PLACE NAME
Wigmore Abbey, just outside the village of Wigmore, Herefordshire functioned as a home for Augustinian monks between 1179 – 1530. While its foundation was contemplated by local Lord, Ranulph de Mortimer during the reign of Henry I, it was brought to fruition by his son, Hugh de Mortimer some 75 years after his father’s death. It takes its name from the local area there, which has been inhabited since early times. It appears in records as Wigemore in 1086, Wiggemora in 1165 and comes from the Old English elements wicga, referring to an insect or beetle, and mōr, meaning marsh, probably meaning quaking marsh or something similar in reference to the yielding character of the landscape. One of the largest abbeys in the county it flourished up until its closure under the orders of Henry VIII during his cull of the monasteries. Like many of the roads on the St Helier’s estate this is named after British monasteries and abbeys in remembrance of the area’s historic ownership by Westminster Abbey. The road names are in alphabetical order, of which Aberconway Road in the north west of the estate is first.
