The Doward

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The Doward
View from The Great Doward 3 - geograph.org.uk - 1397857.jpg
View of Monmouth from Great Doward
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The Doward
Location within Herefordshire
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Herefordshire
51°50′35″N2°40′12″W / 51.843°N 2.67°W / 51.843; -2.67 Coordinates: 51°50′35″N2°40′12″W / 51.843°N 2.67°W / 51.843; -2.67

The Doward (Welsh : Deuarth Fach, lit. "two small hills"), [1] is an area in the parish of Whitchurch in south Herefordshire, England, consisting of the hills of Little Doward and Great Doward and extensive woodland. It is within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the border with Monmouthshire, Wales. The area, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Monmouth, is shrouded in legend and King Arthur's Cave is in the vicinity.

Contents

Geography

Little Doward viewed from above Whitchurch Great Doward viewed from above Whitchurch - geograph.org.uk - 1206566.jpg
Little Doward viewed from above Whitchurch

The Doward is located in the far south of Herefordshire, just across the border from Wales. In 1854, the district was reported to be of 254 acres. [2] Little Doward is located about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Monmouth, just to the southeast of Ganarew and just to the west of Symonds Yat. The River Wye flows through the area forming the eastern and southern boundary of the area, and the A40 road forming its western boundary. It is heavily forested with several cave formations. [3] The landscape is mountainous common, sprinkled with rock outcrops. [4]

The Great Doward area is marked by "extensive stratified limestone mountains" and the Great Doward Hill is said to contain "large deposits of rich iron-ore of a peculiar quality". [5] [6] A lane in the area is called Black Stone Kiln's Lane, indicating historical economic activity here. [7] To the west, the area is woody with wild elevations, interspersed with tame swells and hollows. [4] Maliscot Wood lies to the southeast of The Doward. [7] The woodland is part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and is protected by the Herefordshire Nature Trust.

Landmarks

King Arthur's Cave

King Arthur's Cave was occupied by man during the Upper Palaeolithic era. [8] [9] In 1871 the caves were excavated by Reverend W. S. Symond. [10] [11] The cave is shrouded in local superstition and is said to have had a part in the early legend of King Vortigern, a native British king who fought against the invading Anglo Saxons. [11]

Hillfort

Little Doward hosts a British hillfort which seems to have been refortified in the post-Roman era. Ford tentatively identified it with the Cair Guorthigirn [12] ("Fort Vortigern") listed by Nennius among the 28 cities of Britain in his History of the Britains . [13]

Wyastone Leys

Wyastone Leys, formerly Lays House, is located at the southwestern corner of The Doward. [4] The original house, The Leys, was built in 1795 by S. O. Attley of London. It was purchased around 1820 by Richard Blakemore who bought the Hadnock estate on the other side of the River Wye, demolished Hadnock House, and used the materials to rebuild and extend the Leys, between 1821 and 1838. The house was rebuilt in 1861 for John Bannerman of Manchester, by William Burn. [14] In the woodland of Little Doward Hill above the house, the Forestry Commission planted, in 1953, a pattern of trees with contrasting foliage in the shape of the letters ER, to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Other

The Doward also contains several cottages. [15] The camp has traces of three circular terraces winding in a snail mount. The Vikings once escaped via the precipice near the camp. [16] Vaga Cottage is also of note and was home to the local reverend in the early 19th century. [4] Other cottages include Beech Cottage, Leaping Stocks House, Lilac Cottage, and Highland Cottage near Symonds Yat. [7] In the north of the Doward the small Biblins Suspension Bridge footbridge crosses the Wye to the Forestry Commission Biblins Youth Campsite. [15] [17]

Related Research Articles

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Vortigern

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Symonds Yat Human settlement in England

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Ganarew Human settlement in England

Ganarew is a village and small civil parish in south Herefordshire, England near the River Wye and the border with Wales. The village is located 0.62 miles (1.00 km) southwest of the village of Whitchurch on the main A40 road, and lies within the electoral ward of Kerne Bridge. The village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Monmouth and 8 miles (13 km) from Ross-on-Wye. It contains the Church of St Swithin and Ganarew Manor.

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Symonds Yat railway station

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Monmouth Rowing Club is located on the banks of the River Wye in Monmouth, the county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. The club is affiliated with the Welsh Amateur Rowing Association (WARA) and hosts several annually organised race events.

Wyastone Leys

Wyastone Leys is a country house estate and Grade II listed building situated near Ganarew, in the southwestern corner of The Doward, in Herefordshire, England. The house and estate has also been known as The Leys or Lays House. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) from Monmouth and 8 miles (13 km) from Ross-on-Wye. The house is in close proximity to the River Wye and less than 50 metres (160 ft) from the county boundary between Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.

King Arthurs Cave

King Arthur's Cave is a limestone cave at the foot of a low cliff at the north-western end of Lord's Wood in The Doward, near Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, about four miles northeast of Monmouth, in the Wye Valley. The cave entrance lies about 285 feet above the River Wye on a hill, with a double interconnected entrance and two main chambers. It is protected as a nature reserve under the Herefordshire Nature Trust. There is evidence that the cave was occupied by man during the Upper Palaeolithic era, and flint tools and woolly mammoth bones have been unearthed within and around the caves.

Hadnock Human settlement in Wales

Hadnock is an area of farmland and woodland in Monmouthshire, Wales, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-east of Monmouth, on the east bank of the River Wye adjoining the border with England. It is located in the parish of Dixton, in the ancient manor of Hadnock, and is accessed from the road between Wyesham and Staunton. The area is thinly populated. The main properties are Hadnock Court House, a Grade II listed building originating in the 17th century, and Little Hadnock, a small hamlet which is located a few hundred yards to the north-east.

Richard Blakemore English politician

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Upper Wye Gorge

Upper Wye Gorge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its biological and geological characteristics, around Symonds Yat in the Upper Wye Valley on the Wales–England border. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Llangrove Human settlement in England

Llangrove is a small village in the civil parish of Llangarron in southwest Herefordshire within seven miles of Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Welsh – English dictionary". kimkat.org. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1854). House of Commons papers. HMSO. p. 51.
  3. ↑ Murray, John (1872). A Handbook for Travellers in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire ... J. Murray.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fosbroke, Thomas Dudley; Gilpin, William (1822). The Wye tour, or Gilpin on the Wye. p.  31.
  5. ↑ Taylor, Robert (1854). Taylor's illustrated guide to the banks of the Wye. p. 70.
  6. ↑ Lewis, Samuel (1848). "A Topographical Dictionary of England". Institute of Historical Research. pp. 543–551.Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. 1 2 3 Maps (Map). Google Maps.
  8. ↑ "KING ARTHUR'S CAVE – THE DOWARD". Wyenot.com. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  9. ↑ Painter, K. S. (1964). The Severn Basin. Cory, Adams & Mackay. pp. 14–19.
  10. ↑ The Antiquarian. E.W. Allen. 1871. p.  164.
  11. 1 2 Oldham, Tony; Jones, Keith (2003). "King Arthur's Cave, Caves of the South Eastern Outcrop,". Showcaves.com.
  12. ↑ Nennius (attrib.). Theodor Mommsen (ed.). Historia Brittonum, VI. Composed after AD 830. (in Latin) Hosted at Latin Wikisource.
  13. ↑ Ford, David Nash. "The 28 Cities of Britain" at Britannia. 2000.
  14. ↑ Keith Kissack, Monmouth and its Buildings, Logaston Press, 2003, ISBN   1 904396 01 1, p.24
  15. 1 2 "Doward Park Campsite". Dowardpark.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  16. ↑ The Art Journal London. Virtue. 1859. p. 85.
  17. ↑ Biblins Youth Campsite
Sources
PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : E.W. Allen's The Antiquarian, 1871
PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Thomas Dudley and William Gilpin's The Wye Tour, or Gilpin on the Wye, 1822
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