Whitchurch, Herefordshire

For other places with the same name, see Whitchurch.
Whitchurch
Whitchurch
 Whitchurch shown within Herefordshire
Population 970 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO550174
Unitary authorityHerefordshire
Ceremonial countyHerefordshire
RegionWest Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town ROSS-ON-WYE
Postcode district HR9
Dialling code 01600
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK ParliamentHereford and South Herefordshire
List of places
UK
England
Herefordshire

Coordinates: 51°51′N 2°39′W / 51.85°N 2.65°W / 51.85; -2.65

West front of St Dubricius' parish church

Whitchurch is a village in Herefordshire named after the church of Saint Dubricius which was originally white in colour.

Whitchurch is situated on the A40, connecting nearby Ross-on-Wye to Welsh town Monmouth. It is located near Symonds Yat and the Doward hills, so the village is used to tourists.

Until the 9th century, when it was taken over by Mercia, this area was within the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. After the Norman conquest, the area became known as Archenfield and was governed as part of the Welsh Marches. It became part of Herefordshire, and England, in the 16th century, although the use of Welsh in the area remained strong until the 19th century.[2] The Welsh name for the village, Llandywynnog, means "church of Tywynnog", derived from a personal name Gwynnog.[3]

Within the parish in Symonds Yat (West) is the Old Court (now the Old Court Hotel) which was the ancestral home of the Gwillim family including Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim. Thomas Gwillim built the Gwillim family burial enclosure at the church in 1744. John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (1791–1796) and founder of Toronto, named Whitchurch Township in Ontario after the birthplace of his wife, Elizabeth Gwillim.

The primary school is Whitchurch Church of England Primary School, which holds awards for Investors in People and Eco Schools.

See also

Symonds Yat

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Colin Lewis, Herefordshire - the Welsh Connection, 2006, ISBN 0-86381-958-3
  3. ↑ Welsh place names in Herefordshire
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grid reference SO550174


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