Dorstone

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
Dorstone
Location within Herefordshire
Population401 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO313418
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHEREFORD
Postcode districtHR3
Dialling code01981
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament

Dorstone once contained a castle, Dorstone Castle.[4] A mile to the south the fragmentary remains of Snodhill Castle can still be seen.[5][6] From 2014 to 2018, the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (Historic England) put £150,000 into scientific and historical study of the Snodhill Castle site, plus an additional £500,000 grant to the Snodhill Castle Preservation Trust to complete clearing and restoration of the remains of Snodhill Castle, with the site opening to the public as of May 2018.[7][8]

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.[9] Each year the winner is crowned the "Grand Master of the Sloes".[10]

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.

Legends

Arthur's Stone in Dorstone is said to be the spot where King Arthur slew a giant who left the impression of his elbows on one of the stones as he fell.[11]

  • Dorstone Church
  • This impressive motte and bailey is thought to date from 11th to 12th centuries
  • One of the last original tickets railway tickets

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 4 July 2012.
  3. "The Pandy Inn, Dorstone:: OS grid SO3141 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  4. "Dorstone Castle:: OS grid SO3141 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  5. staff writers (23 October 2016). "Trust takes over Snodhill Castle in Herefordshire". BBC News. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  6. "Snodhill Castle – 2:: OS grid SO3240 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square!". Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  7. staff writers (9 May 2017). "Snodhill Castle is restored by villagers after £50k (sic) grant". BBC News. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  8. "Snodhill Castle Has Been Saved!". Historic England. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  9. "Golden Valley annual Sloe Gin Competition prepares for kick off". Hereford Times. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  10. "Dorstone Sloe Gin Competition 2010 – judging this Friday". Hereford Times. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  11. "History of Arthur's Stone". English Heritage. Retrieved 11 June 2020.


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