Hereford Cathedral

In the 21st Century, Hereford isn’t the sort of place where a cathedral would be built but in the agrarian society of the Middle Ages considering its proximity to Wales and its access to the River Wye Hereford was an ideal place for a settlement and then cathedral.

Hereford has a long history with it being the Saxon capital of West Merica in the 8th century. Before that in the late 7th century, it was the home of Puta who was, probably, the first Bishop Of Hereford. There were several battles between the Welsh and the Anglo-Saxons in the area and, with Hereford Castle, was a major base for repelling Welsh attacks on England.

Work on the current Hereford Cathedral was started in 1079 on the site of an 8th-century church and is dedicated to two Saints St Mary the Virgin and St Ethelbert the King. Work on the cathedral has continued over the centuries with the most recent changes being completed in 2015.

The cathedral has the largest library of chained books in the world, its most famous treasure being the Mappa Mundi, a medieval map of the world created around 1300 by Richard of Holdingham. The cathedral is also fortunate to possess one of only four 1217 Magna Carta to survive, which in turn is one of the finest of the eight oldest that survive.

After photographing Worcester Cathedral, on an overcast afternoon, I took the train to Hereford. I didn’t have a lot of time (light) to explore the town but I liked everything that I saw. The cathedral is very beautiful but because the afternoon was so overcast, I wasn’t able to do justice to most of the outstanding stained glass in it.

Here are a few photos of this lovely cathedral