In 1868 Cradley was described as a parish in the hundred of Radlow, in the county of Hereford, 6½ miles S.E. of Bromyard, and 7 N.E. of Ledbury. Part of the land is in hops. The parish church, dedicated to St. James, is partly in the Norman and partly in the early English styles. There is also a district church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist.