Three Counties popular apple and pear derived alcoholic beverages, many of which are made in this area. The Three Choirs Festival is a festival of sacred choral music which has been held since 1724. It rotates between the three county towns (Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester). It often features music by local composer Edward Elgar. Three Counties The Three Counties of England are traditionally the three agrarian counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Including towns and cities such as Worcester, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Leominster, Stourbridge, Evesham, Malvern and Kidderminster, they extend from the southern boundaries of Birmingham in the north to Bristol in
Worcestershire in the English Civil War the Church of England, would have been viewed with suspicion by many. In the early 1640s, stories of massacres of protestants in Ireland helped lead to rumours of Catholic plots than spread through the county leading to anti-Catholic riots in Bewdley in late 1641, and instructions to local militias to guard against conspiracies in the following months. Like many parts of England, there was little enthusiasm for either side, and the initial instincts of many was to try to avoid conflict. Different parts of the county had different sympathies, for instance Evesham was notably Parliamentarian, and Kidderminster also had a