Whitbourne : A Bishops Manor (Signed.)

Whitbourne: A Bishop's Manor
Phyllis Williams 1979, 186 pages, 142 plates

Whitbourne is a beautiful parish situated on the north-east uplands of Herefordshire on the west bank of the river Teme which forms part of the county boundary with Worcestershire. It is a large and wealthy parish and here the bishops of Hereford chose to build their summer palace on a moated site beside the river. For many bishops this was their favourite residence and both bishop Scory who died here in 1585 and bishop Godwin who died her in 1633 are buried in the adjacent 12th century parish church.
Silas Taylor who was a keen 17th century antiquarian described around 1655 a fortification near the church: 'ye rubbish in ye ditches above it shoew it to be a camp stormed'. The whereabouts of this fortification were lost until the site was rediscovered in 1978 and identified as an Iron Age hill fort.

Whitbourne: a Bishops Manor considers the history of the parish, the bishops palace, the church, school, farms and houses over the centuries. The plates include photographs of the substantial houses, many of which are timber-framed, as well as life in the parish during the last century.