Bacton, Herefordshire facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bacton |
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 Saint Faith's church, Bacton |
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 Bacton
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| OS grid reference | SO369324 |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HEREFORD |
| Postcode district | HR2 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
Bacton (which is Bactwn in Welsh) is a small village in a quiet, countryside area of south-west Herefordshire, England. It's about 14 kilometers (9 miles) from the city of Hereford.
Bacton's Past
About one mile north of Bacton, you can find the remains of an old castle. It's called Newcourt Tump. A "tump" is a local word for a small, rounded hill. This castle was a "motte and bailey" type. This means it had a raised earth mound (the motte) with a tower, and a walled courtyard (the bailey) below. It seems people stopped using this castle by the 1300s.
We know a bit about Bacton from the Domesday Book. This was a huge survey ordered by King William the Conqueror in 1086. It listed all the land and property in England. The Domesday Book shows that Bacton was a very small place back then, with only two households.
St Faith's Church
Bacton's parish church, called St Faith's, was built in the 1200s. It's a very old and important building.
Inside the church, there's a special memorial to a woman named Blanche Parry. She was an important lady who worked for Queen Elizabeth I of England. There's a famous story that an old cloth in the church, called the Bacton Altar Cloth, might have been made from a dress once worn by Queen Elizabeth I herself! This cloth looks like part of the Queen's clothing in a famous painting called the "Rainbow Portrait."
The church is still used today and has services about once a month. Right next to it, you'll find the village hall.
Old Buildings in Bacton
St Faith's Church is listed as Grade II*. This means it's a very important historic building. There are also 16 other buildings, barns, and monuments in Bacton that are listed as Grade II. These buildings date from the 1600s to the 1900s. Many of them are in the churchyard.
Getting Around Bacton
Bacton is a small village, so transport options are limited. There's a bus service to Hereford, but it only runs on Wednesdays during the daytime. The closest train station is also in Hereford, about 14 kilometers (9 miles) away. Bacton is located about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the main A465 road, which connects Hereford to Abergavenny.
