Walterstone (Welsh: Alt-yr-Ynys) is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the Welsh border and the Brecon Beacons National Park, 14 miles (23 km) south-west of Hereford.[2] The parish had a population of 97 in the 2001 UK Census[1] and is grouped with Craswall, Llanveynoe and Longtown to form Longtown Group Parish Council for administrative purposes.[3]

Walterstone
St Mary's Church
Walterstone is located in Herefordshire
Walterstone
Walterstone
Location within Herefordshire
Area1.94 sq mi (5.0 km2)
Population97 (Parish)[1]
• Density50/sq mi (19/km2)
OS grid referenceSO340250
• London124 miles (200 km) ESE
Civil parish
  • Walterstone
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHEREFORD
Postcode districtHR2
Dialling code01873
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Herefordshire
51°55′08″N 2°57′40″W / 51.919°N 2.961°W / 51.919; -2.961

There is a motte-and-bailey castle in the village to the west of St Mary's church and an Iron Age hill fort on high ground two-thirds of a mile (1.1 km) to the east.[4] The River Monnow and the Welsh Marches railway line share a valley south-east of the village.[2]

Allt Yr Ynys, a Grade II listed[5] 16th-century manor house 1+14 miles (2.0 km) south of the village, has been a country house hotel.[4][6] The Grade II listed[7] parish church of St Mary is part of the Ewyas Harold group of parishes. In the chancel, there is early 17th-century stained-glass depicting the quartered arms of the Cecils, brought from the nearby Allt Yr Ynys. The churchyard cross is listed Grade II*.[8]

The 300-year-old village pub, the Carpenter's Arms, is situated next to the church[9] and has been in the same family for the last 100 years.[10]

History

edit

In the 18th century, a Roman mosaic was reported to have been found in the parish. The exact site is not known but is thought to be in the Coed-y-Grafel area north of the village.[11]

Demographics

edit

In the 1870s the Imperial Gazetteer recorded the area of the village as 1,241 acres (502 ha) with a population of 173.[12]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Population of Herefordshire Parishes, 2001" (pdf). Herefordshire Council. 2004. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  2. ^ a b Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern Area (Explorer Maps) (A3 ed.), Ordnance Survey, 2010, ISBN 978-0-319-24054-0
  3. ^ "List of Parish Councils and Contacts" (xls). Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b Pevsner, Nikolaus (1963). The Buildings of England - Herefordshire. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-300-09609-5.
  5. ^ Historic England. "Allt Yr Ynys, Walterstone (1078161)". National Heritage List for England.
  6. ^ "Allt Yr Ynys Country Hotel - About us". Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1051663)". National Heritage List for England.
  8. ^ Historic England. "Churchyard cross in St Mary's churchyard (1016132)". National Heritage List for England.
  9. ^ Deeley, Nigel W. "The Carpenters Arms - Walterstone, Herefordshire HR2 0DX". www.thecarpentersarmswalterstone.com. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Carpenter's Arms in Walterstone notches up another success". Hereford Times. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Roman 'pavement', Coed-y-Grafel, Walterstone". Herefordshire Through Time. Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  12. ^ "GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Walterstone in Herefordshire". Retrieved 28 July 2018.
edit