Herefordshire
A rural county in the West Midlands, known for its cider, cattle, and the River Wye.
Herefordshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire and Powys to the west. The city of Hereford is the largest settlement. The county is rural, with an area of 2180 km2. For local government purposes Herefordshire is a unitary authority area.
- Area
- 2,180 square kilometres (840 sq mi)
- Population (2024 estimate)
- 191,047
- Highest point
- Black Mountain (Twyn Llech), 703.6 metres (2,308 ft)
- County town
- Hereford
- Major rivers
- River Wye and River Lugg
- National landscapes
- Malvern Hills and Wye Valley
Lore & Background
Herefordshire is one of the 39 historic counties of England. Herefordshire County Council was created in 1889. In 1974, the administrative county was merged with Worcestershire to form Hereford and Worcester. The county was dissolved in 1998, resulting in the return of Herefordshire and Worcestershire as counties. The county and unitary authority created in 1998 has almost identical borders to the pre-1974 county; a small area at Park Wood had been transferred from Mathon to West Malvern in 1986 and so went to Worcestershire rather than Herefordshire in 1998, but otherwise the re-established border was identical to the pre-1974 boundary.
Reader's Guide
The centre of Herefordshire is lowland crossed by the River Wye and its tributary, the Lugg. To the east are the Malvern Hills, a national landscape, which straddle the boundary with Worcestershire. The south contains the northern part of the Wye Valley, also a national landscape. In the west, the ground rises to the Black Mountains range; this contains the Black Mountain, which lies on the Powys border and is the highest point in the county, at 703.6 m. The county is in the historic Welsh Marches. Land use is mostly agricultural, and the county is known for its fruit and cider production, and for the Hereford cattle breed. Major settlements include Hereford, Leominster, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye, Kington and Bromyard.
Did You Know?
- The River Wye, at 135 mi, is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom.
- Bulmers Cider in Hereford has the world's largest vat (for Strongbow), built in 1975.
- BT's Madley Communications Centre claims to be the world's largest earth station.
- The county's population increased by 2.0% from around 183,500 in 2011 to 187,100 in 2021.
More in English Counties 1-24
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