Wormbridge
Encyclopedia
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...
, about eight miles south-west 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...
, on the A465 road
A465 road
The A465 is a major road in south Wales. It is more commonly known as the Heads of the Valleys Road because it joins together the north ends of the South Wales Valleys...
at . The neighbouring villages are Kilpeck
Kilpeck
Kilpeck is a small village in Herefordshire, England. It is about southwest of Hereford, just south of the A465 road to Abergavenny, and about from the border with Wales....
, Didley, Howton, Ewyas Harold
Ewyas Harold
Ewyas Harold is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire, England, near to the Welsh border with present day Monmouthshire and about half way between the towns of Abergavenny and Hereford. It lies on the Dulas brook, and is contiguous with the neighbouring village of...
, Pontrilas
Pontrilas
Pontrilas is a village in south Herefordshire, England, half a mile from the border with Wales. It is in the parish of Kentchurch and lies midway between Hereford and Abergavenny....
and Crizeley.
The village is part of The Kilpeck Group Parish Council, and is home to several local and larger businesses: Theale Fireplaces, Galanthus Gallery and Cafe, Bridges Childcare, Forge Garage and Tack Shop and NFU Mutual.
The village previously had a small school, the building being rented from the Whitfield Estate (see below), until closed by Herefordshire Council due to decreasing numbers. The school building is now used by Bridges Childcare, which has been run successfully since 2003.
Historic houses in the village include: Wormbridge Court, Wormbridge House, Fairacre (formerly Lyon Villa) and Trelough House.
Wormbridge and its church were once owned by the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
s of St John of Jerusalem. Some of the church architecture, including the entrance door, is Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
, dating from about 1200. The unbuttressed west tower dates from the 13th century, but the top stage and broach spire
Broach spire
A broach spire is a type of spire, a tall pyramidal or conical structure usually on the top of a tower or a turret. A broach spire starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces....
were added in 1851-59. The church also holds several memorial plaques belonging to local landowners and a private crypt.
Wormbridge Court Farm and the majority of the surrounding land and houses are now owned by Edward George Clive (formally Lennox-Boyd) of Whitfield, grandchild to Lady Mary Katherine Pakenham, sister to Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, Lord Longford.
Wormbridge Court itself was a 17th century house facing south on the site of the school playground. The basement window openings of that house are still visible in the retaining wall of the playground. The house was demolished circa 1800 when the Clive family moved to Whitfield, two miles away. The stables were then converted to create Wormbridge Court Farm.
Wormbridge Mill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
was a watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
on the Worm Brook, which flows near the village. The mill buildings are near Old Mill Farm. Steam power
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
was used to supplement water from about 1890. Milling continued until the early 1920s.