Hereford
Hereford city is set within the county of Herefordshire with the River Wye running though it’s heart, on the edge of the Golden Valley.

Hereford is home to many things including our historic Cathedral with the Mappa Mundi (European term for map of the world) which dates back to the 13th century and the chained library.

Hereford is also the birth place of Nell Gwynn, from which the rags-to-royalty story of Cinderella was based upon.

Hereford History
Around AD 676 and 688 Hereford first became the seat of Putta, Bishop of Hereford, and then continued to grow mainly because of its close proximity to the border between Wales and Mercia, then becoming the “Saxon” capital of West Mercia at the start of the 8th century

By 760 hostilities had developed which resulted in the Battle of Hereford between the Anglo Saxons and the Welsh, where the Britons freed themselves from the English

Hereford was targeted once again in AD1056 by the Welsh and their Viking allies when they marched on the city, against King Edward the Confessor which resulted in the town being torched before they returned to Powys in triumph.

During the 12th century Hereford Cathedral was constructed and to date have been home to Saint Thomas de Cantilupe and Thomas Charlton Lord High Treasurer of England.

Hereford is home to the Bishop’s Palace, built in 1204 (The oldest inhabited building in Britain) and continually used to the present day. Hereford Cathedral School is also one of the oldest schools in England

Midway through the 13th century Hereford City gave it’s name to two suburbs of Paris due to Peter of Aigueblanche “Bishop of Hereford” at the time building a manor there.

During the War of the Roses in 1461, Owen Tudor (Henry VII Grandfather) was taken into Hereford high town and executed by Roger Vaughan after the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross. Jasper Tudor, son of Owen Tudor, later executed Roger Vaughan.

In September 1642 Sir Robert Harley and the 1st Earl of Stamford led Parliamentarians who occupied the city of Hereford without resistance, however this was short lived and the decision was made to withdraw to local Gloucester due to the presence of the Royalist army led by Lord Herbert.

Sir William Waller led the Parliamentarians back into Hereford during April 1643 but this was to be a short stay and only 25 days later on the 18 May things began to become unsettled. By the 31 July Alexander Leslie had arrived with an army of 14000 men, which was to be the biggest battles Hereford had seen to date. After much resistance the Scottish were forced to retreat when they discovered King Charles was on route with his forces and Hereford was taken for Parliament on 18th December 1645 by Colonel Morgan & Birch.

On the 16 September 1645 the city coat of arms was augmented with the three lions ten Scottish Saltires, signifying the ten defeated Scottish regiments, a very rare lion crest on top of the coat of arms signifying “defender of the faith” and the even rarer gold-barred peer’s helm, found only on the arms of one other municipal authority, which are those of the City of London

In the 18th century Hereford Castle was dismantled and ceased to become the base for titleholders of the Earl of Hereford. Today the landscape is used as a bowling green and the castle wall remains around the perimeter of what is now Castle green, which overlooks the River Wye and Victoria Bridge.