Much Cowarne is a village 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 the English

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...

 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...

, located off the A417

A417 road

-Streatley - Gloucester :It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 to Wantage, over the picturesque Berkshire Downs. In Wantage, it negotiates the market place -Streatley - Gloucester (M5):It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 (between Reading and Wallingford) to Wantage,...

 about 16 miles from 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 10 miles from its post town of Bromyard

Bromyard

Bromyard is a town in northeast Herefordshire, England with a population of approximately 4,000. It lies near to the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 between Leominster and Worcester. Bromyard has a number of traditional half-timbered pubs and some buildings dating back to Norman times...

.

Geography

The village is located in countryside away from main roads, with views to the Malvern Hills

Malvern Hills

The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern...

 and Wye Valley

Wye Valley

The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in southern Britain....

. Composer Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar

Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...

 considered the landscape around the village as a source of inspiration, frequently cycling in the area to visit the church or friends at Cowarne Court.

Notable buildings

Cowarne Hall is a former school building built in a Victorian Gothic architectural style, which has now been converted into a village hall and holiday cottages.

The village has a medieval church building, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, which dates to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. There is a plaque inside the church celebrating Edward Elgar's connection to the village.

Community

The Much Cowarne History Group has published several books and booklets, including A Jugful of Much Cowarne Cider (2003) and Much Cowarne Church: A Guidebook and History (2008). It is currently involved in producing a collection of stories and pictures about the village as part of a Local Heritage Initiative project.