLPov Images of Upton-Upon-Severn]
* [http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/UptonUponSevern/Upton1881.html 1881 census data]
* [http://www.uptonjazz.co.uk/ Jazz festival]
* [http://www.uptonbluesfestival.org.uk/ Upton Free Blues Festival]
* [http://archive.worcesternews.co.uk/2000/11/4/350072.html 2000 floods]
* [http://www.zooomr.com/photos/silasfennec/2637282/ Zooomr flood photo]
* [http://www.uptonfolk.org.uk Upton upon Severn Folk Festival]
* [http://www.merciarescue.org Mercia Inshore Search and Rescue]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2690837 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Upton-upon-Severn and surrounding area]