| Pensax | |
|---|---|
 Pensax Parish Hall | |
  Pensax Location withinWorcestershire | |
| Population | 317 |
| OS grid reference | SO723690 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WORCESTER |
| Postcode district | WR6 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| |
Pensax is a village andcivil parish of northwestWorcestershire inEngland, incorporating thehamlet of Menith Wood to the west of Pensax Common. According to the2001 census, the parish had a population of 317.[1]
Pensax borders the parishes ofStockton-on-Teme,Abberley,Rock andLindridge. It is home to a multipleCAMRA award-winningpub,The Bell, which won 'West Midlands Pub of The Year' in 2007.[2] Besides The Bell, Pensax is home to aparish church dedicated to St. James the Great, built in 1832.[3] A local primary school, PensaxChurch of England school, closed in 2003.[4] A small village hall, which opened in 1911, was closed in 2020.
The name Pensax is a combination of theCeltic words "pen" (hilltop) and "sais" (Englishman, Saxon). Unlike many English place names with Celtic elements, the modifier follows the basic noun, as is customary in Celtic languages. This indicates thatBrittonic speakers coined the name, rather thanOld English speakers borrowing a Brittonic element.[5]
The close village of Menith Wood also has a Celtic name meaning mountain/hill, this time derived from theWelsh language word "mynydd". Nearby, too, lies theRiver Teme, whose name comes from the Celtic "tamesis" (the dark one), the same as the rivers Thames and Tame. All of this points to a strong Celtic speaking population having still resided in this area after theAnglo Saxons migrated into the region and took over the local government.
Following thePoor Law Amendment Act 1834 Pensax Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred toMartley Poor Law Union.[6]
For local government purposes Pensax forms part ofthe district of Malvern Hills.
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