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The knownhistory of Herefordshire extends from King Athelstan's reign to the modern day.
The history of Herefordshire starts with ashire in the time of KingAthelstan (r. 895–939), and Herefordshire is mentioned in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1051. The firstAnglo-Saxon settlers, the 7th-centuryMagonsætan, were a sub-tribal unit of theHwicce who occupied theSevern valley. The undulating hills ofmarl clay were surrounded by the Welsh mountains to the west; by theMalvern Hills to the east; by the Clent Hills of theShropshire borders to the north, and by the indeterminate extent of theForest of Dean to the south. The shire name first recorded in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle may derive from "Here-ford",Old English for "army crossing", the location for the city of Hereford.
The area was absorbed into theMercian kingdom byOffa of Mercia (r. 757–796), who – traditionally – constructedOffa's Dyke as a boundary to keep warring Western tribes out of Mercia: an early indication of ambivalent relations between the Anglo-Saxons and theWelsh. The shire as an administrative unit was developed fromBurghal Hidage (c. 915–917),[citation needed] ofAlfred the Great's sonEdward the Elder (r. 899–924) and from theShire-reeve courts of theHundred.[citation needed] In 676, during the reign of KingÆthelred of Mercia theArchbishop of Canterbury SaintTheodore of Tarsus founded theDiocese of Hereford to minister to the minor sub-kingdom ofMagonsaete, and he appointedPutta as the firstBishop of Hereford. The establishment of a centre of law and justice was supported by a monastic chapter that flourished during thetenth-century reformation.[citation needed] Hereford's geographical location at the hub of the shire allowed Anglo-Saxonealdormen to manage affairs; and Hereford played a vital role in theScandinavian wars untilRalph, Earl Hereford was deposed (1055) by the regal EarlHarold Godwinson.
In the feudalDomesday Survey some adjacent areas of theWelsh Marches are assessed underHerefordshire. The western and southern borders remained debatable ground ("Archenfield") until, with the incorporation of the Welsh Marches in 1535, considerable territory was annexed toHerefordshire. These areas formed thehundreds ofWigmore,Ewyas Lacy andHuntington, whileEwyas Harold was subsumed intoWebtree Hundred. At the time of the Domesday Survey the divisions of the county were very unsettled. As many as nineteen hundreds are mentioned, but these were of varying extent, some containing only one manor, some from twenty to thirty. Of the twelve modern[clarification needed] hundreds, only Greytree,Radlow,Stretford, Wolphy and Wormelow retained their original Domesday names.[1] The others were Broxash, Ewyas-Lacy, Grimsworth, Huntington, Webtree and Wigmore. Herefordshire is on theWelsh border (and before that the ancient boundary of theWelsh Marches).
In the modern era the boundaries of the Forest[which?] were not set until 1750, by which period several Bishops' Peculiars[clarification needed] were reassessed for land valuation and redistribution. Some land in the north-west of the county was ceded to Shropshire, and some land in the east to Worcestershire. However, in the south-west theGolden Valley lands were confirmed asHerefordiensis (Herefordian). A unique source for the history of the county is the Chained Library at Hereford Cathedral which contained some of the earliest printed books in Europe, printed by theGutenberg press. During theEnglish Civil Wars it acted as a royal treasury.
During the medieval period the county had been defined in law by violence and cruel punishments.[clarification needed] It played a large part in various civil wars and gave rise toLollardism.[citation needed] A fiercely independent folk and a position on the border with Wales gave the county a reputation for a frontier mentality. Many were hanged for hayrick burning, owing to the relatively low agricultural wage, during theSwing Riots and later[citation needed]. However, in contrast to Norfolk, for example, it did not form a militant agricultural workers' union.[citation needed]
Herefordshire continued to be backward in industrial development: the canals and railways arrived later than elsewhere in England. Development reflected local needs: processing cider apples, manufacturing agricultural machinery. It was not until the 1930s that the first female councillors were elected, and that a rural bus service could provide a short journey into Hereford.[clarification needed] The population remained static for 150 years until 2000, at about 150,000.[citation needed]
Before the arrival of theWest Saxons, the region roughly corresponding to modern Herefordshire lay under the control of earlierWelsh kingdoms, principally the minor kingdom ofErgyng. Welsh origins in Herefordshire are evident in the survival of theWelsh language in parts of the county until the 19th century, the survival of manyWelsh place names and the historic Welshcommote ofArchenfield.[2] In 1887 it was written:
"Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth for the bishop of Hereford to be made responsible together with the four Welsh bishops for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken here in the first half of the nineteenth century, and we are told that churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860."[3]
Welsh was spoken by individuals until comparatively recently. The photograph shown is of a plaque in Welsh on display in St Margaret's Church, near Newton, which was dismantled from the roof of the nave during restoration in 1902. The plaque is dated 1574.
A bilingual printed notice of the duties of churchwardens is also displayed in St Margaret's Church. It is likely to be at least 170 years old, since the churches transferred from theDiocese of St Davids to that of Hereford in the middle of the 19th century. Two fire-damaged Welsh bibles fromRowlestone are kept in the Herefordshire County Archives.[citation needed]
At some time in the 7th century theWest Saxons pushed their way across theSevern and established themselves in the territory between Wales andMercia, and established the minor kingdom ofMagonset, which was later absorbed into Mercia. The district which is now Herefordshire was occupied by a tribe, the Hecanas, who congregated chiefly in the fertile area aboutHereford and in the mining districts roundRoss-on-Wye. In the 8th centuryOffa extended the Mercian frontier to theWye, securing it by the earthwork known asOffa's Dyke.[4]
A report in the Herefordshire Archaeology and Historic Environment Record provides this chronology of 9th Century involvement with the Danes:[5]
During the 9th century the Vikings were able to make incursions into the south of Herefordshire by sailing up the Severn and Wye rivers. Between AD 866 and 874 King Burgred of Mercia was involved in almost constant battles with the Vikings. By 877 the Vikings were in the position of being able to establish one of their own leaders, Ceolwulf, as king.
In 2015, two individuals (operating without landowner permission), using metal detectors, found a large hoard nearLeominster consisting primarily of Saxon jewellery and silver ingots but also coins; the latter date to around 879 CE. According to a news report, "experts believe it [the hoard] was buried by a Viking during a series of raids known to have taken place in the area at that time", while Wessex was ruled byAlfred the Great and Mercia byCeolwulf II of Mercia. Imperial coins recovered from the treasure hunters depicted bothAlfred the Great and Ceolwulf II of Mercia, indicating "a previously-unknown alliance between the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia" according to a news report.[6] "These coins enable us to re-interpret our history at a key moment in the creation of England as a single kingdom," said Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins at theBritish Museum.[7]
A listing about the Archenfield area of Herefordshire appeared in the 1870-72Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales with the following specifics about early incidents involving the Danes:[8]
IRCHINGFIELD, or ARCHENFIELD, a quondam liberty and a rural deanery in the S of Hereford. The liberty was known to the ancient Welsh as Urging, to the Saxons as Ircingafeld, and at Domesday as Arcenfelde; was ravaged in 905 by the Danes, and given afterwards, by the Crown, to the Earls of Shrewsbury; and had the custom ofgavelkind, and some other peculiar customs.[citation needed]
In 914 CE theDanes again made their way up the Severn to the district of Archenfield and ravaged the area. According to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle (915 CE, Worcester Manuscript, p. 99), the jarls leading the raids, Ohtor and Hroald, captured Cyfeiliog, also referred to as Cameleac or Cimeliauc, theBishop of Llandaff. The bishop was later ransomed by KingEdward the Elder for forty pounds in silver. The "jarl Hroald and the other jarl Ohtor's brother" were killed in 915 CE, probably at "Killdane Field" (or "Kill Dane") inWeston-under-Penyard and the raiders left the area, leaving some hostages as a peace bond.[9]
In 921 CE, the Danes besiegedWigmore, which had been rebuilt in that year byEdward the Elder.
From the time of its first settlement the district was the scene of constant border warfare with the Welsh, andHarold, whose earldom included this county, ordered that any Welshman caught trespassing over the border should lose his right hand. In the period preceding theConquest much disturbance was caused by the outrages of the Norman colony planted in this county byEdward the Confessor.Richard I'scastle in the north of the county was the first Norman fortress erected on English soil, andWigmore,Ewyas Harold,Clifford,Weobley,Hereford,Donnington andCaldicot were all the sites of Norman strongholds. ThenWilliam the Conqueror entrusted the subjugation of Herefordshire toWilliam FitzOsbern, butEdric the Wild, in conjunction with the Welsh, prolonged violent resistance against him for two years.[10]
During "The Anarchy" – the prolonged civil war ofStephen's reign –Hereford Castle andWeobley castle were held against the king, but were captured in 1138. Prince Edward, afterwardsEdward I, was imprisoned in Hereford Castle, and famously escaped from there in 1265. In 1326 theparliament assembled at Hereford deposedEdward II. In the 14th and 15th centuries the forest of Deerfold gave refuge to some of the most noted followers of Wycliffe. During theWars of the Roses the influence of theMortimers led the county to support theYorkist cause, and Edward, afterwardsEdward IV, raised 23,000 men in this neighbourhood. TheBattle of Mortimer's Cross was fought in 1461 near Wigmore. Before the outbreak of thecivil war of the 17th century, complaints of illegal taxation were rife in Herefordshire, but a strong anti-Puritan feeling induced the county to favour theroyalist cause. Hereford,Goodrich andLedbury all endured sieges.[1]
The earldom of Hereford was granted byWilliam I toWilliam FitzOsbern, about 1067, but on the outlawry of his son Roger in 1074 the title lapsed until conferred onHenry de Bohun about 1199. It remained in the possession of the de Bohuns until the death ofHumphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford in 1373; in 1397 Henry, Earl of Derby, afterwardsKing Henry IV, who had marriedMary de Bohun, was createdDuke of Hereford.Edward VI createdWalter Devereux, a descendant of the de Bohun family, Viscount Hereford, in 1550, and his grandson, the famousearl of Essex, was born in this county. Since this date theviscounty has been held by the Devereux family, and the holder ranks as the premier viscount of England. The families of Clifford, Giffard and Mortimer figured prominently in the warfare on the Welsh border, and the Talbots, Lacys, Crofts and Scudamores all had important seats in the county,Sir James Scudamore ofHolme Lacy being the original of the Sir Scudamore ofSpenser'sFaerie Queene. SirJohn Oldcastle, the leader of theLollards, wassheriff of Herefordshire in 1406,[1] before arrest and execution for treason byHenry V.
Herefordshire has been included in thediocese of Hereford since its foundation in 676. In 1291 it comprised the Deaneries of Hereford,Weston,Leominster,Weobley, Frome,Archenfield and Ross in theArchdeaconry of Hereford, and the Deaneries ofBurford,Stottesdon,Ludlow,Pontesbury,Clun and Wenlock, in theArchdeaconry of Shropshire. In 1877 the name of the Archdeaconry of Shropshire was changed to Ludlow, and in 1899 the Deaneries ofAbbey Dore,Bromyard,Kingsland,Kington andLedbury were created in the Archdeaconry of Hereford.[1] The Bishop held a number of Peculiarities in another jurisdiction: Dymock in Gloucestershire was named after a Queen's Champion from Lincolnshire who fought in the Welsh Wars for Edward I but the manor long had connections with the Talbots, manorial landowners and familial relations from the county, proven by recent archaeology.[11] The manor was also occupied by the Roundheads and Scots during the Civil Wars, was on the railway line, and on the earlier canal from Hereford city.
Herefordshire was governed by asheriff as early as the reign ofEdward the Confessor, theshire court meeting at Hereford where later the assizes and quarter sessions were also held. In 1606 an act of Parliament[which?] was passed declaring Hereford free from the jurisdiction of theCouncil of Wales, but the county was not finally relieved from the interference of theMarcher Lords until the reign ofWilliam III andMary II.Herefordshire was first represented in Parliament in 1295, when it returned two members, theboroughs ofLedbury,Hereford,Leominster andWeobley being also represented. Hereford was again represented in 1299, andBromyard andRoss in 1304, but the boroughs made very irregular returns, and from 1306 until Weobley regained representation in 1627, only Hereford and Leominster were represented. Under theReform Act 1832 the county returned three members and Weobley was disfranchised. TheReform Act 1867 deprived Leominster of one member, and under theReform Act 1885 Leominster was disfranchised, and Hereford lost one member.[1]
Herefordshire has always been esteemed as an exceptionally rich agricultural area; the manufactures were comparatively unimportant, except for thewoollen and cloth trade which flourished soon after the Conquest.Iron was worked in Wormelow hundred inRoman times, and the Domesday Survey mentions iron workers in Marcle. At the time ofHenry VIII the towns had become much impoverished, andElizabeth, to encourage local industries, insisted on her subjects wearing English-made caps from the factory of Hereford.Hops were grown in the county soon after their introduction into England in 1524. In 1580 and again in 1637 the county was severely visited bythe plague, but in the 17th century it had a flourishing timber trade, and was also noted for itsorchards andcider.[1]
An example of a rare two emperor coin, hinting at a previously-unknown alliance between the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia.
Experts say the coins, which are Saxon and believed to have been hidden by a Viking, provide fresh information about the unification of England and show there was an alliance previously not thought to exist between the kings of Mercia and Wessex.
Other than this there is very little mention of Viking presence in the county, and we are distinctly lacking in Viking place-names or settlements that were characteristic of places elsewhere in the country where the Norsemen's presence was more noticeably felt.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Herefordshire".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 355–358.
