Earl of Huntingdon

Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland (David of Scotland).

The seventh and most recent creation dates to 1529. In this lineage, the current holder of the title is William Hastings-Bass, 17th Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1948).

In English folklore, the title is sometimes associated with Robin Hood.

Early history

Huntingdonshire was part of East Anglia, inhabited by a population known as the Gyrwas from about the 6th century. It fell to the Danes in the 9th century, but was re-conquered under Edward the Elder in 915. An earldom of Huntingdon was established shortly after, and it was one of the seven earldoms of Saxon England during the reign of king Edward the Confessor. It was created for Bjorn Eastrithson, cousin to Harold Godwinson (later king Harold). The earldom at that time carried extensive powers and covered a wide area of East Midlands, covering the counties of Northampton and Bedford as well as Huntingdon.

Huntingdon

Coordinates: 52°20′11″N 0°10′18″W / 52.3364°N 0.1717°W / 52.3364; -0.1717

Huntingdon is a market town, located in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell, who was born in 1599 and was the member of parliament (MP) for the town in the 17th century. The former Conservative Prime Minister John Major was the MP for the town from 1979 to 2001.

History

Huntingdon was founded by the Anglo-Saxons and Danes. Mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it seems that it was a staging post for Danish raids outside of east Anglia until 917, when the Danes relocated to Tempsford, before being crushed by Edward the Elder. It prospered successively as a bridging point of the River Great Ouse, as a market town, and in the 18th and 19th centuries as a coaching centre, most notably The George Hotel. The town has a well-preserved medieval bridge that used to serve as the main route of Ermine Street over the river. The bridge only ceased to be the sole crossing point to Godmanchester in 1975, with the advent of what is now the A14 bypass.

Huntingdon (disambiguation)

Huntingdon may refer to:

Geographic locations

Canada

New Zealand

United Kingdom

United States

People

Huntingdon (Boyce, Virginia)

Huntingdon, also known as The Meadow, is a historic plantation home located near Boyce, Clarke County, Virginia. The original section was built about 1830, and is a two-story, five bay, stone I-house dwelling with a gable roof. A rear ell was added around 1850, making a "T"-shaped house. Also on the property are a contributing pyramidal roofed mid-19th-century smokehouse and a stone-lined ice pit with a late 19th-century, square-notched log icehouse.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

References