Fownhope is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, England, an area of outstanding natural beauty on the banks of the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

. The population of the village at the 2011 census was 999.

History

The earliest known reference to the village comes from the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086, where it is called simply ''Hope'', from Old English '' hop'' (

dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...

''hope''), "small, enclosed valley". Its name was lengthened to distinguish it from neighbouring

Woolhope Woolhope is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish was 486 at the 2011 census. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Broadmoor Common to the west of the village (and a nature res ...

, which was also called ''Hope'' at the time of the Domesday Book. Early spellings of the village's name include ''Faghehop'' (1242), ''Fanne Hope'' (1243), ''Fawehope'' (1269), ''Fowehope'' (1275), ''Fonhope'' (1278), and ''Fowenhop'' (1315). The name is believed to come from late Old English ''*Faganhop'' ("Faga's valley"), from a personal name ''*Faga'' (

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

''*Fagan''), from Old English ''

fag Fag or FAG may refer to: * Cigarette, in British and Australian slang * Fagging, hierarchical servitude in British public schools * Faggot, a pejorative term for a homosexual * FAG, a brand of the Schaeffler Group * FAGS, now FADS Fun Sticks, an ...

'', "coloured, variegated", although no such personal name is attested.

Landmarks

The village has a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, St. Mary's Parish Church;

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, St. Mary's C of E Primary School; medical centre, Fownhope Medical Centre; two

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s, the Green Man and the New Inn; two hotels, Bowen's Bed & Breakfast and Ferry Lane Bed & Breakfast (both of which are

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

hotels); a fitness/leisure centre, Wye Leisure and

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

s, John A Pritchard & Son. There is a village hall and a recreation/sports field and pavilion, both of which are well used by the many clubs and societies in the village, and in the centre is the village

Fire Station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

. On the northern outskirts of the village, towards Hereford, the Lucksall campsite is situated on the river by the Holme Lacy bridge. It is owned by Sir Eli Cartwright whose family owned most of Hereford in the 19th century. The nearby

Wye Valley Walk The Wye Valley Walk () is a long distance footpath in Wales and England following the course of the River Wye. History In 1975 the Wye Valley Walk opened with a stretch between St. Arvans and Monmouth. Further stretches were added, leading to ...

with many walks on the hills and banks along the river, is very popular with walkers. The

may not pass through Fownhope but is a perfect place to go nearby. In springtime there are fantastic displays of wild flowers in the woods and fields, particularly in the nearby woods, Lea & Pagets Wood. There are many small quarries and lime kilns scattered through the area, and the remains of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

on Capler Hill.

Fownhope Heart of Oak Society

The village maintains a strong identity and the

Heart of Oak "Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies, including the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was the official march of the Royal Australian Navy, but ...

society, an old friendly society, holds a number of events during the year including the annual Heart of Oak Club walk, where villagers, young and old, process through the streets with sticks decorated with elaborate flower decorations behind a local silver band, stopping off at houses along the way for drinks, including the

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

made from local apples. The Heart of Oak society also holds the annual fireworks display and bonfire night on the recreation field.

External links

Fownhope Village websiteWye Valley Walk

References

{{authority control Villages in Herefordshire Civil parishes in Herefordshire