Haslingden - Hathern

Haslingden

HASLINGDEN, a market-town and parochial chapelry, and the head of a union, in the parish of Whalley, Higher and Lower divisions of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 40 miles (S. E.) from Lancaster, 17 (N.) from Manchester, and 203 (N. N. W.) from London; containing 14,355 inhabitants. This chapelry, which is divided into four posts or parts, namely, Haslingden, Henheads, and Higher and Lower Booths, comprises 13,315 acres, mostly pasture land, and situated in the midst of a mountainous district, on the border of the forest of Rossendale. It probably took its name from the abundance of hazel-trees that formerly grew here. The town originally stood on the declivity of a hill, but the modern buildings have been erected at its base, and many old houses of mean appearance have been replaced by new and substantial edifices, which contribute much to the uniformity of the whole. A mechanics' institute was established in 1840. Races were held on Laund-Hey, near the town; but the ground has been inclosed for cultivation. The improvements which have taken place since the beginning of the present century, have been greatly facilitated by the abundant supply of stone for building afforded by the neighbouring mountains of granite, and the slate and flags furnished by the quarries of Hutchbank and others. The woollen manufacture formerly constituted almost the sole occupation of the inhabitants, and is still carried on to some extent; but the cotton-trade has in a great degree superseded it, and the numerous mills on the banks of the Swinnel are principally owned by the manufacturers of cotton goods. The East Lancashire railway passes by the town, in its progress from Bury to Accrington. The market-day has been changed from Wednesday to Saturday, to prevent its interfering with the market of Blackburn; and fairs are held on February 2nd, on Easter-Tuesday, May 8th, July 4th, and October 2nd: the Easter fair is for the sale of horses, and the others are chiefly for cattle. The powers of the county debt-court of Haslingden, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Haslingden. Petty-sessions are held every Friday. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £176; patrons, the Hulme Trustees. The chapel, dedicated to St. James, and standing on an eminence at the north end of the town, is a substantial edifice, built in the reign of Henry VIII., and rebuilt of stone about 70 years since, except the tower; it was enlarged in 1828, and the tower rebuilt, which has a peal of eight new bells founded by Mears of Whitechapel. At Rawtenstall and Higher Booths are other livings. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Primitive Methodists, Roman Catholics, Unitarians, Friends, Wesleyans, Sandemanians, and Swedenborgians. A free school was founded in 1749, and subsequently endowed with property producing about £18 per annum. The union of Haslingden comprises 10 townships in the parishes of Whalley and Bury, and contains 41,280 persons.

Haslingfield (All Saints)

HASLINGFIELD (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Chesterton, hundred of Wetherley, county of Cambridge, 5½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Cambridge; containing 689 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2500 acres by measurement: there are quarries of stone called clunch, of which much is used for the interior of buildings. The village is pleasantly situated on the river Cam. The living is a vicarage, endowed with a portion of the rectorial tithes, valued in the king's books at £8. 10. 7½., and in the patronage of C. Mitchell, Esq., who is impropriator of the remainder of the rectorial tithes: the whole have been commuted for £922. 18., whereof £650. 19. are payable to the vicar, and there are 8 acres of glebe. The church is a handsome structure in the early and decorated English styles, with a lofty embattled tower, and contains some monuments to Sir Thomas Wendy and family. There is a place of worship for dissenters. A school was founded by Simon Ertman, a Dane, who died here in 1658; the income is £40 per annum. In a chapel dedicated to the Virgin, and formerly much resorted to, a pair of huge iron fetters was hung up, as a votive offering, by Lord Scales, in commemoration of his release from imprisonment. Dr. Wendy is said to have had the honour of entertaining Queen Elizabeth in his mansion here, now the property of Earl Delawarr.

Haslington

HASLINGTON, a chapelry, in the parish of Barthomley, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 3¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Sandbach; containing 1146 inhabitants. The township comprises 3617 acres, of which the soil is clay, sand, and moss. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £100; patron, the Rev. Sir Delves Broughton, Bart. There is a place of worship for Independents.

Hassall

HASSALL, a township, in the parish of Sandbach, union of Congleton, hundred of Northwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 3 miles (S. by E.) from Sandbach; containing 260 inhabitants. It comprises 1032 acres, of which the prevailing soil is sand, with moss. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £105. 13. 8., and the vicarial for £76. 1. 7. A beautiful church has just been erected here; it was commenced by the late William Lowndes, Esq., of Hassall Hall.

Hassingham (St. Mary)

HASSINGHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Blofield, E. division of Norfolk, 9 miles (S. E.) from Norwich; containing 104 inhabitants. The parish comprises 570 acres, and is bounded on the south by the navigable river Yare: the Norwich and Yarmouth railway passes through it. The living is a discharged rectory, consolidated with that of Buckenham, and valued in the king's books at £4 : the tithes have been commuted for £100, and the glebe comprises 3¼ acres. The church is chiefly in the later English style, with a tower circular in the lower part and octagonal above; the entrance on the south is through a Norman doorway. The rent of about 15 acres of land allotted under an inclosure act, is distributed to the poor.

Hassop

HASSOP, a township, in the parish and union of Bakewell, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the county of Derby, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Bakewell; containing 116 inhabitants. Hassop Hall was garrisoned for the king by Colonel Eyre, in 1643. There is a Roman Catholic chapel.

Hastingleigh (St. Mary)

HASTINGLEIGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of East Ashford, franchise and barony of Bircholt, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 6½ miles (E. by N.) from Ashford; containing 233 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1403a. 2r. 36p., of which 624 acres are arable, 563 pasture, 176 woodland, 24 in hop plantations, and 16 garden-ground. The living is a rectory, with that of Elmstead united, valued in the king's books at £10. 5., and in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury: the tithes have been commuted for £231, and the glebe comprises 21 acres.

Hastings

HASTINGS, the principal of the cinque-ports, a borough and market-town, having separate jurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the rape of Hastings, E. division of Sussex, 69 miles (E.) from Chichester, and 61½ (S.E.) from London; containing, with part of the parishes of Bexhill and St. Leonard's, 11,617 inhabitants. This place, which is of great antiquity, attained considerable importance during the Saxon heptarchy, and in ancient documents, prior to the close of the eighth century, is noticed under the appellation of Hastinges. In 924, Athelstan established a mint here, whereof some notice occurs in Domesday book; but no coins of this monarch have been discovered which were struck at this place, though several of Edward the Martyr, Canute, Ethelred II., Harold, William the Conqueror, and William Rufus, have been found. The Conqueror, on landing at Pevensey, took up his station in this town, and founded the castle, whence he marched to meet Harold, whom he defeated in that decisive battle to which Hastings has given name, but which was fought at the distance of eight miles from the town, on a spot where he subsequently built the abbey of Battel. Of the castle, which occupied a high hill to the west of the present town, there are still some remains, consisting of a considerable portion of the outer wall, in which are several towers and two gateways of Norman architecture, surrounded by a broad and deep fosse, with vestiges of a drawbridge and other fortifications. In the year 1090, almost all the bishops and nobles of England were assembled by royal proclamation at this castle to pay personal homage to William II., previous to his departure for Normandy; and during his detention here by contrary winds for nearly a month, Robert Blaze was consecrated to the see of Lincoln, in the chapel of the Virgin Mary, within the precincts of the castle. The interior has been cleared from the rubbish that for more than two centuries nearly concealed the walls within, and thus have been discovered the remains of the church and buildings of a free college for a dean and seven prebendaries, founded by Robert de Eu in the reign of Henry I., and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin: at the Dissolution, the revenue of the deanery was rated at £20 per annum, and that of the prebends, collectively, at £41. 13. 5. The church is 110 feet in length, and adjoining it are the site of the parochial church of St. Mary in the Castle, and the remains of the chapter-house and prebendal buildings, forming an interesting mass of ruins, which have been inclosed by the Earl of Chichester. Numerous Saxon coins, fragments of columns, pottery, and other relics of antiquity, have been discovered on the spot. In the reign of Richard I., a priory of Black canons, of the order of St. Augustine, was founded here, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, by Walter Bricet; and its church and other buildings, having been destroyed by the encroachments of the sea, Sir John Pelham, in the reign of Henry IV., gave the brethren lands at Warbleton, for the foundation of a church and monastery, which were finally erected there, and of which, at the Dissolution, the revenue was £57. 19. By charter of William the Conqueror, this town, together with Hythe, was added to the three previously incorporated ports of Sandwich, Dovor, and Old Romney, and invested with peculiar privileges; and in the time of Edward I. it was rated at 21 ships, with 21 mariners in each, for the service of the king for fourteen days, at his own charge: it soon became, and has ever since been considered, the principal of the cinque-ports. In 1377, Hastings was burnt by the French, who made a descent upon this part of the coast; but it was soon rebuilt.

The town is situated in a valley formed by hills on the east and west, that rise to the height of 300 feet, and is sheltered on the north by the high land stretching towards Fairlight Down, to a height of about 600 feet; it is open towards the sea on the south. There are three principal streets, of which High-street and All Saints' street are parallel with each other, and, from their declivity towards the sea, always clean and dry; the third street is parallel with the sea. The whole is well paved, and lighted with gas, by act of parliament, the expense being defrayed by a duty of three shillings per chaldron on all coal brought into the port, and rates on houses, &c. The buildings are in general well constructed, and the inhabitants are supplied with water from a reservoir about three-quarters of a mile distant, into which are collected the waters of a stream called the Bourne, which formerly divided Hastings into two parts. St. Leonard's, a stately and handsome addition of recent date, is described under its own head. The salubrity and mildness of the air, arising from the sheltered situation of Hastings, which is defended from the north and east winds, render it peculiarly eligible as a residence for invalids; and these advantages concurring with the openness of the coast, and the smoothness of the beach, have made it a fashionable and well-frequented place for sea-bathing. At low water, the fine level sands afford a healthy promenade; and from the high grounds the prospects are richly diversified with scenery of luxuriant cultivation, and of boldly romantic character. Among the more recent improvements are, the erection of Pelham place and crescent, the Arcade, and Wellington-square; the formation of the Marine Parade, 500 feet in length, com manding extensive and interesting views of the sea, and enlivened during the summer months by a band of music; and the Esplanade, a beautiful drive and promenade along the margin of the sea to St. Leonard's, embellished with ranges of elegant buildings, and, together with that of St. Leonard's, forming a continuous line more than two miles in length. The Pelham baths are fitted up with hot, cold, vapour, and shower baths, with every convenience for their use; and numerous bathing-machines are kept on the beach. There are some good libraries, and assemblies and concerts take place during the season, at the Swan inn: a literary and scientific institution was established in 1831, for which a building has been erected by subscription, in George-street, at a cost of £1600; and a building for a mechanics' institute has been erected in High-street. Races, established in 1827, are held in September; and regattas are also celebrated annually.

There was formerly a harbour at the place now called the Stade, which afforded protection to the vessels of the town, at that time inhabited chiefly by mariners and fishermen. It was destroyed by a storm in the reign of Elizabeth, and though some attempts were made for its restoration in that of James I., the works begun for that purpose were never completed, and it soon afterwards went to decay: the piles and stones of the south pier are daily visible, and extend from the west of the fort in a south-eastern direction. The port is subordinate to that of Rye, but there is a customhouse here, with the usual officers. The trade is principally coastwise; only two vessels belonging to the port are engaged in the foreign trade. A considerable traffic is carried on in coal, employing in a recent year not less than 169 vessels, of the aggregate burthen of 17,640 tons. In the same year, 186 vessels in the coastingtrade entered inwards with general cargoes, and 113 cleared outwards with cargoes chiefly of hops, corn, and timber; eight vessels in the foreign trade entered inwards, and five cleared outwards with cargoes of cheese, butter, bristles, seed, and other commodities. About 100 boats are employed in the herring and mackerel fisheries, mostly for the supply of the London and Brighton markets; and there are nearly fifty pleasure-boats always ready for hire. Ship and boat building, for which the place is celebrated, is carried on extensively; and some of the finest schooners in the Mediterranean trade have been built at the port. An act was passed in 1844 for a railway hence to Brighton, which was opened in 1846. In 1845 an act was obtained for a railway to Ashford, by way of Rye, 29 miles in length; and in 1846, another act for a railway to Tonbridge-Wells, 26 miles in length. There are several large breweries. The market-days are Wednesday and Saturday, the latter for corn; and a good general provision market, established in George-street, is open daily. The fairs are on WhitTuesday, July 26th and 27th, and November 22nd.

The Government, by charter of incorporation granted by Elizabeth in 1588, and confirmed and enlarged by Charles II., was vested in a mayor, 12 jurats, and an indefinite number of freemen; the officers were a townclerk, two chamberlains, two pier-wardens, &c. The corporation regulated the port, and collected certain dues on vessels frequenting it, and on exports and imports; the mayor and jurats were justices of the peace, with exclusive jurisdiction, and the borough was exempt from the control of the sheriff of Sussex. By the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, the corporation now consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors; the borough is divided into two wards, called East, or Hastings, and West, or St. Leonard's, and the number of magistrates is 13. The elective franchise was conferred in the 42nd of Edward III., since which time Hastings has continued to return two members to parliament. The right of election was formerly vested in the mayor, jurats, and freemen resident and not receiving alms; but by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, it was extended to the £10 householders: the limits of the borough, for electoral purposes, include 1897 acres, and the mayor is returning officer. The town has a separate court of quarter-sessions, at which the recorder presides; he also holds a court of record, for the recovery of debts to any amount, and for any action, real, personal, and mixed, every fifteen days. There is a petty-session of the justices weekly, at the town-hall; and the county magistrates hold petty-sessions on the first and third Saturdays in the month, for the Hastings division of the rape. The powers of the county debt-court of Hastings, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Hastings, Battle, and Rye. Guestlings and Brotherhoods were courts held at uncertain intervals by the corporations of the cinque-ports: a guestling consisted of a full assembly, composed of five or six deputies from each port and ancient town, and their members, with plenary powers, the mayor of every port in turn issuing notices for the meetings; a brotherhood consisted of one or two deputies from each port and ancient town. The town-hall, under which the market is held, is a plain edifice, built in 1823, at the expense of the corporation. The common gaol of the borough is capable of receiving twentyone prisoners.

The town comprises the Parishes of All Saints, containing 2839 inhabitants, and St. Clement, 3189; with part of the parish of St. Mary in the Castle, 2933. The livings of All Saints' and St. Clement's, united in 1770, are rectories, the former valued in the king's books at £19. 12. 9., and the latter at £23. 6. 10.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. J. G. Foyster. The tithes of All Saints' have been commuted for £130, and those of St. Clement's for £35. Of the several churches anciently in the town, only those of All Saints' parish and St. Clement's remain: of the church of the Holy Trinity, which stood on the grounds of the priory of St. Andrew, to the north of Wellington-square, of St. Michael's church, at the White Loch, and of St. Mary's situated in the Castle, there are no vestiges. The church of All Saints' is a spacious and handsome structure, partly in the early and partly in the decorated English style, with a lofty embattled tower; the hangings of the pulpit are part of the canopy borne by the barons of the CinquePorts over Queen Anne at her coronation. The church of St. Clement's is ancient, and of similar style, with a square embattled tower, but, like that of All Saints', has suffered from mutilation and injudicious repairs: the ceiling of the chancel is painted in device; there are several monuments to the families of Collier and Milward, and on the pavement numerous brasses; the font is ornamented on the sides with a sculptured representation of the Passion of the Saviour. An episcopal chapel, in the centre of Pelham-crescent, was commenced by the late and completed in 1828 by the present Earl of Chichester; it is a handsome edifice in the Grecian style, with a receding portico of duplicated Ionic columns, and contains 1600 sittings. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of his Lordship; the income, about £200, arises from the seat-rents and surplice-fees. A district church has been erected in Hatton Field, near the barracks, in the parish of St. Clement's, at an expense of £2000, raised by subscription, aided by grants from the Incorporated Society and the Diocesan Association; it was consecrated on the 10th Dec. 1838, and is a neat edifice in the early English style, containing 542 sittings, of which 362 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Chichester; the income partly arises from an endowment of £1000 by Mrs. Milward, who also granted the site, and contributed largely to the erection of the church. There are places of worship for Baptists, Huntingtonians, Independents, and Wesleyans; and the Roman Catholics have purchased nine acres of land close to the sea, between Hastings and St. Leonard's, on which they have erected a chapel, &c.

A school for boys was founded in 1619, by the Rev. William Parker, who endowed it with 100 acres of land near the town, producing a rental of £162. 10.; another was founded in 1708, by James Saunders, Esq., who endowed it with estates yielding about £120 per annum. The Magdalene charity was endowed by some unknown benefactor with an estate producing more than £150 a year. A dispensary was established in 1830; and an infirmary for thirty patients, called the Hastings, St. Leonard's, and East Sussex Infirmary, more recently. The poor law union of Hastings comprises 10 parishes or places, containing a population of 14,847. In the grounds of Mount Pleasant, about half a mile to the north of the town, is a chalybeate spring issuing from a copse of wood in a deep dell; the water has been analyzed by Drs. Cook and Duke, and found to resemble that of Tonbridge-Wells: the situation of the spot is picturesque, and the erection of a neat pump-room and the laying out of the ground, might make it a pleasant place of resort. Titus Oates, the ministerial informer in the reign of Charles II., was the officiating clergyman of All Saints' parish, and lived in a house which is still in existence. Edward Capel, Esq., one of Shakspeare's commentators, resided in a house now called East Cliffe House, in the garden of which is a mulberry-tree planted by Garrick, being a cutting of the celebrated one that formerly existed at Stratford-upon-Avon. Hastings gives the title of Marquess to the noble family of RawdonHastings.

Haswell

HASWELL, a township, in the parish and union of Easington, S. division of Easington ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 6 miles (E. by N.) from Durham; containing 3981 inhabitants. This township, which includes the hamlets of Great and Little Haswell, had, prior to the opening of the collieries here, in 1835, a population of not more than 112 persons, solely engaged in agriculture. The whole comprises 3100 acres, of which 1006 are the property of Sir George Shee, Bart.; the inhabitants are chiefly employed in the extensive collieries established by the Haswell Company, and of which the produce is shipped at Sunderland. An appalling colliery explosion took place here on the 28th September, 1844, by which occurrence 95 lives were lost. The Sunderland and Durham railway, constructed in 1834, has a branch to this place, and at Haswell Lane, a much frequented station, where passengers from Sunderland change their carriages for Hartlepool, Stockton, and Darlington. Limestone of good quality is quarried for the supply of the neighbouring district. The remains of an ancient chapel were lately removed, and the site is now levelled. A school for children of both sexes, for which an extensive building has been erected, is supported by the company, and divine service is performed in the schoolroom every Sunday. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans.—See Hetton, South.

Hatch, county of Bedford.—See Thorncote.

HATCH, county of Bedford.—See Thorncote.

Hutch, Beauchamp (St. John the Baptist)

HATCH, BEAUCHAMP (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Taunton, hundred of Abdick and Bulstone, W. division of Somerset, 5¾ miles (N. W. by N.) from Ilminster; containing 329 inhabitants. This parish, anciently Hache, is situated on the road from Taunton to Ilminster, within a mile of the Chard canal, and comprises 1120a. 2r. 31p.: white and blue lias are quarried for building, for burning into lime, and for the roads. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 5. 2½., and in the gift of the Rev. T. F. Dymock: the tithes have been commuted for £115, and the glebe comprises 42 acres. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; the altar-piece is a fine painting of the Descent from the Cross. There is a place of worship for Baptists.

Hatch, West

HATCH, WEST, a parish, in the union of Taunton, hundred of North Curry, W. division of Somerset, 4¾ miles (S. E. by E.) from Taunton; containing 465 inhabitants. The living is annexed to the vicarage of North Curry. A rent-charge of £174. 18. is paid to the Dean and Chapter of Wells, as appropriators, and the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £42; the appropriate glebe contains 2r. 35p., and the vicarial upwards of 5 acres.

Hatcham

HATCHAM, an ecclesiastical parish, in the parish of St. Paul, Deptford, union of Greenwich, E. division of the hundred of Brixton and of the county of Surrey, 1½ miles (S. W.) from Deptford; containing about 5000 inhabitants. This place is noticed in Domesday book under the appellation of Hachesham, and at a subsequent period was granted to the nunnery at Dartford, in Kent. The parish was constituted in June, 1845, under the provisions of the act 6th and 7th of Victoria, cap. 37; and is two miles in length from north to south, and one mile in breadth from east to west, lying at the foot of the range of hills which extend to Forest Hill, Norwood, &c.; its eastern boundary, and the boundary of the county here, being the same. Hatcham is about three miles from London bridge, on the old Kent road, and near New-Cross turnpike; and contains many good houses. The Brighton railway passes through; and the New-Cross station of the line is situated in the centre of the parish. The extensive workshops, the goods' depôt, &c., belonging to the railway company, have been twice partly destroyed by fire, but the premises have been again built upon a larger scale. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of Alexander Read, Esq., by whom it has been endowed. The church, dedicated to St. James, is a temporary building, erected by the incumbent at his own cost, of nearly £1000; it is a neat structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with open seats, containing accommodation for 700 persons. The principal portion of the land in the hamlet is held in trust by the Haberdashers' Company of London, for the support of the public schools and almshouses of the town of Monmouth, having been left by a person named Jones, a Monmouth pedler.

Hatcliffe (St. Mary)

HATCLIFFE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Caistor, wapentake of Bradley-Haverstoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 7½ miles (S. W.) from Grimsby; containing, with the hamlet of Gonerby, 139 inhabitants. This place was formerly the residence of the family of De Hatcliffe, who at one time represented the borough of Grimsby in parliament; their mansion appears to have been of considerable extent, and some remains of it are still traceable. The parish comprises 1370a. 2r. 20p., of which two-thirds are arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture, with a little woodland; the surface is undulated, the soil chalky, and the aspect of the district rather wild. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 4. 2., and in the patronage of the Chapter of the Collegiate Church of Southwell: the tithes have been commuted for £315. 14., and the glebe comprises 4½ acres, with a glebe-house, built in 1840. The church, an ancient edifice with a tower, consists of a nave and chancel, in which latter are some monuments, apparently to members of the family of Hatcliffe. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Hatfield (St. Leonard)

HATFIELD (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Leominster, hundred of Wolphy, county of Hereford, 7 miles (N. W.) from Bromyard; containing 181 inhabitants. This parish, situated on the borders of Worcestershire, by which it is bounded on the north, consists of 1511 acres; and connected with it is the extra-parochial place of New Hampton, containing, in addition, 126 acres. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £67; patron, Sir John Geers Cotterell, Bart., who, with the Bishop of Hereford, is impropriator.

Hatfield (St. Lawrence)

HATFIELD (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Thorne, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York; containing, with the township of Stainforth, 2939 inhabitants, of whom 2015 are in the township of Hatfield, 3 miles (S. W. by S.) from Thorne. Hatfield Chase was the scene of a sanguinary battle in 663 between Penda, King of Mercia, and Edwin, King of Northumbria, in which the latter was defeated, and himself and his son Osfrid killed. The parish anciently comprised that of Thorne, and nearly the whole of the chase and places adjacent; and though its limits have been greatly diminished, it still contains 16,203 acres, of which 3868 are waste or common. The township of Hatfield alone comprises more than 10,000 acres, and about 3000 of peat-moss uninclosed, for the improvement of which some efforts are now in progress. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £15. 5., and has a net income of £139; the patronage and impropriation belong to the Countess of Coventry, and the tithes have been commuted for £2153. The church, erected on the site of an ancient structure in the Norman style, of which a part is incorporated with the present building, is a handsome cruciform edifice in the later English style, with a square embattled tower rising from the intersection of the nave and transepts, and crowned with pinnacles. In the reign of Charles I., Thomas Wormeley devised property for securing an annuity of £10 to a schoolmaster; and a national school is endowed with £80 per annum, arising from lands bequeathed in 1706, by Henry Travis, Esq., of London.

Hatfield, Bishop's (St. Ethelreda)

HATFIELD, BISHOP'S (St. Ethelreda), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Broadwater, county of Hertford, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Hertford, and 19 (N. N. W.) from London, on the great north road; containing 3646 inhabitants. This place, called by the Saxons Heathfield, from its situation on a heath, was a demesne of the crown till it was given by King Edgar to the monastery of St. Ethelreda, at Ely; and that religious foundation having been converted into a bishopric by Henry I., in 1108, the parish thence received the prefix to its name. The bishops had a palace here, which was rebuilt by John Morton, who held the see from 1478 to 1486. Henry VIII. having obtained the manor by exchange, the palace became a royal residence; and from it Edward VI. and Elizabeth were conducted to London to take possession of the throne, after the death of their respective predecessors; the latter, during the reign of Mary, having been kept here in confinement. Part of the old palace, which was exchanged by James I. with Robert, Earl of Salisbury, for Theobalds Park, near Cheshunt, is still remaining, with the old entrance gateway; and there is also a venerable oak in the park, called Queen Elizabeth's oak, about one mile from the palace, supposed to be so named as the boundary of the distance to which that princess was allowed to walk, while kept prisoner by Queen Mary. Hatfield House, the property and residence of the Marquess of Salisbury, a noble and spacious mansion of brick and stone, surmounted by a tower, and seated on a commanding eminence, forms an interesting and conspicuous object on entering the town; it was built by Robert Cecil, first earl of Salisbury, between the years 1605 and 1611. A lamentable fire occurred on Nov. 27th, 1835, when the Dowager Marchioness perished in the flames. In October 1846 the marquess was visited here by Her Majesty.

The town is situated on the declivity of a steep hill, to the west of the river Lea, and consists of one principal street intersected by a smaller one, both of which are, during the winter months, lighted with oil. A silkmill, worked by a steam-engine, furnishes employment to about 200 persons, chiefly children; and there is a paper-mill on the river. The great railway from London to York will pass by the town. The market is on Thursday; and fairs are held on April 23rd and October 18th. The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold a petty-session here for the division; and a court leet is held by the Marquess of Salisbury, as lord of the manor. The parish comprises 12,543a. 2r. 25p., of which 6766 acres are arable, 3621 meadow, 1237 woodland, and the remainder the site of the town, glebe, roads, and waste. The living is a rectory, with that of Totteridge annexed, valued in the king's books at £36. 2. 1., and in the gift of the Marquess: the tithes have been commuted for £1876. 12., and the glebe comprises 108 acres. The church stands upon the summit of the hill on which the town is situated: north of the chancel is the sepulchral chapel of the marquess' family, containing a fine marble monument to Robert Cecil, first earl of Salisbury, and lord high treasurer in the reign of James I.; on the south side is a chapel belonging to the proprietor of Brocket Hall, in the parish. There is a place of worship for Independents; also a school of industry for girls, with an endowment given in 1733, by Anne, Countess of Salisbury; and six almshouses for widows, founded and endowed by the families of Boteler and Salisbury. The poor law union of Hatfield consists of 4 parishes and places, with a population of 6055.

Hatfield-Broad-Oak, or Hatfield-Regis (St. Mary)

HATFIELD-BROAD-OAK, or Hatfield-Regis (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Dunmow, halfhundred of Harlow, S. division of Essex, 7 miles (S. E.) from Bishop-Stortford; containing 1968 inhabitants. This parish belonged to the crown at the time of the Norman survey, and was granted by Henry III. to William de Cassingham, with the exception of a portion of the tithes previously given to the priory of St. Botolph, in Colchester. It derives the epithet by which it is distinguished from Hatfield-Peverell, from a remarkably fine oak, and there were formerly many oak-trees in the district, the soil being highly favourable for their growth. The parish comprises 8760a. 2r. 20p., whereof about 6285 acres are arable, 1725 pasture, and 582 woodland. The village, which was anciently an extensive markettown, consists of irregularly-built houses much scattered. A fair is held on the 5th of August, principally for lambs. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 11., and in the gift of Trinity College, Cambridge: the tithes have been commuted for £1775 payable to the college, and £100 to the vicar; the impropriate and vicarial glebes consist of about two acres each. The church, a handsome and lofty edifice with a stone tower, comprises portions in the later English style, and contains a monument to Robert De Vere, third earl of Oxford. Here is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Three national schools have been established; and there is a fund of nearly £100 per annum, for the repairs of the church. Adjoining the church, which was then conventual, stood a priory of Black canons, founded by Albeni de Vere, in 1135, and dedicated to God, St. Mary, and St. Melanius Redenensis; the revenue, at the time of the Dissolution, was £157. 3. 2. Downhall, in the parish, was the favourite retirement of the poet Prior.

Hatfield, Great

HATFIELD, GREAT, a township, partly in the parish of Sigglesthorne, but chiefly in that of Mappleton, union of Skirlaugh, N. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 11 miles (E. by N.) from Beverley; containing 145 inhabitants. This place, also called East Hatfield, belonged in the 13th century to the abbey of Meaux; it gave name to the family of Hatfield, who held the manor for several generations, and afterwards came to the Constables, from whom it has descended to the Bethell family. There was a chapel here, which was destroyed by fire many years since; it was used as a place of sepulture by the Hatfields. The village is said to have been formerly of much more importance than it is at present, and at the junction of three very narrow roads is an ancient and very curious cross, of exquisite workmanship, supposed to be Norman. The township comprises about 1422 acres. The tithes have been commuted for £18. There is a place of worship for dissenters.

Hatfield, Little

HATFIELD, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Sigglesthorne, union of Skirlaugh, N. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 10½ miles (E. N. E.) from Beverley; containing 36 inhabitants. This place, also styled West Hatfield, is mentioned in Domesday book under the name of Heiefeld, and in the 13th century was partly held by the abbey of Meaux; different families have been owners since that time, and among recent proprietors occur the Hustlers and Greames. The township comprises about 942 acres. A rent-charge of £200 has been awarded as a commutation for the tithes, and there is a glebe of 12¾ acres.

Hatfield-Peverell (St. Andrew)

HATFIELD-PEVERELL (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union and hundred of Witham, N. division of Essex, 3¼ miles (S. W. by S.) from Witham; containing 1383 inhabitants. It derives its distinguishing epithet from Ralph Peverel, its proprietor at the time of the Norman survey. A college for secular canons was founded in the time of William Rufus, by Ingelrica, wife of Peverel, and dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene; it was converted by her son into a Benedictine monastery. The parish is bounded on the south by the Chelmer and Blackwater navigation, which here receives the waters of the river Tor; the soil is in general light, and intermixed with gravel, and the scenery of the district is enriched with extensive woods. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £88; patron and impropriator, P. Wright, Esq., whose tithes have been commuted for £1385. The church, formerly belonging to the priory, of which it is the only remaining portion, is a handsome structure, consisting of a nave, a spacious north aisle, and a chancel, in which is a fine window of ancient stained glass; in the aisle is a statue of the foundress. A school was endowed in 1638, by Sir Edward Alleyne, with £5. 10. per annum. In 1820, Martha Lovibond, in compliance with the wish of her deceased daughter, erected four tenements for two aged married couples and two single persons, endowing them with 18s. per week for the former, and 12s. for the latter.

Hatford (St. George)

HATFORD (St. George), a parish, in the union of Farringdon, hundred of Ganfield, county of Berks, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Farringdon; containing 123 inhabitants. The manor, originally the property of Sir Robert de Hatford, was afterwards held by the family of Chaucer, the poet, whose daughter, Alice, conveyed it by marriage to De la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, at whose death it reverted to the crown, and, after passing through several families, ultimately became vested in the Pusey family. The parish comprises 918a. 2r. 28p., of which nearly 567 acres are arable, 332 meadow, and 19 woodland; the soil is of a sandy quality, and the substratum chiefly limestone. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 17. 6., and in the gift of John Painter, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £259, and the glebe comprises 53 acres. The church is an ancient structure, chiefly in the Norman style, with a beautiful arched doorway; in the chancel is a handsome monument to the memory of Sir Robert de Hatford.

Hatherall.—See Hothersall.

HATHERALL.—See Hothersall.

Hatherden

HATHERDEN, a hamlet, partly in the parish of Foxcott, and partly in that of Andover, union and hundred of Andover, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton; with 106 inhabitants.

Hatherleigh (St. John the Baptist)

HATHERLEIGH (St. John the Baptist), a market-town and parish, in the union of Oakhampton, hundred of Black Torrington, Black Torrington and Shebbear, and N. divisions of Devon, 29 miles (W. N. W.) from Exeter; containing 1882 inhabitants. This place appears to have been formerly a borough, and to have enjoyed a separate jurisdiction: until within a comparatively recent period there was a pillory in the town. The manor originally belonged to the abbots of Tavistock, one of whom granted to the inhabitants of the borough exclusively the common of Hatherleigh, comprising about 476 acres of extremely good land, abounding with fine springs. The parish contains 7048a. 2r. 26p. of a productive nature; the soil is partly a red mould, in great estimation, and partly dun land on a clay bottom. The surface exhibits much variety of hill and dale, enriched with wood, and enlivened by the rivers Lew, Oke, and Torridge, which bound the parish; the environs are pleasant, and the higher ground affords extensive views. The town, which is situated on the road from Plymouth to Barnstaple, is small and irregularly built, consisting chiefly of low cottages of red loam, roofed with thatch; it has, however, been recently much improved, and is amply supplied with water of excellent quality. About a mile to the north is a handsome and substantial bridge, built over the river Torridge, at the expense of the county, in 1812. A public library was established in 1808, and in 1821 subscription-rooms were fitted up, in which business of a public nature is transacted. The woollen manufacture is carried on; but the inhabitants are principally employed in agriculture, and in working some quarries of good freestone. The market-days are Tuesday and Friday, and a large cattle-market is held on the Friday nearest to the 21st of March; a new market-house has been built. The fairs are on May 21st, June 22nd, Sept. 4th, and Nov. 8th; but if those days happen on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, they are held on the Tuesday following. The town is governed by a portreeve, elected annually at the court leet of the lord of the manor; at which time, also, a jury is sworn, and a tythingman, two constables, and scavengers are appointed.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20, and in the gift of the Trustees of the late James Ireland, Esq.; the impropriation belongs to Mrs. Boughton: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £224. 10., and the impropriate for £335. 15.; the glebe consists of 51 acres, with a house. The church is in the early English style, with a tower at the west end, surmounted by a neat spire: the windows are embellished with armorial bearings in stained glass; the pulpit is richly carved, and on one side of the altar is a piscina; there are some ancient monuments, among which is a handsome one to the memory of John Lethbridge, who left £100 to the poor. In the churchyard are some elmtrees of large dimensions, completely hollow, and presenting a very picturesque appearance. Here are places of worship for Baptists, Bible Christians, and Plymouth Brethren. Some houses near the church, supposed to have been a college belonging to the abbey of Tavistock, and after the dissolution of that establishment, to have been given to the parish towards the repair of the church, are appropriated as residences for the poor, for whom, in addition to the bequest of John Lethbridge, above noticed, there are some almshouses, and several other charitable donations. In the parish is a spring of exceedingly pure water, which, from its supposed efficacy in curing diseases, is called the Holy Well, and to which, on Holy-Thursday, many people from the neighbouring parishes resort; on Hatherleigh Common, also, is St. John's Well, thought to have been consecrated at the same time as the church. At a short distance from the town is a tenement called Hatherleigh Chapel, considered to have been a religious house, and in the cemetery of which many graves have been discovered. Jasper Mayne, D.D., chaplain to Charles I., and celebrated as a preacher and a dramatic writer, was born in the parish, in 1604.

Hatherley, Down (St. Mary and Corpus Christi)

HATHERLEY, DOWN (St. Mary and Corpus Christi), a parish, in the Upper division of the hundred of Dudstone and King's-Barton, union and E. division of the county of Gloucester, 2½ miles (N. E. by N.) from Gloucester; containing 212 inhabitants, and consisting of £911a. 9p. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 14. 4½., and in the patronage of the Crown, with a net income of £245: the tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1807; the glebe comprises 159a. 3r. 17p. The church is an ancient structure in good repair.

Hatherley, Up

HATHERLEY, UP, a parish, in the union of Cheltenham, Upper division of the hundred of Dudstone and King's-Barton, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 3½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Cheltenham; containing 22 inhabitants. The living, together with that of Shurdington, with which this place formerly constituted a chapelry, is annexed to the vicarage of Badgeworth. The church was demolished more than two centuries since, and the north aisle of that of Shurdington is used by the parishioners.

Hathern (St. Peter)

HATHERN (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Loughborough, hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 3 miles (N. W.) from Loughborough; containing 1252 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12; net income, £376; patrons, the family of Phillips: the tithes were commuted for land and money payments in 1777: Increased accommodation has been provided in the church by the addition of 106 free sittings. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans. An estate consisting of 5 cottages and 22 acres of land, left for charitable purposes, produces £55 per annum, which sum is applied in teaching and apprenticing boys, and distributing coal, clothing, and flour among the poor.