Let us take you on a short walk through Eardisley Village and show you some of the interesting features.
Looking south across the fields are views of Hay Bluff and the Black Mountains
The brook runs along side the Millenium Green, a relaxing venue with barbeque facilities, childrens play area and orchard / picnic area.
Walking towards the village brings us to Eardisley Church. Begun in the 12th century with additions made throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. The Tower was the final addition built in 1708, replacing a wooden bell tower, which is believed to have burned down. The outstanding treasure in the church is the 12th century font, the work of the Herefordshire School of Romanesque sculpture of that time. Its remarkably fine condition reveals a lively style of ornamentation, which combines Celtic, Saxon and Norman Myths and beliefs.
Further along into the village on the left hand side is a small stone walled area, at one time this was the village pound where stray animals were impounded.
On the same side of the road is the former village post office, this small 17th century building used to house the the sorting office and telephone exchange up until the 1960′s.
A fine example of a 14th Century cruck building is to be found in the old house and forge just further along from the village hall. The building is made with massive curved timbers (cruck frames), enclosing three bays one of which includes an inglenook fireplace.
At the top end of the village is Tram Square, which is almost certainly the original market area of the village. The square was once used as a hiring fair where shepherds, ploughmen, laborers and house servants would offer their services hoping for an employer to take them on before nightfall. The tramway never passed the Tram Inn, however the horses were stabled there overnight, from whence it gets its name.
The Post Office and Pub
A short distance along Woodseaves Road is the village pump house, which was used as the village water supply until the 1960′s when the village was connected to the mains. This stands outside another cruck framed building which is one of the few to have remained in domestic use throughout its existence.
Further along the road is the Great Oak of Eardisley, this is probably the only surviving tree from the forest recorded in the Doomsday Book. It is marked on local maps as early as 1650 and is estimated to be between eight and nine hundred years old
Pics and map supplied by Nigel Bachmann/Redeyedmonster.co.uk