HEREFORD AND WORCESTER

county of England, extending from the Welsh borderland in the west to the industrial Midlands in the east. With an area of 1,516 square miles (3,927 square km), it is divided into the following nine districts: Bromsgrove, Leominster, Malvern Hills, Redditch, South Herefordshire, Wychavon, Wyre Forest, and the cities of Hereford and Worcester (the county seat). The county was formed in 1974 by the amalgamation of the former counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The county's topography comprises two lowland plains, divided along the old Herefordshire-Worcestershire county boundary by the Malvern Hills. The western part, drained by the River Wye and its tributaries, is bordered by Silurian shales and limestone, which outcrop as scarplands in the northwest, and by the Woolhope Dome and Malvern foothills in the east. The core of the Malvern Hills, rising to more than 1,300 feet (400 m), is composed of Precambrian gneisses and volcanic rocks. The Forest of Dean plateau lies to the southeast, and in the west lie the Black Mountains (Old Red Sandstone), which exceed 2,200 feet (670 m) in height. The eastern plain covers part of the rich valleys of the Rivers Severn and Avon (Upper Avon), with their tributaries, the Rivers Stour and Teme. In the south the Avon valley, known as the Vale of Evesham, lies on young Lias clays, which provide excellent soil for orchards and market gardening. The Jurassic escarpment of the Cotswolds rises sharply in the southeast. The Lickey Hills (956 feet ), in which there are Silurian, Cambrian, and Precambrian rocks, cross the northeastern part of the county. Many Norman strongholds were built in Herefordshire in the 12th century; some remains of them can be found at Wilton, Goodrich, and Pembridge. There are remains of Benedictine abbeys at Evesham and Pershore and a perfectly preserved priory church at Malvern, in addition to the cathedrals at Worcester and Hereford. Kilpeck's Church of St. Mary and St. David exemplifies the Herefordshire school of Romanesque architecture, and the Cistercian abbey church at Abbey Dore is in Early English style. Among country houses that of Treago (13th century) is a notable example of a fortified mansion; Birtsmorton Court is a 16th-century moated house. Agriculture is a major activity in the county. Pear and apple orchards are important in the west, much fruit being grown for the cider industry. The southeast, including the Vale of Evesham, is intensively cultivated for the early market production of fruits and vegetables. Hereford and Worcester's hops production is second only to that of the county of Kent, and dairy farming predominates in the east. The Hereford breed of cattle is world-famous, and the Ryelands breed of sheep, also well known, originated in the Ross-on-Wye area. Heavy industry is important at Worcester, but Bromsgrove is another growing centre, and there are machinery and metal industries at Redditch, Kidderminster (also famous for carpets), and Hereford. Stoke Prior, near Droitwich, has important salt and chemical industries. Agricultural-machinery manufacture, fruit canning and processing, cider production, and milk processing are carried on in many market towns. Pop. (1987 est.) 665,100.