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THE STREET PLAN
The settlement which developed into Ledbury grew up
in the Anglo-Saxon period at an important
crossroads where the road from Hereford to
Worcester (probably the modern Bridge Street, Bye
Street and Church Street) crossed that from
Bromyard to Gloucester (the modern Homend, High
Street and Southend).
At the centre of the early settlement was the church, approached from the main roads across a triangular area, perhaps used as a market, which was later in-filled to create the modern Church Lane and Church Street. In 1086, Ledbury was still a rural manor belonging to the bishop of Hereford. In the 1120s or 1130s the bishop created a new town or borough along the main roads. A new wedge-shaped market place was established in what is now High Street. Houses soon extended north along the Homend and then along Southend.
Bye Street was probably developed next, and finally New Street, where houses had been built by 1186. This town plan, established in the twelfth century, was hardly altered until the building of the canal and railway in the first half of the nineteenth century and can be clearly seen in the town centre today.
The opening of the Gloucester to Ledbury section of the Hereford – Gloucester Canal in 1798 and of the Ledbury to Hereford section in 1845 led to some development on the western edge of the medieval town. A greater stimulus to expansion was provided by the opening of the Worcester to Hereford railway, with its station north of the Homend, in 1861 and then of the Gloucester to Ledbury railway, built partly along the line of the former canal, in 1885.
New streets were laid out, mainly west of, or downhill from, the line of the Homend, High Street and the Southend. Victoria and Albert Roads, named for the Queen and her consort, were built in the 1850s. Despite the declining population between then and c.1900, new streets including Newbury Park, Belle Orchard, Oatleys and Woodleigh Roads and part of Bank Crescent had been developed or laid out by the early twentieth century.
In 1851 the area around Lower Road was called New Town. By 1886, that along the modern Bridge Street was Happy Land, perhaps a name chosen to attract new residents. Much of this nineteenth-century development was carried out by the Ledbury Benefit Building Society which was founded before 1852 and wound up in 1914.
There was little change to the street plan in the first half of the twentieth century, when the population remained nearly static at between 3259 and 3693, although existing streets were further built up.
As a result of the 1919 Housing Act, council houses were built in Homend Crescent in 1921, and others followed on the Bank Crescent estate in the later 1920s and 1930s. More council houses were built in the early 1950s in Long Acre, Margaret Road and Queensway, the last two streets named for Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret, continuing the ‘royal’ theme started with Victoria and Albert roads.
The major expansion of the town came in the third quarter of the twentieth century when the Deer Park and New Mills estates were built between the town and its new by-pass; the population changed from 3911 in 1971 to 4549 in 1981 and 8839 in 2001 and just under 10,000 in 2010.
At the centre of the early settlement was the church, approached from the main roads across a triangular area, perhaps used as a market, which was later in-filled to create the modern Church Lane and Church Street. In 1086, Ledbury was still a rural manor belonging to the bishop of Hereford. In the 1120s or 1130s the bishop created a new town or borough along the main roads. A new wedge-shaped market place was established in what is now High Street. Houses soon extended north along the Homend and then along Southend.
Bye Street was probably developed next, and finally New Street, where houses had been built by 1186. This town plan, established in the twelfth century, was hardly altered until the building of the canal and railway in the first half of the nineteenth century and can be clearly seen in the town centre today.
The opening of the Gloucester to Ledbury section of the Hereford – Gloucester Canal in 1798 and of the Ledbury to Hereford section in 1845 led to some development on the western edge of the medieval town. A greater stimulus to expansion was provided by the opening of the Worcester to Hereford railway, with its station north of the Homend, in 1861 and then of the Gloucester to Ledbury railway, built partly along the line of the former canal, in 1885.
New streets were laid out, mainly west of, or downhill from, the line of the Homend, High Street and the Southend. Victoria and Albert Roads, named for the Queen and her consort, were built in the 1850s. Despite the declining population between then and c.1900, new streets including Newbury Park, Belle Orchard, Oatleys and Woodleigh Roads and part of Bank Crescent had been developed or laid out by the early twentieth century.
In 1851 the area around Lower Road was called New Town. By 1886, that along the modern Bridge Street was Happy Land, perhaps a name chosen to attract new residents. Much of this nineteenth-century development was carried out by the Ledbury Benefit Building Society which was founded before 1852 and wound up in 1914.
There was little change to the street plan in the first half of the twentieth century, when the population remained nearly static at between 3259 and 3693, although existing streets were further built up.
As a result of the 1919 Housing Act, council houses were built in Homend Crescent in 1921, and others followed on the Bank Crescent estate in the later 1920s and 1930s. More council houses were built in the early 1950s in Long Acre, Margaret Road and Queensway, the last two streets named for Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret, continuing the ‘royal’ theme started with Victoria and Albert roads.
The major expansion of the town came in the third quarter of the twentieth century when the Deer Park and New Mills estates were built between the town and its new by-pass; the population changed from 3911 in 1971 to 4549 in 1981 and 8839 in 2001 and just under 10,000 in 2010.
Audley Croft
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
Bye Street
Originally Bishop's Street, after the Bishop's
Palace at 28-32 Bye Street, Bye Street is
considered by some as Ledbury's worst disaster,
because most of the original buildings have been
demolished.
Deer Park
The Deer Park estate was named from the medieval
bishops’ deer park, so called as late as the
nineteenth century, and which lay on the other side
of the Southend.
Horse Lane Orchard
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
Jubilee Drive
Jubilee Drive was created by
Stephen Ballard
and was built on his own land on the western slopes
of the Malvern Hills. Its gentle curves
reveal magnificent views over the Herefordshire
countryside and the canal and railway routes which
he engineered.
Lawnside Road
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
Mabel's Furlong
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
New Mills Estate
The developers of the New Mills estate originally
proposed to continue the medieval theme by naming
their development Capella Court, after Richard de
Capella, bishop of Hereford 1121 – 7 and the
supposed founder of Ledbury. The name finally
chosen derives from the ‘New Mills’, a water mill
recorded from 1602, which stood north-west of the
new estate.
A modern housing estate developed during the 1990s, many of the roads are named after types of hops, such as Golding and Challenger; and poets, such as Browning, Farjeon and Bronte.
A modern housing estate developed during the 1990s, many of the roads are named after types of hops, such as Golding and Challenger; and poets, such as Browning, Farjeon and Bronte.
New Street
New Street is one of the oldest streets in Ledbury.
It is part of the planned medieval town, developed
by the bishops of Hereford in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries.
New Street was not as built up as Bye Street and until the early 20th century retained a number of orchards. During the 19th century, although there were brickyards at the western end of the street, near the canal, and some craft workshps nearer the High Street, it had not such a workaday feel as Bye Street.
In 1851 New Street was an area populated by professional people, such as vetenerary surgeons, general practitioners, chemists, accountants and clerks, as well as modest manufacturers such as a coach maker. Many other people made smaller items or provided other services. There were bootmakers and basketmakers, blacksmiths and tailors, as well as a cooper.
At this time the recently established Police Station was in New Street, with its resident officer. Little had changed in 1861 and only a few of the influx of workers for the railway line which was a-building lived in New Street.
In 1901 the make up of the street remained a mixture of professional men with small tradesmen and shopkeepers, the largest employer being Hopkins' coachbuilders.
New Street was not as built up as Bye Street and until the early 20th century retained a number of orchards. During the 19th century, although there were brickyards at the western end of the street, near the canal, and some craft workshps nearer the High Street, it had not such a workaday feel as Bye Street.
In 1851 New Street was an area populated by professional people, such as vetenerary surgeons, general practitioners, chemists, accountants and clerks, as well as modest manufacturers such as a coach maker. Many other people made smaller items or provided other services. There were bootmakers and basketmakers, blacksmiths and tailors, as well as a cooper.
At this time the recently established Police Station was in New Street, with its resident officer. Little had changed in 1861 and only a few of the influx of workers for the railway line which was a-building lived in New Street.
In 1901 the make up of the street remained a mixture of professional men with small tradesmen and shopkeepers, the largest employer being Hopkins' coachbuilders.
Northmead
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
Oatleys Crescent
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
Oatleys Terrace
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
Plaisters End
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
South Parade
South Parade, off the Southend, was developed in
the 1820s by the Biddulph family.
The Homend
The Langlands
By 1966 other streets, including Horse Lane
Orchard, Mabels Furlong, Lawnside Road, Oatleys
Crescent and Terrace, the Langlands, Northmead,
Audley Croft, and Plaisters End had been laid out
by private developers.
The Southend
Originally laid out with burgage plots on both east and west, it is now mainly built up on the west. The east is bounded by Ledbury Park. The mansion of the same name is at the north east corner, at Upper Cross (also known as Top Cross).
The Ledbury Turnpike Trust had a toll gate on the Southend, near Gloucester House. it was moved slightly further south, near the Wilde House.