Huntington Castle

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Huntington Castle was situated in the village of Huntington, 2½ miles south-west of Kington, Herefordshire (grid reference SO249539).

It is likely that this castle was built as the successor of nearby Kington Castle which was destroyed at some time between 1216 and 1228. The castle had been in the hands of the de Braose family but was seized in 1228 by Henry III following the death of Reginald de Braose, 9th Baron Abergavenny. However the castle must have been returned to the de Braose family because on the death of William de Braose, 10th Baron Abergavenny it passed by marriage to the de Bohun family. It remained in this family until the death of its last male heir in 1372. The eldest daughter of the family married Henry, Earl of Derby who was elevated to the rank of Duke of Hereford by Richard II, his cousin. It remained his property until his accession to the throne as Henry IV in 1399.

The castle then passed to Edward de Stafford, Earl of Buckingham. In 1403 he was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury and possession passed to his widow who then refortified the castle against Owain Glyndŵr. It appears that it then went into decline. By 1564 it was in the possession of the Crown but then passed through a succession of hands. By the time of the English Civil War in 1642 it was a total ruin. Now only the earthworks and some portions of stonework remain.