Leominster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leominster | ||
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Statistics | ||
Population: | 11,000 | |
Ordnance Survey | ||
OS grid reference: | SO496591 | |
Administration | ||
District: | Herefordshire | |
Region: | West Midlands | |
Constituent country: | England | |
Sovereign state: | United Kingdom | |
Other | ||
Ceremonial county: | Herefordshire | |
Historic county: | Herefordshire | |
Services | ||
Police force: | West Mercia | |
Fire and rescue service: | {{{Fire}}} | |
Ambulance service: | {{{Ambulance}}} | |
Post office and telephone | ||
Post town: | LEOMINSTER | |
Postal district: | HR6 | |
Dialling code: | 01568 | |
Politics | ||
UK Parliament: | Leominster | |
European Parliament: | West Midlands | |
For the city of Leominster, Massachusetts, see Leominster, Massachusetts.
Leominster (pronounced [ˈlɛmstə]) is a market town at grid reference SO496590 in Herefordshire, England. It has a population of approximately 11,000 and is on the River Lugg.
The four-mile A49 £9m bypass opened in November 1988.
From 1974 to 1996, Leominster served as the administrative centre for the former local government district of Leominster and remains the centre of Leominster parliamentary constituency which covers northern Herefordshire as well as a small part of north-west Worcestershire.
The town shares a friendly rivalry with Hereford. In recent years, Leominster's multitude of antique shops have brought many visitors to the town.
The town also has a namesake in the USA: Leominster, Massachusetts, a town of around 40,000 in central Massachusetts 20 miles nortn of Worcester and Shrewsbury Massachusetts. This is an area with many towns linked to "Old England".
[edit] History
In 1052 the town was the site of the Battle of Llanllieni, the first battle between the Normans and the Welsh.
The Priory Church of St Peter and St Paul, now serves as the parish church, is the remaining part of a 12th century Benedictine monastery. Quatrefoil piers were inserted between 1872-79 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. [1] Investigations near the Priory in 2005 were thought to have produced evidence of a rotunda dating from 660 but this was not confirmed by subsequent excavations.
[edit] References
- ^ The Buildings of England: Herefordshire, Nikolaus Pevsner, 1963 p226 ISBN 0-14-071025-6
[edit] External links
- Leominster Leominster website
- The Friends Of Leominster Priory Operation Leofric
- BBC News Important Saxon find in car park
- BBC News Experts excavate Saxon discovery
- BBC News No Saxon find for archaeologists