Herefordshire is a county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales. It covers 2,180 km2 (842 sq mi) and had 187,522 residents at the 2021 census. That makes it one of the most thinly populated counties in England. Hereford is the county town and the only city.
A single unitary authority, Herefordshire Council, runs the whole county. It has done so since 1 April 1998, when Herefordshire was separated again from Worcestershire.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | West Midlands |
| Area | 2,180 km2 (842 sq mi) |
| Population (2021 census) | 187,522 |
| Density | 86 people per km2 (223 per sq mi) |
| County town | Hereford |
| Council | Herefordshire Council (unitary) |
| Main river | Wye, with the Lugg, Arrow and Frome |
| Highest point | Black Mountain, 703 m (2,306 ft) |
| Postcode areas | HR, with parts of SY, WR, NP and LD |
Towns and Villages in Herefordshire
Herefordshire holds 587 named towns, villages and hamlets on record. The list below gives 260 of them in alphabetical order, from Abbey Dore to Yarsop.
- Abbey Dore
- Acton Beauchamp
- Adforton
- Allensmore
- Amberley
- Ashley Moor
- Aston
- Auberrow
- Aylton
- Bagwyllydiart
- Ballingham
- Barrelhill Green
- Bearwood
- Becknell
- Belmont
- Biddlestone
- Bircher
- Bishops Frome
- Blakemere
- Bosbury
- Bradlow
- Brampton Abbotts
- Bredward
- Breinton Common
- Bridge Sollers
- Brilley
- Brimfield
- Brimfieldcross
- Broad Oak
- Brockhampton
- Bromyard
- Brookfield
- Buckton
- Burcher
- Burghill
- Burmarsh
- Bycross
- Byton
- Callow
- Canon Frome
- Carey
- Checkley
- Claytons
- Clodock
- Cobnash
- Cold Green
- Collington
- Combe Moor
- Common Bach
- Cornett
- Craswall
- Credenhill
- Crocker’s Ash
- Crow Hill
- Crowmoor
- Crumpton Hill
- Didley
- Dinedor
- Dodmarsh
- Dormington
- Dorstone
- Dulas
- Eardisland
- Eardisley
- Eastnor
- Eaton Bishop
- Edwin Loach
- Elton
- Even Pits
- Ewyas Harold
- Eye
- Falcon
- Fiddler’s Green
- Fownhope
- Foxley
- Fromes Hill
- Ganarew
- Garway Hill
- Golden Cross
- Gorsley Common
- Grantsfield
- Green Crize
- Grendon Green
- Hagley
- Hamnish Clifford
- Hampton Bishop
- Harewood End
- Haven
- Headland
- Hendre
- Hereford
- Hill Gate
- Hill of Eaton
- Hinton
- Holme Lacy
- Holme Marsh
- Hom Green
- Hope under Dinmore
- Howle Hill
- Humber
- Hurstley
- Ivington
- Jug’s Green
- Kentchurch
- Kilpeck
- King’s Acre
- Kings Pyon
- Kingsland
- Kingswood
- Kington
- Kinton
- Knapton Green
- Kynaston
- Lea
- Ledbury
- Ledgemoor
- Leinthall Starkes
- Leintwardine
- Leominster
- Lewis Wych
- Limebrook
- Linley Green
- Little Birch
- Little Cowarne
- Little Garway
- Little Hill
- Little Merthyr
- Llancloudy
- Llangarron
- Llanrothal
- Llanwarne
- Longtown
- Lower Breinton
- Lower Buckenhill
- Lower Green
- Lower Hardwick
- Lower Kinsham
- Lower Maes-coed
- Lower Wootton
- Lucton
- Lugwardine
- Lulham
- Luston
- Lyne Down
- Lyonshall
- Madley
- Mansel Gamage
- Marlas
- Marston
- Maund Bryan
- Meer Common
- Michaelchurch Escley
- Middle Maes-coed
- Millhalf
- Monkhide
- Moorcot
- Mordiford
- Moreton on Lugg
- Mortimer’s Cross
- Much Dewchurch
- Munderfield Row
- Munsley Green
- Nash
- New Town
- Newtown
- Norbridge
- Nunnington
- Nutfield
- Old Gore
- Orcop Hill
- Orleton
- Park Gate
- Pembridge
- Pen-allt
- Pencoyd
- Penguithal
- Perrystone Hill
- Peterchurch
- Peterstow
- Pikestye
- Pixley
- Pontshill
- Portway
- Preston Wynne
- Pudleston
- Rhydspence
- Risbury
- Rodd Hurst
- Ross on Wye
- Rudhall
- Rushock
- Ryeford
- Saint Margaret
- Sallys
- Sapey Common
- Scotland Bank
- Shelwick
- Shenmore
- Shobdon
- Snodhill
- St Owen’s Cross
- Stansbatch
- Staplow
- Staunton on Wye
- Stockingfield
- Stoke Edith
- Stoke Prior
- Storridge
- Streamford
- Stretton Grandison
- Sutton
- Sutton Marsh
- Symonds Yat
- Tedstone Delamere
- The Bage
- The Heath
- The Leys
- Thornbury
- Thruxton
- Tillington Common
- Todding
- Tretire
- Trolway
- Twyford Common
- Ullingswick
- Uphampton
- Upper Egleton
- Upper Hardwick
- Upper Maes-coed
- Upper Town
- Upperton
- Upton Crews
- Veldo
- Vowchurch
- Waller’s Green
- Waterloo
- Weirend
- Wellington Marsh
- Welsh Newton
- Weobley
- West Lydiatt
- Westfield
- Westmoor
- Weston Beggard
- Weston under Penyard
- Whitbourne
- White Rocks
- Whitney
- Whyle
- Wigmore
- Wilton
- Winter’s Cross
- Withington Marsh
- Woodbrook
- Woolhope
- Woonton Ash
- Wormbridge
- Wyson
- Yarpole
- Yarsop
Geography
Herefordshire borders Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east and Gloucestershire to the south-east. Monmouthshire and Powys in Wales lie to the west and south-west.
The centre is a broad lowland basin of red sandstone, crossed by the River Wye and its tributary the Lugg. This is orchard and hop country, and the soil gives the county its characteristic red ploughland.
Hills ring it on three sides. The Malverns run along the eastern boundary with Worcestershire. The Black Mountains rise in the south-west to Black Mountain at 703 m, the county’s highest point. The Wye Valley below Ross-on-Wye and the Golden Valley of the River Dore are both protected landscapes. Offa’s Dyke, the eighth-century earthwork, runs along the western edge.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 187,522 residents at about 86 people per square kilometre, roughly a fifth of the England average. Only Northumberland and a handful of other counties are less densely settled.
Hereford holds about a third of the population. After it come Leominster, Ross-on-Wye and Ledbury, each between about 9,000 and 12,000 people, then Bromyard and Kington, both under 5,000.
Everything else is village-scale. The county has more than 500 named settlements and no town over 15,000 outside Hereford. That is why so many services are concentrated in the city.
Economy and Local Life
Herefordshire is farming country and its industries follow from that. Cider is the best known: Bulmers in Hereford is the largest cider works in the world, and Weston’s has pressed at Much Marcle since 1880. The county grows a large share of England’s cider apples and hops.
Soft fruit and top fruit are grown under polytunnels along the Wye and Lugg valleys, and potatoes and cereals work the lighter land. The Hereford breed of cattle, developed here in the eighteenth century, has been exported to more than fifty countries.
Poultry processing and food manufacturing are the largest industrial employers, with Cargill at Hereford. Painscastle and Rotherwas hold engineering and manufacturing estates, and the Special Air Service is based at Credenhill. Market days include Hereford on Wednesdays, Leominster on Fridays and Ross-on-Wye on Thursdays and Saturdays.
History
The area was the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the Magonsaete, a sub-kingdom of Mercia, and Hereford was its centre. Offa’s Dyke was thrown up along the western edge in the late eighth century to mark the frontier with the Welsh kingdoms.
After the Norman conquest this was Marcher country, held by lords with near-royal powers and studded with castles at Goodrich, Longtown, Wigmore, Clifford and Kilpeck. Hereford Cathedral holds the Mappa Mundi of about 1300, the largest medieval world map to survive, and a chained library of more than 1,500 books.
Herefordshire was merged with Worcestershire in 1974 to form Hereford and Worcester. That arrangement was unpopular and was abolished on 1 April 1998, when Herefordshire returned as a unitary authority and a county in its own right.
Getting There
The M50 links the south of the county to the M5 near Tewkesbury and is the only motorway serving it. The A49 runs north to south through Leominster, Hereford and Ross-on-Wye. The A465 heads south-west to Abergavenny, the A438 runs east to Ledbury, and the A44 crosses west to Kington.
Hereford is on the Welsh Marches Line, with trains north to Shrewsbury and Manchester and south to Newport and Cardiff. It is also the western terminus of the Cotswold Line, giving direct services through Ledbury and Worcester to Oxford and London Paddington. Leominster is the other main station.
There is no airport in the county. Birmingham is about 55 miles away, Bristol about 60 and Cardiff about 65.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Herefordshire?
187,522 at the 2021 census, at about 86 people per square kilometre.
What is the largest town in Herefordshire?
Hereford, with about 60,000 people. Leominster, Ross-on-Wye and Ledbury are the next largest, followed by Bromyard and Kington.
How many villages are there in Herefordshire?
Gazetteers record about 587 named towns, villages and hamlets across the county.
Which council covers Herefordshire?
Herefordshire Council, a single unitary authority based in Hereford, which has run all local services since April 1998.
Is Herefordshire in Wales?
No. It is an English county on the Welsh border, facing Monmouthshire and Powys across Offa’s Dyke.
What are the postcodes for Herefordshire?
HR covers Hereford, Leominster, Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Bromyard and Kington. Edge villages fall into SY, WR, NP and LD.