Fordingbridge - Forncett

Fordingbridge (St. Mary)

FORDINGBRIDGE (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Fordingbridge, Ringwood and S. divisions of the county of Southampton, 20 miles (W. by N.) from Southampton, through Ringwood, and 92 (S. W. by W.) from London; containing, with the tythings of Bickton, Middle, North, and South Burgate, Godshill, and Midgham, 3073 inhabitants. This town is noticed in Domesday book under the name of Forde, and is stated to have contained a church and two mills: it has suffered repeatedly by fire, particularly at the beginning of the last century. It is pleasantly situated on the border of the New Forest, and on the banks of the Upper Avon, which is here navigable, and crossed by a bridge of seven arches at the southeast entrance into the town. There is a sailcloth manufactory: and formerly the manufacture of bedticks and checks was carried on to a considerable extent, but of these only a small quantity is now made. The market is on Friday, and a fair is held on the 9th of September, chiefly for amusement. The powers of the county debt-court of Fordingbridge, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Fordingbridge and Ringwood. The parish comprises by computation 5818a. 3r. 19p., of which 3382 acres are arable, 1441 meadow, 350 wood, and 623 common. The living is a vicarage, endowed with a portion of the rectorial tithes, valued in the king's books at £30. 2. 3½., and in the gift of the Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, the impropriators of the remainder of the rectorial tithes: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £1250, the incumbent's for £670, and the glebe comprises 7½ acres. The church is a handsome structure in the early and decorated English styles, with a square embattled tower rising from the north porch; the west window is large, and beautifully enriched with flowing tracery. There are a chapel of ease at Ibsley, and places of worship in the parish for the Society of Friends and Independents. The poor law union of Fordingbridge comprises 9 parishes or places, of which 6 are in the county of Southampton, and 3 in that of Wilts; and contains a population of 6705. In the neighbourhood are the remains of several encampments; the principal is at Godshill, about two miles from the town.

Fordington (St. George)

FORDINGTON (St. George), a parish, in the union of Dorchester, liberty of Fordington, Dorchester division of Dorset; adjoining the borough of Dorchester, and containing 2937 inhabitants. This place derived its name from a ford over the Frome, across which river are now several bridges in the neighbourhood. In the 29th of Edward III., Queen Isabel procured the grant of a market on Tuesday, and a fair on the eve, day, and morrow of St. George. The parish surrounds the whole of Dorchester, and comprises by measurement about 4000 acres, whereof the greater part is arable, and the remainder pasture; the soil is chiefly a light marl, on a chalky stratum. There are some factories for weaving woollen-cloth, employing upwards of fifty hands; and an iron-foundry is carried on. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15; net income, £225; patron, the Prebendary of Fordington in the Cathedral of Salisbury. The church was founded about 1400, but only a small portion of the original structure now remains; it is a cruciform edifice, partly Norman and partly of English architecture, with a porch in which is some rude sculpture. Christchurch, at West Fordington, was consecrated in 1846. In the parish are many barrows, some of them very large; and Roman coins are frequently ploughed up. In 1747, above 200 skeletons, the supposed remains of persons who fell in the Danish wars, were discovered at the depth of four or five feet; they were re-interred in the churchyard, or in pits dug on the spot.

Fordington

FORDINGTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Ulceby, union of Spilsby, Wold division of the hundred of Calceworth, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln; containing 29 inhabitants. It is supposed that here was anciently a church or chapel, and Roman coins and other antiquities have been found.

Fordley, Suffolk.—See Middleton.

FORDLEY, Suffolk.—See Middleton.

Fordon

FORDON, a chapelry, in the parish of Hunmanby, union of Bridlington, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding of York, 12½ miles (N. by E.) from Driffield; containing 63 inhabitants. It comprises about 1500 acres of land, and is situated four miles south-west from the village of Hunmanby. The chapel is a small ancient structure, of which the chancel was rebuilt, and the rest of the edifice repaired, in 1829; service is performed only a few times during the year.

Fordsbridge

FORDSBRIDGE, an independent chapelry and extra-parochial district, in the union of Leominster, hundred of Wolphy, county of Hereford, 4 miles (S. E. by S.) from Leominster; containing 14 inhabitants. This district is situated a little below the junction of the Arrow and Lug rivers, and intersected by the road from Leominster to Hereford; it comprises by admeasurement 318 acres, chiefly arable, with a small portion of pasture and woodland. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £90; patrons, the family of Arkwright.

Fordwich (St. Mary)

FORDWICH (St. Mary), a parish, and a member of the town and port of Sandwich, in the union of Bridge, locally in the hundred of Downhamford, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 2 miles (E. by N.) from Canterbury; containing 231 inhabitants. This place takes its name from a ford or pass at the crooked winding of the river Stour, and was anciently of much more importance; the sea flowed up to it, and it was a great resort for shipping. In the time of the Saxons, here was a collector of the customs, appointed by the king. In 1055, Edward the Confessor granted the place to the abbey of St. Augustine, Canterbury. In the Domesday survey it is recorded as the "small borough of Forwich," and later authorities state it to have been a borough by prescription, governed by a mayor, jurats, and commonalty, with a high steward, treasurer, and town-clerk. The mayor, who by virtue of his office was also coroner, and the jurats, who were justices, had the privilege of holding a general session of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of record. The parish comprises by estimation 357 acres, of which 175 are pasture, 154 arable, 18 in hop plantations, and 10 woodland. The village is situated on the south side of the Stour, a little below the bridge, to which the river is navigable; there are some extensive flour-mills. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 15. 2.; net income, £178; patron, Earl Cowper.

Fore

FORE, a hamlet, in the parish of St. Clement, Ipswich, union and liberty of Ipswich, E. division of Suffolk; containing 892 inhabitants.

Forebridge, with Burton

FOREBRIDGE, with Burton, a township, in the parish of Castle-Church, E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, union, and S. division of the county, of Stafford, ¾ of a mile (S. E.) from Stafford; containing 1318 inhabitants. This place forms a handsome suburb of the town of Stafford. A district church, in the early decorated style, consisting of a nave, transepts, and chancel, was consecrated by the Bishop of Lichfield, in January, 1844, and provides about 600 sittings, of which half are free. It is dedicated to St. Paul; and the living is a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Incumbent of Castle-Church, with an income of £120. Here is a school, endowed with £15 per annum, and in union with the National Society.

Foremark (St. Saviour)

FOREMARK (St. Saviour), a parish, in the union of Burton-upon-Trent, hundred of Repton and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby, 7 miles (S. S. W.) from Derby; containing, with the township of Ingleby, 212 inhabitants. The parish is intersected by the river Trent: the surface is hilly, and the soil, which is rich and fertile, is chiefly pasture-land; it is well wooded, principally with oak. The living is a donative curacy; net income, £30; patron and impropriator, Sir Robert Burdett, Bart. The old church, which was an appendage to the priory of Repton, stood in the hamlet of Ingleby, on the bank of the Trent, about one mile to the east; but falling into decay, the present church, a plain small edifice, was erected by Sir Francis Burdett, then possessor of Foremark, at an expense of £2000, and consecrated in 1666. Sir Robert allows £10 per annum to teach twelve scholars: a new school-house was built in 1845. In the parish is a singular rocky bank, the centre of which, presenting the appearance of an edifice in ruins, tradition asserts to have been the residence of an anchorite, whence it has derived the name of Anchor Church.

Forest, Cheshire.—See Macclesfield-Forest.

FOREST, Cheshire.—See Macclesfield-Forest.

Forest, with Frith

FOREST, with Frith, a township, comprising Ettersgill, Middle Forest, and Harwood parts, in the parish of Middleton-in-Teesdale, union of Teesdale, S. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 4½ miles (N. W.) from Middleton; containing 884 inhabitants. The township contains several lead-mines, and abounds with romantic scenery; it is washed on the south by the Tees, where that river, rolling over a rocky bed, forms several cascades, two of which, Caldron Snout and High Force, rank amongst the most remarkable waterfalls in the kingdom.

Forest

FOREST, an extra-parochial district, in the parish and liberty of Beaulieu, union and E. division of the hundred of New-Forest, Southampton and S. divisions of Hants; containing 80 inhabitants.

Forest, Far (The)

FOREST, FAR (The), an ecclesiastical district, partly in the parish of Rock, union of CleoburyMortimer, but chiefly in the parish of Ribbesford, union of Kidderminster, Lower division of the hundred of Doddingtree, Hundred-House and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 4 miles (W.) from Bewdley; containing about 800 inhabitants. The road from Bewdley to Cleobury-Mortimer passes through. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Incumbents of Rock and Ribbesford, alternately; net income, £100, with a house. The church, dedicated to the Trinity, and in the early English style of architecture, was consecrated by the Bishop of Hereford on the 1st November, 1844.

Forest-Green

FOREST-GREEN, a hamlet, in the parish of Avening, union of Stroud, hundred of Longtree, E. division of the county of Gloucester; containing 321 inhabitants.

Forest, High and Low

FOREST, HIGH and LOW, two grieveships, in the parish of Allendale, union of Hexham, S. division of Tindale ward and of Northumberland; containing respectively 1600 and 297 inhabitants.

Forest-Hill (St. Nicholas)

FOREST-HILL (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Headington, hundred of Bullington, county of Oxford, 4 miles (E. by N.) from Oxford; containing 149 inhabitants. This place, which was a cell to the abbey of Osney, is associated with the memory of Milton, as the birthplace of his first wife, who was born here on the 28th January, 1625. It was the frequent resort of the poet, and ultimately his entire property, of which, in consideration of some pecuniary claims upon the manor, and also of his marriage into the Powell family, he was put into possession during the protectorate of Cromwell, in 1650. Much of the beautiful imagery in his writings, and especially in his L'Allegro, corresponds with the scenery of the place; and there are still some remains of the house of Mr. Powell, his wife's father. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £85; patrons and impropriators, the Rector and Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford. The church is a plain edifice. Mickle, the translator of the Lusiad of Camoens, was interred in the churchyard.

Forest-Quarter

FOREST-QUARTER, a township, in the parish of Stanhope, N. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 7 miles (W.) from Stanhope; containing 3531 inhabitants. The township includes the chapelry of Weardale, and contains the small market-town called St. John's Chapel, and the hamlets of Burtree-ford, Daddry-Shields, Ireshope Burn, Hadry-Clough, Wear's Head, and West Black-Dean; it extends westward to the borders of Cumberland, and comprises about 20,000 acres of land, intersected by the river Wear, which here flows in a direction east-southeast to west-north-west. At Copt Hill is a chapel built by Dr. Barrington, Bishop of Durham, who endowed it with land now let for £15 per annum. There are places of worship for Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists.

Forest-Row

FOREST-ROW, a hamlet, in the parish and union of East Grinsted, rape of Pevensey, E. division of Sussex, 3 miles (S. E.) from East Grinsted, on the road to Lewes and Tonbridge-Wells. Petty-sessions are held on the second Tuesday in every month; and there are a pleasure-fair on June 25th, and a cattle-fair on November 8th. A chapel of ease, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was erected in 1835 by subscription, containing 436 sittings; it is built of stone procured in the neighbourhood, and is a neat edifice with a tower surmounted by a spire. A national school is supported by Lord Colchester, whose seat adjoins the village.

Formby

FORMBY, a chapelry, in the parish of Waltonon-the-Hill, union of Ormskirk, hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 12 miles (N. by W.) from Liverpool; containing 1446 inhabitants. This place was held in early times, as at present, by different proprietors; a large portion of the property descended to the Blundells, of Ince-Blundell, holders of the manor jointly with the Formby family, the latter descendants of Thomas de Forneby, who was living in the 46th of Edward III. The chapelry comprises 6703a. 3r. 8p., of which the surface is level, and the soil chiefly sand and moss; a considerable part is waste land, lying on a wild sea-shore that extends for several miles, where are numerous sand-hills and mosses, which abound in birds, many of them very rare, and where wild plants grow in great variety. The beach is well adapted for bathing, being very firm, and the water clear; the air is salubrious, and the chapelry is remarkable for longevity, and for freedom from fever and consumption. A brewery here, established nearly a century ago, is the property of Mr. Richard Tyrer. Formby Hall is the seat of the Formby family. The village had a chartered market, which has fallen into disuse. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Walton; net income, £140, with a house. The chapel, dedicated to St. Peter, was rebuilt in 1746, and enlarged in 1830, and is a plain building with a campanile tower. The Roman Catholic chapel of Formby is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and was built in the reign of James II.; there is a house and garden for the priest, the Rev. John Smith. Two schools are endowed with about £34 per annum, the bequest of Richard Marsh in 1703. The ancient churchyard, half a mile from the shore and two miles from the village, is used as a burial-place for the Roman Catholic population; it is curiously surrounded by sand-banks: no vestige of the church which stood upon the spot remains.

Forncett (St. Mary)

FORNCETT (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Depwade, E. division of Norfolk, 3 miles (W. N. W.) from Long Stratton; containing 305 inhabitants, and comprising about 900 acres. A fair for toys is held on September 11th. The living is a rectory, united to the rectory of Forncett St. Peter: the church is a handsome structure, chiefly in the later English style, with a square embattled tower. A school is partly supported by the rents of land amounting to £18. 4. per annum.

Forncett (St. Peter)

FORNCETT (St. Peter), a parish, in the union and hundred of Depwade, E. division of Norfolk, 2¾ miles (W. by N.) from Long Stratton; containing 669 inhabitants. It comprises 1825a. 2r., of which 1374 acres are arable, and 451 pasture, meadow, and woodland. The living is a rectory, with that of Forncett St. Mary united, valued in the king's books at £20; net income, £979; patron, the Earl of Effingham, who must present a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. The tithes of St. Peter's have been commuted for £773. 18. 9., and there are 57½ acres of glebe. The church is an ancient structure, chiefly in the later English style, with a circular tower in the Norman.