BURGHILL is an extensive parish, comprising the places above named, the village being 4 miles N. by N.W. of Hereford, 7½ S.E. of Weobley, 1¾ W. of Moreton station on the Shrewsbury and Hereford branch of the Great Western railway, and about 2 N.E. of Credenhill station on the Hereford, Hay, and Brecon branch of the Midland railway. It is situated on the main road between Hereford and Weobley, in Grimsworth hundred, Hereford union, polling district, county court district, and petty sessional division. The population of the entire parish in 1861 was 934; in 1871, 1,036; inhabited houses, 205; families or separate occupiers, 237; area of parish, 3,704 acres; annual rateable value, £7,527. There is no lord of the manor of Burghill, as no manorial rights have been exacted for upwards of twenty-five years. The principal landowners are Miss: Griffiths, Thomas Davies, Esq., William Lovejoy, Esq., J.C. Woodhouse, Esq., John Bennett, Esq., Charles Watkins, Esq., George R. Herron, Esq., Rev. John Rees Jones, Mrs. Price, Mr. J. Harrison, and the executors of the late Thomas Martin, Esq. The soil is clay and loam, and in some parts gravel; chief crops, wheat, beans, peas, hops, and fruit.

Burghill is in the diocese and archdeaconry of Hereford and rural deanery of Weston; living; a vicarage; value, £102, with 26 acres of glebe; patron, J.C. Woodhouse, Esq.; vicar, Rev. John Rees Jones, M.A., who was instituted in 1854. The rectorial tithes are commuted at £481 12s. 11d; the amount of rentcharge is £9 12s. 6d. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient Norman edifice; it has a square tower with four pinnacles and five bells. It underwent thorough restoration in 1824, at a cost of £2,000; a considerable outlay was again made in 1854; and it was again restored in 1862, when three stained glass windows were added; and it is in contemplation, when convenient, to effect further restoration. The church is laid throughout with encaustic tiles the interior is supported by ten noble stone pillars, and consists of nave, middle aisle, two side aisles, chancel, and an organ, in the western gallery. There is a curious font of metal, placed on a stone figuratively carved of the twelve apostles; also a very richly carved oak screen.

In the chancel is a handsome marble altar tomb to the memory of Sir John Milbourne (formerly of Tillington court, in this parish), with his wife and twelve children; also two brass monuments to the memory of Robert Masters, Esq., who was lord of the manor, and died June 3rd, 1619; and John Awbrey, Esq., June 11th, 1616. The entrance to the church by the south porch is through a very beautiful avenue of yew trees. In the orchard adjoining the churchyard is a barrow. The earliest register is dated A.D. 1663. The charities are of £8 yearly value, A very handsome stone school building, with residence for the master, was erected in 1851, and endowed with £6 10s. per annum by the late William Walters, Esq., of The Hermitage, for the education of boys and girls of this parish. This building has been recently enlarged at a cost of £575, to meet the requirements of the Education Department. Accommodation is now provided for about 160 children.

The Hereford County and City Lunatic Asylum is situate in this parish, about & miles from Hereford to the N.W., on the Weobley road. The building was commenced in 1868 and completed in 1872 at a cost of £87,873. The county and city of Hereford, for this great outlay; are in possession of one of the best and most complete asylums in England. The estate comprises about 110 acres: The buildings are well placed and cover about 10 acres; the principal front is towards the S.E., and the wards command extensive and beautiful views of the surrounding country. The building, which is of brick, is of a pleasing and suitable character, though free from any superfluous ornament. With the exception, of one three-storeyed block in each division, the asylum is of two storeys. The estimated accommodation is for about 200 of each sex. There are, on each side, four wards, besides - in connection with the workshops on the male side and the laundry on, the female - a day-room and dormitory for 20 men and 20 women respectively.

The airing courts, two on each side, are of good size. The workshops are well arranged. There are also a bakehouse and a brewhouse, and within a short distance from the building, towards the N.E., are gas works. The water supply from the wells on the estate has proved ample in quantity, and the quality of the water is stated to be good. The day-rooms and corridors are remarkably light and cheerful; the dormitories are also good and well arranged, and are lighted by burners near the ceiling; the gas-taps being in the corridors, and inaccessible to patients. The general dining and recreation hall is spacious and conveniently situate in relation to the kitchen and wards. The chapel, which is over it, and in which divine service is held on Sundays and three week days, contains upwards of 250 sittings. The warming is entirely by open fireplaces, except in the case of the chapel and dining hall, which are warmed by air heated over hot-water pipes, and two out of the four wards on either side, which can be heated in the same way.

The ventilation is effected by numerous inlet gratings near the floor, directly from outside, which can be shut when required, by flues taken from the tops of the day-rooms and dormitories and carried up in the chimney-stacks, and by a system of extraction flues from the single rooms ending in a central shaft. The arrangements for bathing are very complete, each of the four wards in both divisions having two baths, and there being also a bath for the laundry and workshop departments respectively. The kitchen and central domestic offices are well arranged and are convenient for administration. The asylum farm and garden comprise about 100 acres. The general committee of visitors meet quarterly, and the house committee on the first Tuesday in each month. There are at present 250 inmates, viz., 129 males and 121 females. The asylum is under the charge, as medical superintendent, of T. Algernon Chapman, Esq., M.D., formerly at the Abergavenny asylum.

Tillington, a township of Burghill, distant about 1frac12; miles N.W. of the church, contained in 1861 a population of 523; in 1871, 465, with 103 inhabited houses. Portway is a hamlet ¾ of a mile E. Huntington is a hamlet distant 1½ miles S.E. by S., partly in this parish, but chiefly in that of Holmer. The principal residences in the parish are Burghill House (recently purchased by J.C. Woodhouse, Esq., of Liverpool); Tillington Court, 1 mile N., the residence of Miss Griffiths; The Hermitage, 2 miles N. of the church, commands some delightful views, and is the residence of William Lovejoy, Esq.; and The Vicarage, adjoining the church. There are also several extensive farms with good houses attached. About 1 mile to the N. of Burghill are vestiges of an ancient tract called the Portway, pointing towards Kenchester. On the summit of Burghill itself are the remains of a square court.