Kilpeck

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Kilpeck
Welsh: Llanddewi Cil Peddeg
Kilpeck (Herefordshire)
Kilpeck

Kilpeck shown within Herefordshire
Population 200
OS grid reference SO444304
Unitary authority Herefordshire
Region West Midlands
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town HEREFORD
Postcode district HR2
Dialling code 01981
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
European Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament Hereford
List of places: UK • England • Herefordshire

Coordinates: 51°58′11″N 2°48′36″W / 51.9697, -2.81

Kilpeck (Welsh: Llanddewi Cil Peddeg) is a small Herefordshire village renowned for its small but outstanding Norman (Romanesque) church but also having the earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey castle, no longer standing.

Kilpeck is about 14 km southwest of Hereford, just south of the A465, the road to Abergavenny.

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[edit] History

In the Domesday Survey, Kilpeck (entered as Chipeete) was given by William the Conqueror to William Fitz Norman de la Mare, son of Norman de la Mare. The clan de la Mare is one of the oldest in Normandy and is descended from Ragnvald Eysteinsson, earl of Møre and Romsdal.

According to the Domesday survey, Kilpeck had '3 ploughs, 2 serfs and 4 oxmen and there are 57 men with 19 ploughs.' There are mentions of a church on the site possibly from as early as the 7th century. There are vestiges of an enclosure, 200 yds (183 metres) by 300 yds (274 m) in the field, defining a Saxon village.

Kilpeck Church (photo by Philip Halling)
Kilpeck Church (photo by Philip Halling)
Remains of Kilpeck Castle (photo by Philip Halling)
Remains of Kilpeck Castle (photo by Philip Halling)

[edit] Kilpeck church

Main article:Kilpeck Church

The parish church of St Mary and St David was built around 1140. It consists of a nave, chancel and semicircular apse. It is remarkable for its wealth (and fine preservation) of Norman stone carvings [1], both inside [2] and out [3], all original both in form and position and incorporating many corbels with representations of human faces, hares, fish, fowl, stags etc. 85 of 91 corbels survive - an amazing rarity over so many centuries.

[edit] Kilpeck Castle

West of the church lies a ruined motte-and-bailey and earthworks, which are less remarkable than the unique church. The castle is thought to have been built first around 1090 as the administrative centre of Archenfield. A few walls of the 12th century or 13th century keep still stand on top of the motte; these are not well preserved. A fireplace and chimney flues are visible and two sections of standing castle walls.

[edit] Sources

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