| Hungerford | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 | |
 Town symbol | |
  Hungerford Location withinBerkshire | |
| Area | 27.52 km2 (10.63 sq mi) |
| Population | 5,869 (2021 Census)[1] |
| • Density | 213/km2 (550/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU334681 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HUNGERFORD |
| Postcode district | RG17 |
| Dialling code | 01488 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Town Council |
| 51°24′50″N1°30′54″W / 51.414°N 1.515°W /51.414; -1.515 | |
Hungerford is a historicmarket town andcivil parish inBerkshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) west ofNewbury, 9 miles (14 km) east ofMarlborough, and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 5,869.[1]
TheKennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside theRiver Dun, a major tributary of theRiver Kennet. The confluence with the Kennet is to the north of the centre, whence canal and river both continue east.Hungerford railway station is a minor stop on theReading to Taunton Line.
Hungerford is derived from anAnglo-Saxon name meaning "ford leading to poor land".[2] The town's symbol is theestoile and crescent moon.[3] The place is not described in theDomesday 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,[4] in the ancienthundred ofKintbury.[5] The manor of Standen Hussey, described as Standen in Wiltshire in Domesday,[6] was later in Hungerford parish.[7] The land was granted toRobert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester. 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.[4]
By 1241, Hungerford called itself aborough.[8] In the late 14th century,John of Gaunt waslord of the manor and he granted the people the lucrative fishing rights on the River Kennet.[9] The family ofWalter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford originated in the town (c. 1450), although after three generations the title passed toBaroness Hungerford who married SirEdward Hastings who became a Baron,[10] and the family seat moved toHeytesbury,Wiltshire.[11] In the 16th century, the parish of Hungerford was included in the formation of the hundred of Kintbury Eagle.[12]
During theCivil War, theEarl of Essex and his army spent the night here in June 1644. In October of the same year, theEarl of Manchester’s cavalry were quartered in the town. Then, in the November,Charles I’s forces arrived in Hungerford on their way toAbingdon.[13] During theGlorious Revolution of 1688,William of Orange was offeredthe Crown ofEngland while staying at the Bear Inn in Hungerford.[14] The Hungerford land south of the river Kennet was for centuries, until a widespread growth in cultivation in the area in the 18th century, inSavernake Forest.[15]
The Hungerford massacre occurred on 19 August 1987. A 27-year-oldunemployed local labourer, Michael Robert Ryan, armed with three legally-held firearms,[16] aType 56 assault rifle, aBerettapistol and anM1 carbine, shot and killed 16 people in and around the town – including his mother – and wounded 15 others, thenkilled himself in a local school after being surrounded by armed police. All his victims were shot in the town or in nearbySavernake Forest.[17]
Home SecretaryDouglas Hurd commissioned a report on the massacre from the Chief Constable ofThames Valley Police, Colin Smith. The massacre was one of three significant firearms atrocities in theUnited Kingdom after the invention of rapid fire weapons such as the one involved, the other two being theDunblane massacre and theCumbria shootings. It led to the passing of theFirearms (Amendment) Act 1988, which banned the ownership ofsemi-automatic centre-firerifles, and restricted the use of shotguns with amagazine capacity of more than two rounds.
Hungerford is a civil parish, covering the town of Hungerford and a surrounding rural area. Anciently, the parish was divided into fourtithings: Hungerford or Town, Sanden Fee,Eddington with Hidden andNewtown, and Charnham Street. North and South Standen and Charnham Street weredetached parts ofWiltshire until transferred to Berkshire in 1895. Leverton and Calcot were transferred to Hungerford parish fromChilton Foliat in Wiltshire in 1894.[8]
Parish council responsibilities are undertaken by Hungerford Town Council, which consists of fifteen volunteercouncillors and committee members, supported by a full-time clerk; themayor is elected from amongst their number.[18] Hungerford & Kintbury electoral ward, which includes eight rural parishes to the east,[19] elects three members ofWest Berkshire Council (aunitary authority).[20]
Hungerford is part of theNewburyparliamentary constituency. Hungerford participates intown twinning to foster good international relations:
Ligueil,Indre-et-Loire, France.[21]Hungerford is on theRiver Dun. It is the westernmost town in Berkshire, on the border with Wiltshire. It is in theNorth Wessex Downs. The highest point in the entireSouth East England region is the 297 m (974 ft) summit ofWalbury Hill, 4 miles (6.4 km) from the town centre.
The Kennet and Avon Canal separates Hungerford from what might be described as the town's only suburb, the village ofEddington. Other settlements in the parish includeUpper Eddington,Leverton andHungerford Newtown.[19]
The town has, as its western border, a county divide which also marks the border of the South East andSouth West England regions; it is 60 miles (97 km) west of London and 55 miles (89 km) east ofBristol on theA4. It is almost equidistant from the towns of Newbury and Marlborough.Freeman's Marsh, on the western edge of the town, is aSite of Special Scientific Interest.[22]
Hungerford is situated on several transport routes, including theM4 motorway with access at Junction 14, theOld Bath Road (A4), and the Kennet and Avon Canal, the latter opened in 1811.Hungerford railway station is on theReading to Taunton line; a reasonable rail service toNewbury,Reading andPaddington means that Hungerford has developed into something of adormitory town which has been slowly expanding since the 1980s. Many residents commute to nearby towns such as Newbury,Swindon, Marlborough,Thatcham andReading.[citation needed]
The parish church of St. Lawrence stands next to the Kennet and Avon Canal. It was rebuilt in 1814–1816 byJohn Pinch the elder in theGothic Revival style.[23] The east window contains stained glass by Lavers and Westlake. The church is a Grade II*listed building.[24]
Hungerford has a cricket team,[25] a football team,Hungerford Town F.C., that plays at the Bulpit Lane ground, a rugby team, Hungerford RFC.[26] and a netball club. Hungerford Archers, an archery club, uses the sports field of theJohn O'Gaunt School as its shooting ground.[25] Hungerford Hares Running Club was established in 2007.[27]
Hungerford is the only place in the country to have continuously celebratedHocktide or Tutti Day (the second Tuesday afterEaster).[citation needed] 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. Its origins are thought to lie in celebrations followingKing Alfred's expulsion of theVikings. The "Bellman" (ortown crier) summons the Commoners of the town to the Hocktide Court held atHungerford Town Hall, while two florally decorated "Tutti Men" and the "Orange Man" visit every house with commoners' rights (almost a hundred properties), accompanied by six Tutti Girls, drawn from the local school. Originally they collected "head pennies" to ensure fishing andgrazing rights. 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 GauntInn, the Common,Freeman's Marsh, and fishing rights in the River Kennet and river Dun.[clarification needed]
There is an old legend that "Hingwar the Dane", better known asIvarr 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 theBattle of Ethandun took place at Eddington in Berkshire rather thanEdington, Wiltshire, orEdington, Somerset.[citation needed]
Hungerford is one of two places which arguably meet the criteria for Kennetbridge inThomas Hardy's novelJude the Obscure, being "a thriving town not more than a dozen miles south of Marygreen"[28] (Fawley) and is between Melchester (Salisbury) and Christminster (Oxford).[29] The main road (A338) from Oxford to Salisbury runs through Hungerford. The other contender is the larger town of Newbury.
| Output area | Homes owned outright | Owned with a loan | Socially rented | Privately rented | Other | km2 roads | km2 water | km2 domestic gardens | Usual residents | km2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil parish | 834 | 858 | 367 | 482 | 43 | 0.500 | 0.337 | 0.789 | 5767 | 27.52 |
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Town of Hungerford.
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