Editing Kilpeck

{{short description|Village in Herefordshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2009}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = England
|official_name=Kilpeck
|population=215
|population_ref= (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11125183&c=Kilpeck&d=16&e=62&g=6386302&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1446303317766&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref>
|unitary_england=[[Herefordshire]]
|region=West Midlands
|constituency_westminster=[[Hereford and South Herefordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Hereford and South Herefordshire]]
|post_town=[[Hereford|HEREFORD]]
|postcode_district=HR2
|postcode_area=HR
|dial_code=01981
|os_grid_reference=SO444304
|coordinates = {{coord|51.9697|-2.8100|display=inline,title}}
|london_distance=
|lieutenancy_england= [[Herefordshire]]
|static_image_name=KilpeckChurch(PhilipHalling)Feb2006.jpg
|static_image_caption= The [[Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck|Church of St Mary and St David]] is an outstanding example of [[Norman architecture]].
}}

'''Kilpeck''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in the county of [[Herefordshire]], England. It is about {{convert|9|mi|km|0|spell=in}} southwest of [[Hereford]], just south of the [[A465 road]] and [[Welsh Marches Line]] to [[Abergavenny]], and about {{convert|5|mi|km|0|spell=in}} from the [[Wales-England border|border with Wales]]. On 1 April 2019, the parishes of [[Kenderchurch]], [[St Devereux]], [[Treville, Herefordshire|Treville]] and [[Wormbridge]] were merged with Kilpeck.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/documents/s50060705/Appendix%20K%20-%20Kilpeck%20Group%20Parish%20Order.pdf|title=The County of Herefordshire District Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Kilpeck Group Parish Order, 2018.|publisher=[[Herefordshire Council]]|access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref>

The village is renowned for its small but outstanding [[Norman architecture|Norman]] (Romanesque) church, [[Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck|SS Mary and David's]], but also has the earthworks of a [[Norman architecture|Norman]] [[motte-and-bailey castle]] that is no longer standing. The church is a [[Grade I listed building]]. There is a public house called the Kilpeck Inn, formerly the Red Lion, situated in the centre of the village opposite the village green.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Kilpeck Inn|url=https://kilpeckinn.com/|website=The Kilpeck Inn}}</ref> Other amenities include a village hall and post office. 

==History==
Until the 9th century, when it was taken over by [[Mercia]], the area around Kilpeck was within the [[History of Wales|Welsh kingdom]] of [[Ergyng]]. After the Norman conquest, the area became known as ''[[Archenfield]]'' and was governed as part of the [[Welsh Marches]]. It became part of Herefordshire, and England, in the 16th century, although the use of Welsh in the area remained strong until the 19th century.<ref>Colin Lewis, ''Herefordshire – the Welsh Connection'', 2006, {{ISBN|0-86381-958-3}}</ref> The English name for the village derives from the Welsh name, ''Llanddewi Kil Peddeg'',<ref>[http://www.kimkat.org/amryw/1_clawdd_offa/22_cymru_dros_glawdd_offa_enwau_euas_eng_cym_0980e.htm Welsh place names in Herefordshire] ''www.kimkat.org''</ref> with ''Llanddewi'' meaning "church of St David" and ''Cil Peddeg'' probably meaning the "cell of Pedic", an otherwise unknown local early Christian [[hermit]].<ref name=parish>James Bailey, ''The Parish Church of St Mary and St David at Kilpeck'', 2000</ref>

In the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, Kilpeck (entered as ''Chipeete'') was given by [[William the Conqueror]] to William Fitz Norman [[de la Mare]], son of Norman de la Mare. The clan de la Mare is one of the oldest in [[Normandy]] and is descended from [[Ragnvald Eysteinsson]], earl of Møre and Romsdal.  According to the Domesday survey, Kilpeck had "3 ploughs, 2 serfs and 4 oxmen and there are 57 men with 19 ploughs." There are mentions of a church on the site possibly from as early as the 7th century. There are vestiges of an enclosure, 200 yds (183 metres) by 300 yds (274 m) in the field, defining an [[Anglo-Saxon]] village.

==Landmarks==<!-- This section is linked from [[List of castles in England]] -->
{{main|Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck}}
The [[Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck|St Mary and St David's Church]] was built around 1140. It consists of a [[nave]], [[chancel]] and semicircular [[apse]]. It is remarkable for its wealth of [[Norman architecture|Norman]] stone carvings (and their fine state of preservation), both inside and out,<ref>[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/347877 Stone carvings], both [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/347874 inside] and [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/478033 out]. ''www.geograph.org.uk''</ref> all original both in form and position and incorporating many [[corbels]] with representations of human faces, hares, fish, fowl, stags etc. Eighty-five of 91 corbels survive, an extraordinarily high percentage.

[[File:RemainsOfKilpeckCastle(PhilipHalling)Feb2006.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.5|Remains of [[Kilpeck Castle]]]]

West of the church lies a ruined [[motte and bailey]] with earthworks. The castle is thought to have been first built around 1090 as the administrative centre of [[Archenfield]]. A few walls of the 12th- or 13th-century [[keep]] still stand on top of the motte; these are not well preserved. A fireplace and chimney flues are visible, as are two sections of standing castle walls.<ref>[https://www.whitfield-hereford.com/kilpeck-castle Kilpeck Castle] ''www.whitfield-hereford.com'', accessed 8 June 2021</ref><ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1301419 KILPECK CASTLE] ''historicengland.org.uk'', accessed 8 June 2021</ref>

A little over a mile to the north is the surviving motte of another castle, at Didley Court Farm.
{{clear}}

==References==
{{commons category|Kilpeck}}
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* Renn, D. F. "[http://www.castlewales.com/kilpeck.html Kilpeck Castle and Church]". ''Castles of Wales.''
* "[http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/kilpeck.htm Kilpeck Castle]". ''Castles of Herefordshire.'' Archaeological survey.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092951/http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/docs/2001_Parish_Populations.pdf Population figures] (PDF)

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[[Category:Villages in Herefordshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Herefordshire]]