Blanche Parry

Eaton Bishop

One of many manors in the county which belonged to the Bishop of Hereford, hence the name. Eaton means the tun (a fenced complex of buildings, homestead) by a river, here the River Wye.
Once Eaton Bishop had a pool called Haugh Pool, which 'was haunted by a lady on a grey horse; but she is laid now, and no–one ever sees her' (Ella Mary Leather).

Church: St. Michael

St. Michael was named for the Archangel in the Bible.

Richard and Margaret Snead's tomb 1678 has a wonderful epitaph:

And our bones, mingled with dust now lie together.

One death was ours; one year took us away.

One day saved us and gave us back to God.

Eaton Bishop's stained glass is stunning, and has been dated to c. 1330, the greatest era for painted glass. Madley Church and Moccas Church have some from the same workshop. The typical colour scheme is brown, green and yellow with a little blue and red (full details in Eaton Bishop Church).

The Holy Thorn or Glastonbury Thorn

Eaton Bishop is one of several places along the route with a Holy Thorn, which blossoms at midnight on Old Christmas Eve (January 5^th). Others include Clehonger, Kingstone, Peterchurch, Bredwardine, Tyberton and Rowlestone. The Holy Thorn or Glastonbury Thorn (the Latin botanical name: crataegus monogyna biflora) flowers twice a year, in both winter and spring. Legend says that it was brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea who visited Glastonbury and thrust his staff into Wearyall Hill where it grew into the original tree. Each Christmas a flowering sprig is sent from Glastonbury to the Monarch.

Madley

Name probably means: mad, good or beneficial and ley , a cleared area in a wood. So, Madley was a clearing with good soil. A good place to live. St. Dyfrig was born here (see below).

Church: The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In the Medieval Period / Middle Ages housed a famous statue of the Virgin Mary reputed to heal ailments, in the crypt. So many visited that it needed both the still visible entrance and exit.
Pevsner gives a good description of this interesting church.
John Gildon / Guldo tomb
- He was one of the leading sculptors of the area in 1570s.
- Mentioned in Hereford documents 1577–78 as a mason, joiner, and carver.
- His work includes tombs in Bosbury 1573, Astley (Worcestershire) 1577, Abergavenny 1584.
- He made the pre-1577 tomb (unused) for Blanche Parry in Bacton Church, near Dore Abbey.
- His name is on the 1575 Madley tomb, Chilston Chapel, of Richard Willison and his wife.
Link with Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), scholar, Lord Chancellor of England, beheaded by King Henry VIII, Roman Catholic Patron Saint of Lawyers, Statesmen and Politicians: His great-grandson, Cresacre More (1572-1649) lived at Chilston(e), near Madley. He is the youngest person in the famous painting of More's family by Hans Holbein the Younger.

Methodist Chapel

A black and white chapel with a small porch to the front with a semi-circular window above. Along each side are two rows of three windows, which suggests original building had two storeys.
It was first used as a Baptist Chapel from the mid-1700s, although the building itself is of an earlier date. Near the front door of the chapel is a gravestone dated 1828.
The chapel was closed and then re–opened in 1922 as a Plymouth Brethren Meeting House; it later became a Christian Brethren Chapel. The chapel is still in use today as a Methodist Chapel.
Two ladies, twins, keep the frontage beautiful with flowers.

Red Lion

In existence as a pub in 1774 and was a centre for sporting activity ‐ cock fighting and boxing.
Several licensees continued to farm as well as running the pub.

Canonbridge

Was a wharf from which large quantities of bark and timber, including prime naval timber, were shipped down the River Wye to Chepstow from estates such as Whitehouse near Peterchurch. Smaller timber was moved on barges while larger logs were tied together to form rafts and floated down. The timber was brought to Madley on heavy wagons with iron-bound wheels pulled by as many as twelve horses which led to bitter complaints from locals about the resulting potholes and damage done to their roads.