Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries since 1844 where more parishes or manors changed hands with neighbouring counties, usually as 'gifts' by the monarchy, church or through conquest. By 1844; the administration of Worcestershire was carried out by the Courts of Quarter Sessions, who were responsible for law and order, civil jurisdiction and certain administrative functions in the county. These roles included the licensing of alehouses, police, weights and measures, construction/maintenance of highways and bridges, poor law disputes and setting taxes. The county was then divided into five hundreds, four separate boroughs for the larger towns (Bewdley, Kidderminster, Droitwich, and Evesham), and Worcester itself, which was a county
Tenbury Railway remained as an independent company until nationalisation in January 1948. The Tenbury Railway began at Tenbury Wells (Shropshire) (originally Tenbury) and continued via Easton Court (serving Little Hereford) to Woofferton. The remainder of the Wyre Forest Line was formed by the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway which began at Bewdley and ran north from the GWR station on a single line track alongside the Severn Valley Railway for a distance of about a mile before diverging to the west to cross the river Severn at Dowles Bridge (). The intermediate stations on the Tenbury and Bewdley Railway were Wyre Forest, Cleobury