Hungerford - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For other uses, see: Hungerford (disambiguation)
Hungerford (disambiguation)
-People:*Anne Bassett Hungerford, mistress of Henry VIII*Thomas Hungerford, First recorded Speaker of the House of Commons *Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford, Speaker of the House of Commons...

Hungerford is a market town

Market town

Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

and civil parish in Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, 9 miles (14.5 km) west of Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...

. It covers an area of 5372 acres (22 km²) and, according to the 2001 census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

, has a population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

of 5,559 (2006 estimated at 6,789).

Geography

Hungerford is on the River Dun in the Kennet

River Kennet

The Kennet is a river in the south of England, and a tributary of the River Thames. The lower reaches of the river are navigable to river craft and are known as the Kennet Navigation, which, together with the Avon Navigation, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames, links the cities of Bristol...

Valley at . It is the westernmost town in Berkshire, situated on the border with Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, and lies within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

North Wessex Downs AONB

The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire...

. The highest point in the entire South East England

South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...

region is the 297 m (974 ft) summit of Walbury Hill

Walbury Hill

Walbury Hill is the highest point in the traditional county of Berkshire in the UK at above sea level. It is also the highest point in the South East of England, West Berkshire being a constituent part of the South East of England...

, situated only 4 miles (7 km) from the town. The Kennet and Avon Canal

Kennet and Avon Canal

The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...

separates Hungerford from what might be described as the town's only suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

, the hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

of Eddington.

The town marks the border of the South East England

South East England

and South West England

South West England

South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...

regions (it is situated only 3 km within South East England), being some 68 miles (109 km) west of central London

Central London

Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

and 55 miles (88 km) east of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

on the A4 national trunk route. It is almost equidistant from the towns of Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

and Marlborough, and lies 2.5 miles (4 km) south of junction 14 of the M4 motorway

M4 motorway

The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...

.

The parish was formerly divided into four tithings : Hungerford or Town, Sanden Fee, Eddington with Hidden and Newtown and Charnham Street. North and South Standen and Charnham Street were always officially detached parts of Wiltshire

Wiltshire

until transferred to Berkshire in 1895. Leverton and Calcot were transferred to Hungerford parish from Chilton Foliat

Chilton Foliat

Chilton Foliat is a village and civil parish on the River Kennet in Wiltshire. The parish is in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is on the county boundary with West Berkshire and is about northwest of the Berkshire market town of Hungerford.-Parish church:The Church of...

in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

in 1895. All the land south of the Kennet was formerly included in Savernake Forest

Savernake Forest

Savernake Forest is on a Cretaceous chalk plateau between Marlborough and Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Its area is approximately .It is privately owned by the Trustees of Savernake Estate, the Earl of Cardigan, and his family solicitor. Since 1939 the running of the forest has been...

Nearby places

Towns: Marlborough, Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

, Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

, Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

, Lambourn

Lambourn

Lambourn is a large village and civil parish in the northwestern part of the ceremonial county of Berkshire in England. Its metropolitan district has a population of 4,017, and is most noted for its associations with British National Hunt racehorse training....

.

Villages: Chilton Foliat

Chilton Foliat

, Great Shefford

Great Shefford

Great Shefford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire.-Topography and history:The parish is in the district of West Berkshire, on the River Lambourn. The modern civil parish includes the historical parish of Little or East Shefford, a small hamlet and lost settlement...

, Kintbury

Kintbury

Kintbury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, between the towns of Newbury and Hungerford.-Amenities:In Kintbury there is the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary, Church of England primary school, post office, corner shop, and a butcher...

, Little Bedwyn

Little Bedwyn

Little Bedwyn is a village and civil parish on the River Dun in Wiltshire, about south-west of the market town of Hungerford in neighbouring Berkshire....

, Froxfield

Froxfield

Froxfield is a village and civil parish in English county of Wiltshire. The village is about west of the market town of Hungerford in West Berkshire, and Froxfield's eastern parish boundary forms part of the county boundary between Wiltshire and Berkshire....

, Ramsbury

Ramsbury

Ramsbury is a village in Ramsbury and Axford civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The village is in the Kennet Valley near the Berkshire boundary. The nearest towns are Hungerford about east and Marlborough about west. The much larger town of Swindon is about to the north.The civil...

, Shalbourne

Shalbourne

Shalbourne is a civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. Besides a village of the same name, the parish includes a number of widely spaced small settlements, including Bagshot and Stype, to the north, and Rivar and Oxenwood to the south...

, Stockcross

Stockcross

Stockcross is a village in Berkshire, England.The village lies to the west of Newbury in the district of West Berkshire. Close to the cross-road in the middle of the village were the stocks hence the name Stock-Cross, which were removed in the early 1980s....

, Ham

Ham, Wiltshire

Ham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. In the Census 2001, the parish had a population of 152.- Location :Position: Nearby towns and cities: Hungerford, Marlborough, Newbury...

, Inkpen

Inkpen

Inkpen is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire about southeast of Hungerford, close to the county boundaries with Wiltshire and Hampshire.-Amenities and landmarks:...

, Aldbourne

Aldbourne

Aldbourne is a village and civil parish about northeast of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England. It is in a valley in the south slope of the Lambourn Downs, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

,
Burbage

Burbage, Wiltshire

Burbage is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. It is about south of Marlborough and west of Newbury.-Local government:...

, Hungerford Newtown

Hungerford Newtown

Hungerford Newtown is a small village in Berkshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Hungerford.The settlement lies south of the M4 motorway and approximately north-east of Hungerford.-External links:...

.

Places of interest: Crofton Pumping Station

Crofton Pumping Station

Crofton Pumping Station is a pumping station near the village of Great Bedwyn in the English county of Wiltshire: it supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water....

, Wilton Windmill

Wilton Windmill

The Wilton Windmill is a five floor brick tower mill located on a chalk ridge between the villages of Wilton and Great Bedwyn in the southern English county of Wiltshire.-History:...

, Littlecote House

Littlecote House

Littlecote House is a large Elizabethan country house and estate in the civil parishes of Ramsbury and Chilton Foliat in the English county of Wiltshire near to Hungerford. The estate includes 34 hectares of historic parklands and gardens, including a walled garden from the 17th and 18th centuries...

, Freeman's Marsh

Freeman's Marsh

Freeman's Marsh is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the civil parish of Hungerford in the English county of Berkshire.Located at , the site consists of unimproved meadows, marsh and reedbed. It is an important site for overwintering, migratory and breeding birds and supports many varieties...

, Walbury Hill

Walbury Hill

Communications

Hungerford is situated on several transport routes, of both historic and current importance, including the M4 motorway

M4 motorway

(junction 14), the Old Bath Road (A4), and the Kennet and Avon Canal

Kennet and Avon Canal

(opened 1811). It also has a railway station

Hungerford railway station

Hungerford railway station is a railway station in the town of Hungerford, Berkshire, England. First Great Western trains serve the station.-History:...

on the Reading to Taunton line

Reading to Taunton line

The Reading to Taunton line also known as the Berks and Hants is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line that diverges at Reading, running to Cogload Junction near Taunton, where it joins the Bristol to Exeter line....

; a reasonable rail service to Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

, Reading

Reading, Berkshire

and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

means that the Hungerford has developed into something of a dormitory town which has been slowly expanding since the 1980s. Many residents commute to nearby towns such as Newbury, Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

, Marlborough, Thatcham

Thatcham

Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England 3 miles east of Newbury and 15 miles west of Reading. It covers about and has a population of 23,000 people . This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961.It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon...

and Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Government

Hungerford is a civil parish, covering the town of Hungerford and a surrounding rural area, including the small village of Hungerford Newtown

Hungerford Newtown

. The parish shares boundaries with the Berkshire parishes of Lambourn

Lambourn

, East Garston

East Garston

East Garston is a village and civil parish on the River Lambourn, about north of Hungerford in West Berkshire. The river flows through the village, dividing many houses from the main road, so that each has a bridge over the river to the front door....

, Great Shefford

Great Shefford

, Kintbury

Kintbury

and Inkpen

Inkpen

Inkpen is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire about southeast of Hungerford, close to the county boundaries with Wiltshire and Hampshire.-Amenities and landmarks:...

, and with the Wiltshire

Wiltshire

parishes of Shalbourne

Shalbourne

, Froxfield

Froxfield

, Ramsbury

Ramsbury

and Chilton Foliat

Chilton Foliat

.

Parish council responsibilities are undertaken by Hungerford Town Council, which consists of fifteen volunteer councillors and committee members, supported by a full time clerk. The mayor is elected from amongst their numbers. The parish forms part of the district administered by the unitary authority

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

of West Berkshire

West Berkshire

West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...

, and local government responsibilities are shared between the town council and unitary authority.

Hungerford is part of the Newbury parliamentary constituency

Newbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Newbury is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returns one Member of Parliament , elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....

. Its MP is the Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

Richard Benyon

Richard Henry Ronald Benyon MRICS is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Newbury since 2005 and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since May 2010.-Early life:Benyon was born in...

, son of Sir William Benyon of Englefield

Englefield, Berkshire

Englefield is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is mostly within the bounds of the private walled estate of Englefield House....

House. He has represented the two towns since 2005.

Hungerford participates in town twinning

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

to foster good international relations: Ligueil

Ligueil

Ligueil is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is twinned with the UK town of Hungerford. It is close to the former border of Vichy France...

, Indre-et-Loire

Indre-et-Loire

Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

Hungerford Archers

Hungerford Archers is a longbow

Longbow

A longbow is a type of bow that is tall ; this will allow its user a fairly long draw, at least to the jaw....

archery

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

club based in Hungerford. Its shooting ground is the sports field of the John O'Gaunt Community Technology College

John O'Gaunt Community Technology College

John O'Gaunt Community Technology College is a comprehensive and Technology College of approximately 633 pupils in Hungerford, Berkshire, England. It was Berkshire's first community school. The school was built in 1962 and is a fusion of 1960s decor and 1990s pre-fabricated buildings...

History and notability

Formerly called Hungerford Longbow Club, it was founded by the late Bob Maslin in 1995, and was renamed in 2005. The club originally used the Hungerford Town F.C.

Hungerford Town F.C.

Hungerford Town F.C. is a football club based in Hungerford, Berkshire, England. They joined the Hellenic Football League in 1958 and have been FA Vase semi-finalists three times in their history. In the 1979-80 season, they reached the First Round Proper of the FA Cup...

Field as its shooting ground, later moving to the larger field at the John O'Gaunt school.

Hungerford Archers is a longbow only club and does not permit the general use of compound bow
Compound bow
A compound bow is a modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs.The limbs of a compound bow are much stiffer than those of a recurve bow or longbow. This limb stiffness makes the compound bow more energy-efficient than other bows, in conjunction with the...

s or crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

s. The reason for this restriction is that more powerful compound can permanently damage targets, whereas longbows are unlikely to do so. Members are allowed to use recurve style bows if they wish.

Activities

Members meet on Sunday mornings and occasionally on Wednesday evenings in the summer, weather permitting. Practise consists of shooting at standard straw archery targets

Target archery

Modern competitive archery is governed by the World Archery Federation, abbreviated WA . Olympic rules are derived from WA rules. WA is the International Olympic Committee's recognized governing body for all of archery.Currently 142 nations are represented by WA archery governing bodies...

. These are typically placed at 30 yards for juniors and novice shooters, with additional targets placed at 50, 60 or 80 yards for members who are more experienced and have more powerful bows.

As the majority of members do archery as a pastime rather than regular competition, the meetings and shooting are of a relaxed nature with little competition between members. There is no "ranking" within the club that compares one members skill to another.

The members also undertake a form of archery known as Clout archery

Clout archery

Clout is a form of archery in which archers shoot arrows at a flag from a relatively long distance and score points depending on how close each arrow lands to the flag....

, where the target is a circle on the ground at long range (about 180 yards) that the shooters must drop the arrows into using a high trajectory

Trajectory

A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...

.

At least once a year the club holds a "fun shoot" where all members may come for an extended meeting that encompasses a barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

and a specially laid out challenge course of shooting. This may include life sized models of game, wand targets, unusual targets such as hanging footballs and targets that require the use of "floo floo" arrows, which are specifically designed not to fly straight.

Hungerford archers are also present at many local events, especially school fetes, allowing young people to experience the sport of archery and sample shooting at close range. Some of the clubs more experienced members also act as representatives by competing in competitions and events, such as the annual Western Meeting at Bowood House

Bowood House

Bowood is a grade I listed Georgian country house with interiors by Robert Adam and a garden designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. It is adjacent to the village of Derry Hill, halfway between Calne and Chippenham in Wiltshire, England...

Hocktide

Hungerford is the only place in the country to have continuously celebrated Hocktide

Hocktide

Hocktide or Hock tide[Heah-tit, Saxon,high festival] was a mediaeval festival that may have celebrated the massacre of the Danes in England or the death of Harthacanute in the 11th century. Traditionally the festivities consisted of a practice called binding: the men of the parish tying up the...

or Tutti Day (the second Tuesday after Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

). Today it marks the end of the town council's financial and administrative year, but in the past it was a more general celebration associated with the town's great patron, John of Gaunt

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...

(see below). Its origins are thought lie in celebrations following King Alfred's expulsion of the Danes

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

.

The 'Bellman' (or Town Crier

Town crier

A town crier, or bellman, is an officer of the court who makes public pronouncements as required by the court . The crier can also be used to make public announcements in the streets...

) summons the Commoners of the town to the Hocktide Court held at the town hall, while two florally decorated 'Tutti Men' and the 'Orange Man' visit every house with commoners' rights (almost a hundred properties), accompanied by around six Tutti Girls, drawn from the local school. Originally they collected 'head pennies' to ensure fishing and grazing rights

Grazing rights

Grazing rights is a legal term referring to the right of a user to allow their livestock to feed in a given area.- United States :...

. Today, they largely collect kisses from each lady of the house. In the court, the town's officers are elected for the coming year and the accounts examined. The court manages the town hall, the John of Gaunt Inn, the Common, Freemen's Marsh, and fishing rites in the Rivers Kennet and Dun.

Legends

There is an old legend

English folklore

English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of centuries. Some stories can be traced back to their roots, while the origin of others is uncertain or disputed...

that "Hingwar the Dane" (i.e. Ivarr the Boneless) was drowned accidentally while crossing the Kennet here, and that the town was named after him. This stems from the probably mistaken belief that the Battle of Ethandun took place at Eddington in Berkshire rather than Edington

Edington, Wiltshire

Edington is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about five miles east of Westbury.The parish includes two principal settlements, Edington village and Tinhead, which lies between the main village and Coulston and contains the parish's only surviving public house, The Paulet Arms...

in Wiltshire or Edington in Somerset.

Literature

Hungerford may be Kennetbridge in Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...

's novel Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure, the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, began as a magazine serial and was first published in book form in 1895. The book was burned publicly by William Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, in that same year. Its hero, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man who dreams of becoming a...

, but this is usually thought to be Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

. Kennetbridge is "a thriving town not more than a dozen miles south of Marygreen" (Fawley

Fawley, Berkshire

Fawley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It is more properly called North or Great Fawley to distinguish it from South or Little Fawley, lower down the parish....

) and is between Melchester (Salisbury

Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

) and Christminster (Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

). The main road (A338) from Oxford to Salisbury runs past Fawley and through Hungerford, which is south of Fawley rather than south-east like Newbury.

History

Hungerford is a Saxon

Old English language

Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...

name meaning 'Hanging Wood Ford'. The town’s symbol is the six-pointed star and crescent moon.

The place does not occur in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

of 1086, but certainly existed by 1173. By 1241, it called itself a borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

. In the late 14th century, John of Gaunt

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...

was medieval lord of the manor

Lord of the Manor

The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...

and he granted the people the lucrative fishing rights on the River Kennet

River Kennet

.

The noble family

Baron Hungerford

The Barony of Hungerford was created in the Peerage of England on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Garter before and was made Lord High Treasurer one year before he...

of Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford

Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford

Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford KG was an English knight, landowner, from 1400 to 1414 Member of the House of Commons, of which he became Speaker, then was an Admiral and peer....

originated from the town (c. 1450–1450), although after three generations the title passed to Mary, Baroness Hungerford

Thomas Hungerford of Rowden

Sir Thomas Hungerford of Rowden , the eldest son of Robert Hungerford, 3rd Baron Hungerford, lived chiefly at Rowden, near Chippenham. After giving some support to Edward IV and the Yorkists he joined in Warwick's conspiracy to restore Henry VI in 1469, was attainted, and was executed at Salisbury...

who married Sir Edward (afterwards Lord) Hasting

Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings

Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings, KB was an English peer born in Kirby Muxloe Castle, Leicestershire, England to Sir William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings and Katherine Neville. He succeeded to his title on the execution of his father William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings on 13 June 1483...

and the family seat moved to Heytesbury

Heytesbury

Heytesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Wylye Valley, about three miles south of Warminster.-History:...

in Wiltshire.

During the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, the Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...

and his army spent the night here in June 1644. In October of the same year, the Earl of Manchester

Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester

Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester KG, KB, FRS was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior.-Life:...

’s cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

were also quartered in the town. Then, in the November, the King

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

’s forces arrived in Hungerford on their way to Abingdon

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...

.

During the Glorious Revolution

Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...

of 1688, William of Orange

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

was offered the Crown of England while staying at the Bear Inn in Hungerford.

St. Lawrence's parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

stands next to the Kennet and Avon Canal

Kennet and Avon Canal

. It was rebuilt in 1814-1816 by John Pinch the elder in Gothic style and refurbished again in the 1850s.

In the late 19th century, two policeman were shot by poacher

Poaching

Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...

s in Eddington. Their memorial crosses still stand where they fell.

1987 massacre

The Hungerford massacre

Hungerford massacre

The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 19 August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan, armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself...

occurred on August 19, 1987. A 27-year-old unemployed local labourer, Michael Robert Ryan, armed with several weapons including an AK-47

AK-47

The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...

rifle and a Beretta

Beretta

Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...

pistol, shot and killed 16 people including his mother, and wounded 15 others, then fatally shot himself. A report on this incident was commissioned by Home Secretary

Home Secretary

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...

Douglas Hurd

Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC , is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995....

from the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police

Thames Valley Police

Thames Valley Police, formerly known as Thames Valley Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley area covered by the ceremonial counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire....

, Colin Smith. It remains, along with the Dunblane massacre

Dunblane massacre

The Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...

and Cumbria shootings

Cumbria shootings

The Cumbria shootings was a killing spree that occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, Derrick Bird, killed 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself in Cumbria, England....

, one of the worst criminal atrocities involving firearms in British history. The massacre led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988[1], which banned the ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricted the use of shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than two rounds. The Hungerford Report had demonstrated that Ryan's collection of weapons was legally licensed.

Notable people

Ivarr the Boneless, Danish Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

invader.
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...

, son of King Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
Sir Robert de Hungerford, a Baron Hungerford
Baron Hungerford
The Barony of Hungerford was created in the Peerage of England on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Garter before and was made Lord High Treasurer one year before he...

and a 14th century statesman
Charlie Austin
Charlie Austin
Charlie Austin is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Burnley. He was born in Hungerford, a market town near Newbury, Berkshire.-Non-League:...

, Footballer for Burnley
Samuel Chandler
Samuel Chandler
Samuel Chandler was an English Nonconformist minister.-Life:He was born at Hungerford in Berkshire, where his father was a minister. He was sent to school at Gloucester, where he began a lifelong friendship with Bishop Butler and Archbishop Secker; and he afterwards studied at Leiden...

, Nonconformist divine
Christopher Derrick
Christopher Derrick
This article is about Christopher Derrick the author. If you are looking for Christopher Derrick the runner please see Chris DerrickChristopher Hugh Derrick was an author, reviewer, publisher's reader and lecturer...

, author
Rodney Desmeules, footballer for Swindon Town FC, Town Councillor
William Greatrakes
William Greatrakes
William Greatrakes , was an Irish barrister.Greatrakes, born in Waterford about 1723, was the eldest son of Alan Greatrakes of Mount Lahan, near Killeagh, co. Cork, by his wife Frances Supple, of the neighbouring village of Aghadoe. He was entered at Trinity College, Dublin, as a pensioner 9 July...

, connected with the authorship of the Letters of Junius
Junius
Junius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of letters to the Public Advertiser, from 21 January 1769 to 21 January 1772. The signature had been already used, apparently by him, in a letter of 21 November 1768...
Thomas Hayward (literary editor) (d. 1779?), editor of The British Muse (1738) and lawyer in Hungerford
Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford
Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford KG GCB OM DSO & Bar MC was a senior Royal Air Force officer and an advocate of strategic bombing...

, RAF Chief of the Air Staff during most of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Robert Snooks
Robert Snooks
Robert Snooks was the last man to be executed in England for highway robbery, on 11 March 1802.Born in Hungerford in Berkshire, he was christened as James Blackman Snook on 16 August 1761...

, last highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...

to be hanged in England, born in Hungerford 1761
James E. Talmage
James E. Talmage
James Edward Talmage born in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1911 until his death in 1933....

, (1862 – 1933) LDS Church leader, writer and theologian. Author of Jesus the Christ
Will Young
Will Young
William Robert "Will" Young is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominenceafter winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise...

, singer

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Geography

Nearby places

Communications

Government

Hungerford Archers

History and notability

Activities

Hocktide

Legends

Literature

History

1987 massacre

Notable people

See also

External links