Leominster
Encyclopedia
Leominster (Welsh
: Llanllieni) is a market town
in Herefordshire
, England
, located approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) north of the city of Hereford
and 11 miles (17.7 km) south of Ludlow
, at . It is the largest of the five towns surrounding Hereford in the county, with a population of approximately 11,000 people, and is located at the confluence of the River Lugg
and its tributary the River Kenwater
.
From 1974 to 1996, Leominster served as the administrative centre for the former local government district of Leominster District
.
, that is a community of clergy in the district of Lene or Leon, probably in turn from an Old Welsh root lei to flow. Contrary to certain reports, the name has nothing to do with Leofric
, an 11th-century Earl of Mercia (most famous for being the miserly husband of Lady Godiva
). The Welsh
name for Leominster, still used today on the Welsh side of the nearby border, is Llanllieni.
, a raid by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn on Leominster in 1052 resulted in the Battle of Llanllieni, between the Welsh
and a combined force of Normans
and English
Saxons
.
Henry II
bestowed the minster and its estates on Reading Abbey
, which founded a priory
at Leominster in 1121, although there was one here from Saxon
times. Its Priory Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which now serves as the parish
church, is the remaining part of this 12th-century Benedictine
monastery
. Quatrefoil
piers were inserted between 1872–79 by Sir George Gilbert Scott
.
The priory was ransacked by the Welsh forces of Owain Glyndŵr
after their victory at the Battle of Bryn Glas
near Pilleth
in 1402, along with several local manor house
s.
Investigations to the north of the priory
in 2005 located the position of the cloister
, although most of the stone had been robbed following the Dissolution
. Discarded animal bones found on the site when submitted to carbon dating showed that the area was occupied in the 7th century. This agrees with the date of 660 CE
associated with the founding myth
, which suggests a Christian community was established here by a monk, St. Edfrid, from Northumberland
.
Leominster is also the historical home of Ryeland
sheep, a breed once famed for its "Lemster" wool, known as 'Lemster ore'. This wool was prized above all other English wool in trade with the continent of Europe in the Middle Ages
. It was the income and prosperity from this wool trade that established the town and the minster and attracted the envy of the Welsh and other regions.
From approximately 1748 to 1754, Leominster was home to one of only four early cotton spinning mills employing the spinning machines of Lewis Paul
and John Wyatt
. The mill was financed by Lancashire
native Daniel Bourn, and was partly owned by other men from Lancashire. Bourn introduced his own version of the carding engine to work at this mill, and of the four Paul-Wyatt mills, it may have been the most successful, as shortly after the fire that destroyed the mill, it was reported that the cotton works "had been viewed with great pleasure and admiration by travellers and all who had seen them."
One of the last ordeals by ducking stool took place in Leominster in 1809, with Jenny Pipes as the final incumbent. The ducking stool is on public display in Leominster Priory; a mechanised depiction of it is featured on the town clock.
£9 million bypass opened in November 1988. The town also has a bus station linking it to Hereford
and a number of nearby towns and villages.
Leominster railway station
has services to Manchester
via Ludlow
and to Cardiff
via Hereford
; links to London
are achieved by changing at Hereford
, for services via Worcester
and Oxford
, or at Newport, South Wales.
providing secondary education for about 750 pupils. It is located near the centre of the town, next to the public leisure centre
and swimming pool
. Primary schools include Leominster Infants and Leominster Junior School
in the town, and several village schools including Ivington
Church of England
Primary School, Kingsland CE Primary School, Luston Primary School]] and toke Prior.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
: Llanllieni) is a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) north of the city of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and 11 miles (17.7 km) south of Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
, at . It is the largest of the five towns surrounding Hereford in the county, with a population of approximately 11,000 people, and is located at the confluence of the River Lugg
River Lugg
The River Lugg , rises near Llangynllo, Powys. It flows through the border town of Presteigne, Wales then through Herefordshire, England, including the town of Leominster, south of which it is met by a tributary, the River Arrow, then to a confluence with the River Wye, which it joins at Mordiford,...
and its tributary the River Kenwater
River Kenwater
The River Kenwater is a short tributary of the River Lugg. In fact, it is also an offshoot of that river, separating from it about 2 kilometres north-west of Leominster; it flows through the town and re-joins the Lugg just outside Leominster's east boundary....
.
From 1974 to 1996, Leominster served as the administrative centre for the former local government district of Leominster District
Leominster (district)
Leominster was a local government district in England from 1 April 1974 to 1 April 1998 with its administrative seat in the town of Leominster....
.
Toponymy
The town takes its name from a minsterMinster (cathedral)
Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most famously York Minster. The term minster is first found in royal foundation charters of the 7th century; and, although it corresponds to the Latin monasterium or monastery, it then designated any settlement of clergy living...
, that is a community of clergy in the district of Lene or Leon, probably in turn from an Old Welsh root lei to flow. Contrary to certain reports, the name has nothing to do with Leofric
Leofric, Earl of Mercia
Leofric was the Earl of Mercia and founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. Leofric is remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva.-Life and political influence:...
, an 11th-century Earl of Mercia (most famous for being the miserly husband of Lady Godiva
Lady Godiva
Godiva , often referred to as Lady Godiva , was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants...
). The Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
name for Leominster, still used today on the Welsh side of the nearby border, is Llanllieni.
History
According to the Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, a raid by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn on Leominster in 1052 resulted in the Battle of Llanllieni, between the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and a combined force of Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
and English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
.
Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
bestowed the minster and its estates on Reading Abbey
Reading Abbey
Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother, and Queen Maud, my wife, and all my ancestors...
, which founded a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
at Leominster in 1121, although there was one here from Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times. Its Priory Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which now serves as the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
church, is the remaining part of this 12th-century Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. Quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
piers were inserted between 1872–79 by Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
.
The priory was ransacked by the Welsh forces of Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
after their victory at the Battle of Bryn Glas
Battle of Bryn Glas
The Battle of Bryn Glas, was fought on 22 June 1402, near the towns of Knighton and Presteigne in Powys...
near Pilleth
Pilleth
Pilleth is a small village south of Knighton in Powys, Wales. It is the site of the ancient church and holy well of St. Mary’s which stands on Bryn Glas Hill overlooking the River Lugg, as it makes it way to Presteigne.-Name:...
in 1402, along with several local manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
s.
Investigations to the north of the priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in 2005 located the position of the cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
, although most of the stone had been robbed following the Dissolution
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
. Discarded animal bones found on the site when submitted to carbon dating showed that the area was occupied in the 7th century. This agrees with the date of 660 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
associated with the founding myth
Founding myth
A national myth is an inspiring narrative or anecdote about a nation's past. Such myths often serve as an important national symbol and affirm a set of national values. A national myth may sometimes take the form of a national epic...
, which suggests a Christian community was established here by a monk, St. Edfrid, from Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
.
Leominster is also the historical home of Ryeland
Ryeland
The Ryeland is one of the oldest of British sheep breeds going back seven centuries when the monks of Leominster in Herefordshire bred sheep and grazed them on the rye pastures, giving them their name...
sheep, a breed once famed for its "Lemster" wool, known as 'Lemster ore'. This wool was prized above all other English wool in trade with the continent of Europe in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. It was the income and prosperity from this wool trade that established the town and the minster and attracted the envy of the Welsh and other regions.
From approximately 1748 to 1754, Leominster was home to one of only four early cotton spinning mills employing the spinning machines of Lewis Paul
Lewis Paul
Lewis Paul was the original inventor of roller spinning, the basis of the water frame for spinning cotton in a cotton mill.-Life and work:Lewis Paul was of Huguenot descent. His father was physician to Lord Shaftesbury...
and John Wyatt
John Wyatt (inventor)
John Wyatt , an English inventor, was born near Lichfield and was related to Sarah Ford, Doctor Johnson's mother. A carpenter by trade he began work in Birmingham on the development of a spinning machine...
. The mill was financed by Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
native Daniel Bourn, and was partly owned by other men from Lancashire. Bourn introduced his own version of the carding engine to work at this mill, and of the four Paul-Wyatt mills, it may have been the most successful, as shortly after the fire that destroyed the mill, it was reported that the cotton works "had been viewed with great pleasure and admiration by travellers and all who had seen them."
One of the last ordeals by ducking stool took place in Leominster in 1809, with Jenny Pipes as the final incumbent. The ducking stool is on public display in Leominster Priory; a mechanised depiction of it is featured on the town clock.
Transport
The 4 miles (6.4 km) A49A49 road
The A49 is a major road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with...
£9 million bypass opened in November 1988. The town also has a bus station linking it to Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and a number of nearby towns and villages.
Leominster railway station
Leominster railway station
Leominster railway station lies on the Welsh Marches Line serving the Herefordshire town of Leominster in England.Leominster has 2 Platforms for North and South bound trains respectively.-History:...
has services to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
via Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
and to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
via Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
; links to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
are achieved by changing at Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, for services via Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
and Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, or at Newport, South Wales.
Schools
Earl Mortimer college (previously known as The Minster College, is a state comprehensive schoolComprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
providing secondary education for about 750 pupils. It is located near the centre of the town, next to the public leisure centre
Leisure centre
A leisure centre in the UK and Canada is a purpose built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people go to keep fit or relax through using the facilities.- Typical Facilities :...
and swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
. Primary schools include Leominster Infants and Leominster Junior School
Junior school
A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....
in the town, and several village schools including Ivington
Ivington
Ivington is a village in the county of Herefordshire, England, approximately 13 miles north of Hereford. It is about 2 miles south-west of its post town Leominster. Ivington has a small church dedicated to St...
Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Primary School, Kingsland CE Primary School, Luston Primary School]] and toke Prior.
Notable people
- Albert LeeAlbert LeeAlbert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
– guitarist - Arthur PeppercornArthur PeppercornArthur Henry Peppercorn, OBE was the last Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway.- Career :...
– locomotive designer - Saint Cuthfleda, was the abbessAbbessAn abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
of the nunnery at Leominster and the patroness of the region. Known for her holiness and chaste life.
Local attractions
- Croft CastleCroft CastleCroft Castle is a manor house and associated buildings near the village of Yarpole in Herefordshire, England some to the north-west of Leominster .-11th century origin:...
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/26481 - Berrington HallBerrington HallBerrington Hall is a country house located near Leominster, Herefordshire, England.It is a neoclassical country house building which was designed by Henry Holland in 1778-81 for Thomas Harley. It has a somewhat austere exterior , but the interiors are subtle and delicate...
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/43243 - Leominster Folk Museum http://www.leominster.co.uk/leominster-museum.htm
- Broadfield Court
- Burford House Gardens
- Priory Church, LeominsterPriory Church, Leominster-External links:* *...
- Lucton SchoolLucton SchoolLucton School, is an independent, mixed gender, day and boarding school in Lucton near Leominster, Herefordshire, England. It was founded in 1708 as a boys school, and began admitting girls in the 1970s. It currently has approximately c.280 pupils on roll, aged from six months to 18 years...
- Local to Leominster Website http://www.localtoleominster.co.uk