Burton-upon-Trent - Bushey

Burton-Upon-Trent (St. Mary and St. Modwena)

BURTON-UPON-TRENT (St. Mary and St. Modwena), a parish, and the head of a union, partly in the N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, and partly in the hundred of Repton and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby; comprising the township of Winshill, in Derbyshire, and the townships of Branson, Burton-Extra, Horninglow, and Stretton; and containing 8136 inhabitants, of whom 4863 are in the market-town of Burton, 24 miles (E.) from Stafford, and 124 (N. W. by N.) from London. This place derived its name from having been a Saxon burgh of some importance, and its adjunct from being situated on the river Trent. In the ninth century, St. Modwena, who had been expelled from her monastery in Ireland, came hither, and, having obtained an asylum from King Ethelwulph, in reward for a miraculous cure that she is said to have performed on his son Alfred, erected a chapel, and dedicated it to St. Andrew: the site, still called St. Modwena's Garden, is the only part visible. In 1004, Wulfric, Earl of Mercia, founded an abbey for monks of the Benedictine order, which, from the vestiges still to be traced, appears to have been one of the most considerable in the kingdom: it was a mitred abbey, richly endowed, and invested with extensive privileges; and its revenue, at the Dissolution, was £356. 16. 3. The remains consist principally of some fine Norman arches that formed part of the cloisters, which included an area 100 feet square, and of part of the entrance gateway, now converted into a shop. In 1225, a large portion of the town was destroyed by an accidental fire. In the reign of Edward II., Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, posted himself at Burton, and endeavoured to defend the passage of the river against the king; but being unsuccessful in his attempt, he fled with his forces into Scotland. During the parliamentary war, the town and neighbourhood were frequently the scene of action between the contending parties.

Burton is pleasantly situated in a fertile vale, on the western bank of the Trent, which is navigable from Gainsborough for vessels of considerable burthen, and over which is a noble bridge of freestone, 512 feet in length, having 37 arches, built prior to the Conquest, and substantially repaired in the reign of Henry II. The town consisting principally of one street, parallel with the river, is well paved, lighted with gas, and plentifully supplied with water; the houses are in general modern and well built. There is a subscription library and newsroom; and assemblies and concerts take place occasionally in the town-hall. The main branch of trade is that of brewing ale, for which the town has been highly celebrated for more than a century, large quantities being sent to London, China, and the East Indies. An ancient water-mill in the vicinity of the town, noticed in the Norman survey, is partly appropriated to the grinding of corn, and partly used as a manufactory for safes: a few articles in iron are also made, particularly screws. A company was established for regulating the navigation of the river; but a canal has been constructed, which joins the Grand Trunk canal, and affords a more direct medium for the transport of goods. Here is a principal station of the Birmingham and Derby railway, which passes on the west side of the town: in 1846 an act was passed for a railway from Burton to Nuneaton; and another act, for effecting railway communication with Uttoxeter and the Potteries. The market is on Thursday; and fairs are held on February 5th, April 5th, Holy-Thursday, July 16th, and October 29th, for cattle and cheese: the last continues six days, and is a great horse-fair.

The government is vested in a high steward, deputysteward, and bailiff, appointed by the Marquess of Anglesey, lord of the manor, who holds a court leet and view of frankpledge in October, at which the police are appointed. The bailiff is a justice of the peace, having concurrent jurisdiction with the county magistrates, and acts also as coroner; the corporation formerly had power to try and execute criminals, and to hold courts of pleas to any amount. The Genter's court is held every third Friday before the steward, or his deputy, for the recovery of debts not exceeding 40s. The powers of the county debt-court of Burton, established in 1847, extend over the greater part of the registration-district of Burton. The inhabitants, by virtue of letters-patent granted in the 11th of Henry VIII., are exempt from serving the office of sheriff, and from being summoned as jurors at the assizes and sessions for the county. The town-hall is a handsome building, erected at the expense of the Marquess of Anglesey, and containing, in addition to the offices for transacting the public business, a suite of assembly-rooms.

The parish comprises about 8000 acres, whereof twothirds are arable, and the rest meadow, with about 250 acres of wood and plantations. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Marquess of Anglesey, the impropriator; net income, £192. The ancient church belonged to the abbey, and was made collegiate by Henry VIII.: having been greatly damaged in the parliamentary war, it was taken down, and the present edifice, a well-built structure with a tower, though less embellished than the former, was erected on its site, in 1720. Attached to the church is a lectureship, endowed with £31 per annum, and in the patronage of the Bailiff and principal inhabitants. A second church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and to which a district has been assigned, was erected in 1823, on land given by the noble marquess; it is a very handsome structure in the decorated English style, and highly ornamental to the town. The church was built and endowed by the executors of Isaac Hawkins, Esq., and contains 1100 sittings, of which 750 are free: the living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £261; patron, the Marquess. Christ Church, erected in 1844 on ground given by his lordship, and to which a district has been also assigned, is a beautiful structure in the early English style, with a square tower surmounted by a graceful spire, and contains 1000 sittings, whereof 750 are free; the cost, £3000, was raised by subscription, aided by public grants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Burton; and has a parsonage, of which likewise the marquess gave the site. A church was built at Stretton in 1829. There are places of worship for General and Particular Baptists, Independents, and Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists.

The free grammar school was founded in 1520 by William Beane, abbot (whose tombstone was found in the churchyard when making alterations in 1830), and endowed by him with land producing at present £375 per annum; the head master receives £250 a year, and the second master £125: the school-house was rebuilt in 1838. Richard Allsop in 1728 bequeathed property with which land was purchased, now producing £24 per annum, to found a school for the instruction of boys; and a national school, established in 1826, is supported by subscription. Besides these, are, a school for 550 children, built in 1844; and capacious national schools attached to Trinity church. Almshouses were founded and endowed in 1634, by Ellen Parker, for six widows or maidens; and there are some others, founded in 1591 for five unmarried women, and endowed by Dame Elizabeth Pawlett, the present income of which is about £80. Of various other charities, the principal, derived from land left by Mrs. Almund, yields about £72 per annum. A savings' bank was established in 1818; and a selfsupporting dispensary in 1830. The poor law union comprises 53 parishes and places, of which 13 are in the county of Stafford, and 40 in that of Derby; and contains a population of 28,878: the workhouse stands at the north-western extremity of the town, in the township of Horninglow; it was built in 1839, at a cost of £8000, and is capable of accommodating upwards of 400 inmates. Isaac Hawkins Browne, a poet of minor celebrity, was born here about 1705.

Burton-Upon-Ure

BURTON-UPON-URE, a township, in the parish of Masham, union of Leyburn, wapentake of HangEast, N. riding of York, 1 mile (N.) from Masham; containing 200 inhabitants. It is chiefly on the eastern bank of the river Ure, and comprises by computation 2920 acres of land, extending southward to Northcote, to Nutwith, to Ilton Grange (allotted to Burton from Ilton Common), and to Aldbrough. In the last place is Aldbrough Hall, a mansion built near the site of a castle founded by William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle, who, having gained the battle of the Standard, was created Earl of York, in 1138. The tithes have been commuted for £55 payable to Trinity College, Cambridge, and £2 to the vicar.

Burton, West (St. Helen)

BURTON, WEST (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, North-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 3¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Gainsborough; containing 35 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Trent, which forms its eastern boundary; and comprises 936a. 39p. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £65; patron, John Barrow, Esq. The church is a plain edifice.

Burton, West

BURTON, WEST, a tything, in the parish and hundred of Bury, union of Sutton, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex; containing 201 inhabitants.

Burtonwood

BURTONWOOD, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Warrington, hundred of West Derby, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 5 miles (N. W.) from Warrington; containing 836 inhabitants. Burtonwood manor was held by the barons of Warrington, by the annual service of one penny at Easter; and is named in the 12th of Henry III. in the perambulation by twelve knights of the county, who returned that (among other woods) "Burton Wode" ought not to be disforested. The families of Haydock, Legh, and Bold are also named in connexion with the place. The chapelry comprises 3814 acres, whereof about 700 are arable, and the remainder pasture and meadow, with 38 acres of common or waste; the surface is nearly a perfect level, and the soil for the most part a heavy marl, but in the south lighter and more valuable. The chief proprietors are Lord Lilford and H. Bold Hoghton, Esq., the latter of whom is lord of the manor. About a mile and a half of the Liverpool and Manchester railway, and more than half a mile of the Liverpool and Birmingham line, pass through the chapelry, the former in the northern, and the latter in the eastern, part; and the Sankey canal crosses it in the direction of St. Helen's. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £90, derived partly from two farms in the neighbouring townships of Croft and Hindley, and partly from Queen Anne's Bounty; patron, the Rector of Warrington. The tithes have been commuted for £421. The chapel, built about 1736, is a plain brick edifice with a semicircular chancel, and has been lately enlarged. There is a small school, with a house for the master. At Bradley Hall, once the manor-house, is some ancient stone work, called the "Castle;" it must have been very strong, from the thickness of the walls remaining, and it is highly probable that it supported a drawbridge, as the house is surrounded by an ancient moat.

Burwardsley

BURWARDSLEY, a chapelry, in the parish of Bunbury, union of Nantwich, Higher division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester, 2 miles (S. E. by S.) from Tattenhall; containing 458 inhabitants. The manor was given by the abbot of St. Werburgh's at Chester to Roger de Combre or Fitz-Alured, on condition that he should champion for the monastery; and his daughter and coheir brought the whole or part of the estate to the Touchet family. Robert, Lord Cholmondeley, is described as lord in 1662. Of late years the manor has been esteemed as subordinate to that of Tattenhall, which belonged also to the Touchets. Burwardsley was sold in 1804 by John Crewe, Esq., afterwards Lord Crewe, to Thomas Tarlton, Esq., of Bolesworth Castle. The chapelry comprises 998a. 3r. 14p.; the surface is finely undulated, the soil clay and a light loam, and the views very extensive. There are numerous quarries of white and red sandstone, the material of one of which is of excellent quality for buildings. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of shoes. The Tattenhall station of the Chester and Crewe railway is distant about three miles only. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £46. 12.: patrons, sixteen Trustees; impropriator, Samuel Aldersey, Esq., but who will be eventually succeeded by the Haberdashers' Company. A rent-charge of £100 has been awarded as a commutation for the tithes. There is neither glebe nor glebe-house in the chapelry; but at Tattenhall is a plot of about fifteen acres. The chapel, dedicated to St. John, and beautifully situated, is a small stone building, erected by subscription in 1735. The Primitive Methodists have a place of worship.

Burwarton (St. Lawrence)

BURWARTON (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Bridgnorth, hundred of Stottesden, S. division of Salop, 9 miles (S. W.) from Bridgnorth; containing 151 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Bridgnorth to Ludlow, and comprises by computation 1240 acres, mostly pasture and woodland; about 300 acres are occupied in sheep-walks. The surface is undulated and mountainous: good ironstone is obtained. The Hon. Gustavus Hamilton is the proprietor; his mansion, built in 1840, is in the Italian style, and commands beautiful views of the Abberley, Malvern, Titterstone, and Clee hills. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 6. 8.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. John Churton: the tithes have been commuted for £102, and the glebe comprises 20 acres, with a house. The church, an edifice in the pure Norman style of architecture, was restored by Mr. Hamilton, in 1843; the eastern window is of stained glass. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Burwash (St. Bartholomew)

BURWASH (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Ticehurst, partly in the hundred of Shoyswell and Henhurst, but chiefly in that of Hawkesborough, rape of Hastings, E. division of Sussex, 8 miles (S. by W.) from Lamberhurst; containing 2093 inhabitants. The parish is on the road from Lewes to Cranbrook, which intersects the village; and comprises 7000 acres, whereof 685 are common or waste: the neighbourhood abounds with ironstone, for the smelting of which a blast-furnace formerly existed. The village is pleasantly situated on an eminence, surrounded by hills of greater elevation, and consists of one long street, containing several respectable houses. A fair for cattle and sheep is held on the 12th of May. The living consists of a sinecure rectory and a vicarage, the former valued in the king's books at £8. 10., and the latter at £18; patron and incumbent, the Rev. J. Gould: the tithes have been commuted for £1125, and the glebe comprises 80 acres. The church is partly in the early and partly in the later English style, with a square embattled tower surmounted by a low spire. There are places of worship for Calvinists and Independents; and a national school supported by an endowment of about £35. 10. per annum. On Goodsial farm is a mineral spring.

Burwell (St. Mary)

BURWELL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newmarket, hundred of Staploe, county of Cambridge, 4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Newmarket; containing 1820 inhabitants. The parish comprises 7232 acres, of which 3036 are common or waste. The village consists principally of one irregular street, nearly two miles long; the houses are built with stone obtained in the vicinity, in which pyrites and shark's teeth, in good preservation, have been found. An act for draining fen lands, and for improving the navigable cuts, was passed in 1841. A great fair for horses is held on RogationMonday, at Reach, once a market-town, now an insignificant hamlet, partly in the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the rectory of Burwell St. Andrew consolidated, valued jointly in the king's books at £50. 14. 2.; net income, £335; patrons, the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University of Cambridge (the impropriators), for two turns, and the Heirs of the late Sir E. North, for one. The church is a beautiful edifice, in the decorated English style: the rent of 100 acres of land is appropriated for its repair. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. Here are the ruins of a castle surrounded by a moat, which was besieged in the war between Stephen and the Empress Matilda, by Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, who was shot by an arrow from the walls. The parish register contains the record of a fire on September 8th, 1727, when 78 persons lost their lives. The church of St. Andrew Burwell has long been demolished, and the cemetery converted into pastureground.

Burwell (St. Michael)

BURWELL (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Louth, Wold division of the hundred of Louth-Eske, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 5¼ miles (S. by E.) from Louth; containing 174 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the road from London to Louth, appears to have been formerly of more importance than it is at present: a grant of a weekly market and two annual fairs, was made in the reign of Edward III., and confirmed in that of Elizabeth; and the ancient market cross is still remaining, in a very perfect state. The fairs are held on May-day and the festival of St. Michael (O. S.) The parish comprises 2009a. 3r. 29p. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the livings of Walmsgate and Muckton annexed, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £159; patron and impropriator, Matthew Bancroft Lister, Esq. The church is partly of Norman architecture. There are the remains of a small alien priory of Benedictine monks, founded by John de Hay, and given by some of the lords of Kyme to the abbey of St. Mary Sylvæ Majoris, near Bordeaux. This is the birthplace of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, who was grand-daughter of the wife of Sir Martin Lister, ancestor of the present proprietor of the estate.

Bury (Holy Cross)

BURY (Holy Cross), a parish, in the union of St. Ives, hundred of Hurstingstone, county of Huntingdon, 12 miles (N. N. E.) from Huntingdon; containing 359 inhabitants. This place formed part of the possessions of Ramsey Abbey; and there is a strong stone bridge of two arches over a small branch of the river Nene, which is supposed to have been built by one of the abbots. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Lady O. B. Sparrow, with a net income of £167: the tithes have been commuted for £140. A portion of land in the parish of Riseley, Bedfordshire, purchased by Queen Anne's Bounty, belongs to the living. The church is composed of the eastern part of a large cruciform edifice, and exhibits a mixture of Norman and early English architecture; the entrance to the chancel from the nave is under a carved wooden screen.

Bury (St. Mary)

BURY (St. Mary), a borough, parish, and the head of a union, chiefly in the hundred of Salford, S. division, and partly in the Higher division of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division, of the county of Lancaster; comprising the chapelries of Edenfield, Heywood, and Holcombe, the hamlet of Ramsbottom, and the townships of Bury, Coupe with Lenches, Elton, Heap, Musbury, Tottington Higher-End, Tottington LowerEnd, and Walmersley with Shuttleworth; the whole containing 62,125 inhabitants, of whom 20,710 are in the town, 48½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Lancaster, 9 (N. N. W.) from Manchester, and 195½ (N. N. W.) from London. Some antiquaries suppose this to have been a Roman station: it was certainly a Saxon town, as its name implies. Leland notices the remains of a castle near the church, the site of which, still called Castle Croft, was not far from the ancient bed of the river Irwell. This castle, one of the twelve baronial castles in the county, was finally demolished about the year 1644, by the parliamentary troops, who laid siege to the town, and battered down the small remains that were then existing: fragments of it are still occasionally discovered.

The town occupies a gentle acclivity rising from the eastern bank of the Irwell, over which is a stone bridge, and is skirted on the east by the river Roche, which falls into the Irwell about two miles and a half to the south. It is seated in a salubrious and open country, beyond which are lofty and majestic mountains; and the district abounds with coal and water, rendering it extremely eligible for the numerous establishments in which the population is engaged. The town has been greatly improved of late years; and contains a public subscription library, three newsrooms, a mechanics' institution, and a medical society re-established in 1846. The woollentrade was introduced in the reign of Edward III., and increased so as to constitute the staple trade of the town in the reign of Elizabeth, who stationed one of her alnagers here, to stamp the cloth; it is still carried on to a considerable extent. In 1845, there were in the borough, in active operation, twelve woollen manufactories, twenty-six cotton-mills for spinning and weaving, six iron-foundries, and four paper-mills; in which 6022 hands, and 1599-horse power, were employed. Besides these, were twelve calico bleachers and printers, a branch of business introduced here by the late Sir Robert Peel, Bart., using machinery of 431-horse power, and employing 3131 hands; also five dyers and logwoodgrinders. The manufactures indeed are so many and various, that if depression or stagnation occur in one branch, the working-classes find employment in another; and distress is consequently less felt in Bury than in other places where only one article is made. Among the works is the Wood Hill cotton-mill, belonging to Messrs. Thomas Calrow and Sons, established sixty years ago, and employing 800 hands; it is worked by two of the largest water-wheels on the Irwell, the wheels being 28 feet high and 16 wide, with 18-inch buckets, and equal to 284-horse power, besides which are two steam-engines of 80-horse power. The Hud-Car mill of Messrs. William Greg and Company employs 500 hands in spinning and weaving, using 25,000 lb. of cotton, and consuming 60 tons of coal, per week. The Butcher-lane mill of Messrs. Charles Openshaw and Son, which employs 550 hands, spins per week 20,000 lb. of cotton, and consumes 80 tons of coal; it has two engines of 50 and 60 horse power. A branch of the Manchester and Bolton canal was constructed in 1791; and the following railways have a station at Bury: 1st., the Liverpool, Wigan, Bolton, and Bury; 2nd., the East Lancashire; and 3rd., the Bury and Heywood branch of the Manchester and Leeds railway. The market is on Saturday; and fairs are held in March, May, and September. An act was passed in 1839 for regulating the markets and fairs, and also providing a market-place, which has since been erected by the Earl of Derby. One mile from the town, on the Bolton road, are commodious barracks, built in 1845, on a site given by the earl, and capable of accommodating 350 men and 48 horses; and near these barracks is the Wellington hotel, erected the same year.

By the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the town was constituted a borough, with the privilege of sending a member to parliament, the right of election being vested in the £10 householders: the limits of the borough comprise by estimation 3660 acres; the returning officer is appointed by the sheriff. The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold petty-sessions on every Monday and Friday: the powers of the county debt-court of Bury, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Bury. Courts leet are held in April and October, and at Whitsuntide; and a court baron every third week for the recovery of debts under 40s. The county police was introduced 12th August, 1841. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £29. 11. 5½.; net income, £1937; patron, the Earl of Derby. The tithes of Bury township have been commuted for £80, and the glebe consists of 89 acres. The parochial church was taken down and rebuilt in 1776, and in 1844 a beautiful stone tower and a graceful spire were erected. St. John's church, a neat edifice, was erected in 1770: the living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £150, and in the patronage of the Rector. St. Paul's church was built at a cost of £7000, in 1841, and a district was assigned to it in 1842; it is a neat stone structure in the early English style, with a tower: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Trustees, with a net income of £150, and a house. Other livings are maintained at Edenfield, Elton, Heap, Heywood, Holcombe, Musbury, Ramsbottom, Shuttleworth, Tottington, and Walmersley. There are places of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists, Wesleyans, New Connexion of Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Unitarians; and a Roman Catholic chapel, erected in the year 1840.

The free grammar school was founded in 1726, by the Rev. Roger Kay, who endowed it with estates now producing nearly £500 per annum. It is divided into a classical school, of which the head master must be a graduate of one of the universities, and an English school, with two masters; and is under the direction of trustees, thirteen in number, including the Dean of Manchester, the rectors of Bury and Prestwich, and four incumbents of parishes within ten miles of Bury. There are two exhibitions attached to the school, originally of £25 each, but now augmented by a benefaction of the late Dean Wood's, and varying from £30 to £35, at the pleasure of the trustees; they are limited to the colleges of St. John's, Cambridge, and Brasenose, Oxford. A school was founded in 1748, by the Hon. and Rev. John Stanley, a former rector, who, on three occasions, gave £300, and whose lady gave £68, towards its support; in 1803 the late Sir Robert Peel contributed £100, and other persons have added various sums, making the investment at present £1108: the total income is £199. Several other large schools are in connexion with the Church. A savings' bank was established in 1822, and a dispensary in 1829; and there is also a lying-in charity. The union of Bury contains a population of 77,496. The Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Peel, lately first minister of the crown, was born, in 1788, at Chamber Hall, a mansion in the parish, at present the residence of the family of Hardman.

Bury

BURY, a parish, in the union of Sutton, hundred of Bury, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 7 miles (S. by E.) from Petworth; containing, with the tything of West Burton, 611 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises 3397a. 3r. 18p., is bounded on the east by the river Arun, and on the north by the Rother, and is intersected by the road from London to Bognor and Arundel: an act for inclosing lands was passed in 1841. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 5. 5.; net income, £100; patron, the Prebendary of Bury in the Cathedral of Chichester. The tithes have been commuted for £485, and there is a good glebe-house, with about 20 acres of land. The church is an ancient edifice in the later English style, consisting of a nave, north aisle, and chancel, with a square embattled tower surmounted by a low shingled spire: in the north window are the arms of Richard, Earl of Arundel, who purchased the manor from the abbey of Fescamp, in Normandy, in 1392.

Bury St. Edmund's

BURY ST. EDMUND'S, a borough and market-town, having exclusive jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of Thingoe, West division of Suffolk, 26½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Ipswich, and 72 (N. E. by E.) from London; containing 12,538 inhabitants. This was a place of importance before the introduction of Christianity into Britain, and is by some antiquaries supposed to have been the Villa Faustini of the Romans. That it was in the possession of that people is evident, from the discovery of many Roman antiquities. Soon after the settlement of the Saxons it was made a royal borough, and called Beodrics worthe, signifying "the dwelling of Beodric:" it subsequently belonged to Offa, King of East Anglia, who, at his death, bequeathed it to Edmund, afterwards canonized as a martyr, from whom it was named St. Edmund's Bury. Edmund, having succeeded to the kingdom of East Anglia on the death of Offa, was crowned here, in the fifteenth year of his age; but, being taken prisoner by the Danes, who in 870 made an irruption into this part of the country, he was cruelly put to death. The circumstances attending his death and burial are thus superstitiously related: on his refusal to become a vassal to the conquerors, they bound him to a tree, pierced his body with arrows, and striking off his head, threw it into a neighbouring forest. After the enemy had retired, the East Anglians assembled to perform the funeral obsequies to the remains of their sovereign; and having found the body, they went into the forest to search for the head, and discovered it between the fore-paws of a wolf, which immediately resigned it on their approach. The head, on being placed in contact with the trunk, is then said to have re-united so closely, that the juncture was scarcely visible. The subject of this story has been assumed for the device of the corporation seal.

Forty days after his death, the remains of Edmund, which had been interred at Hoxne, in a small chapel built of wood, were, from the report of miracles wrought at his tomb being promulgated and believed, removed to this place in 903; and a new church was built in honour of him, by some Secular priests, who were incorporated by King Athelstan, about the year 925, and the establishment made collegiate. The town and church having been nearly destroyed by Sweyn, King of Denmark, in 1010, were restored by Canute, who raised the town to more than its original splendour, rebuilt the church and monastery, which he endowed with great possessions, and, expelling the Secular canons, placed in their stead monks of the Benedictine order. The monastery of St. Edmund in process of time became one of the most splendid establishments in the kingdom; and, in magnificent buildings, costly decorations, valuable immunities, and rich endowments, was inferior only to that of Glastonbury. In the year 1327, the townsmen and neighbouring villagers, assembling to the number of 20,000, headed by their aldermen and capital burgesses, made a violent attack upon it, and reduced a considerable part to ashes: they wounded the monks, and pillaged the coffers, from which they took the charters, deeds, and other valuable property, including plate, £5000 sterling, and 3000 florins of gold. The king, on being informed of the outrage, sent a military force to quell the tumult; the aldermen and twentyfour of the burgesses were imprisoned, and thirty carts loaded with rioters were sent to Norwich. Of these, nineteen were executed; thirty-two of the parochial clergy were also convicted as abettors; and the inhabitants were adjudged to pay a fine of £140,000, which was afterwards mitigated on the restoration of the stolen property. The monastery remained in the possession of the Benedictine monks for 519 years; it contained within its precincts the churches of St. Margaret, St. Mary, and St. James, and its revenue, at the Dissolution, was £2336. 16. The remains consist chiefly of the abbey-gate, still entire, and displaying some elegant features in the decorated English style; the abbey bridge, in good preservation; and detached portions of the walls, which still exhibit traces of former magnificence. About 1256, a fraternity of the Franciscan order came to Bury, but they were compelled by the abbot to remove beyond the precincts of the town, where their establishment continued till the Dissolution.

Henry I., on his return from Chartres, repaired to the shrine of St. Edmund, where he presented a rich offering, in gratitude for his safe return to his dominions. In 1173, Henry II., having assembled a large army at this place, to oppose his rebellious sons, caused the sacred standard of St. Edmund to be borne in front of his troops; and to its influence was ascribed the victory that he obtained in the battle of the 27th of October. In 1214, King John was met here by the barons. Henry III. held a parliament at Bury in 1272, which may be regarded as the outline of a British house of commons; and in 1296, Edward I. visited the town, where he also held a parliament. In 1381, Sir John Cavendish, lord chief justice, was brought hither and beheaded by the Suffolk and Norfolk insurgents, amounting to 50,000 men, who afterwards attacked the abbey, executed the prior, Sir John Cambridge, and continued their career of lawless outrage till they were finally dispersed by the exertions of Spencer, the martial Bishop of Norwich. In 1526, the Dukes of Suffolk and Norfolk assembled their forces here, to quell a dangerous insurrection of the inhabitants of Lavenham and the adjacent country; and on the death of Edward VI., in 1553, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, made this place the rendezvous of his forces, when he caused Lady Jane Grey to be proclaimed successor to the throne. In 1555–6, twelve persons were burned at the stake, in the persecutions during the reign of Mary: in 1583, her successor, Elizabeth, visited Bury, where she was magnificently entertained.

The town is delightfully situated upon a gentle eminence, on the western bank of the river Larke, also called the Bourne, in the centre of an open and richly cultivated tract of country; the streets are spacious, well paved, and lighted with gas. The houses are in general uniform, and handsomely built, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water; the air is salubrious, the environs abound with interesting scenery, and the peculiar cleanliness of the town, and the number and variety of its public institutions, render it desirable as a place of residence. The subscription library, formed by the union of two separate establishments, one of which was founded in 1790, and the other in 1795, contains a valuable collection, and is liberally supported: there are also a newsroom, four circulating libraries, a mechanics' institute, and a billiard-room. The botanic garden, to which the abbey-gate forms the principal entrance, is an agreeable promenade, supported by an annual subscription of two guineas from each member. The theatre, a neat building erected in 1819, is opened during the great fair, by the Norwich company of comedians. Concerts take place occasionally in the old theatre, built in 1780, which has been converted to this use; and assemblies are held during the season at the subscription-rooms, erected in 1804, and handsomely fitted up. The spinning of yarn was formerly the principal source of employment for the poor, and the halls in which the wool was deposited are yet standing; but no particular branch of manufacture is at present carried on. About a mile from the town the river Larke becomes navigable to Lynn, whence coal and other commodities are brought hither in small barges. A railway to Ipswich, communicating with the line from Ipswich to London, was opened in Dec. 1846. The market-days are Wednesday and Saturday, the former for corn, &c. and the latter for meat and poultry. Fairs are held on the Tuesday in Easter-week, for toys, &c.; and on October 1st, and December 1st, for horses, cattle, butter, and cheese: the great fair commences on the 10th of October, and generally continues about three weeks.

The Government, by charter of incorporation granted in the 4th of James I., and extended in the 6th and 12th of the same reign, and the 20th of Charles II., was vested in an alderman, six assistants, twelve capital burgesses, twenty-four common-councilmen, a recorder, coroner, town-clerk, four serjeants-at-mace, and subordinate officers; but by the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76., the corporation now consists of a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors, and the total number of magistrates is sixteen. The freedom is acquired by apprenticeship to a freeman, and by birth. The borough first received a precept to return representatives to parliament in the 30th of Edward I., but made no subsequent return till the 4th of James I., since which it has continued to send two members. The right of election was formerly vested exclusively in the aldermen, burgesses, and common-councilmen; but, by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, was extended to the £10 householders of the parishes of St. Mary and St. James, which constitute the borough, and comprise 3000 acres. The mayor is returning officer. The corporation hold courts of session for the trial of capital offenders, under a grant from William IV.; and a court of record, which embraces all pleas where the cause of action has arisen within the precincts of the borough, and the damages do not exceed £200, is held once a month. Pettysessions occur weekly; and a court for the recovery of debts under 40s. is holden under the chief steward of the liberty. The assizes for the county and liberty, the latter of which comprises seven hundreds within the county, are held here and at Ipswich alternately, there being always a separate commission for the borough and liberty; also the general quarter-sessions are held here for a certain district of the county. The powers of the county debt-court of Bury, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Bury and Thingoe, and part of the district of Stow. The shire-hall, on the site of the ancient church of St. Margaret, is a neat modern building, containing two courts for civil and criminal causes. The guildhall, where the borough courts are held, has a beautiful ancient porch of flint, brick, and stone, on which are sculptured the arms of the borough. The town bridewell, situated on the Hog Hill, was formerly a synagogue; the circular windows bespeak its antiquity, and it appears, from other parts, to be of Norman origin. The county gaol, erected in 1805, is a spacious building upon the radiating principle, surrounded by a stone wall, inclosing an octagonal area, the diameter of which is 292 feet: the house of correction near the gaol is arranged with a due regard to classification.

Bury comprises the parishes of St. Mary and St. James, each containing 6269 inhabitants. The living of each is a donative, the former in the patronage of J. Fitz-Gerald, Jun., Esq., and the latter in that of H. Wilson, Esq.: net income of St. Mary's, £110; and of St. James, which is commonly called a preachership, £106. The church dedicated to St. Mary, completed about the year 1433, is a spacious and elegant structure chiefly in the later English style, with a low massive tower; the north door is in the decorated style, and the porch, the roof of which is singularly beautiful, of later date. On the north side of the altar is a modern tablet of white marble to the memory of Mary Tudor, third daughter of Henry VII., wife of Louis XII. of France, and afterwards of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. The reredos, or carved screen behind the communion-table, presented by a lady whose name is not divulged, was finished in 1847, and is a beautiful piece of stone-work, harmonizing with the general character of the edifice. A painted window, a memorial of the families of the Bishop of London and the late John Smith and James Conran, Esqrs., of the town, has been fixed over the screen, and forms a fine termination of the vista of this noble building. The church of St. James is a large and handsome edifice, in the later style of English architecture, of which the western end is a rich specimen; the church gate, leading to the precinct of the abbey, is surmounted by a Norman tower. A district church dedicated to St. John has been erected in the parish of St. James; the patronage is vested in the Bishop of Ely. There are places of worship for Independents, Baptists, the Society of Friends, Methodists, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics.

The grammar school, founded by Edward VI., in the fourth year of his reign, and placed under the control of 16 governors, is open to the sons of inhabitants, upon the payment of two guineas entrance, and the same sum per annum, if taught Latin and Greek; the annual income is £411. 15. The school has four exhibitions, tenable for four years, of the annual value of £20 each, founded by Edward Hewer in the 11th of Elizabeth; two others, of the value of £25 each, founded under a bequest by Dean Sudbury in 1670, to either of the Universities; a scholarship at Corpus Christi; and another at Jesus College, Cambridge. The residue of the funds of Dean Sudbury's bequest, which amount in the aggregate to £154 per annum, is applied in apprenticing four children. A new school-house has been erected, over the entrance to which is a bust of the founder, with an appropriate inscription. The school produced Archbishop Sancroft; the three judges, Sir Edward Alderson, Sir John Patteson, and Sir R. M. Rolfe; Bishop Blomfield, and his brother, the Rev. Edward Valentine Blomfield; the distinguished Romilly, and Kemble. The feoffees of the Guildhall estate hold in trust, for charitable uses, certain buildings, lands, and rent-charges, producing an annual income of £2038: a part of the estates was given by John Smyth, Esq., an inhabitant and a great benefactor to the town. The affairs were some years ago in chancery, and in 1842 a new distribution of the funds was ordered to be made. Clopton's asylum was founded for the support of six aged widowers, and the same number of widows, in 1730, by Poley Clopton, M.D., who endowed it with property producing £730 per annum; it is a neat brick building with projecting wings, having the arms of the founder over the entrance in the centre. Some minor charities, amounting in the whole to a considerable sum, are distributed among the poor. The Suffolk general hospital, established in 1825, and supported by subscription, was originally built by government for an ordnance depôt, but was afterwards purchased and converted to its present use.

The abbey remains have been already noticed. Near the north gate of the town, on the road to Thetford, are the ruins of St. Saviour's hospital, founded in the reign of King John, with an income of 153 marks, and where the "good" Duke of Gloucester is believed to have been murdered. A little beyond it stood St. Thomas' hospital and chapel, now a private dwelling; and about half a mile distant may be traced the site of the old Franciscan priory. Various other ruins, connected with the abbey and its early history, are visible. Many minor institutions were dependent on it, of which there are not at present any remains: among these may be noticed a college of priests, dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus, founded in the reign of Edward IV., suppressed in that of Edward VI.; an hospital dedicated to St. John, established by one of the abbots in the reign of Edward I.; an hospital dedicated to St. Nicholas, founded also by an abbot of St. Edmund's, and the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £6. 19. 11.: and St. Peter's hospital, instituted in the latter part of the reign of Henry I., or the beginning of that of Stephen, and the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £10. 18. 11. Sir Nicholas Bacon, Bishops Gardiner and Pretyman, and Dr. Blomfield, the present Bishop of London, were born at this place. It confers the title of Viscount on the family of Keppel, earls of Albemarle.

Burythorp (All Saints)

BURYTHORP (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Malton, wapentake of Buckrose, E. riding of York, 4 miles (S.) from Malton; containing 226 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Malton to Pocklington, at the base of the Yorkshire Wolds, and comprises about 1200 acres, of which two-thirds are arable, and the remainder meadow, pasture, and woodland; the surface is hilly, the soil various, and in general good, and the scenery in many situations very beautiful. Stone is quarried for burning into lime, and for the roads. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 16. 3., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £264. 9. 9., and the glebe comprises 25 acres. The church is an ancient edifice with substantial buttresses. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. In 1768, Francis Consith died here, at the extraordinary age of 150 years.

Busby, Great

BUSBY, GREAT, a township, in the parish and union of Stokesley, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 2¼ miles (S.) from Stokesley; containing 114 inhabitants. The manor of this place, which was ancient demesne of the crown, was granted by the Conqueror to Robert de Brus, of Skelton Castle, and his descendants continued lords till the death of Peter de Brus, the fourth, without issue, when the lands came to the family of de Roos, who held of the king in capite. Among the other principal proprietors in former times, occur the family of de Mowbray, and the monks of Rivaulx and of Fountains. The township is situated a little to the south-west of the road from Stokesley to Thirsk; and comprises, with Little Busby formerly united with it, 2090 acres of land. The tithes have been commuted for £201.

Busby, Little

BUSBY, LITTLE, a township, in the parish and union of Stokesley, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 2½ miles (S.) from Stokesley; containing 34 inhabitants. It is a small hamlet, distant about a mile from the village of Great Busby, and contains Busby Hall, a handsome stone mansion occupying a commanding eminence. The tithes have been commuted for £73.

Buscot, or Burwascot (St. Mary)

BUSCOT, or Burwascot (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Farringdon, hundred of Shrivenham, county of Berks, 1½ mile (S. by E.) from Lechlade; containing 405 inhabitants, and comprising 2684a. 2r. 31p. About 100 acres are cottages and waste. Buscot-Park House, beautifully situated on the bank of the Thames, was built in 1781, by Pryse Loveden, Esq.; prior to which, the family mansion of the Lovedens was near the church. Mr. Loveden took the name of Pryse, on coming into possession of property in Wales, as heir to his maternal grandfather. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £21. 2. 8½., and in the patronage of Pryse Pryse, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £535, and the glebe consists of 64 acres.

Bushbury, or Byshbury (St. Mary)

BUSHBURY, or Byshbury (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Penkridge, partly in the E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, and partly in the N. division of that of Seisdon, S. division of the county of Stafford, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Wolverhampton; containing, with the township of Essington, and the hamlet of Moseley, 1509 inhabitants. This parish comprises 6400 acres, mostly arable land, well wooded. The surface is undulated, and partly elevated; and from Bushbury hill, 650 feet above the level of the sea, are most extensive and beautiful views, embracing the Cley hills on the south-west, the Wrekin on the west, and Stafford, &c., on the north. The population is almost entirely agricultural. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal, and the Grand Junction railway, pass through the parish. The village is sheltered on the east by the hill, which is covered with a profusion of yew and other trees; and in the vicinity are some handsome mansions. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 11. 5½., and in the patronage of the Landowners; net income, £159. The church, which has a square tower, belonged to the priory of St. Thomas, near Stafford; it was built about 1460, and was repaired and enlarged in 1834, when 250 sittings were gained. A school is supported by subscription. Near the village appears a considerable tumulus.

Bushby

BUSHBY, a hamlet, in the parish of Thurnby, union of Billesdon, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester, 4¼ miles (E. by S.) from Leicester; containing 86 inhabitants. It lies on the road from Leicester to Uppingham; and comprises 665 acres, whereof 161 are arable, 483 meadow and pasture, 18 acres homesteads and gardens, and 3 woodland. The tithes have been commuted for £50. The poor share in a bequest of £100, the interest of which is distributed yearly.

Bushey (St. James)

BUSHEY (St. James), a parish, in the union of Watford, hundred of Dacorum, though locally in the hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford, 1¼ mile (S. E.) from Watford; containing 2675 inhabitants. This place appears to have attained some importance at an early period; and in the third of Edward I., David de Jarpanville, in answer to a writ of quo warranto issued by that monarch, claimed the privilege of holding a market here. The parish comprises 3188 acres, of which 970 are arable, and nearly all the rest meadow and pasture; 267 acres are common or waste: it is intersected by the London and Birmingham railway, which passes within a mile of the church. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £18. 2. 1., and in the patronage of Exeter College, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £765, and the glebe contains 35 acres, with a house. At Bushey Heath is St. Peter's church, consecrated in June, 1837, a handsome edifice in the early English style, containing 400 sittings, of which 200 are free: the Rector is patron.