Woolhope 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 authority ...

in the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

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 ...

. The population of the civil parish was 486 at the 2011 census. The civil parish includes the

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 ...

of Broadmoor Common to the west of the village (and a nature reserve of the same name), and a locale known as The Nurdens also known as Upper Woolhope to its northeast.

Location

Woolhope is located about 7 miles east of

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, sat atop the 'Woolhope Dome', a region of particular geological interest; and near Haugh Wood, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

due to its varied flora and fauna.

History

The manor of Woolhope in

, along with three others, was given to the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

by the benefactresses

Wulviva Wulfgifu (or ''Wulviva'') was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman. Her name survives in that of the Herefordshire village of Woolhope, meaning "Wulfgifu's Hope" (hope = valley). The manor of Woolhope, along with three others, was given to the cathedral at H ...

and (Lady)

Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...

, local

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

landowners before the Norman takeover of the region. The church has a 20th-century

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window showing them.

Origin of the name

The name of the village comes from Wulviva's Hope (Wulviva's Valley).

Amenities

Woolhope is served by two traditional village

pub 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 ...

s
The Butcher's Arms
an
The Crown Inn
. Both have a local reputation for serving quality food. The village boasts a community hall, which was rebuilt at its present site at the turn of the millennium. The hall now stands at the North end of the playing field (which includes a cricket pitch in summer and football pitch in winter). Called 'Berryfield', the playing field was originally part of the churchyard, and takes its name from 'Bury Field'. The village also has an extremely small green, a patch of tended lawn and flowerbed of no more than 400 ft².

Clubs and societies

Woolhope has a football team called Woolhope Allstars FC. They play at the Berryfield, which is the smallest pitch in the league. Woolhope has a cricket team called Woolhope Cricket Club. They also play at the Berryfield. Woolhope is also home to Woolhope Amateur Dramatics Society, or 'WADS', a popular theatre group which stages, on average, two shows per year, typically a pantomime in the winter, and an adult comedy in summer.

Famous inhabitants

The area was a retreat of late TV writer John Sullivan, whose works included ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...

'' and ''

The Green Green Grass ''The Green Green Grass'' is a BBC television sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan, produced by Shazam Productions for the BBC. It is a sequel/spin-off of the long-running sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and stars John Chall ...

'', and of musician

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...

, who previously inhabited one half of the Wessington Court estate house. Woolhope is currently home to Liberty Bee Miles who is a multiple (Junior) British, UK, European and World

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

champion.

References

External links

Genuki info on Woolhope with linksWoolhope - Marcle Ridge loop walk
Villages in Herefordshire {{Herefordshire-geo-stub