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Cleeve Prior, or Prior’s Cleve, is a small village and parish, 5 miles from Evesham, containing in 1851 a population of 329 inhabitants.
The village is pleasantly situated on an eminence, but the ground around it is flat, and the meadows on the banks of the Avon, which enters the county in this parish, are sometimes flooded. In 1812, in working a quarry here, two earthen jars of Roman coins were found at a depth of three feet from the surface. The one contained gold and the other silver, chiefly of the reigns of Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius: they were all in good preservation. Portions of armour and military weapons have from time to time been discovered, tending to the generally received opinion that there was a Roman military station in the neighbourhood.
The Church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a stone building, in the early English style of architecture, with square turreted tower and pinnacles. The living is a Vicarage, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. Rev. Robert D. Stillingfleet, Vicar; Rev. John H. Carden, Curate; Mr. Charles Hemming, Clerk. Service – 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
There is a small School in the village, supported principally by Mrs. Stillingfleet and the children’s payments. Jane Carter, Mistress. Average number of scholars, 35.

DIRECTORY

Carden Rev. John H., B.A., Curate
Holthom Mts., Manor House
Stillingfleet Rev. Robert D., M.A., Vicar
Callaway George, baker
Callaway William, farmer
Careless John, farmer
Farr Frederick W., maltster and baker
Farr Henry, tailor
Harris Thomas, boot and shoe maker
Holthom William, farmer
Lyne Robert, blacksmith
Mills John, shopkeeper
Rock Elizabeth, farmer
Rock John, farmer
Silvester Henry, victualler and shopkeeper, King’s Arms
Taylor Richard, miller
Taylor Robert, miller
Tomes Thomas B., farmer
Wilson Edward, farmer

Source: Billings Directory of Worcestershire 1855