Jay is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in north

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, England. It lies in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Leintwardine Leintwardine ( ) is a small to mid-size village and civil parish in north Herefordshire, England, close to the border with Shropshire. History Roman A popular misconception is that the Romans called the village ''Branogenium''. Branogenium in f ...

, on the other side of the River Clun northwest of that village. The lane between Jay and Leintwardine is called Jay Lane and the bridge over the Clun is Jay Bridge. The minor River Redlake passes Jay and then joins the Clun just south of Jay Bridge.

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

mapping The hamlets of Jay and nearby

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

formed a single

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

and whilst in the present day form part of the civil parish of Leintwardine, and thus a part of Herefordshire, they were regarded as being part of

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

until the mid-19th century. A

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

auxiliary cavalry fort was situated at Jay Lane.Roman Britain
Jay Lane Its name, and that of the nearby hamlet of

Beckjay Beckjay is a hamlet in the south of the English county of Shropshire. Its name, and that of the nearby hamlet of Jay (about south), is probably a reference to the family of Elias de Jay, who held the local manor of Bedston until 1349.''Transac ...

(about north), is probably a reference to the family of Elias de Jay, who held the local manor of Bedston until 1349.''Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society'', VI, 1894, p.317 A relative of this family, Brian de Jay, was the last recorded master of the English

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. To the north is the hamlet of

Broadward Broadward is a dispersed hamlet in south Shropshire, England, situated by the border with Herefordshire. It is in the civil parish of Clungunford, a village approximately to the north.Ordnance Survey mapping Geography The placename is shared ...

(in Shropshire), to the west is the small village of Bedstone (in Shropshire), and to the south is the hamlet of Buckton (in Herefordshire).

References

Hamlets in Herefordshire Places formerly in Shropshire {{Herefordshire-geo-stub