Denford Park, Kintbury - Hungerford Virtual Museum

DenfordPark. Kintburv, Berkshire
2. Outline History
2.1 Denford
Denford Park sits on higher ground overlooking the valley of the Kennet just to the
north-east of the ancient market town of Hungerford in western Berkshire, close to the
county border with Wiltshire. The rather scattered settlement of Denford is in the
northern and western part of the modern parish of Kintbury, consisting of a riverside
core and rising land to the north.
There is considerable evidence of prehistoric settlement in this area of the Kennet
valley and traces of a probably Roman road, perhaps part of the Iknield Street, have
been identified to the north of Denford Park; there is mention of a road called Iknield
Street and another called Coleway in deeds of circa 1252 and the site of a Roman
building has been identified in Kintbury itself. 2
In about 93 5AD the estate of Denforda, then in Wessex, was bequeathed by Wulgar
to Athelstan and Cynestan, providing that they obeyed him until he died; they could
have been his kinsmen. 3 Although tempting, the possibility that the name refers to the
'Dane's Ford' over the Kennet seems unlikely; instead the name probably derives
from the 'ford' in a valley - denu - the valley probably being the small side valley
that leads up to the position of the present Denford Park.
In the late Saxon period Daneford was in Kintbury Hundred and held by Alweard
immediately prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066; it was then assessed at 10 hides
and was worth 100 shillings a year. 5 Sometime after the Conquest it was given to a
Norman, William de Eu; at the time of the Domesday Survey of 1086 it was assessed
at just 5 hides but was worth £4 a year. 6
It was then a small village, with four villans, four bordars and three slaves 3 slaves,
and it had a church. 7 The church is mentioned as being a chapel of Kintbury in deeds
of 1179, 1199 and 1270 but there are no subsequent surviving references to it until a
new one was built at the start of the 19 th century. 8
In 1095 William de Eu took part in a failed rebellion against William II and although
not executed, was, in January 1196, condemned to be blinded and mutilated and lost
his lands. 9
2 Page, W, Ditchfield, P H, & Cope, J Hautenville (eds.), 1972, The Victoria County History of
Berkshire, Vol. IV, 206
3 VCH, op. cit., 212-3; Gelling, M, 1974, The Place-Names of Berkshire, Part II, 314
4 Gelling, qp. cit., 314
5 Williams, A, & Martin, G H (eds.), 2002, Domesday Book: A Complete Translation, 150
6 ibid
7 ibid
8 VCH, op. cit., 216-1
9 VCH, op. cit., 212
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Richard K Morriss & Associates, Historic Buildings Consultants, Bromlow House, Bromlow, Shropshire, SYS OEA