Breinton

Breinton is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England. Breinton lies just to the west of Hereford. The population of this civil parish was at the 2011 Census 836. The name Breinton appears to be a modernised form of the word Bruntone, meaning a village near a flowing stream.

Breinton is a collection of hamlets two miles to the west of Hereford: Warham, Upper Breinton, Lower Breinton, Breinton Common and Veldifer; with a church (St. Michael’s)[1] and a Village Hall [2]. There are not many English parishes bordering a built-up city that are so rural and have changed so little in the last 1000 years [3]. In Breinton, one reason for that is the high quality of the deep red loam soils for agriculture and horticulture. Therefore, relatively few new buildings have been built on the valuable land since those shown on the 1839 tithe map. Another reason that Breinton remains rural is the beauty of the landscape, with vistas across hills, orchards, woods, and the valley of the River Wye. The parish boundary is irregular, but in general it encloses land between the River Wye and the A438 that runs from Hereford towards Brecon. Half the population of Breinton (726 adults in the 2011 Census) live on or close to Kings Acre Road (A438).

The long history of Breinton remains visible in the landscape. A mound with a moat, probably a moated building belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Hereford Cathedral around 1150AD, lies close to the Church at Breinton Springs (A National Trust property, SO 4726 3948)[4]. Nearby, the undulating ground in an orchard is thought to be a deserted medieval village [5], and a medieval settlement with 8 villagers at Warham [6] is also mentioned. Other archaeological features that have been identified include trackways, ridge and furrow, and evidence of old irrigation leats on the meadows that flood, close to the river Wye. St. Michael's church originated around 1200 AD, but was substantially rebuilt between 1866 and 1870 by F.R. Kempson, with architect James Cranston.[7] A few Norman parts remain, including the west doorway. Churchyard memorials include those of Dr. Henry Graves Bull (major contributor to an encyclopaedia of local apples and pears, the "Herefordshire Pomona" in 1884) Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club), Canon Charles Vincent Gorton (1854–1912, friend of Sir Edward Elgar), and Charles Dodgson (relative of Lewis Carroll, died 1941). More evidence of the historical ways of life is shown in the works of the artist Brian Hatton (1887–1916).[8] [9]. The locations of many of his rural scenes of Breinton that include old farm buildings and views of the countryside are still easily recognisable today. Details of archaeological and historic features can be found in Herefordshire Historic Environment Record Database.[10]

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