Golden Valley (Herefordshire)

The Golden Valley is the name given to the valley of the River Dore in western Herefordshire, England. The valley is a picturesque area of gently rolling countryside. It lies in the lee of the Black Mountains, Wales.

The main villages are Dorstone, Peterchurch, Abbey Dore and Ewyas Harold.

The name Golden Valley probably derives from a confusion of the name of the River Dore with the French d'or, meaning 'of gold'. The Normans might have confused the Welsh word dŵr, meaning 'water', with 'd'or'. A similar situation occurred with the Duero/Douro river in Iberia (Spain and Portugal) where the Romance languages adopted the original Celtic name and changed the meaning to the similar-sounding precious metal.

Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire, located just outside the village of Dorstone, is a chamber tomb from the Neolithic Period, and dates from some time between 3700 and 2700 BC. Arthur's Stone is Herefordshire's oldest man-made structure.

Dore Abbey is a former mediaeval Cistercian monastery that during the summer offers a programme of musical concerts. It was built between 1175 and 1220 and restored in the 1630s.

Nearby is Bacton Church with the monument to Blanche Parry - she was close to Queen Elizabeth I for 56 years. This monument, securely dated before November 1578, is the earliest depiction anywhere of Queen Elizabeth I as an icon, as 'Gloriana'. It pre-dates the paintings showing this theme. Bacton Church also has rare 1914-1918, World War I, medal ribbons depicted in stone on several memorial wall plaques.

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