20th Century

The Great War (1914-18) saw many local men enlist for military service. Sadly 10 of their number did not return. In 1919 a decision was made to build a Memorial Hall for community use in their honour. In 1924 the hall opened. It was an ex-army hospital Nissen hut without water or toilets. Water had to be brought up from the pump at the Farmers Arms by bucket. Eventually in the 1970’s toilets and a kitchen were installed.

In the 1920’s some of the village roads were tarmacked following considerable local pressure from the Parish Council. The remainder of the roads were not surfaced until the late 1940’s. In 1922 four council houses were built on the corner of Horse Road and Ledbury Road. They became known as Elm Tree Cottages.

In 1928 the Wellington Heath branch of the Women’s Institute was formed. By 1955 there were over 40 members. Peter Garnet gives a short history of the local Women's Institute in Chapter 11 of his book. The Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre also holds a 50 page scrapbook created by the local WI. Some images of the scrapbook are shown here.  The WI closed in the early 1980’s.

World War 2 saw a further 2 local soldiers die in action. Tablets in their honour sit alongside the WW1 tablets in the Church and Memorial Hall.

In 1951 mains water and electricity were installed in the village. Later in 1974 a new sewerage system was installed. Mains natural gas arrived in the village during the early 1990’s. The Government were encouraging local councils to build more council houses after the war and six further council houses were built in the 1950’s on the east side of The Common.

The period from 1970 to 1990 experienced a considerable increase in housing development in the village mainly on infill sites, although the population of the parish is actually less than in 1871 at 440 (2011 census).

In the late 1980’s a group of residents formed a fund-raising organisation called “Monkey Island” because of the nickname given to the workers on the viaduct in the 19th century who camped in the valley. They declared UDI on 1st January 1989 and issued passports to residents which are available to new residents at this exhibition. See Monkey Island Republic. 

Also in 1989 the first of four “Village Appraisals” or “Parish Plans” was published (the other three were published in 2000, 2006 and 2013). Following consultation with parish residents these “plans” were designed to improve the living experience within the parish. The 2006 Parish Plan can be seen on the Wellington Heath Parish Council Website 2006 Parish Plan. The 2013 plan can be seen here 

Memories of some residents going back to the middle of the century can be found here.