Ross-on-Wye

The Market House in 1890 (photochrom)

The name "Ross" is derived from the Welsh or Celtic for a "promontory". It was renamed "Ross-on-Wye" in 1931 by the General Post Office, due to confusion with other places of the same or similar name (such as Ross in Scotland).[3]

Ross-on-Wye promotes itself as "the birthplace of British tourism".[4] In 1745, the rector, Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from his rectory at Ross. The Wye Valley's attraction was its river scenery, its precipitous landscapes, and its castles and abbeys, which were accessible to seekers of the "picturesque". In 1782, William Gilpin's book Observations on the River Wye was published, the first illustrated tour guide to be published in Britain. Once it had appeared, demand grew so much that by 1808 there were eight boats making regular excursions along the Wye, most of them hired from inns in Ross and Monmouth. By 1850, more than 20 visitors had published their own accounts of the Wye Tour, and the area was established as a tourist destination.

Parish church

St Mary's Church, seen from the north-east

The 700-year-old Church of England parish church, St Mary's,[5] is the town's most prominent landmark. Its tall pointed spire is visible when approaching the town from all directions.[6] The church holds several distinctive tombs, one of which – that of William Rudhall (who died in 1530) – is one of the last great alabaster sculptures from the specialist masons of Nottingham, whose work was prized across medieval Europe. Rudhall was responsible for the repair of the almshouses to the north west of the church, in 1575. Another tomb is of John Kyrle, a prominent figure in 18th-century Ross, whose name has been taken by the town's secondary school. He is also recalled in one of the town's notable inns, The Man Of Ross, and there is a fine painting of him, by an unknown artist, in the Corn Exchange in the High Street.[7]

Plague Cross

The Plague Cross

The Plague or Corpse Cross was erected in the churchyard of St Mary's in 1637 as a memorial to 315 townsfolk who died that year of the plague and were buried nearby in a plague pit – at night and without coffins.[12]

By 1896, the Plague Cross had fallen into disrepair and the top was missing. It was later restored. Since 1952, it has been listed as a Grade II* edifice, and since 1997 it has been a scheduled monument.[13][14]

The Market House

The town is known for locally owned shops and a market square with a market hall. Thursday and Saturday markets are held at the red sandstone Market House building in the town centre.[17][18] This was built between 1650 and 1654 to replace a probably wooden Booth Hall. The upper storey now houses an arts and crafts centre.

The town's small theatre, The Phoenix, shows films once a month, along with plays and other arts events.[19]

The ruins of Wilton Castle, to the west of the town, have been restored and opened to visitors. The town has a number of sculptures by Walenty Pytel – the left bank of the Wye shows two of these. Despite the common belief that both depict swans, one in fact shows ducks.

Most local government functions are vested in Herefordshire Council, the unitary authority covering the county. Ross Town Council, with 18 councillors, six each from the Ross North, West and East wards, has the powers of a parish council.[20] The Mayor is Councillor Louis Stark. Ross Rural was merged into the civil parish on 1 April 2015.[21] Since the May 2023 local elections, the town council has a majority of Liberal Democrats (twelve), with one Conservative and five Independents.

The town is part of the Hereford and South Herefordshire parliamentary constituency, currently represented in the House of Commons by the Conservative MP Jesse Norman.

Ross-on-Wye Station, with Hereford – Gloucester train in 1958

The former Ross-on-Wye railway station was at a junction on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway north of the town. It was the terminus of the Ross and Monmouth Railway, which joined the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester just south of the station. Opened on 1 June 1855, the line was merged into the Great Western Railway on 29 July 1862 and in 1869 converted from broad gauge to standard gauge in a five-day period. A line to Tewkesbury was authorised by Parliament in 1856, but never built.

Under the Beeching Axe, the lines to Ross closed in stages up to 1964.[22] The brick station has been demolished and the site redeveloped into an industrial estate, on which the brick goods and engine sheds still stand.[23]

The nearest railway stations are in Ledbury on the Cotswold Line and Gloucester on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway.[24]

To the east is the end of the M50, sometimes called the Ross Spur or Ross Motorway, which links with the M5.

Stagecoach West and Nick Maddy Coaches provide regular bus services. Stagecoach West operates hourly route 33 through Ross between Gloucester and Hereford,[25] while Nick Maddy Coaches operates hourly route 40 serving residential streets across town.[26] National Express also operate a twice daily service to and from London on their 445 route.[27]

Ross-on-Wye experiences a typically British maritime climate, with mild summers and winters. A Met Office weather station provides long-term climate data for the town. Meteorological readings have been taken in Ross since 1858; the Ross-on-Wye weather station holds some national records.[28]

People who were born in Ross, or have lived in the town, include:

• John Kyrle (1637–1724), philanthropist known as "the Man of Ross"[30]
• James Cowles Prichard (1786–1848), scientist prominent in anthropology and psychiatry[31]
• Frederick Gordon (1835–1904), hotelier[32]
• William Partridge (1858–1930), soldier prominent in the 1878 Zulu war[33]
• Arthur Pugh (1870–1955), President of the Trades Union Congress[34]
• William Henry Squire (1871–1963), Royal Academy of Music member, cellist, composer and music professor[35]
• Frank Andrews (1886–1944), international rugby union (Wales) and professional rugby league player
• Frederick Burrows (1887–1973), Governor of Bengal[36]
• Juxon Barton (1891–1980), Governor of Fiji
• Noele Gordon (1919–1985), actress[37]
• Yvonne Littlewood (1927–2023), television producer[38]
• Dennis Potter (1935–1994), dramatist[39]
• Roger Whittaker (1936–2023), singer-songwriter[40]
• Pete Overend Watts (1947–2017), member of the Mott the Hoople band[41]
• Dale Griffin (1948–2016), member of Mott the Hoople[35]

Ross-on-Wye has three twin towns:

• Betzdorf, Germany
• Condé-sur-Noireau, France (since 1978)
• Namutumba, Uganda[42]

• 
  The Man Of Ross inn
• 
  The Market House from the west
• 
  St Mary's Church spire
• 
  View of the town from the banks of the River Wye
• 
  Interior of St Mary’s, the parish church

• Archenfield
• John Kyrle High School
• Ross Rowing Club
• The Chase Hotel, Ross-On-Wye (now closed)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ross-on-Wye.

• Town Council Ross-on-Wye Town Council
• Ross-on-Wye travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Littlebury's Directory, 1876–1877
• Ross-on-Wye at Curlie