Additional information
Terrain
- Minor lanes, meadow paths, village streets, several stiles
Landscape
- Gentle farmland and orchards, village
Dog friendliness
- Lead needed on lanes and preferred in fields
Parking
- Village car park off B4230
Toilets en route
- None on route
About the walk
Pronounced ‘Webbley’, the village is one of those included in the famous Hereford Black and White Village Trail, a 40-mile (64.5km) route around the county’s prettiest villages, which contain a wealth of beautiful timber-framed buildings. After a heavy snowfall Weobley is at its... blackest-and-whitest, taking on an almost surreal, monochrome guise, but at any time of the year the village is a delight: in spring it’s inspiring, in summer it’s beautiful and in autumn it’s simply exquisite. The village was originally a Saxon settlement and its name describes a ‘ley’ or woodland clearing held by a local headman called Wibba. In Saxon times, in addition to farming, glove-making and brewing developed as local industries. Weobley remained a prosperous settlement and before the Reform Bill of 1832 returned two Members of Parliament. Weobley is also associated with the development of the famous Hereford cattle. Prior to the 18th century, cattle were bred primarily as beasts of burden, with the production of milk and beef being secondary, and it was only towards the end of the century that the Hereford cattle we know today emerged. The Tomkins family became noted cattle breeders, with Benjamin Tomkins beginning selective breeding in 1742. The marketplace where they would have traded their cattle has long since gone, the market hall demolished in the mid-19th century and the adjoining row of late medieval houses destroyed in a bakery fire in 1943. The site is preserved in the triangular rose garden at the top of the village. A place of such importance required protection and Weobley’s castle was founded shortly after the Norman Conquest by the de Lacys, one of the important Norman families upon whom William had relied. The impressive earthworks are still visible to the south of the village, although the later extensive stone castle has entirely disappeared. The church, however, is a prominent landmark and boasts the second tallest spire in the county. Dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, it has a Norman south doorway, parts of the chancel are 13th century, and the soaring tower dates from the 14th century. Inside is a statue of Colonel John Birch. Originally a Royalist supporter during the English Civil War, he changed allegiances, becoming one of Cromwell’s right-hand men and a signatory to Charles I’s death warrant. Foreseeing the winds of change, however, he later donned his Royalist hat again to welcome Charles II to the throne. Despite its industrious and sometimes turbulent past, the village was remote from the canals, and later railways, that began criss-crossing the country from the 18th century and thus was largely bypassed by the Industrial Revolution. It is to this, at least in part, that its wonderful heritage of old buildings remains.
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