Bosbury 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 ...

in Herefordshire, England, approximately north of Ledbury. The small

River Leadon The River Leadon () is a river in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, England, a tributary of the River Severn. It rises just south of the village of Acton Beauchamp, and flows south past Bosbury to the town of Ledbury, which takes its name fr ...

flows through the parish, passing along the west side of the village.

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

mapping Bosbury shares a parish council with neighbouring Coddington.

Features

The village has a primary school, a day nursery, a

parish hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use.

(which hosts a monthly

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

and a weekly post office counter), a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

s, a historic

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 wa ...

("The Bell"),Bosbury History Resource
''Pubs of Bromyard, Ledbury and East Herefordshire'' a bowls & tennis club, and a

cricket club Zee Marathi is an Indian general entertainment channel which carries programming in Marathi. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel was launched on 15 August 1999 and was known as Alpha TV Marathi until 28 March 2005, then ...

. A second pub exists just within the parish, on the main road towards Ledbury, at Staplow – "The Oak". The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church, dedicated to The Holy Trinity, stands in the centre of the village and is of early 12th century foundation with some fine later medieval additions. The 13th century tower is notable for being one of seven in Herefordshire standing quite apart from the church, some considerable distance in Bosbury's case.Bosbury Church
The Story of Holy Trinity, Bosbury This was for defensive purposes in the troubled Marches region. Inside the church sanctuary, one on each of the north and south walls, are two fine examples of Renaissance Italian tombs, dedicated to members of the Harford family who lived in Bosbury throughout the 16th century. Both the main church building and the detached tower are Grade I listed buildings.British Listed Buildings
Bosbury The most notable dwelling, Bosbury House, is a substantial

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

red brick building just outside the village, substantially altered in 1873 and now Grade II listed. Bosbury, both in the village and scattered across the parish, is also noted for its many black and white half-timbered buildings, most of which are Grade II listed. Outwith the village, the parish is well-populated but dispersed, with numerous large farms and small hamlets, including Catley, Stoneyard, Swinmore, Cold Green, Bowley Lane, Pow Green, Townend, Old Country, Slatch Farm, Norbridge, Gold Hill, Stanley Hill, Southfield and part of Staplow.

Transport

The village is situated on the B4220 road, an old route between Ledbury and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, and a country bus route (Ledbury-Worcester) serves the village, with an additional bus to and from Ledbury on school days. The nearest railway station is Ledbury, approximately distant by road. 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, as does The National Byway. The route of the derelict

Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal (sometimes known as the Hereford and Gloucester Canal) is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford to Gloucester, where it linked to the River Severn. It was opened in two phases in 179 ...

passes through the southwest corner of the parish.

Agriculture

The village was most noted in the 19th and 20th centuries for hops, being the largest hop farming area outside of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. The local hop industry in the area is much reduced and many old hop yards stand empty or have been demolished, whilst some

oast house An oast, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. They can be found in most hop-growing (and former hop-growing) areas and are often good examples of vernacular architecture. Many re ...

s have been converted into dwellings. The countryside of the parish does however still have a sizeable acreage of

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

s and hop vines, and there has in recent years been a revival of apple, pear and hop cultivation corresponding with increased popularity and consumption in Britain of traditional cider,

perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

and ale.

History

Ridge Ventilated Oast buildings, Bosbury - geograph

The bishops of Hereford in medieval times held the manors at Bosbury and Coddington and frequently held court at the manor house in the village.Bosbury Neighbourhood Plan
(2015) Known as the "Bishop's Palace", there exist some remains at Old Court, to the north of the churchyard. Two bishops of Hereford died in Bosbury –

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...

(in 1056) and Richard de Swinfield (in 1317). The palace was converted to agricultural use as an

. A separate manor of Upleadon existed in the parish, on the west side of the Leadon, and included Catley. The Knights Templar had a base in Bosbury at what is now Temple Court, which was a moated

preceptory A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a '' precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddh ...

of the order, and there is a Templar grave stone inside the church.

People

Bosbury was the home of the chairmaker

Philip Clissett Philip Clissett (born 8 January 1817, Birtsmorton, Worcestershire, England; died 17 January 1913, Bosbury, Herefordshire) was a Victorian country chairmaker who influenced and inspired the English Arts and Crafts Movement through various arch ...

from about 1842 until his death in 1913. Clissett is well known for his links to the English Arts and Crafts Movement. The Victorian novelist,

Edna Lyall Ada Ellen Bayly (25 March 1857 – 8 February 1903), also known as Edna Lyall, was an English novelist, who "supported the women's suffrage movement from an early age."''XIX Century Fiction, Part II: L–Z'', London: Jarndyce, 2020, Item 34. Bi ...

, is buried and commemorated in the churchyard.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, Bosbury had a population of 780, whilst the two parishes of Bosbury and Coddington had a combined population of 888, decreasing 8.5% to 813 at the 2011 census, giving an estimated population for Bosbury of 714

Politics

Bosbury and Coddington Parish Council meet monthly at the Parish Hall. Bosbury has eleven seats on the council, whilst Coddington has two. The parishes of Bosbury, Coddington,

Colwall Colwall is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated on the border with Worcestershire, nestling on the western side of the Malvern Hills at the heart of the AONB. Areas of the village are known as Colwall Stone, Upper Colwall which sha ...

, and Mathon together form the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Hope End, which returns one elected councillor to

Herefordshire Council Herefordshire Council is the local government authority for the county of Herefordshire in England. It is a unitary authority, combining the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district. History The council was formed on 1 April 1998 followi ...

. The most recent election was in May 2015, in which the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate, Tony Johnson, was elected. Councillor Johnson is the

Leader of the Council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...

.Herefordshire Council
Cllr A W Johnson Bosbury lies in the North Herefordshire parliamentary constituency, represented by

Bill Wiggin Sir William David Wiggin (born 4 June 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician, and a former Shadow Minister for Agriculture & Fisheries. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Herefordshire, previously Leominster, since t ...

(Conservative).

Gallery

File:Bosbury High Street, 2013.JPG, Main Street, looking east. File:Bosbury Holy Trinity Church, 2013.JPG, Bosbury Holy Trinity church with its detached tower. File:Bosbury Stone, 2013.JPG, A monolith located at the SE corner of the tower. File:Bosbury Old Boy's School and High Street, 2013.JPG, Looking south from the Old Boys' School. File:Bosbury Bronze War Memorial, 2013.JPG, The bronze First World War memorial. File:Bosbury House - geograph.org.uk - 1552907.jpg, Bosbury House.

References

External links

Bosbury and Coddington Parish CouncilBosbury churchBosbury History Resource
{{authority control Villages in Herefordshire Civil parishes in Herefordshire