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
Hugh of Evesham Hugh of Evesham Hugh of Evesham (died 1287) was a 13th-century English churchman, physician and alchemist. Given his name, it is likely that he came from Evesham, Worcestershire. Hugh studied at Oxford University in the 1260s. At some point in his student career he became friends with John Peckham, future Archbishop of Canterbury. According to the manuscript of John Bale's mid-16th century "Index Britanniae Scriptorum" ), he was a Doctor of Medicine and the author of "Quaestiones" on Isaac's "liber febrium." In 1269, Master Hugh of Evesham was one of the professors at Oxford who became drawn into the controversy