City in Herefordshire, England
Hereford
Hereford keeps a medieval map of the world on a single calf skin, a library whose books are still chained to the shelves, and a 1972 giant-killing the nation still replays.
Key information
- County
- Herefordshire
- Nation
- England
- Population
- about 58,900 (2011 Census)
- Known for
- Mappa Mundi, the Chained Library, Hereford cattle, cider, the SAS
- What locals are called
- Herefordians
- Famous people
- David Garrick, Alfred Watkins, Nell Gwyn (traditionally), Ronnie Radford
- Football clubs
- Hereford FC (the Bulls), who play at Edgar Street
About Hereford
The world on a calf skin
Hereford Cathedral holds the Mappa Mundi, the largest medieval world map still in existence. It was drawn around 1300 on one sheet of vellum, a single calf skin. Jerusalem sits at the centre and east is at the top, which is why we still talk about "orientating" ourselves. The map is crowded with Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, classical myths and monsters, including men with their faces in their chests and creatures that shade themselves with one enormous foot. It is less a navigation aid than a picture of everything medieval people believed about the world. In 1988 the cathedral planned to sell it to pay for repairs. The outcry was loud, and a £1 million gift from the philanthropist John Paul Getty II helped keep it in Hereford. It now has a purpose-built home alongside the cathedral's other treasures.
A library where the books are on leads
Next to the map is the Chained Library, the largest of its kind to survive anywhere. Its books, around 1,500 of them, are still fastened to the shelves by chains and rods, a method designed to stop precious volumes wandering off. Readers had to sit at the shelf to use them. The cathedral also has a 13th-century copy of Magna Carta and the shrine of St Thomas de Cantilupe, a medieval bishop of Hereford. Its Norman stonework has been added to and patched over nine centuries, and the building has survived the collapse of its western tower in 1786.
The ford of the army
The name comes from Old English, roughly "army ford", a crossing of the Wye. Hereford grew as a Mercian stronghold facing the Welsh, and later as a Norman border town with a castle that has long since vanished. Castle Green is now a quiet park. The river still shapes the city, with its medieval Wye Bridge. Among the older buildings, the timber-framed Old House of 1621 has survived in the middle of the shopping streets. Once a butchers' row house, it is now a museum.
White faces, red coats and a lot of cider
The Hereford breed of cattle, red-bodied with a white face, has been exported to ranches across the Americas, Australia and beyond, and it is the likely ancestor of many a Texan steak. It earned the city's football team its nickname, the Bulls. Then there is cider. Percy Bulmer founded Bulmers in the city in 1887, and apple orchards still surround the place. The Cider Museum tells the story of how a county's worth of fruit became a national drink. Herefordshire's food and drink scene also includes perry, beef, hops and a reliable crop of local farm shops. Hereford's markets and independent stalls are a good place to find them.
Edgar Street, 1972
On 5 February 1972, non-league Hereford United beat top-flight Newcastle United 2-1 in an FA Cup third-round replay at Edgar Street. Ronnie Radford's thunderbolt equaliser from around 30 yards, followed by a pitch invasion, has been shown on television countless times. Ricky George then scored the winner. The win helped carry Hereford into the Football League in 1972. The club folded in 2014, and a supporter-led successor, Hereford FC, rose from the ashes at the same ground.
Straight lines, soldiers and singers
Hereford is the birthplace of Alfred Watkins, who in 1921 spotted alignments of ancient sites across the countryside and named them "ley lines". His 1925 book The Old Straight Track made them famous. The actor David Garrick, who dominated the 18th-century stage, was born here in 1717. Nell Gwyn, Charles II's famous orange seller turned royal mistress, is traditionally said to have been born in the city too. Every third summer the Three Choirs Festival, among the oldest music festivals in the world, fills the cathedral. Edward Elgar, from nearby Worcestershire, was a regular. The city has also long been home to the SAS, which lends it an unlikely reputation for quiet toughness.