Feckenham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Redditch in Worcestershire, England. It lies some south-west of the town of Redditch and some east of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 670 in the 2001 census and its immediate area is the location of notable royal manors that cover over 1,000 years of English history documented in many royal charters and Acts of Parliament. At its greatest, the historic Forest of Feckenham stretched to the River Avon in the south and to Worcester in the west. In 1389 Geoffrey Chaucer was as Clerk of Works and Keeper of the Lodge. Feckenham in the 21st century is a rural community with a traditional English village green with walking and riding routes, including the long-distance public footpath, The Monarch's Way, that passes about 1.5 miles east of the village. History Name The village name has been recorded as Feccanhom (9th century), Feccheham (11th century), Fekkeham, Fekeham (12th century), Feckeham, Feckaham, Fecham (13th century), Flechenham (16th century), and Feckyngham in the 16th and 17th centuries. Early and Medieval In Roman times the village developed from its position on the ancient saltway track between Alcester and Droitwich which later became a Roman road (now the modern B4090 road) and on the early stretches of the Bow Brook. In the year 840 Feckenham Manor was given by Ethelric to Wœrferth, and it is mentioned in the 11th century Domesday Survey as being in the Hundred of Esch. The manors of Feckenham and Holloway in Hanbury were surveyed in 1086 under Herefordshire, because they had belonged to the Earl of Hereford, and though they remained in the hundred of Esch in Worcestershire, the Earl had so far annexed them to his lordship of Hereford that they were surveyed under that county. Changes in land ownership led to the inclusion of Feckenham parish in the hundred of Halfshire in the 13th century. The village once stood in the middle of the ancient Royal Forest of Feckenham. The area was a substantial forest covering much of Worcestershire, and was used by Norman royalty for hunting. In the Middle Ages, Feckenham was the administrative centre for the royal forest; and it grew into a thriving town while today's nearby large town of Redditch was still a small village. The forest court and prison building was located near the centre of the village, in