Hereford

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Hereford_United :: Hereford :: Herefordshire_Sunday :: Herefordshire :: Hereford_and_Worcester :: Hereford_Sixth_Form_College :: Herefordshire_College_of_Technology :: Herefordshire_College_of_Art_and_Design

Hereford (pronounced or ) (pronounced "Henforth") is a city in the west of England, close to the border with Wales and on the River Wye. It is the county town of Herefordshire. In 2001 Hereford had a population of 50,154.

Hereford has a cathedral dating from 1079 which contains the Mappa Mundi, a medieval map of the world dating from the 13th century which was restored in the late 20th. It also contains the world famous Chained Library.

An early town charter from 1189 granted by King Richard describes it as 'Hereford in Wales'. ^* This charter also gave Hereford city status, the earliest example of city status being granted, since all earlier cities had been so since time immemorial. See City status in the United Kingdom

It is now known chiefly as a trading centre for a wider agricultural and rural area. Products from Hereford include: (Bulmer's) cider, beer, leather goods, nickel alloys, Poultry from Sun Valley chemicals and cattle, including the famous Hereford breed. The city is the home of the British Special Air Service (SAS).

The current member of the House of Commons for Hereford constituency is Paul Keetch. On January 28, 2005, Hereford was granted Fairtrade City status.

History

Hereford was founded in around 700 AD and became the Saxon capital of West Mercia. The present cathedral dates from the 12th century. Former Bishops of Hereford include Saint Thomas de Cantilupe and Lord High Treasurer of England Thomas Charlton.

During the civil war the city changed hands several times. On September 30 1642, Parliamentarians led by Sir Robert Harley and Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford occupied the city without opposition. In December, they withdrew to Gloucester because of the presence in the area of a Royalist army under Lord Herbert. The city was again occupied briefly from April 23 to May 18 1643 by Parliamentarians commanded by Sir William Waller but it was in 1645 that the city saw most action. On July 31 a Scottish army of 14000 under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the city but met stiff resistance from its garrison and inhabitants. They withdrew on September 1 when they received news that a force led by King Charles was approaching. The city was finally taken for Parliament on December 18 by Colonel Birch and Colonel Morgan.

Nell Gwynne, the mistress of King Charles II, is said to have been born in Hereford in 1650 (although other towns and cities, notably Oxford claim her as their own), and a street 'Gwynn Street' is named after her.

There have been plans for many years for a north-south bypass, and currently the plan is for a nine-mile dual carriageway, however HM Government refuses to grant permisson or supply funds.

Local government

The main local government body covering Hereford is Herefordshire Council. Hereford has a "City Council" but this is actually a parish council with city status, and has only limited powers.

Historically Hereford has been the county town of Herefordshire. In 1974 Herefordshire was merged with Worcestershire to became part of the county of Hereford and Worcester, and Hereford became a district of the new county.

On April 1, 1998, Hereford and Worcester was abolished, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established as separate counties, although with slightly altered borders.

However, the new Herefordshire was a unitary authority without any districts, and so Hereford lost its district status. Charter Trustees were appointed to preserve mayoral traditions until a civil parish council could be set up in 2000. Hereford is one of only seven civil parishes which has city status.

Employment

Major employers include:

Bulmers Cider - Cider and alcoholic beverages producer
Special Metals Wiggin Ltd - Manufacturers of nickel alloys
Sun Valley Foods - Manufacturers and suppliers of food products for retailers and foodservice operators
Painter Brothers - Manufacturers of galvanized steel towers including The Skylon

Sport

Hereford is home of Hereford United Football Club, best known for beating Newcastle in the FA Cup in 1972. They had a spell in the Football League from 1972 to 1997 reaching the second tier of English football in 1976, and were relegated to non-League status in 1997 before returning to beat Halifax Town A.F.C. 3-2 in the Nationwide Conference play-off final in 2005-06 to book a return to the Football League.

Hereford also has successful rugby and cricket teams, but these are less famous.

Education

Herefordshire is home to many colleges including five colleges in the city:

Herefordshire College of Art - a publicly funded art school.
Hereford College of Technology - the only higher education facility in the county, which recently acquired an off-campus facility.
Hereford Sixth Form College - the Sixth Form college for the county.

These three colleges are collectively known as the "Folly Lane colleges" and recently secured £30 million from the Learning Skills Council to fund a new Learning Village, which would secure Further Education for the long term in a county that has no university. Herefordshire Council announced preliminary work would begin in early 2006, however, as of June, no planning work has been submitted (though the Sixth Form College recently opened a £2 million music and teaching block).

Other colleges are;

The Royal National College For The Blind - one of the top colleges for blind and visually impaired students in the country.
Holme Lacy College - an agricultural centre and part of the Pershore Group.

It is also home to many schools including:

Aylestone School - A co-educational comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 16, created in 1976 by merging two former grammar schools, the Hereford High School for Boys and the Hereford High School for Girls

The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School - A co-educational voluntary aided comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 16, formed in 1973 from two former church secondary schools, the Bluecoat foundation, dating back to 1710 and the Bishop’s School, a secondary modern school founded in 1958

Hereford Cathedral School - A co-educational independent school member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The earliest existing records date from 1384 though it is likely that a school was associated with the Cathedral from its foundation in the late 7th century.

Whitecross High School & Sports College - A specialist sports college, which moved to a brand new PFI building in June 2006. The college aims to use the new facility to provide the best high school education for its pupils in the topic of Sports & Fitness.

Miscellaneous

The city of Hereford gave its name to two suburbs of Paris, France: Maisons-Alfort (54,600 inhabitants) and Alfortville (36,232 inhabitants), due to a manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford, in the middle of the 13th century.

The classic rock band Mott The Hoople hail from Hereford as do more recent punk rock band Tastyhead.

High Town lies 182ft above sea level.

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