Overview

The name Yardley used to mean a much larger area than now, namely the old Parish from Yardley Wood to Lea Village. Today it means Yardley Village and its environs, South Yardley, and most of Hay Mills.

The first reference to Yardley is in King Edgar's Charter of 972, which confirmed Gyrdleahe as a possession of Pershore Abbey. However, the Abbey did not establish the church: that was done by Aston Church in Lichfield Diocese.