Herefordshire Lore

In recognition of its ‘services to local history’, the county oral history group and publisher of In Our Age has been awarded this year’s prestigious King’s Award for Volunteers. The Palace announced the award on King Charles’ birthday, November 14. Herefordshire Lore was founded in 1989 on a grant from Hereford City Council. Since then […]

Help us research Hereford City’s brooks, leats, motes, wells, sewers and canals as well as activities including milling, malting , textiles, tanning, public health, fishing and childhood games. Friday October 30th between 10am & 12pmFir Tree Lane, Rotherwas (on the Southern outskirts of Hereford)Hereford HR2 6LA Confirm your place by completing our contact form

FREE Research Training session, hosted by Herefordshire Lore. Refine your research skills under the expert eye of HARC’s (Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre) head archivist, Rhys Griffiths. Learn research skills and explore local archives and resources. Monday 7th August 2026 10.30am – 1.30pm at HARC (Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre) FREE Oral History training, hosted […]

Texas Connection We are so grateful to our loyal subscribers and readers. It might surprise some of you to learn that In Our Age has a readership far wider than Herefordshire. Each quarter, copies are posted out across England, Scotland and Wales. And they don’t stop there. We have readers in Australia, Canada, and the […]

From Viking jewellery and Victorian postboxes to canals, coracles and medieval manuscripts, Hereford’s third annual History Day proved a big draw this May (May 16 2026). It was the first formal engagements for city mayor Councillor Cat Hornsey who, accompanied by her civic retinue, opened our event at St Peter’s Church and the City Library. […]

Eileen Klotz, committee member, died April 4 2026 Eileen Hyde and her brother Geoffrey were brought up in Bushey, Hertfordshire. After schooling, Eileen served with Wrens overseas, picking up formidable secretarial skills which proved a vital asset when later she worked at the Rural Media Company before helping run the county Self Help Group, Herefordshire […]

Get Creative – Herefordshire Young Historian Award “Great great grandad took a Hereford bull to Market and won First Prize” “My Nan rode a motor cycle in World War Two!” Everyone has a story to tell and we’re collecting them. Herefordshire Libraries and Herefordshire Lore are running this year’s county-wide Young Historian Award. We’re asking […]

The county has been remembering the war years, 1939-1945, with the help of Herefordshire Libraries. It’s all part of our 80:80 project, marking VE Day and VJ Day by collecting 80 of your memories, photos, and stories to mark the 80th anniversary of the war’s end. Amongst the many memories, Allan spoke of his Mum […]

VE Day – Victory in Europe – saw some serious partying around the county! On that day Ross-on-Wye student teacher Barbara Sharpe (nee Philips) took the train to Hereford for the newly opened May Fair: “My luck was in: I won two glasses and a toy dog!” Jean Muldowney, meanwhile, joined a conga on Hereford’s […]

Join Kevin Tillett and author Marsha O’Mahony at The Vaga Tavern in Hereford for two hours of river memories. Friday 16th May 6pm to 8pm The Vaga Tavern, Vaga Street, Hereford HR2 7AT Free but donations welcome Part of Herefordshire Histories Festival

Herefordshire Lore held it’s AGM at Herefordshire Archives and Record Centre (HARC) on Thursday 6th February 2025. We were pleased to welcome a good number of guests and supporters, including the current Mayor of Hereford, Councillor Kevin Tillett and Mayors Officer John Marshall. Acting Chair, Bill Laws, was voted in as Chair, stalwart Eileen Klotz […]

A short talk by Marsha O’Mahony, editor In Our Age and author of River Voices. Marsha’s talk will be preceded by our brief AGM and followed by tea and cakes! The venue is Hereford Archives & Records Office, Rotherwas HR2 6LA Thursday, February 6th at 2.00pm RSVP via our contact form Let us know by Wednesday January […]

“When the war finished [1918] I went back to the Valleys. I used to do competition walking, over the hills, then ‘cos it was the Depression. I used to win like a box of vegetables, or a cabbage.” Hereford munition worker Annie Slade. “I remember Mum had the telegram – Father had been killed in […]

‘Jailbird’ city heroine celebrated at History Day event Forgotten local heroes such as sculptor Charles Gertner, British spy Violetta Szabo and First World War munitioner Elsie Able are remembered at this year’s Hereford History Day. Themed to celebrate some of the city’s unsung heroes, History Day opens at the Town Hall on Saturday, September 21. […]

Herefordshire Lore were overwhelmed by the turnout and support by the people of Herefordshire, who made Hereford History Day such a success. Thanks to everyone who came along, and especially the people who worked so hard to showcase the diverse and amazing history that we are so lucky to have around us. Civic Parade through […]

Obituary Betty Webb BEM, committee member We are very sad announce the death of our much-loved, and long-standing committee member, Betty Webb, who died last month. She will be greatly missed by us all. London-born Betty was a reluctant evacuee. Having lost her Mum in a wartime bus accident in which she was also badly […]

A huge “Thank You” to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, for help from their Local Connections Fund. It has helped us produce our latest edition of In Our Age. With our usual distribution channels disrupted because of the pandemic, this funding has been invaluable […]

Pride of place: Social housing in Herefordshire Herefordshire Lore is delighted to announce its successful funding bid, ‘Pride of Place’, with Connexus Housing’s Community Fund. Herefordshire Lore has been recording and publishing local social history in the county since the 1980s. Its archive is regularly consulted by researchers and other history projects, and its publications […]