Stretton Sugwas ( ) 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 ...

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 Monmouths ...

, England, about northwest 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, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

. The parish also includes the hamlet of Swainshill. The population of this Civil Parish at the 2011 census was 505. In 1087 the village was held by Roger de Lacy and consisted of two and a half hides paying geld, in demesne there was 2 ploughs, 1 villan, 9 bordars, 4 oxmen, and 2 radknights, as well as a mill rendering 32d. The village had increased in value from 40 to 50s from the time of the conquest to that of Domesday. The village lies within the ancient Hundred of Grimsworth

Etymology

The toponym element ' refers to a farmstead or village on a Roman road, which in this case passes east–west through the village. ' derives from Sugwas Pool and means either "alluvial land frequented by sparrows" or "marshy alluvial land".

Notable sites

Stretton Sugwas never had a railway station of its own, although the route of the old Hay and Brecon line can still be traced alongside the old Roman Road and into

Credenhill Credenhill is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 2,271. Near Credenhill is the site of the former Royal Air Force station, RAF Credenhill. It was redeveloped b ...

. The old Roman Road also can still be walked up to the old Roman town of Magna (Kenchester). The church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. Opposite the church is the village hall and on the T junction at the end of the village is a war memorial. The only public house in the main village was the Traveller's Rest, which was at the opposite end of the village, there are currently no open public houses in the village. It also has a village school which has become an academy. The nearest post office was Credenhill until 2012 when it was closed; now the nearest post office is on Kings Acre Road. The Priory Hotel occupies the former rectory site near to the original church. This church had to move to its current siting in the 1870s due to subsidence in its original siting.

Swainshill

Further down the A438 road from the war memorial is the hamlet of Swainshill, part of Stretton Sugwas

. In Swainshill, the former Kites Nest pub became an Indian Restaurant, the Basmati, most recently demolished to make way for housing. Not far from Swainshill is the National Trust's

The Weir Garden The Weir Garden is a National Trust property near Swainshill (see Stretton Sugwas), Herefordshire, lying alongside the River Wye west of Hereford on the A438 road.Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes we ...

tunnel was opened under the A438 road allowing the otters safe access to the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of the border between England and Wales ...

. This was constructed as part of the Yazor Brook flood defences project.BBC News, 2 Feb 2012, HEREFORD & WORCESTER, Tunnel helps otters cross A438 road safely
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References

{{authority control Villages in Herefordshire