POWICK, a parish in the lower division of the
hundred of PERSHORE, county of WORCESTER, 2 miles
(S. S. W.) from'Worcester, comprising the chapelry of
Clieveload, and the hamlet of Woodsfield, and containing,
e:fclusively of a part of the chapelry of Bransford,
which is in this parish, 1452 inhabitants. The living
is a discharged vicarage, with the curacy of Mordeford
annexed, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester,
rated in the king's books at £10. 2. 7, and in the patronage
of the Earl of Coventry. The church is dedicated
to St. Peter and St. Lawrence. The river Teme
is here crossed by an ancient bridge, a short distance
below which it falls into the Severn. In December 1642,
an action was fought near this place, between the parliamentarian
troops under Colonel Sandes, and the royalists
under Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice, in which
the former were defeated, and the colonel was mortally
wounded.