Longtown is a

linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...

and

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 o ...

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 parish includes the village of

Clodock Clodock cy, Clydog is a village in the west of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Monnow in the foothills of the Black Mountains, close to the border with Wales. The village is in the civil parish In England, a civil parish is ...

and had a population in mid-2010 of 543, increasing to 620 at the 2011 Census.

Location

Longtown is located north east of Abergavenny and south west of Hereford on the eastern edge of the

Black Mountains, Wales The Black Mountains ( cy, Y Mynydd Du or sometimes ) are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the England–Wales border into Herefordshire. They are the easternmost of the f ...

, part of the

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) i ...

. The extensive Hatterall Ridge lies about a mile to the west of the village, and the Black Hill (Herefordshire) two miles to the north. There are car parks at the feet of these mountains, a large one below Black Darren, a notable local landmark comprising a large landslip to the west of the town. There is a smaller car park below the Black Hill, and both are mainly used by walkers to access the hills. There are numerous footpaths and bridleways on the mountains, and they include

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...

, which runs north-south along the top of the Hatterall ridge.

History

Longtown Castle, Herefordshire - geograph

Longtown has an early Norman motte and bailey castle,

Longtown Castle Longtown Castle, also termed Ewias Lacey Castle in early accounts, is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey fortification in Longtown, Herefordshire. It was established in the 11th century by Walter de Lacy, reusing former Roman earthworks. The ca ...

, and is so named because the settlement today is strung out along the lowland / winter road connecting

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the to ...

with the Abergavenny to Hereford road. The town was established as a Norman colony and protected by the castle. Before 1536 Longtown was centre of the

marcher lordship A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...

Ewyas Ewyas ( cy, Ewias) was a possible early Welsh kingdom which may have been formed around the time of the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century. The name was later used for a much smaller commote or administrative sub-division, which cove ...

Lacy. Until 1866 it was a chapelry in the large ancient parish of Clodock (until 1852 in the diocese of St. David's). The township or civil parish of Longtown includes the hamlet of Clodock.

Amenities

Longtown

Mountain Rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

based in nearby Abergavenny originated from staff of the Longtown Outdoor Centre in 1965 and are still ready to rescue people in difficulties on the upland ridges or lonely valleys of the Black Mountains in all seasons, such as the Hatterall Ridge to the west and the Black Hill (Herefordshire) to the north.Longtown Mountain Rescue Team website
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References

External links

Photos of Longtown and surrounding area on geograph

Current excavations at Longtown Castle
{{authority control Villages in Herefordshire Civil parishes in Herefordshire