This view of the ancient bridge and venerable cathedral of Hereford,
affords the most picturesque, and striking combination of objects, that
came within our observation. The bridge is of stone, and consists of
eight Gothic arches, it is evidently of great antiquity, but at what
period it was built, history affords little information on which we can
rely. Leland conjectures that it was erected about the same time with
the castle, that is, soon after the conquest.
The present beautiful cathedral, says Camden, “was founded by bishop
Reinelm, in 1079, in the reign of Henry I. and by his successors was
enlarged, by adding to it a neat college and fine houses for the
prebendaries.” The Bishop, he likewise says, “has three hundred and two
churches in his diocese.” The revenues of the bishopric were valued, in
the 26th of Henry VIII. at eight hundred and thirty one pounds fourteen
shillings and a penny. The present venerable structure has undergone
many changes, and has been greatly encreased and beautified by several
of its bishops since its first erection, a circumstance that naturally
followed from the immense expense attending such an undertaking, which
must at any period have greatly exceeded the income, even of the
wealthiest abbot or bishop that the church has yet known. The similarity
of parts in the style of its architecture, has induced some persons to
conjecture that it was all built at the same period: this I judge could
not have been the case, there is more reason to believe that the
earliest forms served as a model for future ages to work upon. It has
undergone shameful depredations: the chief of which were occasioned by
the puritanical principles of the last century, when a blind zeal upon
religious subjects devoted the most beautiful and venerable vestiges of
antiquity to ruin and destruction, as abominations hateful in the eyes
of God and man. The form of the arches seems to indicate that the
earlier part of this building was erected about the æra of the Saxon
architecture; its columns are peculiarly ponderous and massive, they
appear to have been erected “not for an age, but for all time.” Some
monuments of their bishops still remain, amongst which, in the north
wing is the shrine of bishop Cantilupe. The monument of the family of
the Bohuns, in the library is curious, and deserves the attention of the
antiquary: a recumbent figure is laying beneath a pointed Gothic arch,
round which are a number of hogs, covered with a kind of body cloth, on
which are painted the arms of the family, each hog having before him an
apple to which he seems smelling. This ancient family of the Bohuns and
the Lacies earls of Hereford, are said by some writers to have been the
founders of Hereford castle, which Leland asserts “to have been one of
the fairest, largest, and strongest in England.” The preceding view of
Hereford was made in the summer of 1794, at which time the tower of the
cathedral was surrounded with a scaffold, and the whole of the building
under a thorough repair, from the dreadful accident that happened in the
year 1786; On the 17th day of April in that year, about half past six in
the evening, the west tower of the cathedral with part of the body of
the church unfortunately fell down. The above accident did not happen
without giving evident signs of gradual decay, both from the dropping of
many stones, and the settling of the arches, which had been remarked for
two or three years previous to the event. This dreadful catastrophe was
sufficiently foreseen to prevent any fatal consequences. No lives were
lost though many persons were passing the church yard at the time, and
we of this day have the less reason to deplore the accident, as the
rulers of this church, have had the good sense to make use of the rare
talents of an architect, whose knowledge of the Gothic, and natural
taste for grandeur and simplicity, so peculiarly fitted him for the
office of restoring this venerable fabric to its true characteristical
dignity, and who does not appear to have deviated from the original
design, where it was possible to conform to it. One principal
improvement has been the removing some walls that encircled a material
part of the church, by which means a view was opened, of two beautiful
chapels, called Stanbury and Audley, that had been long concealed from
the public eye.
Mr. Wyat’s estimate of the repair of this building was seven thousand
pounds, five thousand of which was raised by subscription. But I am
informed that to complete this repair, the whole expense will amount to
at least thirteen thousand pounds.
This magnificent structure has ever been considered by the antiquary,
notwithstanding its irregularity, as a splendid specimen of the piety
and munificence of our early churchmen; and the arched roof of the upper
cross aisle, supported by a single pillar, is peculiarly deserving
attention. Tradition says, it was erected in the reign of William Rufus,
by Robert de Lozinga, second bishop of the see of Hereford. The height
of the tower was one hundred and twenty-five feet, upon which was a
lofty spire, that has, since the accident, been taken down.
On the site on which this cathedral stands there was anciently a church,
founded during the zenith of the Saxon heptarchy about the ninth
century, soon after which it became a cathedral, and Hereford was made
the see of a bishop. The cathedral was destroyed, and the city sacked in
the reign of Edward the Confessor, by Griffin prince of South Wales who
made the bishop prisoner. At the Norman invasion the city was in ruins,
and within its walls and the suburbs, there were not, according to
doomsday book, more than one hundred and three men.
At a small distance from the cathedral stands the vicar’s college, it
forms a square, within which is a plain but venerable cloister. From its
elevated situation, it commands a beautiful view of the meandering
course of our river Wye, and its fertile and verdant banks. Although it
is not the professed intention of this work to enter into a minute
history of cities, or towns, yet the antiquity of this venerable place
demands our attention, and cannot be passed over in silence, we shall
therefore mention the once elegant building of the chapter house, of
which, though but a small fragment presents itself, there is yet
sufficient of the picturesque to attract the notice of the curious
traveller, nor can the remains of the Black Fryars with its beautiful
cross, or rather stone pulpit, be passed unnoticed, the latter is here
preserved in a wood cut from a sketch made on the spot in 1794.
[Illustration: Black-and-white engraving of a small Gothic-style tower
with narrow arched openings and a pointed finial on top. A ladder leans
against the right side. Dense shrubs and a tall tree surround the base.]
The building is Hexagonal, open at every side, and round it is a flight
of six steps. The shaft of the cross which is broken off, rests on a
table of the same form in the centre of the building, and spreads itself
towards the roof in ramifications that produce a very beautiful effect.
Some of the embattlements yet remain on the upper part of the building,
the whole of which appears to have been finished with great care and
elegance. From this building, sermons were delivered by the fryers, who
were then extremely popular, to the multitude who were sheltered under
the cloister, that it is presumed, surrounded this building. An hospital
in 1614, was founded on the site whereon stood the black fryars, by Sir
Thomas Coningsby of Hampton Court, in this county, who was then
proprietor of the ruins, and by him it was endowed with considerable
estates in Leicestershire, and was intended as a relief to the worn out
soldier and superannuated faithful servant.
The city of Hereford, appears by its remaining walls, to have been well
and regularly fortified, and its castle must have been a very capital
fortress. The site whereon it stood retains the name of Castle Green,
and affords a pleasant retreat, commanding a very beautiful view of the
river beneath and of the surrounding country. This being a remarkable
dry season, barges have been laying at Hereford for upwards four months,
for want of water to carry them down.
The principal articles of navigation are timber, bark, and grain, and
the back carriage, is coals from Ledbrook and other places below Ross.
Hereford is not favourably situated for manufactures or commerce. It is
ill supplied with fuel, and that not good, and the uncertain state of
the river, from its shoals and great rapidity, prevents that constant
and uniform navigation which can alone support a regular and extensive
trade. To remove these barriers, several attempts, I am informed, have
been made, but the estimate of expenses has been so enormous, that the
measure has always proved abortive.
Quitting Hereford, the Wye bends its course round a point of land for a
distance of near two miles, when we are again brought almost as near to
the town, as when we quitted it. The river as we passed down, still
continued its circuitous windings, but with a more placid surface,
seldom meeting any obstruction in its course, from those rocky
substances that formed the grand characteristic of the stream in its
earlier stages. The general face of the country is rich in verdure, and
the cattle grazing on the banks of the river or laving in its stream,
are objects that perpetually contribute to enliven the scene.
About six miles below Hereford, the Wye receives the river Lug, one of
the three principal rivers in this county; it derives its source from
the mountains in the north east part of Radnorshire, and running east,
through Herefordshire to Leominster, takes a south east direction
towards the Wye; in its course it is joined by several smaller streams,
and on its near approach to our river, becomes a stream of considerable
magnitude. About a mile from the bank of the Wye, this river runs
through the pleasant village of Mordiford, and adds much to the
picturesque scenery of the place. On the east end of the church of
Mordiford is represented in plaster, an enormous dragon or serpent, the
history of which is thus recorded. Some centuries ago, we know not when,
a dragon is reported to have been the devourer of all the cattle on the
adjoining hills called Offwood, and was a monster of such terrific
qualities, that no one could for a great length of time, be found bold
enough to undertake his destruction, till at length a pardon being
granted to a condemned criminal, on condition that he would undertake
it, he achieved his purpose, by slaying the dragon as he was solacing
himself in a cyder hogshead. This wonderful relation, seems to be
generally credited by the people in the neighbourhood, as no doubt it
was at the building of this edifice, or this strange monster would not
have been represented in so terrific a form, and in so conspicuous a
place as the front of the church. After relating this wonderful
circumstance, may we be permitted to quote another, not less so from the
learned Camden. He says, that “near the conflux of the Lug and the Wye,
eastward, a hill which they call Marcley hill, did in the year 1575,
rouse itself as it were out of sleep, and for three days together,
shoving its prodigious body forward with a horrible roaring noise, and
overturning every thing in its way, raised itself (to the great
astonishment of the beholders) to a higher place; by that kind of
earthquake, I suppose, which the Naturalists call Brasmatia.” On a hill
adjoining the village, a large stone house has been recently erected by
a Mr. Hereford, which deserves notice from the extensive and beautiful
view it commands of Hereford and the surrounding country.
About a mile below Mordiford, we pass a large brick mansion belonging to
the Duke of Norfolk, called Holme Lacy, formerly the seat of the ancient
family of the Scudamores. On this site stood an abbey for
Premonstratensian cannons, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Thomas a
Becket, founded by William Fitzwain in the beginning of the reign of
Henry the third; the house is a flat uninteresting building, but
comprises within its view a beautiful and picturesque prospect on the
opposite side of the river, called Fownhope. The village is situated
amidst a rich thicket of verdant and woody scenery, on an extensive
slope rising from a rocky bank of the Wye.
This richly diversified hill, is at a proper distance from the eye, to
enable it distinctly to mark the several species of trees of which it is
composed; these cannot be more aptly described, than in the lines of
Dyer, on a similar subject, in his charming poem of Grongar Hill.
“The gloomy pine, the poplar blue,
“The yellow beech, the sable yew,
“The slender fir, that taper grows,
“The sturdy oak, with broad spread boughs.”
Amongst the few houses that are scattered on this beautiful scene, the
principal are those of Mr. Lechmere, and Mr. Purchase, who has a
considerable brewery here. A little below the next bend of the river, a
range of hills called Capler hills, form a rich screen to the northern
bank of the Wye. These hills are upwards of a mile and a half in length,
and are principally covered with oak trees, the soil which is of a
reddish cast, frequently breaks through the verdure of its plantations,
and gives a warm and animated tinge to the landscape. A high road passes
the summit of these hills, that commands a beautiful prospect of the
surrounding country, and the meandering river beneath. Near Brookhampton
on Capler hill, is the remain of a very large square camp called Wobury,
it appears to be double trenched, but narrow and near half a mile in
length. About five years ago, near three acres of these hills fell into
the Wye and narrowed its course, but it has from that circumstance,
obtained a more considerable depth than we have before witnessed in this
river, being now in a dry season, upwards of five feet deep.
On the left of the river, at Aramstone, is a fine view of the village of
King’s Caple situated amidst a beautiful assemblage of woods. Below this
spot on the opposite bank is Harewood, the residence of the Hoskins’s an
ancient family in the county of Hereford. This place is peculiarly
worthy notice, as it composed part of the forest of Harewood, in which
Ethelwold, king Edgar’s minister had a castle. Here Mason fixed the
scene, for his dramatic poem of Elfrida, and thus he describes the scene
before us
“How nobly does this venerable wood,
“Gilt with the glories of the orient sun
“Embosom yon fair mansion! the soft air
“Salutes me with most cool and temp’rate breath;
“And as I tread, the flow’r besprinkled lawn
“Sends up a gale of fragrance. I should guess,
“If e’er content deign’d visit mortal clime,
“This was her place of dearest residence.”
From hence amidst a rich and woody country, admitting from its sameness
little variety worthy either the pen or pencil, we pursued our course
down the gentle stream till we reached the pleasant village of Selleck;
its church is of a singular construction, and no less so is that of an
epitaph I copied in the church yard, on the tombstone of one Richard
Addis who died in 1788, aged 80.
“When Christ come riding on the clouds
“To view the world abroad,
“Angels and saints crying aloud
“Rise dead and meet the Lord.”
On the opposite side of the river, a little below Harewood, is a fine
grove of trees called Caple Tump, where an annual festival is held from
all the neighbouring towns, and where
“All the village train, from labor free,
“Lead up their sports beneath the spreading tree.”
About two miles below Selleck, we were gratified with the most beautiful
and luxuriant view of Ross, that I believe the country from any point
affords.