BRINSOP is a parish situated on the main road from Hereford to Kington,
about 6 miles N.W. of the former town, 12 S.E. of the latter, 5 S.E.
of Weobley, and 1½ N.W. of Credenhill station on the Hereford, Hay, and
Brecon branch of the Midland railway, which line passes through the
south side of the parish. It is in Grimsworth hundred, Weobley union
and petty sessional division, Yazor polling district, and Hereford county
court district. The population in 1861 was 145; in 1871, 152; inhabited
houses, 30; families or separate occupiers, 32; area of parish, 1,364
acres; annual rateable value, £1,777. David Ricardo, Esq., and Edward
William Plowright, Esq., are the principal landowners. The soil is chiefly
strong loam and clay; subsoil, limestone; produce, wheat, barley, oats,
beans, peas, and roots. The living is a vicarage in the diocese and
archdeaconry of Hereford and rural deanery of Weston; value of rent charge,
£107, augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, £95; glebe, 120 acres;
patron, the Lord Bishop of Hereford; vicar, Rev. William Cecil Fowle,
M.A., of Wadham College, Oxford, who was instituted in 1866. The church,
dedicated to St. George, is a small but interesting edifice dating from
the fourteenth century. It was completely restored in 1866-67 at a cost
of nearly £900. A beautifully, carved oak reredos was added in 1872 at
the expense of the vicar. In the chancel is a stained glass memorial
window to the poet Wordsworth, with the following inscription:-
"In memory of William Wordsworth, the Poet Laureate, a frequent sojourner
in this parish; the gift of some among the many admirers of his genius
and character, A.D. 1873".
There are two marble monuments in the chancel to the memory of
members of the Dansey family, formerly of Brinsop court. Over the
south door is a nearly obliterated representation of our Saviour on the
cross, which was discovered when the church was restored. The earliest
register is dated 1691. There are a few small charities. The national
school for boys and girls provides accommodation for about 40 children.
The Vicarage is a handsome and commodious residence, in the Elizabethan
style of architecture. Brinsop Court, a farmhouse situated half a mile
N. of the church, is an ancient mansion surrounded by a deep moat. It
has evidently been an old monastery. Here stands a beautiful tree that
was planted by the poet Wordsworth, who, together with Southey, was a
frequent visitor here.
POSTAL REGULATIONS.- Letters arrive by messenger from Hereford at
10.30 a.m.; despatched thereto at 3.30 p.m. Hereford is the nearest
money order and telegraph office and post town.
Parish Church (St. George's).- Rev. William Cecil Fowle, M.A., Vicar;
Mr. James W. Ford, Churchwarden.
National School (boys and girls).- Miss Elizabeth Belcher, Mistress.
Carrier to Hereford.- William Watkins (from Weobley) passes through
on Wednesdays and Saturdays about 10 a.m., returning the same days at
7 p.m.