Agriculture and industry

These pages examine the important role played by agriculture and industry in Herefordshire.

The principal agricultural activities were cider making, hop growing, and the raising of cattle and sheep (mainly the local breeds of Hereford cattle and Ryeland sheep).

The history and development of all these activities are explained, and the use of water meadows is also examined. Local industries were often related to agriculture (for example, milling, tanning and brewing), but one non-agricultural industry of particular importance was iron-working.

Other sections look at the use of child labour, agricultural depression, the character of Herefordshire in the 17th and 18th centuries, the navigation of the River Wye and the information that can be added to our knowledge of the county by historic sources such as Pigot's Directory and Daniel Defoe's A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain.