These are historic meadows, ditch-fed by the Wye since medieval times, and sisters to the equally historic Bishop’s Meadow, gifted to the Corporation of Hereford by the Bishop in 1937. Recent research reveals significant pre-modern features at Bartonsham, the name deriving from the medieval berton, the king’s ‘barley-farm’ and ham or meadow attached. Separated from the arable ‘Portfields’ by the Row Ditch, which is a scheduled ancient monument, these much-loved water meadows have served as Hereford’s Anglo-Saxon ‘moot’, the municipality’s first ‘bathing station’ and once served as an airstrip for ace pilot Ben Hucks.

The Bartonsham History Group (https://www.bartonshamhistory.org.uk/history-of-the-meadows.html) have produced a history of the meadows – a pdf version is available here https://www.bartonshamhistory.org.uk/uploads/2/0/9/4/20946882/historybartonshammeadows.pdf.