Gladestry () is a small village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

mid-Wales Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary autho ...

, close to the border with

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the end of the

Hergest Ridge Hergest Ridge is a large elongated hill which traverses the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom, between the town of Kington in Herefordshire and the village of Gladestry in Powys. Its highest point, which is in England, ...

and south of the large moorland area of

Radnor Forest Radnor Forest () is a rock dome composed of Silurian shales, mudstones and limestone in the historic county of Radnorshire, Powys, Mid Wales. It is a forest in the medieval sense of the word (an area of land set aside for hunting). It lies within ...

. People living in Gladestry rely on the nearby town of

Kington, Herefordshire Kington is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The parish had a population of 3,240. Geography Kington is from the border with Wales, and lies on the western side of Offa's Dyke. The town is in the shadow of Hergest Rid ...

, for shops, employment, and public services. Local employment is provided mainly by

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

community, and a local

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

. The village includes a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, St Mary's, a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, a

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 ...

, a

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 ...

which educates around 50–60 children and a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

. In the 2001 census the population of the community was 419, reducing slightly to 412 at the 2011 census. In the 2021 census, Gladestry had a population of 440, with 98.2% being white, 7.9% able to speak Welsh, and 2.7% born outside of the United Kingdom. The community includes Newchurch and Michaelchurch-on-Arrow, where another church, St Michael's is also a Grade I listed building.

Offa's Dyke

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path () is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by John Hunt, Baron Hunt, Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws hillwalking, walkers from th ...

passes through the village and there are various footpaths and

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...

s for walkers, cyclists and

horse rider The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

s. The

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

listed 17th-century manor house Baynham Hall is located in the hamlet of Michaelchurch-on-Arrow.

References

External links

Gladestry Community websitewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Gladestry and surrounding area
Villages in Powys {{Powys-geo-stub