Welcome to Herefordshire Churches, which is primarily for family researchers looking for that important image of a church to illustrate where their ancestors were christened/married/buried.  There are many more photos to come of churches and their interiors in this beautiful county of Herefordshire, but circumstances  caused a temporary halt to this project so bear with me if the image that you want is not yet available.  We will be adding the rest of Herefordshire’s churches  and the missing interiors very shortly.

Ledbury, Church Street

I started this project after many years of doing my own family tree, when I struggled to find decent church images to add to my write up – I hope that those looking for church images in Herefordshire will be pleased with what they find here.  For those who find that their particular  Herefordshire church is still to be uploaded………it should not be too long before the site is completed in that respect, and if you have any particular requests for searches for gravestones etc. relating to any of the missing churches then contact me as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, as far as most of the Herefordshire churches that have already been photographed are concerned it is unlikely that I will be able to go back in the near future – the exceptions being those Herefordshire churches where access to the interior was not possible on my last visit;  I will be going back to try again!

St. Mary the Virgin - Humber

Special Interest in Herefordshire Churches

It may be that your interest is in the Knights Templars, in which case the church of St. Michael at Garway is worth a look…..it is one of the six churches in England attributable to the Knights Templars.  On request, I will happily provide further information on the history of this charming and interesting Herefordshire church.  There is also a stone effigy of a 7 foot male wearing the habit of a Knight Templar dating from the 13th century in the church of St. Mary The Virgin – Bishops Frome.

One of the few churches to escape the Reformation was at Huntington, and if your interest  includes the history of Thomas A Becket, (and one of his murderers – Richard le Bret) then this one is for you, or perhaps you are fascinated by fonts in which case take a look through some of the wonderful old ones featured here, in particular the one at Madley Church, which is one of the largest in the country and is reputed to be around 1000 years old.

Separate Bell Towers

Kington's separate bell tower

Herefordshire boasts seven  of only forty  churches in England and Wales with a separate bell tower.  These include St. Michael & All Angels -Ledbury;   St. Leonards – Yarpole;   St. Bartholomew – Richards Castle;  St. Mary’s – Pembridge;  Holy Trinity – Bosbury;  St. Mary’s – Kington;  St. Michael – Garway

As a new feature for the site, I am including some brief outlines of the lives and importance of historically famous sons and daughters of Herefordshire.   The first to be completed is JOHN MASEFIELD, Poet Laureate who was born in Ledbury. Click here to read more:   Famous People from Herefordshire.   Now added – TOM SPRING,, bare knuckle fighting champion.   THE MORTIMERS of Wigmore.  JOHN KEMBLE, Martyr. Sir JOHN OLDCASTLE.

Workhouses may be of interest to you,   check out  workhouses in Herefordshire

The churches in Herefordshire are almost without exception in beautiful and often remote surroundings, and many are extremely old with fascinating histories.  If you would like some “padding” for a particular Herefordshire church in your family history, then please send an email and I will do my best to oblige.   Also, if you have any interesting stories of your Herefordshire ancestors and are willing to share them, I would be delighted to hear from you.

View from Hereford Cathedral Tower

This site is completely free and you are welcome to copy as many photographs as you wish for your personal use.    Any comments would be appreciated.