Weston under Penyard

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.

External links