Hereford

Sister cities

• Dillenburg

History

Hereford became the seat of Putta, Bishop of Hereford, some time between 676 and 688 AD, after which the settlement continued to grow due to its proximity to the border between Mercia and Wales, becoming the Saxon capital of West Mercia by the beginning of the 8th century. Hostilities between the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh came to a head with the Battle of Hereford in 760, in which the Britons freed themselves from the influence of the English. Hereford was again targeted by the Welsh during their conflict with the Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor in 1056 when, supported by Viking allies, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys, marched on the town and put it to the torch before returning home in triumph. Hereford had the only mint west of the Severn in the reign of Athelstan (924–939), and it was to Hereford, then a border town, that Athelstan summoned the leading Welsh princes. The present Hereford Cathedral dates from the early 12th century, as does the first bridge across the Wye. Former Bishops of Hereford include Saint Thomas de Cantilupe and Lord High Treasurer of England Thomas Charlton. Hereford was home to a small but relatively important Jewish community until 1290, when Jews were expelled from England by Edward I. Jews from Worcester and Gloucester moved to Hereford after their expulsion in January 1275 by the Queen mother, Eleanor of Provence. The Bishops of Hereford campaigned against the presence of the community, including Cantilupe, and Richard Swinefield, who tried to stop social contact between Christians and Jews. The city gave its name (translated to French) to two suburbs of Paris: Maisons-Alfort (population 54,600) and Alfortville (population 36,232), due to a manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford, in the…

Geography

As with all of the UK, Hereford experiences a maritime climate, with limited seasonal temperature ranges, and generally moderate rainfall throughout the year. The nearest Met Office weather station, for which 30-year averages are available, is Credenhill weather station, about north west of the city centre. Before 2001, the weather station at Preston Wynne (7 miles, 11 km to the north-east) provided the data. Since 2001, extremes at Hereford Credenhill have ranged from during July 2006, to as low as during December 2010. In February 2020, many houses in Hereford were evacuated due to floods. On 17 February 2020, the River Wye rose to 6.11 metres, the highest ever recorded, as a result of the weather pattern created by Storm Dennis.