Kington is a market town, electoral ward and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The ward had a population of 3,240, while the 2011 Census registered a population of 2,626.
Geography
Kington is from the border with Wales, and lies on the western side of Offa's Dyke. The town is in the shadow of Hergest Ridge, and on the River Arrow, where it is crossed by the A44 road. It is northwest of Hereford, the county town. Nearby towns include Presteigne, Builth Wells, Knighton and Leominster. The centre of the town is situated at above sea level. The civil parish covers an area of .
History
The name Kington is derived from 'King's-ton', being Anglo-Saxon for "King's Town", similar to other nearby towns such as Presteigne meaning "Priest's Town" and Knighton being "Knight's Town".
The land on which Kington is sited was held by Anglo-Saxons in 1066, but devastated. After the Norman Conquest Kington then passed to the Crown on the downfall in 1075 of Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford. Before 1121, King Henry I gave Kington to Adam de Port, who founded a new Marcher barony in this part of the early Welsh Marches. Kington seems to have been a quiet barony and was associated with the office of sheriff of Hereford. In 1172, Adam de Port, probably the great-grandson of Henry Port, rebelled and fled the country. He returned in 1174 with a Scottish army, only to flee from the resulting Battle of Alnwick to the great mirth of the Norman court. With this his barony of Kington was taken by the Crown and became an appurtenance of the office of Sheriff of Hereford, finally being granted to William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber in 1203 for £100. The castle then saw action in the Braose Wars against King John, and is likely to have been destroyed by royal forces in August 1216. Within a few years a new fortress was commenced and the nearby Huntington Castle and Kington Castle were abandoned. All that remains of Kington Castle today is a great outcrop of rock topped by a few fragmentary earthworks. The old town clustered around the castle and Norman church on top of a defensive hill above the River Arrow.
‘Chingtune' was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, the name meaning 'king's town or manor', high on the hill above the town where St. Mary's Church now stands. The new Kington, called Kyneton in the Fields, was laid out between 1175 and 1230 on land bordering the River Arrow and possibly designated as part of the Saxon open-field system.
Situated on the direct route the drovers took from Hergest Ridge and with eight annual fairs, Kington grew in importance as a market town, and there is still a thriving livestock market on Thursdays. The town retains the medieval grid pattern of streets and back lanes.
In the chapel of St. Mary's Church, there is the alabaster tomb of Sir Thomas Vaughan of nearby Hergest Court, slain at the Battle of Banbury in 1469, and his wife, Elen Gethin. The ghost of Sir Thomas, and also that of the Black Dog of Hergest, are said to haunt the area around Hergest Ridge. The Black Dog's sighting reputedly presages death. It is also rumoured to have been the prototype for The Hound of the Baskervilles as Conan Doyle is known to have stayed at nearby Hergest Hall shortly before he wrote the novel.
Governance
An electoral ward in the name of Kington Town exists, called the Herefordshire Council Research Team, for Kington Parish. This ward had a population taken at the Kington Parish of 3,240.
Population
Census data is as follows:
Climate
As with the rest of the UK, Kington benefits from a maritime climate, with limited seasonal temperature ranges, and generally moderate rainfall throughout the year. The nearest met office weather station is Lyonshall, around to the east of the town.
The absolute maximum temperature recorded is during August 1990. In an average year however, the warmest day should record , with a total of 7.7 days reporting a value of or above.
The absolute minimum temperature is , reported in December 1981. Typically 44 nights should record an air frost.
Rainfall averages around a year, with over falling on 136 days. All averages refer to the period 1971 to 2000.
Economy
In the 13th century the new medieval town was formed at the foot of the hill and became primarily a wool-trading market town on an important drovers' road. Its location and historic character is the reason why so many waymarked long-distance footpaths pass through Kington today, including the Mortimer Trail, the Herefordshire Trail and the Offa's Dyke Path. The Black and White Village Trail follows the half-timbered cottages and houses in local Herefordshire villages.