Cradley, Herefordshire

This article is about the village in Herefordshire. For the village in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, see Cradley, West Midlands.

Cradley
Cradley Church
Cradley is located in Herefordshire
Cradley
Cradley
Location within Herefordshire
Population1,667 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSO735471
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMalvern
Postcode districtWR13
PoliceWest Mercia
FireHereford and Worcester
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Herefordshire
52°07′19″N 2°23′16″W / 52.1220°N 2.3877°W / 52.1220; -2.3877

Cradley (/ˈkrædli/) is a village in the civil parish of Cradley and Storridge, in Herefordshire, England.[2][3] The nearest Herefordshire to Cradley towns are Ledbury, 9 miles (14 km) to the south and Bromyard, 9 miles to the north-west. The Worcestershire town of Malvern is 4 miles (6 km) to the south-east on the farther side of the Malvern Hills. Cradley and Storridge parish had a 2011 population of 1,667.[1] On 12 October 2018 the parish was renamed from "Cradley" to "Cradley & Storridge".[4]

Cradley village hall is a 16th-century timbered building. It was built as a school for boys.[5] It has been renovated and restored after a fire destroyed a large part of the roof.[when?] It has 21st-century additions of meeting rooms, and is a heritage and village resource centre. Used for research into local history and genealogy, it has computer, printing and copying services. Since the closure of the combined village shop and post office,[when?] a post office counter with usual services is part of the village hall.[citation needed] A new village stores opened in 2022.[6]

The parish church is dedicated to St James. The chancel was added by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1868.[7] Pevsner also mentions a mediaeval lychgate, a font dated 1722 and the remains of a previous carved font incorporated into a doorway in the tower. Carved stones in the fabric of the church have been identified as dating from the Saxon period.[citation needed]

The "Three Villages Festival" celebrates the rural Herefordshire life of the villages of Cradley, Storridge and Mathon. In 2011, the event's theme was "Masquerade", an exploration of mask making and wearing.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Cradley and Storridge". Mapit. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Request by Cradley Parish Council to change its name to Cradley and Storridge Parish Council" (PDF). Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Herefordshire Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. ^ Herefordshire. The Western Gate of England. Kings England Series of books Edited by Arthur Mee. Pub.1938.Page 48.
  6. ^ Banner, Tom; "Cradley Village Store finally opens after lengthy campaign", Worcester News, 15 April 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2023
  7. ^ The Buildings of England: Herefordshire, Nikolaus Pevsner, 1963 p106 ISBN 0-14-071025-6