Hungerford

Hungerford, a market town in the Newbury parliamentary division of Berkshire, England, extending into Wiltshire, 61 m. W. by S. of London by the Great Western railway. Pop. (1901) 2906\. It is beautifully situated in the narrow valley of the Kennet at the junction of tributary valleys from the south and south-west, the second of which is followed by the Bath road, an important highway from London to the west. The town, which lies on the Kennet and Avon canal, has agricultural trade. John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, presented to the citizens manorial rights, including common pasture and fishing. The fishing is valuable, for the trout of the Kennet and other streams in the locality are numerous and carefully preserved. Hungerford is also a favourite hunting centre. A horn given to the town by John of Gaunt is preserved in the town hall, another horn dating from 1634 being used to summon the manorial court of twelve citizens called feoffees (the president being called the constable), at Hocktide, the Tuesday following Easter week. In 1774, when a number of towns had taken action against the imposition of a fee for the delivery of letters from their local post-offices, Hungerford was selected as a typical case, and was first relieved of the imposition.

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