Kilpeck
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(August 2009) |
Kilpeck
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![]() TheChurch of St Mary and St Davidis an outstanding example ofNorman architecture. | |
Location withinHerefordshire | |
Population | 215 (2011)[1] |
OS grid reference | SO444304 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | HEREFORD |
Postcode district | HR2 |
Dialling code | 01981 |
Police | West Mercia |
Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Kilpeck(Welsh:Llanddewi Cil Peddeg) is a village andcivil parishin the county ofHerefordshire,England. It is about nine miles (14 km) southwest ofHereford,just south of theA465 roadandWelsh Marches LinetoAbergavenny,and about five miles (8 km) from theborder with Wales.On 1 April 2019, the parishes ofKenderchurch,St Devereux,TrevilleandWormbridgewere merged with Kilpeck.[2]
The village is renowned for its small but outstandingNorman(Romanesque) church,SS Mary and David's,but also has the earthworks of aNormanmotte-and-bailey castlethat is no longer standing. The church is aGrade I listed building.There is a public house called the Kilpeck Inn, formerly the Red Lion, situated in the centre of the village opposite the village green.[3]Other amenities include a village hall and post office.
History
[edit]Until the 9th century, when it was taken over byMercia,the area around Kilpeck was within theWelsh kingdomofErgyng.After the Norman conquest, the area became known asArchenfieldand was governed as part of theWelsh Marches.It became part of Herefordshire, and England, in the 16th century, although the use of Welsh in the area remained strong until the 19th century.[4]The English name for the village derives from the Welsh name,Llanddewi Kil Peddeg,[5]withLlanddewimeaning "church of St David" andCil Peddegprobably meaning the "cell of Pedic", an otherwise unknown local early Christianhermit.[6]
In theDomesday Bookof 1086, Kilpeck (entered asChipeete) was given byWilliam the Conquerorto William Fitz Normande la Mare,son of Norman de la Mare. The clan de la Mare is one of the oldest inNormandyand is descended fromRagnvald Eysteinsson,earl of Møre and Romsdal. According to the Domesday survey, Kilpeck had "3 ploughs, 2 serfs and 4 oxmen and there are 57 men with 19 ploughs." There are mentions of a church on the site possibly from as early as the 7th century. There are vestiges of an enclosure, 200 yds (183 metres) by 300 yds (274 m) in the field, defining anAnglo-Saxonvillage.
Landmarks
[edit]TheSt Mary and St David's Churchwas built around 1140. It consists of anave,chanceland semicircularapse.It is remarkable for its wealth ofNormanstone carvings (and their fine state of preservation), both inside and out,[7]all original both in form and position and incorporating manycorbelswith representations of human faces, hares, fish, fowl, stags etc. Eighty-five of 91 corbels survive, an extraordinarily high percentage.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/RemainsOfKilpeckCastle%28PhilipHalling%29Feb2006.jpg/220px-RemainsOfKilpeckCastle%28PhilipHalling%29Feb2006.jpg)
West of the church lies a ruinedmotte and baileywith earthworks. The castle is thought to have been first built around 1090 as the administrative centre ofArchenfield.A few walls of the 12th- or 13th-centurykeepstill stand on top of the motte; these are not well preserved. A fireplace and chimney flues are visible, as are two sections of standing castle walls.[8][9]
A little over a mile to the north is the surviving motte of another castle, at Didley Court Farm.
References
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^"Civil Parish population 2011".Retrieved31 October2015.
- ^"The County of Herefordshire District Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Kilpeck Group Parish Order, 2018"(PDF).Herefordshire Council.Retrieved29 June2019.
- ^"The Kilpeck Inn".The Kilpeck Inn.
- ^Colin Lewis,Herefordshire – the Welsh Connection,2006,ISBN0-86381-958-3
- ^Welsh place names in Herefordshirewww.kimkat.org
- ^James Bailey,The Parish Church of St Mary and St David at Kilpeck,2000
- ^Stone carvings,bothinsideandout.www.geograph.org.uk
- ^Kilpeck Castlewww.whitfield-hereford.com,accessed 8 June 2021
- ^KILPECK CASTLEhistoricengland.org.uk,accessed 8 June 2021
External links
[edit]- Renn, D. F. "Kilpeck Castle and Church".Castles of Wales.
- "Kilpeck Castle".Castles of Herefordshire.Archaeological survey.
- Population figures(PDF)