BEDWARDINE (ST-JOHN), a parish in the
lower division of the hundred of OSWALDSLOW, county
of WORCESTER, comprising the townships of St. John
Bedwardine and Bishop's Wick, and containing 2424
inhabitants, of which number, 1161 are in the township
of St. John Bedwardine, 1 mile ($. W. by W.) from
Worcester. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the
archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the
king's books at £13. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the
Dean and Chapter of Worcester. The church, dedicated
to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient edifice, partly
in the Norman, but chiefly in the later style of English
architecture. The parish takes its name from its having
been allotted to supply the table of the monks of
Worcester with provisions. The village, pleasantly situated
on an eminence rising from the western bank of
the Severn, forms a suburb to the "city of Worcester,
from which it is separated by the river Severn. A fair
is held on the Friday before Palm-Sunday, on which
day (by ancient usage, originating in a grant of certain
privileges to the bailiffs and corporation, by the prior of
Worcester, in the reign of Edward IV.,) the mayor and
corporation of Worcester walk in procession through
the village.