Lea (or The Lea) is a village and civil parish in the south east of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. It lies south-east of

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It had a population estimated at 10,978 in 2021. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Fore ...

and adjoins the boundary of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. Amenities include a school, church, village hall, shop, public house, garage and a twice-weekly mobile Post Office, all of which lie on the

A40 road The A40 is a trunk road which runs between London and Goodwick (Fishguard), Wales, and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) in all legal documents and Acts. Much of its length within England has been superseded by motorw ...

which passes through the village and links Ross and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. The Church of St John the Baptist is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church consists of tower, with spire, three bells, nave, chancel and north aisle. The north aisle is terminated by a chapel, probably erected by the Grey family of Wilton, whose arms are placed there. The church was restored in 1854, and fitted with open seats. The marble

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

, of , is south Italian, given to the church in 1909 in memory of Sarah Decima Bradney (died 1907). The knotted shaft stands on an elephant and the bowl has a band of

Cosmati The Cosmati were a Roman family, seven members of which, for four generations, were skilful architects, sculptors and workers in decorative geometric mosaic, mostly for church floors. Their name is commemorated in the genre of Cosmatesque work, o ...

work. The Church of England parish is in the united Ariconium benefice of six parishes: Aston Ingham,

Hope Mansell Hope Mansell is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. In 2011 the civil parish had a population of 259. Hope Mansell is mentioned in the Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a ma ...

, Lea, Linton, Upton Bishop and

Weston under Penyard Weston under Penyard is a small village in Herefordshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 Census was 1,000. It lies on the A40 road two miles east of Ross-on-Wye. The Penyard is a prominent hill. History The parish ch ...

. In 2014, police raided the Crown Inn to look for the "Holy Grail" which was reported stolen from nearby Weston under Penyard. The only item found that vaguely resembled the Nanteos Cup was a wooden salad bowl. The railway engineering company

Alan Keef Ltd Alan Keef Ltd is a British narrow gauge railway engineering company which manufactures, overhauls, and deals in narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and associated equipment. History The limited company was formed in 1975 at Cote, Oxfords ...

has its headquarters on the outskirts of the village. Between 1855 and 1964, Lea was served by Mitcheldean Road railway station on the

Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway The Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway was a railway which ran for linking Hereford and Gloucester, England, via Ross-on-Wye. It was opened on 1 June 1855 as a broad gauge line, it was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1862. ...

Lea parish

The township of Lea Lower (or Lea Gloucester), containing the parish church of Lea, was an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of Gloucestershire until it was transferred to Herefordshire under the

Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), also known as the Detached Parishes Act 1844, which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of co ...

. The parish had three townships, the others being Lea Upper and Lea Bailey.Youngs, F. A: Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England 1979 p. 1878 The townships were made into civil parishes but the Lea Upper and Lea Lower parishes were united in 1883. Lea Bailey parish was abolished in 1890 and divided between the parishes of Lea and Blaisdon in Gloucestershire.

References

External links

Lea Parish CouncilAlan Keef Ltd
Villages in Herefordshire {{Herefordshire-geo-stub

Lea parish

See also

References

External links