Gazetteer of
British Place Names

Herefordshire in an inland county in the Midlands of England. Herefordshire has always been esteemed an exceptionally rich agricultural area, being famous for its orchards and for its cider and perry. The major river of Herefordshire is the Wye, which runs from Clifford next to the bounds of Radnorshire down to Hereford, at the very centre of the shire. Hereford Cathedral, a great, Norman edifice stands by the Wye. The Wye then writhes toward Ross-on-Wye before running out of the county. The Black Mountains stretch into the south-west of the county, the county top being Black Mountain itself (2,306 ft). Beyond these, the west of the county is a peaceful, agricultural area. In the lee of the Black Mountains is the so-called Golden Valley of the River Dore, a picturesque area of gently rolling countryside. Northern Herefordshire is famous for its “black and white villages”, notable examples being Leominster, Weobley, Eardisley, Kington and Pembridge. Eastern Herefordshire is a quiet, agricultural area, with the Malvern Hills rising along the Worcestershire border. Below the Malverns, Ledbury is a thriving market town.

Place Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 52.084605,-2.771737
Grid Reference: SO472431
Country: England

GBPNID: 305825
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Herefordshire,_305825

 Explore Herefordshire on Wikishire

The Black Mountains stretch into the south-west of the county, the county top being Black Mountain itself (2,306 ft). Beyond these, the west of the county is a peaceful, rural, agricultural area. In the lee of the Black Mountains is the so-called Golden Valley of the River Dore, a picturesque area of gently rolling countryside. The main villages are Dorstone, Peterchurch, Abbey Dore and Ewyas Harold. Arthur's Stone, outside the village of Dorstone, is a chamber tomb from the Neolithic Period. The majestic Dore Abbey is a mediæval former Cistercian monastery, built between 1175 and 1220 and restored in the 1630s. Ewyas Harold Castle is an early Norman motte and bailey castle. St Michael's Church in Ewyas Harold contains a 13th-century effigy of a lady holding a heart in the palm of her hand.


Dore Abbey

In the village of Kilpeck, to the east of the Dore valley, is the magnificent Church of St Mary and St David, remarkable for the wealth and preservation of its Norman stone carvings, both inside and out, all original both in form and position and incorporating many corbels with representations of human faces, hares, fish, fowl, stags etc. West of the church lies a ruined motte-and-bailey and earthworks.


Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck

The only sizeable town in the north-west is Kington, a small market town close to the border with Radnorshire. It lies in the part of Herefordshire to the west of Offa's Dyke. Ye Olde Tavern is a late 18th /early 19th century Grade II listed public house. Weobley is one of the county's famed black and white villages, its eye-catching old houses lining the main streets. Weobley Castle, now in ruins, stands by the village.


Weobley

The major river of Herefordshire, the Wye, runs from Clifford next to the bounds of Radnorshire across the county down to Hereford.

The City of Hereford stands on the River Wye at the very centre of the shire. At the heart of the city is Hereford Cathedral, a great, Norman edifice standing by the bank of the Wye, a witness to the glory of God for fourteen centuries. The current cathedral was built from 1079, in the time of William the Conqueror. The first cathedral was founded in the eighth century. The treasures of the cathedral include the Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. It also contains the world famous Chained Library. Sutton Walls Hillfort is an elongated ovoid Iron Age Hill fort four miles to the north of Hereford.


The Chained Library, Hereford Cathedral

South of Hereford, the River Wye writhes southwards to Ross-on-Wye. Ross is a small market town on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean. In St Mary's churchyard is found The Plague Cross, erected in 1637 as a memorial to 315 people of the town who died of the plague that year. Ross-on-Wye is known for its independent shops, picturesque streets and its 17th century Market House.


the Wye at Ross-on-Wye

South of Ross, the Wye continues its meandering journey southwards. The Wye in its lower Herefordshire reaches is a broad, calm stream passing fields and hamlets. Overlooking the Wye is Goodrich Castle, a ruinous Norman mediæval castle praised by William Wordsworth as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire". The village of Symonds Yat in the far south is a popular tourist spot. Symonds Yat Rock overlooks a spectacular gorge through which the Wye snakes before it finally leaves the county near Ganarew.


Goodrich Castle

Eastern Herefordshire is a quiet, agricultural area. In very east of the county, along the Worcestershire border, rise the Malvern Hills. The Herefordshire Beacon is surrounded by a British Iron Age hill fort earthwork known as British Camp. The fort subsequently had a ringwork and bailey castle built inside its boundary and there is evidence of 120 huts in the area.


The British Camp, Herefordshire Beacon

Below the Malverns, Ledbury is a thriving market town in the midst of its rural setting. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane. One of Ledbury's most outstanding buildings is the Market House, located in the centre of the town. Other notable buildings in the area include the parish church, the Painted Room (containing 16th century frescoes), and Eastnor Castle. Ledbury Park, built around 1600 by the Biddulph family, has been called one of Britain's finest timber-framed houses.

Hellens Manor in Much Marcle, close by the Gloucestershire border, is one of the oldest attested dwellings in Britain still inhabited, primarily composed of Tudor, Jacobean, and Georgian architecture, but the foundations date from the 12th century.

Bromyard is a small town in north-eastern Herefordshire. Bromyard's pretty streets have a number of traditional half-timbered pubs and some buildings dating back to Norman days. Lower Brockhampton (NT), a moated farmhouse, lies a short distance to the east.


Lower Brockhampton

In the north of the county, on the route from Hereford to Shrewsbury, is the ancient market town of Leominster. Grange Court, built in 1663, is the last surviving market house known to be built by John Abel, a local master carpenter. The Prior Church was constructed for a Benedictine Priory in the 13th century. Berrington Hall (NT) is a neoclassicial country house 3 miles north of the town. Berrington features Capablity Brown's last design. Croft Castle (NT) is a manor house near the village of Yarpole. Hampton Court is a Grade I listed, castellated country house in the village of Hope under Dinmore.


Grange Court, Leominster

Herefordshire has always been esteemed an exceptionally rich agricultural area. The county is famous for its orchards and for its cider and perry. Large-scale producers include Bulmers of Hereford and Weston's of Much Marcle. There is a plethora of small-scale producers to be sought out and their produce enjoyed.


Cider Orchard near Wellington

Before the arrival of the West Saxons, the region roughly corresponding to modern Herefordshire lay under the control of earlier Welsh kingdoms, principally the minor kingdom of Ergyng. At some time in the 7th century the West Saxons established themselves in the territory between Wales and Mercia, and established the minor kingdom of Magonset, which was later absorbed into Mercia. In the 8th century Offa extended the Mercian frontier to the Wye, securing it by the earthwork known as Offa's Dyke. It is believed that Herefordshire was established as a shire in the time of Athelstan (895–939), although the earliest known reference to 'Herefordscir' is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1051. Following the Norman conquest of Wales, the western and southern borders of Herefordshire with the Marcher lordships remained debatable. The Laws in Wales Act 1535 abolished the Marcher lordships and established a system of shires throughout their lands. The act ascribed considerable territory to Herefordshire. These areas formed the hundreds of Wigmore, Ewyas Lacy and Huntington, while Ewyas Harold was subsumed into Webtree Hundred. The Herefordshire we know today was formed by this process. The Herefordshire Flag features a large illustration of a bull’s head, from the celebrated Herefordshire breed, at the top centre of the flag. Three wavy stripes, blue and white, represent the River Wye. The dark red background reflects the famed red earth of the county.


The Herefordshire Flag at Parton