Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/255

HEREFORD. 247 HEREFORD. Scotch under Lord Lpven ; but on the approach of the king to the city, after his defeat at Naseby, they raised the siege. Hereford was one of the last places which held out for the king, and to reward this devotion Charles II., on coming to the throne, granted the city a new charter, accompanied with the motto, " Invictse Fidelitatis Pre- mium." It is now governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, and returns two members to parlia- ment for the borough. The assizes and quarter sessions for the county are held here. Hereford has generally been considered a very healthy town. The streets are broad and well paved, and lighted with gas : the private houses are mostly built of brick. The principal public buildings are- the Shire or County Hall, built in 1817, after a design of Sir Robert Smirke's, a commodious structure, with a portico, supported by eight fluted pillars : it consists of a large hall, which is used at elections, assemblies, &c., and the rooms appropriated to the law and record officers ; the county gaol, in Com- mercial-road, enclosed within a high brick wall: the entrance to this is a rusticated gateway with Tuscan pillars ; the city prison, formerly one of the gates of the ancient walls ; the townhall, now entirely removed, formerly situated in the High Town, a wood and plaster building, supposed to have been erected in the reign of James I. ; the infirmary, situated near the river, first opened in 1776 ; the union workhouse, a substantial building erected in 1836; and the post-offlee, a neat building. The theatre, where Clive, Siddons, Kemble, and Garrick commenced their careers as actors, and which was for many years under the direction of the Kembles, has been pulled down, and a com exchange with clock turret has been erected on its site. The markets are held under and around the old townhall. There are also very large manure works at Holmer, within the liberties of the city. The most interesting object in Hereford is the cathedral, which stands on the S. side of the city, near to the river. Previous to the erection of the present edifice, more than one large church had already at various times existed in Hereford. So early as the reign of Ofl'a, King of Mercia, a church stood here, which was afterwards pulled down by Milfred, a governor of Mercia, in the reign of Egbert, to give place to a more imposing edifice. Con- cerning the erection of this second church, tradition has handed down the following account : Offa having, at the instigation of his wife, murdered Ethelbert, King of the West Angles, in expiation of his crime caused Ethel- bert's remains to be deposited in the church at Hereford, and erected a tomb over them, at the same time making large donations to the church. On becoming Governor of Mercia, hearing that miracles had been performed at Ethelbert's tomb, and satisfied with the results of bin inquiries as to their genuineness, Milfred resolved upon erecting a new church in place of the old one, for which purpose ho made a largo addition to the valuable trea- sures which the church had already acquired from the munificence of Offa and the offerings of the numerous pilgrims who resorted hither. This church was com- <1 in 825. After the lapse of 200 years, Milfred's church had fallen into decay. Athelstan, Bishop of ll<Ti:ford, commenced the erection of a new one, which was completed about 1030. This church was destroyed by Gryffyth in lOoS. After the destruction of Athel- s church, the present cathedral was commenced by < ip Robert, of Lorraine, and completed by Bishop Kiiynelm about the year 1115. Since that time several lions have been made to the original structure. The '.,i tower was built about 1200; and a beautiful tower was erected over the V. front, probably in the reign of Edward II. or Edward III. In 1786 this tower destroying the western portion of the cathedral. w western end was built by Wyatt, in a style not rrespondenco with that of the original architecture, h sadly mars the beauty of the exterior. The cathedral is cruciform. The principal dimensions are me length, 350 feet; breadth, 174 feet; height of .63 feet ; breadth of nave, 28 feet ; height of tower, 160 feet. The cathedral contains many beautiful and Interesting momnm-nts, some of which are very ancient. The cathedral has been extensively restored by G. (i. Scott, Esq., mainly through the dean and chapter. Large contributions have been given by the gentry and landed proprietors towards this object. There is a service held in the Lady chapel for the parish of St. John, as that part of the cathedral is within the parish. In the chapter-room is a very curious old map of the world one of the most ancient in existence. The col- lego is a quadrangle, containing the residences of the vicars. The library, at the E. end, contains many valu- able books and manuscripts. The cloisters connect the cathedral with the bishop's palace, an ancient building situated near the banks of the Wye. The tower, which rises from the intersection of the navo and transept, was formerly surmounted by a wooden spire covered with lead, but this was pulled down at the end of the last century. Besides the cathedral, the principal churches in Hereford are All Saints, at the top of Eign-strect, consisting of a nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a tower surmounted by a lofty spire the living, vol. 180, in the patron, of the Dean and Canons of Windsor ; St. Martin's in the Ross-road, a cruciform building with a spire, and containing a stained-glass window; St. Nicholas, at the end of Victoria- street, having a massive square tower ; St. Peter's, in St. Owen-street, founded by Walter de Lacy about 1080, consisting of a nave, chancel, N. and S. aisles, and a tower. The Roman Catholics have a chapel hero. The Methodists, Baptists, Friends, and Independents, have places of worship. There are several schools in the city ; the cathedral school is the principal one. In 1859 magnificent National schools were erected by the Vicar of St. Martin' a, in the early English style, to correspond with the vicarage and church. Hereford also contains a museum, literary insti- tution, library, and reading-room. There are numerous charitable institutions in the town Couingsby hospital, for 1 invalided soldier and 10 old servants ; St. Ethei- bert's hospital, for the maintenance of 10 poor women ; Trinity hospital, for a corporal, 2 men, and 12 widows ; St. Giles's hospital, for 5 poor men ; William's hospital, for 6 poor men ; Shelley's hospital, for 6 poor widows ; Price's hospital, for 12 aged freemen of the city; and Lazarus hospital, for 6 poor widows. The principal anti- quities in the town are a few remains of the castle, and an old house in Wildemarsh street, formerly belonging to the Black Friars, adjoining which was a chapel and buildings of the Knights Hospitallers of Jerusalem. Portions of the old city wall are still standing in three or four parts of the city. Of the various other monasteries and religious houses which existed in the city previous to the Reformation, there are no longer any traces. The diocese of Hereford is in the province of Canterbury. It includes the greater part of Herefordshire, part of Shropshire, Worcestershire, Monmouthshire, Radnor, and Montgomeryshire, and comprises 338 benefices. Several persons of celebrity have been born in Hereford, as Nell Gwyun, David Garrick, and Havard. There are two weekly papers published in tho city the Here- fordshire Journal, Conservative, one of tho oldest estab- lished in England; and tho Hereford Times, Liberal, commenced in 1832. Wednesday and Saturday are market days. Fairs are held on the first Tuesday in February, Wednesday in Easter Week, 1st July, and 20th October, chiefly for cattle. HEREFORDSHIRE, an inland cp. situated in the W. of England, on the borders of Wales, between 51 49' and 52 24' N. lat., and 2 20' and 3 7' W. long. It is bounded on the N. by Shropshire and Worcester- shire, on the E. by Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, on the S. by Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire, and on the W. by Radnorshire, Brecknockshire, and Mon- mouthshire. By the Act 7 and 8 Viet. c. 61, several detached portions of this county, which were locally situated in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Radnorshire, and Monmouthshire, were taken from it, and a detached portion of Worcestershire, locally situated in Hereford- shire, was added to it. The extreme length of Here- fordshire is 40 miles, and tho extreme breadth 34 miles. Its area is 838 square miles, or 534,823 statute acres,