LYONSHALL MEDIEVAL WALKSWalk No. 1. [Lyonshall Village Hall - circuitous route taking approximately one hour].

Start point:

The Village “Memorial” Hall [O.S. Map Sheet 149, Grid 333561] was built in 1920 to commemorate those members of the Parish who died in the 1914-19 War. It is on the A480 just South of the junction with the A44 (HR5 3LL). There is ample free parking for vehicles. It is within 375 metres/400 yards of the Village Church and The Castle ruins. The Hall can be booked for parties and has all the necessary facilities but you do not need to book the hall if you are only parking there.

The ‘Original Medieval Village’. You are now at the heart of the original Anglo Saxon / Norman village [“Ville”] of Lenehale. In 1046 AD King Edward ‘The Confessor’ dissolved the Benedictine “Convent of Saint Marie of Cormeille” which may have been located where ‘The Laurels’ or ‘The Ovals’ now stand. In 1055 King Edward made Earl Harald Godwynson “Lord of Lenehale” after he defeated a combined Viking/North Welsh

marauding band at Hereford. Earl Harald was elected as King Harold II and killed at Hastings in 1066 AD.

The Medieval site from the air. A diagram of the site.

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Not much is visible above ground but aerial photography, taken in the 1990s, clearly shows the outline of the field system and possible building sites. Investigatory archaeology in 2011 confirmed these findings. This village site was abandoned in the early 1300s AD when the castle was destroyed.

The Medieval Village site from the air in winter showing the ditches outlining fields and buildings. The village hall and castle are arrowed.

The village is on the ‘traditional’ NW > SE axis for this area.

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Walk up the hill to the junction. The modern junction is just to the west of the original ‘market cross’ site and it is here that the medieval fairs and markets would have been held between 1227 and 1301 AD. Turn right on the main road and then turn left at ‘Castle Weir’ lodge. Walk up the drive and climb the stile on the left onto the footpath across the “castle weir” (the original “castle ward” or area under the protection of the castle walls).

‘Lyonshall Castle’ (remains of). In 1090 the stone castle replaced the wooden ‘motte and bailley’ castle, built [Scheduled Monument] by the Norman invaders, by permission of King William II (Rufus). In 1086 the

land had belonged to Mynarch, the Welsh Prince of Powys, but he was killed in the Battle of Brecon [1092] by Bernard ‘de Newmarch’ who became the local Norman ‘Marcher Lord of Brecon’. His sucessors, the Maybury Lords of Brecon, appointed the “d’Ebroicis” [Devereauxs] as ‘castellans’ of the wooden castle for a ‘knights fee’ (i.e. They acknowledged the Mayburys as their overlords’ and provided knights and men-at-arms when required).

Diagram of the castle and its wards. The remains of “The Keep” – 2011.

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There is no evidence that the castle was ever used for major defensive purposes and the Devereauxs married into the de Lacy family (of Herefordshire) who became the Earls of Lincoln and sometime Earls of Ulster. The Maybury Lords were succeeded by the “de Bohuns”, cousins of the English Kings, until 1172 and then the “de Breos” until 1195 and again to 1264 when King Henry III took control of the lands but he returned them to the “de Bohuns” in 1271. Henry de Bohun, ‘Lord of Brecnock & Leonhale etc, etc’, was killed by Robert I (The Bruce) King of Scotland at Bannockburn on June 3rd 1314 AD. The castle and its immediate lands remained in Devereaux hands.

In 1307 AD King Edward II (in the first year of his reign) decided to end the anarchy on the ‘Welsh Marches’ once and for all. During his military campaign Lyonshall Castle was demolished [fact] and it is alleged that the village was burned to the ground [this is not confirmed by the evidence on site and may be apocryphal]. It is apparent that the English Kings no longer needed a castle that dominated the direct routes from Hereford to Mid Wales and from Ludlow (the capital of ‘The Marches’) to their stronghold at Brecon.

“The Devereaux Coat of Arms”.

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Follow the footpath to the west and you will find a wicket gate leading into the churchyard. On your left is the unassuming grave of The Rev Charles Madison Green, Vicar of Lyonshall and Archdeacon of Hereford, who restored the church and built the school below the graveyard in the 1860s/70s. Not much remains of the original Norman church and it lost its spire in the 1800s. It is however worth looking around as it is a handsome building in its own right.

Lyonshall Parish Church. In traditional medieval style the church was built in approximately 1250 AD “without [Grade 2* Listed building]. the castle walls” in order to ensure that the ‘Secular Arm’ did not interfere in

‘Ecclesiastical Affairs’. Much of the original ‘Norman’ stonework remains as does a ‘Norman Font’. It was built on the traditional east-west alignment. Only one pre-reformation, medieval tomb effigy remains and that is a “headless” (probably 13th

Century) individual in ordinary robes – not armour.

The Church of “St Michael & all Angels” Lyonshall.

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In 1220 Sir Stephen d’Ebroicis (Devereaux) gave the church, its lands and its income to the Benedictine Priory at Wormysley (Leominster) “in perpetuity”. The Prior was answerable to the Abbot of the “Royal” Abbey at Reading which was much favoured by the ‘Plantagenet’ Kings and the ‘Tudors’ until ‘The Reformation’. The church and castle prospered under King Henry III and King Edward I. The destruction {slighting} of the castle in 1307 by King Edward II did not affect the church and King Edward III granted the monks more land in 1336 – he used to stay at Reading Abbey 3 or 4 times a year as it was easily accessible via ‘The Thames’, by barge, from London.

Ruins of ‘Reading Abbey’. Leominster Priory Church.

In 1348 the “Black Death” came ashore in Dorset and slowly crept towards Herefordshire. In 1345 there had been 4 monks at the church (living in the vicarage) but after 1354 none are mentioned until 1406 when 3 are recorded: This increased to 4 in 1411. In 1380 King Richard II (of Lancaster) granted more land to ‘Lenehale’ and it is possible that he gave grants also when he disbanded the ‘Alien’ (French) Priory of “St Croix” on the Isle of Wight in 1391.

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In 1481 King Edward IV (of York) exempted the church at Lenehale from ‘Royal Taxation’. He had secretly married Elizabeth Woodville (a ‘commoner’) at Reading Abbey in 1464 and favoured that ‘foundation’. After the death of King Richard III, Edward’s brother, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, King Henry VII (Tudor) granted the “Rectory of Leonhales’ to his De Clifford allies. They paid a ‘stipend’ to the monks to conduct the services on their behalf.

The ‘Dissolution of the Monasteries’ was conducted by King Henry VIII between 1536 and 1540. Reading Abbey was closed and its Abbot executed in 1538 and the Priory at Leominster, including the monastic lands at Leonhales, was dissolved in 1539. King Henry had a survey conducted to record the value of all Church Land in England and Wales - the “Valor Ecclesiasticus” - and this now reverted to “The Crown Estate”. Lyonshall was worth the wages of 546 craftsmen per year.

“Rectoria de Leonhales”. “Vicarage of Lyonshall”.

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On the death of King Edward VI in 1553 Queen Mary I reinstated the Roman Catholic Church and there was a priest at Lyonshall from 1555 until her death in 1558. In 1599 Leominster Priory was destroyed and the Church of St Mary & All Angels began to fall into disrepair. The Medieval Age” ended and the “Modern Age” began.

Leaving the church via its car park you pass the site of the original ‘Vicarage’ which was ruinous by 1860. The modern house on the site is ‘private property’ as The Church has sold it off. Proceed down the drive towards the A44 and “The Weymouth Arms”.

‘The Weymouth Arms’. This 13th Century house, one of the oldest in The Parish, dates from the time of the [Grade 2 Listed building]. ‘medieval village’ and it is within the ‘footprint’ of the original settlement of

‘Lenehale’. It has been ‘lovingly restored’ but its original use in the 1200s is unknown. Its proximity to the church and its survival after 1307 might indicate a “church” connection.

View from the Kington/Leominster Road. View from the Church.

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It had been a “Public House” for many years and its ‘original name’, “The Weymouth Arms”, refers to the 3rd Viscount Weymouth who married the heiress to the 2nd Earl of Oxford & Earl Mortimer’s Estate at Titley and Lyonshall in 1759. He became the Marquis of Bath in 1790 and died in 1796. His family provided both members of Parliament for the Lyonshall area until 1830 when the “Rotten Boroughs” were abolished. There were 93 people entitled to vote in 1831. With the death of the 3rd Viscount’s wife in 1825 the land reverted to the ‘Oxford & Mortimer’ [Harley] family.

In 1820 the “Kington to Brecon” horse-drawn Tramway opened and it passed the door of the ‘Weymouth Arms’. The Inn was renamed as “The Wharf Inn” as it was a stopping place for the coal wagons from South Wales and it was known as that until at least 1863, a year after the Tramway closed. There is no further mention of a ‘Public House’ on the site and the tram road was ripped up and became the front drive to ‘Lynhales Hall’. The old Inn is now a private house.

Leave the “Weymouth Arms” on your left and follow the drive towards “Lynhales Nursing Home”. On your right, on a mound, is “The Laurels” which hides a much older building beneath its ‘staid’ Victorian facade. “Lynhales Hall” was built in the 1860s by an entrepreneur from Yorkshire and replaced “The Moor” which was an Elizabethan Manor House [1588]. The original buildings were demolished but the gardens were enhanced and are well maintained even now. Climb over the first stile on the left and cross an arable field on the public footpath. You are now walking on the site of the original medieval village of ‘Lenehale’. Follow the path until you reach the tarmac road (Spond Lane). This is [allegedly] a Roman road dating back to the 4th Century but the provenance remains unproven. Turn Left. You are now entering the “New” Medieval Village of Lyonshall which was established after the destruction of The Castle [1307 AD] and the ravages of “The Great Plague” (aka “The Black Death”) in 1348-54. It had the advantage of a plentiful water supply and shelter from the prevailing winds. You will pass the following buildings of interest:

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‘The Farm’. Built in the 1550s, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, this half timbered house was the [Gade 2 listed building] home of ‘The Wheelwright’ in 1840. He also owned another property in the village

(“The Stone House”) and was a respected artisan. In 1858 another ‘Wheelwright’ took over the business and the house. That family is still in residence. It alleged that ‘The Farm’ is haunted and the ghost manifests itself as “a waft of perfumed air”.

“The Farm” - Elizabethan. “The Stone House” pre 1840 – Georgian.

‘The Whitehouse’. The Whitehouse was probably begun at the same time as ‘The Farm’ next door [Grade 2 listed Building] although it presents a very different front to the road. It was extensively restored in

the Georgian period. Tamerlaine/Tamerlin Hurds lived there in 1840 when he was 84 years old. A businessman, he also owned The Tan House on the Hereford Road out of the village. His family were still in residence in 1900.

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“The White House” – Elizabethan. “The Old Forge” – Jacobean.

When you arrive at the cross-roads you will see the village forge on the right. It is the first house of a row which lead towards ‘Holme Marsh’ and Hereford (A380). The crossroads are asymmetrical, of which more later.

‘The Old Forge’. The house is late 17th Century and was the blacksmiths house until at least 1934. [Grade 2 listed Building] The owner in 1840 was William Clarke who owned a number of properties in the

village including this whole row. The oldest house however is at the far end of the row although it may not be the most impressive. This is “Ivy Cottage”. The houses opposite (“Stores Row”) are of later construction and none have a medieval provenance.

‘Ivy Cottage’. Ivy Cottage (not to be confused with ‘Ivy House’ – of which more later) was [Grade 2 listed Building] originally thought to be 17th century until ‘cruck beams’ were discovered in its

construction. This implies that it was built in the 14th Century (1300 AD +) and is of medieval origin.

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‘Ivy Cottage’ – Medieval. ‘Stores Row’ – Georgian.

Beyond ‘Ivy Cottage’ on the right before The Curl Brook you come to ‘The Tan House’. The original tan-yard and orchards have been “in filled” with modern buildings and it is difficult to envisage it as a working, stinking, medieval tannery. The Curl Brook was the main source of water for the village although there are many springs in the area. The village is built on clay overlying sandstone strata. Half the village is still on a private water supply owned by a local entrepreneurial family.

‘The Tan House’. Built in the 1400s in the time of ‘The Wars of The Roses’ the core of the house is [Grade 2 listed Building] timber framed and has a “full cruck roof truss”. It contains many other medieval

building features although it was remodelled in the 1600s with modern alterations to make it a more liveable space. This is the southernmost extremity of medieval Lenehale / Leonhales. Tamerlaine Hurd’s family owned it until 1900.

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‘The Tan House’ – Medieval. View back towards the crossroads.

Turn back towards the centre of the village and you can see that the road is blocked by a half-timbered house which is being restored slowly to its former glory. This is ‘Ivy House’ and the white house to the right is ‘The Maiden Head Inn’. Both these properties are ‘medieval’ in origin and explain why the modern tarmac road jinks to the right in order to bypass them. On the right, on the corner, is ‘Winton House’ which is a much younger property. ‘The Maiden Head Inn’ was the original hostelry in the village and there used to be an extensive yard and orchards to the rear.

‘Ivy House’. ‘Ivy House’ offers a unique opportunity to see how medieval houses were built, [Grade 2 listed building] although the owners might not welcome your intrusion on their privacy! At the

time of writing some of its interior ‘cruck beams’ were exposed and they clearly show the use of naturally curved [“crooked = cruck”] oak timbers which were then planed down to fit the property. The house dates from the 1400s (possibly earlier) and was part of the ‘Castle Weir Estate’ in 1840. Edmund Cheese had bought the land in 1812 and it had originally been part of the ‘Royal Deer Park’ which is first mentioned in writing in 1380. The restoration of ‘Ivy House’ may take some years but it is a heroic and commendable effort.

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‘Ivy House’ – Medieval. ‘Cruck beams’ on the stairs.

‘The Maiden Head Inn”. Dating from the 1400s, “The Maiden Head Inn” or “The Maidenhead Inn” [Grade 2 listed building] depending on the sensibilities of the day, is the oldest known ‘Public House’ in the

village. The side of the building nearest to ‘The Royal George Inn’ dates from the 1500s and 1600s. In 1835 it was known as “The Queen’s Head” but by 1841 it was “The Maiden Head”. It was still a ‘licensed premises’ in 1934 when it was “The Maiden Head Public House”. It is now a private residence.

‘The Maidenhead or Maiden Head Inn’ – Medieval.

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‘Winton House’. This impressive range of buildings date from at least the 1500s. It was extended in [Grade 2 listed Building] the late Elizabethan age and again in the Georgian era. Why it is called “Winton

House” is not recorded but the de Winton family of Radnorshire (Maeslwch Castle) and Brecon were wealthy bankers, lawyers and landowners from the 18th Century. Captain Robert de Winton lived at ‘Castle Weir House’ in 1863. The Traunter /Tranter family owned the building from at least 1647 to 1840. It has served as an Inn (‘The Greyhound’ 1840-1863), a butcher’s shop, a Post Office (1863-1926), a Public House (‘The Railway Inn’ 1902), an early ‘Taxi’ service (1926) and many other commercial uses. It is now a handsome private residential building.

‘Winton House’ – Medieval. Seen from the West on ‘Spond Lane’.

Walking towards ‘The Royal George’, ‘Spond Lane’ continues to the north east towards Pembridge. If you take a stroll along it you come to ‘The Howe’ and ‘Wildwood’ on the left and ‘Bryncurl’ on the right. This last house marks the eastern edge of the medieval village of Lyonshall and you should return to the crossroads before heading up the gentle hill towards the village hall.

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‘The Howe’. ‘The Howe’ is reputed to be much older than its 17th Century facade and dates from [Grade 2 listed Building] the 1500s. It is a typical ‘jettied’ half-timbered building on a sandstone plinth. In

1840 it was owned by Richard, another member of the Clarke family.

‘The Howe’ –Elizabethan. The ‘rendered frontage’.

‘Wildwood’. Originally three small cottages owned by William Sayce in 1840, the property now [Grade 2 listed Building] forms part of a substantial dwelling with a large modern addition. The

cottages are at least 1600s but may be older. Dating is based on the internal beams.

‘Wildwood’ – Elizabethan.

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‘Bryncurl’ Originally called ‘Lower House’ this property was part of the ‘Castle Weir’ Estate and came with the lands bought from the Medieval Deer Park in 1812. It has been re-built in local brick (in the vernacular Georgian style) but hides its true age in its basement. It may be 1500 in origin. Lt Colonel John James JP owned it in 1895 and it was he who renamed it ‘Bryn-curl’ in order to give it more ‘status’.

‘Bryncurl’ – Georgian & older.

‘The Royal George Inn’. Known as ‘The George’ until at least 1934 the building may date from the 1580s [Grade 2 listed Building] and is therefore Elizabethan rather than Medieval. Originally it was a ‘cider

house’ and in 1840, when owned by the Clarke family, it had 5 apple orchards surrounding it (all now built on). Between 1835 and 1934 it has been known as a ‘pub’, an ‘Inn’, an ‘Hotel’ and then a ‘Public House’ once again. It had 5 ‘letting rooms’ but it is now a hostelry serving meals and beverages. It has a pleasant garden which gives you the best view of its original half-timbered construction. Its opening hours are usually shown on the blackboard on the northern gable end.

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‘The Royal George’ – Elizabethan. View from the garden.

Leaving ‘The Royal George’ you walk up the hill passing ‘Burgage Close’ on your left. These modern houses were built on land that had been orchards but before that it had been ‘Burgage’ field strips (Medieval). Traces of these could be found around the village in 1840 but had ceased to exist by 1890. The houses on your right are built on the old apple orchards. You now pass ‘the Woodlands’ on your left.

‘The Woodlands’. This 16th Century house [1500s], possibly Elizabethan, is an excellent example of a ‘Gentleman’s Residence’ although the two substantial external chimneys attached to the house (one at each end) might imply that it was once two houses from the late ‘Medieval’ period’. In 1840 it consisted of the house, an orchard, a ‘meadow’

and 3 arable fields: Enough to sustain its owner – The Reverend John Rogers, an Anglican Clergyman, and his family. It remains a private residence until this day.

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‘The Woodlands’ – Elizabethan.

Once you pass ‘The Woodlands’ the fields on either side once belonged to ‘The Church’. The field now occupied by ‘The Close’ belonged to “The Overseers of the Poor of Pembridge” but was sold by The Church Commissioners for ‘Community Housing’. They also owned the meadow on the left of the road. New ‘affordable’ houses are to be built above ‘The Close’, on land that once belonged to ‘Church House’, once an archaeological survey has been conducted. It is unlikely, but possible, that the original ‘Medieval Ville’ extended down this far. The Archaeologists have since established that there are no medieval buildings but the fields were ploughed in the middle Ages. Further up the hill, on the left, is ‘The Croft’ B&B with its back elevation facing the road.

‘The Croft’. This is a classic Georgian “Gentleman’s Residence” although the original building may be much older. It boasts well maintained gardens to its front and views out across farmland

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towards Lynhales Hall to the West. In 1840 its owner, Thomas Ashley, also owned ‘The Firs’ next door.

‘The Croft B&B’ – Georgian. ‘The Firs’ – late Georgian.

Walking on towards the village hall you pass the bridge buttresses, that carried the ‘Kington to Eardisley Railway’ overhead, and the “eccentric” ‘Lyonshall Railway Station’ [1874-1940]. Beyond the station is the Village Hall with ‘Church House’ to the right. It is possible that the original ‘Church House’ was ‘Elizabethan’ or ‘Jacobean’ but by 1840 it was the “Dower House” to the Jeffries Estates in Lyonshall. It sits on the original Medieval Lenehale site.

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‘The Station’ - Victorian ‘Church House’ - Jacobean?

LYONSHALL MEDIEVAL WALKSWalk No. 2. [Lyonshall Village Hall through Lyonshall Park - circuitous route taking about two hours].

Start point:

The village “Memorial” Hall. (see page 1).

Follow the road (A380) downhill past the stone railway bridge buttresses and follow the footpath signs to the left along the side of “The Old Station’s” land. At the far end, by the stone ‘cattle creep’, cross the stile and wooden bridge and turn right towards ‘The Medieval Fishpool”. Please keep to the sides of the orchard and put dogs on leads at this stage as it is not a ‘public footpath’. The owner does allow access but it is vital that dogs do not foul the land near the cider-apple trees as the apples are harvested from the ground and are inspected for contamination by the cider makers.

‘The Medieval Upper Fish Pool’. This is probably a monastic pool used for breeding fish and waterfowl for eating on ‘meat-free Fridays’ and “Holy Days of Obligation” in the Roman Catholic / Pre-

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reformation Church. The pool is mentioned in writing in 1380, 1388 and 1545. There is a man-made earth dam on the eastern edge of the pool and there are signs of a stone ‘bottom’ in this area. There are the remains of stone walling on the western side. A path follows the pool edge but it may be overgrown. Large ‘specimen’ trees (Black Poplar, Scots Pine etc date from its days as parkland.

‘The Fishpool’ – Scale drawing. ‘The Duck Island’ - from the North.

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There is an inlet at the top left corner of the pool which would have been netted and the birds driven into it for harvesting. The island would protect roosting ducks from foxes. The Fishpool and its “Broad Meadow” were in the hands of Richard Vaughan esq in early Elizabethan times and they formed part of ‘The Lord of The Manor’s Parkland in a rent-roll of The Viscount Weymouth from 1759-89:

“The broadmeadow 10 acres (pasture, some boggy)” “The ffishpool Oak 15 acres (pasture, used to ‘sumor’ 10 cows & a bull)”.

A local voluntary body [L.O.F.T.] has been set up to try and preserve the Fishpool, subject to the landowner’s approval. The pool has pre-Medieval provenance as a ‘Bronze Age’ dagger (now in Hereford Museum) was found in the area in 1931. There is other official evidence of Lyonshall’s pre-Roman and ‘Neolithic’ history which is recorded by ‘Herefordshire Archaeology’ and Herefordshire Council.

Leaving the Fishpool at its north-west corner, follow the hedge uphill to the path/unmade track through the orchard. Turn left onto the public right-of-way and follow it to the gate on the A44. You can see “Castle Weir House” [1812] across the park to your left. Cross the road and bear right onto the minor road to ‘Titley’. On your left is ‘Lyonshall Park’ and on your right is land that belonged to ‘The Church’ until at least 1840 (Rectorial Glebe Land). This area was, and is known as, “New

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Street” and originally had 10 labourer’s dwellings lining the east side the road. The railway hugged the west side. After 300 metres there is a turning left under the railway bridge. On the right is the old Methodist Chapel [1865]. Turn Left.

‘The Railway Bridge’ – 1874. ‘The Methodist Chapel’ – 1865.

When you pass under the railway bridge you will see the ‘Concrete Cottages’ on your right. These were built by Colonel Hubert Ronald Pettit DL, JP for some of his workers on ‘The Castle Weir Estate’ in the 1930s. The public footpath goes over the stile to the left and then uphill onto ‘Guest Hill’. From the top of the hill you should look back the way you have come. On a clear day you can look eastwards over the railway line to ‘Hope’, ‘The Whittern’ and the ‘Shropshire Hills’ beyond. To your left you might have looked north-west to the main line of ‘Offa’s Dyke’ and the borders of ‘Powys’ (Mid-Wales) but this view is blocked by the wooded plantations of “Lyonshall Park Wood” which were planted several hundred years ago for hunting and shooting purposes.

‘Hope’. ‘Hope Farm’ is a “Medieval Hall-House” with the central chimney added after Elizabethan times. The smoke would have exited through the thatched roof when this house was built but, like bricks, chimneys were a “modern invention” which only appeared in late ‘Tudor’ times. When they were added to existing houses they were usually large stone extensions

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on the gable ends. Chimneys running up the middle of a building were the sign of great wealth or later construction when ‘fire bricks’ were invented. ‘Hope Farm’ was retained by the Church after the reformation by the Bishops of Hereford which may explain why the central chimney came much later. It is now a private dwelling and not open to the public.

‘Hope’ – 2011.

Lyonshall Park. The parkland that you can see was a “Royal Deer Park” dating back to pre-Norman times. Some of its owners (in the medieval and later periods) are shown below:

Harald Godwynson Mynarch ap Dryffin, Prince of Powys. The de Bohun family.

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1054 > 1066. 1066 > 1092 [Killed at Brecon]. 1172 > 1195 - 1271 >1314.

Killed at Hastings 1066. de Newmarch family 1092>1172. Killed at Bannockburn 1314.

The Stafford Dukes of King Richard III 3rd Duke of Buckingham

Buckingham 1362 > 1483. 1483 >1485. 1486 > 1521.

2nd Duke Executed 1483. Killed at Bosworth 1485. Executed for Treason 1521.

The Tudor Monarchs. The Harley family. 3rd Viscount Weymouth.

Henry VIII 1521 > 1547. [Earls of Oxford & Earls Mortimer] By marriage.

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Edward VI 1547 > 1553. 1566 > 1759 1759 > 1825.

Mary I 1553 > 1558. 1825 > 1870.

Elizabeth I 1558 > 1564. ‘Lords of the Manor’ > 1934 +

A Royal Hunting Park from Norman times, the land was in the hands of the reigning Monarch or a close relative of the Anglo-Saxon/Norman/Plantagenet/Tudor Kings from 1054 to 1564. It is of interest that the “Tudor” kings were related to ‘Mynarch, Prince of Powys’ so the ‘direct’ Royal link can be claimed back into “The Celtic Past”. Harald Godwynson (King Harold II of England), “Lord of Lenehale”, was elected King of the Anglo-Saxons in January 1066 and was killed 9 months later. This part of Herefordshire [Herefordia in Gwallia] had been hotly disputed between the Welsh Princes and the Saxon Kings since the reign of King Offa of Mercia from 757 to 796 AD. They fought three battles in ‘The Parish’ area between 778 and 796 which explains the ‘spur’ to the ‘dyke’ from the River Arrow to the “island” of ‘Holme Marsh’.

Continuing your walk:

From the top of the rise you should cross the ‘bridleway’ [the old ‘Tram road’ 1796-1862] and take the footpath ‘through the hedge’. You will pass behind “Castle Weir Farm” and the northern side of “The Castle moat”. After the castle, bear left towards the church.

‘Lyonshall Castle’ (see page 3). This is the best way to see the ‘moat’ and you are passing the original medieval ‘Rabbit Warren’. Warrens were a Norman invention as they had introduced the rabbit to England as a major source of ‘farmed’ meat. In the lease document of The 3rd Viscount Weymouth, in the 1700s, it is described as follows:

“The Conygree [‘rabbit steps’] has about an acre behind the Castle and about an acre of Orcharding next to ‘Woodhill’s Orchard’.

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‘Lyonshall Church’ (see page 5). The view from the churchyard to the south gives a good idea as to why the castle was built here. It also shows why ‘Holme Marsh’ exists. A “holm” is a “small fertile island” in Old English and it rises out of the boggy ground above Lyonshall. The settlement at ‘Holme Marsh’ is recorded in the ‘Curia Regis Rolls’ of 1229. Walk down to ‘The Old Weymouth Arms’ and then follow the drive towards ‘Lynhales Hall’.

‘Weymouth Arms’ (see page 7). Follow the drive from ‘The Weymouth Arms’ / ‘The Wharf Inn’ to the first stile on the right. This was the track of the horse drawn tramroad which ran past ‘The Moor’, an Elizabethan House which was replaced by Lynhales Hall in the 1860s.

Cross the stile to the right behind ‘The Laurels’ (the house on the rising ground). ‘The Laurels’ is built on the site of a much older property. The footpath crosses the field diagonally to the west until it reaches ‘Offa’s Dyke’ where you then follow it to the south-east where it rejoins Lynhales Drive.

‘Offa’s Dyke’. This section of the dyke is a “spur” which connects to the main ditch at ‘Bullock’s [Scheduled Monument] Mill’, on the River Arrow, a mile to the North West. It is relatively unvisited so it is

more impressive than much of the main ‘Dyke’. It was built in the “Early Middle Ages” by King Offa of Mercia. He ruled from Tamworth in Staffordshire between 757 and 796 AD. He fought three battles in this area against the Welsh and their Herefordshire allies between 778 and 796. The lower of the two banks would have faced the enemy and the higher bank, topped with stakes, was on the ‘home side’. The spur extends up to ‘Holme Marsh’ on the high ground to the South East. Aerial photography indicates that it might extend another 800 metres to ‘Woonton’s Ash’ on the south-east boundary of The Parish.

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‘The Dyke’ clearly showing both ‘embankments’ and the ‘ditch’.

When you reach ‘Lynhales Drive’ cross over and, having climbed the stile, follow the footpath beside the cider orchard and then follow the ‘old driveway’ to ‘Spond Lane’. The small ditch on the right of the drive is all that remains of ‘Offa’s Dyke’ at this point. The house opposite the path is much older than it looks. It was the front lodge to ‘The Moor’ and was known as ‘Lower Lodge’ when ‘Lynhales’ was built. It is known colloquially as “Norgrove Cottage” after a previous occupant. Turn left on the tarmac road and follow it to ‘Upper House’ which marks the start of the village of Lyonshall.

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‘Lower Lodge’. ‘Upper House’.

Lyonshall Village (see pages 10-20). If you turn back to page 10 it will give you the remainder of this walk and will guide you back to the ‘Village Hall’ via ‘The Royal George Inn’.

Attached from page 30 are some other buildings and places in The Parish of Lyonshall that are of historical interest should you choose to see more.

PLACES OF MEDIEVAL OR HISTORICAL INTEREST.

For the purposes of this exercise we have used the standard description of ‘periods’. ie:

“Medieval” - 1066 AD > 1539 AD [Norman Conquest until Dissolution of the Monasteries].

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“Early Medieval” - 410 AD > 1066 [Fall of Rome until fall of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of England].

“Roman” - 43 AD > 409 AD [Coin dating from 83-84 AD found east of ‘New Street’].

“Iron Age” - 800 BC > 42 AD [Mound & field patterns at ‘The Ovals’ showing settlement].

“Late Bronze Age” - 1200 BC > 801 BC [Bronze Age ‘dagger’ found at Lyonshall ‘Fishpool’].

“Early Bronze Age” - 2400 BC > 1200 BC.

“Neolithic” - 4000 BC > 2401 BC [Polished ‘Stone Age’ axe found at ‘The Ovals Farm’].

MEDIEVAL & LATER.

‘Hope Farm’, To the East of ‘New Street’ on the Lyonshall to Titley road (1km from Lyonshall X rds) this was originally a Medieval Hall-house. The central chimney is a later addition. Chimneys (usually attached to the gable ends of old buildings) were an Elizabethan invention and

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only came slowly to common usage. The surrounding land belonged to the Bishop of Hereford after ‘The Reformation’ [1539] and remained in Church hands until at least 1840 when a lot of the ‘medieval strip fields’ were still in evidence. These had mostly been amalgamated and re-fenced by the first OS map of 1890. The house is now a private residence but its occupants in 1577 were Richard & Katherine Knight who had:

“One messuage [sic], one garden, one orchard, 10 acres land, 8 acres meadow and 8 acres pasture in ‘Hope’ and ‘Hopeswood’ ”.

‘Hope Farm’.

‘Titley Mill’. The water-mill at Titley is probably medieval and may have had monastic connections. Benedictine monks were known to have run water mills elsewhere in England in the 13th Century and the landowner locally was “non-resident” before 1539. The mill wheel was turned by water fed down an impressive, hand dug ‘Mill Race’ fed from the River Arrow. The ‘race’ was over 800 metres (872 yards) long. The mill continued in use until 1909 but by 1913 it was described as a “farm”. The mill building has been restored beautifully.

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‘Titley water Mill’ – as restored.

‘Bullocks Mill’. It would appear that ‘Bullocks Mill’ was of a similar design to ‘Titley Mill’ although it ceased to work at some date between 1913 and 1926. It was demolished in 1936. It can be seen on a photograph of the railway. Like ‘Titley Mill’ it may have had ‘monastic connections’ as it linked directly to The Church at Lyonshall by track. There are Medieval field systems recorded in the immediate area and in 1840 ‘The Church’ owned houses and fields adjacent to the site. Like ‘Titley’ it had a ‘hand dug’ Mill Race which was 250 metres long. There was a ‘lime kiln’ in the area also.

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‘Bullocks Mill crossing showing the mill race’.

Lyonshall “Deer Park”. The ‘Park’ at Lyonshall is mentioned by “John Leyland” between 1533 and 1546, but the earliest written reference is in 1380 as it being owned by ‘The Crown’ [1377-81]. King Richard II, a benefactor of ‘The Church’ at Lyonshall, ascended the throne in 1377. The Castle is recorded in the late 11th/early 12th Centuries and a new “round tower” was added in the early 1200s. A document of 1388 lists the following:

“Pasture, Underwood (scrub land - not woodland) and two Fishponds”.

The Park belonged to The ‘Stafford’ Dukes of Buckingham, cousins of the Plantagenet Kings, in the 1400s but the 2nd Duke lost it when he was executed for “high treason”

by King Richard III in 1483. King Henry VII restored the lands to the Buckinghams in 1486 but the 3rd Duke lost it again in 1521 when he was executed also for “high treason” by King Henry VIII. The ‘Tudor Dynasty’ retained ownership until 1564

when Queen Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Ambrose Cave - her ‘Chancellor of The Duchy of Lancaster’ - for a paltry sum in order to pay off some of her father’s massive

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debts. Two years later Sir Ambrose Cave began to sell off the land to the highest bidders.

The Harley family of ‘Brampton Bryan’ and ‘Eywood’ , who were very influential in the area and active Members of Parliament, bought large parcels of land at around this time including most of the north east of the Parish of Lyonshall. Sir Robert Harley, the ‘Lord High Treasurer’ was created 1st Earl of Oxford & Earl Mortimer in 1711. His granddaughter [Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck 1735-1825] was the “Harley heiress” and married the 3rd Viscount Weymouth in 1759. It was he who “enclosed” the land and created “Lyonshall Park” as we see it now. The lands remained in the Harley family’s hands when the 3rd Viscount, by now the 1st Marquis of Bath, died in 1796 but much of the Lyonshall land was sold off to wealthy lawyers and businessmen.

Lyonshall Park is crossed by the track of the old ‘tram-road’ which closed in 1862 and is a public highway for part of its route from ‘The Nursery’ down to ‘Bullocks Mill’. The remainder is a ‘bridleway’ from ‘Castle Weir House’. “The Tramway Pool” did not exist in 1890 when the area was ‘woodland / plantation’ so it has nothing to do with the historic horse-drawn “railway” and was probably built for shooting ducks and geese. The stone ‘sleepers’, to hold the tram-rails, can still be seen in some places.

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‘tram-road sleepers’. ‘Park Stile’ – Georgian front (1791).

(1820 – 1863) Building 1601 to 1700.

The map below shows part of ‘The Park’ as it was in the time of the 3rd Viscount Weymouth [1759 – 1789]. “Harley” land is in blue/purple with major woods and ‘plantations’ in green. Church land is in Pink. This map still shows many of the medieval fields but they had already been enclosed to the north of ‘the castle’ by 1789.

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‘Ovals St Croix’. ‘The Ovals’ house and farm is situated on the high ground overlooking the village and the ‘The Ovals’. valley of the ‘Curl Brook’ beyond. It is the highest point for many miles, looking south

towards Hereford, and is 700 yards West of The Church and Castle. The oval field patterns

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in the immediate area suggest a “prehistoric settlement” and a “Neolithic polished stone axe” was found on the farm. The current house has a much earlier provenance with old stonework visible to the rear. Its location and name would indicate a ‘medieval’ influence. It is of interest that King Richard II closed down his French Benedictine Abbey of “St Croix” on the Isle of Wight, dispersing its monks (giving its water-mill to Winchester) in 1391. He had granted land to the Church at Lyonshall in 1380-81 and he is known to have owned the ‘Deer Park’ at Lyonshall, bordering ‘The Ovals’ in 1377-81. A link to The Royal Monastery of “St Croix” is not improbable. ‘The Ovals’ is a private house.

‘The Ovals “St Croix”’ – 2011.

‘Penrhos Court’. Like ‘The Weymouth Arms’, ‘Penrhos Court’ is obviously a Medieval house as its [Grade 2* listed Building] exterior is much as it would have appeared in the 1500s. The earliest part of the

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property is 12th Century (1100s) however and the core of the house is 14th Century. The main ‘Hall’ timbers date from 1430 AD. It was a ‘Manor House’ before it became a farm, and it is now a Hotel. There are 3 barns attached to the farm.

Ruined medieval barn (roofless). Barn from 1600s (originally a stone and slate ‘threshing barn’). Barn from 1700s (converted into a restaurant).

“Penrhos” is a ‘Welsh place name’ meaning “Top of The Moor”. In 1840 there were two pieces of moorland, “The Moors” and “Moors Wood”, to the south-west of the buildings of ‘Penrhos Court’ [“Cwrt Pen Rhos”].

‘Penrhos Court’ – 14th to 16th Century. West wing – 12th to 14th Century.

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‘Holme Marsh’. “Holm” means “Island” in ‘Middle English’ [1000 – 1500 AD] and derives from “Hamm”, meaning “Dry Ground in a Marsh” in ‘Old English’ [400 – 1100 AD]. ‘Holme Marsh’ is first recorded in 1229 (King Henry III) in the medieval “Curia Regis Rolls” as “Hulmo” and again in 1547-53 in the “Court Rolls” of King Edward VI as “Hom, alias Leonhalles”.

A “Medieval Settlement” is recorded at ‘Holme Farm’ and the hamlet was also at the ‘end / pivotal point’ of the “Offa’s Dyke Spur” built southwards from the ‘River Arrow’ in the ‘Early Medieval Period’ [about 778-796 AD]. There is a small cottage called “The Castle” on the spur above ‘Holme Farm’ which may echo some ancient memory!

The three farms at ‘Holme Marsh’ in 1840 are all of ‘Late Medieval or Elizabethan’ provenance and each belonged to a different landowner who benefitted by the sale of land by the Earls of Oxford & Earl Mortimer’s Estates in the late 18th Century.

‘The Castle’ – Holme Marsh 2011.

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‘Holme Farm’. The current farmhouse sits on the site of a ‘Medieval Settlement’ but is accounted to be [Grade 2 listed Building] from the 1600s. It may be older. In 1840 it belonged to James Davies of “Moorcourt”.

‘Holme Farm’

‘Upper Holme Farm’. Sited at the south-eastern side of the hamlet, the farmhouse is thought to be from the [Grade 2 listed Building] 1600s but may be earlier. The NW wing was added later. It belonged to “The

Whittern Estate” of Robert McMurdo in 1840.

‘Upper Holme Farm’

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‘Lower Holme Farm’. Originally a timber framed farmhouse in the early 1600s, ‘Lower Holme’ was later refacedin brick and largely rebuilt. It is the largest of the three farmhouses and faces North towards the village of Lyonshall. In 1840 it formed the southernmost point of John Cheese’s “Castle Weir Estate”.

‘Lower Holme Farm’

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