Dorstone

Dorstone
Dorstone
 Dorstone shown within Herefordshire
Population 401 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO313418
Unitary authorityHerefordshire
Ceremonial countyHerefordshire
RegionWest Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town HEREFORD
Postcode district HR3
Dialling code 01981
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK ParliamentHereford and South Herefordshire
List of places
UK
England
Herefordshire

Coordinates: 52°04′13″N 3°00′06″W / 52.0703°N 3.0016°W / 52.0703; -3.0016

Dorstone is a village within the Golden Valley, Herefordshire, England. There is a thriving community with a church[2] and public house[3] with restaurant. The Golden Valley area offers excellent hillwalking and horseback riding countryside and is noted for its scenery. It is within the catchment area of the popular Fairfield secondary school.

Dorstone once contained a castle, Dorstone Castle.[4] A mile to the south the fragmentary remains of Snodhill Castle can still be seen.[5]

Dorstone is home to the Golden Valley Young Farmers' Club. In 2006 and 2009 they won the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs pantomime competition in Blackpool making them the only YFC club in the country to have achieved this accolade.

St. Faith's parish church in Dorstone was reputedly built by Richard de Brito, one of the knights who murdered Thomas Becket, as penance for the murder. He also built the Pandy Inn in Dorstone to house the workmen who built the church. During Victorian era rebuilding of the church in the 1890s a tomb to another de Brito was found which contained a pewter chalice. This was housed in the church for many years but was stolen in 2006.

A Dorstone History Society has just been founded which hopes to find out more about the church and the village - which stretches back to Neolithic times as suggested by the local Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire, an ancient monument.

An annual Sloe gin competition is held in Dorstone.[6] Each year the winner is crowned the "Grand Master of the Sloes".[7]

Railway

The Golden Valley Railway branch line to Hay-on-Wye was opened on 1 September 1881 as far as Dorstone and later extended to Hay-on-Wye. The new railway station and junction involved considerable addition to the track layout and buildings at Pontrilas.

The last passenger train out of Dorstone was on 23 August 1951.

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Dorstone Church:: OS grid SO3141 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  3. ↑ "The Pandy Inn, Dorstone:: OS grid SO3141 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  4. ↑ "Dorstone Castle:: OS grid SO3141 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  5. ↑ "Snodhill Castle - 2:: OS grid SO3240 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  6. ↑ "Golden Valley annual Sloe Gin Competition prepares for kick off". Hereford Times. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
  7. ↑ "Dorstone Sloe Gin Competition 2010 - judging this Friday". Hereford Times. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
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