Hereford, United Kingdom

Hereford was home to a small but relatively important Jewish community until 1290, when Jews were expelled from England by Edward I. Jews from Worcester and Gloucester moved to Hereford after their expulsion in January 1275 by the Queen mother, Eleanor of Provence. The Bishops of Hereford campaigned against the presence of the community, including Cantilupe, and Richard Swinefield, who tried to stop social contact between Christians and Jews.

The city gave its name (translated to French) to two suburbs of Paris: Maisons-Alfort (population 54,600) and Alfortville (population 36,232), due to a manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford, in the middle of the 13th century.

A base for successive holders of the title Earl of Hereford, the city was once the site of Hereford Castle, which rivalled that of Windsor in size and scale. This was a base for repelling Welsh attacks and a secure stronghold for English kings, such as King Henry IV when on campaign in the Welsh Marches against Owain Glyndŵr. The castle was dismantled in the 18th century and landscaped into Castle Green.

After the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461, during the Wars of the Roses, the defeated Lancastrian leader Owen Tudor (grandfather of the future Henry VII of England) was taken to Hereford by Sir Roger Vaughan and executed in High Town. A plaque now marks the spot of the execution. Vaughan was later himself executed, under a flag of truce, by Owen's son Jasper.

During the English Civil War, the city changed hands several times. On 30 September 1642, Parliamentarians led by Sir Robert Harley and Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford occupied the city without opposition. In December they withdrew to Gloucester because of the presence in the area of a Royalist army under Lord Herbert. The city was again occupied briefly from 23 April to 18 May 1643 by Parliamentarians commanded by Sir William Waller, but it was in 1645 that the city saw most action. On 31 July 1645, a Scottish army of 14,000 under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the city but met stiff resistance from its garrison and inhabitants. They withdrew on 1 September when they received news that a force led by King Charles was approaching. The city was finally taken for Parliament on 18 December 1645 by Colonel Birch and Colonel Morgan. King Charles showed his gratitude to the city of Hereford on 16 September 1645 by augmenting the city's coat of arms with the three lions of Richard I of England, ten Scottish Saltires signifying the ten defeated Scottish regiments, a very rare lion crest on top of the coat of arms signifying "defender of the faith" and the even rarer gold-barred peer's helm, found only on the arms of one other municipal authority: those of the City of London.

Nell Gwynne, actress and mistress of King Charles II, is said to have been born in Hereford in 1650 (although other towns and cities, notably Oxford, claim her as their own); Gwynn Street is named after her. Another famous actor born in Hereford is David Garrick (1717–1779).

The Bishop's Palace next to the cathedral was built in 1204 and is still in use today. Hereford Cathedral School is one of the oldest schools in England. The Harold Street Barracks were completed in 1856.

During World War I in 1916, a fire at the Garrick Theatre killed eight young girls who had been performing at a charity concert.