Within the last two or three years Kington has become the centre of much railway enterprise. The Kington and Eardisley line was opened for traffic on the 3rd of August 1874, and joins the Hereford, Hay, and Brecon branch of the Midland railway at Eardisley. The line from Kington to New Radnor was opened in August 1875, and is a continuation of the Kington and Eardisley line. It will eventually become part of a system of railways from Worcester to Aberystwith, the Acts for which have been obtained. The branch railway connecting Presteigne - the county town of Radnorshire - with the Leominster and Kington and the Eardisley and Kington lines, was opened on September 9th, 1875. This line commences at Titley, passes through Leen farm, to Stanton-upon-Arrow, in front of the Rodd farm via Corton into Presteigne. The Leominster and Kington branch of the Great Western railway joins the Shrewsbury and Hereford joint (G.W.R. Co. and L.& N.W.R. Co.) line at Leominster.

The parish of Kington comprises an area of 8,313 acres; and is divided into five townships, viz., Old Kington; New Kington; Upper and Lower Hergest; Barton, Bradnor, and Rushock; Pember's Oak, Chickward, and Lilwall. It is situate in the hundred of Huntington, and is the head of a union, county court district, polling district; and petty sessional division. The town consists of four well-built streets, which contain several good shops, two excellent hotels, and several respectable inns. The spirit of improvement has of late years much animated the inhabitants, many new houses having been erected, and old projections taken down; and the whole town has assumed a more regular, uniform, and modern appearance. The houses are chiefly built with stone, from the Hergest, Bradnor, and other quarries in the neighbourhood.

The trade of the town is chiefly with the agriculturists of the adjoining county of Radnor. There are two banking establishments, viz., the head offices of the Kington and Radnorshire bank (Messrs. Davies, Banks, & Davies), established in 1808, and a branch of the Midland Banking Company, Limited. There is an extensive iron foundry, nail, and agricultural implement manufactory carried on by Messrs. James. Meredith & Co., and the building and tanning trades are well represented. There are also some extensive corn mills and malt-houses.

HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, ETC.- The name of this town is written in, ancient documents in several different ways, as Chingtune, Kingstown, Kyngton, Kynton, Kinton, Kineton, Keighton, and Kington; the latter of which, and the most usual at present, is the correct one, having been given to it in honour of King Edward the Confessor, who obtained possession of property in the district in the 11th century. A celebrated writer has conjectured that the town derived its original name, Keynton, from Keya or Kine, signifying cattle, or cows - that is, the place of sale for them.

The government of the district of Kington remained in the Princes of Brecknock, the descendants of Caradoc, until they were dispossessed of it by Earl Harold in the 11th century. In the year 1055, the thirteenth year of the reign of Edward the Confessor, Griffith ap Llewellyn, Prince of North Wales, having been excited and assisted by Algar, Earl of Chester, assembled his forces, attacked the English, and made an inroad into Herefordshire. When within two miles of Hereford he was opposed by Ralph, Earl of Hereford, who had raised what troops he could to stop his progress. The consequence was that a battle was fought, the issue of which was for some time dubious, but at length the Welsh were successful; a tumultuous pursuit took place, and the two armies entering the city together, the whole became a scene of pillage and slaughter.

This battle took place on the 24th day of October, and the inhabitants of the district of Kington assisted the Welsh, who were at that time their countrymen, on this memorable occasion. King Edward being informed of these proceedings, which were so disastrous to his Subjects, caused a great army to be collected at Gloucester, the command whereof was given to Harold, Earl of the West Saxons, which the Welsh prince dreaded, and retreating into North Wales left the country at the mercy of the victors. Harold having drawn the hostile army from the district of Kington, from political motives and by way of revenge for the aid afforded to his enemies, dispossessed the land proprietors of their estates, and divided them between the king, himself, and the officers of the army.

What the name of Kington was previously is not known, but the place, as well as many others in the surrounding district, obtained at that time a new appellation as well as a new proprietor; it was deprived of its ancient Welsh name and the present English one given in its stead. And it may be observed, that the place was considered to be of such considerable importance at the time as to deserve to be called the "King's Town". Earl Harold, having become a very extensive land proprietor in the district in consequence of these proceedings, was, at his death, found possessed of much property in the county of Hereford, having in this district and neighbourhood, according to "Domesday Book", - Eardisley, Barton, Hergest, Kington, Rushock, Willersley, Winforton, Lyonshall, Pembridge, Titley, besides several other more distant places.

An eminent antiquary (the late Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick) was of opinion that if the town had been founded since the Conquest, in all probability we should have seen it in a Norman dress. The inference from this is, that it was of Anglo-Saxon origin, because it had no distinctive appellation in Welsh. He therefore conjectures that although it was 'Extra Clawdd Offa', or without Offa's Dyke, it must have been founded by one of the Mercian kings. The old Saxon name by which the town was known in the time of Edward the Confessor, is Chingtune. The town is considered a borough by Charter, within the manor and hundred of Huntington; and has a bailiff, formerly called a reeve, or sergeant, nominated and appointed at the court-leet, annually held in the month of October at the Talbot Inn, originally the property of Philip Holman, Esq., the lord of the manor.

Kington never had the honour of returning members to Parliament. The government of the town is now vested in the "Local Board". The magistrates' sittings are held at the police court every alternate Friday, and the county court every alternate month. This town is included in the 28th circuit of the county courts. An Act of Parliament was obtained in 1829 for lighting the town with gas. In 1830, works were erected at the east end of the town, but being inadequate to supply the increasing demand; a company was formed a few years ago under the title of "The Kington Gas-Light Company, Limited", and works were erected adjacent to the old ones, whereby the inhabitants are supplied with gas at a reasonable price. The upper portion of the town is supplied with water from the Crooked Well waterworks, which is, conducted through leaden pipes to a reservoir near the church. This well is supposed to supply a hogshead of water per minute.

The Town Hall, or Market House, in Bridge street, was erected in the year 1654, by the celebrated John Abel, for Philip Holman, Esq., who was at that time lord of the manor. This building was taken down in the year 1820, and the present one erected by Edmund Watkins Cheese, Esq., the then lord of the manor, with the old materials. The erection of the hall cost £500. In 1841, James Thomas Woodhouse, Esq., the late lord of the manor, effected some improvements in the building, but it has since fallen into disuse.

The market for the sale of agricultural produce is held in Bridge street, and that for the sale of poultry, butter, eggs, &c., is held at the Upper cross, High street, and in Church street. The Police Court is situate near the Market house, and is a stone building erected in 1841 at a cost of £500 (including site). The Union Workhouse was erected in 1837 at a cost of £2,400, and is situated about a quarter of a mile south of the town, near Kingswood. It is a stone building, capable of accommodating 200 paupers besides the officers of the establishment. The number of inmates at the present time is about 50. The guardians meet every alternate Saturday at the Board-room.

At Burton House, the property of Mr. John Davies, is a public hall, available for concerts, lectures, entertainments, &c. The savings bank in Church street was established in May 1837, and is open every Tuesday and Whit-Monday. There is a parochial library and reading-room held at the National school. There is a Kington newspaper (The Kington Gazette), published every Tuesday by Mr. Charles Humphreys. The principal landowners in Kington parish are Lady Charlotte Bacon, of Eywood, Robert William Dacre Harley, Esq., of Brampton Brian, Charles Williams Greenly, Esq., of Titley house, and Arthur Henry Wall, Esq. (late of Burghill, near Hereford). The manor of Huntington is in Kington parish. This manor is denominated "The Honor and Manor of Huntington, otherwise Huntingdon English, and English Huntington".

PLACES of WORSHIP, SCHOOLS, ETC.- The parish church is erected on an eminence about a quarter of a mile N.W. of the town. It is an irregular structure, and was, with two altars therein, dedicated by Bishop Orleton to the Blessed Virgin Mary, A.D. 1325. The area of the ground upon which it stands is 907 square yards. The early history of this church is enshrouded in remote antiquity; the records in the registry office at Hereford will not supply information prior to the time of Thomas de Cantilupe (the great miracle-monger of this side the kingdom), A.D. 1275. In a small work published some years ago at Kington, the church is said to have been built in 1130, but the opinion of some learned antiquaries is in favour of the erection of the old church at a much earlier period.

The church now standing seems to have been erected about the middle of the 13th century, upon the foundation of a former one, of which now nothing remains, and our ancestors have neglected to transmit to us any authentic account of its erection: but according to tradition the structure was of Saxon origin, and after flourishing for several centuries was doomed to destruction by the hand of time in the latter part of the twelfth century. This edifice before its recent restoration consisted of the ancient nave 50 feet high, a new addition built on the north side in the year 1829 (a chancel belonging to the owner of the great tithes with Vaughan's chapel annexed), and a tower on the north side containing a peal of six bells.

The part of the church in which the restoration has taken place is the chancel and nave; these formerly were covered with plaster, and the roof lath and plaster from the beams supporting the roof, so that the church had a flat ceiling. The gallery formerly, running along the north side has been removed, the roof opened, and the plaster removed from the walls, the rood vaulting taken from the ceiling, the chancel thoroughly restored, the old seats removed, and open stalls substituted through the chancel and nave, the windows filled with stained glass, the floors relaid with red and black tiles, a new porch erected at the north entrance, the erection of a new stone pulpit, substitution of new windows on the north side, the removing of the rough-coat and whitewash from the outside walls of the church and tower, the introduction of new windows in the tower, with new steps, porch, &c., up to the belfry.

In 1873-74 the north side of the church - a very ugly structure added in the year 1829 - was taken down and rebuilt at a cost of about £2,000. R.W. Drew, Esq., of Park street, Westminster, S.W., was the architect, and Mr. Charles Edwards, of Leominster, the builder. The north wall of the chancel, which had long been in a dilapidated state, was also rebuilt by the lay impropriators, the greatest care being taken to restore it to exactly its original condition. A new pavement of Godwin's encaustic tiles was laid in the chancel, and gas standards placed in the new nave.

The tower, which has undergone a great deal of restoration, is built with rough stones from the neighbouring quarries, and may be considered next coeval with the church. The walls, which are 6 feet thick, contain several cornet heads, and windows to admit light to the vestry and belfry. The tower terminates in a well-proportioned octagonal spire, on the top of which is a long iron rod supporting a gilt weathercock, in height about 95 feet from the ground; the framework is covered with oak shingles. This spire was built by a person of the town named Parker in 1794, the old one having been destroyed by lightning the year before. It was repaired in 1868 at a cost of £383.

The nave of the church measures 64 feet 6 inches, and the width between the pulleys 23 feet 7 inches; the length from the communion table to the west of the nave is 109 feet, and the width from the southern door to the north door 119 feet. The nave is supported by twelve Gothic arches, six on each side, resting on octagon stone pillars. The lower part of the tower is used as a vestry room, and near the door in the wall is a piscina, which is a proof that an altar once stood there. The chancel measures 39 feet 6 inches in length, and is 24 feet wide. It is now filled up with open stalls, and the windows, twelve in number, filled with coloured glass, which has a very beautiful and imposing appearance.

In the north wall of the chancel is another piscina, and in the south wall a fine piece of stone carving and a stone cupboard. Vaughan's Chapel, the private property of the Oxford family, measures in length 19 feet 6 inches, and in width 13 feet 6 inches. It contains the magnificent altar tomb of the Vaughan family, in white marble, with two full-length figures representing a knight and his lady thereon. The pedigree of the Vaughan family is placed against the wall over the tomb. A fine-toned organ was erected in 1848 by subscription. The organ gallery at the west end of the church has been removed, and the organ placed in the Vaughan chapel; which adjoins the south side of the chancel.

The east window is of stained glass beautifully executed. The west window, of stained glass (by Clayton & Bell), was erected in 1867 by Arthur Henry Wall, Esq., late of Burghill house, near Hereford, to the memory of the Rev. John Wall,, M.A., vicar of Kington, June 1782 to November 1834. Three windows in the south aisle were erected in 1868 by A.H. Wall, Esq., to the memory of Hannah Wall, wife of the above Rev. John Wall. The six chancel windows were filled with stained glass by Captain Bevan in 1874, as memorials to the late _____ Bevan, Esq.

The churchyard contains an area of 1a. 3r. 31p., which includes the space upon which the church is built. The scenery contiguous to the churchyard is interesting and romantic, independently of the advantages it derives from affording an extensive view of the surrounding country. In the churchyard are the remains of an old cross, consisting of a pedestal and a portion of the shaft. The destruction of the same may have taken place in the year 1648, when an Act of Parliament was granted for destroying throughout the kingdom, before the 1st November in that year, all tables of stone, candlesticks, tapers, basins, crosses, and all superstitious inscriptions in churches and churchyards. The parish registers begin with the year 1667.

Kington is in the diocese and archdeaconry of Hereford and rural deanery of Weobley; living, a vicarage, with the rectory of Huntington annexed; joint value, £660, with residence; patron, the Lord Bishop of Worcester; vicar, Rev. Henry Thomas Whately, M.A., of Christ Church, Oxford, who was instituted in 1860, and, is also a rural dean. The Rev. William Barclay, M.A., of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, is the curate. The cemetery in New road was opened in 1861. The charities belonging to the parish amount to about £125 yearly.

The Baptist chapel, in Bridge street, was erected in 1868 at a cost of upwards of £2,000. It is built of red brick with Bath stone facings, and will accommodate about 600 persons. The Wesleyan chapel, situated at the Upper Cross, was erected in 1801. There is also a Wesleyan chapel, built in 1862, at Kingswood, about 1 mile south from the town. The Primitive Methodist chapel, a small brick building in Bridge street, was erected in 1858. The Free Grammar school is closed for a short time by order of the Endowed Schools Commission, and is about to be reorganised under a recent scheme prepared by the commissioners. It was founded and endowed by Lady Margaret Hawkins, widow of Admiral Sir John Hawkins, treasurer of Queen Elizabeth's navy. Lady Hawkins was the daughter of Charles Vaughan, Esq., of Hergest court, in the parish of Kington, and died February 2nd, 1620.

The school building is in a very dilapidated condition and is about to be re-erected. There is a library in the school, which was increased by the gift of the late Rev. John Bissell, formerly one of the head masters, who bequeathed a part of his valuable collection for the use of the masters and students. The boys' school of Kington is under the management of a school board elected in 1875. The ordinary meetings of the board are held on the first Wednesday in each month. A new school has been erected at a cost (including residence for the master) of about £1,300. Mr. R. Roberts, of Perseverance works, was the builder. The national day and Sunday school, situated on the north side of the Common close, was built in 1836 by subscription at a cost of £450, on a site of land given by the late John Meredith, Esq. The school is under government inspection, and is under a certificated mistress. There is a small endowment, left by Mrs. Hester Sayer in 1729. A school for boys and girls was erected in 1860 by Mrs. Romilly at Mahollem, and is chiefly supported by her. It is a neat stone structure; average attendance, about 40. There is a Church of England school for infants held in a room in Bridge street. The children of the union are sent to the South-East Shropshire school.

NOTABILIA.- The position of the town, situated on the confines of the old red sandstone system, and the series of rocks formerly known as transition, make it particularly interesting to the student of geology; indeed so interesting and important are the phenomena of the rocks in the neighbourhood of the place, that the eminent geologist, Sir Roderick Murchison, who explored the whole of the Welsh border, and unravelled the mystery of the apparently chaotic confusion of the strata, deemed the series of rocks in which they occur worthy of a distinguishing name; and having obtained the concurrence of the Continental geologists, and men of science in this country, he named it the Silurian system, from the district having been inhabited by the ancient Silures.

An ingenious writer, when describing the situation of the town and adjacent hills, says "that the northern side of it is protected from the cold blasts of winter by Bradnor hill, the top of which is a very eligible situation to have a prospect of the beautiful agricultural districts of Old and New Radnor. This mountain rises from its base to the greatest elevation by a gradual slope, which teems with verdure, and other results of cultivation and rural industry". The appearance of Kington when viewed from Bradnor hill, Hergest ridge, and other situations, participates very much of the rural character. A spectator placed in one of the above positions would almost fancy he were viewing some beautiful scene in foreign lands, or some gorgeous and lovely creation of poesy, bedecked with all the charms and enchantments conceived by the bards. To enter into a minute description of the mountains, valleys, rocks, rivers, and gushing rills, contiguous to the town, and invite attention to the scenery by graphic details, would be incompatible with the brevity of this work, and the limited space into which this article must he compressed.

HAMLETS, ETC.- Upper and Lower Hergest form a township about 2 miles W. by S.W. of Kington. Hergest ridge is an eminence commanding exceedingly extensive and picturesque views of the surrounding country. Races, which had for many years fallen into desuetude, were revived on May 12th, 1876, on Hergest ridge, and will, no doubt, be continued annually. Barton, Bradnor, and Rushock form a township about 1 mile N. by N.E. On the summit of Bradnor hill there are the remains of a camp, of a square form, commanding a most extensive prospect. Leland was unable to determine whether this camp was British, Roman, or Saxon. Pember's Oak, Chickward, and Lilwall form a township about 2 miles S.W. Kingswood has been recently purchased by Anthony Temple, Esq., Thomas Bowen, Esq., and others, and a large tract of woodland has been cleared and brought under cultivation, and some neat villa residences have been erected.

SEATS IN THE VICINITY.- Eywood, formerly the principal mansion of the Earl of Oxford, is now the property of Lady Charlotte Bacon and her son, Edward Bacon, Esq. (see Titley); Titley Court, the seat of Charles Williams Greenly, Esq., J.P., D.L., is built of stone, and ornamented externally with battlements; Ridgebourne, the seat of Richard William Banks, Esq., J.P. for Herefordshire and Radnorshire, who served the office of high sheriff of the latter county in 1874; Stanton Park, the seat of James King King, Esq., formerly M.P. for Herefordshire; Knill Court, the seat of Sir John Walsham, Bart., but at present occupied by Colonel Dallas; Downfield House, an interesting old mansion, the property and residence of Mrs. and Miss Miles; Harpton Court, the seat of the Rev. Sir Gilbert Frankland Lewis, Bart., M.A., canon of Worcester cathedral; Huntington Park, the seat of Henry Romilly, Esq.; The Lynhales, the property and residence of Stephen Robinson, Esq., J.P., D.L. (see Lyonshall); The Whittern, recently purchased by Richard Green, Esq., (see Lyonshall); Castle Weir, the residence of Colonel Price (see Lyonshall); Moor Court, the seat of the Rev. James Davies, M.A., J.P. (see Pembridge); Broxwood Court, the seat of Major Richard Snead Cox, J.P., D.L. (see Pembridge); The Byletts, the seat of John Bowles Evans, Esq., J.P., D.L. (see Pembridge); Shobdon Court, the seat of the Right Hon. Lord Bateman (Lord Lieutenant of the county of Hereford); Newport House, the property of Mrs. Pease and the residence of William Taylor, Esq. (see Almeley); and Newcastle Court, the seat of the Hon. Arthur Walsh, M.P., and Lord Lieutenant of the county of Radnor.