diff --git a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/POIXMLDocumentPart.java b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/POIXMLDocumentPart.java
index 6fccf1cb5..0aeba7450 100755
--- a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/POIXMLDocumentPart.java
+++ b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/POIXMLDocumentPart.java
@@ -190,11 +190,11 @@ public class POIXMLDocumentPart {
      * @param factory the factory that will create an instance of the requested relation
      * @return the created child POIXMLDocumentPart
      */
-    protected final POIXMLDocumentPart createRelationship(POIXMLRelation descriptor, POIXMLFactory factory){
+    public final POIXMLDocumentPart createRelationship(POIXMLRelation descriptor, POIXMLFactory factory){
         return createRelationship(descriptor, factory, -1, false);
     }
 
-    protected final POIXMLDocumentPart createRelationship(POIXMLRelation descriptor, POIXMLFactory factory, int idx){
+    public final POIXMLDocumentPart createRelationship(POIXMLRelation descriptor, POIXMLFactory factory, int idx){
         return createRelationship(descriptor, factory, idx, false);
     }
 
@@ -209,11 +209,9 @@ public class POIXMLDocumentPart {
      */
     protected final POIXMLDocumentPart createRelationship(POIXMLRelation descriptor, POIXMLFactory factory, int idx, boolean noRelation){
         try {
-
             PackagePartName ppName = PackagingURIHelper.createPartName(descriptor.getFileName(idx));
             PackageRelationship rel = null;
             if(!noRelation) rel = packagePart.addRelationship(ppName, TargetMode.INTERNAL, descriptor.getRelation());
-
             PackagePart part = packagePart.getPackage().createPart(ppName, descriptor.getContentType());
             POIXMLDocumentPart doc = factory.newDocumentPart(descriptor);
             doc.packageRel = rel;
diff --git a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/model/XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy.java b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/model/XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy.java
index 3657c1fa6..c73d4ed6f 100644
--- a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/model/XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy.java
+++ b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/model/XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy.java
@@ -17,17 +17,31 @@
 package org.apache.poi.xwpf.model;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.OutputStream;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
+import org.apache.poi.POIXMLDocumentPart;
+import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackagePart;
 import org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel.XWPFDocument;
+import org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel.XWPFFactory;
 import org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel.XWPFFooter;
 import org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel.XWPFHeader;
+import org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel.XWPFHeaderFooter;
+import org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel.XWPFRelation;
 import org.apache.xmlbeans.XmlException;
-import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackagePart;
+import org.apache.xmlbeans.XmlOptions;
+import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTHdrFtr;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTHdrFtrRef;
+import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTP;
+import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTPPr;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTSectPr;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.FtrDocument;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.HdrDocument;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.STHdrFtr;
+import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.STHdrFtr.Enum;
 
 /**
  * A .docx file can have no headers/footers, the same header/footer
@@ -37,6 +51,12 @@ import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.STHdrFtr;
  *  the right headers and footers for the document.
  */
 public class XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy {
+	public static final Enum DEFAULT = STHdrFtr.DEFAULT;
+	public static final Enum EVEN = STHdrFtr.EVEN;
+	public static final Enum FIRST = STHdrFtr.FIRST;
+
+	private XWPFDocument doc;
+	
 	private XWPFHeader firstPageHeader;
 	private XWPFFooter firstPageFooter;
 	
@@ -57,23 +77,19 @@ public class XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy {
 		// For now, we don't care about different ranges, as it
 		//  doesn't seem that .docx properly supports that
 		//  feature of the file format yet
+		this.doc = doc;
 		CTSectPr sectPr = doc.getDocument().getBody().getSectPr();
 		for(int i=0; i<sectPr.sizeOfHeaderReferenceArray(); i++) {
 			// Get the header
 			CTHdrFtrRef ref = sectPr.getHeaderReferenceArray(i);
 			PackagePart hdrPart = doc.getPartById(ref.getId());
-			XWPFHeader hdr = new XWPFHeader(
-					HdrDocument.Factory.parse(hdrPart.getInputStream()).getHdr()
-			);
+			HdrDocument hdrDoc = HdrDocument.Factory.parse(hdrPart.getInputStream());
+			CTHdrFtr hdrFtr = hdrDoc.getHdr();
+			XWPFHeader hdr = new XWPFHeader(hdrFtr);
 
 			// Assign it
-			if(ref.getType() == STHdrFtr.FIRST) {
-				firstPageHeader = hdr;
-			} else if(ref.getType() == STHdrFtr.EVEN) {
-				evenPageHeader = hdr;
-			} else {
-				defaultHeader = hdr;
-			}
+			Enum type = ref.getType();
+			assignHeader(hdr, type);
 		}
 		for(int i=0; i<sectPr.sizeOfFooterReferenceArray(); i++) {
 			// Get the footer
@@ -84,16 +100,145 @@ public class XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy {
 			);
 
 			// Assign it
-			if(ref.getType() == STHdrFtr.FIRST) {
-				firstPageFooter = ftr;
-			} else if(ref.getType() == STHdrFtr.EVEN) {
-				evenPageFooter = ftr;
-			} else {
-				defaultFooter = ftr;
-			}
+			Enum type = ref.getType();
+			assignFooter(ftr, type);
 		}
 	}
 
+
+	private void assignFooter(XWPFFooter ftr, Enum type) {
+		if(type == STHdrFtr.FIRST) {
+			firstPageFooter = ftr;
+		} else if(type == STHdrFtr.EVEN) {
+			evenPageFooter = ftr;
+		} else {
+			defaultFooter = ftr;
+		}
+	}
+
+
+	private void assignHeader(XWPFHeader hdr, Enum type) {
+		if(type == STHdrFtr.FIRST) {
+			firstPageHeader = hdr;
+		} else if(type == STHdrFtr.EVEN) {
+			evenPageHeader = hdr;
+		} else {
+			defaultHeader = hdr;
+		}
+	}
+
+    
+    public XWPFHeader createHeader(Enum type) throws IOException {
+    	XWPFRelation relation = XWPFRelation.HEADER;
+    	String pStyle = "Header";
+    	int i = getRelationIndex(relation);
+    	HdrDocument hdrDoc = HdrDocument.Factory.newInstance();
+    	XWPFHeader wrapper = (XWPFHeader)doc.createRelationship(relation, XWPFFactory.getInstance(), i);
+
+    	CTHdrFtr hdr = buildHdr(type, pStyle, wrapper);
+    	
+    	OutputStream outputStream = wrapper.getPackagePart().getOutputStream();
+    	hdrDoc.setHdr(hdr);
+    	
+        XmlOptions xmlOptions = commit(wrapper);
+
+    	assignHeader(wrapper, type);
+		hdrDoc.save(outputStream, xmlOptions);
+		outputStream.close();
+    	return wrapper;
+    }
+
+    
+    public XWPFFooter createFooter(Enum type) throws IOException {
+    	XWPFRelation relation = XWPFRelation.FOOTER;
+    	String pStyle = "Footer";
+    	int i = getRelationIndex(relation);
+    	FtrDocument ftrDoc = FtrDocument.Factory.newInstance();
+    	XWPFFooter wrapper = (XWPFFooter)doc.createRelationship(relation, XWPFFactory.getInstance(), i);
+
+    	CTHdrFtr ftr = buildFtr(type, pStyle, wrapper);
+    	
+    	OutputStream outputStream = wrapper.getPackagePart().getOutputStream();
+    	ftrDoc.setFtr(ftr);
+    	
+        XmlOptions xmlOptions = commit(wrapper);
+
+    	assignFooter(wrapper, type);
+		ftrDoc.save(outputStream, xmlOptions);
+		outputStream.close();
+    	return wrapper;
+    }
+
+
+	private int getRelationIndex(XWPFRelation relation) {
+		List<POIXMLDocumentPart> relations = doc.getRelations();
+    	int i = 1;
+		for (Iterator<POIXMLDocumentPart> it = relations.iterator(); it.hasNext() ; ) {
+    		POIXMLDocumentPart item = it.next();
+    		if (item.getPackageRelationship().getRelationshipType().equals(relation.getRelation())) {
+    			i++;	
+    		}
+    	}
+		return i;
+	}
+
+
+	private CTHdrFtr buildFtr(Enum type, String pStyle, XWPFHeaderFooter wrapper) {
+		CTHdrFtr ftr = buildHdrFtr(pStyle);
+    	setFooterReference(type, wrapper);
+		return ftr;
+	}
+
+
+	private CTHdrFtr buildHdr(Enum type, String pStyle, XWPFHeaderFooter wrapper) {
+		CTHdrFtr hdr = buildHdrFtr(pStyle);
+    	setHeaderReference(type, wrapper);
+		return hdr;
+	}
+
+
+	private CTHdrFtr buildHdrFtr(String pStyle) {
+		CTHdrFtr ftr = CTHdrFtr.Factory.newInstance();
+		CTP p = ftr.addNewP();
+		byte[] rsidr = doc.getDocument().getBody().getPArray()[0].getRsidR();
+		byte[] rsidrdefault = doc.getDocument().getBody().getPArray()[0].getRsidRDefault();
+		p.setRsidP(rsidr);
+		p.setRsidRDefault(rsidrdefault);
+		CTPPr pPr = p.addNewPPr();
+		pPr.addNewPStyle().setVal(pStyle);
+		return ftr;
+	}
+
+
+	private void setFooterReference(Enum type, XWPFHeaderFooter wrapper) {
+		CTHdrFtrRef ref = doc.getDocument().getBody().getSectPr().addNewFooterReference();
+    	ref.setType(type);
+    	ref.setId(wrapper.getPackageRelationship().getId());
+	}
+
+
+	private void setHeaderReference(Enum type, XWPFHeaderFooter wrapper) {
+		CTHdrFtrRef ref = doc.getDocument().getBody().getSectPr().addNewHeaderReference();
+    	ref.setType(type);
+    	ref.setId(wrapper.getPackageRelationship().getId());
+	}
+
+
+	private XmlOptions commit(XWPFHeaderFooter wrapper) {
+		XmlOptions xmlOptions = new XmlOptions(wrapper.DEFAULT_XML_OPTIONS);
+        Map map = new HashMap();
+        map.put("http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/math", "m");
+        map.put("urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office", "o");
+        map.put("http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships", "r");
+        map.put("urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml", "v");
+        map.put("http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006", "ve");
+        map.put("http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main", "w");
+        map.put("urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word", "w10");
+        map.put("http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2006/wordml", "wne");
+        map.put("http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/drawingml/2006/wordprocessingDrawing", "wp");
+        xmlOptions.setSaveSuggestedPrefixes(map);
+		return xmlOptions;
+	}
 	
 	public XWPFHeader getFirstPageHeader() {
 		return firstPageHeader;
diff --git a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFFooter.java b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFFooter.java
index 7131cceb8..e0b4ed9a2 100644
--- a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFFooter.java
+++ b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFFooter.java
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@
 ==================================================================== */
 package org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackagePart;
+import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackageRelationship;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTHdrFtr;
 
 /**
@@ -28,5 +32,9 @@ public class XWPFFooter extends XWPFHeaderFooter {
 	public XWPFFooter(CTHdrFtr hdrFtr) {
 		super(hdrFtr);
 	}
+
+	public XWPFFooter(PackagePart part, PackageRelationship rel) throws IOException {
+		super(part, rel);
+	}
 	
 }
diff --git a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeader.java b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeader.java
index 971b403cb..69dc84dec 100644
--- a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeader.java
+++ b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeader.java
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@
 ==================================================================== */
 package org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackagePart;
+import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackageRelationship;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTHdrFtr;
 
 /**
@@ -28,5 +32,9 @@ public class XWPFHeader extends XWPFHeaderFooter {
 	public XWPFHeader(CTHdrFtr hdrFtr) {
 		super(hdrFtr);
 	}
+
+	public XWPFHeader(PackagePart part, PackageRelationship rel) throws IOException {
+		super(part, rel);
+	}
 	
 }
diff --git a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeaderFooter.java b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeaderFooter.java
index 3c84bf228..1481697d0 100644
--- a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeaderFooter.java
+++ b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFHeaderFooter.java
@@ -16,12 +16,17 @@
 ==================================================================== */
 package org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import org.apache.poi.POIXMLDocumentPart;
+import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackagePart;
+import org.apache.poi.openxml4j.opc.PackageRelationship;
 import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTHdrFtr;
 
 /**
  * Parent of XWPF headers and footers
  */
-public abstract class XWPFHeaderFooter {
+public abstract class XWPFHeaderFooter extends POIXMLDocumentPart{
 	protected CTHdrFtr headerFooter;
 	
 	protected XWPFHeaderFooter(CTHdrFtr hdrFtr) {
@@ -30,6 +35,10 @@ public abstract class XWPFHeaderFooter {
 	protected XWPFHeaderFooter() {
 		headerFooter = CTHdrFtr.Factory.newInstance();
 	}
+
+	public XWPFHeaderFooter(PackagePart part, PackageRelationship rel) throws IOException {
+		super(part, rel);
+	}
 	
 	public CTHdrFtr _getHdrFtr() {
 		return headerFooter;
diff --git a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFRelation.java b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFRelation.java
index d28915e35..13c12c61b 100755
--- a/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFRelation.java
+++ b/src/ooxml/java/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/XWPFRelation.java
@@ -86,13 +86,13 @@ public final class XWPFRelation extends POIXMLRelation {
             "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.header+xml",
             "http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/header",
             "/word/header#.xml",
-            null
+            XWPFHeader.class
     );
     public static final XWPFRelation FOOTER = new XWPFRelation(
             "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.footer+xml",
             "http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/footer",
             "/word/footer#.xml",
-            null
+            XWPFFooter.class
     );
     public static final XWPFRelation HYPERLINK = new XWPFRelation(
             null,
diff --git a/src/ooxml/testcases/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/TestXWPFHeader.java b/src/ooxml/testcases/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/TestXWPFHeader.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..61081062e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ooxml/testcases/org/apache/poi/xwpf/usermodel/TestXWPFHeader.java
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/* ====================================================================
+   Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+   contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+   this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+   The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+   (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+   the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+   limitations under the License.
+==================================================================== */
+package org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import junit.framework.TestCase;
+
+import org.apache.poi.POIXMLDocument;
+import org.apache.poi.xwpf.model.XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy;
+import org.openxmlformats.schemas.wordprocessingml.x2006.main.CTHdrFtr;
+
+public class TestXWPFHeader extends TestCase {
+	
+	public void testSimpleHeader() throws IOException {
+		File sampleFile = new File(
+				System.getProperty("HWPF.testdata.path") +
+				File.separator + "headerFooter.docx"
+		);
+		assertTrue(sampleFile.exists());
+		XWPFDocument sampleDoc;
+		sampleDoc = new XWPFDocument(
+				POIXMLDocument.openPackage(sampleFile.toString())
+		);
+		
+		XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy policy = sampleDoc.getHeaderFooterPolicy();
+		
+		
+		XWPFHeader header = policy.getDefaultHeader();
+		XWPFFooter footer = policy.getDefaultFooter();
+		assertNotNull(header);
+		assertNotNull(footer);
+		
+		// TODO verify if the following is correct
+		assertNull(header.toString());
+		
+	}
+	
+	public void testSetHeader() throws IOException {
+		File sampleFile = new File(
+				System.getProperty("HWPF.testdata.path") +
+				File.separator + "sampleDoc.docx"
+		);
+		assertTrue(sampleFile.exists());
+		XWPFDocument sampleDoc;
+		sampleDoc = new XWPFDocument(
+				POIXMLDocument.openPackage(sampleFile.toString())
+		);
+		// no header is set (yet)
+		XWPFHeaderFooterPolicy policy = sampleDoc.getHeaderFooterPolicy();
+		assertNull(policy.getDefaultHeader());
+		// set a default header and test it is not null
+		policy.createHeader(policy.DEFAULT);
+		policy.createHeader(policy.FIRST);
+		policy.createFooter(policy.DEFAULT);
+		
+		assertNotNull(policy.getDefaultHeader());
+		assertNotNull(policy.getFirstPageHeader());
+		assertNotNull(policy.getDefaultFooter());
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/src/scratchpad/testcases/org/apache/poi/hwpf/data/headerFooter.docx b/src/scratchpad/testcases/org/apache/poi/hwpf/data/headerFooter.docx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..87a86c302
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/scratchpad/testcases/org/apache/poi/hwpf/data/headerFooter.docx differ