The Official Tourism Website for Herefordshire

History and Folklore

A plethora of stories and folklore, traditions, celebrations, beliefs and tales passed down over time by families and communities.

From the sinister Black Vaughan whose story inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write The Hound of the Baskervilles, to the Mermaid of Marden, the Dragon of Mordiford and the Kings and Queens of Mercia whose experiences of faeries changed their lives forever. We capture the lives of Kings, saints and the historic people who made a lasting impression on our wonderful county for you to enjoy and share.

At Eat Sleep Live Herefordshire, we really enjoy researching and finding these wonderful tales and hope you will enjoy them too.

We currently run a ‘Folklore Friday’ feature on our Facebook page each week and this section will be updated regularly too, so do keep coming back.

Inspired by Kathleen Lawrence-Smith, David Phelps, Rupert Matthews, David J.Vaughan, Mary Hopkins, Roy Palmer, Robin Haig and Ella Mary Leather.

Christmas Creatures

As we near Christmas we thought we would bring you some of the world’s strangest creatures that are remembered at […]

A Murder of Crows

Our tale this week is all about secrets and lies. Reminding us that whatever happens the truth will out. Sometimes […]

The Hay Poisoner

Our tale this week is all about rivalry, disputes and petty greed that led to the only solicitor in the […]

The Turnpike Revolt

Did you know that by 1730 Herefordshire had the largest turnpike system in Britain? An act of parliament was passed […]

Who was Nanny Gunter?

Herefordshire folklore is full of interesting characters, witches, fairies, healers, performers and poisoners just to name but a few. One […]