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Holme Lacy, Herefordshire - Kelly's Directory, 1941

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Extract from Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire, 1941

Transcription by Richard Lane © 2003

HOLME LACY.

HOLME LACY is a parish and scattered village, on the banks of the River Wye, with a station on the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester section of the Great Western Railway, 139.75 miles from London, 5 south east from Hereford and 8 north west from Ross, in the Hereford division of the county, hundred of Webtree, rural district, county court district and petty sessional division of Hereford, rural deanery of Hereford South and archdeaconry and diocese of Hereford. An iron bridge of three arches, with buttresses and piers of stone, crosses the river to Fownhope, and was erected in 1850. The Church of St. Cuthbert, standing near the River Wye, is a building of stone of Norman date, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, north transept, south porch and western tower containing 8 bells: there are several ancient monuments to the Scudamore family, including one to Frances, wife of Charles, 11th Duke of Norfolk K. G. daughter and sole heiress of Charles Fitzroy Scudamore esq.; she died 22 OCT 1820: a gallery was erected and an organ presented in 1833 by Lady Scudamore-Stanhope: extensive structural repairs to the roof, arcade and floors were completed in 1924 at a cost of about £1,000: the gallery had previously been removed and the old organ replaced by a pipe organ, presented by Helen Lady Lucas-Tooth: in 1924 a marble tablet was placed on the east wall to the memory of Dorothea Countess of Chesterfield, widow of Henry, 9th Earl of Chesterfield; she died 30th APR 1923. The register, which includes many entries from Bolstone, formerly an attached chapelry, dates from the year 1562. The living is a vicarage, with tithes restored, net yearly value £480, including 14 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Bromborough Estate Co. and held since 1922 by the Rev. John Dent B.A. of Victoria University, Manchester, domestic Chaplain to the Bishop of Hereford, rural dean of Hereford South and prebendary of Praebenda Episcopi in Hereford Cathedral. The charities amount to about £150 annually. Near the vicarage is a remarkable pear tree, covering a large space of ground and forming an orchard of itself, which, according to records dated 1776, yielded from fourteen to sixteen hogshead of perry, of 100 gallons each, and is accounted for as follows:- A large branch having been broken by the wind, its head fell to the ground, the butt still adhering to the trunk; some time after it appeared to have struck into the ground, and to have taken root: the incumbent, willing to encourage this insus naturae, gave orders for other layers to be made from the tree in a similar manner, and thus formed this singular orchard. Holme Lacy was for some centuries in the ancient family of Scudamore, one of whom attended William the Conqueror in his expedition to England; Philip Scudamore, a descendent, settled here in the 14th century, and his descendent John Scudamore esq. Was created a baronet in 1620, and Baron Dromore and Viscount Scudamore, of Sligo, 2 JUL 1628: Holme Lacy continued to be the principle seat of the family till the year 1716, when on the death of the last Viscount Scudamore on December 2nd in that year, the estate vested in Frances, his only daughter and heiress, who married as her second husband Charles Fitzroy esq.; he thereupon assumed the name and arms of Scudamore, and had by her an only daughter and heiress, Frances, wife of Charles, 11th Duke of Norfolk K. G. mentioned above, to whom the property then in part descended, and, together with other valuable estates in this county, and Gloucestershire, was added to the princely domain of the Howards; she died 22nd OCT 1820, but the Holme Lacy estate devolved upon Capt. Sir Edwyn Francis Stanhope bart. R. N. who assumed the name and arms of Scudamore, and died 8th FEB 1874, leaving several sons, of whom the eldest, Henry Edwyn Chandos, succeeded in 1883 as 9th Earl of Chesterfield; another portion of the property was inherited by Daniel Higford Davall Burr esq. Of Aldermaston Court, Reading, who died in 1885; in 1909 the estate was purchased by the late Sir R. L. Lucas-Tooth bart. This being the first time it changed hands since the Conquest. Holme Lacy House is built in red sandstone and was largely reconstructed by the 3rd and last Viscount Scudamore, who was the friend of the Pope; there are some fine moulded ceilings of the period: in the 19th century Sir Edwyn Stanhope added the elm balustrade and dome portico, and rebuilt the west side: the large hall, in 17th century style, was added by Sir R. Lucas-Tooth bart.: the house enjoys a beautiful view across the Wye Valley: the old garden, on the south front, designed to imitate that of Hampton Court Palace, contains magnificent yew hedges; the park of 350 acres is beautifully wooded. Holme Lacy House is owned by the Hereford County Council. In 1935 it was opened as a hospital for the treatment for ladies suffering from nervous and mental breakdown and provides for about 100 patients. The principle landowners are the Bromborough Estate Co. and the resident farmers. Electricity is available. The soil is clayey loam; subsoil, gravel and part clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley, beans and oats. The area is 3,195 acres of land and 66 of water; the population in 1931 was 254.

   Post & T(elegraph). Office. Letters through Hereford. Fownhope is the nearest M(oney) O(rder) office.

   Railway Station (G. W.)

   Holme Lacy Hospital, G. A. Betts M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond., D.P.M. supt.; R. W. Gilmour M.B., B.S., M.R.C.S., M.R.C.P. resident medical officer.

PRIVATE RESIDENTS
Burleton, Henry John George, Newtown. Gilmour, R.M.B., B.S., Wilsley House.
Clark, W. F. Stoney Yeld Herring, Misses Annie & Edith, Lyncroft.
Deakin, William Podmore, Hill Crest. North, Major Roger, The Cottage.
Dean, Arthur, The Bungalow. Pittaway, Herbert, Red Bank.
Dent, Rev., Preb. John, B.A. (vicar, domestic chaplain to the Bishop of Hereford, and rural dean of Hereford (South)), The Vicarage. Workman, Miss M. A. School House.
Duberley, Albert, Mabern.  
COMMERCIAL
Marked thus ° farm 150 acres or over
Biggs, George L., coal merchant, Station Yard. ° Perkins, Percival Edward William, farmer, The Bower Farm.
Billing, John William, farmer, Canon Dale. ° Perkins, Thomas William Montague, farmer, Ufton Court.
Chippindale, Harold Grimshaw, farmer, Rendle. Powell, Herbert Frederick, farmer, The Tump.
Clarke, William Frederick, sports timber bender. ° Powell, Stephen, farmer, Hollington Farm.
Dean, Harold Gerrard, shopkeeper & post office. Preece, Mary (Mrs) shopkeeper.
Duberley, Albert, seed specialist (A. G. Leighton Ltd.) Mabern. Price, Geoffrey, farmer, Folly Farm.
Holme Lacy Hospital (for medical staff see Official section). ° Pritchard, Godfrey Charles, farmer, Billingsley.
Holme, William John, small holder, Primrose Bank. ° Rowlands, William Charles Harper, farmer, Upper & Lower Ramsden Farms.
Jones, William, smallholder, Princes Place. Stoakes, John, smallholder, Upper Bogmarsh.
Morgan, William, Blacksmith. Williams, Herbert Henry, smallholder, Snow Dell.

[Transcribed by Richard Lane in January 2003
from a copy of Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire, 1941 in Hereford Central Library]