In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Kington like this:
KINGTON, a small town, a township, a parish, and a sub-district, in the district of Presteigne and county of Hereford. The town stands on the river Arrow, at the terminus of the Leominster and Kington railway, amid a zone of steep wooded hills, 2½ miles E of the boundary with Wales, and 13 W by S of Leominster; had a castle for defence of the borders against the Welsh; was visited by Charles II., immediately before the battle of Worcester; had a barn theatre in which Mrs. ...
Siddons made her first appearance on any stage; is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, and a polling place; consists chiefly of four well formed streets; presents a modern, clean, and respectable appearance; is much visited by strangers, for the sporting waters and the picturesque scenery in its neighbourhood; and has a head post office, ‡ a railway station, two banking offices, a chief inn, a market house, a police station, a church, three dissenting chapels, a free grammar school, national schools, a workhouse, and charities about £100. The church stands on an eminence; is in the early English style; comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, with about 1, 200 sittings; and includes an ancient side chapel, surmounted by handsome tower and spire, and containing a fine alabaster tomb to the memory of Thomas Vaughan, Esq. The grammar school adjoins the church; was founded, in 1619, by Lady Hawkins; and has an endowed income of £225. A weekly market is held on Wednesday; and fairs are held on the Wednesday before 2 Feb., EasterWednesday, Whit-Monday, 2 Aug., 19 Sept., 11 Oct., and 25 Dec. Woollen cloth manufacture was formerly prominent, but is extinct; glove making also was important, but has much declined; and malting, tanning, nailmaking, and iron founding are now carried on.-The township contains the town; and is divided into New K. and Old K. Real property of New K., £7, 827, -of which £314 are on the railway, and £125 in gas works; of Old K., £1, 435. Pop. of the whole, in 1851, 1, 939; in 1861, 2, 178. Houses, 437.—The parish contains also the township of Both-Hergests, the t. of Lilwall, PembersOak, and Chickward, and the t. of Barton, Bradnor, and Rushock. Acres, 8, 313. Real property, £15, 585. Pop., 3, 076. Houses, 632. Bradnor Hill, immediately N of the town, is crowned by ancient remains, which have been regarded, by some antiquaries, as Drnidical; by others, as a link in a chain of forts along a considerable extent of frontier; by others, as an ancient camp debateably British, Roman, or Saxon. The living is a vicarage, united with the rectory of Hunnington, in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £520. * Patron, the Bishop of Worcester.—The sub-district contains also four other parishes. Acres, 24, 849. Pop., 6, 296. Houses, 1, 308.
Kington through time
Kington is now part of Herefordshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how Herefordshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Kington itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Kington in Herefordshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/241
Date accessed: 23rd April 2024
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