Beckford, Worcestershire

Beckford
Beckford Cross House
Beckford  Beckford shown within Worcestershire
Population	602
OS grid reference	SO972360
– London	91 miles (146 km)
Civil parish	Beckford
District	Wychavon
Shire county	Worcestershire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	TEWKESBURY
Postcode district	GL20
Dialling code	01386
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	West Worcestershire
List of places UK England Worcestershire

Coordinates: 52°01′00″N 2°02′00″W / 52.016667°N 2.033333°W

Beckford is a small village on the main Cheltenham to Evesham Road, five miles north-east of Tewkesbury, on the Worcestershire—Gloucestershire border.

The village straddles the A46 and is one of the villages at the foot of Bredon Hill. The Carrant Brook runs between Beckford and Little Beckford and there was a ford across the brook which gave rise to the original name. There is no link between the village of Beckford and the family with the name of Beckford who are considered to be among the original Jamaican slaveowners. The local pub is called the Beckford Inn and the village is known for its silk printing factory which attracts tourists through its workshop tours and demonstrations, and whose premises include a small pond inhabited by protected great crested newts.

Railways

Beckford railway station, belonging to the Midland Railway (later part of the LMS), and situated on a lengthy loop line, Gloucester Loop Line, branching off the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway main line at Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station, passing through Evesham railway station, Alcester and Redditch, and rejoining the main line at Barnt Green, near Bromsgrove. The loop was built to address the fact that the main line bypassed most of the towns it might otherwise have served, but it took three separate companies to complete. The loop officially closed between Ashchurch and Redditch in June 1963, but trains were replaced by a bus service for the final eight months, since poor condition of the track had brought about withdrawal of all trains between Evesham and Redditch in October 1962. Redditch to Barnt Green remains open on the electrified Birmingham suburban network.

An intensive poultry unit and market garden lies to the east of the village. A planning application was made in early 2016 to redevelop this as a retirement settlement with social care facilities.