Woolhope 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 ...

in the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

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 ...

. The population of the civil parish was 486 at the 2011 census. The civil parish includes the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Broadmoor Common to the west of the village (and a nature reserve of the same name), and a locale known as The Nurdens also known as Upper Woolhope to its northeast.

Location

Woolhope is located about 7 miles east of

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 ...

, sat atop the 'Woolhope Dome', a region of particular geological interest; and near Haugh Wood, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

due to its varied flora and fauna.

Toponymy

The name of the village comes from Wulviva's Hope (Wulviva's Valley).

History

The manor of Woolhope in

, along with three others, was given to the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

by the benefactresses Wulviva and (Lady)

Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

, local

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

landowners before the Norman takeover of the region. The church has a 20th-century

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window showing them.

Amenities

The village boasts a community hall, which was rebuilt at its present site at the turn of the millennium. The hall now stands at the North end of the playing field (which includes a cricket pitch in summer and football pitch in winter). Called 'Berryfield', the playing field was originally part of the churchyard, and takes its name from 'Bury Field'. The village also has an extremely small green, a patch of tended lawn and flowerbed of no more than 400 ft².

Recreation

Woolhope has a football team called Woolhope Allstars FC. They play at the Berryfield, which is the smallest pitch in the league. Woolhope has a cricket team called Woolhope Cricket Club. They also play at the Berryfield. Woolhope is also home to Woolhope Amateur Dramatics Society, or 'WADS', a popular theatre group which stages, on average, two shows per year, typically a pantomime in the winter, and an adult comedy in summer.

Famous inhabitants

The area was a retreat of late TV writer John Sullivan, whose works included ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' and '' The Green Green Grass'', and of musician

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (22 March 1936 – 13 September 2023) was a Kenyan-born British singer-songwriter and musician. His music is an eclectic mixture of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager ...

, who previously inhabited one half of the Wessington Court estate house. Woolhope is currently home to Liberty Bee Miles who is a multiple (Junior) British, UK, European and World Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion.

References

External links

Genuki info on Woolhope with linksWoolhope - Marcle Ridge loop walk
Villages in Herefordshire Civil parishes in Herefordshire {{Herefordshire-geo-stub