Hereford

As with all of the UK, Hereford experiences a maritime climate, with limited seasonal temperature ranges, and generally moderate rainfall throughout the year. The nearest Met Office weather station for which 30-year averages are available is Credenhill weather station, about 4 miles (6 km) north east of the city centre. Before 2001, the weather station at Preston Wynne (7 miles, 11 km to the north-east) provided the data.[19]

Since 2001, extremes at Hereford Credenhill have ranged from 33.6 °C (92.5 °F)[20] during July 2006, to as low as −15.8 °C (3.6 °F) during December 2010.[21]

In February 2020 many houses in Hereford were evacuated due to floods.[22]

Underneath Greyfriar's Bridge, Hereford.

Hereford, as an ancient crossing over the River Wye, has long been important within the regional and national transport network. Today, the town is served by several major routes, including:

•  A49  | Southbound: Ross-on-Wye. | Northbound: Leominster and Shrewsbury.
•  A438  | Westbound: Hay-on-Wye and Brecon. | Eastbound: Ledbury and Tewkesbury.
•  A465  | South-west: Abergavenny and Merthyr Tydfil. | North-east: Bromyard.
•  A4103  | North-east: Worcester.

The nearest motorway is the  M50 , which passes to the south of Ledbury.

Along the northern rim of the city, the A4103 is named Roman Road, running in a straight line from east to west.

Only one of these major routes crosses the River Wye, the A49/Victoria Street, which is carried by Greyfriars Bridge.

In 2017, Hereford was named Britain's second slowest city, with an average traffic speed of 14.09 mph. Cambridge topped the list, whilst London came third with vehicles travelling at an average 14.59 mph.[24]

There have been plans for many years for a north–south bypass[25] and currently the plan is for a nine-mile (14 km) dual carriageway; however, HM Government as yet has refused to grant permission or supply funds. However, the Hereford Link Road was completed in December 2017,[26] costing around £34,000,000 to build.[27] There are plans to add new homes, a university building and a transport hub to this area.[28]

Plans for the north–south bypass were scrapped in February 2021.[29]

Railways in Hereford
Welsh Marches line (S&HR) Cotswold Line (OW&WR) Hereford, Hay & Brecon Rly Hereford Barrs Court Hereford Barton River Wye Rotherwas Junction Welsh Marches line (NA&HR) Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Rly

Hereford railway station is situated to the north of the city centre.[30] The station is the western terminus of the Cotswold Line; it is a through station on the Welsh Marches Line between Abergavenny and Leominster.

The station is managed by Transport for Wales, which operates services to destinations such as Newport, Cardiff and Swansea to the south. Transport for Wales also operates services northbound towards Leominster, Shrewsbury, Chester, Manchester and Holyhead.

On the Cotswold Line, services are operated by West Midlands Railway towards Birmingham, via destinations such as Great Malvern, Worcester and Bromsgrove. Great Western Railway operates regular services to London Paddington via Worcester, Oxford and Reading, amongst other destinations.[31]

A second station served Hereford, Hereford Barton, which closed in 1893.

Cycling infrastructure in Hereford is maintained by Herefordshire Council and Sustrans.

An unbroken shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians runs along the western rim of the city, from Newton Farm to Holmer. The Great Western Way route crosses the River Wye using Hunderton Bridge.[32]

National Cycle Route 46 runs southbound from Hereford to Swansea. The route is signposted and unbroken, and the next destination from Hereford en route is Kilpeck Castle. The route passes through Abergavenny and the Heads of the Valleys as it enters Wales. As of Summer 2020, Sustrans proposes an extension to Route 46 running eastbound from Hereford to Worcester.[33]

National Cycle Route 44 leaves Hereford to the southeast and runs as far as Rotherwas. The route is incomplete; once completed, Route 44 will run to Ludlow Castle to the north and Cinderford, Forest of Dean to the south.[33] The nearest bike park is the Black Mountain Bike Park.

Since the decision of First Midland Red to pull out of the city in 2015, the majority of bus routes have been operated by Hereford bus and coach operator Yeomans Canyon. The 33 service to Ross-on-Wye[34] and 36 service to Monmouth are operated by Stagecoach West,[35] services historically in the hands of Red & White. Other bus services are operated by various operators. TrawsCymru links Hereford railway station to Hay-on-Wye and Brecon on the T14 service. Stagecoach South Wales has the X3 which runs to Abergavenny.

A major regeneration project is taking place in Hereford city centre, formerly known as the Edgar Street Grid. This covers an area of around 100 acres (0.40 km²) just north of the old city walls. Work started on 8 October 2012,[46] and should take around 15 years to complete the whole project. The regeneration includes the rebuilding of the canal basin at the end of the currently disused Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal. The £80 million phase 1 includes a supermarket, department store, multiplex cinema, shops, restaurants, and other facilities and opened in late Spring 2014.[47]

The Butter Market is due for refurbishment and proposals are being examined.

A proposed bypass has been drawn up to circulate the city, which suffers from rush hour traffic, with potential routes either to the east or west of the city. Both routes would connect with the Rotherwas Access Road which was recently completed, connecting the Rotherwas Industrial Estate to the A49. Rotherwas itself has recently been awarded an Enterprise Zone status by the government which is expected to boost the economy and bring in thousands of new jobs.[48]

A second railway station for Hereford has been discussed, which would be situated in Rotherwas as part of the Enterprise Zone.

Hereford is due to receive half of the 20,600 new homes expected to be built in the county by 2026 as part of the Regional Spatial Strategy.[49]

Hereford's public leisure facilities are managed by a not-for-profit trust HALO Leisure, which runs the Hereford Leisure Centre (that includes sports halls, gymnasium, squash courts, golf course and an outdoor athletics facility), and the Hereford Leisure Pool (which includes a gymnasium, full size swimming pool, leisure pool, diving pool, and learners pool).

The Hereford Rowing Club (along with the Kayak Club) uses the River Wye. The stretch of river is also used for other water sports. Hereford has a nine pin skittle league, formed on 24 October 1902, and today consists of five divisions.[53]

Hereford has other clubs and societies including the Railway Club, Welsh Club, Military Club, Richmond Place Club and the Whitecross Squash & Lawn Tennis Club.

Hereford has several music clubs/societies such as Herefordshire Youth Orchestra, a group for those up to the age of 21.

A new higher education institution, the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE), has been created in Hereford, which had its first intake of students in September 2021.[54] It is envisioned as a seed institution for a future University of Hereford within a decade.

Hereford is home to five colleges, including:

• Hereford College of Arts – a publicly funded art school located on Folly Lane, with a Higher Education centre on College Road in the former main buildings of the Royal National College for the Blind. The University of Wales Trinity St Davids co-operate to provide degree qualifications.
• Herefordshire and Ludlow College (HLC) formerly known as Hereford College of Technology – The Folly Lane facility includes a university centre for the University of Worcester.

The National School of Blacksmithing is the oldest established Blacksmithing college in the UK, also the largest facility for training smiths in Europe.[55] This is also part of HLC.[56]

• Hereford Sixth Form College
• The Royal National College for the Blind – One of the top colleges in Europe for blind and visually impaired students, and one of only two in Britain. The college occupies the former Hereford College of Education campus. The college often plays host to major blind sporting competitions like the Blind World Cup 2010 and Euro 2015 Blind Football Championships, and currently hosts the England Blind Football squad training camps.
• Holme Lacy College – An agricultural college that was part of the Pershore Group of Colleges (now Warwickshire College), but currently belongs to Herefordshire and Ludlow College (HLC).[57][58]

Hereford's many secondary schools include:

• The Steiner Academy Hereford – The first Rudolf Steiner school in England to become an academy.[59][60]
• Aylestone Business and Enterprise College – A co-educational comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 16, created in 1976 by merging two former grammar schools, the Hereford High School for Boys and the Hereford High School for Girls. Specialises in Business and Enterprise.[61]
• The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School – A co-educational voluntary aided comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 16, formed in 1973 from two former church secondary schools, the Bluecoat foundation, dating back to 1710 and the Bishop's School, a secondary modern school founded in 1958. It is now a Technology College with a second specialism in Languages.
• The Hereford Academy – A high school for pupils aged between 11 and 19. It was known as Haywood High School in the late seventies until 2006, when it was renamed as Wyebridge Sports College. As of 1 September 2009 it was renamed The 'Hereford Academy'.[62] It has been, like Whitecross High School, re-classified as a 'Sports College'. The academy's new building opened in September 2011, and the demolition of the old school site, making way for new playing fields to be laid out, was completed in Spring 2012.[63]
• Hereford Cathedral School – A co-educational independent school and sixth form, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The earliest existing records date from 1384 though it is likely that a school was associated with the cathedral from its foundation in the late 7th century. HCS, together with HCJS (see below) educates the choristers for Hereford Cathedral Choir.
• St Marys RC High School – A Roman Catholic Comprehensive School for boys and girls aged 11–16. The school primarily serves the Catholic Communities of Herefordshire and is situated in a very attractive rural location close to the River Lugg, a few miles to the east of the City of Hereford in the village of Lugwardine.[64]
• Whitecross Hereford High School – A specialist Sports College, which moved to a brand new PFI building in June 2006. The college for pupils aged between 11 and 16 aims to use the new facility to provide the best high school education for its pupils in the topic of Sports & Fitness.[65]

Primary schools in the city include Hereford Cathedral Junior School, a co-educational independent school. Hereford Cathedral Junior School is, with Hereford Cathedral School, part of the ancient Hereford Cathedral Foundation dating back to 676. The Junior School was founded as an independent school in 1898. The city's other primary schools are: Lord Scudamore Academy, St James C of E, St Francis Xavier R.C, Trinity, Holmer C of E, Marlbrook, Riverside, St Martin's, Broadlands, Riverside, Hampton Dene and St Paul's C of E.

Farming has played a major part in the history of the county of Herefordshire, and for many years the City of Hereford was the epicentre, playing host to the Cattle Market; a major market site.[67]

With the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak the market suffered with trade reduced. Established by Act of Parliament, the market had to be provided, and so a Bill was introduced in 2003[68] to move the site to the outskirts of the city. The inner city site would then be available for redevelopment, a process that has now finished.

The new Hereford Cattle Market opened its doors in August 2011 on the site just outside the city[69] and has already proved so successful that trading and business is up on the previous site's record.[70]

Statue of Sir Edward Elgar on the Cathedral Close

The annual Three Choirs Festival, originating in the 18th century and one of the oldest music festivals in the British Isles, is held in Hereford every third year, the other venues being Gloucester and Worcester.

Composer Sir Edward Elgar lived at Plas Gwyn, Eign Hill, in Hereford between 1904 and 1911, writing some of his most famous works during that time. He is commemorated with a statue on the Cathedral Close. One of his Enigma Variations was inspired by a bulldog named Dan falling into the River Wye at Hereford, and the dog is similarly honoured with a wooden statue beside the river. Not long after moving into the city he was (despite not being a city council member) offered but declined the office of mayor of the city. He visited the city as a conductor at the Three Choirs Festival, the last occasion in 1933 prior to his death.[71]

Hereford is home to the Hereford Police Male Voice Choir who competed on the BBC TV show "Last Choir Standing",[72] and the Railway Choir.

A charity music school is based in Hereford.[73]

The hymn tune ‘Hereford’ was written by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810–1876). He was an organist at Hereford Cathedral (1832–1835). This tune is often sung to the words ‘O Thou who camest from above’.[74]

H.Art, or Herefordshire Art Week, is an annual county-wide exhibition held in September, displaying the work of local artists.[75] Many places usually closed to the public are opened during this week, such as the Bishop's Palace at the cathedral.

Polish-born sculptor Walenty Pytel has had studios in Hereford since 1963 after training at Hereford College of Art.

There is a statue of a Bronze Hereford bull designed by Brian Alabaster ARBS in front of The Old House.[76]

The troops of the fictional commando squad Rainbow were based at RAF Hereford, as detailed in the novel Rainbow Six.

The action of the fictional novels Shades of Grey and The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde take place in Hereford.[77]

Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins series of supernatural and mystery novels is set in and around Hereford.[78]

Comedy writer Aaron Gillies began writing using Twitter while working as a sound technician at The Courtyard.[79]

The local radio stations are Free Radio (formerly known as Wyvern FM) which broadcasts on 97.6–96.7–102.8 FM, Sunshine Radio on 106.2 FM, BBC Hereford and Worcester which broadcasts on 94.7FM, Like Radio Like Music, Like Radio. Digital Radio Station available on DAB, Online and On The Go. The station covers Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Birmingham. Hereford FC has its own online Radio station, RadioHerefordFC covering all its matches Home and Away. It has a 24/7 eclectic music output.

The Hereford Times is the city's only remaining weekly local newspaper as the 'Hereford Journal' ceased publication on 11 June 2014 and the 'Hereford admag' ceased publication in September 2018.

Local TV content is currently provided by BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central News.

The city's main theatre and cultural venue is the Courtyard Centre for the Arts which was opened in 1998, replacing the New Hereford Theatre.

There is also a multi screen Odeon cinema in the Old Market precinct.

MFA Bowl (formerly known as TGS), home to a Ten Pin Bowling alley and Mini Golf course is located near the railway station.

There is a dedicated Skatepark on Holmer Road.

Hereford claims to be the birthplace of Nell Gwyn, 17th-century actress and mistress of King Charles II of England.

John Kemble, Catholic priest and martyr, was born near Hereford.

Nell Gwyn, David Garrick and Sarah Siddons, actors and actresses, are all historical figures popularly associated with Hereford.

Major-General Stringer Lawrence, first commander-in-chief of British troops in India, under whose command Robert Clive served, was born in Hereford.

Broadcaster Gilbert Harding was born there when his father was master of the local workhouse, as was contemporary actress Beryl Reid.

The rugby union player and sports broadcaster Teddy Wakelam was born in Hereford.

The original lineup of The Pretenders, with the exception of lead singer Chrissie Hynde, were from Hereford, as were the rock band Mott the Hoople.

Mike Osborne, notable jazz saxophonist active from 1966 to 1981, who spent the last decades of his life in Hereford suffering from mental illness.

Frank Oz, puppeteer for The Muppets and Yoda of Star Wars was born in Hereford and lived there for the first five years of his life.[80]

Footballer Connor Wickham was born in the city.[81]

John Williamson (economist), international economist and author of "What Washington Means by Policy Reform" was born in Hereford.

Ellie Goulding, pop singer and songwriter was born in Hereford.

Simon Carroll, studio potter was born in Hereford.

The highwayman William Spiggot declared before his execution to the Ordinary's Accounts[82] of Newgate Prison in London that he was the son of an innkeeper from Hereford.[83]

Al Vandenberg American photographer, worked and died in Hereford.

Hereford Cathedral is home to the Hereford Mappa Mundi, a map of the known world from the late 13th century.

Hereford Cathedral dates from 1079 and contains the Mappa Mundi, a medieval map of the world dating from the 13th century which was restored in the late 20th century. It also has a chained library.[84]

The Old House, Hereford is an historic black and white house in the centre of High Town in Hereford. It is now a museum about life in the Jacobean era of the 1600s when it was built.

The Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, housed in a Victorian Gothic building and opened in 1874, presents artefacts, fine art, and decorative art associated with the local area.

The Hereford Cider Museum is in the city, with a shop, and an interactive guide to producing the drink. It is a registered Charity Trust founded in the early 1970s by people who wanted to record the past, and the disappearing traditional art of cider making that had been practised for generations on the farms in the "Cider Counties". Situated in an old cider factory, it opened in 1980 and 1981. In the spring/summer a cider festival is held, started in the mid-1980s, by the Friends of the Museum with the advice of Long Ashton Research station near Bristol. It has a display of named cider apples, and the apples are pressed in the old way. The Museum holds in its Pomological Archive a number of records pertaining to apples and cider.

The Violette Szabo Museum is in Wormelow village, outside the city.

Holme Lacy House, now a hotel for a national chain, was built near the city by John Scudamore in the 1500s. It has played host to famous historical figures in its time.[85]

Several festivals are hosted in Hereford including the Beer on the Wye festival, the Hereford Food Festival, and the Three Choirs Festival.

• John Edward Masefield OM: 1930.[87]
• Graham John Turner: 31 October 2010.[88]

Source:[89]

• The Herefordshire Light Infantry: September 1945.
• RAF Hereford: April 1959.
• The King's Shropshire Light Infantry: April 1960.
• The Light Infantry: July 1971.
• HMS Antelope, RN: March 1976.
• The Royal British Legion: April 1976.
• The 22nd Special Air Services Regiment: April 1981.
• The Burma Star Association: April 1982.
• The Rifles: July 2008.