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The Strange Disappearance of Old Pembridge

We all love the beautiful Black and White trail in North Herefordshire and one of the prettiest villages on that trail is Pembridge. But have you ever heard the tale of ‘Old Pembridge’?

Folklore records that one night a fiddler dressed in his very best clothes walked to ‘Old Pembridge’ to play at a wedding or dance. After a wonderful evening of merriment, music, dancing and copious amounts of ale he set off home. As he reached Eardisland he realised that he had left his gloves back at the wedding, they were a fine pair, white with red ribbons so he decided to head back to retrieve them.

To his utter amazement as he retraced his steps he found that ‘Old Pembridge’ had completely disappeared, swallowed up in the night by Shobdon Marshes and even when the marshes drained away over time, ‘Old Pembridge’ was never found.

There is still a well there on the site and local folk believed that if a stone was dropped down the well one may hear it strike against the top of the old church steeple in ‘Old Pembridge’.

What an interesting local tale, we wonder if it’s true or not.

These stories are curated from many sources and retold in our fun ESL style, in the true spirit of Folklore.

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