Kington
Kington is a market town, selecting ward as well as civil church in Herefordshire, England. According to the Parish, the ward had a population of 3,240 while the 2011 census had a population of 2,626. The name 'Kington' is originated from King's-heap, being Anglo-Saxon for "King's Community", comparable to various other nearby towns such as Presteigne meaning "Priest's Town" and Knighton being "Knight's Town". Kington is to the west of Offa's Dyke so probably this land was Welsh in the 8th century AD. The land was held by Anglo-Saxons in 1066, but devastated. After the Norman Conquest Kington after that passed to the Crown on the failure of Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford in 1075. Prior To 1121 King Henry I gave Kington to Adam de Port, who founded a brand-new Marcher barony in this part of the early Welsh Marches. Kington seems to have been a peaceful barony and also was connected with the office of sheriff of Hereford. In 1172, Adam de Port, most likely the great-grandson of Henry Port, rebelled as well as fled the country. He returned in 1174 with a Scottish military, just to flee from the resulting Battle of Alnwick to the wonderful mirth of the Norman court. With this his barony of Kington was taken by the Crown and also became an appurtenance of the workplace of Sheriff of Hereford, finally being granted to William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber in 1203 for £100. The castle after that saw activity in the Braose Wars against King John of England and was most likely to have actually been damaged by imperial forces in August 1216. Within a couple of years a new fortress was started and also the nearby Huntington Castle and Kington Castle were abandoned. All that continues to be of Kington Castle today is a fantastic outcrop of rock topped by a few fragmentary earthworks. The old town clustered around the castle as well as Norman church on top of a defensive hill above the River Arrow. St Mary's church, positioned on greater ground over the community centre. 'Chingtune' was recorded in the Domesday Publication in 1086, the name meaning Kings Town or Manor, high on capital over the town where St. Mary's Church now stands. The new Kington, called Kyneton in the Fields, was set out between 1175 and 1230 on land surrounding the River Arrow as well as possibly assigned as part of the Saxon open field system. Situated on the direct route the drovers extracted from Hergest Ridge and with 8 annual fairs, Kington grew in significance as a market town and there is still a growing livestock market on Thursdays. The town retains the medieval grid pattern of roads and back lanes. In the chapel of St. Mary's Church, there is the alabaster tomb of Sir Thomas Vaughan of nearby Hergest Court, slaughtered at the Battle of Banbury 1469, and his wife, Elen Gethin. The ghost of Sir Thomas, as well as likewise that of the Black Dog of Hergest are said to haunt the area around Hergest Ridge. The Black Dog's discovery reputedly presages fatality. It is additionally rumoured to have been the prototype for The Hound of the Baskervilles as Conan Doyle is understood to have remained at nearby Hergest Hall quickly before he wrote the novel.
