View source for Marstow

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place|
|static_image_name= File:St Matthews Church, Marstow - geograph.org.uk - 135060.jpg
|static_image_caption= St Matthew's Church, Marstow
|country= England
|coordinates = {{coord| 51.869| -2.65062|display=inline,title}}
|population=
|population_ref=
|official_name= Marstow
|unitary_england= [[Herefordshire]]
|region= West Midlands
|lieutenancy_england= [[Herefordshire]]
|constituency_westminster= [[Hereford and South Herefordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Hereford and South Herefordshire]]
|civil_parish= Marstow
|post_town= ROSS-ON-WYE
|postcode_area= HR
|postcode_district= HR9
|dial_code= 01600
|os_grid_reference= SO553192
| london_distance_mi = 112<!-- straight line per MOS – constant and comparable with other place distances -->
| london_direction = ESE
}}
'''Marstow''' is a hamlet and [[civil parish]] in south eastern [[Herefordshire]], England. Most of the parish is within the [[Wye Valley|Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].
==History==
Marstow at c.1130 was written as "Lann Martin", and in 1291 as "Martinstow". The name derives from the saint's name [Martin], with the [[Old English]] 'stōw' "replacing [the] Welsh "Llan in the early form", and producing the "Church or holy place of St Martin".<ref>Mills, Anthony David (2003); ''A Dictionary of British Place Names'', [[Oxford University Press]], revised edition (2011), p.319. {{ISBN|019960908X}}</ref>
In 1831 the parish was a division of the [[Wormelow Tump|Wormelow]] [[Hundred (county subdivision)|Hundred]] of Hereford, with a population of 132. The then St Martin's [[parish|ecclesiastical parish]] [[Benefice#Church of England|living]] was a [[Perpetual curate|perpetual curracy]] annexed to the [[Vicar (Anglicanism)|vicarage]] of [[Sellack]] ({{convert|5|mi|km|0}} to the north<ref name=GRF>Extracted from [https://gridreferencefinder.com?gr=SO5530019207|Marstow|1&v=r "Marstow"], GridReferenceFinder. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref>). The vicar at Sellack held a [[Royal Bounty Fund|royal bounty]] endowment of £400 with which to [[Patronage# Ecclesiastical# Anglican|support]] the [[Incumbent (ecclesiastical)|incumbency]] of Marstow.<ref>[https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/heref/vol1/xlv-xlvi "List of Hundred and Parishes"], ''An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Herefordshire'', Volume 1, South west (1931). Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref><ref>[[Samuel Lewis (publisher)|Lewis, Samuel]], ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'' (1831)</ref>
In 1868 the nearest railway station was at [[Ross-on-Wye]], which was also Marstow's post town. The parish was described as small, on the Garron Brook tributary of the [[River Wye]], and included the hamlet of Pencraig. The Ross to [[Monmouth]] road ran through the parish. The land was of "sand and loam upon a subsoil of red sandstone and rock". Parish [[tithe]]s - typically one-tenth of the produce or profits of the land given to the rector for his services - had been commuted and substituted with a £202 10s yearly rent-charge payment [under the 1836 [[Tithe Commutation Act 1836|Tithe Commutation Act]]]. The vicar at Sellack still held the church [[advowson|patronage]], to the value of £269, which then included the annexed perpetual curacy of [[Pencoyd]] [St Denys] ({{convert|6|mi|km|0}} to the north-east of Marstow<ref name=GRF/>). The church of St Martin [demolished in 1855] is described as "an ancient stone structure, with a small tower containing two bells", whose "churchyard is frequently inundated by the overflowing of the river". The subsequent St Matthew's Church at Brelston Green, built in the same year, cost £750. There was a school in Marstow for children of both sexes.<ref>''The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland'', Virtue, Vol II, (1868) p.786</ref> [[John Marius Wilson]] in 1870 adds parish land area as {{convert|809|acre|ha|abbr=off}} with a population of 142 within 27 dwellings. The rateable value of the land was £2,052.<ref>[[John Marius Wilson|Wilson, John Marius]] (1870) ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales]]'', A. Fullarton & Co. Vol. IV, p.288</ref><ref>[http://herefordshirepast.co.uk/churches/st-matthews-church-3/ "St. Matthew’s Church – Marstow"], Herefordshire Past.  Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref>
Between 1885 and 1890 the parish remained in the same hundred and deaconry as previously, was in the [[Manorialism|manor]] of Wilton-on-Wye, the Ross [[County court|county court district]], the Harewood End [[petty sessional division]] and the Whitchurch polling district and electoral division of the county council. The nearest railway station was at [[Kerne Bridge]], {{convert|6|mi|km|0}} east on the [[Ross and Monmouth Railway|Ross and Monmouth branch]] of the [[Great Western Railway]]. The patronage of the church living was now in the joint [[Gift (law)|gift]] of Sellack and [[King's Caple]] ({{convert|6|mi|km|0}} to the north), and still annexed to Pencoyd. The living didn't include a priest's [[Clergy house|residence]]. The new church, now St Matthew, was in the hamlet of Brelston Green, its register dating to 1701. Further notable buildings recorded were Fairfield House, Pengraig Court, Glewstone Court, Trbandy House, and Mount Craig. One of the three principal landowners was [[Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar|Lord Tredegar]]. There was a [[Primitive Methodist Church|Primitive Methodist]] meeting house, and a [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]] chapel with 80 sittings that was erected in 1872 at Pencraig.<ref name=Kellys1885>''[[Kelly's Directory]] of Herefordshire'' 1885, pp.&nbsp;1212, 1213</ref><ref name=Jakeman>''Jakeman & Carver's Directory of Herefordshire'' (1890) p.575</ref>
The rateable value of the now {{convert|1910|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of land was £3,505, on which were grown chiefly wheat, barley, root crops and vegetables, and some pasture, with an 1871 parish population of 161 and 1881 of 143. In 1890 there were 29 inhabited houses with 33 families or separate occupiers, and a land area of {{convert|1935|acre|ha|abbr=off}} with an annual rateable value of £3,046. After the [[Divided Parishes and Poor Law Amendment Act 1882|Divided Parishes Act]], on 25 March 1884 the hamlets of Brelston Green, Pengraig and Glewstone had been alienated from their former neighbouring parishes; further land was at the time alienated at from [[Bridstow]] and [[Peterstow]]. After the redrawing of boundaries Marston population rose to 383. There were two post offices, one each at Glewstone and Pencraig. A district school was built at Glewstone in 1873 for £400, with a residence for a schoolmistress, and which accommodated 60 children and had an average attendance on 45; the school also provided for the outlying portions of the parishes of [[Goodrich, Herefordshire|Goodrich]], Peterstow, Bridstow and [[Hentland]].<ref name=Kellys1885/><ref name=Jakeman/>
Occupation listings for the period living in the parish included a farm bailiff, a water miller at Tuck mill, a schoolmistress, and a grocer & beer retailer who was also a sub-postmaster. A shopkeeper, carpenter, gardener, and [[blacksmith]] traded at Glewstone, and a further blacksmith at Brelston Green who in 1890 was also an assistant [[Overseer of the poor|overseer]]. In 1885 there were fifteen farmers, with one each at Brelston Green and Glewstone, and two at Pencraig. By 1890 farmers increased to seventeen.<ref name=Kellys1885/><ref name=Jakeman/>
In 1913 the administrative, religious, geographical, and historical aspects of the parish remained as before. There was listed an extra {{convert|40|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of [[glebe]], an area of land used to support the parish priest. Land rateable value of £2,763, and an expanse of {{convert|22|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of water was recorded. Population in 1911 was 341 for the civil parish, and 120 for the ecclesiastical. The school at Glewstone was now a [[Elementary school (England and Wales)|Public Elementary School]] for mixed pupils and infants. Occupations included ten farmers, one of whom worked at Brelston Green, a poultry farmer at Tuck mill. At Glewstone was a carpenter, and a shopkeeper, and at Pengraig a carpenter & beer retailer, a blacksmith, and a farmer.<ref name=Kellys1913>''[[Kelly's Directory]] of Herefordshire'' 1913, pp.&nbsp;160, 161</ref>
Between 1974 and 1998 Marstow was in the [[South Herefordshire]] [[Districts of England|district]] of [[Hereford and Worcester]].
==Geography==
The hamlet of Marstow is {{convert|14|mi|km|0}} south from the city and [[county town]] of [[Hereford]], and {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} south-west from the [[market town]] of [[Ross-on-Wye]], the nearest large town. The Welsh border of [[Monmouthshire]] is {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} to the south-west.<ref name=GRF/><ref name=OS>Extracted from [https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/51.87481,-2.64567,15/pin "Llanmartin / Marstow"], ''GetOutside'', [[Ordnance Survey]]. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref>
The A1437 road, running locally from the [[A40 road|A40]] at the village of [[Whitchurch, Herefordshire|Whitchurch]] to the [[A49 road|A49]] from Ross-on-Wye to Hereford, runs north to south through the parish at the west, and forms the north-western part of the parish boundary. The A40 runs for {{convert|1.5|mi|km|0}} through the parish at the east.<ref name=GRF/><ref name=OS/>
The parish is rural, of farms, fields, woods, streams and dispersed buildings, and includes the other hamlets of Glewstone, Brelston Green and Pencraig.<ref name=PC>[http://www.marstowpc.org.uk/ Marstow Parish Council]. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref> It is approximately 3&nbsp;miles north to south, and about {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} east to west at its widest. The stream of Luke Brook runs north to south through the centre of the parish, joining Garren Brook which feeds the [[River Wye]] at the south. Both watercourses form part of the parish' southern border. Parishes bordering Marstow are Peterstow at the north, Bridstow and  Walford at the east, Goodrich at the south-east, Whitchurch at the south, and [[Llangarron]] at the west. The River Wye forms the boundary with the parish of Walford.<ref name=GRF/><ref name=OS/> The parish east of the A1437 is part of the Wye Valley [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].<ref name=GoogleMaps>Extracted from [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Marstow,+Ross-on-Wye+HR9+6EQ/@51.8479651,-2.6856587,13.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x4871b6db10b2161f:0x3e1daccae39ea06e!8m2!3d51.868135!4d-2.652033 "Marstow"], [[Google Maps]]. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref>
The parish is connected to Whitchurch, Ross-on-Wye, Bridstow, and [[Monmouth]] by buses running east to west through Glewstone.<ref>[https://bustimes.org/search?q=Glewstone "Glewstone"], Bus Times. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref>
==Landmarks==
Marstow parish contains 32 [[listed building]]s and structures.<ref>[https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/marstow-herefordshire#.XOAdndh7laQ "Listed Buildings in Marstow, Herefordshire"], British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref>
The Grade II [[parish church]] of St Matthew is in the hamlet of Brelston Green. It was built in 1855 from sandstone rubble with limestone to designs by [[Thomas Nicholson (architect)|Thomas Nicholson]], and comprises a chancel, nave, [[vestry]] room, south porch, and a [[bell-cot]]. Within the church is a [[Mason & Hamlin]] late 19th-century [[harmonium]]. The chancel east window contains stained glass depicting the [[Raising of Jairus' daughter]].<ref>{{NHLE|num= 1288414|desc=Church of St Matthew|accessdate= 20 May 2019}}</ref> The church is in the [[deanery]] of Ross & Archenfield of the [[Diocese of Hereford]].<ref>[https://www.hereford.anglican.org/acny/church/260/ "St Matthew"], Diocese of Hereford. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref> In 2017 St Matthew's was put on the Heritage at Risk register of Historic England, and in 2018 received "£105,000 for vital structural repairs", and the addition of a community space, from the [[Heritage Lottery Fund]].<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk/search-register/list-entry/13286 "Church of St Matthew, Marstow - Herefordshire, County of (UA)"], Historic England. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref><ref>[https://facultyonline.churchofengland.org/CHR/ChurchDetails.aspx?id=6274 "Church Heritage Record 618241"], [[The Church of England]]. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.ludlowadvertiser.co.uk/news/regional/17525103.crumbling-herefordshire-church-saved/ "Crumbling Herefordshire church 'saved'"], ''Ludlow Advertiser'', 25 March 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref><ref>[http://www.theforestreview.co.uk/article.cfm?id=117080&headline=Church%E2%80%99s%20appeal%20for%20%20%C2%A3175,000%20success&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2019 "Church’s appeal for £175,000 success "], ''Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Review'', 3 April 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019</ref>
[[File:Glewstone Court.jpg|thumb|right|Glewstone Court]]
Marstow Court, in Marstow village, is a Grade II largely late 18th- to early 19th-century T-plan brick farmhouse, dating to the 17th century.<ref>{{NHLE |num = 1214578 |desc = Marstow Court |accessdate= 20 May 2019| fewer-links=x}}</ref> The only Grade II* building in Marstow is a two-storey sandstone outbuilding to the east of Marstow Court. Possibly previously a house, it dates to the 15th century, was altered in the 18th, and is of rectangular plan.<ref>{{NHLE |num = 1214715 |desc = Outbuilding About 30 Yards East of Marstow Court|accessdate= 20 May 2019| fewer-links=x}}</ref> The Grade II L-plan sandstone New Court farmhouse, north-east from the village, dates to the 17th century.<ref>{{NHLE |num = 1288466 |desc = New Court Farmhouse|accessdate= 20 May 2019| fewer-links=x}}</ref> Brelston Court, to the south-east from St Matthew's Church at Brelston Green, is a Grade II sandstone house, dating to the mid-18th-century.<ref>{{NHLE |num = 1214655 |desc = Brelston Court|accessdate= 20 May 2019| fewer-links=x}}</ref> The Grade II Glewstone Court, at the north-east of Glewstone, is late 18th-century rectangular plan house, with late 19th-century additions and cross wings, of sandstone and limestone with ground floor bay windows and a central porch with [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]] columns.<ref>{{NHLE |num = 1214688 |desc = Glewstone Court|accessdate= 20 May 2019| fewer-links=x}}</ref> The Pencraig Court Hotel, at Pencraig and Grade II, is a conversion of an 18th-century house. The rectangular house was redesigned in 1840, and is of two storeys and stuccoed brick, and has a service wing, and a central porch with fluted columns with [[Ionic order|Ionic]] capitals.<ref>{{NHLE |num = 1214772 |desc = Pencraig Court Hotel|accessdate= 20 May 2019| fewer-links=x}}</ref> Ashe Farmhouse, south-east from Glewstone, is a Grade II L-plan brick and sandstone two-storey house with a [[datestone]] indicating a 1740 build.<ref>{{NHLE |num = 1214647 |desc = Ashe Farmhouse|accessdate= 20 May 2019| fewer-links=x}}</ref>
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==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{commons category-inline|Marstow}}
*[http://www.marstowpc.org.uk/ Marstow Parish Council]. Retrieved 17 May 2019
*[https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HEF/Marstow "Marstow"], [[Genuki]]. Retrieved 17 May 2019
*[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2406 Marstow, Herefordshire], A vision of Britain Through Time
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{{Herefordshire|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Hamlets in Herefordshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Herefordshire]]