Kilpeck

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name=Kilpeck
welsh_name=Llanddewi Cil Peddeg
population=200
unitary_england=Herefordshire
region=West Midlands
constituency_westminster=Hereford
post_town=HEREFORD
postcode_district=HR2
postcode_area=HR
dial_code=01981
os_grid_reference=SO444304
latitude= 51.9697
longitude= -2.8100
london_distance=
lieutenancy_england= Herefordshire
static_

static_image_caption=SS Mary and David's Church, Kilpeck is an outstanding example of Norman architecture

Kilpeck is a small village in Herefordshire, England. It is about convert|9|mi|km|0 southwest of Hereford, just south of the A465 road to Abergavenny, and about convert|5|mi|km|0 from the border with Wales.

It is renowned for its small but outstanding Norman (Romanesque) church, SS Mary and David's, but also has the earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey castle, no longer standing.

History

Until the 9th century, when it was taken over by Mercia, the area around Kilpeck was within the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. After the Norman conquest, the area became known as Archenfield and was governed as part of the Welsh Marches. It became part of Herefordshire, and England, in the 16th century, although the use of Welsh in the area remained strong until the 19th century. [Colin Lewis, "Herefordshire - the Welsh Connection", 2006, ISBN 0-86381-958-3] The English name for the village derives from the Welsh name, "Llanddewi Kil Peddeg" [ [http://www.kimkat.org/amryw/1_clawdd_offa/22_cymru_dros_glawdd_offa_enwau_euas_eng_cym_0980e.htm Welsh place names in Herefordshire] ] , with "Llanddewi" meaning "church of St. David" and "Kil Peddeg" probably meaning the "cell of Pedic", an otherwise unknown local early Christian hermit.James Bailey, "The Parish Church of St Mary and St David at Kilpeck", 2000]

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Kilpeck (entered as Chipeete) was given by William the Conqueror to William Fitz Norman de la Mare, son of Norman de la Mare. The clan de la Mare is one of the oldest in Normandy and is descended from Ragnvald Eysteinsson, earl of Møre and Romsdal. According to the Domesday survey, Kilpeck had '3 ploughs, 2 serfs and 4 oxmen and there are 57 men with 19 ploughs.' There are mentions of a church on the site possibly from as early as the 7th century. There are vestiges of an enclosure, 200 yds (183 metres) by 300 yds (274 m) in the field, defining a Saxon village.

Landmarks

The SS Mary and David's Church was built around 1140. It consists of a nave, chancel and semicircular apse. It is remarkable for its wealth (and fine preservation) of Norman stone carvings, both inside and out, [ [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/347877 Stone carvings] , both [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/347874 inside] and [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/478033 out] .] all original both in form and position and incorporating many corbels with representations of human faces, hares, fish, fowl, stags etc. Eighty-five of 91 corbels survive, an extraordinarily high percentage.

West of the church lies a ruined motte-and-bailey and earthworks, which are less remarkable than the unique church. The castle is thought to have been built first around 1090 as the administrative centre of Archenfield. A few walls of the 12th century or 13th century keep still stand on top of the motte; these are not well preserved. A fireplace and chimney flues are visible and two sections of standing castle walls.

References

External links

* Davis, Philip. " [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/English%20sites/1409.html Kilpeck Castle] ". "The Gatehouse: The Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Medieval Fortifications and Castles of England and Wales." A bibliography for the castle.
* Renn, D. F. " [http://www.castlewales.com/kilpeck.html Kilpeck Castle and Church] ". "Castles of Wales."
* " [http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/kilpeck.htm Kilpeck Castle] ". "Castles of Herefordshire." Archaeological survey.
* [http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/docs/2001_Parish_Populations.pdf Population figures] (PDF)