Peter, St. - Petworth

Peter, St.

PETER, ST., a parish, and a member of the cinqueport liberty of Dovor, locally in the hundred of Ringslow, or Isle of Thanet, union of Thanet, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 2½ miles (N.) from Ramsgate; containing 2978 inhabitants. It comprises 2800 acres, and the value of the land is very considerable; potatoes, artificial grasses, and canary, radish, and spinach seeds, are grown for the London seedsmen. The village is much frequented by visiters from Margate. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9, and in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury: the tithes have been commuted for £458 payable to the Archbishop, £737 to the Dean and Chapter, and £531 to the vicar: of the glebe-land, 5½ acres belong to the Archbishop, and 39 to the Dean and Chapter. The church, which is remarkable for its neatness, is principally in the early Norman style, and contains an ancient tomb of the Norwood family, of Dane Court, and some tablets: it was erected in 1184, as a chapel of ease to Minster, and was made parochial in 1200; the east window was restored in 1838. At Broadstairs, in the parish, a chapel of ease was erected by subscription, in 1828. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans; and a national school. In 1805, Robert Brown, Esq., erected a building for a workhouse; and on the poor being removed to the union poor-house, it was purchased, in 1837, by Mrs. Nuckell, and, with about an acre of ground, assigned as an almshouse.—See Broadstairs and Kingsgate.

Peter, St., Cheesehill, county of Southampton.—See Winchester.

PETER, ST., CHEESEHILL, county of Southampton.—See Winchester.

Peter-Church (St. Peter)

PETER-CHURCH (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Dore, hundred of Webtree, county of Hereford, 11½ miles (W.) from Hereford; containing 745 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Dore, and comprises 7000 acres, part arable, part pasture, and 100 acres woodland: the soil is various, principally a rich loam, partly a stiff clay, and a little gravelly; the chief produce is wheat and oats. The village, which lies in the "golden valley," is surrounded by lofty hills and woods. There are several good stone-quarries. A wool-fair is held at Midsummer. Urishay Castle, here, belonging to the Delahay family, one of the most ancient families in the county, is much dilapidated, but retains some features of feudal times; its chapel and other portions remain, and its moat and drawbridge are not entirely extinct. Snodhill or Snowdle Park is also in the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8.; net income, £327; patrons, the Governors of Guy's Hospital, London; impropriator, W. Built, Esq.: there are two acres of glebe. The church is partly in the Norman style. Here are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans; and also two schools, one of which is endowed with £50 per annum, from funds bequeathed by Edward Goff in the year 1813. A spring in the parish, called St. Peter's Well, is supposed to have great virtue in curing diseases of the eye.

Peterborough (St. John the Baptist)

PETERBOROUGH (St. John the Baptist), a city having separate jurisdiction, the seat of a diocese, and the head of a union and of the hundred of Nassaburgh, or liberty of Peterborough, in the N. division of the county of Northampton, 42 miles (N. E. by E.) from Northampton, and 79 (N. by W.) from London; containing, with the precinct of Minster-close, and exclusively of the chapelries of Dogsthorpe, Eastfield with Newark, and Longthorpe, in that part of the parish which is without the city, 6107 inhabitants. The original name of this place, according to ancient records, was Medeswelhamsted, or Medeshamsted, derived by some from a whirlpool that existed in that part of the river Aufona, now the Nene, near which the town was built. According to Brydges, the name, signifying a meadow, village, or site, is derived from the local peculiarity of rich meadows extending along the banks of the river. During the heptarchy, Peada, fifth king of Mercia, having embraced the Christian faith, about 655 laid the foundation of a monastery, which was completed by his brother Wulf here, in atonement for having murdered his own sons for their attachment to the Christian doctrine, prior to his own conversion to Christianity. From this establishment, which was dedicated to St. Peter, and soon became celebrated for the magnificence of its buildings and the richness of its endowments, the town derived the name Petriburgus, whence its present appellation. The monastery continued to flourish until about the middle of the ninth century, when the Danes, having laid waste the neighbouring country, plundered the town, massacred the monks, and burnt the conventual buildings. In this state of desolation it remained for more than a century, till it was restored by Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, with the assistance of King Edgar, and of Adulph, the king's chancellor, who appropriated all his wealth to the rebuilding of the monastery, of which, after its restoration, he was made abbot.

In the reign of the Conqueror, Hereward, the last of the Anglo-Saxon warriors who distinguished themselves by their exploits, hearing that William had given away his paternal lands to a Norman, set sail from Flanders whither he had retired, and having landed in Lincolnshire, made an incursion into this city, and setting fire to the gates and out-buildings of the convent, which he was unable to storm, opened for himself a passage through the flames, plundered the treasury, and having committed various outrages, retired to his ships with an immense booty. Against this invader, and for the protection of the abbey from similar attacks, Abbot Turold erected a fort or castle, which, from his name, was called Mont Turold: this mound, or hill, is on the outside of the deanery garden, and is now called Tot-hill or Toothill. In 1116, the monastery and town were greatly injured by fire, an accident to which may be attributed the existence of the present cathedral, commenced two years afterwards by Abbot Salisbury; and at this period the town, which had previously stood on the eastern side of the monastery, was rebuilt in the situation it now occupies. The place suffered materially in the war between John and the confederate barons, many of whom took refuge in the monastery here and in Crowland Abbey, from which sanctuaries they were forced by the king's soldiers, who plundered the religious houses and carried off great treasures. This was a mitred abbey of the Benedictine order, the abbots being summoned to parliament in the reign of Henry III.; at the Dissolution its revenue was estimated at £1972. 7. 0¾.; and the conventual church, on the establishment of the see, became the cathedral of the diocese. During the civil war in the reign of Charles I., the parliamentary forces under the command of Cromwell, destined for the siege of Crowland, were stationed in the town, where they committed numerous depredations, defacing the cathedral, which they stripped of its plate and ornaments, and pulling down part of the cloisters, the chapter-house, and the episcopal palace, which were sold by order of the parliament.

The city is pleasantly seated on the north side of the river Nene, over which is a wooden bridge, and consists of several regular and well-formed streets. The houses are in general neatly built, and many of them have been modernised in the recent improvements effected under the provisions of an act of parliament passed in 1790: the town is well paved, lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water. About the end of February, 1835, a destructive fire broke out, which consumed about sixty dwellings of an inferior class. The environs are pleasant, and afford much agreeable and diversified scenery. A book society was established in 1730: a small theatre is opened usually in June, for six weeks; and assemblies are held at stated times, generally for the benefit of the dispensary and the national school. The trade is principally in corn, coal, timber, coke, lime, bricks, and stone, the produce of the neighbourhood. The river is not navigable for shipping, but boats pass up to Northampton, where it communicates with the Grand Junction canal; and in the opposite direction, vessels proceed through Wisbech to Lynn, to the former of which packets sail twice a week. A railway from Peterborough to Blisworth, near Northampton, about 48 miles in length, was opened on June 2nd, 1845; and a railway to Ely, 30 miles in length, on January 14th, 1847. An act was passed in 1845 for a railway from Peterborough to the Syston station of the Midland railway, 47¾ miles long: the great London and York railway, also, will pass by the city. The market is on Saturday; and fairs commence on July 9th and October 1st, each for three days, for cattle, timber, and various kinds of merchandise.

The liberty, or soke, of Peterborough is co-extensive with the hundred, and comprises 32 townships and hamlets. The civil government is vested in magistrates chosen by the crown, and in a high-bailiff of the city, appointed by the Dean and Chapter, who are lords of the manor; constables and other officers are elected at the court leet held annually. The city first sent members to parliament in the first of Edward VI., since which time it has regularly returned two: the out-parish, by the act of the 2nd and 3rd William IV., cap. 64, was incorporated with the ancient borough (which comprised only 1300 acres), enlarging the extent to 5953 acres: the high-bailiff is returning officer. Courts of quarter-session, for all offences committed within the soke, are held on the same day as those for the county; there is also a court of record or common pleas, for the recovery of debts to any amount, but in which those above £5 are seldom sued for. The powers of the county debt-court of Peterborough, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Whittlesey, and part of that of Peterborough. The town-hall, erected in 1671, is a neat building, under which is a covered area for the market. There were formerly two small gaols; but in 1839, an act was passed for building a new gaol for the liberty. The great borough fen between Peterborough and Crowland, containing nearly 7000 acres, was, until the year 1815, subject to the pasturage of the cattle belonging to the inhabitants of the soke; it has since that period been inclosed, and a new parish, called Newborough, formed.

The city was anciently included in the diocese of Lincoln, from which, with the counties of Northampton and Rutland, it was separated by Henry VIII., in 1541, and erected into a distinct see; the last abbot of Peterborough was made bishop, and the church of the monastery was appropriated as the cathedral, and the abbot's house as the episcopal palace. By the provisions of the 6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77, the county of Leicester has been annexed to the diocese. The ecclesiastical establishment consists of a bishop, dean, five canons (to be reduced to four), three minor canons, a master and eight choristers, six singers or lay clerks, an organist, a schoolmaster and an usher, twenty scholars, a steward, and six almsmen. The diocese contains 521 benefices: the bishop has the patronage of the two archdeaconries, the chancellorship, canonries, and six benefices, with an income of £4500; the dean and canons form the chapter, which has the patronage of the minor canonries and seven benefices.

The cathedral is a spacious and venerable structure, partly Norman, and partly in the early English style, with a low lantern tower rising from the centre. An ancient gateway-entrance of the Norman style, which has received some later English additions, leads into a small quadrangle, on one side of which are the conventual buildings, still retaining much of their original character; and opposite the entrance is the magnificent west front of the cathedral, consisting of three lofty arches in the early English style, of unparalleled beauty. In the centre arch is a small porch, which, though of elegant design, is not in accordance with the general character of this part of the building: over the porch is the chapel of St. Thomas à Becket. Each of the arches is surmounted by a decorated gable, pierced with Catherine-wheel windows; on either side is a highly-enriched turret, surmounted by a spire, and at the north-west angle of the nave is a square tower with angular turrets crowned by pinnacles, with which a similar tower at the south-west angle formerly corresponded. The nave, which is Norman, is separated from the aisles by finelyclustered piers and arches, of lighter character than generally prevails in that style, and is an excellent specimen of just proportions and elegant arrangement; the roof is of wood, divided into compartments, panelled, and ornamented with paintings and with gilt fillets and mouldings. The choir has a groined roof, also of wood: on the south side is the shrine of St. Tibba, generally mistaken for the cenotaph of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was buried near the spot, but whose remains were afterwards removed to Westminster; and on the north was the tomb of Catherine of Arragon, destroyed by the parliamentary troops under Cromwell, and which has been replaced by a marble slab to the memory of that queen. The east end is circular, and there are several chapels in the later English style, with fan-tracery of elegant design; the windows generally seem to have been enriched with tracery, subsequently to their original formation, and many of them have been enlarged. To the south of the south transept are the remains of what was probably the refectory, and the infirmary of the convent, exhibiting a beautiful specimen of the early English style: the cloisters, of which part only remains, appear to have combined various styles, from the early Norman to the later English. Among the monuments are three of abbots of the twelfth century, and one, behind the altar, for the abbot and 84 monks massacred by the Danes in the year 870, of black and blue marble, formed like a shrine, and sculptured with figures of Christ and the Apostles. The Cathedral Close presents several interesting remains of English architecture, and has a gateway communicating with the town, another leading to the bishop's palace, and a third, of considerable beauty, to the deanery.

The city comprises the parish of St. John the Baptist, of which the living is a discharged vicarage; net income, £575; patron, the Bishop of Peterborough; impropriators, the Dean and Chapter. Land and a money payment were assigned in lieu of tithes in 1811. The church, a spacious structure, of late years repaired and partly rebuilt, has a handsome altar-piece painted by Sir Robert Ker Porter. At Longthorpe is a chapel of ease; and there are places of worship in the town for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and other Methodists. The free grammar school, founded by Henry VIII., on the dissolution of the monastery, and placed under the control of the Dean and Chapter, is endowed for twenty scholars, nominated by them, who receive £2. 13. 4. annually. Belonging to the school are three exhibitions, of £6 per annum each, to St. John's College, Cambridge, founded by Edmund Mountsteven, Esq., in the patronage of the Bishop and Dean; and in the same college are a fellowship and two scholarships, founded by Francis Dee, Bishop of Peterborough, for boys of his kindred and name, who have been educated at the school, or at Merchant Taylors', London; also three exhibitions of seven shillings per week, with preference to boys educated here. A charity school was founded in 1721, by Mr. Thomas Deacon, who endowed it with land; and the funds arising from the bequest, including a sum for distribution among the poor, amount to about £338 per annum. The union of Peterborough comprises thirtynine parishes or places, of which nineteen are in the county of Northampton, a similar number in that of Huntingdon, and one in that of Lincoln, the whole containing a population of 23,314. An hospital for lepers, dedicated to St. Leonard, and dependent on St. Peter's abbey, was founded in the reign of Stephen; and an hospital near the abbey gate was established in 1180, by Benedict, Abbot of Peterborough, to the honour of Thomas à Becket, whose life he wrote. Among the eminent natives of the place were, Abbot Benedict, just mentioned; John of Peterborough, an English historian in the beginning of the fourteenth century, also abbot of the monastery; Archdeacon Paley, eminent as a divine and moralist, born in 1743; and Sir John Hill, a popular writer, supposed to have been born in 1716. The title of Earl of Peterborough, now extinct, was bestowed on the family of Mordaunt by Charles I., and was held by Charles, Earl of Peterborough and Monmouth, a distinguished military officer in the reigns of Anne and George I.

Peter's

PETER'S, a tything, in the parish of Portbury, union of Bedminster, hundred of Portbury, E. division of Somerset; containing 55 inhabitants.

Petersfield (St. Peter)

PETERSFIELD (St. Peter), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Finch-Dean, Petersfield and N. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing, with the tything of Sheet, 1838 inhabitants, of whom 1448 are in the old borough of Petersfield, 24 miles (E. N. E.) from Southampton, and 54 (S. W.) from London. The town is situated on the road from London to Portsmouth; the streets are partly lighted by subscription, tolerably paved, and the houses well supplied with water: in the centre of the market-place is a fine equestrian statue of William III., erected at the expense of the late William Jolliffe, Esq., one of the representatives for the borough. Great improvements have been made in the roads in the neighbourhood. An act was passed in 1846 for a railway from Epsom, by Godalming and Petersfield, to Portsmouth. The market, which is for corn and cattle, is held every alternate Wednesday; and fairs take place on July 10th, for toys, &c.; October 6th, for lean-cattle; and December 11th, for sheep.

The town was incorporated by charter of Elizabeth, and has a mayor and commonalty; the mayor, whose office has become merely titular, is appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor, held in January, at which a constable and two tythingmen are also chosen. The borough made one return to parliament in the 35th of Edward I., and then discontinued until the reign of Edward VI., from which period it returned two members, till it was deprived of one by the act 2nd of William IV., cap. 45. By the same act, the privilege of voting was extended to the £10 householders of the old borough (which contained 252 acres) and of an adjoining district, together comprising by estimation an area of 22,925 acres. The mayor is returning officer. Pettysessions are held on every alternate Monday: the powers of the county debt-court of Petersfield, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Petersfield and Catherington. The town-hall was rebuilt some years since, at the expense of Hylton Jolliffe, Esq. The parish comprises by measurement 3388 acres. The living is annexed to the rectory of Buriton: the incumbent's tithes have been commuted for £50. Besides the church, is a place of worship for Independents; and a national school is supported. A college was founded, and endowed with £3000, by Richard Churcher, in 1722, for boarding and educating twelve boys, who should be subsequently apprenticed to masters of ships "voyaging" to the East Indies; the institution was further regulated by act of parliament obtained in 1744, and the annual income is now £568. The poor-law union of Petersfield comprises thirteen parishes or places, and contains a population of 7461.

Petersham (St. Peter)

PETERSHAM (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Richmond, First division of the hundred of Kingston, E. division of Surrey, 12 miles (S. W. by W.) from London; containing 636 inhabitants. The parish comprises by measurement 2800 acres, of which about 100 are arable, 140 pasture, 83 in gardens and lawns, and the remainder woods and parks chiefly the property of the crown. The village is pleasantly situated on the southern bank of the Thames, and in it and the vicinity are many handsome residences. Ham House, a noble mansion in the parish, belonging to the Earl of Dysart, was erected in 1610, and underwent great alterations, and was furnished at a large expense, in the time of Charles II. It is a curious specimen of that age; the ceilings are painted by Verrio, and the rooms present the massy magnificence of decoration then in fashion: in the centre is a large hall surrounded by an open gallery; the balustrades of the grand staircase are of walnut wood, and embellished with military trophies. The park contains very fine timber, especially elms, Scotch firs, and lime-trees. The celebrated John, Duke of Argyll, was born in the mansion. In 1790, George III. purchased a residence here for his late Majesty, William IV., when Duke of Clarence, who sold it some time afterwards to the Earl of Huntingtower, at whose decease it was again bought, in 1835, by the crown, and pulled down, when the grounds were thrown into Richmond Park. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Kew. The church, which is a brick edifice, supposed to have been erected about the commencement of the sixteenth century, was much enlarged in 1840. Petersham gives the title of Viscount to the family of Stanhope, earls of Harrington.

Peterstone (St. Peter)

PETERSTONE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union and division of Newport, hundred of Wentlloog, county of Monmouth, 6 miles (S. S. W.) from Newport; containing 137 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the south by the Bristol Channel, and comprises 1928 acres, together with a salt-marsh computed at 180 more, the whole forming fine pasture and arable land in nearly equal portions; the surface is generally flat, and the soil a rich clay. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £57; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Bristol: the great tithes have been commuted for £130, and those of the incumbent for £25: the appropriate glebe comprises 63 acres. The church, supposed to have been erected about the commencement of the thirteenth century, is a fine edifice consisting of a nave and aisles, with a strong and lofty tower; it is 99 feet long by 38 broad, and contains 117 sittings, of which 87 are free.

Peterstow (St. Peter)

PETERSTOW (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Ross, Lower division of the hundred of Wormelow, county of Hereford, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Ross; containing 255 inhabitants. The parish is intersected by the road from Ross to Hereford, and comprises 1530 acres, of which 30 are common or waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 10. 10., and in the gift of Guy's Hospital, London: the tithes have been commuted for £403; the glebe comprises 18 acres. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Petham (All Saints)

PETHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Bridge, hundred of Bridge and Petham, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 6 miles (S. S. W.) from Canterbury; containing 646 inhabitants. It consists of 3235 acres, of which 869 are in wood. The living is a vicarage, annexed to that of Waltham, and valued in the king's books at £8. 0. 2½. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £440, and the impropriate for £450; the appropriate tithes of the Archbishop of Canterbury, as rector of Swardling district, have been commuted for £30. 7. 6. The vicar's glebe comprises two acres, and the impropriate rector's three. The church is principally in the early English style. The parish is bounded on the east by the ancient Stanestreet.

Petherick, Little (St. Petrock)

PETHERICK, LITTLE (St. Petrock), a parish, in the union of St. Columb Major, E. division of the hundred of Pyder and of the county of Cornwall, 2½ miles (S.) from Padstow; containing 208 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1162 acres, of which 240 are common or waste; it is situated near the shore of the Bristol Channel, and is intersected by a small river, which is navigable for barges, and flows into the Camel. A handsome bridge has been built by subscription over this tributary stream, whose course adds much to the beauty of the scenery; the village is seated in a sheltered valley, and, with the church, the tower of which is mantled with ivy, has a truly picturesque appearance. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 6. 8.; net income, £203; patron, Sir William Molesworth, Bart. There are about 34 acres of glebe; and a glebe-house, built in 1813. The interior of the church was beautified in 1831, at the expense of the rector and his son.

Petherton, North (St. Mary)

PETHERTON, NORTH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bridgwater, hundred of North Petherton, W. division of Somerset, 3¼ miles (S. by W.) from Bridgwater; containing 3759 inhabitants, and comprising 10,500 acres. The navigable river Parret, the Bridgwater and Taunton canal, and the Bristol and Exeter railway, pass through the parish. The village consists of a well-built street on the road from Bridgwater to Taunton; it had formerly a large market for corn, and two considerable fairs are still held for cattle and pedlery, on May 1st and the Monday before November 30th. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £27. 7. 11.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. J. J. Toogood; impropriators, the landowners. The great tithes have been commuted for £1018. 16., and the vicarial for £896. 16.; £70 also are payable to the incumbent of North Newton, a chapelry in the parish. The church is a fine structure with a lofty and very handsome tower, in the later English style. At Northmoor-Green is a district chapel dedicated to St. Peter and St. John, consecrated in October 1844: the living is in the Vicar's gift. Thomas Wroth, in 1721, bequeathed £500 for clothing and educating twenty boys. The celebrated sculptor, John Bacon, was descended from a family who possessed the estate of Maursell, in this parish; and several of the name lie buried in the church, where are monuments to their memory.

Petherton, South (St. Peter and St. Paul)

PETHERTON, SOUTH (St. Peter and St. Paul), a market-town and parish, in the union of Yeovil, hundred of South Petherton, W. division of Somerset, 5½ miles (N. by W.) from Crewkerne, and 130 (W. S. W.) from London; containing, with the tythings of Compton-Durvill, South Harp, and Over Stratton, 2597 inhabitants. This place is stated by Camden to have been the residence of Ina, King of the West Saxons. It derives its name from the river Peder, or Parret, which passes the town on the east, and over which, on the old Roman fosse-way, is a stone bridge of three arches, formerly of wood, but rebuilt in its present state by the parents of two children who were drowned in the river, and whose effigies are placed upon it to commemorate the event. The parish comprises 3200 acres, and is intersected by the road from Exeter to London. The town has three principal streets, which, uniting, form a triangle; a few of the inhabitants are engaged in the manufacture of dowlas, sailcloth, and kid gloves, and on the river are several corn-mills. The markets, once considerable, but now on the decline, are on Thursday and Saturday; and a fair, chiefly for lambs, takes place on July 6th. Courts leet for the manor and hundred are held in October. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £24, and in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol; the impropriation belongs to Mrs. Quantock and others. The tithes have been commuted for £155 payable to the Dean and Chapter, £623 to the impropriators, and £550 to the vicar; the glebe comprises about 2 acres. The church is a spacious cruciform edifice, with an octangular tower surmounted by a spire. There are places of worship for Independents, Baptists, and Wesleyans. The free school was founded about 1732, by William Glandfield, who bequeathed to it £60, augmented by Mary Prowse in 1739 with £100, and by a further bequest from Thomas Musgrave, commuted for £100 in the four per cents. In 1720, a large earthen vessel, full of Roman coins, was dug up in a field near the bridge; and other Roman antiquities have at different times been discovered in the vicinity.

Petherwin, North (St. Paternus)

PETHERWIN, NORTH (St. Paternus), a parish, in the union of Launceston, hundred of Black Torrington, Lifton and N. divisions of Devon, 4½ miles (N. W.) from Launceston; containing 1066 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 10. 10.; net income, £135; patron, the Duke of Bedford; impropriators, the families of Reed, Hawke, and Veale. There is a good vicarage-house, with 150 acres of glebe land. The church is a spacious structure, of which the greater portion appears to have been built about the time of Edward III.; but some Norman details prove that the original church was of still more ancient construction. There are places of worship for Bible Christians, Methodists, and Wesleyans.

Petherwin, South (St. Paternus)

PETHERWIN, SOUTH (St. Paternus), a parish, in the union of Launceston, N. division of the hundred of East, E. division of Cornwall, 2 miles (S. W. by S.) from Launceston; containing 997 inhabitants. Fairs for toys are held on the second Tuesdays in May and October. The living is a joint vicarage with the living of Trewen, valued in the king's books at £9. 2. 6.; net income, £349; patrons and impropriators, the University of Oxford. The great tithes of South Petherwin have been commuted for £313, and the vicarial for £250. 10.; the glebe consists of 9 acres. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Petistree (St. Peter and St. Paul)

PETISTREE (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Woodbridge, hundred of Wilford, E. division of Suffolk, ¾ of a mile (S. by W.) from Wickham-Market; containing 303 inhabitants. In this parish is the small hamlet of Bing, which appears to have been formerly larger, as a claim was made in the 14th of Edward I., of the right to hold a market every Thursday. The living is a discharged vicarage, to which that of Lowdham is annexed, the church of that parish having been demolished: both were consolidated with Bredfield in 1827. The tithes belonging to the trustees of the Blue-coat school, Ipswich, have been commuted for £220, and those of the vicar for £96. 10.; there is a glebe of one acre.

Petrockstow

PETROCKSTOW, a parish, in the union of Torrington, hundred of Shebbear, Black Torrington and Shebbear, and N. divisions of the county of Devon, 4 miles (N. N. W.) from Hatherleigh; containing 616 inhabitants. It comprises 3026 acres, of which 1080 are common or waste land. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17. 0. 2½., and in the gift of Lord Clinton: the tithes have been commuted for £271, and the glebe comprises 49 acres. At Berrymoor is a saline spring, used for medicinal purposes.

Petsoe

PETSOE, a hamlet, in the parish of Okeney, poorlaw union of Newport-Pagnell, hundred of Newport, county of Buckingham, 2½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Olney. This was formerly a parish; but the church, which was dedicated to St. James, having been demolished, the living, a discharged rectory, was annexed to that of Okeney.

Pett (St. Mary and St. Peter)

PETT (St. Mary and St. Peter), a parish, in the hundred of Guestling, union and rape of Hastings, E. division of Sussex, 4½ miles (E. N. E.) from Hastings; containing 385 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the south-east by the English Channel, and comprises by measurement 1945 acres, of which 1150 are pasture, 531 arable, 33 wood, 199 shingle, and 13 in roads. Its surface is in some parts undulated, and the views are extensive and picturesque; from Chick Hill the French coast may be distinctly seen in clear weather. The Royal Military canal passes through the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 15. 10.; net income, £460; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Henry Wynch. There are 11 acres of glebe, and a good glebe-house. The church is a neat edifice; the chancel contains several monuments to the Wynch family. In many parts of Pett Level, trees have been dug up in a sound state, supposed to have lain there since October 1250, when the sea overwhelmed and destroyed a large tract of land.

Pettaugh (St. Catherine)

PETTAUGH (St. Catherine), a parish, in the union of Bosmere and Claydon, hundred of Thredling, E. division of Suffolk, 3 miles (S.) from Debenham; containing 266 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 795 acres, chiefly a heavy, stiff, clayey soil; in some places the land is of a better quality, and the whole is well adapted for pasture: the surface is broken into gentle undulations. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 12. 1., and in the gift of the family of Tollemache: the tithes have been commuted for £190, and there are 18 acres of glebe. The church is principally in the early English style.

Petterell-Crooks

PETTERELL-CROOKS, a township, in the parish of Hesket-in-the-Forest, union of Penrith, Leath ward, E. division of the county of Cumberland, 9 miles (N. N. W.) from Penrith; containing 517 inhabitants. The tithes have been commuted for £76. 5. 11. payable to the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle.

Petton

PETTON, a parish, in the union of Ellesmere, hundred of Pimhill, N. division of Salop, 6¼ miles (S. S. E.) from Ellesmere; containing 39 inhabitants. This parish, which is on the road from Shrewsbury to Chester, and near the Ellesmere canal, comprises 900 acres, and is remarkable for the beauty of its situation, and the size and abundance of its timber. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 4. 2.; patron, the Lord Chancellor; the tithes have been commuted for £155. The church, which is placed on a wooded hill, was built on the site of a more ancient edifice, in 1727; on the carved oak pulpit is the date 1635. Near Petton Park, a handsome residence, is a mound supposed to have been used to keep up a communication between the castle of Middle, about four miles distant, and that of Ellesmere; many curious coins have been discovered near the mound, and in another part of the park is a moat, still entire, with the remains of a drawbridge.

Petworth (St. Mary)

PETWORTH (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Rotherbridge, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 14 miles (N. E. by N.) from Chichester, and 49 (S. W. by S.) from London; containing 3364 inhabitants. This place, in the Domesday survey called Peteorde, formed part, together with the adjacent manors, of the possessions of the Percy family, earls of Northumberland, who had a baronial castle near the site of the present mansion of Petworth. On the demise of Josceline, the eleventh earl, the estates were conveyed by his daughter and heiress in marriage to Charles, Duke of Somerset, by marriage with whose daughter Catherine, they passed, in 1766, to Sir William Wyndham, Bart., ancestor of the earls of Egremont, and of Colonel Wyndham, who is now lord of the manor. Petworth House, the seat of Colonel Wyndham, is a noble mansion, situated in a park twelve miles in circumference. The front is 324 feet in length, and the interior is remarkable for the elegance of its embellishments; the apartments are spacious, and fitted up in the most costly style. In one of the rooms is a superb collection of carvings by Grinlin Gibbons; in others are extensive collections of statuary and sculptures of the antique, with many of the finest works of Flaxman, Westmacott, Rysbrach, Nollekens, and Carew, and paintings by the first masters. This splendid mansion has been frequently honoured with royal visits. In 1551, Edward VI. was entertained here for several days: in 1703, Charles, King of Spain, afterwards emperor, paid a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Somerset; and in 1814, the Earl of Egremont had the honour of entertaining His Majesty George IV., then Prince Regent, accompanied by the Emperor Alexander of Russia, the Grand Duchess of Oldenburgh, Frederick, King of Prussia, and the Prince, afterwards King, of Wurtemberg, with their respective suites.

The town is situated on an eminence open on all sides, near the navigable river Rother, and on the road from London to Arundel and Chichester. It consists of several irregular streets, lighted with gas; many of the houses are large and modern, interspersed among those of older date, and the inhabitants are well supplied with water. The Rother runs from west to east, and joins the river Arun at Stopham, above five miles south-east, to which place it is navigable from Midhurst; it is crossed by a bridge at Coultershall, in this parish, where is a wharf for coal, &c. There is a literary and scientific institution, which has lectures occasionally. The market is on Saturday for corn; and fairs take place on HolyThursday and Nov. 20th, for cattle and corn. In the centre of the town is a handsome court-house, with a bust of William III. in a niche at one end, erected about fifty years since by the Earl of Egremont; the lower part is used as a store. A capital court baron for the honour and manor of Petworth under the lord of the manor, and a court leet under the Duke of Norfolk for the hundred of Rotherbridge, are held annually; and the Epiphany and Easter quarter-sessions for the western division of the county take place in the courtroom; as also does a petty-session of magistrates, the first and third Saturdays in the month. The powers of the county debt-court of Petworth, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Petworth, and part of the districts of Thakeham, Chichester, and Midhurst. The house of correction for the western division of the county, situated here, was built in 1788, on Howard's plan; but within these few years it has been greatly altered.

The parish comprises 5982a. 2r. 12p., of which 3118 acres are arable, 1265 meadow and pasture, 1236 woodland, and 167 common and waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £41. 10. 5., and in the gift of Colonel Wyndham: the incumbent's tithes have been commuted for £850, and the glebe comprises 157 acres; the rector of Duncton, also, receives £350 out of the tithes. The church, erected about the time of Henry VII., was nearly rebuilt under the direction of C. Barry, Esq., at a cost of about £16,000, defrayed by the Earl of Egremont. It now consists of a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles, with an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Thomas at the east end of the north aisle, in which some members of the family of Percy, earls of Northumberland, are buried, and in which is a handsome monument by Carew, erected at the expense of the earl, in 1837, to the memory of the Percys. The tower surmounted by a beautiful spire 180 feet high, is at the east end of the south aisle. The interior of the church is exceedingly neat: the windows of the chancel of St. Thomas's chapel, and the south aisle, are of stained glass; and there is a splendid organ, which cost £600. Here are places of worship for Independents and Calvinists.

The free school, which was founded in 1753 by the Rev. John Taylor, who bequeathed the sum of £3200 for various purposes, has merged into a large school on the national system, established by the Earl of Egremont, and endowed by his lordship with money in the three per cents. producing £80 per annum. Thompson's Hospital, for twelve men and women, was instituted in 1618, by Thomas Thompson, Gent., and originally endowed with land for the payment of £5 a year to each of the inmates; who now, from the accumulation of the funds, receive £20 each. Almshouses were established in 1746, by Charles, Duke of Somerset, for twelve widows, six of them to be supported from a bequest of £1000 by the Countess Dowager of Northumberland: from the increase of the income, there are at present 22 inmates and 26 out-pensioners. In 1835, the Earl of Egremont erected almshouses for four men, and invested £3000 in the three per cent. consols. for their support. There are likewise several bequests to the poor generally, of which the principal is one of about £40 per annum by Richard Ayres, in 1673. The union of Petworth comprises five parishes, and contains a population of 9681. Several rectors of Petworth have been made bishops; and the Rev. Charles Dunster, a critic and poet, was incumbent, and is buried here.