St George’s, Woolhope

The village of Woolhope lies in the Wye Valley AONB, and at its heart lies St George’s Church.

The structure is largely Norman, from the second half of the 12th Century. The 13th Century tower commands the valley named after Wulviva who, with her more famous sister Godiva, gave the land to the Dean and Chapter of Hereford. The sisters are commemorated in a striking window in the North aisle.

Norman work is seen in the North arcade, a window in the Sanctuary and a carved head under the tower, but much of the present fabric, internal woodwork and fittings date from a major restoration in the 1880s under the benefaction of the Booker family of Wessington Court. The organ by William Vincent of Liverpool (1862) is particularly fine.

The church is approached from the south by a long path from the timbered ‘Skallenge’ (lych gate), dating from 1581. A preaching cross with a medieval base adjoins the path, and this older section of the churchyard contains some notable ‘tea caddy’ tombs and others from the Georgian and early Victorian periods.

Areas of the churchyard are purposely set aside for the thriving local flora and fauna.