Ross-on-Wye (
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
: ''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
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 Monmouths ...
, on the
River Wye and on the northern edge of the
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...
.
History
The name "Ross" is derived from the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
or
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
for a "promontory". It was renamed "Ross-on-Wye" in 1931 by the
General Post Office, due to confusion with other places of the same or similar name (such as
Ross in Scotland).
Ross-on-Wye promotes itself as "the birthplace of British
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
". In 1745, the rector,
Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from his rectory at Ross. The
Wye Valley's attraction was its river scenery, its precipitous landscapes, and its castles and abbeys, which were accessible to seekers of the "
picturesque". In 1782,
William Gilpin's book ''Observations on the River Wye'' was published, the first illustrated tour guide to be published in Britain. Once it had appeared, demand grew so much that by 1808 there were eight boats making regular excursions along the Wye, most of them hired from inns in Ross and
Monmouth. By 1850, more than 20 visitors had published their own accounts of the
Wye Tour, and the area was established as a tourist destination.
Parish church
The 700-year-old
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
of
St Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
's is the town's most prominent landmark. Its tall pointed
spire is visible when approaching the town from all directions. The church holds several distinctive tombs, one of which – that of
William Rudhall
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
(who died in 1530) – is one of the last great
alabaster sculptures from the specialist masons of Nottingham, whose work was prized across
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
Europe. Rudhall was responsible for the repair of the
almshouses to the north west of the church, in 1575. Another tomb is of
John Kyrle, a prominent figure in 18th-century Ross, whose name has been taken by the town's
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
. He is also recalled in one of the town's notable inns, ''The Man Of Ross''.
United Reformed, Methodist and Baptist churches
The
Methodist Church is Christ Church in Edde Cross Street. The
United Reformed Church congregation, part of the Herefordshire Group, is likewise at Christ Church. The former United Reformed Church in Gloucester Road has now been converted into housing.
Ross
Baptist Church is in Broad Street. In 1731 the Baptists built Ryeford Chapel at
Weston under Penyard, but by 1817 worshippers from Ross had decided to separate. In 2017, the current Baptist church in Ross marked its 200th anniversary. In early 1818, 22 church members bought ground in Broad Street, to build a chapel with a graveyard behind. The first chapel was opened on 6 October 1818. By 1879 it had become dilapidated, however, with a leaking roof and a damp interior, and it was demolished and replaced at a cost of £3,700. Community events raised £537 towards the cost, but the remaining £3,163 was paid by Thomas Blake, a local philanthropist.
Plague Cross
The
Plague or Corpse Cross was erected in the churchyard of St Mary's in 1637 as a memorial to 315 townsfolk who died that year of
the plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
and were buried nearby in a
plague pit – at night and without
coffins.
By 1896, the Plague Cross had fallen into disrepair and the top was missing. It was later restored. Since 24 September 1997, it has been
listed as a Grade II* edifice.
The Prospect
The Prospect was created by John Kyrle, who rented the land from the
Marquess of Bath in 1696 and turned it into a garden and walkway. In 2008, heavy rain uncovered Roman remains that were excavated under the site.
The Prospect provides a public garden opposite the church, containing trees dedicated to local people, a
VE Day Beacon and a War Memorial. It offers a view of the famous horseshoe bend in the Wye and as far west as the
Black Mountains.
Present day
The town is known for locally owned shops, picturesque streets, and a market square with a market hall.
Thursday and Saturday markets are held at the red
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
Market House building in the town centre. This was built between 1650 and 1654 to replace a probably wooden Booth Hall. The upper storey now houses an arts and crafts centre.
The town's small theatre, The Phoenix, shows films once a month, along with plays and other arts events.
The ruins of
Wilton Castle
Wilton Castle is a 12th-century Norman castle located in south-eastern Herefordshire, England on the River Wye adjacent to the town of Ross-on-Wye. The castle is named after the manor associated with it.
This castle in Herefordshire, sti ...
, to the west of the town, have been restored and opened to visitors. The town has a number of
sculptures
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
by
Walenty Pytel – the left bank of the Wye shows two of these. Despite the common belief that both depict swans, one in fact shows ducks.
Politics and representation
Most local government functions are vested in
Herefordshire Council, the
unitary authority covering the county. Ross Town Council, with 18 councillors, six each from the Ross North, West and East wards, has the powers of a parish council. The Mayor is Councillor Daniel Lister.
Ross Rural was merged into the civil parish on 1 April 2015. Since the
May 2019 local elections, the town council has a majority of
Liberal Democrats, with two Conservatives and three
Independents.
The town is part of the
Hereford and South Herefordshire parliamentary constituency, currently represented in the
House of Commons by the
Conservative MP
Jesse Norman.
Transport
The former
Ross-on-Wye railway station
Ross-on-Wye railway station is a former junction railway station on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway constructed just to the north of the Herefordshire town of Ross-on-Wye. It was the terminus of the Ross and Monmouth Railway which ...
was at a
junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
on the
Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway north of the town. It was the terminus of the
Ross and Monmouth Railway
The Ross and Monmouth Railway was a standard gauge railway of which ran between Ross-on-Wye, in Herefordshire, England and Monmouth, Wales.
It was authorised in 1865 and opened in 1873, with a final extension at Monmouth delayed until 1874. I ...
, which joined the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester just south of the station. Opened on 1 June 1855, the line was merged into the
Great Western Railway on 29 July 1862 and in 1869 converted from
broad gauge to
standard gauge in a five-day period. A line to
Tewkesbury was authorised by
Parliament in 1856, but never built.
Under the
Beeching Axe, the lines to Ross closed in stages up to 1964. The brick station has been demolished and the site redeveloped into an industrial estate, on which the brick goods and engine sheds still stand.
The nearest railway station today is
Ledbury on the
Cotswold Line, but Ross has a better connection with
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...
, including a bus link with the town and a major interchange on the national rail network.
To the east is the end of the
M50, sometimes called the Ross Spur or Ross Motorway, which links with the M5.
Climate
Ross-on-Wye experiences a typically British
maritime climate, with mild summers and winters. A Met Office
weather station provides long-term climate data for the town. Meteorological readings have been taken in Ross since 1858; the
Ross-on-Wye weather station holds some national records.
Notable people
References appear on each person's page. In birth order:
*
John Kyrle (1637–1724), philanthropist known as "the Man of Ross"
*
James Cowles Prichard (1786–1848), scientist prominent in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
and
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial p ...
*
Frederick Gordon (1835–1904), hotelier
*
William Partridge (1858–1930), soldier prominent in the 1878
Zulu war
*
Arthur Pugh
Sir Arthur Pugh (19 January 1870 – 2 August 1955) was a British trade unionist.
Born in Ross-on-Wye, Pugh was apprenticed to a farmer who also worked as a butcher, but soon moved to Neath to work in the steel industry, where he became active in ...
(1870–1955), President of the
Trades Union Congress
*
William Henry Squire (1871–1963),
Royal Academy of Music member, cellist, composer and music professor
*
Frank Andrews (1886–1944), international
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
(Wales) and professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
player
*
Frederick Burrows (1887–1973), Governor of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
*
Juxon Barton (1891–1980), Governor of
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...
*
Noele Gordon
Joan Noele Gordon (25 December 1919 – 14 April 1985) was an English actress and television presenter. She played the role of Meg Mortimer (originally Richardson) in the long-running British soap opera '' Crossroads'' from 1964 to 1981, wit ...
(1919–1985), actress
*
Yvonne Littlewood (born 1927), television producer
*
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...
(1935–1994), dramatist
*
Pete Overend Watts (1947–2017), member of the
Mott the Hoople band
*
Dale Griffin (1948–2016), member of Mott the Hoople
*
Sarah Potter (born 1961), test cricketer
Twin towns
Ross-on-Wye has three
twin towns:
*
Betzdorf, Germany
Betzdorf is a town and municipality in northern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Betzdorf is part of the district of Altenkirchen. Betzdorf is located on the river Sieg, approx. south-west of Siegen. Betzdorf is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde ...
*
Condé-sur-Noireau, France (since 1978)
*
Namutumba, Uganda
Gallery
File:Man of Ross.jpg, ''The Man Of Ross'' inn
File:Market House from West.jpg, The Market House from the west
File:Ross St Marys spire.jpg, St Mary's Church spire
File:Ross-on-Wye by W.A. Call.jpg, View of the town from the banks of the River Wye
File:Interior of St Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye, England arp.jpg, Interior of St Mary’s, the parish church
See also
*
Archenfield
*
John Kyrle High School
John Kyrle High School is a secondary school with academy status situated in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England. It is named after the philanthropist John Kyrle (1637–1724), known as "The Man of Ross".
History
The school site was opened ...
*
Ross Rowing Club
*
The Chase Hotel, Ross-On-Wye (now closed)
References
External links
*Town Counci
Ross-on-Wye Town Council*
*Littlebury's Directory, 1876–187
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross-On-Wye
Market towns in Herefordshire
Towns in Herefordshire
Towns of the Welsh Marches
River Wye
Civil parishes in Herefordshire