England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sollers Hope St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Sollers Hope lies in southeastern Herefordshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Gloucestershire. Sollers Hope is located roughly 7 miles north of the market town of Ross on Wye and sits a half mile east of the B4224 road which connects Hereford with the Gloucestershire town of Mitcheldean. There is very little to Sollers Hope, no defined village merely a scatter of farms and cottages across its small acreage. Sollers Hope sits within the traditional area for cider maker within Herefordshire and orchards accounted for almost 20% of its acreage, the remainder being almost equally split between arable & pastoral farming. A small tributary of the nearby River Wye, deeply incised into the landscape, drains the parish the short distance south to the Wye which continues south to reach the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Chepstow. Sollers Hope is sited at around 70 metres above the sea in strongly undulating landscape dominated to the east by the height, 231 metres, of nearby Ridge Hill. Herefordshire rural parishes are often small in extent and Sollers Hope was no exception, covering just over 1,100 acres it would have supported a population of around 150 parishioners. In Domesday times Sollers Hope was an equally small and rural place, held by one Ansfrid de Cormeilles it could offer just a half dozen ploughs but did possess a mill.

The Church

St Michael's church sits within the valley bottom of the parish's stream with Court Farm for company, lanes east and then north from the B4224 are needed to reach this secluded spot. St Michael is a church of the 14th century, the chancel shows the Decorated style of the first half of that century whilst the nave & its southern porch show the Perpendicular style of the latter half. The whole is topped by a neat timber bell-turret with a spirelet topping it, the date of this feature is uncertain as it was renewed, or maybe replaced, during the Victorian restoration. That Victorian restoration not only renewed much of the main body it also added the northern vestry to complete the current building. Parking for a single car is possible immediately to the right of the gates, the church, screened by trees from its lane is approached down a gravelled driveway to wooden gates granting entry to a churchyard which has no obstacles for the photographer.