Much Marcle

Coordinates: 51°59′30″N 2°29′58″W / 51.99169°N 2.49948°W / 51.99169; -2.49948

Much Marcle is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, between Ross-on-Wye and Ledbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 660. The name Marcle comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for a boundary field, mearc-leah.Much, in this case, means large or great, from the Middle English usage of the word.

Historic village

The Church of England parish church of St Bartholomew is 13th-century with historic carvings and an ancient 'hollow' yew tree thought to be at least 1500 years old. The church contains the tomb of Blanche Mortimer, of the dynasty of Marcher Lords, the Mortimers; the tomb bears the Mortimer coat of arms. She married Peter de Grandison.

The Kyrle Tomb is located in the centre of the chapel of Much Marcle Church. The recumbent effigies are that of Sir John Kyrle of nearby Homme House and his wife Sybil Scudamore. Sir John was born in 1568 and served as High Sheriff of the county in 1609. He was created a baronet in 1627. Later he protested against the payment of Ship Money, and in the English Civil War his sympathies lay with the Parliamentarians. He died in 1650.