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Lyonshall or is a historic 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 ...
in
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. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Penrhos. According to the 2001 Census, the civil parish had a population of 750, increasing to 757 at the 2011 Census.


Geography

Lyonshall is a parish in the north-west corner of the county of
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. It is near the border with
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and has significant stretches of
Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...
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 to the west of Lyonshall.


History

Lyonshall was listed under the name ''Lenehalle'' 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 ...
'' of 1086. The entry reads: 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 and Letton. Also listed 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 local dialect was recorded as part of the
Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before local differe ...
. The village's name was omitted from the list of localities in the published ''Linguistic Atlas of England'' but it is shown on the maps as site 7 in Herefordshire.


Lyonshall Castle

Lyonshall Castle is a ruin in private ownership, with moat and outer enclosure covering about 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 Roger de Lacy (died after 1106) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, a Marcher Lord on the Welsh border. Roger was a castle builder, especially at Ludlow Castle. Lands and titles From his father, Walter de Lacy, he inherited Castle Frome, Here ...
. 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 many of the castle occupants continued to lead lives of national significance, often serving in the Royal Courts. Many of Lyonshall's lords have been significant figures, both famous and infamous. In 1322 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." After
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
some of the
Marcher Lords A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in France ...
continued to be troublesome to the king. Bartholomew's only son, Giles, died without issue, Lyonshall becoming the property of his sister and co-heir Maud who married
John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford (c. 12 March 1312 – 24 January 1360) was the nephew and heir of Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford who succeeded as Earl of Oxford in 1331, after his uncle died without issue. John de Vere was a trusted captai ...
who fought in the
Battle of Crecy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in 1346. In 1382 Lyonshall passed to
Simon de Burley Sir Simon de Burley (ca. 1336 – 5 May 1388) 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. Life Sir Simon Burley was one of the most influential m ...
, 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 Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
, made him Governor of Windsor and Llanstephan, Master of Falconry and Keeper of the Royal Mews; he also received manors and estates in reward for his service. However, he was charged with treason by the
Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...
and although the king and queen personally knelt to beg for his pardon, he was executed on 15 May 1388. The castle ruins are on
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
's
Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
due to their poor condition.


Lords of Lyonshall Castle


Community

The parish has the church of St Michael & All Angels 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. There is no post office in the village and the Royal George pub is closed. 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 Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...
, famous for ''King Solomon's Mines'' and ''She''.


Economy

Lyonshall parish has a largely agricultural economy. It contains six poultry farms, produces blackcurrants, potatoes and livestock, and arable crops. Major businesses include one that owns farms, hires marquees and runs a fleet of lorries; and another which employs almost 100 people in caring for around 50 elderly residents at an historic manor house. Other companies include that producing hand-made beds and other furniture specialising in the use of sustainable local oak, a waste management company, and a company providing drainage and plumbing services. With the larger businesses are smaller, often one-person parish enterprises. The Royal George pub, now closed, is in the centre of the village and is a black and white building dating to 1600. Since its closure and purchase from its previous owner, it has fallen into a poor state of repair. 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.


In popular culture

Sue Gee's 2004 novel '' The Mysteries of Glass'' concerns a curate working in the parish of St. Michael and All Angels in Lyonshall in 1860/1.KINGTON LIBRARY HOSTED BOOK LAUNCH
Retrieved 2 June 2015.


Gallery

Image:The Whittern in Lyonshall.JPG, The Whittern Image:St Michael and All Angels' Church, Lyonshall, Herefordshire, in July 2007.jpg, Lyonshall Church File:Lyonshall railway station 2026606.jpg, At one time Lyonshall had a Great Western Railway station


References


Notes


External links


Lyonshall's Parish WebsiteBurgoynes of LyonshallLynhales Nursing HomeThe Four Poster Bed Company
{{authority control Villages in Herefordshire