Avenbury
Ruins of St Mary's Church, Avenbury
Avenbury is located in Herefordshire
Avenbury
Avenbury
Location within Herefordshire
Population225 (as stated on citypopulation.de)
OS grid referenceSO6653
Civil parish
  • Avenbury
District
  • Herefordshire
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands

Avenbury is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England. It is on the A465, just south of Bromyard, and by the River Frome. The population of this parish at the 2011 Census was 225.[1]

History

Avenbury was mentioned on the Domesday Book.[2] The village that was centred on the church of St Mary has now disappeared leaving the parish consisting of a series of farms and hamlets.[3]

In the post-medieval period the village had a barn and several lime kilns as well as houses.[4]

Parish church

The church was founded ca. 840 AD but rebuilt in Norman times; the tower was built in the 13th century.[5] The church was closed in 1931.[6] Many of the Baskerville family are buried in the churchyard. Three of the bells were rehung in St Andrew by the Wardrobe, London, in 1933.[7]

In May 2007 the church, which had been acquired by a pagan[8] and artist named Leszek Skuriat in the 1970s was put up for sale and a trust created to buy it for preservation.[5][9] In June 2009 St Mary's church was bought by a local archaeologist.[10] In conjunction with English Heritage, restoration work on the church has commenced: St Mary's is a Grade II* listed building, a scheduled monument and is on the Heritage at Risk Register.[11]

References

  1. "Civil Ward population 2011". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  2. "Bromyard History". Archived from the original on 26 November 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  3. "Bromyard Historical Society". Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  4. "Historic Herefordshire Online - Archaeological Records". Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  5. 1 2 Davidson, Jack (2 November 2007). "Lottery Cash to buy Historic Church". Ledbury Reporter. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  6. "BBC - Closure Date". Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  7. "Haunted London Richard Jones historic tours". Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  8. "Church's pagan owner warned". Hereford Times. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  9. Ferguson, Paul (10 September 2007). "Hope for derelict church". Hereford Times. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  10. The Hereford Times; 2009/08/06
  11. "Ruined Church of St Mary, Avenbury - Herefordshire, County of (UA)". Historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
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