Kington is a market community, selecting ward and 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 stemmed from King's-ton, being Anglo-Saxon for "King's Town", comparable to other nearby communities such as Presteigne meaning "Priest's Town" as well as 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, yet devastated. After the Norman Conquest Kington then passed to the Crown on the downfall of Roger de Breteuil, second Earl of Hereford in 1075. Before 1121 King Henry I provided Kington to Adam de Port, who established a brand-new Marcher barony in this part of the very early Welsh Marches. Kington appears to have been a silent barony and also was related to the workplace of sheriff of Hereford. In 1172, Adam de Port, most likely the great-grandson of Henry Port, rebelled and left the country. He returned in 1174 with a Scottish military, only to flee 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 and also ended up being an appurtenance of the office of Sheriff of Hereford, lastly being approved to William de Braose, fourth Lord of Bramber in 1203 for £100. The castle then saw activity in the Braose Wars versus King John of England and was most likely to have actually been destroyed by imperial forces in August 1216. Within a few years a brand-new fortress was commenced and also the neighboring 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 in addition to a protective hill above the River Arrow. St Mary's church, situated on greater ground over the community centre. 'Chingtune' was recorded in the Domesday Publication in 1086, the name definition Kings Town or Manor, high on capital above the community where St. Mary's Church now stands. The brand-new Kington, called Kyneton in the Fields, was set out in between 1175 and also 1230 ashore bordering the River Arrow and perhaps assigned as part of the Saxon open area system. Situated on the direct route the drovers took from Hergest Ridge and with eight annual fairs, Kington grew in relevance as a market community and also there is still a thriving animals market on Thursdays. The town preserves the middle ages grid pattern of roads and back lanes. In the chapel of St. Mary's Church, there is the alabaster burial place of Sir Thomas Vaughan of neighboring Hergest Court, slain at the Battle of Banbury 1469, as well as his other half, Elen Gethin. The ghost of Sir Thomas, and additionally that of the Black Dog of Hergest are stated to haunt the area around Hergest Ridge. The Black Dog's discovery reputedly presages fatality. It is additionally rumoured to have been the model for The Hound of the Baskervilles as Conan Doyle is understood to have stayed at close-by Hergest Hall quickly before he created the book.
