Hungerford

Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, north-east of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the River Dun, a major tributary of the River Kennet. The confluence with the Kennet is to the north of the centre whence canal and river both continue east. Amenities include schools, shops, cafés, restaurants, and facilities for the main national sports. railway station is a minor stop on the Reading to Taunton Line. Hungerford is derived from an Anglo-Saxon name meaning "ford leading to poor land". The town's symbol is the estoile and crescent moon. The place is not described in the Domesday Book of 1086 because four ancient manors each owned some property within Hungerford, a possession located at the extreme western edge of the royal manor of Kintbury, in the ancient hundred of Kintbury. The manor of Standen Hussey, described as Standen in Wiltshire in Domesday, was later in Hungerford parish. The land was granted to Robert de Beaumont. When he died in 1118, he passed his English estates, including Hungerford, to his son Robert and his heirs who encouraged the town's growth over the next 70 years. By 1241, Hungerford called itself a borough. In the late 14th century, John of Gaunt was lord of the manor and he granted the people the lucrative fishing rights on the River Kennet. The family of Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford originated in the town (c. 1450), although after three generations the title passed to Baroness Hungerford who married Sir Edward Hastings who became a Baron, and the family seat moved to Heytesbury, Wiltshire. In the 16th century, the parish of Hungerford was included in the formation of the hundred of Kintbury Eagle. During the Civil War, the Earl of Essex and his army spent the night here in June 1644. In October of the same year, the Earl of Manchester’s cavalry were quartered in the town. Then, in the November, Charles I’s forces arrived in Hungerford on their way to Abingdon.