History

Huntington was a Medieval borough founded as a replacement to nearby Kington

Kington, Herefordshire

Kington is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,597.-Location:Kington is near the Wales-England border and, despite being on the western side of Offa's Dyke, has been English for over a thousand years. The town is in the...

 which had been destroyed in 1216.

Huntington was built as a new borough and was apparently in the first breath of life in 1228 when it was first mentioned. In 1230 Huntington passed to the Bohuns and in 1267 there was a survey carried out of Huntington (Huntiton) castle and borough with rents in Kington (Kinton) borough, Barton (Bauerton) and New Kington. New Kington was obviously the new town founded after the destruction of Kington and Kington Castle

Kington Castle

Kington Castle stood in the medieval market town of Kington in Herefordshire, England .- Welsh Marches Border Castle :The castle was sited to the north west of the present town of Kington above the Back Brook. Around the end of the 11th century William Rufus granted the estates in and around...

 by King John

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 in August 1216.

In 1298 it was recorded that Earl Humphrey of Hereford and Essex had 47 free tenants living in Huntington borough, some of them owing military service at Huntington Castle

Huntington Castle

Huntington Castle was situated in the village of Huntingdon in Herefordshire, England, 2½ miles south-west of Kington .- Natural Site :The castle is sited on a commanding position on the modern day England Wales border in what was the Welsh Marches in Norman and medieval times...

. However it is noticeable that there were already 59 free tenants recorded in Kington. The old borough, despite its destruction in 1216, was still surpassing the new borough created at Huntington. The account books of the 1370s show that Huntington was a thriving manorial centre. The account of the reeve, Roger Barton, states that the local tenants were liable to the lord of the manor of Huntington for ploughing, hoeing, mowing, muck spreading, tossing hay, reaping corn and oats and performing haulage. The revolt of Owain Glyndwr

Owain Glyndwr

Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...

some thirty years later seems to have destroyed what prosperity there was at Huntington, leaving what is now a decayed borough.