Visiting The Historic Town of Leominster in England

The town of Leominster dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period and it grew in importance during the medieval times due to its location on the River Lugg and it became a centre for wool production and trade. Nowadays, you can find a variety of antiques shops with endless rooms that go on forever where you can spend hours hunting for treasure and bric-a-brac.

Grange Court is a Grade II* listed timber-framed market hall built by John Abel in 1633. The building originally stood at the top of Broad Street in Leominster and housed the weekly butter market, selling chickens, eggs, and butter. It was then known as the Butter Crosse. By the mid nineteenth century, the market hall was proving a traffic hazard in the town centre. The building was dismantled and lay in pieces in a builder’s yard until 1859. It was then rebuilt on the park known as the Grange.

The Priory Church of St Peter and St Paul in Leominster, which dates back to the 12th century, contains an interesting item. The Leominster Ducking Chair is believed to date back to the 14th century and is one of only a few remaining examples of this type of punishment device in England. The Ducking Chair was used during the Middle Ages to administer public penance to those who had committed sins or transgressions against the Church or their community. This form of punishment involved sitting on the chair, which would cause the person to become exposed and vulnerable and in some cases, the person would be dunked into water or had cold water poured over them while seated on the chair. So basically, it's a slice of wholesome history!