Elmstead - Elsworth

Elmstead (St. Anne)

ELMSTEAD (St. Anne), a parish, in the union and hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex, 4¼ miles (E. by N.) from Colchester; containing 809 inhabitants. This place, which derives its name from the abundance and luxuriant growth of elms, is partly bounded by the river Colne, and comprises 2692 acres, whereof 289 are in wood; the surface is generally flat, and the soil light and gravelly. A fair, chiefly for toys, is held on the 15th of May. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £310; patrons and impropriators, the Master and Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge. The church is a very ancient edifice, with a tower scarcely rising above the roof; it consists of a nave, chancel, and south aisle, between which last and the nave is an effigy in wood of a Knight Templar. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The parish is crossed by a Roman road from Colchester to Harwich.

Elmsted (St. James)

ELMSTED (St. James), a parish, in the union of Elham, hundred of Stouting, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 10 miles (S. by W.) from Canterbury; containing 505 inhabitants. It comprises 2683a. 2r. 33p., of which 1247 acres are arable, 979 meadow and pasture, 51 in hop plantations, 295 wood, and the remainder common. A fair is held on July 25th. The living is a discharged vicarage, united to the rectory of Hastingleigh, and valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.

Elmsthorpe

ELMSTHORPE, a parish, in the union of Hinckley, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 3 miles (N. E. by E.) from Hinckley; containing 36 inhabitants. A portion of the army of Richard III. encamped here on the night previous to the battle of Bosworth-Field, and took shelter within the dilapidated walls of the ruined church, which has since been converted into a barn. The living is a rectory, annexed to the rectory of Barwell, and valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.

Elmstone

ELMSTONE, a parish, in the union of Eastry, hundred of Preston, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 2¼ miles (N. E. by N.) from Wingham; containing 81 inhabitants. It is situated about three miles south of the river Stour, and comprises 431a. 3r. 37p., including about 12 acres of hop-grounds: the soil is generally fertile, and the surface flat, and thinly wooded. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 7. 8½., and in the gift of Wm. Delmar, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £267. 9., and there are 11½ acres of glebe. The church, which stands on an eminence, is built of flint, in the early English style, and has been lately repaired.

Elmstone-Hardwicke (St. Mary Magdalene)

ELMSTONE-HARDWICKE (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the unions of Tewkesbury and Cheltenham, partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Deerhurst, but chiefly in the Lower division of the hundred of Westminster, E. division of the county of Gloucester; containing 410 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Chelt, and intersected by the high road from Cheltenham to Worcester and Malvern; it comprises 2562a. 2r. 26p., chiefly in tillage, and extends to within less than two miles of Cheltenham. Stone of a blue colour, and very soft, is quarried for inferior uses. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 2. 3½., and in the patronage of the Crown. The tithes have been commuted in two separate portions; the great tithes of Hardwicke for £370, and the vicarial for £147. 10.; the great tithes of Uckington for £313. 10., and the vicarial for £72: the vicarial glebe comprises nearly 9¾ acres, with a glebe-house lately built at the cost of the incumbent, the Rev. John Byron. The church is a neat plain edifice of early date, repaired in 1846-7. Springs of water, similar to those at Cheltenham, are said to exist in the parish.

Elmswell (St. John the Evangelist)

ELMSWELL (St. John the Evangelist), a parish, in the union of Stow, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of Suffolk, 1 mile (N. N. E.) from Woolpit; containing 671 inhabitants. The parish is situated on a commanding eminence, and comprises about 2100 acres; the soil is partly mixed and partly a stony clay. The Elmswell station of the Ipswich and Bury railway is six miles from the Stow-Market station, and nine miles from that of Bury. Elmswell Hall, a hunting seat belonging to the abbots of Bury St. Edmund's, was given in the reign of James I. to Sir Robert Gardiner, and is now a farmhouse. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 7. 11; patron and incumbent, the Rev. J. T. Lawton, whose tithes have been commuted for £492. 4., and whose glebe comprises 19 acres. The church is a handsome structure in the decorated English style, with a square embattled tower; in the south aisle is a monument to Sir Robert Gardiner. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. An almshouse was founded, and endowed with land, by Sir R. Gardiner, for six poor widows.

Elmton (St. Peter)

ELMTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Worksop, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 9 miles (E. by N.) from Chesterfield; containing, with the township of Creswell, 433 inhabitants. It comprises about 1200 acres; the surface is level, with some small undulations, and the soil a thin marl resting on limestone. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 1. 3.; net income, £55; patron and impropriator, the Rev. C. H. R. Rodes. The extraordinary arithmetical calculator, Jedediah Buxton, was born at this place in 1707, and in 1772 was buried here.

Elsdon (St. Cuthbert)

ELSDON (St. Cuthbert), a parish, partly in the union of Bellingham, and partly in that of Rothbury, S. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland; comprising the townships or wards of Elsdon, Monkridge, Otterburn, Rochester, Troughend, and Woodside; and containing 1680 inhabitants, of whom 282 are in Elsdon township, 18½ miles (W. N. W.) from Morpeth. The river Rede rises at the foot of the Carter mountains, which separate England from Scotland, and runs through a great part of the parish; it gave name to the franchise of Redesdale, the lords of which, from a very remote time, exercised many royal privileges, such as trying causes before their own justices, &c. The inhabitants of the district were marked by many peculiar features; in the reign of Elizabeth, they lived in sheds, during the summer months, pasturing their cattle on the moorlands, and plundering and levying contributions upon their neighbours on both sides of the border. The parish comprises 74,918 acres, of which 1756 are arable, and 477 woodland. A large portion consists of dreary moors, but nearly two-thirds are well adapted for rearing black-cattle and sheep, having been much improved by the drainage of the heaths and morasses; oats and barley ripen in most seasons, but wheat seldom comes to perfection. The eastern part rests upon beds of limestone, and the western upon porphyry and basalt, with some mountain limestone.

The township of Elsdon contains 6403 acres, of which 374 are arable, and the remainder pasture. Elsdon common, containing 10,245 acres, was inclosed in 1729. The Castle was erected in the 14th century, by Sir Robert Taylboys, whose arms are on the south parapet; it is a strong tower-building, now the rectory-house, the lower story of which is spanned by a single arch. A market was formerly held, which had been granted by Edward I., in 1281, to William de Umfraville, at the same time as the fair, which latter (for cattle, sheep, and linen and woollen cloth) is held on August 26th. The village consists of a circular row of houses, having in the centre a green of several acres. The living is a rectory valued in the king's books at £20, and in the patronage of the Duke of Northumberland: the tithes have been commuted for £800, and the glebe contains 64 acres. The church is a large cruciform structure, supposed to have been built soon after the time of Richard II.: some years since, in clearing away the earth against the north transept, upwards of 100 skeletons were discovered. At Byrness is a separate incumbency, in the gift of the rector. North-east of the village are the Moat Hills, which, from the relics discovered in them, seem to have been raised by the Britons, and afterwards occupied by the Romans.

Elsecar

ELSECAR, a hamlet, in the parish of Wath-upon-Dearne, union of Rotherham, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 5 miles (S. E. by S.) from Barnsley; containing 1000 inhabitants. This place, which abounds with ironstone and coal, is the property of Earl Fitzwilliam, who has established extensive works for the making of pigiron, and foundries for castings of all kinds, in which 400 of the population are employed: there are also collieries, and quarries of excellent stone; and a branch of the Dearne and Dove canal extends to the village. A handsome church with a tower and spire, built by the earl at a cost of £2500, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was consecrated in 1843: the living is in the patronage of his lordship. Some beautiful fossils are found in the pits.

Elsenham (St. Mary)

ELSENHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bishop-Stortford, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 5 miles (N. E.) from Bishop-Stortford; containing 491 inhabitants. This parish is separated from that of Stansted-Mountfitchet by a small rivulet, and comprises 1825a. 2r. 8p., of which 1269 acres are arable, 320 meadow, and 105 woodland. Here is a station of the railway from London to Cambridge, situated about midway between the stations at Newport and Bishop-Stortford. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 10.; patron, incumbent, and impropriator, the Rev. Thomas Canning; the great tithes have been commuted for £438, and the vicarial for £164; the impropriate glebe comprises 10 acres, and the vicarial 31 acres. The church is an ancient structure, with a square embattled tower surmounted by a slender spire, and contains many interesting details of early Norman architecture.

Elsey

ELSEY, a hamlet, in the parish of Mumby, union of Spilsby, March division of the hundred of Calceworth, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln; containing 68 inhabitants.

Elsfield (St. Thomas à Becket)

ELSFIELD (St. Thomas à Becket), a parish, in the union of Headington, hundred of Bullington, county of Oxford, 3¼ miles (N. E. by N.) from Oxford; containing 185 inhabitants. This parish comprises by computation 1300 acres. It was formerly of much importance, and the remains of an ancient mansion, which was an extensive pile of building, are still visible. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 8. 1½.; patron and impropriator, Lieut.-Col. North: the tithes have been commuted for £185, and there are 2 acres of glebe. The church, which once contained three private chapels, was consecrated in 1273: in the chancel is a large stone, with an inscription round the edge in Saxon characters, to the memory of Iohannes de Chiltenham, which is thought to have been brought from some other place. Archbishop Parker was vicar in the sixteenth century; and the church contains a tablet to the memory of the Rev. Francis Wise, a celebrated Saxon scholar, who was first librarian to the Ratcliffe Library at Oxford, and also vicar of this parish.

Elsham (All Saints)

ELSHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Glandford-Brigg, N. division of the wapentake of Yarborough, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 5 miles (N. E. by N.) from Glandford-Brigg; containing 458 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 18. 4.; net income, £46; patron, T. G. Corbett, Esq. The church is a neat structure in the early English style, with a handsome western porch. An hospital, or priory of Augustine canons, was founded early in the twelfth century, by Beatrix de Amundevill, and dedicated to St. Mary and St. Edmund; the revenue at the Dissolution, amounted to £83. 17. 10.

Elsing

ELSING, a parish, in the union of Mitford and Launditch, hundred of Eynsford, E. division of Norfolk, 5 miles (N. E. by E.) from East Dereham; containing 457 inhabitants. The parish is finely situated in the vale of the Wensum, and bounded by the river on the north-west; and comprises 1535a. 2r. 32p., of which 1184 acres are arable, 235 meadow and pasture, and 91 common: the scenery is pleasing. The village is built, in irregular detached portions, along the southern acclivities of the vale. An act for the inclosure of lands was passed in 1841. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 11. 8., and in the patronage of Mrs. Frances Browne; the tithes have been commuted for £330, and the glebe comprises 16 acres, with a house. The church, situated on an eminence, is an ancient structure, chiefly in the decorated style, with a square embattled tower: in the east window are full-length portraits, in stained glass, of Hugh de Hastings and his wife, the supposed founders; and on the floor of the chancel is a fine brass to Sir Hugh de Hastings, who died in 1347. There are about 14 acres of church land.

Elslack

ELSLACK, a township, in the parish of Broughton-In-Airedale, union of Skipton, E. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York, 4¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Skipton; containing 188 inhabitants. The township comprises 1762 acres, whereof 380 are common land or waste.

Elstead (St. James)

ELSTEAD (St. James), a parish, in the union of Hambledon, hundred of Farnham, W. division of Surrey, 4 miles (W.) from Godalming; containing 743 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Wey, and comprises by computation 4119 acres, whereof 1939 are arable, and the remainder waste land. The surface is generally flat; but some parts rise into hills of considerable elevation, of which the highest is Crooksbury; and two ridges, called respectively the Hind's Head and Hog's Back, traverse the parish, the former on the south-west, and the latter on the north-west of the village. The soil is chiefly sandy. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £78; patron the Archdeacon of Surrey. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £330. Dr. James, inventor of the powders which bear his name, spent many of the later years of his life here.

Elstead

ELSTEAD, a parish, in the union of Midhurst, hundred of Dumpford, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 4½ miles (W. by S.) from Midhurst; containing 212 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 13. 4., and with the rectory of Treyford and vicarage of Didling annexed; net income, £331; patron, the Rev. L. V. Harcourt. The church has portions in the Norman style.

Elstob

ELSTOB, a township, in the parish of Stainton, union of Sedgefield, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 9 miles (N. E. by N.) from Darlington; containing 27 inhabitants. In the 14th century this place belonged to the Gray family, under the see of Durham, and in the 15th was the property of Sir Thomas Gray, Knt., who was executed at Southampton in 1417, upon which event the manor escheated to the bishop; among subsequent proprietors occur the families of Scurfield, Bromley, Spearman, Chaloner, and Stewart. The township is situated in a hilly district, and comprises 733a. 2r. 4p., mostly arable land: the Clarence railway passes through it. The tithes have been commuted for £70.

Elston

ELSTON, a township, in the parish and union of Preston, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 4¾ miles (E. N. E.) from Preston; containing 56 inhabitants. The ancient name of the township was Etheleston, and the manor was the property of the Elstons, who held it from a very remote period; it afterwards passed to other families, among whom the Walmsleys are the latest owners. The township is encompassed on the east and south by the river Ribble. The tithes have been commuted for £52. 12. 6., payable to the perpetual curate of Coppull, in the parish of Standish, and £2. 13. to the vicar of Preston.

Elston (All Saints)

ELSTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Southwell, S. division of the wapentake of Newark and of the county of Nottingham, 5½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Newark; containing 259 inhabitants. The parish comprises by admeasurement 1492 acres: the river Trent is within a mile and a half, and on its bank is a wharf. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 8. 9.; net income, £299; patron, R. A. Darwin, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land in 1795; the glebe altogether comprises 172 acres. The church was almost entirely rebuilt by the late patron, W. B. Darwin, Esq., at an expense of £2000; the interior is fitted up with open stalls, and contains several monuments to the Darwin family, and many ancient details. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists; and a school, erected in 1812, endowed with land. An almshouse for four widows was built in 1744, in pursuance of the will of Anne Darwin in 1722. Dr. Erasmus Darwin, author of the Zoonomia, was born here.

Elston

ELSTON, a chapelry, in the parish of East Stoke, union of Southwell, S. division of the wapentake of Newark and of the county of Nottingham, 5½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Newark; containing 285 inhabitants. The chapel, a small neat edifice, stands contiguous to the parish of Elston, and the two villages are so intermingled as not to be distinguishable from each other. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Elston

ELSTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Orcheston St. George, union of Amesbury, hundred of Heytesbury, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 7 miles (N. W. by W.) from Amesbury; containing 93 inhabitants.

Elstow (St. Mary and St. Helen)

ELSTOW (St. Mary and St. Helen), a parish, in the hundred of Redborne-stoke, union and county of Bedford, 1¼ mile (S. by W.) from Bedford; containing 562 inhabitants. This place was distinguished for an abbey founded in the reign of William the Conqueror, by his niece Judith, Countess of Huntingdon, for nuns of the Benedictine order, and which flourished till the Dissolution, when the society consisted of an abbess and 21 nuns, and its revenue was £325. 2. 1. The parish comprises by measurement 1600 acres; the soil is partly dry and gravelly, and partly clayey. Fairs for cattle are held on the 14th of May and 5th of November, each for two days. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £7. 9.; net income, £75; patron and impropriator, W. H. Whitbread, Esq. The church, originally the church of the abbey, and now the only remaining portion of that establishment, is a stately structure in the Norman style, with a detached tower on the north side. John Bunyan, author of the Pilgrim's Progress, was born here.

Elstree, or Idlestree (St. Nicholas)

ELSTREE, or Idlestree (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Barnet, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford, 3 miles (N. by W.) from Edgware; containing 360 inhabitants, and comprising by computation 1300 acres. The village stands upon the spot where the Watling-street crosses from Middlesex into Hertfordshire, and is in the four parishes of Aldenham, Edgware, Elstree, and Whitchurch. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £304; patron, the Lord Chancellor. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment, under an act passed in 1776 for inclosing Boreham common; the glebe altogether consists of 220 acres, with a house built in 1836. The church, a neat edifice, erected about the time of Queen Elizabeth, is said to have been first built out of the ruins of the ancient city Sulloniacim, the foundations of which are still visible about one mile to the south.

Elstronwick

ELSTRONWICK, a chapelry, in the parish of Humbleton, union of Skirlaugh, Middle division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 9¾ miles (E. N. E.) from Hull; containing 143 inhabitants. It was called at the time of the Domesday survey Astenuuic, and derives its name from its Saxon possessor Elstan. The township comprises about 910 acres: the village is agreeably situated, and contains some good houses. The chapel, consecrated in the reign of Henry VIII., is a small edifice, with a bell-turret at the west end, and is entered by a large doorway in the Grecian style, brought from Humbleton Hall when the chapel was repaired.

Elswick

ELSWICK, a township, in the ecclesiastical district of Great Eccleston, parish of St. Michael upon Wyre, union of the Fylde, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 5½ miles (N.) from Kirkham; containing 303 inhabitants. This place, of which the ancient name was Ethelyswick, is mentioned in the Domesday survey. It appears among the lands which escheated to the crown by the attainder of Edmund Dudley; and was held by Thomas, Earl of Derby, of the king, in the 13th of Henry VIII.: the property is now in various hands. The township comprises 970 acres, equally divided between arable and pasture. The village lies about a mile south-by-east from Little Eccleston, and a mile and a half south-by west from Great Eccleston. Danes Hill, in the township, is supposed to be connected in name with the Danish invasion. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £129, and the vicarial for £38. There is a place of worship for Independents.

Elswick

ELSWICK, a township, in the parish of St. John The Baptist, Newcastle, union of Newcastle, W. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland; containing 1789 inhabitants. This township, which includes the hamlet of Low Elswick, and comprises 938 acres, is within the borough of Newcastle, adjoining the town on the west, and containing many good streets and villas, and some very extensive manufacturing establishments. The rural part rises beautifully from the northern bank of the river Tyne, towards Benwell, and consists chiefly of arable land, rich and fertile. Large collieries are in operation in the neighbourhood; and in a place called the Quarry field, abundance of good stone is obtained for building. On the Tyne is an establishment for the manufacture of whitelead, red-lead, litharge, sheet and pipe lead, and patent shot, the tower for which last, erected in 1796, is 175 feet high: these works were commenced in 1778, and are of greater magnitude than any others in the kingdom. Messrs. Lister and Sons established a crucible factory in 1831; and there are copperas-works, on a very large scale. Elswick House is a noble mansion, commanding beautiful views of the vale of the Tyne, Axwell Park, Gibside, Ravensworth Castle, and the whole range of the Gateshead hills. A church district named St. Paul's, High Elswick, was endowed in 1846 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the living is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Durham, alternately.

Elsworth (Holly Trinity)

ELSWORTH (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Caxton and Arrington, hundred of Papworth, county of Cambridge, 4½ miles (N. N. E.) from Caxton; containing 915 inhabitants, and comprising 3755a. 2r. 25p. A pleasure-fair is held throughout the whole of the week following Trinity-Sunday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 6. 0½.; net income, £480; patron, the Duke of Portland. The tithes have been commuted for land. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a lofty embattled tower crowned by pinnacles; and though much defaced by injudicious alterations, displays numerous elegant details. Samuel Franklin, Esq., in 1695, bequeathed 12½ acres of land, now let for £2. 10. per acre, for the endowment of almshouses for three widows.