Herefordshire Parish Map

This is a parish map of Herefordshire, showing the dominant military force in each area.  One of the chaps in the Very British Civil Forum has done something similar with Bedfordshire, and I thought it was a great idea!

Most of the county is not dominated by any single military presence, with the inhabitants looking to their own defence, heedless of the bigger political picture.

On the Royalist side, the City of Hereford and environs are largely protected by the Hereford Municipal LDV, while the Herefordshire Regiment T.A. and other royalist militias are strung out along the main road and rail routes to Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire (with an outpost at Pontrilas on the Hereford – Abergavenny line).

The Fascist B.U.F. and Blackshorts are concentrated around their barracks at Bromyard and Leominster respectively, but have also been given the job of guarding sensitive spots such as Shobdon and Rotherwas. They also have a dominant presence in the newly ‘liberated’ parishes between Colwall, Ledbury and Much Marcle and also near the strategic rail junction by Little Hereford in the north, guarding against the Worcester Loyalists in Tenbury Wells and sundry roaming bands of socialists from the Midlands (who have established themselves in the north-east of the county).

Dotted around the countryside are parishes under the control of the ostensibly royalist Landowners’ Protection Association. The bulk of these are along the vulnerable Welsh border, where the farmers and landowners have banded together to guard against Welsh raiders. Others straddle important road and rail routes, access to which is jealously guarded by the local gentry. Another band of L.P.A. territory acts as a buffer zone between royalist and Anglican Herefordshire.

After initially controlling most of Herefordshire, Anglican League territory has been largely reduced to the ‘Diocese of Archenfield’, a chunk of territory stretching from Ross-on-Wye and environs to the sympathetic communities in the Forest of Dean and the Welsh Nationalists in Monmouthshire. Pockets of Anglican resistance can also be found in and around the Malvern Hills, occasionally acting in concert with the Malvern Hills Conservators.

The Welsh Nationalists have snatched a piece of the county by occupying Kington and its hinterland, although a growing royalist movement in the area is threatening this toehold.

I'll try to keep this map updated as things progress...