Pontrilas (') is a village in south

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, half a mile from 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 ...

. It is in the parish of Kentchurch and lies midway between

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

and

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

. In 2011 the main village contained 66 residential dwellings, as well as Pontrilas Business Park. The village name comes from the Welsh language, and means 'bridge over three rivers' due to the River Dore, Dulas brook and another smaller stream (which descends via Dineterwood but appears to have no specific name) meeting there. The main

A465 road The A465 is a Trunk roads in Wales, trunk road that runs from Bromyard in Herefordshire, England to Llandarcy near Swansea in south Wales. The western half in Wales is known officially as the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road, but the section fro ...

skirts the west of the village. The neighbouring villages include;

Ewyas Harold Ewyas Harold () is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, Golden Valley in Herefordshire, England, near the Wales-England border about halfway between Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and Hereford. The population of this civ ...

, Llangua, Dulas,

Wormbridge Wormbridge is a village and former civil parish in Herefordshire, England, about southwest of Hereford, on the A465 road at (). The neighbouring villages are Kilpeck, Didley, Howton, Treville, Ewyas Harold, Pontrilas and Crizeley. In 2001 ...

Kilpeck Kilpeck is a village and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England. It is about southwest of Hereford, just south of the A465 road and Welsh Marches Line to Abergavenny, and about from the border with Wales. On 1 April 2019, the ...

, Bagwyllydiart,

Abbey Dore Abbey Dore is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, known for Dore Abbey, a 12th-century Cistercian abbey, which was expanded in the 13th century. The name Abbey Dore came into being in the 18th century, combining the Modern E ...

and Howton.

History

There has been a settlement in the area since at least 1086 when the hamlet was called Elwistone, possibly originating from the Welsh names Elwin or Helys. Over the centuries there have been several variations of name e.g. Ailstone and Heliston. The latter being the name of a terrace of houses in the modern day village. The name Pontrilas originally only belonged to the manor house Pontrilas Court, once one of the homes of the Baskerville family, which sits beside the bridge over the River Dore, near where it meets the Dulas brook and another smaller stream. From 1750 the hamlet was also marked as Pontrilas on maps. The

Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway company formed to connect the places in its name. When it sought parliamentary authorisation, it was denied the southern section, and obliged to use the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal C ...

line came to Pontrilas in 1854. The line was sponsored by the

London North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

and merger with other lines took place in 1860 with the

West Midland Railway The West Midland Railway was an early British railway company. It was formed on 1 July 1860 by the ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. lxxxi) which merged several older railway companies. It was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1863. It ...

which itself was taken over to eventually result in the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

(GWR) running the line from 1863. A local company constructed the Golden Valley Railway line in 1881 and the hamlet grew in importance. However the line was not a financial success and it closed in 1898. It was subsequently purchased and reopened in 1901 by the GWR. The village had a cattle market and a pub, The Pontrilas Inn built by the Scudamore family, who still own much land in the area. The pub was burned down in the 1970s. There was also a chemical factory owned by Wrekin Chemical Company beside the main railway line to the north of the village. Since the closing of the station in 1958 the village has declined in importance, though it does still boast an auction room and a number of businesses including Pontrilas Timber which has been there since 1947, an estate agency and a number of other smaller businesses. The former

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Elm Bridge munitions depot is now the site of the

Qinetiq QinetiQ ( as in '' kinetic'') is a British defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and run testing and evaluation capabili ...

managed

Pontrilas Army Training Area Pontrilas Army Training Area is a British Army training camp, located just north of the village of Ewyas Harold near to Pontrilas in Herefordshire, England. Originally developed pre-World War II by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as an ammunition ...

Transport

Pontrilas is served by

Stagecoach South Wales Stagecoach South Wales is a bus operator providing services in South East Wales. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group. It is the largest operator of bus services in Wales. History In January 1991, Cheltenham-based Western Travel purch ...

service X4 which runs between

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

National Express Coaches National Express, also abbreviated NX, is a Intercity bus service, long and medium-distance intercity coach operator operating services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of the British multinational public transport company Mobico G ...

service 321 which links

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

and

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Pontrilas railway station is currently closed but has the potential to be re-opened with services calling for passengers on the Welsh Marches Line.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Herefordshire