Lingen, Herefordshire

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 52.2980
longitude= -2.9315
population= 164 [cite web |url= http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/docs/2001_Parish_Populations.pdf |title= Herefordshire County Council|accessdate=2007-09-18] (2001)
official_name= Lingen
unitary_england= Herefordshire
region= West Midlands
lieutenancy_england= Herefordshire
constituency_westminster= Leominster
post_town= BUCKNELL
PostCode= SY7
dial_code= 01544
os_grid_reference= SO365670

The village of Lingen lies in the wooded hills of Herefordshire in the Welsh Marches near the border between England and Wales and close to the village of Wigmore. Situated in the north-west corner of the county, Lingen parish includes the hamlets of Deerfold, Limebrook, Birtley and Willey. It lies on the Limebrook which runs into the River Lugg south of the village.
It lies at a height of between 145 and 283 metres above sea level. This part of Herefordshire is remote and quiet and seen as the last unspoiled corner of the county.

History

Pre-history

The village lies at the southern edge of the ancient ice sheet and was sandwiched between two large post-glacial lakes; one centred on Presteigne, the other known to geologists as Wigmore Glacial Lake. [http://www.earthheritagetrust.org/blog/ExploreTrailGuides/Guidedescriptions/_archives/2005/4/14/580537.html]
Geologically, the region is based entirely on Silurian beds, namely the marine Silurian and sizeable outcrops of Downtonian. [ [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22839 The Physical Environment | British History Online ] ]

Early History

Occupied since at least the middle ages; there is evidence of medieval strip lynchets on a hillside near the village. [ [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conMediaFile.3948 Strip lynchets near Lingen (NMR 15071/24) : English Heritage : English Heritage ] ] It is mentioned in the Domesday Book. [ [http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/herefordshire.html The Domesday Book Online - Herefordshire Home ] ] The village is close to the substantial Mortimer castle at Wigmore and there is evidence of an early motte and bailey castle in the village. It has not been excavated but the former presence of a stone keep has been suggested, as well as a 12th-century gate-house, with a curtain wall around the bailey. [ [http://www.chesterlandscapehistory.org.uk/Visits/presidentstrip2003.htm The President's Trip 2003 ] ]
The village website suggests a Celtic origin for the name of the village: "place of sparkling water". Ling is Old English for heather and may be an alternative toponymological derivation.
The manorial lordship was held by the Lingen family until the 17th century.

Limebrook Priory

Located just south of the village centre a nunnery was founded before the reign of Richard I, either by Ralph de Lingen or one of the Mortimers. There is some confusion as to the order to which it belonged, but in the time of Bishop Booth, 1516-35, it was tenanted by Augustinian nuns and subsisted until the dissolution of the monasteries. Remains now consist of a single ruined building. [cite web |url= http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/hsmr/db.php?SF=1&parish_1=LINGEN|title=Herefordshire County Council |accessdate=2007-09-18] [cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/image_galleries/restoration_2006_gallery.shtml?31 |title= Photograph of the ruins |accessdate=2007-09-18]

Victorian

In 1868 the village was described thus:
cquote|LINGEN, a parish in the hundred of Wigmore, county Hereford, 4 miles N.E. of Presteign, its post town, and 3 from Wigmore. It is a small village, situated on a branch of the river Lug, and on the road leading from Leintwardine to Presteign. Near the village are the ruins of a castle. The soil is various, but generally fertile. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Hereford, value £70, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, has a small belfry containing one bell. The charities produce about £5 10s. per annum. There is a small day-school. John Edwards, Esq., is lord of the manor. [cite web |url= http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HEF/Lingen/index.html|title= "The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland"|accessdate=2007-09-18]

St Michael & All Angels Church

Built of stone, the church dates back to the 13th century when the original was built. The current building was substantially repaired in the 19th century and the bell tower turret has attractive wooden shingles. It was re-dedicated on 22 April 1891 by the Bishop of Hereford. [cite web |url= http://www.hereford.anglican.org/pages/ch_churchdetails.php?idChurch=223|title= Hereford Diocese|accessdate=2007-09-18]

Methodist Chapel

The chapel opened on 26 June 1877 and remains open to this day.

Population

As the censuses reveal, the village population has been remarkably stable. [ [http://vision.edina.ac.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10168636&x=335858&y=267836 Herefordshire UA/County England through time | Local history overview for the District/Unitary Authority ] ] Presumably there was a charabanc trip on the night of the 1901 census but the population decline probably reflects the agrarian recession of the time when agricultural workers left the land for better paid jobs in the boom industries of the time - coal mining, quarrying and iron in Shropshire or further afield to South Wales.

Public House

The village has a well-established pub, "The Royal George", which sells beer from the Wye Valley Brewery. [cite web |url= http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HEF/Lingen/Littlebury1876.html|title= GENUKI|accessdate=2007-09-18]

Famous Associations

*Albert Lee, born 21 December 1943 and one of the world's greatest guitarists, was born in Lingen.
*Ralph Lingen, 1st Baron Lingen, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury
*Sir Henry Lingen, Royalist Commander in the English Civil War

External links

* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HEF/Lingen/index.html GENUKI page]
* [http://www.lingen.org.uk Lingen Village]
* [http://www.ramblers.org.uk/info/paths/mortimer.html Mortimer Trail]
* [http://www.mortimercountry.co.uk/lingen_garden_centre.asp Lingen Nursery]
* [http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/docs/CommunityAndLiving/Lingen_Loop_Walk.pdf Lingen Loop Walk]
* [http://www.lingenpottery.co.uk/ Lingen Pottery]

References