A Symbol of Worcestershire

Worcestershire could be called ‘The Fruitful County’. A county covered in orchards, providing everything from apples, pears, plums and cherries.

In the spring the county explodes into colour as the beautiful blossom bursts out in the warm sunshine. By the summer, bees buzz around the ripening fruit waiting to be harvested later in the year.

If you look into the past, you will see photographs, even early glass plate photographs of local orchards, numerous documents and letters record what fruit was being sold in the markets. A great many Chefs in more recent times have created tasty recipes using this bounty of fruit. Worcestershire has a long heritage of fruit growing.

Orchards in the Teme Valley are known for cherries, the Vale of Evesham, for apples and in Pershore, pears have led to the unofficial title - ‘Pearshore!’

Of all this bounty, It is the pear that has come to literally ‘symbolise’ Worcestershire.

On a cold, damp autumnal day on the 25th October 1415, a great French army made up of thousands of heavily armoured knights, sat astride their war horses. Across a ploughed field near Agincourt stood a small force of English and Welsh soldiers, predominantly on foot and many without armour! This ‘Band of Brothers’ as William Shakespeare would call them, were suffering from Dysentery after living off the land in bad weather.

The famous warrior King - Henry V, was leading this small English army to reaffirm his rule over the French. His army had brought together men from all over England, including bowmen from Worcestershire.

It is from this famous campaign that we get the first use of the pears as a symbol of Worcestershire. We know very little about the men who left Worcestershire to fight, but a poem written in the 17th Century mentions these men who stood facing the French below a banner displaying a pear tree -

“Wor’ster a pear tree laden with its fruit”

The poem entitled ‘The Battaile of Agincourt’ was created by Michael Drayton. Michael was born near Nuneaton in Warwickshire and is believed to have been educated at Oxford. He rose to poetry fame in the Elizabethan era, with some of his work looking at famous historical events. This included the 15th Century Battle of Agincourt.

The source for this poem and in particular the descriptions of the combatant’s livery come from stories passed through time.

Later in history three pears were adopted to symbolise Worcestershire. Legend has it that the three pears comes from the visit of Elizabeth I in 1575. She travelled across the county that summer and saw a multitude of fruit trees, heavily laden with fruit. The fruit was then gifted as symbol to be used in the future.

Today they can be seen on the Coat of Arms for Worcester City. Numerous pubs take on the name, a popular jogging club wear pear tabards and a local tree surgeon has adopted the badge. One of the most famous users of the badge is Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

More fitting is the Worcester Bowmen Archery Club, who have really embraced the heritage of our great County. This popular club has been in existence since 2002 and continues to practice shooting the bow, just as our ancestors had to by law in the Middle Ages. Parkinson Warden pear. It may have been introduced to the County by the Romans and is used for cooking, as it never really ripens. It is probably for this reason that the pears were seen by the Queen and were not being picked and eaten straight from the tree.

County soldiers, in the Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars or the Worcestershire Yeomanry, as they are often referred to, began to use pear blossom as their Regimental badge. One of the most precious Pear Blossom items is the famous Jewel owned by this Regiment. It was crafted by Faberge to commemorate the Regiment’s action in the Boer War. It was valued on the Antiques Road Show in more recent times, at £1 million. n

By Paul Harding Discover History Facebook and YouTube - Discover History Instagram and Twitter -DiscoverHISTPH www.discover-history.co.uk

Discover History is an award winning education and Living History Performance Company based in Worcester. They specialise in the local history of Worcestershire and deliver school workshops and history days, living history performances and talks across Britain.