Here in Hereford Trivia Quiz

Answer: Beef

Hereford cattle are a major breed of beef cattle that originated in Herefordshire. They are now a common sight around the world and the subject of an international breeding standard managed by the World Hereford Council. The breed was largely developed in the 18th century from local cattle mixed with other breeds noted for their beef production and is traditionally characterised by its largely reddish appearance with a white face (although other derivations such as the Black Hereford have also been developed). It is particularly prized for its hardiness in terms of its ability to thrive in difficult climates.

Since Herefordshire is one of the most rural counties in England and has an economy with a significant dependence on agriculture, it shouldn't be surprising that Hereford has given its name to more than one type of farm animal. In addition to Hereford cattle, you might also come across Hereford pigs (also known as Hereford hogs) which have a similar colouration as the cattle.

Answer: Edgar Street

Hereford United football club was founded in 1924 and played for 90 years at its Edgar Street stadium - located to the north of Hereford's city centre - before it collapsed with financial difficulties and was wound up by the high court in 2014. However, football continued to be played at Edgar Street as a "phoenix team" named Hereford F.C., set up by the Hereford United Supporters Trust, swiftly took over its predecessor's home ground.

While Hereford United had once played in the (nearly) heady heights of the Second Division - the second tier of the English football league - in the 1976-77 season, they spent most of their seasons after that in the fourth tier of competition, known at various points as the Fourth Division, Third Division and League Two during the period in question. By the time that the club folded they had dropped into the Southern Football League (the seventh tier of competition) and the new Hereford F.C. were forced to start from scratch in the ninth tier.

Answer: Wye

The fifth-longest river of the UK (behind the Severn, Thames, Trent and Great Ouse) is the River Wye, which flows south from the Cambrian Mountains in Wales to its mouth on the Severn estuary near the Welsh town of Chepstow. Along the way it meanders out into western areas of England, flowing through the city of Hereford and the town of Ross-on-Wye.

Hereford's name comes from the Anglo-Saxon terms for a unit of soldiers (a 'here') and a river crossing (a 'ford') and the city is known to have had a bridge over the Wye as early as the 12th century.

Answer: David Garrick

David Garrick became one of the most famous names in the world of theatre during the 18th century and as such was featured in many Old Master paintings by noted artists, including Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and William Hogarth. While some of these were typical portraits, others depicted him in character, including his famous portrayal of Shakespeare's King Richard III.

While born in Hereford, Garrick grew up in the Staffordshire city of Lichfield and moved to London to make his name in its array of theatres. In addition to being hailed as one of the best actors of his generation thanks to his realistic character portrayals, he also had success as the manager of the grand Theatre Royal in Drury Lane (often known simply as "Drury Lane"), which has survived into the 21st century - albeit in a new, larger building. Garrick part-owned and managed for nearly 30 years from 1747 until 1776.

Answer: Gloucester and Worcester

The Three Choirs Festival features classical choral music and dates back to the early 18th century. Traditionally the key performers are the choirs of the three cathedrals who rotate the honour of hosting the festival on an annual basis - Hereford Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral and Worcester Cathedral, which are all located relatively close together in the west of England. However, it also features orchestral music, recitals, exhibitions and classes.

Having been in existence for over three hundred years, the festival has been associated with some famous names from the history of classical music. Performances of Handel's 'Messiah' became traditional part of its programme in the 19th century and it has featured performances by Antonin Dvorak, Edward Elgar, Hubert Parry and Frederick Delius.

Answer: It was evacuated to the countryside at the start of WW2

The Royal National College for the Blind was founded in 1871 when an American anti-slavery activist named Francis Campbell realised his desire to set up a school for the blind that could teach skills designed to allow people with this type of disability to live independently. He was helped by the English philanthropist Thomas Armitage and the pair's new college opened at a site near London's Crystal Palace thanks to a range of charitable donations and the patronage of Queen Victoria and other members of the Royal Family. It later moved to a new site in the Upper Norwood area of London and remained there until the college's staff and students were evacuated to Kent and then on to Buckinghamshire at the start of the Second World War.

The college's London buildings were bombed in 1940, so the evacuation proved to have been a good idea. After the war, the college moved to a new home in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and then on to its site in Hereford in the late 1970s.

Answer: The Little Shop of Horrors

Frank Oz - full name Frank Richard Oznowicz - was born in Hereford to parents who had escaped Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. He wasn't a resident of the city for very long as the family moved to Belgium shortly afterwards and then on to the United States in 1951. His film career began from his background as a puppeteer (an occupation he shared with both his parents) and he came to prominence for his work on 'The Muppet Movie' alongside Jim Henson although he had previously worked on 'Sesame Street' and 'The Muppet Show'. He also voiced the 'Star Wars' character Yoda in 'The Empire Strikes Back' and later films.

The films he has directed have generally been comedic and in addition to 'Little Shop of Horrors' have included 1988's 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' starring Steve Martin and 2004's 'The Stepford Wives' with Nicole Kidman. 'Gremlins' was directed by Joe Dante, 'Beetlejuice' by Tim Burton and 'Arachnophobia' by Frank Marshall.

Answer: Owen Tudor

King Henry VII of England was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty and was the grandson of the Welsh courtier Owen Tudor and the Dowager Queen, Catherine of Valois - who was also the mother of the Lancastrian King Henry VI. As a commoner, Owen Tudor's relationship with and subsequent marriage to the widow of an English king was particularly scandalous and after her death he ended up in prison. However, after King Henry VI came of age and began to rule his own kingdom, he granted earldoms to his half-brothers Edmund and Jasper Tudor and trusted his stepfather to lead part of his army during the early stages of the civil war known as the Wars of the Roses.

Owen Tudor's forces were defeated by Edward, Duke of York (the future King Edward IV) at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross and he was captured. Tudor would have expected to have been held as a prisoner, but instead was taken to the centre of nearby Hereford and summarily beheaded. His dismembered head was then stuck up on the city's market cross as a symbol of the Lancastrian defeat.

Answer: Chained books

Chained libraries - where the books are literally chained to the shelves - were relatively common in the medieval period because books were rare and valuable possessions. Since most of the population didn't have the skills to read or write, public collections of books were often associated with religious institutions - particularly since many early hand-produced books were actually the work of monks. Chaining up the books allowed people to come in and read them, but ensured that the books could not moved very far from their shelves. Special wooden bookcases with built-in desk surfaces were built to both house the books (which had to be shelved with their spines facing inwards to prevent the chains from tangling) and allow space for people to lay them down and open them up.

Hereford Cathedral's chained library dates back to 1611 and is one of the few surviving examples with its shelving, chains and books still in place. However, most of the texts housed in it date from much earlier, with the oldest - an illuminated manuscript known as the 'Hereford Gospels' - believed to have been written in the late 8th century.

Answer: Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson gained the title of Earl of East Anglia after his sister Edith married King Edward the Confessor, Earl of Wessex on the death of his father, Godwin of Wessex and then Earl of Hereford in 1058. As Earl of Wessex he had control of a large swathe of southern England and he was one of Anglo-Saxon England's most powerful noblemen. In January 1066 he succeeded his brother-in-law as King of England - a position that he held for less than a year.

On September 25, 1066, Harold successfully defended his crown against a Norwegian invasion force at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. However, just three weeks later he was famously killed by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. The story that he died after being shot in the eye with an arrow is probably apocryphal though.