Military History Trail: Southern Herefordshire

In the south of the county, uncover...

Tales of espionage, Civil War sieges, and local military connections
The heroic story of Violette Szabo
Goodrich Castle's historical significance .

Head to the village of Wormelow Tump, which aside from its Arthurian connections (a relative of King Arthur's is rumoured to be buried here) is home to the fascinating Violette Szabo GC Museum. A British-French WWII Special Operations Executive agent and posthumous recipient of the George Cross, Violette's story is captivating. The museum, housed in a cottage formerly owned by her cousins, is where she recuperated between missions, making the story even more evocative.

Next to the picturesque riverside village of Hoarwithy famed for its stunning Italian Romanesque style church in the grounds of which can be found a series of fascinating ‘rustic’ headstones to military servicemen, including those from the Herefordshire Regiment. An equally insightful stroll can be had around the churchyard at St Marys in Ross-on-Wye, the official ‘birthplace of tourism’. Here you’ll find memorials and headstones of Chelsea Pensioners evacuated to Rudhall Manor during WWII.

Venture into the Wye Valley to Welsh Bicknor, historically a detached part of Monmouthshire. By the river bank lies a monument to the Halifax bomber crash in 1942 that killed Alan Blumlein, inventor of stereo sound, while he was researching radar, along with 10 others.

Finally, make journeys end at Goodrich Castle, one of the finest and best preserved of all English medieval castles. Named after the landowner Godric, who built the first castle in the late 11th century, its fine Norman keep was added a generation later. Rebuilt in the late 13th century by William de Valence, it became a state-of-the-art castle.