MUCH COWARNE, or COWARNE MAGNA, is a village and extensive parish pleasantly situated on the river Leddon, or Leadon, between the main roads leading from Bromyard to Hereford and from Worcester to Hereford (over Froome's hill). It is distant 9 miles N.E. of Hereford, 5½ S. by W. of Bromyard, 10 N.W. of Ledbury, 13 W. of Malvern, and 17 W.S.W. of Worcester; is in Broxash hundred, Bromyard union, county court district, and petty sessional division, and Burley Gate polling district. The population in 1861 was 563; in 1871, 575; inhabited houses, 114; families or separate occupiers, 124; area of parish, 3,706 acres; annual rateable value, £5,218. The Hon. Percy S. Wyndham, M.P., is lord of the manor and principal landowner. The soil is clayey; subsoil, red marl; chief crops, wheat, beans, peas, hops; fruit, and pasture. There are some large farms in the parish, and the soil generally is fertile. There is some good trout fishing in the Leddon. Much Cowarne is in the diocese and archdeaconry of Hereford and rural deanery of North Froome; living, a vicarage; value, £337, with residence and 7 acres of glebe; patron, the Lord Bishop of Worcester; vicar, Rev. James John George Graham, M.A., of Queen's College, Oxford, who was instituted in 1861.

The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an old stone building in the Early English style of architecture. The nave, south aisle, and chancel have been thoroughly restored with new roofs, floors, and pitch-pine seats, all of which are free. The porch, pulpit, and font (with cover) are also new. One of the arches in the north wall has been opened and restored, displaying an ancient piscina in the column. Upwards of £1,800 has been spent on the whole works. This large sum, excepting £200 expended by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners on the chancel and £372 contributed by Church Building Societies, has been raised by the vicar chiefly from kind contributors unconnected with the parish. There still remains the grand old tower (twelfth-century work) to be restored, also the bells and shingle spire, which were destroyed by lightning in 1840. It is hoped that the restoration of the church will be completed during the present year (1876). There are three ancient monuments in the church; one is the effigy of Grimbaldus, cross-legged, and habited after the Norman manner. This Grimbaldus distinguished himself in the expedition against Tunis, but being taken prisoner, a joint of his wife was demanded as his ransom, who cut off her left hand and forwarded it to her husband. The church is situated on an eminence which commands some picturesque views. The earliest register is dated 1559. There is a national school for boys and girls situate near the church. It is a handsome stone building, with residence for the master attached; is under Government inspection; number of children on the books, 83; average attendance, about 70. Five Bridges is a small hamlet in this parish distant about 2½ miles E. of the church; Burley Gate, l mile W., joins Ocle Pitchard.