Place:Kentchurch, Herefordshire, England

Watchers
NameKentchurch
Alt namesBagwyllydiartsource: settlement in parish
Llanguasource: settlement in parish
Pontrilassource: village in parish
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates51.926°N 2.846°W
Located inHerefordshire, England
Also located inHereford and Worcester, England     (1974 - 1998)
Herefordshire, England     (1998 - )
See alsoWebtree Hundred, Herefordshire, Englandhundred of which the parish was a part
Dore Rural, Herefordshire, Englandrural district 1894-1934
Dore and Bredwardine Rural, Herefordshire, Englandrural district 1934-1974
South Herefordshire District, Hereford and Worcester, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area 1974-1998
Herefordshire District, Herefordshire, Englandunitary authority covering the area since 1998
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Kentchurch is a small village in Herefordshire, England. It is located some 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Hereford and 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Wales, beside the River Monnow and adjoining the boundary between England and Wales.

Kentchurch Court is a historic house and Grade I listed building, dating back largely to the 14th century. It was enlarged in the late 17th or early 18th century, and was partly remodelled in the Gothic revival style by John Nash after 1795. Further reconstruction took place in the 1820s. The estate contains a large deer park, dating from the time when the land was owned by the Knights Templar.

It is the family home of the Scudamore family. Family members included Sir John Scudamore, who acted as constable and steward of a number of royal castles in south Wales at the start of the 15th century. He secretly married Alys, one of the daughters of Owain Glyndŵr, in 1410, and it has been suggested that the couple may have harboured Glyndŵr himself at Kentchurch until his death, after his disappearance around 1412.

Pontrilas

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Pontrilas is a village in south Herefordshire, England, half a mile from the border with Wales. It is in the parish of Kentchurch and lies midway between Hereford and Abergavenny. In 2011 the main village contained 66 residential dwellings, as well as Pontrilas Business Park.

The village name means 'bridge over three rivers', as the River Dore, Dulas brook and another smaller stream (which descends via Dineterwood but appears to have no specific name) meet there. The main A465 road skirts the west of the village.

The neighbouring parishes and villages include Ewyas Harold, Llangua, Dulas, Wormbridge, Kilpeck, Bagwyllydiart, Abbey Dore and Howton.

Research Tips

  • Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre, Fir Tree Lane, Rotherwas, Hereford HR2 6LA is where paper and microfilm copies of all records for Herefordshire are stored. The Archives Centre has a website where the index to the archives (and also the wills catalog) can be searched. One item in the catalog is List of all Herefordshire parish register and bishops transcripts holdings which is a PDF file with information provided in an old version of Excel.

Online sources which may also be helpful:

  • GENUKI gives pointers to other archive sources as well as providing some details on each parish in the county. The emphasis here is on ecclesiastical parishes (useful before 1837)
  • A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 and tables of the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. Do respect the copyright on this material.
  • The FamilySearch Wiki for Herefordshire provides a similar but not identical series of webpages to that provided by GENUKI
  • A Vision of Britain through Time has a group of pages of statistical facts for almost every parish in the county
  • Unfortunately, only one volume on Herefordshire has been published in the Victoria County History series. British History Online have produced a series of Ordnance Survey first edition maps for the county which may be helpful for mid-nineteenth century inquiries
  • Ancestry.co.uk lists its collections of Herefordshire genealogical material.
  • FindMyPast collections of historical records can be searched for Herefordshire. They have collections of parish records for the pre-1837 period.