WEOBLEY, or WEOBLY, is a place of considerable antiquity, distant 8½ miles S.W. of Leominster, 12 N.W. of Hereford, 9 S.E. of Kington, 15 N.E. of Hay, and 3½ N. of Moorhampton station on the Hereford, Hay, and Brecon branch of the Midland railway. The town is situated about ¾ of a mile S. of the main road between Leominster and Hay, and 2 miles E. of the road leading from Hereford to Kington. It is in Grimsworth hundred and Leominster county court district; and is the head of a poor-law union, highway district, polling district, and petty sessional division. The population in 1861 was 849; in 1871, 932; inhabited houses, 171; families or separate occupiers, 216; area of parish, 3,309 acres; annual rateable value, £5,187. The Marquess of Bath, who is lord of the manor, and Major Daniel Peploe Peploe, M.P., are the principal landed proprietors. This is an exceedingly fertile and productive district; the scenes around are most picturesque and romantic, and the neighbourhood is embellished by numerous seats and genteel residences.

The town is mainly supported by agriculture. A fair is held on May 8th yearly for cattle, pleasure, and hiring of servants. Weobley formerly returned two members to Parliament. It was represented in the seven parliaments of Edward I., and no more until the reign of Charles I., when, in the year 1640, it resumed its privilege by an order from the House of Commons. It was disfranchised by the Reform Bill of 1832. On the south side of the town stood an old castle, which was taken from the Empress Maud by King Stephen. Leland mentions it as a goodly and fine building, but somewhat in decay. The embankments and moat which surrounded it are still to be seen. Weobley anciently formed part of the barony of the Lacies, from whom, by a female, it was conveyed in marriage to the Vernons, who, by that alliance, were for some time hereditary constables of Ireland. It afterwards passed through the various families of the Furnivals, the Ferrers, and the Craphuls, to the Devereuxs, Earls of Essex, and formed their principal lordship.

Weobley is in the diocese and archdeaconry of Hereford and rural deanery of its own name; living, a vicarage; value, £250, with residence and 11 acres of glebe; patron, the Lord Bishop of Worcester; vicar, Rev. Henry B. Purton, B.A., of Christ's College, Cambridge, who was instituted in 1869, and is also a surrogate for the diocese of Hereford. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a fine old structure in the Norman, Perpendicular, and Decorated styles of architecture. It consists of nave, chancel, two side aisles, and square tower terminating with four pinnacles and surmounted with a lofty stone spire. The tower contains a peal of six musical bells, and a new clock by Bezant, of Hereford, the gift of the late vicar. The church was restored in 1865, under the superintendence of Clifton West, Esq., architect, and was reopened for divine service April 12th, 1866. The cost of restoration was about £3,200, of which £600 was raised on the rates, and the remainder by voluntary contributions.

Among the principal subscribers were the late Daniel Peploe Peploe, Esq., the late vicar (Rev. John Birch Peploe), the Marquess of Bath, &c. In the chancel is a magnificent and full-length marble statue to the memory of Colonel John Birch, surrounded with the insignia of war. A memorial window by Messrs. Heaton, Butler, & Bayne, of. London, was erected in 1867 by the tenantry of the Garnstorre estate, to the memory of the late Daniel Peploe Peploe, Esq. The subject is very striking, representing our Saviour bearing His cross; on the one side the soldiers are mocking Him, and on the other the good women of Jerusalem consoling Him. There are also two memorial windows to the late vicar (the Rev. John Birch Peploe). The earliest register is dated 1546. There is a Roman Catholic chapel, with residence for the priest, situated in Union road, about a quarter of a mile from the town. It was erected in 1834, and is dedicated to St. Thomas of Hereford.

The Primitive Methodist chapel was erected in 1861. The national schools for boys, girls, and infants are neat and commodious stone buildings, situate in Broad street. A new class-room has been recently added, at a cost of nearly £200. The schools are under government inspection, and have certificated teachers; average attendance, about 80. A free school once existed here, called "Crother's Free Grammar School", but it having been found impossible to obtain a regular master for it, on account of the smallness of the endowment available for salary, and the building being old and much out of repair, was taken down, and, by consent of the trustees, merged into the national schools.

The Union workhouse is a red brick building, situated about half a mile from the town on the Kington road. It was erected in 1837, and will accommodate 114 inmates. The guardians meet at the board-room every alternate Monday. The Weobley union comprises 26 parishes, and is divided into two districts, viz., Weobley and Dilwyn. The population of Weobley district in 1861 was 5,317; in 1871, 5,383; area, 28,407 acres. The population of Dilwyn district in 1861 was 3,701; in 1871, 3,648; area, 20,552 acres. The police station is a neat brick building, situated in Mill street. The magistrates for Weobley petty sessional division meet at the Court-room every alternate Monday. The inland revenue office is at the "Red Lion Inn". Weobley hunt steeple chases are, held annually in the month of April on the farm occupied by Mr. W.H. Bull. They are fairly attended.

About 1 mile S. of the town is Garnstone Castle, the seat of Major Daniel Peploe Peploe, M.P., J.P., and D.L. for Herefordshire. It is a modern stone-built mansion in the castellated style of architecture, having an extensive park well stocked with deer. The garden and ornamental grounds attached to this mansion are extensive and beautiful, and are kept in exceedingly neat order. The Garnstone district floral and horticultural society hold their annual show in the grounds of Garnstone castle, when the gardens are thrown open to the public by permission of Major Peploe, M.P. There are many ancient timber-framed houses in Weobley parish. The Ley farm-house bears date 1589, and is an interesting structure.