I.

Introduction

Herefordshire, unitary authority, western England. It is bounded by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east and south, Monmouthshire to the south and south-west, and Powys to the west. Following the 1974 reorganization of local government, the former county of Herefordshire was administered by Hereford and Worcester County Council, but on April 1, 1998, the unitary authority of Herefordshire was created. This administrative body has the same boundaries as the pre-1974 county of Herefordshire. The unitary authority was established as a result of the review of local administration in the non-metropolitan counties of England carried out by the Local Government Commission established under the Local Government Act of 1992. Herefordshire unitary authority is responsible for the provision of all local government services, including those previously provided by the county of Hereford and Worcester. The unitary authority has an area of 2,181 sq km (842 sq mi).

II.

Land and Resources

Herefordshire is mainly lowland, bordered on the north by the hills of Shropshire, on the east by the Malvern Hills, on the south by the plateau of the Forest of Dean, and on the west by the Black Mountains. The Malverns consist of volcanic rocks and rise to a height of over 400 m (1,300 ft). The Black Mountains, which are formed from old red sandstone, cover an area of 210 sq km (80 sq mi) and extend into the Welsh counties of Powys and Monmouthshire.

Herefordshire’s principal river is the Wye, which enters the county from Wales, flows eastwards to Hereford, and then turns on a winding course southwards through Ross-on-Wye and Symond’s Yat. Other important waterways include the Arrow, the Lugg, and the Frome—all tributaries of the Wye; the Monnow; and the Dore.

The Malvern Hills and the Wye Valley have both been designated by the Countryside Agency as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Offa’s Dyke Path, which walkers can follow from Prestatyn in North Wales to Chepstow at the mouth of the Severn, runs through the county, close to the border with Wales. One of the finest areas for wildlife is the Croft Estate owned by the National Trust to the north-west of Leominster, which includes Croft Castle and the Iron Age fort of Croft Ambrey, where, among other creatures, fallow deer, stoats, weasels, and polecats are found.

III.

Population and Administration

Herefordshire’s population was estimated in 2001 at 174,844. Hereford (1994 estimate, 50,539) is the principal city and administrative headquarters of the unitary authority. Other towns of note include Ledbury (1991, 6,216), Leominster (1991, 9,543), and Ross-on-Wye (1991, 9,606).

The police authority for Herefordshire is the West Mercia Constabulary, with its headquarters in Worcester. A Crown Court sits at Hereford.

IV.

Education and Culture

Two historic independent schools, the Cathedral Grammar School (founded 1384) and the Blue Coat School (founded 1710), are located in Herefordshire. The Royal National College for the Blind (founded 1872) is in Hereford.

William Langland, believed to be the author of the medieval poem, Piers Plowman, was possibly born in Ledbury in c. 1332. Nell Gwyn, orange-seller, actress, and mistress of Charles II, was born in 1650 in Hereford, which was also the birthplace in 1717 of the great actor David Garrick. Elizabeth Barrett Browning spent most of her childhood and youth near Ledbury, and John Masefield was born in the town in 1878.

V.

Places of Interest

Hereford's Anglican cathedral church of St Mary the Virgin and St Ethelbert the King was built mainly between the 11th and 14th centuries, but some substantial alterations were made in the late 18th century (see Hereford Cathedral). One of its greatest treasures is the Mappa Mundi, a map of the world drawn on vellum in about 1290 by Richard of Haldingham. The choir of the cathedral, together with those of Gloucester and Worcester cathedrals, participates in the annual Three Choirs Festival, which takes place in the summer.

Half-timbered houses are typical, and many towns and villages, notably Weobley, offer fine examples of these black-and-white buildings. Hellens, at Much Marcle, south-west of Ledbury, is a house that dates from the 13th century, while Croft Castle, near Leominster, has walls and towers built in the 14th and 15th centuries.

There are many prehistoric sites in Herefordshire; these are mainly concentrated in the western part of the unitary authority. Arthur's Stone, on a hill at Dorstone, where the River Dore enters the Golden Valley to flow through to Pontrilas, is a prehistoric burial chamber formed of large blocks of stone. Croft Ambrey is a particularly impressive site, which comprises 15 hectares (38 acres) and features an Iron Age fort with well-preserved ramparts. At Herefordshire Beacon, an Iron Age hill fort dating from c. 200 bc and the remains of an ancient British camp can be seen.

VI.

Economy

Herefordshire is largely rural and agriculture forms the mainstay of the local economy. There are many apple and pear orchards, and the city of Hereford is an important cider-making centre, producing over 50 per cent of all British cider. The local Hereford cattle, with their deep red coats and white faces, are one of the world's major breeds of beef cattle. Ryeland sheep, one of Britain’s oldest breeds of sheep, originated in Herefordshire and are still raised in the region. Hereford is the main employment and service centre for the area and food- and drink-processing industries are based in the city.

VII.

History

A quantity of evidence exists to show prehistoric settlement of the area, but the first main occupants were Anglo-Saxons, who arrived in the 7th century. Their territory soon became part of Mercia, and it was Offa, the Mercian king, who, in the 8th century, built the earthworks known as Offa’s Dyke as a defence against the Welsh. This part of England was in constant conflict for many centuries. Not only were there continuing skirmishes with the Welsh, but in the 10th century the local landowners were regularly threatened by Viking invaders. Although, shortly before the Norman Conquest, Harold II, king of England, had achieved some kind of order in the county, Welsh raiders continued to be a problem. For this reason, it was in the north and the south-west of Herefordshire that the Normans built the first two of their English castles.

In the second half of the 14th century, the county became sympathetic to the views of John Wycliffe, an early leader of the English Reformation, and over many decades gave sanctuary to his followers, known as the Lollards. During the Wars of the Roses, Herefordshire was firmly on the Yorkist side, and provided a major army for the Duke of York, later to become Edward IV, who defeated the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, north-west of Leominster, in 1461. Herefordshire supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, during which the city of Hereford changed hands several times before being finally subjugated.