Hereford
Hereford shown within Herefordshire
Population	50,400[1]
OS grid reference	SO515405
- London	135.7m
Parish	Hereford
Unitary authority	Herefordshire
Ceremonial county	Herefordshire
Region	West Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HEREFORD
Postcode district	HR1
Dialling code	01432
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance	West Midlands
European Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Hereford
List of places: UK • England • Herefordshire

Coordinates: 52°03′40″N 2°42′29″W / 52.0611, -2.7081

Hereford ( pronunciation (help·info); IPA: /ˈhɛrɨfəd/) is a city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately 16 miles (26 km) east of the border with Wales, on the River Wye. With a population of 50,400 people, it is the largest settlement in the county.

The name "Hereford" is said to come from the Anglo Saxon "here", an army or formation of soldiers, and the "ford", a place for crosing through a river. If this is the origin it suggests that Hereford was a place where a body of armed men forded or crossed the Wye. The Welsh name for Hereford is Henffordd (or Henfordd).

Hereford Cathedral dates from 1079 and contains the Mappa Mundi, a medieval map of the world dating from the 13th century which was restored in the late 20th century. It also contains the world famous Chained Library.

An early town charter from 1189 granted by King Richard describes it as 'Hereford in Wales'.^[2] Hereford has been recognised as a city since time immemorial, with the status being reconfirmed as recently as October 2000.^{[3] [2]}

It is now known chiefly as a trading centre for a wider agricultural and rural area. Products from Hereford include: cider, beer, leather goods, nickel alloys, poultry, chemicals and cattle, including the famous Hereford breed. The city was the home of the British Special Air Service (SAS) for many years, although the Regiment relocated to nearby Credenhill in the late 1990s

Hereford railway station opened in 1854. It is on the Welsh Marches Line.

History

Hereford was founded in around 700 AD and became the Saxon capital of West Mercia. The present Hereford Cathedral dates from the 12th century. Former Bishops of Hereford include Saint Thomas de Cantilupe and Lord High Treasurer of England Thomas Charlton.

The city gave its name to two suburbs of Paris, France: Maisons-Alfort (population 54,600) and Alfortville (population 36,232), due to a manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford, in the middle of the 13th century.

Hereford was once the site of a castle, Hereford Castle that rivalled that of Windsor in size and scale and this was the base for repelling Welsh attacks and a secure stronghold for English Kings such as King Henry IV when on campaign against Owain Glyndŵr. The castle was dismantled in the 1700s and landscaped into Castle Green.

During the civil war the city changed hands several times. On 30 September 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 23 April to 18 May 1643 by Parliamentarians commanded by Sir William Waller but it was in 1645 that the city saw most action. On 31 July 1645 a Scottish army of 14,000 under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the city but met stiff resistance from its garrison and inhabitants. They withdrew on 1 September when they received news that a force led by King Charles was approaching. The city was finally taken for Parliament on 18 December 1645 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.

Hereford is also home to the oldest inhabited building in Britain,^{[citation needed]} the Bishop's Palace, built in 1204 and continually used to the present day.

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 permission or supply funds.

In 2005, Hereford was granted Fairtrade City status.^[4]

Governance

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 become part of the county of Hereford and Worcester, and Hereford became a district of the new county. Hereford had formed a historic borough and was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.^[5]

On 1 April 1998, the County of 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 in England which have city status.

The current member of the House of Commons for Hereford constituency is Paul Keetch.

Economy

Major employers include:

• Bulmers - 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 Skylon

Regeneration

A major regeneration project is planned in Hereford city centre, known as the Edgar Street Grid. This covers an area of around 100 acres just north of the old city walls. Work is expected to start in 2010, and should take around 15 years to complete.

Sport

Hereford 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. They were again promoted, this time automatically, during the 2007-08 season.

Hereford also has successful rugby and cricket teams.

Hereford has a thriving nine pin skittle league, formed on 24 October 1902 and today consisting of five divisions.

The Hereford Rowing Club uses the River Wye; it is a popular club with a strong junior group. The stretch of river is also used by universities and for other water sports.

Education

Herefordshire is home to many colleges including five colleges in the city:

• Herefordshire College of Art - a publicly funded art school.
• Herefordshire 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.

These three colleges are collectively known as the "Folly Lane colleges" and in late 2005 secured £28.4 million from the Learning and 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,^[6] though it was not until late November that the first phase began.^[7] A £2 million music and teaching block was opened at the Sixth Form College in April 2006.

Because of Hereford's proximity to the universities of Worcester and Gloucestershire and the city's/county's relatively small population, there are no plans to create a University of Hereford or Herefordshire.

Other colleges are;

• The Royal National College For The Blind - one of the top colleges in Europe for blind and visually impaired students, and one of only two in Britain.
• Holme Lacy College - an agricultural centre and part of the Pershore Group.
• National School of Blacksmithing-The oldest established Blacksmithing college in the UK, also the largest facility for training smiths in Europe.

It is also home to many schools including:

• Kingstone High School and Specialist Lanuage Colledge[1]- A popular South Hereforshire Rural School situated in the Golden Valley. Most students arrive by Council Funded bus services, for those students who do not live in the area they have to fund transport them selfs per day or bye a termly bus pass.

• 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. Specializes in Business and Enterprise.

• 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. A Technology College with a second specialism in Languages.

• 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. HCS, together with HCJS (see below) educates the choristers for Hereford Cathedral Choir.
• Hereford Cathedral Junior School - A co-educational independent school. Hereford Cathedral Junior School is, with Hereford Cathedral School, part of the ancient Hereford Cathedral Foundation dating back to 676. The Junior School was founded as an independent school in 1898.
• Whitecross High School & Sports College - A specialist Sports College, which moved to a brand new PFI building in June 2006. The college for pupils aged between 11 and 16 aims to use the new facility to provide the best high school education for its pupils in the topic of Sports & Fitness.
• Wyebridge Sports College for pupils aged between 11 and 16 was formed in 2006, it was formerly known as Haywood High School. It has been, like Whitecross High School, re-classified as a 'Sports College'. On September 1, 2009, it will cease to exist and all pupils will be transferred to the rolls of the newly created Hereford Academy, which will be located on the Wyebridge site and sponsored by the Diocese of Hereford.

Society and culture

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 city's main theatre and cultural venue is the Courtyard Centre for the Arts which was opened in 1998, replacing the New Hereford Theatre.

The original lineup of The Pretenders, with the exception of lead singer Chrissie Hynde, were from Hereford, as were the rock band Mott the Hoople. Actor and director Frank Oz was born in Hereford, and lived there for the first five years of his life.

The troops of the fictional commando squad Rainbow were based at RAF Hereford, as detailed in the novel Rainbow Six.

The Local radio station is Wyvern FM which broadcasts on 97.6FM.

Hereford is briefly mentioned in Ronin (film) as a ploy by Sam (Robert De Niro) to expose Spence (Sean Bean) as a liar.

Twin towns

Hereford is twinned with:

• Dillenburg, Germany
• Vierzon, France

References

External links

• The Hereford Times Local paid for weekly newspaper for Hereford and surrounding areas
• Hereford City Council
• Herefordshire Council
• Herefordshire County Portal - Local events, jobs, photos and news (local government run website)
• Welcome to Herefordshire (local government run website)
• Herefordshire College of Technology
• Critique of Hereford in the Telegraph
• Hereford at the Open Directory Project

Places with city status in the United Kingdom England Bath · Birmingham · Bradford · Brighton & Hove · Bristol · Cambridge · Canterbury · Carlisle · Chester · Chichester · Coventry · Derby · Durham · Ely · Exeter · Gloucester · Hereford · Kingston upon Hull · Lancaster · Leeds · Leicester · Lichfield · Lincoln · Liverpool · London (City of London and Westminster) · Manchester · Newcastle upon Tyne · Norwich · Nottingham · Oxford · Peterborough · Plymouth · Portsmouth · Preston · Ripon · St Albans · Salford · Salisbury · Sheffield · Southampton · Stoke-on-Trent · Sunderland · Truro · Wakefield · Wells · Winchester · Wolverhampton · Worcester · York Scotland Aberdeen · Dundee · Edinburgh · Glasgow · Inverness · Stirling Wales Bangor · Cardiff · Newport · St David's · Swansea Northern Ireland Belfast · Derry · Armagh · Newry · Lisburn

Ceremonial county of Herefordshire Unitary authorities Herefordshire Cities and towns Hereford • Bromyard • Kington • Leominster • Ledbury • Ross-on-Wye See also: List of civil parishes in Herefordshire Rivers Arrow • Frome • Kenwater • Lugg • Monnow • Wye Topics History • Agriculture • Education • Transport

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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Hereford". Image Credit.

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