Mappiman's Real Ale Walks: 30/05/26 - The Oddingley Murders Walk

Saturday, 30 May 2026

30/05/26 - The Oddingley Murders Walk

Murderer, Murdered

Today's walk - courtesy of the Ramblers - is a themed walk to find the locations of an 1806 double murder. Here is the story - and the characters involved.

The Oddingley Murders were a notorious Worcestershire crime that began in 1806 when Rev. George Parker, the unpopular rector of Oddingley, was shot and beaten to death while crossing a field near the village. Parker had become deeply unpopular with local farmers because of disputes over church tithes.

Suspicion quickly fell on Richard Heming, a local labourer and wheelwright, who disappeared immediately after the murder. For 24 years it was assumed he had escaped justice.

In 1830, workmen discovered Heming's skeleton buried beside a barn wall at Netherwood Farm. The discovery revealed that the suspected murderer had himself been murdered shortly after killing Parker. Evidence suggested that a group of local farmers had hired Heming to kill Parker and then silenced him to prevent him revealing the conspiracy. Several men were tried, but all were acquitted, leaving the case officially unsolved.

Key People

Rev. George Parker – Rector of Oddingley and victim of the first murder.

Richard Heming – Labourer and wheelwright; believed to have murdered Parker before becoming the second victim.

Thomas Clewes – Farmer of Netherwood Farm, where Heming's remains were discovered.

Captain Samuel Evans – Retired army officer, magistrate and owner of Church Farm; alleged mastermind of the conspiracy.

A fine walk in the Worcestershire Countryside - maybe a touch too long on a busy golf course. Of course, a pub would have improved things. The nearest pub, Speed The Plough, is just out of reach of the walk. A shame, as the pub has a part to play in the story.

After the 1830 trial for the Oddingley Murders ended with all defendants acquitted, the village of Oddingley erupted in boisterous celebrations. What should have been a moment of legal closure instead became a night of disorder and excess.

A large crowd gathered in the village and the festivities quickly got out of hand. Revellers forced their way into the church, where they rang the church bells in celebration, much to the outrage of the new parish priest. The behaviour escalated further, including drunken antics in the churchyard and even a man urinating on Rev. George Parker’s grave, which deeply scandalised onlookers.

The celebrations eventually spilled into violence, ending in a drunken brawl at the church gates.

The new rector, horrified by what he saw as sacrilegious behaviour linked to a place tainted by murder and moral disorder, insisted that the nearby pub—then called “The God Speed the Plough”—remove the word “God” from its name. It has remained simply “Speed the Plough” ever since.