Kington is a market town, electoral ward and also civil parish 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 stemmed from King's-ton, being Anglo-Saxon for "King's Town", comparable to various other nearby towns such as Presteigne meaning "Priest's Town" and also 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 ravaged. After the Norman Conquest Kington after that passed to the Crown on the failure of Roger de Breteuil, second Earl of Hereford in 1075. Before 1121 King Henry I gave Kington to Adam de Port, who founded a new Marcher barony in this part of the very early Welsh Marches. Kington seems to have actually been a silent barony as well as was associated with the workplace of sheriff of Hereford. In 1172, Adam de Port, probably the great-grandson of Henry Port, rebelled and ran away the nation. He returned in 1174 with a Scottish army, just to run away from the resulting Battle of Alnwick to the terrific mirth of the Norman court. With this his barony of Kington was taken by the Crown as well as came to be an appurtenance of the workplace of Sheriff of Hereford, lastly being provided to William de Braose, fourth Lord of Bramber in 1203 for £100. The castle then saw activity in the Braose Wars against King John of England and was likely to have been damaged by royal forces in August 1216. Within a few years a brand-new citadel was commenced as well as the nearby Huntington Castle and Kington Castle were deserted. All that remains of Kington Castle today is an excellent outcrop of rock covered by a few fragmentary earthworks. The old town clustered around the castle and also Norman church on top of a protective hill above the River Arrow. St Mary's church, positioned on greater ground over the community centre. 'Chingtune' was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, the name definition Kings Town or Manor, high up on the hill over the community where St. Mary's Church now stands. The brand-new Kington, called Kyneton in the Fields, was outlined in between 1175 and also 1230 ashore surrounding the River Arrow and potentially assigned as part of the Saxon open area system. Located on the direct route the drovers extracted from Hergest Ridge and with 8 yearly fairs, Kington expanded in significance as a market town as well as there is still a thriving animals market on Thursdays. The community keeps the middle ages 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 neighboring Hergest Court, slaughtered at the Battle of Banbury 1469, and his partner, Elen Gethin. The ghost of Sir Thomas, and also that of the Black Dog of Hergest are claimed to haunt the location around Hergest Ridge. The Black Dog's discovery reputedly presages death. It is additionally rumoured to have been the model for The Hound of the Baskervilles as Conan Doyle is known to have remained at close-by Hergest Hall shortly before he wrote the book.