Woolhope is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish was 486 at the 2011 census.
Location
Woolhope is located about 7 miles east of
Hereford, sat atop the 'Woolhope Dome', a region of particular geological interest; and near Haugh Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its varied flora and fauna.
Toponymy
The name of the village comes from
Wulviva's Hope (Wulviva's Valley).
History
The manor of Woolhope in
Herefordshire, along with three others, was given to the
cathedral at
Hereford before the
Norman Conquest by the benefactresses Wulviva and (Lady)
Godiva, local
Anglo-Saxons landowners before the Norman takeover of the region. The church has a 20th-century
stained-glass window showing them.
Amenities
The village boasts a community hall, which was rebuilt at its present site at the turn of the millennium. The hall now stands at the North end of the playing field (which includes a cricket pitch in summer and football pitch in winter). Called 'Berryfield', the playing field was originally part of the churchyard, and takes its name from 'Bury Field'. The village also has an extremely small green, a patch of tended lawn and flowerbed of no more than 400 ft
2.
Recreation
Woolhope has a football team called Woolhope Allstars FC. They play at the Berryfield, which is the smallest pitch in the league.
Woolhope has a cricket team called Woolhope Cricket Club. They also play at the Berryfield.
Woolhope is also home to Woolhope Amateur Dramatics Society, or 'WADS', a popular theatre group which stages, on average, two shows per year, typically a pantomime in the winter, and an adult comedy in summer.
Famous inhabitants
The area was a retreat of late TV writer John Sullivan, whose works included
Only Fools and Horses and
The Green Green Grass, and of musician
Roger Whittaker, who previously inhabited one half of the Wessington Court estate house. Woolhope is currently home to Liberty Bee Miles who is a multiple (Junior) British, UK, European and World Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion.
See also
-
Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club
External links
