Bacton, Herefordshire

Village in Herefordshire, England

Human settlement in England
  • Herefordshire
Region
  • West Midlands
CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townHEREFORDPostcode districtHR2PoliceWest MerciaFireHereford and WorcesterAmbulanceWest Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Herefordshire
51°59′12″N 2°55′10″W / 51.986777°N 2.919323°W / 51.986777; -2.919323

Bacton (Welsh: Bactwn) is a small village in a rural area of south-west Herefordshire, England, 14 miles (23 km) from Hereford.[1]

History

Newcourt Tump

One mile to the north are some earthwork remains of a small motte and bailey castle known as Newcourt Tump – "Tump" is a dialect word for a rounded hill or tumulus.[2] The castle seems to have fallen out of use by the 14th century.[3]

According to Domesday Book in 1086, Bacton, then in the hundred of Stradel, had only two households. The Lord of the Manor was Gilbert of Eskecot, whose tenant-in-chief was Roger of Lacy.[4][5] The manor's history becomes clearer from the 13th century onwards.[6]

Parish church

The parish church of St Faith's dates from 13th century and has a lengthy entry in Pevsner's survey of the county's buildings.

Inside is a memorial to Blanche Parry. It is possible that an altar cloth belonging to the church was made from a dress once worn by Queen Elizabeth I of England and given to Blanche Parry. The material of the cloth appears to form part of the clothing of the Queen in the early 17th-century "Rainbow Portrait", attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger.[7][8]

The church belongs to the Ewyas Harold group of parishes and has a service about once a month.[9] Next to it is a village hall.[10]

Listed buildings

Bacton parish church is listed Grade II*. A further 16 buildings, barns and monuments from the 17th to 20th centuries are listed as Grade II, several of them in the churchyard.[11]

Transport

Bacton has a single, daytime bus service to Hereford on Wednesdays.[12] The nearest railway station is at Hereford (14 miles, 23 km). Bacton is 4 miles (6.4 km) on the secondary B4347 road from the main A465 road between Hereford and Abergavenny.

References

  1. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 149 Hereford & Leominster (Bromyard & Ledbury) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2009. ISBN 9780319229538.
  2. ^ OUP site. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. ^ Historic England. "Monument No. 105885". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  4. ^ Domesday entry: Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  5. ^ More on Gilbert. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  6. ^ History site. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  7. ^ Danny Lewis (17 January 2017). "This Altar Cloth Might Have Been Elizabeth I's Skirt". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  8. ^ Bacton Church on Explore Churches site. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  9. ^ A Church Near You Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  10. ^ Herefordshire Council Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  11. ^ Listed Buildings in Bacton Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  12. ^ Bus times. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  • Media related to Bacton, Herefordshire at Wikimedia Commons
  • Map sources for Bacton, Herefordshire
  • Bacton in the Domesday Book