Lyonshall
Encyclopedia
Lyonshall is a historic village
and civil parish
in Herefordshire
, England
. According to the 2001 census
it had a population of 750.
in the north west corner of the county of Herefordshire
, England
. It is near to the border with Wales
and has significant stretches of Offa's Dyke
running through it. The northern boundary of the parish is marked by the River Arrow
. Lyonshall Parish covers 5,000 acres (2,000 Hectares) and is on the Black and White Village Trail. The population of 750 people live in 280 households spread across the parish and centred in the village. The town of Kington
is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west of Lyonshall.
of 1086. The entry reads:
and Letton. Also making an appearance in Domesday Book are the adjacent parishes of Kington
, Titley
and Rushock
, all described as non-tax paying waste lands. To the east of Lyonshall lies Pembridge
, which, like Lyonshall, is described as a reasonable sized manor.
Lyonshall Castle is today a picturesque ruin in private ownership, with well-formed moat and outer enclosure
covering approximately three acres. The building of the castle started in about 1090, when the Devereux
family, sometimes referred to as d'Évreux or D'Ebroicis, held it as lords of the manor from Roger de Lacy
. Lyonshall was important as one of the border manors of the Marcher lords. Its position, occupying a useful spot on the roads to and from Wales, attracted military interest, and it is clear that many of the castle occupants continued to lead lives of some national significance, often serving in the Royal Courts. Many of Lyonshall's lords have been eminent figures, both famous and infamous. In 1322, for example, the castle is mentioned as being part of the estates of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere
, who was described on his execution as 'a great Baron and as great a Rebel.' It seems that even after Magna Carta
, some of the Marcher Lords
continued to be troublesome to the king. Bartholomew's only son, Giles, died without issue and so Lyonshall became the property of his sister and co-heir Maud; women were often substantial landowners in the Middle Ages. She married John de Vere, seventh Earl of Oxford
and one of the heroes of the Battle of Crecy
in 1346.
In 1392, Lyonshall passed to Simon de Burley
, a royal favourite. Introduced to court at a young age, he went to sea at the age of 14 to fight the Spanish, and he was a soldier until his capture by the French at Poitou in 1369. He was a court tutor, and his former pupil, Richard II, made him Governor of Windsor and Llanstephan, Master of Falconry and Keeper of the Royal Mews; he also received a great number of manors and estates in reward for his service. However, he was charged with treason by the Duke of Gloucester and although the king and queen personally knelt to beg for his pardon, he was executed on 15 May 1388.
In the 19th Century, from about 1870 to sometime in the 1890s, the Vicar of Lyonshall was Charles Madison Green, whose wife, Ella, was the eldest sister of author H. Rider Haggard, famous for 'King Solomon's Mines' and 'She'.
The major businesses are Burgoynes of Lyonshall - which owns farms, hires Marquees and runs a fleet of lorries - and Lynhales Nursing Home which employs almost 100 people in caring for around 50 elderly residents in an historic manor house.
As well as the larger businesses there is a myriad of smaller, often one-person enterprises spread across the parish. The Pub, The Royal George, is in the centre of the village and is a black and white building dating from 1600. It was originally named The George, but was renamed after the naval disaster of 1782 when the flagship The Royal George sank at Spithead with the loss of 900 lives. There is a company, The Four-Poster Bed Coy, producing hand-made beds and other furniture specialising in the use of sustainable local oak. Mayglothlings Waste Ltd is based in the parish and has a fleet of tankers seen around the West Midlands, as well as Mercia Drain Ltd that is in the same line of business.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in 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...
. According to the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
it had a population of 750.
Location
Lyonshall is a parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in the north west corner of the county of 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...
. It is near to the border with Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and has significant stretches of Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke is a massive linear earthwork, roughly followed by some of the current border between England and Wales. In places, it is up to wide and high. In the 8th century it formed some kind of delineation between the Anglian kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys...
running through it. The northern boundary of the parish is marked by the River Arrow
River Arrow (Wales)
The River Arrow is a river in the Welsh Marches, rising in Powys in Wales, then flowing into the English county of Herefordshire.It rises near Gwaunceste Hill, then flows south-east through Newchuch and Michaelchurch-on-Arrow. It forms a short section of the England/Wales boundary, before flowing...
. Lyonshall Parish covers 5,000 acres (2,000 Hectares) and is on the Black and White Village Trail. The population of 750 people live in 280 households spread across the parish and centred in the village. The town of Kington
Kington, Herefordshire
Kington is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,597.-Location:Kington is near the Wales-England border and, despite being on the western side of Offa's Dyke, has been English for over a thousand years. The town is in the...
is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west of Lyonshall.
History
Lyonshall was listed under the name Lenehalle the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. The entry reads:
'LYONSHALL. Walter holds from him . Thorkell held from Earl Harold . 5 hides which pay tax. In Lordship 2 ploughs; 3 villagers, 11 smallholders and 3 riding men with 5 ploughs. 5 slaves, male and female. From some men settled there 110d are given for as long as they wish . Value before 1066, 60s; now 50s.'Lyonshall is listed as being in the land of Roger of Lacy in Elsdon Hundred. Other villages in the same Hundred were Hopley's Green, Woonton, Eardisley
Eardisley
Eardisley is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire about south of the centre of Kington. Eardisley is in the Wye valley in the northwest of the county, close to the border with Wales....
and Letton. Also making an appearance in Domesday Book are the adjacent parishes of Kington
Kington, Herefordshire
Kington is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,597.-Location:Kington is near the Wales-England border and, despite being on the western side of Offa's Dyke, has been English for over a thousand years. The town is in the...
, Titley
Titley
Titley is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. It lies on the B4355 between Kington and Presteigne.In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 167....
and Rushock
Rushock, Herefordshire
Rushock is a small village in Herefordshire, England. It lies about 1 mile north-east of Kington.Rushock was mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name of Ruiscop, when the place was said to be waste. It was later a hamlet in the parish of Kington, and since 1894 has been in the civil parish...
, all described as non-tax paying waste lands. To the east of Lyonshall lies Pembridge
Pembridge
Pembridge is a village located just south of the River Arrow on the A44 between Leominster and Kington in Herefordshire, England.Describing itself as The Jewel in the Crown of the Black and White Village Trail, Pembridge has a history stretching back at least eight hundred years and is notable for...
, which, like Lyonshall, is described as a reasonable sized manor.
Lyonshall Castle is today a picturesque ruin in private ownership, with well-formed moat and outer enclosure
covering approximately three acres. The building of the castle started in about 1090, when the Devereux
Devereux
Devereux is a surname found throughout the French-speaking world and in many other countries. It is of Norman origin, meaning d'Évreux or "from Évreux", a town in Normandy, France...
family, sometimes referred to as d'Évreux or D'Ebroicis, held it as lords of the manor from Roger de Lacy
Roger de Lacy
Roger de Lacy, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, a Marcher Lord on the Welsh border.- Lineage :He was son of Walter de Lacy , a retainer of William fitzOsbern. Roger was a castle builder, particularly at Ludlow Castle....
. Lyonshall was important as one of the border manors of the Marcher lords. Its position, occupying a useful spot on the roads to and from Wales, attracted military interest, and it is clear that many of the castle occupants continued to lead lives of some national significance, often serving in the Royal Courts. Many of Lyonshall's lords have been eminent figures, both famous and infamous. In 1322, for example, the castle is mentioned as being part of the estates of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere , English nobleman, was the son and heir of Gunselm de Badlesmere , and fought in the English army both in France and Scotland during the later years of the reign of Edward I of England.-Life:In 1307 he became governor of Bristol Castle. Edward II...
, who was described on his execution as 'a great Baron and as great a Rebel.' It seems that even after Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, some of the Marcher Lords
Marcher Lords
A Marcher Lord was a strong and trusted noble appointed by the King of England to guard the border between England and Wales.A Marcher Lord is the English equivalent of a margrave...
continued to be troublesome to the king. Bartholomew's only son, Giles, died without issue and so Lyonshall became the property of his sister and co-heir Maud; women were often substantial landowners in the Middle Ages. She married John de Vere, seventh Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford
Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141 until the death of the 20th earl in 1703. The Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of master or Lord Great Chamberlain from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625...
and one of the heroes of the Battle of Crecy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
in 1346.
In 1392, Lyonshall passed to Simon de Burley
Simon de Burley
Sir Simon de Burley, KG was holder of the offices of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle between 1384-88, and was a Knight of the Garter....
, a royal favourite. Introduced to court at a young age, he went to sea at the age of 14 to fight the Spanish, and he was a soldier until his capture by the French at Poitou in 1369. He was a court tutor, and his former pupil, Richard II, made him Governor of Windsor and Llanstephan, Master of Falconry and Keeper of the Royal Mews; he also received a great number of manors and estates in reward for his service. However, he was charged with treason by the Duke of Gloucester and although the king and queen personally knelt to beg for his pardon, he was executed on 15 May 1388.
Community
The parish has the church of St Michael & All Angels, a pub (The Royal George), a post office and the Lyonshall Memorial Hall. The Parish Council is well supported and achieves improvements around the parish and voices opinions of parishioners to the Herefordshire Council.In the 19th Century, from about 1870 to sometime in the 1890s, the Vicar of Lyonshall was Charles Madison Green, whose wife, Ella, was the eldest sister of author H. Rider Haggard, famous for 'King Solomon's Mines' and 'She'.
Commerce
Lyonshall parish has a largely agricultural economy. It hosts six substantial poultry farms, produces blackcurrants, potatoes and livestock as well as the normal arable crops.The major businesses are Burgoynes of Lyonshall - which owns farms, hires Marquees and runs a fleet of lorries - and Lynhales Nursing Home which employs almost 100 people in caring for around 50 elderly residents in an historic manor house.
As well as the larger businesses there is a myriad of smaller, often one-person enterprises spread across the parish. The Pub, The Royal George, is in the centre of the village and is a black and white building dating from 1600. It was originally named The George, but was renamed after the naval disaster of 1782 when the flagship The Royal George sank at Spithead with the loss of 900 lives. There is a company, The Four-Poster Bed Coy, producing hand-made beds and other furniture specialising in the use of sustainable local oak. Mayglothlings Waste Ltd is based in the parish and has a fleet of tankers seen around the West Midlands, as well as Mercia Drain Ltd that is in the same line of business.