Your Guide to Buying a Home in Kensington, NH

Buying a Home in Kensington, New Hampshire

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Kensington is located in Rockingham County

Kensington is a community where old fashion values still prevail. Approximately 12 square miles in size, Kensington has four state owned roads running through it: Routes 84, 107, 108, and 150.

Kensington, New Hampshire is often described as a bedroom community for cities such as Boston and Manchester, Kensington is far more. The community's proximity to I-95 and the thriving industrial centers of Boston, Manchester and Portsmouth belies its pleasurable combination of winding country roads, beautiful colonial homes and scenic agricultural land. But that's exactly what this town offers - a peaceful respite and an appealing lifestyle.

Kensington is a community where old fashion values still prevail. The downtown still reflects small town rural New Hampshire and appears almost unchanged since the 19th century. Although small, it serves the needs of the community well: a Town Hall, an elementary school (grades K-5), a library, two churches, Fire Department, Police Department, and a cemetery. Two restaurants, a convenience store, and James R. Rosencrantz form the commercial base of Kensington, with Exeter & Hampton Electric the primary industry in the town.The center of town includes the Unitarian Church, now only active for two weeks each December, the small town hall and the Congregational Church. On the border with Massachusetts, Kensington remains a community of farms, woodlands & pastures, and wetlands with street names like Stumpfield, Wild Pasture, Drinkwater, Hemlock, Juniper, and Muddy Pond. Kensington is an oasis away from the industrial world. That's the way the citizens have kept it for a number of years, and probably the way it will stay for years to come.

History:

Kensington was one of 27 towns granted by Massachusetts Gov. Jonathan Belcher in the 1730s before New Hampshire gained its independence. The town is named after Baron Kensington, former owner of London’s well-known Kensington Palace. The Baron received his title from a relative who owned property in the borough of Kensington, now a part of London.

With a mere 1,787 residents recorded in 1998, Kensington had maintained its rural landscape of antique churches and tranquil ponds and brooks. It’s not surprising that Joseph R. Rosencrantz & Sons, Inc., a farm equipment and lawnmower retailer on Rt. 107, is one of the town’s largest employers. Meanwhile, Kensington Grocery on Amesbury Road is the place to shop and get caught up on town news. In 1965 the little Granite State town made national headlines when local teen-ager Norman Muscarello reported seeing an unidentified flying object at a farm on Rt. 150 in Kensington. Rushing into the Exeter police station, he described the UFO as larger than a house in diameter with pulsating red lights around its rim. Exeter police confirmed Muscarello’s sighting when an officer went back to Rt. 150 to investigate. In 1966, the UFO story became fodder for John Fuller’s book “Incident at Exeter.”

Population: 1,893 (1999 est.)

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