Kington, Herefordshire

Historical Description

Kington, a small market-town, a township, a parish, and the head of a poor-law union and county court district in, Herefordshire. The town stands on the river Arrow, amid steep wooded hills, 2¼ miles E of the boundary with Wales, 6½ E by S of Radnor, 7 S of Presteign, and 13½ W by S of Leominster. It has a station on the Leominster, King-ton, New Radnor, and Presteign branch of the G.W.R., at the terminus of the Kington and Eardisley branch. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office; had a castle for defence of the border against the Welsh, was visited by Charles II. immediately before the battle of Worcester, is a seat of petty sessions, consists chiefly of four well-formed. streets, and is much visited by strangers for the fishing and the picturesque scenery in its neighbourhood. It has a market-house, a free grammar school, a cottage hospital, a literary institute, and a workhouse. The church stands on an eminence, is Early and Decorated English, comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, and includes an ancient side chapel surmounted by handsome tower and spire, and containing a fine alabaster tomb to the memory of Thomas Vaughan. The grammar school adjoins the church, and was founded in 1632 by Lady Hawkins. A weekly market is held on Tuesday, and faira are held on the Tuesday before 2 Feb., second Tuesday in March, Tuesday before Easter, 11 May, first Tuesday in June, second Tuesday in July, third Tuesday in August, 18 and 19 Sept., Tuesday before 10 Oct., Tuesday before 13 Nov., and second Tuesday in Dec. Mailing, tanning, nailmak-ing, and iron-founding are carried on. The township contains the town, and is divided into New Kington and Old Kington. The parish contains also the townships of Upper and Lower Hergest, Lilwall, Pembers Oak, Chickward, Barton, Bradnor, and Rushock. Acreage, 8028; population, 2888. Bradnor HiU, immediately N of the town, is crowned by ancient remains, which have been regarded by some antiquaries as Druidical, by others as a link in a chain of forts along a considerable extent of frontier, by others as an ancient camp debatably British, Roman, or Saxon. The living is a vicarage, united with the rectory of Huntington, in the diocese of Hereford; joint net value, £244 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Worcester. There are Baptist, Wesleyan, and Primitive Methodist chapels, and a cemetery.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Kington from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Kington)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Herefordshire is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Kington are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Herefordshire newspapers online:

• Hereford Journal
• Hereford Times