Kington
Kington is a market town, selecting ward as well as civil parish in Herefordshire, England. According to the Church, 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-load, being Anglo-Saxon for "King's Community", similar to various other close-by 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 most likely 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 then passed to the Crown on the downfall of Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford in 1075. Prior To 1121 King Henry I offered Kington to Adam de Port, who started a brand-new Marcher barony in this part of the early Welsh Marches. Kington seems to have been a silent barony and was related to the office of sheriff of Hereford. In 1172, Adam de Port, most likely the great-grandson of Henry Port, rebelled and ran away the nation. He returned in 1174 with a Scottish military, only to get away from the resulting Battle of Alnwick to the fantastic mirth of the Norman court. With this his barony of Kington was taken by the Crown and ended up being an appurtenance of the office of Sheriff of Hereford, finally being given to William de Braose, fourth Lord of Bramber in 1203 for £100. The castle then saw action in the Braose Wars versus King John of England and was most likely to have actually been damaged by royal forces in August 1216. Within a few years a brand-new fortress was begun as well as the neighboring Huntington Castle as well as Kington Castle were abandoned. All that continues to be of Kington Castle today is a great outcrop of rock covered by a few fragmentary earthworks. The old town gathered around the castle and Norman church in addition to a protective hillside above the River Arrow. St Mary's church, positioned on higher ground above the town centre. 'Chingtune' was recorded in the Domesday Book 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 outlined between 1175 and also 1230 on land surrounding the River Arrow and potentially designated as part of the Saxon open field system. Positioned on the direct route the drovers drew from Hergest Ridge and also with eight yearly fairs, Kington expanded in importance as a market community and also there is still a growing animals market on Thursdays. The town keeps the middle ages grid pattern of streets as well as back lanes. In the chapel of St. Mary's Church, there is the alabaster burial place of Sir Thomas Vaughan of nearby Hergest Court, slaughtered at the Battle of Banbury 1469, and his partner, Elen Gethin. The ghost of Sir Thomas, as well as likewise that of the Black Dog of Hergest are claimed to haunt the area around Hergest Ridge. The Black Dog's discovery reputedly presages death. It is also 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 shortly prior to he composed the story.
