Herefordshire

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Herefordshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England, along the border with Wales. Herefordshire is a largely rural county, the most densely wooded in the West Midlands, with but a few small towns. It is part

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Introduction

County of England Not to be confused with Hertfordshire. This article is about the ceremonial county. For other uses, see Herefordshire (disambiguation). Ceremonial county in EnglandHerefordshireCeremonial countyThe River Wye at Hereford, with Hereford Cathedral on the left; the Norman south door of Kilpeck Church; and Hereford cattleCoordinates: 52°05′N 2°45′W / 52.083°N 2.750°W / 52.083; -2.750Sovereign stateUnited KingdomConstituent countryEnglandRegionWest MidlandsEstablished1 April 1998Established byLocal Government Commission for EnglandPreceded byHereford and WorcesterOriginAncientTime zoneUTC+0 (GMT) • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)UK ParliamentList of MPsPoliceWest Mercia PoliceCeremonial countyLord LieutenantEdward HarleyHigh SheriffTamsin Sczerina CliveArea2,180 km2 (840 sq mi) • Rank26th of 48Population (2024)191,047 • Rank45th of 48 • Density88/km2 (230/sq mi)Unitary authorityCouncilHerefordshire CouncilControlNo overall controlAdmin HQHerefordArea2,180 km2 (840 sq mi) • Rank12th of 296Population (2024)191,047 • Rank108th of 296 • Density88/km2 (230/sq mi)ISO 3166-2GB-HEFGSS codeE06000019ITLUKG11Websiteherefordshire.gov.uk Herefordshire (/ˈhɛrɪfərdʃɪər, -ʃər/ HERR-if-ərd-sheer, -⁠shər) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire and Powys to the west. The city of Hereford is the largest settlement. The county is rural, with an area of 2,180 square kilometres (840 sq mi) and an estimated population of 191,047 in 2024. Hereford is near the centre of the county, and other settlements include Leominster in the north, Ledbury in the east, and Ross-on-Wye in the south. For local government purposes Herefordshire is a unitary authority area. The centre of Herefordshire is lowland which is crossed by the River Wye and its tributary, the Lugg. To the east are the Malvern Hills, a national landscape, which straddle the boundary with Worcestershire. The south of the county contains the northern part of the Wye Valley, also a national landscape, which stretches into Wales. In the west, the ground rises to the Black Mountains range; this contains the Black Mountain (Twyn Llech), which lies on the Powys border and is the highest point in the county, at 703.6 metres (2,308 ft). The county is in the historic Welsh Marches. The land use is mostly agricultural, and the county is known for its fruit and cider production, and for the Hereford cattle breed.

Economy

[edit] Bulmers Cider in Hereford is the world's largest cider factory, and has the world's largest vat (for Strongbow), built in 1975. Painter Brothers (part of Balfour Beatty) in the north of Hereford, is the UK's largest manufacturer of electricity pylons (transmission towers), broadcasting masts, the Callender-Hamilton bridge, and rail electrification structures. Special Metals Wiggin, part of Special Metals Corporation, based at Hereford was the main producer of nickel alloys in Europe, with a large site directly north of Painter Brothers. Cargill Meats Europe (formerly Sun Valley) have a large poultry meat processing facility, processing chickens from around Herefordshire. Cadbury (Mondelēz International) make milk chocolate crumb near Marlbrook (near Leominster). Weston's Cider is in Much Marcle, who also make Stowford Press. Wye Fruit Ltd is in the north of Ledbury on the B4214 and is a large site of Amcor, and further west is Universal Beverages (UBL), owned by Heineken since 2007 where it cans cider. The site of Ledbury Preserves of RHM made Robertson's jam, mincemeat and marmalade and closed in 2008 when production moved to Cambridgeshire. Holden Aluminium Technologies are a sports car chassis manufacturer at Linton. Kingspan Insulation is based at Pembridge. BT's Madley Communications Centre, claims to be the world's largest earth station. Tyrrells Potato Crisps are at Dilwyn west of Leominster. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Herefordshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Year Regional Gross Value Added Agriculture Industry Services 1995 1,622 218 567 836 2000 1,885 155 643 1,087 2003 2,216 185 708 1,323 ^ includes hunting and forestry ^ includes energy and construction ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding Many well-known cider producers are based in Herefordshire. These include Weston's cider of Much Marcle, and Bulmer's cider, from Hereford, which produces the UK market leader Strongbow.

Agriculture

[edit] The agricultural economy has changed greatly in recent years[when?] within the county. The county is on the western edge of England which has been historically pastoral as opposed to the east which was more arable.[citation needed] Beef[edit] Main article: Hereford cattle Probably Hereford's most famous export is its Hereford beef cattle. Herefords are docile but extremely hardy creatures and these attributes have led to their proliferation across the world, particularly the US, Canada, South America and Australia. The breed is so gentle that a Hereford bull was used as the mascot for Hereford United Football Club for many years, led around the club's Edgar Street ground before major matches. Fruit[edit] An illustration from the Herefordshire Pomona, a record of the apple and pear varieties grown in the county in the nineteenth century. The county is famous for its apple and pear orchards, and its cider. There are many orchards around the county but not as many as there once were. In the last few years, soft fruits such as strawberries have become a new and rapidly expanding area of the agricultural economy of the county. One of the main reasons for this was the introduction of the polytunnel or French tunnel. This allows the strawberries to be grown for a far longer season and with a higher quality (with no blemishes from the rain). The strawberries are mainly picked by Eastern European workers who come over for the season and often earn more money than they could working in their own country and with the bonus, for many of them, of learning or improving their English. The polytunnels have been a major issue in the county, as some people see them as a "blot on the landscape". Although some polytunnel sites are illegal, Herefordshire Council has turned a blind eye in the belief that agriculture must be allowed to innovate; otherwise it will stagnate and the county will suffer. Dairy[edit] Previously, most farms in the county had dairy cattle. Due to the cost of investing in new equipment, long hours,[clarification needed] BSE, foot-and-mouth disease and mainly falling milk prices, the county's milk production has drastically reduced, with only a few farms still in dairy farming.[citation needed] Potatoes[edit] The county is historically pastoral. The soils are mostly clay, meaning that large scale potato production was very difficult, as tractors were not powerful enough to pull the large machinery required to harvest the crop. Around the early 1990s new technology and more powerful machines overcame this problem. Potato production started to increase, fuelled by a few other key factors: The previously pastoral soils had not had potatoes grown in them; consequently they were not infected with eelworm (Heterodera rostochiensis and Heterodera pallida), which in the east of England had to be sprayed against weekly (a large cost). Also, the clay soil produced an unblemished potato of the highest grade.[citation needed] The intensive nature of the crop meant that potatoes could be grown viably on a given field in only one of every five years. Because potato growers always needed more land than they owned, they rented extra. This demand for rental fields came at a time when the rest of the industry was struggling and in serious decline. The potato farmers' rents of £300–500 per acre (as opposed to normally £80 per acre) were very helpful to many farmers in a difficult period.[citation needed]

Transport

[edit] Road[edit] The M50 motorway near Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye. The M50, one of the first motorways to be built in the United Kingdom, runs through the south of the county and, with the A40 dual carriageway, forms part of the major route linking South Wales with the West Midlands and the north of England. The A49 runs north–south through the county and is a strategic route between North and South Wales as well as catering for local traffic. Railways[edit] The Welsh Marches Line also runs north–south with passenger trains operated by Transport for Wales offering links to Manchester as well as to North and South Wales. Hereford is the western end of the Cotswold Line which runs via Worcester with through services to Oxford and London Paddington (operated by Great Western Railway) and to Birmingham (operated by West Midlands Trains). The rural Heart of Wales Line linking Craven Arms in Shropshire to Llanelli in southwest Wales passes through the extreme north west of Herefordshire, with stations at Knighton, Powys (the station is in Shropshire but the township is in Powys) and Bucknell, Shropshire, near the meeting point of the boundaries of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Powys. The majority of passengers between North and South Wales use the Marches line. Former lines which are now closed were the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway; Ross & Monmouth Railway; Hereford to Hay-on-Wye; Pontrilas to Hay-on-Wye; Hay-on-Wye to Brecon; Leominster to New Radnor; Eardisley to Presteigne; and Leominster to Worcester via Bromyard. Part of the Titley Spur is opened annually by enthusiasts and a steam train is run along the track. There has long been talk of a new station at Rotherwas, in the south of Hereford. Arriva Trains Wales service passing the currently closed Pontrilas station on the Welsh Marches Line. Air[edit] There are no airports with scheduled air transport in Herefordshire. Birmingham Airport, Cardiff Airport and Bristol Airport are the nearest. The RailAir RailAir coach operated by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley provides connections to Heathrow Airport via Reading station or passengers can change at Reading station and then go all the way by train via Hayes & Harlington to Heathrow Airport. Shobdon Aerodrome near Leominster is a centre for general aviation and gliding. Hot air ballooning is also popular with Eastnor Castle being one of the favourite launch sites in the area. Waterways[edit] Historically, the rivers Wye, Teme and Lugg were navigable but the wide seasonal variations in water levels mean that few craft larger than canoes and coracles are now used. There are canoe centres at Wye Valley Canoes, Glasbury-on-Wye (in Powys, Wales), the Hereford Youth Service and Kerne Bridge in Ross-on-Wye, as well as rowing clubs in Hereford and Ross-on-Wye. The early 19th century saw the construction of two canals, The Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal and The Leominster & Stourport Canal but these were never successful and there are now few remains to be seen. The Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal is currently the subject a restoration project, which includes the construction of a new canal basin in Hereford city centre as part of the regeneration of the Edgar Street Grid. The project, however, is being undertaken by a small voluntary group and there is no expected date for any part of the canal to re-open for boating.

Notable people

[edit] Classical composer Sir Edward Elgar lived in Hereford from 1904 to 1911. His association with the city is commemorated with this statue. Roman Catholic martyr St. John Kemble's grave in the Herefordshire village of Welsh Newton. Jarrod Bowen, footballer Simon Carr, cyclist Frank Oz, actor and voice actor, producer, director Matthew Hall, writer Dennis Potter, writer Connor Wickham, footballer Fred West, serial killer Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet Richard Hammond, Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter Mary Duggan, cricketer Noele Gordon, actress Mike Oldfield, musician Mick Ralphs, Mott the Hoople and Bad Company guitarist Richard Ashcroft, songwriter and lead singer of The Verve Thomas Britten, 19th-century footballer Monty Don, BBC TV presenter Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, favourite of Queen Elizabeth I Bessie Drysdale, activist and writer Conroy Maddox, artist Beryl Reid, actress Jessica Raine, actress Sir Edward Elgar, composer Sir Roy Strong, art historian David Garrick, renowned actor of the 18th century Lady Godiva, wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia Harold Godwinson, Earl of Hereford and last Anglo-Saxon King of England Ellie Goulding, musician Nell Gwynne, mistress of King Charles II of England Terry Jenkins, professional darts player St. John Kemble (martyr) Catholic priest Francis Kilvert, 19th century diarist and Church of England clergyman Henry Stanley Newman, Victorian philanthropist Mark Labbett, one of five Chasers on The Chase as well as its Australian counterpart Albert Lee, guitarist Peter Mandelson, politician and former resident of Foy John Masefield, poet laureate Sidney Nolan, Australian artist John Oldcastle, Lollard leader and basis for Shakespeare's character Falstaff Blanche Parry, lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I Peter Scudamore, jockey James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist the Pretenders Pete Farndon, bass guitarist the Pretenders Martin Chambers, drummer the Pretenders Tom Spring, bare-knuckle boxer, champion of England in the 19th century Thomas Traherne, 17th century poet Alfred Watkins, pioneering archaeologist and photographer Richard Johnson, jockey Sir Walter Roper Lawrence, author Allan Leonard Lewis, posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, died 21 September 1918, commemorated on Vis-En-Artois Memorial, France Richard Hakluyt, Elizabethan writer and geographer who recorded contemporary voyages of exploration and promoted the settlement of North America Ronald Pennell, artist, engraver and sculptor Geoffrey Wood, botanist Lucy Letby, serial killer

Herefordshire

From Wikipedia

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Notable people