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Pembridge 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 Arrow valley in
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. The village is on the
A44 road The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales. History The original (1923) route of the A44 was Chipping Norton to Aberystwyth. No changes were made to the route of the ...
about east of Kington and west of
Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...
. The civil parish includes the
hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
of Bearwood, Lower Bearwood, Lower Broxwood, Marston, Moorcot and Weston. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 1,056. Pembridge is the major part of the electoral ward of Pembridge and Lyonshall with Titley. The 2011 Census recorded the ward's population as 3,124.


History

The
toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
"Pembridge" may be 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 peop ...
, anglicised to its current spelling. A more likely origin of the name Pembridge is that it is derived from the Old English Penebrug(g)e, which probably meant "Pena's bridge". In 1239, Pembridge was granted a royal charter to hold a market and two fairs: the Cowslip Fair held each May and the Woodcock Fair held each November. In the
Middle Ages 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 ...
they were important events for agricultural labourers across the county to seek work from landowners. The village is noted for its historic
timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...
buildings. It is promoted to visitors as "the heart of the
Black and White Village Trail The term black and white village refers to several old English villages, typically in the county of Herefordshire, West Midlands of England. The term "black and white" derives from presence of many timbered and half-timbered houses in the area ...
". In West Street, Swan House and School View are two parts of a single building. It was built in the 14th century a hall house, but had an intermediate floor inserted late in the 16th or early in the 17th century. It was further altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is a
Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
. Also in West Street, Forsythia and West Leigh are two parts of another former hall house. It was built in the 14th or 15th century, and altered in the 17th and 19th centuries. It is a Grade II* listed building. In the Market Place, the core of the Post Office and Stores is another 14th-century house. It was remodelled in the 17th and late 19th centuries and is a Grade II* listed building. Also in Market Place is the Market Hall. This timber-framed building, which has been dated by dendrochronology to c.1520, is not actually a market hall, but merely a covered market. Eight oak pillars support a roof tiled with stone slates. These pillars are supported on unworked stone bases except for one, which stands on the remains of the medieval cross base. It is a Grade II* listed building. In East Street is the former post office. It is a 15th-century house altered in the 17th and 19th centuries. Pembridge had two sets of almshouses, each divided into six
tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
s. Duppa's Almshouses in Bridge Street were endowed by Jeffrey Duppa and founded in 1661. They were augmented by his son
Brian Duppa Brian Duppa (also spelled Bryan; 10 March 1589 – 26 March 1662) was an English bishop, chaplain to the royal family, Royalist and adviser to Charles I of England. Life He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, graduati ...
, a
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
who was Bishop of Winchester from 1660 until his death in 1662. Trafford's Almshouses in East Street were endowed by the Rev Dr Thomas Trafford, DD, and built in 1686. Elsewhere in the parish, Clear Brook is a mainly 17th-century house with a 16th-century rear wing. The Court of Noke is an 18th-century country house, and the most notable brick-built house in the parish.


Former railway

Building of the
Leominster and Kington Railway Leominster and Kington Railway was one of four branches which served the Welsh Marches border town of Kington, Herefordshire. Opened in August 1857, its peak was during World War II, when it served two US Army hospitals. Declining after the wa ...
linking and was started in 1855 and completed in 1857. It passed through Pembridge parish, where
Pembridge railway station Pembridge railway station was a station in Pembridge, 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, G ...
served the village. The Great Western Railway leased the line from the 1860s and absorbed it in 1898. British Railways closed the line to passenger traffic in February 1955 and to freight in late September 1964.


Landmarks


Bridge

The
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 silicates ...
bridge over the river Arrow was granted Grade II listed status in June 1987, giving it protection from unauthorised alteration or demolition.


Parish church

The chancel is the oldest surviving part of St Mary's Church of England parish church, dating from the 13th-century, although a loose Romanesque pillar piscina remains from the Norman church. Blocked arches on both sides of the chancel mark the entrances to former chapels. The splendid font also dates from the 13th-century. The major rebuilding of the church in a mature Decorated style has been dated c1320-30. The noble nave arcade is of six bays, with circular ogeed cinquefoiled
clerestory windows In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
above. The church has a
cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...
plan with 14th-century
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
s and a vaulted north porch. There is a rood stair turret entered from the South transept and topped externally with a pinnacle. The West door and the North door date from the 14th century and both retain original ironwork. The pulpit preacher's desk, lectern and communion rail are Jacobean. A north
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
was added in the 19th century, and the building was restored in 1871 by William Chick and in 1903–09 by Roland W. Paul. The church is a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. On the North side of the chancel a pair of 14th century tomb chests, one with contemporary effigies of a knight and his wife, the other with a civilian and his wife. They date from 1360 to 1380 and depict Nicholas Gour, a Sergeant-at-law with his wife and his son, John Gour and his wife, a steward in the employ of the Mortimer family. There are also several memorial tablets, including three of the 17th century to the Sherborne family, and one to Thomas Trafford (d.1685). Pembridge is one of several Herefordshire parishes whose belltower stands separate from the church. All but the base of the tower is timber-framed: one of a number of partly or largely timber-framed belltowers in Herefordshire. The tower was built early in the 13th century, rebuilt with the addition of an
ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...
in the 15th or 16th century, and further remodelled in the 17th-century when its spire was added. It is a Grade I listed building. The tower has a
ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of five bells. John I Martin of
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 ...
cast the fourth bell in 1658. Abraham II
Rudhall of Gloucester Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells. History There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century. ...
cast the treble bell in 1735. James Barwell of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
cast or recast the first, second and tenor bells in 1898. St Mary's has also a Sanctus bell, which was cast about 1800. The churchyard contains seven Commonwealth war graves of service personnel, two from
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and five from
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.


Amenities

Ye Olde Steppes in East Street is both the village shop and a café and tea room. It is in a 16th-century building that was enlarged in the 17th century and altered in the 19th century. There is a 17th-century pub, the New Inn, in Market Place. Pembridge had a 16th-century pub, the Greyhound Inn in East Street, but this is now the King's House restaurant. Also in the parish is the Cider Barn bar and restaurant at Hays Head, which opens seasonally.


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Pembridge Parish CouncilThe Pembridge Amenity TrustThe Arrowvale Group of ParishesMediaeval PembridgeYe Olde Steppes
{{authority control Villages in Herefordshire Civil parishes in Herefordshire