Whitchurch, Herefordshire

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Whitchurch
St Dubricius Church (geograph 4445217).jpg
St Dubricius Church, Whitchurch
Whitchurch is located in Herefordshire
Whitchurch
Whitchurch
Location within Herefordshire
Population970 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO550174
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townROSS-ON-WYE
Postcode districtHR9
Dialling code01600
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Herefordshire
51°51′N 2°39′W / 51.85°N 2.65°W / 51.85; -2.65Coordinates: 51°51′N 2°39′W / 51.85°N 2.65°W / 51.85; -2.65
West front of St Dubricius' parish church

Whitchurch is a village in Herefordshire named after the church of Saint Dubricius which was originally white in colour.

Whitchurch is situated on the A40, connecting nearby Ross-on-Wye to Welsh town Monmouth. It is located near Symonds Yat and the Doward hills, so the village is used to tourists.

Until the 9th century, when it was taken over by Mercia, this area was within the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. After the Norman conquest, the area became known as Archenfield and was governed as part of the Welsh Marches. It became part of Herefordshire, and England, in the 16th century, although the use of Welsh in the area remained strong until the 19th century.[2] The Welsh name for the village, Llandywynnog, means "church of Tywynnog", derived from a personal name Gwynnog.[3]

Within the parish in Symonds Yat (West) is the Old Court (now the Old Court Hotel) which was the ancestral home of the Gwillim family including Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim. Thomas Gwillim built the Gwillim family burial enclosure at the church in 1744. John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (1791–1796) and founder of Toronto, named Whitchurch Township in Ontario after the birthplace of his wife, Elizabeth Gwillim.

The primary school is Whitchurch Church of England Primary School, which holds awards for Investors in People and Eco Schools.

See also[]

Symonds Yat

References[]

  1. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  2. ^ Colin Lewis, Herefordshire - the Welsh Connection, 2006, ISBN 0-86381-958-3
  3. ^ Welsh place names in Herefordshire

External links[]

grid reference

 WikiMiniAtlas
SO550174


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