HEREFORD, city, municipal borough, and county town of Herefordshire, England, on the river Wye, 144 m. W.N.W. of London by rail. Pop. (1931) 24,159. Hereford (Here f ortuna) was founded after the crossing of the Severn by the West Saxons early in the 7th century, as a settlement near the Welsh March. Probably founded by Earl Harold, afterwards Harold II., the castle was taken by Stephen, and was the prison of Prince Edward durilg the Barons' Wars. The pacification of Wales deprived Hereford of military significance until it became a Royalist strong hold during the Civil Wars. It surrendered easily to Waller in 1643 ; but was reoccupied by the king's troops and received Rupert on his march to Wales after Naseby. It was besieged by the Scots in 1645, relieved by the king, but fell again to the Parlia mentarians. In 1086 the town included fees of the bishop, the dean and chapter, and the Knights Hospitallers, but was otherwise royal demesne. Richard I. in 1189 sold the town to the citizens at a fee farm rent, which grant was confirmed several times. Incor poration was granted in and confirmed in 162o and Hereford returned two members to parliament from 1295 until 1885. Hereford was the site of a provincial mint in Io86 and later. A grant of an exclusive merchant gild, in 1215-16, was several times confirmed. The trade in wool was important in 1202, and eventually responsible for many gilds. It brought into the market Welsh friezes and white cloth ; but declined in the i6th century.
The cathedral of St. Ethelbert exemplifies all styles from Nor man to Perpendicular. The see was detached from Lichfield in 676, Putta being its first bishop. The removal of murdered Aethelbert's body from Marden to Hereford led to the foundation of a superior church, reconstructed by Bishop Athelstane, and burnt by the Welsh in 1055. Begun again in ion by Bishop Robert Losinga, it was carried on by Bishop Reynelm and completed in 1148 by Bishop R. de Betun. In 1786 the western tower fell and carried with it the west front and the first bay of the nave. The present west front was completed in 1905. The total length of the cathe dral outside is 342 ft., inside 327 f t. 5 in., the nave being 158 ft. 6 in., the choir from screen to reredos 75 ft. 6 in. and the lady chapel 93 ft. 5 in. The principal features are the central tower, of Decorated work, and the north porch, rich Perpendicular with parvis. The bishop's cloisters, of which only two walks remain, are Perpendicular, of curious design, with heavy tracery in the bays. Of the former decagonal Decorated chapter-house, only the doorway and slight traces remain. Within, the nave has Norman arcades, and there is a late Norman font. The south transept is also,Norman, but largely altered by the introduction of Perpen dicular work. The north transept was rebuilt in 1287. The dark choir is Norman in the arcades and the stage above, with Early English clerestory and vaulting. At the east end is a Norman arch, blocked until 184 i by a Grecian screen erected in r 717. The choir stalls are largely Decorated. The organ contains original work by Renatus Harris, and was presented by Charles II. The small north east and south-east transepts are Decorated but retain traces of the Norman apsidal terminations eastward. The eastern lady chapel, dated about 12 20, shows elaborate Early English work. On the south side opens the little Perpendicular chantry of Bishop Audley (1492-1502). In the north choir aisle is the fan-vaulted chantry of Bishop Stanbury (147o). The crypt is Early English. The ancient monastic library still retains several rare manuscripts and relics. In the south choir aisle is the Map of the World, dating from about 1314, the work of a Lincolnshire monk, Richard of Haldingham.
From the south-east transept of the cathedral a cloister leads to the quadrangular college of the Vicars-Choral, a Perpendicular building. On this side of the cathedral, too, the bishop's palace, originally a Norman hall, lies near the castle green, the site of the historic castle, now utterly effaced. The church of All Saints is Early English and Decorated. One only of the six gates and a few fragments of the old walls are still to be seen, but there are ruins of the Black Friars' monastery in Widemarsh, and a mile out of Hereford on the Brecon Road, the White Cross, erected in commemorates the departure of the Black Plague. The "Old House" is a good example of the half-timbered style, dating from 1621, and the Coningsby hospital (almshouses) dates from 1614. St. Ethelbert's hospital is an Early English foundation. Old established schools are the Cathedral school (1384) and the Blue Coat school ( 171o). A musical festival of the choirs of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester cathedrals is held annually in rotation at these cities.