CLIFFORD is a large parish, extending to the borders of Breconshire and Radnorshire, and distant about 3 miles N.E. of Hay, 9 S.W. of Kington, and 18 W.N.W. of Hereford, in Huntington hundred, Hay union and county court district, Dorstone polling district, and Bredwardine petty sessional division. The river Wye enters Herefordshire near this place, and glides beautifully between orchards, meadows, and corn-fields, till it reaches the abrupt and commanding eminence of Mawbech hill. The Hereford, Hay, and Brecon branch of the Midland railway and the main road from Hereford to Hay intersect the parish. The population in 1861 was 895; in 1871, 921; inhabited houses, 216; families or separate occupiers, 216; area of parish, 6,522 acres; annual rateable value, £8,303. Benjamin Haigh Allen, Esq., Tomkyns Dew, Esq., and Thomas James Stallard-Penoyre, Esq., are the chief landowners. The soil is sandy; subsoil, sandsfone; principal crops, wheat, barley, beans, and roots.

On a bold eminence, rising from the banks of the Wye, near its entrance into this county from Breconshire, stand the picturesque remains of Clifford castle, for nearly two centuries the baronial residence of the Lords de Clifford, who obtained it by the marriage of Walter Fitz-Richard (a descendant of Richard, second Duke of Normandy) with Margaret, daughter and heiress of Ralph de Cundy. It was built by William Fitz-Osborne, Earl of Hereford; but at the time of the Domesday survey was held by Radulphus de Totenie. The venerable ruins are mantled with ivy and surrounded by graceful trees, and the neighbouring country is richly wooded. The celebrated but unfortunate Jane de Clifford, commonly known as "Fair Rosamond", daughter of Walter de Clifford, was born in this castle. She was the favourite of Henry II., and on account of her beauty was called Rosa Mundi, the "Rose of the World".

In the time of Henry I., Simon Fitz-Walter founded a cell of Cluniac monks in this parish, subordinate to the Priory at Lewes, in Sussex. It was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and its revenues at the period of the Dissolution were estimated, according to Speed, at £65 11s. 11d. per annum. Clifford is in the diocese and archdeaconry of Hereford and rural deanery of Weobley; living, a vicarage; value, £340, with residence and 60 acres of glebe; patron, Mrs. Elizabeth Trumper; vicar, Rev. T. W. Walwyn Trumper, M.A., S.C.L., of Pembroke College, Oxford, who was instituted in 1874. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient stone edifice, with square tower, in the Norman style, in a fair state of repair, and containing five bells. The interior has nave, chancel, porch, font, organ, and several monuments and tablets. The earliest register is dated 1100 [Ed: somehow, I don't think so, but this is what it says!]. The charities amount to about £10 yearly. There is an endowed national school for boys and girls, under Government inspection.

The Presbyterians have a chapel at Priory wood. At Hardwick, in this parish, distant 1 mile S.E., is a district church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was built in 1851 at a cost of £4,000. The founders were the late Mrs. Penoyre, Rev. T. M. Penoyre, and Mrs. Napleton Penoyre. It is a handsome stone building, in the Mediaeval style, and has nave, chancel, belfry, and two bells. The communion plate was given by the founders, and a flagon by the late Rev. John Webb, M.A., F.A.S. There is a good organ: The living is a vicarage; value, £134, with residence and 4 acres of glebe; patron, T. J. Stallard-Penoyre, Esq.; vicar, Rev. Thomas William Webb, M.A., of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, who was instituted in 1856. The population of Hardwick ecclesiastical district in 1871 was 383. The children attend the national school. Castleton is a hamlet distant 2 miles N.E. There are several handsome seats in this parish: Clifford Priory, the residence of Benjamin Haigh Allen, Esq., J.P., D.L., the late high sheriff of the county; The Moor, the seat of Thomas James Stallard-Penoyre, Esq., J.P.; and Middlewood, in the occupation of Colonel Balmain.