Weston-under-Penyard
Encyclopedia
Weston under Penyard is a small village in Herefordshire
, England
.
It lies on the A40 road
two miles east of Ross-on-Wye
. The Penyard is a prominent hill.
The parish church of St Lawrence has a tall 14th century west tower which had a spire until it was damaged by lightning in 1750.
Slightly to the east under farmland lies the former Roman
settlement of Ariconium
, which gave its name to the historical areas of Herefordshire known as Ergyng
and Archenfield
. The name Ariconium is Romano-British
and may conceivably have an equivalent in or near the Roman
province of Galatia
.
The Bristol merchant Richard Amerike
(c. 1445–1503) who, it is claimed, gave his name to America
, was born here.
On the edge of the village is Bollitree Castle, which is currently owned by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond
. It comprises a house built c1700 incorporating the remains of an earlier building, to which castellated walls, turrets and moat were added in the late eighteenth century. Two miles south west are the fragmentary remains of Penyard Castle, a fourteenth century castle on the site of which was built a seventeenth century house.
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It lies on the A40 road
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
two miles east of Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
. The Penyard is a prominent hill.
The parish church of St Lawrence has a tall 14th century west tower which had a spire until it was damaged by lightning in 1750.
Slightly to the east under farmland lies the former Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
settlement of Ariconium
Ariconium
Ariconium was a road station of Roman Britain mentioned in Iter XIII of the Iter Britanniarum of the Antonine Itineraries. It was located at Bury Hill in the parish of Weston under Penyard, about east of Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, and about southeast of Hereford. The site existed prior to the...
, which gave its name to the historical areas of Herefordshire known as Ergyng
Ergyng
Ergyng was a Welsh kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as Archenfield.-Location:...
and Archenfield
Archenfield
Archenfield is the historic English name for an area of southern and western Herefordshire in England. Since the Anglo-Saxons took over the region in the 8th century, it has stretched between the River Monnow and River Wye, but it derives from the once much larger Welsh kingdom of...
. The name Ariconium is Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
and may conceivably have an equivalent in or near the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
province of Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
.
The Bristol merchant Richard Amerike
Richard Amerike
Richard ap Meryk, Anglicised to Richard Amerike was a wealthy English merchant, royal customs officer and sheriff, of Welsh descent. He was the principal owner of the Matthew, the ship sailed by John Cabot during his voyage of exploration to North America in 1497...
(c. 1445–1503) who, it is claimed, gave his name to America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, was born here.
On the edge of the village is Bollitree Castle, which is currently owned by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
. It comprises a house built c1700 incorporating the remains of an earlier building, to which castellated walls, turrets and moat were added in the late eighteenth century. Two miles south west are the fragmentary remains of Penyard Castle, a fourteenth century castle on the site of which was built a seventeenth century house.