Peterstow is a village and

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 authorit ...

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 Monmouthsh ...

, England, situated about west of

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye ...

on the A49.

General description

Among the general features of the village is the Parish Church, begun in the Norman period contained windows from 13th and 14th centuries; and so too the chancel. The door had a scissor braced roof. The tower and spire were 15th c. The pulpit was typically for Herefordshire a jacobean example. A former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, and The Common, with a war memorial in the form of a stone cross bearing the village name. There is also a pub, the ''Yew Tree'', and a village stores and Post office. The village school closed in 1969, and is now a private dwelling. The village bakery is a successful business which has a shop in Ross-on-Wye. In 1874, a Mr. Thomas Blake gave land for the Wesleyan Methodists to build a chapel. In the simpler architectural style typical of the Primitive Methodists, this was used by the Wesleyans for 50 years. The Chapel was bought by the Parish Church in 1924, and used as a church hall until a few years ago. It was sold because it is not possible to install modern facilities including water supply and drainage. It is now in private ownership.

History

The name of the village has changed several times during the past 1,000 years. The first recorded name Llanpetyr (from 1045–1104) is Welsh. The name Petrestowe was found in 1278. Other variants from 1291 to 1724 are ''Ecclesiade-Petrestowe''; ''Petrustoye''; ''Petrestowe''; and ''Pitstowe''. Possibly the earliest record of habitation in the area relates to iron ore smelting in Roman, and possibly medieval times. Artifacts relating to this are on display in the Heritage Centre at Ross. In 1100,

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

set up 3 royal manors in Herefordshire, including the manor of Wilton, which included Peterstow.

St Peter's Church

St Peter's Church is in the Ross and Archenfield Deanery of the

Diocese of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...

. The earliest known building was Anglo-Saxon, built on the site of an existing burial ground. A reference in the ''

Book of Llandaff The Book of Llandaff ( la, Liber Landavensis; cy, Llyfr Llandaf, ', or '), is the chartulary of the cathedral of Llandaff, a 12th-century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales. It is written prima ...

'' says that Herwald, Bishop of Llandaff, consecrated a church at Llanbedr in 1066.Millennium Book, p. 17. A 12th century Norman building replaced this, using some of the enormous foundation stones. This was rebuilt in 1330. A font and bell tower were added in the 15th century, and a panelled pulpit in the 17th. The present appearance of the building is due to the "great restoration" in the 1860s, under the rector, Dr John Jebb with

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

as architect. The re-opening was on 2 July 1866. In 2009 the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was "re-ordered", the pews being removed and a modern wooden floor and chairs being installed. The west end was partitioned off to provide for a kitchen, and a toilet to disabled access standards. Other equipment includes a new amplification system with audio induction loop. The nave is available as a village hall when not required for Church services. The chancel has not been altered during this work (other than redecoration), and preserves the character of a place of Christian worship. The former Rectory, renamed Peterstow Manor, is a Grade II listed country house, mostly of 18th and 19th century construction, with parts dating back to 1541.

Recreation

The

Herefordshire Trail The Herefordshire Trail is a long distance footpath in Herefordshire, England. Route and distance The trail, running for as a circular tour of Herefordshire, links the five market towns of Leominster, Bromyard, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye and Kin ...

long distance footpath passes through the village.

Items of interest

Until mains water was provided in 1960, the village was supplied by wells and pumps. Of several

ram pump A plunger pump is a type of positive displacement pump where the high-pressure seal is stationary and a smooth cylindrical plunger slides through the seal. This makes them different from piston pumps and allows them to be used at higher pressures ...

s installed around the village, one manufactured by Green and Carter has been restored and is pumping water at ''the Flann'' (one of the original farms of Peterstow).Millennium Book, p. 148.

Gallery

Image:Peterstow 02.jpg, One of the windows in St Peter's Church Image:Peterstow 03.jpg, Interior of St Peter's Church after re-ordering of the nave Image:Peterstow 05.jpg, Former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel Image:Peterstow 06.jpg, Village store and Post Office Image:Peterstow 07.jpg, The Common Image:Peterstow 08.jpg, War memorial

References

;Source *

External links

Peterstow page on ONS website

Peterstow on ''A Church Near You'' website

AREAC Midlands Ltd.
{{authority control Villages in Herefordshire