Museums, archives and heritage in Herefordshire

Herefordshire, an inland county on the SE. border of Wales, and bounded N. by Shropshire and Worcestershire, E. by Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, S. by Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire, and W. by Monmouthshire, Radnorshire, and Brecknockshire; greatest length N. and S. 38 miles, greatest breadth E. and W. 35 miles; 532,918 acres, population 121,062. The county is almost circular in form, and its surface shows a series of quiet and beautiful undulations. It is watered by the Wye, Lugg, Monnow, Arrow, and Frome, also the Teme, which flows on the NE. boundary. All these streams are well stocked with fish. Of late agriculture has been greatly improved in the county: the soil peculiarly suitable for the growth of timber, which is very abundant. The pear and apple orchards of Herefordshire are famous; while the luxuriant meadow-land affords pasture for a well-known breed of oxen. Marl and clay form the chief part of the soil; the subsoil is mostly limestone. There are no valuable minerals, and the manufactures are insignificant. The county comprises 11 hundreds, 258 parishes, and parts of 3 others, the parliamentary and municipal borough of Hereford, and the municipal borough of Leominster. It is mostly in the diocese of Hereford.

– John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)

Berrington Hall – National Trust

Berrington Hall

Nr Leominster HR6 0DW

01568 615721

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/berrington-hall

Neo-classical mansion with fine interiors, set in landscaped grounds. Amazing painted ceilings and French Regency furniture.

Brockhampton Estate – National Trust

Greenfields

Bringsty WR6 5TB

01885 482077

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brockhampton-estate

Romantic medieval moated manor house on Herefordshire / Worcestershire borders. 14th-century great hall with an immense, locally-timbered roof. Lovely crooked gatehouse and ruined Norman chapel.

Bromyard Local History Centre

5 Sherford Street

Bromyard HR7 4DL

01885 488755

www.bromyardhistorysociety.org.uk

The Local History Centre is the headquarters of the Bromyard and District Local History Society. It houses exhibition space, a shop, research room and archive.

Butcher Row Museum

Burgage Hall, Church Lane

Ledbury HR8 1DW

01531 632040

www.ledburycivicsociety.org/butcherrowhouse.html

Butcher Row House Museum features many items of local interest including reproduction helmets and breastplates that would have been worn in the Battle of Ledbury in 1645 and a small collection of musical instruments ranging from a ‘hurdy-gurdy’ to a Tibetan pipe fashioned from a thigh bone.

Coningsby Museum & St John’s Medieval Museum

Widemarsh Street

Hereford HR4 9HN

goo.gl/jgJ6T9

Visit the site of The Blackfriars Monastery, which was a Dominican Monastery home of crusaders of the Order of St John and an ex-serviceman’s hospital, now within an attractive rose garden. See the stone Preaching Cross set within the garden, one of the last surviving examples of such a cross. Learn about the foundation of the Coningsby Red Coat Hospital, probably the model for The Chelsea Hospital in London. Explore the Museum, which explains the links between the Crusades, the Knights Templar and The Hospitaller Knights. Visitors can view the 13th century chapel, which is still in use today by the Order of St John. The remains of Blackfriars monastery are directly beside the museum.

Croft Castle & Parkland – National Trust

Croft

Leominster HR6 9PW

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/croft-castle

Home of the Croft family for nearly 1,000 years Croft Castle, a place of power, politics and pleasure, nestles in peaceful Herefordshire countryside at the heart of a 607-hectare (1,500-acre) estate of woodlands, farm and parkland. Explore the miles of woodland trails, learn about the family who have made Croft so special.

Eastnor Castle

Eastnor

Ledbury HR8 1RL

01531 633160

www.eastnorcastle.com

Eastnor Castle, in the dramatic setting of the Malvern Hills and surrounded by a deer park, arboretum and lake, is home to the Hervey-Bathurst family. Although built in the Norman style, the castle dates from 1820 when it was built by Earl Somers to demonstrate his political importance and status.

Goodrich Castle – English Heritage

Goodrich HR9 6HY

01600 890538

www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/goodrich-castle

Goodrich stands majestically on a wooded hill commanding the passage of the River Wye into the picturesque valley of Symonds Yat. The castle was begun in the late 11th century, by the English thegn Godric who gave it his name. Goodrich boasts one of the most complete sets of medieval domestic buildings surviving in any English castle.

Grange Court

Pinsley Road

Leominster HR6 8NL

01568 737980

www.grangecourt.org

Grange Court is a timber framed market house built by John Abel in 1633. It is unique in its design, structure and decoration, giving it a Grade II* Listed status. The building has an eclectic history and its stories are told through interactive interpretation and an innovative Tablet Tour.

Hampton Court Castle

Hampton Court Estate, Hope-Under-Dinmore

Leominster HR6 0PN

01568 797676

www.hamptoncourt.org.uk

Welcome to our 15th century medieval castle, award winning gardens and parkland with 1,000 acres of imagination where events take place all season.

Hellens Manor

Much Marcle

Ledbury HR8 2LY

01531 660504

www.hellensmanor.com

The site of Hellens has been occupied for nearly a thousand years. A 13th century Tudor/Jacobean manor in pleasant grounds.

Collections: Among paintings of interest here are the Laughing Girl by Reynolds, Lord Whartons’s portraits, a fine Van Dyke portrait of Endymion Porter, Charles I’s art expert and several good specimens of 17th century woodwork. The Cordova Room contains a simple, balanced and beautifully carved fireplace and the Spanish 17th century leader hangings.

Hereford Cathedral – Mappa Mundi & Chained Library Exhibition

Hereford Cathedral, 5 College Closters, Cathedral Close

Hereford HR1 2NG

01432 374209

www.herefordcathedral.org

Hereford’s famous medieval map of the world is displayed alongside the unique Chained Library, with the oldest book dating form the eighth century. Interpretive exhibition featuring original artefacts, models and interactive technology.

Hereford Cider Museum

21 Ryelands Street

Hereford HR4 0EF

01432 354207

www.cidermuseum.co.uk

The extensive collection includes cider mills, presses, bottles, old photographs, watercolours, advertising memorabilia and a rare collection of English lead crystal cider flutes. The Archive of Cider Pomology (www.ArchiveOfCiderPomology.co.uk) is sponsored by the National Association of Cider Makers and provides a central depository for documents, books, images, maps and oral histories.

Hereford Museum & Art Gallery

Broad Street

Hereford HR4 9AU

01432 260692

www.herefordshire.gov.uk/museums

Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, housed in a spectacular Victorian gothic building, has been exhibiting artefacts and works of fine and decorative art connected with the local area since 1874. Although the exterior of the building has changed very little the museum and gallery have kept up with the times.

Collections: The collections are relevant to life in Herefordshire and include nationally important costume and textiles as well as an important collection of fine and decorative art. Although display space is limited there is access to the collections through the museum Store and Resource Centre at Friar Street.

Herefordshire Archive Service

Herefordshire Record Office, Harold Street

Hereford HR1 2QX

01432 260750

www.herefordshire.gov.uk/archives/

Herefordshire Record Office houses archives for the county of Herefordshire, the city of Hereford, the diocese of Hereford, as well as other local bodies and individuals.

Herefordshire Family History Society

17 Whittern Way, Tupsley

Hereford HR1 1PE

01981 250974

www.herefordshirefhs.org.uk

The Herefordshire Family History Society helps and encourages everyone interested in genealogy and family history in the county and Diocese of Hereford.

Herefordshire Museums Service

Museum Resource and Learning Centre, 58 Friar Street

Hereford HR4 0AS

01432 260692

www.herefordshire.gov.uk/museums

Herefordshire Museums Service operates five sites across Herefordshire, plus a roving Museum on the Move. They also support independent museums throughout the county via our museum development officer. Admission to all of our sites is free, but small charges may apply for some services and special events.

Kington Museum

Mill Street

Kington HR5 3AL

01544 231486

www.kingtonmuseum.co.uk

The museum was opened in June 1986, and is housed in what were the stables of the King’s Head Inn that was demolished in 1885, although it has had a somewhat chequered history since that time. Please note the museum is only opened between April and September.

Ledbury Heritage Centre

Church Lane

Ledbury HR8 1DN

01432 260692

This half-timbered building used to be the grammar school for Ledbury from the 16th century through to the early 19th. The low beams and smoke bay are typical of the timber-framing style and a small part of the wattle and daub has been uncovered to show this simple but effective method of construction.

Collections: The displays trace the history and development of Ledbury through photographs, illustrations and a computer slideshow as well as exploring the literary history of the town. John Masefield and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning both lived in this most picturesque of market towns and the fascinating Edna Lyall has connections with the nearby village of Bosbury.

Leominster Folk Museum

Etnam Street

Leominster HR6 8AQ

01568 615186

www.leominster.co.uk/leominster-museum.htm

Leominster Folk Museum in Etnam Street, Leominster, has collections of many artefacts that illustrate local life. The museum also has on display a burial from the Bronze Age, and a collection of early postage marks and stamps of Leominster. Since opening in 1972 the museum has purchased a Victorian stable which had belonged to the house next door. An extension has also been built to house a complete cider mill which was bequeathed to the museum.

Leominster Museum

Etnam Street

Leominster HR6 8AN

01885 483634

www.leominstermuseum.org.uk

Small accredited museum covering the history of the ancient town of Leominster and its surrounding villages. Entirely volunteer run; closed during the winter months.

Mortimers Cross Mill

Mortimers Cross

Nr Aymestrey HR6 9PE

01568 708820

A rare one-man-operated 18th-century water mill in part working order. Nearby there are attractive gardens and woodland walks, a stone weir and the significant Aymestrey Limestone Quarry.

Old House

High Town

Hereford HR1 2AA

01432 260694

The Old House is a wonderfully-preserved example of a Jacobean half-timbered building – a startling sight in the middle of a modern shopping precinct in the heart of Hereford. Built in 1621 as part of Butchers’ Row, this only remaining house has been has been home to butchers, ironmongers and bankers over the years, but since 1929 has been a fascinating museum giving an insight into daily life in Jacobean times.

Violette Szabo GC Museum

Cartref

Wormelow HR2 8HN

01981 540477

www.violette-szabo-museum.co.uk

The Violette Szabo Museum opened its doors in June 2000 and was the brain child of Rosemary Rigby MBE who was Violette’s aunt. Many years of fundraising and collecting artefacts from people who knew Violette or served with her during the war came to fruition on that day in June. The story and life of Violette Szabo is much in evidence at the museum along with life stories of the many resistance workers who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Visitors can learn about Ravensbruck, the concentration Camp that Violette and many of her compatriots were sent to following their capture.

Waterworks Museum

Broomy Hill

Hereford HR4 0JS

01432 344062

www.waterworksmuseum.org.uk

The museum traces the history of drinking water from the cave-dwellers up to the present day through wonderful working engines, superb display panels, illuminated displays, guidebooks and films. Classified by English Heritage as ‘a site of clear national importance”, the museum is home to the oldest working triple-expansion steam engine in the UK and probably has the widest range of working pumping engines.

Weobley Museum

Back Lane

Weobley HR4 8SG

01544 340292

Our museum is very small but we hold a wide variety of artefacts and documents relating to the Weobley area. We like to show as much of our material as we can in the space available, and we change our displays each year.