Romsley, Worcestershire

DistrictShire countyRegionCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townHALESOWENPostcode districtB62PoliceWest MerciaFireHereford and WorcesterAmbulanceWest Midlands UK Parliament 52°25′05″N 2°03′22″W / 52.418°N 2.056°W / 52.418; -2.056

Romsley is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England, on the east side of the Clent Hills about 4 miles south of Halesowen. In 2001 it had a population of 1,601.^[1]

The parish church, dedicated to Saint Kenelm is a Grade I listed building.^[2] The nave of the church continues directly into the chancel, both are from the 12th century and built of red sandstone. A 15th-century tower is of greenish sandstone, and the church has a timber porch. The chancel is built over a crypt that once contained the shrine of St Kenelm.^{[citation needed]} A spring marks the reputed site of his martyrdom.

The village and its area attract walkers, campers, and caravanners on the Clent and Walton Hills and on the Cuckoos Corner site. The main road that runs through Romsley is called Bromsgrove Road. There are limited local amenities including a post office, a butcher, a pub-restaurant, and a hairdresser.

Romsley features in Geoffrey Hill's long poem The Triumph of Love:

Spraddled ridge –
village sacred to the boy-martyr,
Kenelm, his mouth full of blood and toffee.

References