Hereford
 Cathedrals |
The historic city of Hereford is situated in the border lands with Wales and is known as the City of the Marches. Founded around AD700 on the banks of the River Wye it was once the Saxon capital of West Mercia, and as such played an important administrative role in the region. This still holds true, for Hereford is much more than a living museum fossilised in time, it is a busy commercial and social centre for the rural community it serves. Surrounded by orchards and rich pastureland, the herds of red-and-white Hereford cattle that graze here provide some of the finest beef in the world.
One of the famous old inns of Hereford is the Green Dragon, an ancient post inn with interior panelling dating back to 1600, a hostelry renowned for the quality of its local beef. The oldest area of the city was originally bounded by a ditch, which carried south of the river, thereby enclosing Bishop's Meadow. These basic defensive fortifications were put in place to help stem marauding Welsh raiders from sacking Saxon Hereford. During the 11 th century the Normans constructed walls as a more efficient means of defence - 200 years later these walls were extended northwards to enclose a much larger area.
A well-preserved section of the medieval walls still stands, very near to the solid stone Wye Bridge whose six looping arches have spanned the river since the 15 th century. Close by is Gwynne Street, formerly known as Pipewell Street, where a tablet commemorates the birthplace of Nell Gwynne, onetime favourite of Charles II whose courtly favours she enjoyed.
High Town, the traffic-free city centre, is very much the hub of Hereford with its shops and market hall, and provides access to Broad Street, home to the City Museum and Art Gallery. The latter contains excavation finds from a Bronze Age burial site, from Iron Age forts and from the Roman town of Magnis, which lies 5.5 miles north-west of Hereford and is now known as Kenchester. The centrepiece of High Town, to which many visitors still make a special pilgrimage, is the Jacobean Old House. Built in 1621, this extremely handsome black-and-white timber-framed building now houses a museum containing Elizabethan furniture set within a 17 th century context. The Old House, moved to its present location last century, is the most striking building amongst a cluster of widely varying beautiful old buildings. South and south-east of High Town a web of narrow streets and alleyways help retain something of the character of bygone Hereford.
There has been a cathedral at Hereford since the city was founded, and despite a number of alterations most of the present day structure dates from the 12 th century Norman period, although the central tower and choir stalls are 14 th century in origin. When compared with some of its more illustrious English cousins, Hereford Cathedral, externally, appears a relatively plain and utilitarian structure; an immense edifice now showing the wear of centuries, where various architectural alterations over a number of periods have left it with a mixed hue of pink sandstone.
Internally, however, this fascinating cathedral comes to life with an absorbing array of features. There is a notable collection of effigy tombs and an inspiring naïve ceiling incorporating elm vaulting. After the west tower collapsed in 1786, wych elm and plaster were employed to minimise the weight of the new ceiling and it was left unpainted until some 70 years had elapsed. Its treasures include the internationally famous Mappa Mundi, a map of the world drawn on vellum in about 1300 by Richard of Haldingham; it may not be geographically accurate but as a historical religious artefact it is quite unsurpassed. There is also a fabulous chained library, the largest in the world, incorporating some 1400 chained books and around 225 medieval manuscripts, many of which are beautifully bound and illuminated. The oldest document dates from the 9 th century and over 50 of the volumes were printed before 1500; two of Thomas Caxton's priceless books reside here. The cathedral also plays host to the intriguing Hereford Brass Rubbing Centre - brasses in situ date back to medieval and Tudor times, depicting a wide strata of medieval society - knights with their ladies, priests and their scholars together with the merchant classes make up this rich panoply.
Ethelbert is the cathedral's patron saint and the structure was built on top of his shrine. Arriving at court to wed Offa's daughter, Ethelbert was instead decapitated, and so great was Offa's guilt over his terrible deed that he went to Rome to confess and seek absolution. Another saint enshrined in the cathedral is Thomas de Cantilupe, who had gone to Rome to seek the Pope's backing in a disagreement that he had with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas died whilst returning to Britain and is buried at Hereford. Over the next 25 years about 400 miracles occurred, attributable to the saint - of these some 66 cases are recorded of people being brought back from the dead.
The Coningsby Hospital, founded in 1614, incorporates a 12 th century dining hall of the Knights of St John and in the gardens to the rear are the remains of a Dominican monastery. Hereford's major industry is cider production, celebrated in the Museum of Cider found in Grimmer Road. Other museums in the town include a Waterworks Museum and the St John Coningsby Museum at Widmarch Street. The Bulmers Steam Centre is home to famous steam locomotives, including the King George V, later of the Great Western Railway. The St John Medieval Museum is housed in a 13 th century building. Churchill Gardens Museum has a fine display of furniture and costume collections.