Golden Valley, Herefordshire
Encyclopedia
The Golden Valley is the name given to the valley of the River Dore
in western Herefordshire
, England
. The valley is a picturesque area of gently rolling countryside. It lies in the lee of the Black Mountains, Wales
.
The main villages are Dorstone
, Peterchurch
, Abbey Dore
and Ewyas Harold
.
d'or, meaning 'of gold'. The Normans
might have confused the Welsh
word dŵr, meaning 'water', with 'd'or'. A similar situation occurred with the Duero/Douro river in Iberia (Spain and Portugal) where the Romance languages adopted the original Celtic name and changed the meaning to the similar-sounding precious metal.
Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire
, located just outside the village of Dorstone
, is a chamber tomb
from the Neolithic
Period, and dates from some time between 3700 and 2700 BC. Arthur's Stone is Herefordshire's oldest man-made structure.
The majestic Dore Abbey
, a former mediaeval Cistercian monastery
, is a 'must' to visit in this area - and during the summer offers a programme of musical concerts. It was built between 1175 and 1220 and restored in the 1630s.
The diaries of Francis Kilvert
extol the beauty of the local landscape of English river valleys sheltered by the Black Mountains
between Hay on Wye and Hereford
and it is Bredwardine
where he is buried. Kilvert was Rector at St Andrew's church, Bredwardine until his early death in 1879.
Ewyas Harold Castle
is an early Norman
motte and bailey castle and St Michael's church, Ewyas Harold
contains a 13th-century or 14th-century effigy
of a lady holding a heart in the palm of her hand.
The last remaining toll bridge
in Herefordshire at Whitney-on-Wye
leads to Hay-on-Wye
- the world-renowned second-hand book town. This border town has tiny streets and 30 bookshops shoulder to shoulder - individual, independent, idiosyncratic - with prices from 50p to £1,000+ for rare editions.
Owain Glyndŵr
is said to have spent his final years after his disappearance following the eventual failure of his rebellion against King Henry IV
in hiding under an alternative identity with his daughter, Alys Scudamore, previously known as Alys ferch Owain Glyndŵr
, and her husband, a Herefordshire
Scudamore, namely Sir John Scudamore in the Golden Valley.
in both a painting and as an actual location. C.S. Lewis, the film's protagonist, owned a painting of a valley which to him, as a child, appeared to be heaven.
At the southern end of the Golden Valley in the village of Ewyas Harold is a llama farm. The owners of Golden Valley Llamas take people on llama trekking expeditions around the area. An item about the Golden Valley Llama herd appeared on the BBC regional news Midlands Today on 9 December 2009
to Tirley. The pipeline increases the volume of gas which can be transported from the new LNG terminals at Milford Haven
to the rest of the UK.
River Dore
The River Dore is a tributary of the River Monnow in Herefordshire, England.It rises on Cusop Hill, in the foothills of the Black Mountains, close to the border between England and Wales. It flows for through the villages of Dorstone, Peterchurch, Vowchurch, Abbey Dore and Pontrilas, before...
in western Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The valley is a picturesque area of gently rolling countryside. It lies in the lee of the Black Mountains, Wales
Black Mountains, Wales
The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the national border into Herefordshire, England. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons National Park, and are frequently...
.
The main villages are Dorstone
Dorstone
Dorstone is a village within the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England. There is a thriving community with a church and public house with restaurant. The Golden Valley area offers excellent hillwalking and horseback riding countryside and is noted for its scenery...
, Peterchurch
Peterchurch
Peterchurch is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England, which has a Norman church, dedicated to St. Peter, built on the unusual basilica model with four, rather than three chambers. The church's foundations are thought to go back to 786, and parts of the Saxon walls...
, Abbey Dore
Abbey Dore
Abbey Dore is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, known for Dore Abbey, a 12th century Cistercian abbey, expanded in the 13th century. The village is situated in the Golden Valley, and has a population of 342. Abbey Dore Court has large gardens open to the public in spring and...
and Ewyas Harold
Ewyas Harold
Ewyas Harold is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire, England, near to the Welsh border with present day Monmouthshire and about half way between the towns of Abergavenny and Hereford. It lies on the Dulas brook, and is contiguous with the neighbouring village of...
.
Origin of the name
The name Golden Valley probably derives from a confusion of the name of the River Dore with the FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
d'or, meaning 'of gold'. The Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
might have confused the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
word dŵr, meaning 'water', with 'd'or'. A similar situation occurred with the Duero/Douro river in Iberia (Spain and Portugal) where the Romance languages adopted the original Celtic name and changed the meaning to the similar-sounding precious metal.
Historic Attractions
Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire
Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire is a Neolithic chambered tomb, or Dolmen, dating from 3,700 BC – 2,700 BC and is situated on the ridge line of a hill overlooking both the Golden Valley, Herefordshire and the Wye Valley, Herefordshire.- Location :...
, located just outside the village of Dorstone
Dorstone
Dorstone is a village within the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England. There is a thriving community with a church and public house with restaurant. The Golden Valley area offers excellent hillwalking and horseback riding countryside and is noted for its scenery...
, is a chamber tomb
Chamber tomb
A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one...
from the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
Period, and dates from some time between 3700 and 2700 BC. Arthur's Stone is Herefordshire's oldest man-made structure.
The majestic Dore Abbey
Dore Abbey
Dore Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in the village of Abbey Dore in the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England. A large part of the original mediaeval building has been used since the 16th century as the parish church, with remaining parts either now ruined or no longer extant.-History:The...
, a former mediaeval Cistercian monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, is a 'must' to visit in this area - and during the summer offers a programme of musical concerts. It was built between 1175 and 1220 and restored in the 1630s.
The diaries of Francis Kilvert
Francis Kilvert
Robert Francis Kilvert , always known as Francis, or Frank, was born at The Rectory, Hardenhuish Lane, near Chippenham, Wiltshire, to the Rev. Robert Kilvert, Rector of Langley Burrell, Wiltshire, and Thermuthis, daughter of Walter Coleman and Thermuthis Ashe...
extol the beauty of the local landscape of English river valleys sheltered by the Black Mountains
Black Mountains, Wales
The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the national border into Herefordshire, England. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons National Park, and are frequently...
between Hay on Wye and Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and it is Bredwardine
Bredwardine
Bredwardine is a village in Herefordshire, England, located off the B4352 road in the west of the county.Features include a brick bridge over the River Wye, a historic late 17th century coaching inn named the Red Lion, St Andrews parish church and the site of Bredwardine Castle.The Wye Valley Walk...
where he is buried. Kilvert was Rector at St Andrew's church, Bredwardine until his early death in 1879.
Ewyas Harold Castle
Ewyas Harold Castle
Ewyas Harold Castle was a castle in the village of Ewyas Harold in Herefordshire, England.The first castle on the site is believed to be one of the very few which were built before the Norman conquest under the Saxons, probably in 1048, on the site of an earlier fortification, possibly by Osbern...
is an early Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
motte and bailey castle and St Michael's church, Ewyas Harold
Ewyas Harold
Ewyas Harold is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire, England, near to the Welsh border with present day Monmouthshire and about half way between the towns of Abergavenny and Hereford. It lies on the Dulas brook, and is contiguous with the neighbouring village of...
contains a 13th-century or 14th-century effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of a lady holding a heart in the palm of her hand.
The last remaining toll bridge
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...
in Herefordshire at Whitney-on-Wye
Whitney-on-Wye
Whitney-on-Wye is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, very close to the border with Wales. It is on the A438 road, and on the River Wye. The village is west of Hereford. The church is dedicated to the Saints Peter and Paul.-History:...
leads to Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
- the world-renowned second-hand book town. This border town has tiny streets and 30 bookshops shoulder to shoulder - individual, independent, idiosyncratic - with prices from 50p to £1,000+ for rare editions.
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
is said to have spent his final years after his disappearance following the eventual failure of his rebellion against King Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
in hiding under an alternative identity with his daughter, Alys Scudamore, previously known as Alys ferch Owain Glyndŵr
Alys ferch Owain Glyndwr
Alys ferch Owain Glyndŵr was one of the daughters of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr, the disinherited prince of the old Welsh royal house of Powys Fadog who led a major revolt in Wales between 1400 and ca...
, and her husband, a Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
Scudamore, namely Sir John Scudamore in the Golden Valley.
Recent Times
The Golden Valley featured in the 1993 film ShadowlandsShadowlands
Shadowlands is a 1985 television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M. Thompson for BBC Wales. Its subject is the relationship between Oxford don and author, C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham....
in both a painting and as an actual location. C.S. Lewis, the film's protagonist, owned a painting of a valley which to him, as a child, appeared to be heaven.
At the southern end of the Golden Valley in the village of Ewyas Harold is a llama farm. The owners of Golden Valley Llamas take people on llama trekking expeditions around the area. An item about the Golden Valley Llama herd appeared on the BBC regional news Midlands Today on 9 December 2009
Pipeline
During 2008 the Golden Valley saw the construction of the National Grid’s 196 km natural gas pipeline from FelindreFelindre
Felindre is a rural village in south Wales. The village can be found in the far north of Swansea, in the electoral ward of Mawr.The nearby Lower Lliw Reservoirs are a popular venue for walking and fishing. The water mill in the village was working until the late 1960s, there was also an abbatoir...
to Tirley. The pipeline increases the volume of gas which can be transported from the new LNG terminals at Milford Haven
Milford Haven
Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
to the rest of the UK.