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HEREFOBDSHIRE. 



HEREKOBDSHIBE. 



IM 



by kldermrn and 18 couucillon, one of whom is mayor; and rotun» 

 two meniben to the Imperial Parliament Hereford Poor-Law Union 

 contains 47 parishes and townships, with an area of 08,116 aores, and 

 a popuUtion in 1861 of 36,768. 



In early times this city was important as a garrison town to restrain 

 the inroads of the Welsh. From the 1 1th to the 1 7th century it was 

 the scene of Tarious important military and |>olitioal events. There 

 are still some remains of ancient religions bouses. The castle con- 

 sisted of two wards of different dimensions, having a keep within the 

 •mailer : the Wye formed its defence on the south side ; on other 

 points it was defrndt-d by moata. 



Hereford is situated in a broad, fertile, and well-cultivated valley. 

 The principal stl«ela are wide and straight, and well paved, and the 

 town is lii:hted with gas. The shire-ball was built after a plan of 

 Sir Robert Smirke's : it is of plain but pleasing exterior. The town- 

 hidl stands in the High Town. The guildhall is a brick building in a 

 remote nituation. The Union workhouse and the county jail ntaud 

 outside the city. There is a neat new post-office. Several curious 

 old half-timber houses are in the town. The principal churches are 

 those of All Saints, St. Peter, St. Nicholas, and St. John. All Saints 

 ohurch fisoes Broad-street on the north ; the steeple is tall and well- 

 proportioned, but its external architecture is generally uninteresting. 

 St Peter's Ahuroh, founded by Walter de Lacy in 10S5, is a plain 

 building, with a spire. 



Hereford cathedral stands npou the south side of the city, not fxr 

 from the Wye. Ethelbert, who was murdered at the instigation of 

 Ofia, was buried in Hereford church, and gifts were offered at his 

 shrine, where it was asserted that miraculous appearances bad been 

 shown. Milfrid, the governor of the province in the time of Egbert, 

 erected about the year 826 in honour of St. Ethelbert a new church 

 of stone. This was replaced by a new edifice erected by Bishop 

 Athelstnn about 1030, which was demoliKhed by the Welsh in 

 1065. The present cathedral was commenced in 1079 by Bishop 

 Robert of Lorraine, and was completed about 1115. In 1786 the 

 western portion of the cathedral fell, and alterations were subsequently 

 made, the spire was removed, and a new western end added by 

 Wyatt : these alterations however detracted both from the beauty 

 and the stability of the building. During the last few years the work 

 of repair and restoration has been very efficiently and thoroughly 

 executed. The principal dimensions of the cathedral are — extreme 

 length 850 feet, breadUi 174 feet, height of nave 63 feet, breadth of 

 nave 28 feet, height of tower 160 feet. The cathedral contains many 

 monuments of great antiquity, some of which are highly ornamented. 

 In the chapter-room is a curious map of the world, probably one of 

 the oldest original maps in existence. Triennial music-meetings have 

 for many years been held in the cathedral, in rotation with those of 

 Gloucester and Worcester. 



In the city there are places of worship for the principal denomina- 

 tions of Dinenters. The Roman Catholic chapel is of considerable 

 dimensions. There is a Cathedral school of uncertain foundation ; 

 connected with it are about 40 scholarships ; the number of scholars 

 in 1S53 was 60. There are several National, Parochial, and British 

 schools, a Natural History Society, a permanent library, a mechanics 

 institute, an infirmary, and a savings bank. The county assizes, 

 the quarter sesiioni, and a county court are held in the city. Qloves 

 are manufactured to some extent, and there is an iron-foundry. Five 

 yearly (airs are held. The October fair is one of the most oonsidei^ 

 able cattle fain in England. The market-days are Wednesday and 

 Saturday ; the great market is on the Wednesday after St. Andrew's 

 day. 



The diocese of Hereford is in the province of Canterbury. It 

 extends over the greater part of Herefordshire, with parts of Shrop- 

 shire, Worcestoshire, Radnor, and Montgomeryshire, and comprises 

 868 benefices. It is divided into the archdeaconries of Hereford and 

 Salon, The chapter consists of the dean, two archdeacons, four 

 reridentiary canons, a pi«centor, a chancellor, 24 non-residentiary 

 prebendaries, and 6 vicars choral. The income of the bishop is fixed 

 at 4200(. a year. 



HERKFOHD.SHIRE, an inland county of England, is bounded 

 £. by Worcestershire and Oloucestershire ; N. by Shropshire and a 

 portion of Worcestershire ; W. by Radnorshire, Brecknockshire, and 

 part of Monmouthshire ; and S. by Monmouthshire and Oloucester- 

 shire. Several detached portions of the county were by the Act 7 & 8 

 Vict, cap. ei, deohired to be portions nttpectively of Shropshire, 

 Worcestershire, Monmouthshire, and Radnorshire. By the same Act 

 ■mall portions of Und belonging to other counties, but locally situated 

 in Hanfordshire, were declared to be part of Herefordshire. The 

 eoonty lies between 61* 49' and 62* 24' N. lat, 2° 20' and 8° 7' 

 W. hmg. lU greatest length is about 40 miles; it« greatest breadth 

 is S4 miles. Its area is 836 square miles, or 634,828 acres. In 1851 

 the pojiulstion was 116,489. 



Surf act, Hjfdrographi, OommiaUeationi.— The surface of this county 

 is gensTally billy, but the Talleys occasionally expand into open plains. 

 Tb« Hatterel range of the Bhick Mountains, which forms its border 

 on thi west^oath'Wsst, is the highest land within iU limits. In the 

 south-west BTs the Saddlebow and Garwav hills; in the south the 

 lulls near Walfonl *and Penyard, and the long chain extending from 

 ttw Lm northward; in Um east the MalTom Hills, and the range 



stretching northward, and comprising Bromyard Downs ; on the north 

 are the hills of Downton and Leintwardine. Near the centre of the 



county arc ''■ •" \v....i.,..„ Badnsge, and other hills. 



The pri ivater Herefordshire rise in the higbar 



counties i>i v are — ^the Wye, the Lugg, the Teme, 



the Arrow, the Krume, the Leddon, the Dover, and the Munnow. 



The Wi/e, whidi rises in Pliulimmon, on the borders of Cardigan- 

 shire and Montgomeryshire, enters Herefordohire on its western side, 

 and running at first in a northeriy direction, becomes for a short 

 distance its boundary from Itadnorahire : near Clifford the river flows 

 east-south-east with many windings through a broad and fertile valley 

 until it roaches the city of Hereford. Between that city aud the town 

 of Ross its general course is south, but its windings are numerous. 

 From Rossthe Wye runs in a general south and south-west cou me, and 

 again forming the boundary of Herefordshire fur a few miles, finally 

 leaves it near the Leys. It is imperfectly navigable throagbout its 

 course in this county. After northerly or westerly rains the wator 

 sometimes rises 8 feet, or even 10 feet, in the course of 24 hours. For 

 picturesque beauty this river is justly celebrated : the bolder and mora 

 celebrated scenery does not indeed belong to this county, bat the 

 banks of the Wye are here very beautiful. 



The Lugg, rising in Radnorshire, enters Herefordshire near the 

 Combe, flows first in an easterly direction and then southerly to 

 Mordiford, where it falls into the Wye. The Temt, a tributary of the 

 Severn, rises in Radnorshire, enters Herefordshire near Brampton 

 Bryan, and near Downton crosses the border into Shropshire. At 

 Ludlow it again enters Herefordshire, which it finally quite nesr 

 Burford. The other rivers are small. Trout abound in all these 

 streams, but are seldom of great weight 



There is a canal to Ledbuty from Gloucester, which it is intended to 

 continue to Hereford. The canal from Leominster to the vicinity of 

 Tenbury in Worcestershire is part of a projected Hue from K iugton 

 iu Herefordshire to Stourport in Worcesteraliire, intended to commu- 

 nicate with the Stourport and Dudley Canal. 



The principal turnpike roads run from Hereford to Ross, to Ledbuiy, 

 to Hay, to Kington, to Abergavenny, to Monmouth, to Leominster, to 

 Ludlow, and to Bromyard. The Shrewsbury and Hereford railway and 

 the Newport aud Abergavenny railway afford direct communication 

 between Newport, Monmouthshire, aud Shrewsbury. The Hereford 

 aud Gloucester railway is in operation a part of the way, but ia not 

 yet completed at the Hereford end. There ore several tram-roads 

 for the conveyance of minerals, &e. 



Otology, Mineralogy, ic. — The whole of Herefordshire appears to 

 consist geologically of old red-sandstone. On the eastern side the 

 mean direction of the strata, as determined by the outUne of the trap 

 aud sienitio ridges of Abberley and Malvern, is from north to south. 

 But there are many aberrations from that direction, and innumerable 

 local disturbances, curvatures, and faults. On the western boundary 

 the prevailing strike of the deposits is from northeast to south-west 

 Limestone has been raised to the surface at Aymestry, Ledbury, and 

 other places. 



The valley of elevation at Woolhope is a very symmetrical example 

 of the upper Silurian formation. The two superior formations of the 

 grauwacke series are incurvated round a central dome-shaped mass 

 composed of the shelly sandstones of the third formation, from which 

 the strata dip away on all sides at angles varying from 15 to 70 

 degrees. The harder strata of each formation having resisted destruc- 

 tion, whilst the shales have been worn away, the former constitute the 

 lu);her encircling ridge^i, the latter deep trenches of intervallatiou. 



Climate, iSoil, and Agriculture. — The climate of Herefunlshirc varies 

 greatly, according to the elevation and exposure. The air is healthy, 

 and the population long-lived. The soil of this county consists princi- 

 pally of a deep heavy red loam, which varies iu its degree of tenacity : 

 m some districts there is a substratum of clay ; in others, gravel 

 approaches nearer to the surface. The whole is extremely favourable 

 to the growth of trees, especially the apple and the oak. Wheat, 

 turnips, barley, clover, and peas or vetches, are raised in the valleys 

 and less exposed elevations: wheat is the chief object of attention. 

 Hop-gardens are common in the middle and eastern portions of the 

 county. Orchards are numerous and general. Cider is mode in 

 larae quantities. 



The prevalent breed of cattle is that for which this county is justly 

 celebrated ; their colour is red, with white or mottled faces, and 

 frequently white along the back and about the legx. Graziers from 

 the south and the middle of England drive a laige number of this 

 popular stock &om the Hereford Candlemas and October fairs. The 

 usual breed of sheep is a cross between the Leicester and the Ryeland, 

 Agricultural horses of average quality are bred iu considerable number. 

 The northern part of the county produces many useful riding aud 

 coach horses. 



Political Divitiont. — Herefordshire is divided into 11 hundreds: — 

 Broxasb, Grimsworth, Greytree, Ewyas Lacy, Huntingdon, Radlow, 

 Stretford, Webtree, Wormilow, Wigmore, and Wolphy. These contain 

 221 parishes and 7 market-towns — BBOlcxAttD, Hereford, Ross, 

 Lkdborx, Leoiunsteb, Kikqtok, and Wkoblet. Notices of these 

 towns will be found under their respective titles. The following are 

 the more important villages, with the population of the parishes in 

 1851, and a few other particulars : — 



