60-530: For canal icons used below, please refer to waterways legend instead. The Ledbury and Gloucester Railway , (also known as the Daffodil Line), was a railway line in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire , England , running between Ledbury and Gloucester . It opened in 1885 and closed in 1964. Most of the line followed the route of the southern section of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal , which
120-472: A Crest on a wreath of the colours a demi lion rampant gules holding in the sinister claw a fleece or; and for Supporters, on the dexter side a lion guardant or gorged with a wreath of hops fructed proper and on the sinister a talbot argent gorged with a collar or charged with three apples proper. The red colouring ("gules") of the shield is taken from the arms of the City of Hereford. The red colour also represents
180-421: A ceremonial county , covering the exact area of the unitary district. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG11) and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region. In Herefordshire, the population size has increased by 2.0%, from around 183,500 in 2011 to 187,100 in 2021. This is lower than the overall increase for England (6.6%), where
240-606: A skew bridge that carried the line over Hereford Road in Ledbury remains in use as part of the Ledbury Town Trail footpath. 51°56′36″N 2°26′00″W / 51.9434°N 2.4333°W / 51.9434; -2.4333 Herefordshire Herefordshire ( / ˈ h ɛr ɪ f ər d ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / HERR -if-ərd-sheer, -shər ) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. It
300-526: A combination of dunes , lakes and river sediments. The familiar red colour of these rocks arises from the presence of iron oxide but not all the Old Red Sandstone is red or sandstone — the sequence also includes conglomerates , mudstones , siltstones and thin limestones and colours can range from grey and green through red to purple. The area lay at the margins of the British ice-sheet during
360-428: 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. The intensive nature of the crop meant that potatoes could be grown viably on
420-417: 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. Herefordshire County Council
480-861: A green apple. The county is covered by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central from its studios in Birmingham . Television signals are received from the Ridge Hill TV transmitter located 8.5 miles south east of Hereford . BBC Local Radio the for county is served by BBC Hereford and Worcester which broadcast from Worcester but also has another studio in Hereford . County-wide radio stations are Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire , Sunshine Radio , Radio Wyvern , Capital Mid-Counties , and Greatest Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire . Black Mountains, Wales The Black Mountains ( Welsh : Y Mynydd Du or sometimes Y Mynyddoedd Duon ) are
540-618: A group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales , and extending across the England–Wales border into Herefordshire . They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons (or Bannau Brycheiniog) national park , and are frequently confused with the westernmost, which is known as the Black Mountain . The Black Mountains may be roughly defined as those hills contained within
600-453: 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
660-475: 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. Previously, most farms in the county had dairy cattle . Due to the cost of investing in new equipment, long hours, BSE , foot-and-mouth disease and mainly falling milk prices,
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#1732869390951720-604: A more distinctive peak shape. On the eastern ridge, the 703 metres (2,306 ft) peak of Black Mountain stands on the Wales-England border, and is the highest point in England south of Great Whernside in Yorkshire. Other summits towards the northern end are Hay Bluff ( Welsh : Penybegwn ), 677 metres (2,221 ft), Rhos Dirion , 713 metres (2,339 ft) and Lord Hereford's Knob or Twmpa , 690 metres (2,264 ft). Towards
780-509: A single council. Herefordshire is also commonly called a unitary district , but this is not official nomenclature. Herefordshire is officially known as a unitary authority for local government purposes. It is governed by Herefordshire Council which was created in 1998 with the new unitary district that absorbed the previous administrative areas of Hereford City Council, South Herefordshire District Council, most of Leominster District Council, and part of Malvern Hills District Council , all within
840-527: A source of walling and roofing stone for local use. In places the thin Devonian limestones were worked to feed limekilns for the production of lime for agricultural use and in buildings. Old Red Sandstone has also frequently been used in buildings in Herefordshire , Monmouthshire and the former Brecknockshire (now south Powys) of south Wales. The area is popular for hillwalkers , mountainbikers and horseriders . The Offa's Dyke National Trail runs along
900-574: A triangle defined by the towns of Abergavenny in the southeast, Hay-on-Wye in the north and the village of Llangors in the west. Other gateway towns to the Black Mountains include Talgarth and Crickhowell . The range of hills is well known to walkers and ramblers for the ease of access and views from the many ridge trails, such as that on the Black Hill in Herefordshire, at the eastern edge of
960-529: A tributary of the Wye. There are two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the county. The Wye Valley is located in the river's valleys south of Hereford, while the Malvern Hills are in the east of the county, along its border with Worcestershire . Herefordshire is one of the 39 historic counties of England . Herefordshire County Council was created in 1889. In 1974, the administrative county formed in 1889
1020-629: Is Gadair Fawr. Your outside finger is Allt Mawr, from Llysiau to Cerrig Calch and its nail is Crug Hywel. On the high plateau of the back of your hand are Twyn y Llech and Twmpa, Rhos Dirion, Waun Fach and Y Das. You hold their shapes and their names. The Black Mountains are composed almost exclusively of rocks assigned to the Old Red Sandstone and dating from the Devonian period. This thick sedimentary sequence comprises sandstones , mudstones , siltstones and numerous thin limestones . The exception
1080-424: Is Sebastian Bowen and the leader of the council is David Hitchiner. The cabinet leader is appointed yearly by the full council of 53 councillors. The cabinet leader then picks their deputy and up to eight other councillors to form the executive cabinet. Each cabinet member makes the decisions about the portfolio that they are allocated. Elections to the council are held every four years. Elections are conducted under
1140-500: Is 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 and the county town . The county is one of the most rural in England, with an area of 2,180 square kilometres (840 sq mi) and a population of 187,034, giving a density of 88/km (228/sq mi). After Hereford (53,112)
1200-516: Is mostly agricultural, and the county is known for its fruit and cider production, and for the Hereford cattle breed. The River Wye , which at 135 miles (217 km) is the fourth-longest in the United Kingdom, enters the county after briefly being its border with Powys . It flows through both Hereford and Ross-on-Wye before returning to Wales. Leominster is situated on the River Lugg ,
1260-419: Is the gift of God"). As part of a competition organised by the charity Plantlife to raise awareness of conservation issues, the public were asked to vote for " county flowers " that they felt best represented their county. Mistletoe was announced as the winning choice for Herefordshire in 2004. The emblem has no official status and has not been widely adopted. Herefordshire Council uses a logo consisting of
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#17328693909511320-522: Is the summit area of Pen Cerrig-calch where a thin sequence of Carboniferous rocks occur, an outlier of the more extensive outcrop to the south of the Usk valley. The lower slopes of these hills are formed from the mudstone-rich St Maughans beds at the top of which lies a calcrete – a discontinuous limestone band known as the Ffynnon Limestone. Above this are the sandstone-dominated Senni Beds which form
1380-451: Is traditionally Y Mynydd Du ('the black mountain') though in more recent times the name Y Mynyddoedd Duon ('the black mountains') has been used, being a retranslation from the English. The highest mountain in the group is Waun Fach whose heavily eroded peat summit plateau attains a height of 811 metres (2,661 ft). Its secondary summit Pen y Gadair Fawr at 800 metres (2,625 ft) has
1440-551: The FPTP system with the 53 wards returning one councillor each. Elections have been held in 2000 , 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019, with the next election due in 2023. In the 2019 election, the Conservatives lost control of Herefordshire Council. Herefordshire has a comprehensive education system that also includes several independent schools. Most state secondary schools are for ages 11–16. Providers of further and higher education in
1500-720: The Great Western Railway Act 1892 ( 55 & 56 Vict. c. ccxxxiii). The line closed to passenger traffic in 1959, with the Dymock to Gloucester section remaining open to goods traffic until 1964. The line followed a south and then south-easterly route between Ledbury railway station and Gloucester Central railway station , it joined the Gloucester to Newport Line at Over Junction. Stations were established at Ledbury Town Halt , Greenway Halt , Dymock , Four Oaks Halt , Newent , Malswick Halt , and Barbers Bridge . Notably,
1560-472: The massif . The range includes the highest public road in Wales at Gospel Pass , and the highest point in southern England at Black Mountain . In his description of a Blak Montayne , the antiquarian John Leland refers to a massif extending between Carmarthen and Monmouth i.e. what is now considered to be the Brecon Beacons in the wider modern sense of that term, thus including the Black Mountain far to
1620-429: 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
1680-529: The 2021 census, they number 600 people, at around 0.2% of the county's population. Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers fall within the definition of a minority ethnic group under the Race Relations Amendment Act (2000) . There were approximately 400 people (0.2%) within this minority group in the county at the 2011 Census. Bulmers Cider in Hereford is the world's largest cider factory, and has
1740-510: 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
1800-635: The Black Mountains. There are several villages and hamlets in this area. The Skirrid Mountain Inn has been claimed as the oldest public house in Wales and mentioned in records from AD 1100. Antiquities include Llanthony Priory in the Vale of Ewyas , ruined Craswall Priory , Tretower Castle , Tretower Court , the Iron Age hill fort of Crug Hywel , and the remains of Castell Dinas , an 11th to 13th century castle built on
1860-596: The UK market leader Strongbow . The major settlements in the county include Hereford , which is the county town and Herefordshire's only city , as well as the towns of Leominster , Ledbury , Ross-on-Wye , Kington and Bromyard . Most employment in Herefordshire is in agriculture, manufacturing and services. According to Herefordshire Council's online document "worklessness", 10% of people are unemployed in Herefordshire including out-of-work, homeless, ill and disabled and their carers. Cargill Meats and H. P. Bulmers are two of
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1920-670: The border between England and Wales, whilst both the Beacons Way and the Marches Way also pass through the Black Mountains. The Three Rivers Ride runs along the northern slopes of the massif. The range's northern escarpment offers opportunities for gliding , at places like the Black Mountains Gliding Club in Talgarth , hang gliding and paragliding as winds are forced up and over the hills. Exercise Long Reach takes place in
1980-410: The club's Edgar Street ground before major matches. 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
2040-563: 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 situated in the historic Welsh Marches . The land use
2100-492: The county include Hereford College of Arts , Hereford College of Education , Hereford Sixth Form College , Herefordshire and Ludlow College , Royal National College for the Blind , NMITE and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Group Training Association (HWGTA). The agricultural economy has changed greatly in recent years within the county. The county is on the western edge of England which has been historically pastoral as opposed to
2160-462: The county's milk production has drastically reduced, with only a few farms still in dairy farming. 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
2220-461: The east which was more arable . 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
2280-540: The eastern side of the Hatterrall ridge west of Longtown . Another, at the northern end of the Skirrid just to the east of Abergavenny , is perhaps most commonly seen, and the section of the mountain shows the landslip prominently when seen from the north, but is also visible from the south such is the scale of the feature. Scattered around the range are innumerable small quarries, virtually all of which now lie abandoned, once
2340-451: The ice ages; these hills were shaped by ice from a source in mid-Wales rather than generating any major glaciers of their own. Non-local rock fragments within the glacial till show that Wye valley ice penetrated the Rhiangoll valley from the north, moving over the low col at Pengenffordd. No such evidence has been found in the Vale of Ewyas though the profile of this valley strongly suggests
2400-646: The largest private sector employers, with the Council and NHS being the largest public sector employers. There are two parliamentary constituencies in Herefordshire. As of July 2024 , Ellie Chowns , a member of the Green Party , represents North Herefordshire and Jesse Norman , a member of the Conservative Party , represents Hereford and South Herefordshire . The council operates a cabinet-style council and has been independently controlled since 2019. The chairman
2460-502: The largest settlements are Leominster (10,938), Ross-on-Wye (10,582), and Ledbury (8,862). 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
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2520-451: The other way, south, to join the fifth river, now called Grwyne Fechan, that has been flowing between your third and your outside finger. The sixth river, now called Rhiangoll, flows at the edge of your outside finger. This is the hand of the Black Mountains, the shape first learned. Your thumb is Crib y Gath. Your first finger is Curum and Hateral. Your second finger is Ffawyddog, with Tal y Cefn and Bal Mawr at its knuckles. Your third finger
2580-500: The plateau towards your wrist. The first river, now called Mynwy, flows at the outside edge of your thumb. The second river, now called Olchon, flows between your thumb and the first finger, to join the Mynwy at the top of your thumb. The third river, now called Honddu, flows between your first and second fingers and then curves to join the Mynwy. The fourth river, now called Grwyne Fawr, flows between your second and third fingers and then curves
2640-452: The population grew by nearly 3.5 million to 56,489,800. As of the 2021 census, 91.1% of the population identified as 'White British', and 5.1% as 'White Other'. The 'White Other' group is largely made up of migrants from central and Eastern Europe who began moving into the county in the early 2000's, initially for agricultural work, but more recently to work in other sectors such as health care, catering and hospitality. Poland and Romania are
2700-407: The pre-1974 county; a small area at Park Wood had been transferred from Mathon to West Malvern in 1986 and so went to Worcestershire rather than Herefordshire in 1998, but otherwise the re-established border between the two counties was identical to the pre-1974 boundary. From 1974 to 1998, Herefordshire was part of the former non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester . Herefordshire
2760-608: The presence of a major glacier. The valleys of the Grwyne Fawr and Grwyne Fechan were probably ice-free during the last ice age. One result of the over-steepening of valley sides by glacial action is the suite of landslips affecting the range, notably in the Vale of Ewyas. The most impressive of all is that at Darren and Cwmyoy. Another impressive set of landslip forms can be seen at Black Darren and Red Darren ('Darren' signifies 'edge' in Welsh) on
2820-459: The previous non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester, whose functions the new authority inherited within its area. The remainder of Malvern Hills district absorbed the Worcestershire part of Leominster district (the area around Tenbury Wells) and continued to constitute a (smaller) district within the new two-tier county of Worcestershire. The Lieutenancies Act 1997 made Herefordshire
2880-615: The red earth of Herefordshire. The silver and blue wave across the centre of the shield represents the River Wye. The lions that form parts of the arms, crest and supporters are also taken from Hereford's arms. The agricultural produce of Herefordshire is represented by the bull's head, fleece, hops and apples. The talbot dog comes from the heraldry of the Talbot family, Marcher Lords of Shrewsbury and also from that of Viscount Hereford. The Latin motto is: Pulchra terra Dei donum ("This fair land
2940-637: The site of an Iron Age hillfort between Talgarth and Crickhowell . Cwmyoy and Partrishow churches are also located nearby. The youth hostel at Capel-y-ffin closed in late 2007. The town of books or Hay-on-Wye lies just to the north. It was the first booktown to be established, and there are more than two dozen second-hand bookshops . Settlements in and around the Black Mountains include Hay-on-Wye, Llangors , Talgarth, Crickhowell, Cwmdu , each in Powys, Abergavenny in Monmouthshire and Longtown in Herefordshire. Many act as bases for accessing
3000-694: The south of the range are the more independent summits of Crug Mawr at 550 metres (1,804 ft), Pen Allt-mawr at 719 metres (2,359 ft) and the 701 metres (2,300 ft) peak of Pen Cerrig-calch which rises prominently above Crickhowell in the Usk Valley. Outlying summits, all of which are classed as Marilyns , include the Sugar Loaf ( Welsh : Pen-y-Fal ), Mynydd Troed and Mynydd Llangorse . The lower and separate hills of Allt yr Esgair , Myarth , Bryn Arw and Ysgyryd Fawr (also known as 'The Skirrid', Skyrrid or 'Holy Mountain') are scattered along
3060-451: The southern fringe of the Black Mountains. In his work People of the Black Mountains , Raymond Williams described the Black Mountains thus: See this layered sandstone in the short mountain grass. Place your right hand on it, palm downward. See where the summer sun rises and where it stands at noon. Direct your index finger midway between them. Spread your fingers, not widely. You now hold this place in your hand. The six rivers rise in
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#17328693909513120-441: The two most common non-UK countries of birth for foreign born people in Herefordshire. Christianity is the dominant religion in Herefordshire at 54.9% of the population as of 2021 (a decline from 67.8% at the 2011 census). Muslims make up 0.4% of the population, Buddhists 0.3% and Hindus 0.2%. Gypsies and Travellers have historically been Herefordshire's largest minority ethnic group. They are made up of three main groups: As of
3180-516: The upper reaches of much of the range. Higher again are the Brownstones which form the summit areas of the central and southern parts of the range. The Old Red Sandstone extends back into the late Silurian period and forward into the earliest part of the Carboniferous period . The body of rock , or facies , is dominated by alluvial sediments and conglomerates at its base, and progresses to
3240-585: The west and the intervening high ground. There is a suggestion too that the names Hatterrall Hill and Mynydd y Gader may also once have been used to apply to the entire range of the Black Mountains though the former later became confined to the vicinity of its eastern ridge. The latter is now recognised in Pen y Gader-fawr ( Pen y Gadair Fawr ) and Gader Fawr (Gadair Fawr); names applied to the hill at SO 229288. Cadair, mutated to 'gadair' and anglicised as 'gader', means 'seat' or 'chair' in Welsh. The Welsh name for these hills
3300-733: 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. ^ 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
3360-550: 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
3420-408: Was granted a coat of arms on 28 February 1946. The arms became obsolete in 1974 on the abolition of the council, but were transferred to the present Herefordshire Council by Order in Council in 1997. The arms are blazoned as follows: Gules on a fesse wavy between in chief a lion passant guardant argent and in base a Herefordshire bull's head caboshed proper, a bar wavy azure ; and for
3480-648: Was inaugurated in 1798. After a period of financial struggle, the canal was leased to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1863. Conversion to a railway began in 1881 The railway was built by two companies: the Newent Railway and the Ross and Ledbury Railway . Colonel F. H. Rich inspected the line in July 1885, and it officially opened on 27 July. The GWR operated the railway, eventually merging with both smaller companies via
3540-456: Was merged with that of neighbouring Worcestershire to form Hereford and Worcester. Within this, Herefordshire was covered by the local government districts of South Herefordshire , Hereford , and part of Malvern Hills and Leominster districts. However, the county was dissolved in 1998, resulting in the return of Herefordshire and Worcestershire as counties. The county and unitary authority created in 1998 has almost identical borders to
3600-485: Was reconstituted both as a new district as " County of Herefordshire " and as a new county (coextensive with the area of the aforementioned district) (effective 1 April 1998) by Statutory Instrument as defined in The Hereford and Worcester (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 . This Order established Herefordshire as a unitary authority on 1 April 1998, combining county and district functions into
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