Hereford
or ) (pronounced "Henforth") is a
city in the west of
England, close to the border with
Wales and on the
River Wye. It is the
county town of
Herefordshire. In
2001 Hereford had a population of 50,154.
Hereford has a
cathedral dating from
1079 which contains the
Mappa Mundi, a
medieval map of the world dating from the
13th century which was restored in the late
20th. It also contains the world famous
Chained Library.
An early town charter from
1189 granted by King Richard describes it as 'Hereford in Wales'. [
1] This charter also gave Hereford city status, the earliest example of city status being granted, since all earlier cities had been so since
time immemorial. See
City status in the United KingdomIt is now known chiefly as a trading centre for a wider agricultural and rural area. Products from Hereford include: (
Bulmer's)
cider,
beer,
leather goods,
nickel alloys, poultry from
Sun Valley,
chemicals and
cattle, including the famous
Hereford breed. The city is the home of the British
Special Air Service (SAS).
The current
member of the
House of Commons for
Hereford constituency is
Paul Keetch. On
January 28,
2005, Hereford was granted
Fairtrade City status.
Hereford was founded in around
700 AD and became the
Saxon capital of West
Mercia. The present cathedral dates from the
12th century. Former
Bishops of Hereford include
Saint Thomas de Cantilupe and Lord High Treasurer of England
Thomas Charlton.
During the
civil war the city changed hands several times. On
September 30 1642,
Parliamentarians led by
Sir Robert Harley and
Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford occupied the city without opposition. In December, they withdrew to
Gloucester because of the presence in the area of a
Royalist army under
Lord Herbert. The city was again occupied briefly from
April 23 to
May 18 1643 by Parliamentarians commanded by
Sir William Waller but it was in
1645 that the city saw most
action. On
July 31 a
Scottish army of 14000 under
Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the city but met stiff resistance from its
garrison and inhabitants. They withdrew on
September 1 when they received news that a force led by
King Charles was approaching. The city was finally taken for
Parliament on
December 18 by
Colonel Birch and
Colonel Morgan.
Nell Gwynne, the mistress of King
Charles II, is said to have been born in Hereford in
1650 (although other towns and cities, notably
Oxford claim her as their own), and a street 'Gwynn Street' is named after her.
There have been plans for many years for a north-south bypass, and currently the plan is for a nine-mile dual carriageway, however HM Government refuses to grant permisson or supply funds.
The main local government body covering Hereford is
Herefordshire Council. Hereford has a "City Council" but this is actually a
parish council with
city status, and has only limited powers.
Historically Hereford has been the
county town of
Herefordshire. In
1974 Herefordshire was merged with
Worcestershire to became part of the county of
Hereford and Worcester, and Hereford became a
district of the new county.
On
April 1,
1998, Hereford and Worcester was abolished, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established as separate counties, although with slightly altered borders.
However, the new Herefordshire was a
unitary authority without any districts, and so Hereford lost its district status (although, confusingly, the authority's full legal name is the County of Herefordshire District Council).
Charter Trustees were appointed to preserve mayoral traditions until a
civil parish council could be set up in
2000. Hereford is one of only seven civil parishes which has city status.
Major employers include:
*
Bulmers Cider -
Cider and alcoholic beverages producer
*
Special Metals Wiggin Ltd - Manufacturers of
nickel alloys
*
Sun Valley Foods - Manufacturers and suppliers of food products for retailers and foodservice operators
*
Painter Brothers - Manufacturers of galvanized steel towers including
The SkylonHereford is home of
Hereford United Football Club, best known for beating
Newcastle in the
FA Cup in 1972. They had a spell in
the Football League from 1972 to 1997 reaching the
second tier of English football in 1976, and were relegated to non-League status in 1997 before returning to beat
Halifax Town A.F.C. 3-2 in the
Nationwide Conference play-off final in
2005-06 to book a return to the Football League.
Hereford also has successful
rugby and cricket teams, but these are less famous.
Herefordshire is home to many colleges including five colleges in the city:
*
Herefordshire College of Art - a publicly funded art school.
*
Hereford College of Technology - the only higher education facility in the county, which recently acquired an off-campus facility.
*
Hereford Sixth Form College - the Sixth Form college for the county and one of the largest in the country.These three colleges are collectively known as the "Folly Lane colleges" and recently secured £30 million from the Learning Skills Council to fund a new Learning Village, which would secure Further Education for the long term in a county that has no university. Herefordshire Council announced preliminary work would begin in early
2006, however, as of June, no planning work has been submitted (though the Sixth Form College recently opened a £2 million music and teaching block).
Other colleges are;
*
The Royal National College For The Blind - one of the top colleges for blind and visually impaired students in the country.
*
Holme Lacy College - an agricultural centre and part of the Pershore Group.
It is also home to many schools including:
*
Aylestone School - A
co-educational comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 16, created in
1976 by merging two former
grammar schools, the Hereford High School for Boys and the Hereford High School for Girls
*
The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School - A co-educational
voluntary aided comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 16, formed in
1973 from two former church secondary schools, the Bluecoat foundation, dating back to
1710 and the Bishop's School, a
secondary modern school founded in
1958*
Hereford Cathedral School - A co-educational
independent school member of the
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The earliest existing records date from
1384 though it is likely that a school was associated with the Cathedral from its foundation in the late
7th century.
*
Whitecross High School & Sports College - A specialist sports college, which moved to a brand new
PFI building in June 2006. The college aims to use the new facility to provide the best high school education for its pupils in the topic of Sports & Fitness.
The city of Hereford gave its name to two suburbs of
Paris,
France:
Maisons-Alfort (54,600 inhabitants) and
Alfortville (36,232 inhabitants), due to a manor built there by
Peter of Aigueblanche,
Bishop of Hereford, in the middle of the
13th century.
The annual
Three Choirs Festival, originating in the Eighteenth Century and one of the oldest music festivals in Europe, is held in Hereford every third year, the other venues being Gloucester and Worcester.
The classic rock band
Mott The Hoople hail from Hereford as do more recent punk rock band
Tastyhead. The original lineup of
The Pretenders, with the exception of lead singer
Chrissie Hynde, were also from Hereford.
High Town lies 182ft above sea level.
*
Hereford Times (Local Newspaper)*
Hereford City Council*
Hereford Cathedral*
Mappa Mundi*
The County of Herefordshire District Council
