Dorstone is a village within the

Golden Valley, Herefordshire The Golden Valley is the name given to the valley of the River Dore in western Herefordshire, England. The valley is a picturesque area of gently rolling countryside. It lies in the lee of the Black Mountains, Wales. The main villages are Dorsto ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. There is a thriving

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

with a

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 * Chris ...

and

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

with restaurant. The Golden Valley area offers excellent hillwalking and

horseback Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

riding countryside and is noted for its scenery. It is within the catchment area of the popular Fairfield

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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

. Dorstone once contained a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, Dorstone Castle. A mile to the south the fragmentary remains of

Snodhill Castle Snodhill Castle is a ruined motte-and-bailey castle, about south of the village of Dorstone, west Herefordshire, England. It is now recognised as one of the major castles of the Welsh Marches, being built in the 11th century to secure the bo ...

can still be seen. From 2014 to 2018, the

Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wi ...

(Historic England) put £150,000 into scientific and historical study of the Snodhill Castle site, plus an additional £500,000 grant to the Snodhill Castle Preservation Trust to complete clearing and restoration of the remains of Snodhill Castle, with the site opening to the public as of May 2018. Dorstone is home to the Golden Valley Young Farmers' Club. In 2006 and 2009 they won the

National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs (NFYFC) is a rural youth organisation in the United Kingdom. The Federation covers various Young Farmers' Clubs (YFCs) throughout England and Wales, helping support young people in agriculture and th ...

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

competition in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

making them the only YFC club in the country to have achieved this accolade. St. Faith's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in Dorstone was reputedly built by Richard de Brito, one of the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s who

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

, as

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

for the murder. He also built the Pandy

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

in Dorstone to house the workmen who built the church. During

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

rebuilding of the church in the 1890s a tomb to another de Brito was found which contained a pewter chalice. This was housed in the church for many years but was stolen in 2006. The Dorstone History Society hopes to find out more about the

and the village – which stretches back to

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

times as suggested by the local Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire, an ancient monument. An annual sloe gin competition is held in Dorstone. Each year the winner is crowned the "Grand Master of the Sloes".

Railway

The Golden Valley Railway branch line to Hay-on-Wye was opened on 1 September 1881 as far as Dorstone and later extended to Hay-on-Wye. The new

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and junction involved considerable addition to the track layout and buildings at Pontrilas. The last passenger train out of Dorstone was on 23 August 1951.

Legends

Arthur's Stone in Dorstone is said to be the spot where King Arthur slew a giant who left the impression of his elbows on one of the stones as he fell.

Gallery

File:Dorstone Church - geograph.org.uk - 289501.jpg, Dorstone Church File:Dorstone Castle - geograph.org.uk - 45963.jpg, This impressive motte and bailey is thought to date from 11th to 12th centuries Image:The last ticket.jpg, One of the last original tickets railway tickets

References

External links

Dorstone
Villages in Herefordshire {{Herefordshire-geo-stub