The first half of the fourteenth century witnessed an extraordinary flowering of architecture, art and sculpture in Herefordshire and the central part of the Welsh Marches.

Much of Hereford Cathedral was rebuilt in this period, giving the fabric of the church its present rich Gothic look. A splendid new side aisle was built at Leominster Priory, and gloriously adorned aisles and side chapels were built at such big town churches as those at Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye and Ludlow. The three exceptional parish churches of Madley, Pembridge and Kingsland are all products of the creativity of these years. Roughly a half of all Herefordshire’s parish churches show extensive work from this, the Decorated period of architecture. In Herefordshire this was to be a golden age in the history of English Gothic. Stretching from roughly 1290 through to the Black Death and its aftermath, it saw not only the creation of some remarkable buildings but also the painting of some brilliant stained glass windows and the commissioning of some magnificent tomb monuments.

This book looks at the artistic and architectural achievement of Herefordshire Decorated, exploring its social and religious context, and asking such questions as why there was so much building, who were the patrons of building and what spurred them, how all the work was paid for, and why and when it eventually petered out.