The Little Book of Herefordshire

David J Vaughan

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780750993821, 9780750966283
• eBook ISBN: 9780750969093
• Edition: 2
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

The Little Book of Herefordshire is a compendium full of information which will make you say, 'I never knew that!' Contained within is a plethora of entertaining facts about Herefordshire's famous and occasionally infamous men and women, its literary, artistic and sporting achievements, customs ancient and modern, transport, battles and ghostly appearances. A reliable reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage, the secrets and the enduring fascination of the county. A remarkably engaging little book, this is essential reading for visitors and locals alike.

1

IT’S ALL A MATTER OF TIME

FROM ROAMIN’ TO ROMAN

Period	Dates (c.)	Key Attributes
Upper Palaeolithic	100,000 BP* to 10,000 BCE*	Cave dwelling, hunting, exotic animals
Mesolithic	10,000 BP	Hunter-gatherers, the final thaw, early stages of settlement
Neolithic	4,000 to 2,800 BCE	Farming, long barrows, community
Bronze Age	2,800 to 700 BCE	Hierarchy, round barrows, metals, ritual
Iron Age	700 BCE to 43 ACE*	Hillforts, tribes

* BP = before present; BCE = Before Common Era; ACE = After Common Era

UPPER PALAEOLITHIC

Predating the written word, human history developed in the epoch of the Upper Palaeolithic, the final stages of the last Ice Age. In Herefordshire, due in part to its acidic soil, little evidence of our human ancestors has survived. That which has survived has astounded the greatest minds.

With Homo sapiens populating the Welsh Marches since before 50,000 BP, the county’s human story is prodigious. At Doward, near Symonds Yat, two caves from the late Upper Palaeolithic – fancifully named Arthur and Merlin – conceded skeletal remains of woolly rhino, giant deer, hyena (!) and even mammoth. At least one human burial was also discovered, indicating ritual and an early compassion.

The majority of evidence from the period is concentrated at five local sites: Colwall, Kington, Sarnesfield and Tupsley, as well as Doward itself. The truth of Upper Palaeolithic life, though, was far more nomadic and, ultimately, you went where the food was abundant …

MESOLITHIC

The Mesolithic period saw a dissipation of the last tendrils of ice and a great migration of animals and hunters. Predator and prey moved into newly accessible areas with fresh vegetation. Midway through the epoch, it was still possible to walk a direct route from Denmark to France without wetting your feet!

The land now marked by the county boundary was colonised by some of the earliest trees and plants, as revealed by modern pollen accounts:

birch

willow

aspen

alder

pine

lime

oak

hazel

The Golden Valley, Great Doward and the area around Ledbury have provided strong evidence for Mesolithic migration. Though as the area grew rich in natural resources, mobile hunter-gatherers gave way to a more settled way of life …

NEOLITHIC

The Neolithic era was a period not only of sedentary farming but also of a rapid sense of community (egalitarianism). Collective ritual can be seen in the remains of the long barrows, erected as monuments to the ancestral dead, which contained not individuals, but a so-called ‘body politic’ – disarticulated long bones and skulls grouped separately within sealed, stone chambers (see Arthur’s Stone, p.25). Other barrows were built on the site of mortuary houses, ritually burned and supplanted by stone (e.g. at Dorstone Hill).

By this point, Herefordshire was thickly wooded, but the long barrows and earliest stages of farming brought with them the clearance of vegetation, particularly in valleys or on top of the hills. Around Buckton (on Teme) and Staunton-on-Arrow are but two key examples.

With less time spent hunting, it was only a matter of time before the next technological breakthrough …

BRONZE AGE

Bron...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 It’s All A Matter Of Time
• 2 Heritage I
• 3 Environment
• 4 Borderlands
• 5 People
• 6 Leisure (Games, Sports & Pastimes)
• 7 Myths, Superstitions and Legends
• 8 A Kind of Muse
• 9 Education And Language
• 10 Economy
• 11 Transport
• 12 Crime And Punishment
• 13 Religion
• 14 Heritage II
• 15 Royalty and Politics
• Bibliography
• About the Author
• Copyright