Kintbury

"KINTBURY, a parish in the hundred of Kintbury Eagle, county Berks, 3½ miles S.E. of Hungerford, its post town. It is a station on the Hungerford branch of the Great Western railway. It is situated on the river Kennet, and the Kennet and Avon canal passes through the parish. It was anciently called Kennetbury, and was formerly a market town and had two fairs. It contains the townships of Holt and Denford. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the silk mills. The parish, which is considerable, has a large tract of common. Many Saxon coins of the reign of Edwy were found here in 1762. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £402, and the vicarial for £803. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford, value £607. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure with a square tower. In the interior are several ancient monuments of the Dundas and other families. There is also a district church at Denford, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £40. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have each a chapel, and there is a Sunday-school in connection with the latter. The parochial charities produce about £20 per annum. Admiral Dundas is lord of the manor.

"HOLT, a tything in the parish of Kintbury, county Berks, 5 miles VV. of Newbury."

From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland(1868). Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003.

Other descriptions can be found from other periods in various trade directories covering Berkshire from the early 19th century onwards, from Berkshire FHS, and from A Vision of Britain Through Time.