Bredon Hill and Kemerton

Bredon Hill is a hill in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham in the Vale of Evesham. The summit of the hill is in the parish of Kemerton and it extends over parts of eight other parishes (listed below). The hill is geologically part of the Cotswolds and lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although as the result of erosion over millions of years it now stands isolated in the Vale of Evesham

At the summit, adjacent to Kemerton Camp, is a small stone tower called Parsons Folly which stands at GPS coordinates (52.059963, -2.064606). The tower was built in the mid-18th century for John Parsons, MP (1732–1805), squire of Kemerton Court and intended as a summer house, from which a more extensive view of the surrounding countryside could be seen. The 981 feet natural height of the hill may have contributed to the final height of the tower, whose top now reaches 1000 feet. A similar tower on Leith Hill increases the overall height from 965 feet to 1029 feet. The folly became a well-known county landmark, and was believed to have inspired the building of Broadway Tower.

Bredon Hill is one of the most important wildlife sites in England. Part of it has been designated a Special Area of Conservation under the European Commission Habitats Directive and a National Nature Reserve. The hill contains a range of habitats including limestone grassland, scrub and ancient woodland. It is most important as habitat for rare invertebrates, such as the violet click beetle. Natural England and Kemerton Conservation Trust are among those organisations participating in wildlife management on the hill.

Several parts of the hill are managed for wildlife under DEFRA 'Countryside Stewardship' schemes. This includes the area around the summit, which is managed as grassland with open public access.

A large number of public footpaths and bridleways cross the hill from the villages circling its base, and allow for a variety of circular routes to be devised. The Wychavon Way passes over the hill, but does not reach the summit itself, passing close by (necessitating a short easy detour).

The Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 map has for many years shown the top as 229 metres high. That this is a typographical error is obvious from the contours; the 1:25,000 map shows the spot height as 299 metres. It may be an intentional error, intended to discourage plagiarism of copyright-protected Ordnance Survey map.

Bredon Hill is well known as the birthplace of Fred Archer (1915–1999), whose many books describe in vivid prose life on the farms and in the villages in past years, particularly the first part of the 20th century.

The author John Moore described life on and around Bredon Hill in the early 20th century in the 'Brensham Trilogy'.

The hill is immortalised in poem 21 of A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad.

In summertime on Bredon

The bells they sound so clear;

Round both the shires they ring them

In steeples far and near,

A happy noise to hear.

Here of a Sunday morning

My love and I would lie,

And see the coloured counties,

And hear the larks so high

About us in the sky.

The bells would ring to call her

In valleys miles away;

"Come all to church, good people;

Good people come and pray."

But here my love would stay.

And I would turn and answer

Among the springing thyme,

"Oh, peal upon our wedding,

And we will hear the chime,

And come to church in time."

But when the snows at Christmas

On Bredon top were strown,

My love rose up so early

And stole out unbeknown

And went to church alone.

They tolled the one bell only,

Groom there was none to see,

The mourners followed after,

And so to church went she,

And would not wait for me.

The bells they sound on Bredon,

And still the steeples hum,

"Come all to church, good people."

O noisy bells, be dumb;

I hear you, I will come.