Leominster
335128
224420966
2008-07-08T19:44:52Z
Chilkoot
1467725
{{infobox UK place|
|country = England
|latitude= 52.2282
|longitude= -2.7385
|population= 11,000
|official_name= Leominster
|unitary_england= [[Herefordshire]]
|region= West Midlands
|lieutenancy_england= [[Herefordshire]]
|constituency_westminster= [[Leominster (UK Parliament constituency)|Leominster]]
|post_town= LEOMINSTER
|postcode_area= HR
|postcode_district= HR6
|dial_code= 01568
|os_grid_reference= SO496591
}}
{{For|the Leominster in the USA|Leominster, Massachusetts}}
'''Leominster''' ({{Audio|En-uk-Leominster.ogg|pronunciation}}; [[Help:Pronunciation|IPA]] {{IPA|/ˈlemstə/}} or ''Lemster''; is a [[market town]] [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/149159] at {{gbmapping|SO496590}} in [[Herefordshire]], [[England]]. It has a population of approximately 11,000 and is on the [[River Lugg]] and its tributary the [[River Kenwater]] in North Herefordshire.
From [[1974]] to [[1996]], Leominster served as the administrative centre for the former [[Districts of England|local government district]] of [[Leominster (district)|Leominster]].
==Etymology==
The town takes its name from a [[Minster (cathedral)|minster]], that is a community of clergy in the district of ''Lene'' or ''Leon'', probably in turn from an [[Old Welsh]] root ''lei'' to flow.<ref>J. & C. Hillaby, ''Leominster Minster, Priory, and Borough c.660-1539'' (Logaston Press, Almeley, Herefs. 2006), 4-5. </ref>. Contrary to certain reports, the name has nothing to do with [[Leofric, Earl of Mercia|Leofric]], an 11th century Earl of Mercia (most famous for being the miserly husband of [[Lady Godiva]]). The [[Welsh language]] name for Leominster, still used today on the [[Wales|Welsh]] side of the nearby border, is ''Llanllieni''.
==History==
According to the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]], a raid by [[Gruffudd ap Llywelyn]] on Leominster in 1052 resulted in the [[Battle of Llanllieni]], between the [[Wales|Welsh]] and a combined force of [[Normans]] and [[England|English]] [[Saxons]].
[[Henry II of England|Henry II]] bestowed the minster and its estates on [[Reading Abbey]], which founded a [[priory]] [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/15896] at Leominster in [[1121]], although there was one here from [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] times<ref>Hillaby, 53-7</ref>. Its Priory Church of [[St. Peter]] and [[St. Paul]], which now serves as the [[parish]] [[church]], is the remaining part of this [[12th century]] [[Benedictine]] [[monastery]]. [[Quatrefoil]] piers were inserted between 1872-79 by Sir [[George Gilbert Scott]].<ref >''The Buildings of England: Herefordshire'', Nikolaus Pevsner, 1963 p226 ISBN 0-14-071025-6</ref>
The priory was ransacked by the Welsh forces of [[Owain Glyndŵr]] after their victory at the [[Battle of Bryn Glas]] near [[Pilleth]] in 1402, along with several local [[manor]] houses.
Investigations to the north of the [[Priory]] in 2005 located the position of the [[cloister]] though most of the stone had been robbed following the [[Dissolution]]. Disposed animal bones found on the site when submitted to [[carbon dating]] showed that the area was occupied in the [[7th century]]. This agrees with the date of [[660]] [[A.D.]] associated with the founding myth which suggests a [[Christian]] community was established here by a [[monk]], [[St. Edfrid]], from [[Northumberland]].
Leominster is also the historical home of [[Ryeland]] sheep, a breed once famed for its 'Lemster' [sic] wool, known as 'Lemster ore'. This wool was prized above all other English wool in trade with the continent of Europe in the [[Middle Ages]]. It was the income and prosperity [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/149156] from this wool trade that established the town and the Minster and attracted the envy of the [[Welsh people|Welsh]] and other regions.
From approximately [[1748]] to [[1754]], Leominster was home to one of only four early cotton spinning mills employing the spinning machines of [[Lewis Paul]] and [[John Wyatt]]. The mill was financed by [[Lancashire]] native Daniel Bourn, and was partly owned by other men from [[Lancashire]]. Bourn introduced his own version of the carding engine to work at this mill, and of the four Paul-Wyatt mills, it may have been the most successful, for the [[Manchester Mercury]], reported on November 5, 1754, shortly after the fire that destroyed the mill, commented that the cotton works "had been viewed with great pleasure and admiration by travellers and all who had seen them."
==Transport==
The four-mile [[A49 road|A49]] £9m bypass opened in November [[1988]]. The town also has a bus station linking it to [[Hereford]] and a number of nearby towns and villages.
[[Leominster railway station]] has services to [[Ludlow]] and [[Hereford]]; links to London are achieved by changing at [[Newport High Street railway station|Newport]], South Wales.
==Schools==
The only [[secondary school]] in Leominster is the Minster College, a [[comprehensive school]] with around 750 pupils.<ref>[http://www.minster.hereford.sch.uk/ The Minster College ¦ Home Page<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It is located fairly centrally, next door to the town's [[leisure centre]] and [[swimming pool]], which are used by the school. The Minster College has received poor results in the past, but county league tables now rank it approximately half way in the list of the county's dozen secondary schools. The Minster is a specialist Sports College.
The town's main [[primary school]]s are Leominster Infants and Leominster [[Junior School]]. There are also a number of local village schools including [[Ivington]] [[Church of England]] primary school, [[Luston]] and [[Stoke Prior]].
==Employment and business==
One of the largest employers in the Leominster area is 'M and M Direct', a sports and clothing retailer which was founded in 1987. It employs over 500 staff onsite, with 2007 revenues of over £70 million<ref>[http://www.mandmdirect.com/catpages.asp?CatFile=content/pages/corporate_au.asp M and M Direct - Save on Nike, Adidas, Quiksilver, Ben Sherman, Levis and more<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.
== People from Leominster ==
* [[Albert Lee]] - Guitarist
==Twin towns==
Leominster is twinned with:
*{{flagicon|France}} [[Saverne]], [[France]]
*{{flagicon|Tanzania}} [[Tengeru]], [[Tanzania]]
==Local attractions==
*[[Croft Castle]] [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/26481]
*[[Berrington Hall]] [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/43243]
*Leominster Folk Museum[http://www.leominster.co.uk/leominster-museum.htm]
*Mousetrap Cheese[http://mousetrapcheese.streamlinenettrial.co.uk/]
*Broadfield Court
*Burford House Gardens
*[[Priory Church, Leominster]]
*[[Lucton School]]
==Leominster in the news==
*In 2007 a shop in Broad Street, Leominster, called 'Teagowns and Textiles' supplied a number of vintage costumes for the acclaimed film ''Atonement'', which was nominated for 14 BAFTA awards (it came away with 2).
*''Independent'' columninst Brian Viner lives near Leominster and frequently writes in praise of the town.
== See also ==
*[[Leominster (UK Parliament constituency)]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.leominster.co.uk Leominster website]
* [http://www.leominsterfc.com Leominster FC]
* [http://www.leominsterbedandbreakfast.com Leominster Bed and Breakfast] - B&B in Leominster
* [http://www.operationleofric.com Operation Leofric Friends of Leominster Priory]
* [http://www.archenfield.com/Leominster.htm Leominster History from Archenfield Archaeology]
* [http://www.francisfrith.com/search/england/herefordshire/leominster/photos/leominster_photos.htm 33 Old photos of Leominster]
{{Herefordshire}}
[[Category:Towns in Herefordshire]]
[[Category:Towns of the Welsh Marches]]
[[Category:Market towns in England]]
[[Category:Articles including recorded pronunciations (UK English)]]
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