Blanche Parry

Kingstone

This was a tun, enclosed estate, owned by the King, a Royal manor. According to the 1085 Domesday Book, compiled under King William the Conqueror, King Edward the Confessor held it before the Norman Conquest. It included Trivel (Treville) Wood: The villagers who lived there before 1066 carried (the produce) of the hunt to Hereford and did no other service .. (See: also Kilpeck Church). See: Delphine Coleman 'Kingstone, The story of a Herefordshire Village from Domesday to the present time', 1996.

Church: St. Michael & All Angels

The church, mainly Norman, widened in the early 1300s, has one of the 87 Norman fonts in Herefordshire, huge and plain and made of breccia, like Madley and Kilpeck.
Late 12th c south doorway with later additions in Transitional and Early English styles.
In the late 19th c, many villages had a Holy Thorn, (see earlier) apparently originating from the Glastonbury Holy Thorn. People came from miles around on Christmas Eve to see the tree bloom at Kingstone Grange.

Bull Ring

Named after the ring where bull baiting and bear baiting took place
It was licensed for certain from as early as 1741.
The Manorial Court meetings were held there.
Church meetings often ‘adjourned to ye Bull Ring'.
‘A main of cocks' was fought there in 1793 and 1796. 'The Main' usually featured over thirty birds, which fought each other head to head until only one was left standing.
In the early 20th century, a 3–day May Fair was held regularly in the orchard.

Arkstone Court

Anne Morgan, the granddaughter of Blanche, Lady Troy by her first marriage, was born here. Anne married Lord Hunsdon, cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. Lady Troy was the Lady Mistress who brought up the Tudor children, Elizabeth and her brother Edward VI. See: Richardson, 2018, pages 26–27, 37–46.
Also: Lady Troy, Queen Elizabeth I's Lady Mistress..

Thruxton

Name means Thurkil’s fenced enclosure or homestead. Interestingly, Thurkil (sometimes the initial letter is given as P,W or T but is Th) is Anglo-Norse. So, the original Thurkil who lived here with family and servants may have been a Viking descendant.

Church: Saint Bartholomew

Bartholomew (name means the son of / bar Tolmai) is thought to be the same person as Nathaniel. Called Bartholomew in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke but Nathaniel in John. His name was likely Nathanael bar‐Talmai (Ptolemy).
One of the original twelve disciples of Jesus and was said to have preached in Armenia.
He was traditionally thought to have died by being flayed alive / skinned.
As such he was often painted in the Renaissance holding a knife and his own skin: see The Last Judgement by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
He, therefore, was patron saint of leatherworkers, tanners, bookbinders and those with skin diseases.
Thruxton is actually sited on Grade 2 soil meaning that the raising of cattle here would be ideal. Perhaps the Church’s dedication was due to fine quality calfskin (vellum) being produced here. This is not proved but there could be a correlation between the dedication and parchment production.
The Church is mostly in the Decorated, c.1290‐c.1350, style of architecture with later, to c.1530, Perpendicular, features, but restored in the 19th century. The tiles were fired by Godwin of Lugwardine.
The font has its date on it : March 16th 1677 and a Latin inscription which translates as 'Baptism is the washing away of sins&apos.
The south chancel window has an very fine, early 14th century, Crucifixion in stained glass with, according to Pevsner, an 'ample brown loin‐cloth&apos. This depiction is a real treasure.
The Church also owns an Elizabethan cover paten inscribed 1577 and a chalice of 1633.

Motte‐and‐Bailey

The substantial mound about 100 metres west of the Church, behind the barns, was once mistakingly thought to be a Bronze Age Round Barrow (Pevsner).
Now considered a motte-and-bailey castle built by the Norman Lord, possibly Bernard who is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book or his overlord Durand of Gloucester who seems to have served in William the Conqueror's army in 1066 and was awarded fifty-four manors.
Interestingly, west Herefordshire, facing Wales, has far more motte‐and‐bailey castles than the east of Herefordshire. Nearby Kilpeck has a notable motte next to Kilpeck Church.

Clehonger

Name means a 'clayey slope'.

Church: All Saints

The ancient church is now far distant from the main part of the ever-expanding modern village.
The monuments are very fine, spanning 400 years.
Note the one to Sir Richard Pembrugge (Pembridge) 1343 with his 14th century armour, large shield and hound at his feet.
The altar tomb for a lady - probably Sir Richard's wife - has two angels holding her pillow.
Two beautiful brasses show Sir John Barre and his wife Joan (1483/1484) with her fabulous Butterfly headdress.
The ornate wall monument is for the Aubrey family (1671)
Clehonger also had a Holy Thorn (see earlier), and one man was so annoyed with the damage done to his garden by onlookers, that he began to cut it down. However, when blood flowed from the trunk of the tree he was so afraid that he left the tree alone!