Driving north on the M5 just south of the Worcester South Junction (Junction 7) this landmark tree comes into view and remains in view for many miles. It is known as the Crookbarrow Hill Tree.
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On the outskirts of Worcester, near Junction 7 of the M5, stands a well known Landmark, a large mound topped with a lone tree. It may not have been visited by Morgan Freeman and Kevin Coster like the tree that once stood at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall, but it is a Landmark that Worcester people see and know they are home. The hill is known as Crookbarrow Hill or Whittington Tump. Crookbarrow Hill or Cruck Hill takes its name from Crouka or burial place. A Charter from 980AD calls the site - 'The Barrow', which suggests the site was an Ancient Burial mound. Most 18th Century historians openly declare this is what the site is. One even declared it held the dead from the Battle of Worcester! This has since been dismissed. Whittington comes from an earlier word, Hwinton, which means farm or enclosure owned by a man called 'White.' Interestingly, the term Tump means Mole Hill. The site is certainly mysterious and holds many secrets which have caused historians and archaeologists to argue for many years. Initial study shows the Mound may have been natural with an additional amount of soil added, raising the Hill to 20m above ground level. It is hard to say if this started life as a Barrow for burying someone of importance. One Antiquarian even suggested Caratacus was buried here. This is stated without any evidence at all. Caratacus died in Rome after he had surrendered to the Roman Empire. In the past, small numbers of flint artefacts have been found suggesting the Mound was prehistoric in date and possibly a burial Mound, a lookout or was used in Rituals. A nearby Romano-British settlement has been identified and by the 7th Century the area was possibly part of an Anglo-Saxon enclosure. In the Medieval period, the moated Crookbarrow Manor stood at the base of the hill and was identified by Archaeologists in recent years. In 1314 it was owned by Alexander and Elizabeth de Montfort. The hill may have been a Motte or defensive Mound, topped with a timber tower. The top of the hill measures 45m² and there is evidence of post holes that support this idea. The site was farm land for many years, with a farm that still stands today. If you look carefully you can see ridge and furrow nearby. The Mound became a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1923 and was once topped with several Elm Trees, until they were felled due to Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s. Troops from nearby Norton Barracks also ran up the hill during training and a BREN gun was mounted here during the Second World War. One day we may learn the whole story of the site, but you must agree, it's a well loved Landmark.
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