HUNGERFORD, a parish comprising the market
town of Hungerford, and the tythings of Eddington
with Hiddou, and Sandon-Fee, in the hundred of
KINTBURY-EAGLE, county of BERKS, and the township
of Charnham-Street in the hundred of KINWARDSTONE,
county of WILTS, and containing 2373 inhabitants, of
which number, 1478 are in the town of Hungerford,
26 miles (W. by S.) from Reading, and 64 (W, by s.)
from London. This place was anciently called Ingleford
Channan Street, a name signifying the ford of the
Angles on the Ermin-street, a Roman road which
crossed the site of the town; the adjunct is still preserved
in one of its avenues, now called Charnham-
Street. The town stands on the road from London
to Bath, partly on the declivity of a hill, and is considered
to be particularly salubrious: the houses in
general have a mean appearance, the streets are neither
paved nor lighted, but the inhabitants are plentifully
supplied with water from wells. At the entrance into
the town, the river Kennet, which flows through it, is
crossed by a handsome bridge of five arches; and the
Kennet and Avon canal affords a line of communication
with Bath and Bristol, for the conveyance of corn, coal,
and other heavy articles. Near the centre of the principal
street is the market-house, a neat structure of
brick, erected in 1787, which contains a spacious room
for the transaction of public business. The market is
on Wednesday; and fairs are held on the last Wednesday
in April and the 10th of August for cattle; and on
the Wednesdays before and after New Michaelmas, which
are statute fairs. The town is under the government of
a chief constable, assisted by twelve burgesses, a steward,
and town clerk: the constable, who is lord of the manor,
and holds his office immediately under the crown, is annually
chosen on Hock-Tuesday, by the inhabitants of
the town, who are convened on that occasion by the
sound of a brazen horn, said to have been presented to
the townsmen by John of Gaunt.
The benefice is a vicarage, in the peculiar jurisdiction
and patronage of the Dean and Canons of Windsor
rated in the king's books at £9. 13. 4. The church,
dedicated to St. Lawrence, is a handsome edifice, surmounted
by a square embattled tower; it was erected
on the site of the former church, in 1814, at the
extremity of a pleasant walk, shaded by lofty trees, on
the western side of the town. A window of painted
glass, representing the figure of the tutelar saint, was
presented by Mr. Collins, of London, on the completion
of the building; in the north aisle is a circular stone,
with a brass plate, to the memory of Robert de Hungerford,
who was the first of that family settled in this
county. There are places of worship for Independents
and Wesleyan Methodists. A free grammar school for
boys and girls was founded, in 1636, by the Rev. Dr.
Sheaff, and endowed by Mr. Hamblen in 1729, and
Mrs. Cummins in 1735; and Edward Capps, an old
servant of the Hungerford family, bequeathed £ 50 for
the erection of a new school-room, and £4 per annum
as an addition to the master's salary. The National
school, a handsome brick building erected in 1814, for
an unlimited number of children, is supported by voluntary
contributions. Hungerford park, situated at
the extremity of the town, formerly the residence of the
barons of Hungerford, is now the property of Charles
Delbiac, Esq., who has erected a neat mansion in the
Italian style, on the site of the old house, which was
built by Queen Elizabeth, and given by her to the Earl
of Essex. Dr. Samuel Chandler, a learned dissenting
minister and theological writer, -was born here in 1693.