| Defford | |
|---|---|
 St James' Church, Defford | |
  Defford Location withinWorcestershire | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Worcester |
| Postcode district | WR8 |
| |
Defford is a small village in the county ofWorcestershire, England, located between the towns ofPershore andUpton-upon-Severn. It was once part of theRoyal forest ofHorewell. The woodlands were mostly removed around the time of the Civil War.[1]
Defford also has aprimary school, Defford cum Besford First School, and three pubs.
Defford is home to one of the radio telescopes that make up theJodrell BankMERLIN (Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network)radio telescope array linking six observing stations that together form a powerful telescope with an effective aperture of over 217 kilometres.
The village hall is owned and run by a charity, the Defford Village Hall Trust, and managed by a committee of trustees .In 2011 the new village hall was built on a greenfield site some 50 yards to the south west of the old hall, adjacent to the car park.The hall was designed by a Defford resident and trustee, David Bakefield, who was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition.It has become the focal point of village life, well used by local clubs and societies.
In 1941 during World War II, a Royal Air Force airfield was constructed mainly for the flying experiments for radar that was being developed in nearbyMalvern. For a few months the airfield was used as a satellite station by theWellington bomber training unit located atRAF Pershore.
A small grass airstrip remains on the now disused airfield that has been used as a location for telecommunications installations. The site is now owned and used by the West Mercia Constabulary, but the central part of the airfield still houses a Satellite Communications facility now operated byQinetiQ.
.jpg)
 | ThisWorcestershire location article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |