Potsgrove - Poundstock

Potsgrove (St. Mary)

POTSGROVE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Woburn, hundred of Manshead, county of Bedford, 3¼ miles (S. by E.) from Woburn; with 294 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, united to that of Battlesden, and valued in the king's books at £10. 19. 4½.

Pott, with Ilton, county of York.—See Ilton.

POTT, with Ilton, county of York.—See Ilton.

Pott-Shrigley

POTT-SHRIGLEY, a chapelry, in the parish of Prestbury, union and hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 4½ miles (N. N. E.) from Macclesfield; containing 391 inhabitants. It comprises 1393 acres; the prevailing soil is clay. The Macclesfield and Congleton canal passes through the chapelry. Freestone and coal abound in the neighbourhood. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £140; patrons, the family of Turner. The chapel is a neat building of stone, with an embattled tower.

Potter-Brompton

POTTER-BROMPTON, a township, in the parish of Ganton, union of Scarborough, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding of the county of York, 9 miles (W.) from Hunmanby; containing 124 inhabitants. It is on the road from Hunmanby to Malton, about a mile to the west of the village of Ganton.

Potter-Hanworth (St. Andrew)

POTTER-HANWORTH (St. Andrew), a parish, in the Second division of the wapentake of Langoe, parts of Kesteven, union and county of Lincoln, 6¼ miles (S. E. by E.) from Lincoln; containing 439 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 16. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £665. Land was assigned in lieu of tithes, on certain conditions, under an inclosure act, in 1774.

Potter-Newton.—See Newton, Potter.

POTTER-NEWTON.—See Newton, Potter.

Potterne (St. Mary)

POTTERNE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Devizes, hundred of Potterne and Cannings, Devizes and N. divisions of Wilts, 2 miles (S. by W.) from Devizes; containing, with the tythings of Marston and Worton, 1762 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises by measurement 4946 acres, is pleasantly situated; the road from Devizes to Salisbury, by Lavington, intersects it, and the Kennet and Avon canal is distant only two miles. On the right of the road is East-well, a highlyinteresting mansion, which for some centuries has been the property and residence of the family of Grubbe; the walls are of extraordinary thickness, and the apartments are wainscoted with oak: the pleasure-gardens are remarkable for the number of terraces sloping in succession to the south, and are ornamented with elms of venerable growth. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20. 6. 8.; patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The great tithes have been commuted for £879, and the vicarial for £726; there are about 23 acres of glebe. The church is a venerable cruciform structure, built about the eleventh or twelfth century; the pulpit and reading-desk are beautifully carved in oak, and the church has been newly pewed and embellished. A chapel of ease has been erected for the hamlets of Worton and Marston. There are places of worship for Ranters and Wesleyans.

Potters-Bar

POTTERS-BAR, a hamlet, in the parish of South Mimms, union of Barnet, hundred of Edmonton, county of Middlesex, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Barnet. A district church, dedicated to St. John, was built in 1835, chiefly at the expense of the late G. Byng, Esq.; the living is in the gift of the Bishop of London, and has a net income of £170. There is a place of worship for Baptists.

Potters-Pury (St. Nicholas)

POTTERS-PURY (St. Nicholas), a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Cleley, S. division of the county of Northampton, 2½ miles (N. W.) from Stony-Stratford; containing, with the hamlet of Yardley-Gobion, 1651 inhabitants, of whom 962 are in Potters-Pury hamlet. The parish is situated on the borders of Buckinghamshire, and is intersected by the Grand Junction canal, and by the roads from Stony-Stratford to Daventry and to Northampton; it comprises 2815a. 3r. 11p. of land. Some of the inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of black and coloured laces, shawls, &c. Wakefield Lodge, here, is the property of the Duke of Grafton, as hereditary ranger of Whittlebury Forest, and is visited by his grace during the hunting-season. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 6.; net income, £116; patron, Earl Bathurst; impropriator, the Duke of Grafton, who holds upwards of 300 acres of glebe land, with a house, besides land in the parish of Cosgrove, in lieu of tithes. The church is a fine old edifice with a well-proportioned tower. There is a place of worship for Independents; and a school for boys is conducted on the national plan. The poor-law union comprises 15 parishes or places, 11 of which are in the county of Northampton, and 4 in that of Buckingham; and contains a population of 9794.

Potto

POTTO, a township, in the parish of Whorlton, union of Stokesley, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 5¼ miles (S. W.) from Stokesley; containing 148 inhabitants. It was anciently possessed by the Meinells, lords of Whorlton, from whom it descended to the D'Arcys, and afterwards to the Strangeways; in the reign of Edward I. the place gave name to a resident family, who at one time held lands here of the see of Canterbury. The township is situated on a branch of the river Leven, in the northern part of the parish, and near the road from Stokesley to Thirsk. The tithes have been commuted for £127. 4. payable to the impropriators, and £9. 4. to the perpetual curate.

Potton (St. Mary)

POTTON (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, in the union and hundred of Biggleswade, county of Bedford, 11½ miles (E.) from Bedford, and 48 (N. by W.) from London; containing 1781 inhabitants. A great part of the town was destroyed by fire in 1783, on which occasion the loss was estimated at £25,625, exclusively of the expense of temporary erections in the adjacent fields, used until the houses were rebuilt. It is pleasantly situated at the foot of a hill, and consists principally of one long street; the inhabitants are supplied with water from several small rivulets. The neighbourhood is highly respectable, and contains some handsome mansions. Sandstone is quarried for roads, and for building fence walls; lace-making and strawplatting are carried on to a small extent. The market is on Saturday, and chiefly for corn and straw-plat, but the business done is inconsiderable; fairs are held on the third Tuesday in January for horses, on the last Tuesday in April for sheep, on the first Tuesday in July for fruit and for pleasure, and on the Tuesday before October 29th for cattle. The parish comprises 2600 acres, of which 2115 are arable, and 45 race-ground; one-half of the soil is clay, and the other half sand. The road from St. Ives, which joins the great north road at Biggleswade, passes through the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown: about 300 acres of land, now valued at £1. 5. per acre, and a money payment, were assigned in lieu of tithes in 1814. The church, which is in the early English style, has been repewed. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans; and four schools endowed with £34 per annum.

Potwell

POTWELL, a hamlet, in the parishes of Widley and Wymering, union of Fareham, hundred of Portsdown, Fareham and S. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 73 inhabitants.

Poughill (St. Olave)

POUGHILL (St. Olave), a parish, in the union and hundred of Stratton, E. division of Cornwall, 1 mile (N. W.) from Stratton; containing 472 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the shore of the Bristol Channel, comprises 1736 acres, whereof 79 are common or waste land. It is memorable as the scene of a celebrated battle which took place on the 16th of May, 1643, on Stamford Hill, and in which the parliamentarian forces, under the command of the Earl of Stamford, were signally defeated by the Cornish royalists, headed by Sir Beville Granville. At Burshill House, here, are preserved several articles of the costly furniture that once enriched the mansion of Stowe, among which is the bed in which Charles I. slept during his stay at that place. On the hill are some remains of an ancient square fort. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 12. 1., and in the patronage of the Crown; impropriators, the landowners: the tithes have been commuted for £125, and the glebe consists of 3½ acres. The church is a plain edifice. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Poughill (St. Mary)

POUGHILL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Credition, hundred of West Budleigh, Crediton and N. divisions of Devon, 7 miles (N. by E.) from Crediton; containing 361 inhabitants. The parish comprises by measurement 1662 acres, chiefly arable land; 97 acres are common or waste. The surface is undulated, and the soil in some parts very good, but in others poor and thin, covering a red-sandstone used for building. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 17. 8½., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £221. Here was formerly a chantry chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

Poulshot (St. Peter)

POULSHOT (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Devizes, hundred of Melksham, Devizes and N. divisions of Wilts, 3¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from Devizes; containing 372 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 5., and in the gift of the Bishop of Salisbury: the tithes have been commuted for £380, and the glebe comprises 80 acres. A school is partly supported by endowment.

Poultney

POULTNEY, a hamlet, in the parish of Misterton, union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton, S. division of the county of Leicester, 2¾ miles (E. by N.) from Lutterworth; containing 29 inhabitants.

Poulton

POULTON, a township, in the parish of Pulford, union of Great Boughton, Lower division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester, 5½ miles (S. by W.) from Chester; containing 129 inhabitants. A Cistercian abbey was founded here in 1153, by Robert, who was butler to Ranulph, second Earl of Chester; but the monks having suffered greatly from frequent incursions of the Welsh, removed to Dieulacres, in Staffordshire, in 1214, from which time, till the Dissolution, Poulton continued parcel of the possessions of that monastery. The township comprises 1170 acres, of which the soil is clay. The river Dee forms its eastern boundary.

Poulton cum Seacombe, in the hundred of Wirrall, and county of Chester.—See Seacombe.

POULTON cum Seacombe, in the hundred of Wirrall, and county of Chester.—See Seacombe.

Poulton, with Spittal

POULTON, with Spittal, a township, in the parish of Bebington, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 4 miles (S.) from Birkenhead; containing 209 inhabitants. The family of Lancelyn were settled here soon after the Conquest. Their heiress in the 16th century brought the manor of Poulton to the Greens, from whom it successively passed to the Parnells and Kents, who each assumed the name of Green. At the same time that Poulton passed to the Kents, the hamlet of Spittal was settled on some sisters of that family: the elder of these was Elizabeth, widow of Lord Henry Murray, fourth son of the third duke of Atholl; and in Oct. 1844 her executors sold the property to William Jackson, Esq., M.P., of Birkenhead. In the reign of Henry III. there was a chapel in the parish, dedicated to Thomas à Becket, and it is probable that it stood in Spittal and was attached to the hospital in that hamlet, founded for lepers: no trace of either chapel or hospital now exists, except of the latter in the abbreviated name of Spittal. The township comprises 865 acres, of a clay soil: the population is engaged in agriculture. The road from Chester to Birkenhead, and the Chester and Birkenhead railway, pass here. Poulton Hall is situated on a gentle eminence, and is surrounded with good timber; the views from the mansion are bold and extensive, commanding the Welsh coast. The tithes of the township have been commuted for £140.

Poulton (St. Michael)

POULTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Cirencester, hundred of Crowthorne and Minety, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 5 miles (E. by S.) from Cirencester; containing 371 inhabitants. A Gilbertine priory, in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded here about 1347, by Sir Thomas de Sancto Mauro, or Seymor: at the Dissolution it was valued at £20. 3. 2. per annum. The parish comprises by measurement 1523 acres, and is intersected by the road from Cirencester to Oxford; stone and rough tile are quarried. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £43; patron and impropriator, Sir G. Shiffner, Bart.: the tithes were commuted for land and annual money payments in the year 1795. The church is a plain edifice.

Poulton

POULTON, a parish, in the union of Dovor, hundred of Bewsborough, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 3½ miles (W.) from Dovor; containing 27 inhabitants, and comprising 990 acres. The parish has no church. Here are the venerable ruins of Bradsole or St. Radegund's Abbey, said to have been founded in 1191, by Richard I., for monks of the Præmonstratensian order, and the abbots of which were afterwards summoned to parliament as peers. It was dedicated to St. Mary and St. Radegund, and at the Dissolution possessed a revenue of £142. 8.

Poulton, with Fearnhead

POULTON, with Fearnhead, a township, in the parish and union of Warrington, hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 2 miles (N. E. by E.) from the town of Warrington; containing 693 inhabitants. This township has been the property of the Legh family, of Lyme, since their union with the Haydocks. Bruch, or Birch, the old manor-house, existing in the 12th of Charles I., was given by Sir Peter Legh to his fourth son Peter, whose grand-daughter married the grandson of Dr. Thomas Legh, the third son of Sir Peter; and thus Bruch again became a possession of the elder, and now the sole, branch of the family. Poulton Hall, which has lately been rebuilt of brick, has several times changed owners; it became the property of the Bankes of Winstanley, and afterwards of Mr. Jonathan Jackson, by whom it was sold, about 1826, to Thomas Parr, Esq., of Warrington. The township is bounded on the south by the river Mersey, and comprises 1189 acres of land: the road from Warrington to Manchester passes through it. Here is the hamlet of Padgate, which see.

Poulton-in-the-Fylde (St. Chad)

POULTON-IN-THE-FYLDE (St. Chad), a markettown and parish, in the union of the Fylde, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of Lancashire; containing, with the new town of Fleetwood, and the townships of Carleton, Hardhorn with Newton, Marton, and Thornton, 7273 inhabitants, of whom 1128 are in the township of Poulton, 16 miles (W. N. W.) from Preston, 21 (S. W. by S.) from Lancaster, and 235 (N. W. by N.) from London. This place, called Poltun in the Domesday survey, appears to have belonged, about the time of that survey, to the priory of Lancaster; and in the 27th of Edward I., Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and others held Pulton in trust for the priory. In 1342, a family of the local name possessed a small quantity of land in the parish. This is an extensive tract of champaign country, comprehending one-third, or more, of the hundred of Amounderness: the addition of "the Fylde," given to it to distinguish it from Poulton in Lonsdale, means a field, the district being celebrated for the growth of corn. The northern part is formed into a peninsula by the Irish Sea and the river Wyre, and that river, with the parish of Kirkham, bounds the parish on the east; while the Irish Sea and the parish of Bispham are the western boundaries. The area is 14,289 acres, of which 899a. 3r. 38p. are in Poulton township.

The town is a small, irregular, and old-fashioned place, situated on an eminence rising gradually on every side, and one mile distant from the Wyre. It consists of seven streets, five of which are conjoined into the form of the letter I: the general lighting and watching act is partly in operation. Here is a station on the Preston and Fleetwood railway. Petty-sessions are held on the first Friday in each month; and one of the county debtcourts established in 1847 is fixed at Poulton, with powers extending over the registration-districts of The Fylde and Garstang. The market is on Monday; and fairs for cattle, cloth, and other commodities, are held on Feb. 3rd, April 13th, and Nov. 3rd.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 16. 8.; net income, £257; patron, the Rev. Charles Hesketh, M.A.; impropriators, Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, Bart., and three others. The great tithes of Poulton township have been commuted for £94, and the small for £55: the vicar has a glebe of 12 acres. The church occupies the site of an ancient structure which, having stood for nearly seven centuries, was taken down in 1751, with the exception of the tower, that had been rebuilt in the time of Charles I., and remains attached to the modern edifice. At Fleetwood, Marton, and Thornton are other livings. The Wesleyans have a place of worship in the town, where also a Roman Catholic chapel, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, was built in 1813; the priest has six acres of ground, and a house. The children of the township of Poulton have the privilege of attending an endowed school at Hardhorn, founded in 1717, by James Baines, who also bequeathed property now producing £100 per annum for apprenticing children, one moiety for those in Poulton township, and the other moiety for the children in the four other townships of the parish. A savings' bank was established in 1815, and a neat house built for it in 1839.

Poulton-Le-Sands

POULTON-LE-SANDS, a chapelry, in the parish of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 4 miles (N. W.) from Lancaster; containing, with the hamlets of Bare and Torrisholme, 1037 inhabitants, of whom 700 are in the hamlet of Poulton. "Poltune" appears to have been held soon after the Conquest by a Saxon named Eiward or Esward, to whose son Hugh, King John in the 1st year of his reign granted the "town." In the 32nd of Henry VIII., the manor was in the possession of Sir Robert Bellingham; it subsequently passed by marriage to the Ashtons and the Hoghtons. Poulton, Bare, and Torrisholme together form one township, comprising 1641a. 3r. 4p., whereof 770 acres are in Poulton. The hamlet is beautifully situated on Morecambe bay, and commands fine views of the opposite coast of Furness, and the mountains of Westmorland and Cumberland; it has a good row of houses facing the beach, erected in 1847, a comfortable hotel, and tolerable accommodation for visiters, who are attracted by the convenience afforded here for bathing. The inhabitants, who are a hardy healthy race, are engaged in fishing; and large quantities of muscles, shrimps, and cockles are sent inland. A harbour is now in course of formation, on the coast, between Poulton and Heysham. Poulton Hall is an ancient and curious building. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Lancaster; net income, £120, with a house: the great tithes have been commuted for £265, and there is an impropriate glebe of 16 acres. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was built in 1745, and rebuilt in 1841, and is in the early English style, with a square tower: its re-erection cost £1700. Francis Bowes, in 1732, demised lands for a school now producing an annual income of about £35. —See Bare, Torrisholme, and Heysham.

Pounden

POUNDEN, a hamlet, in the parish of Twyford, union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 6¾ miles (S. W. by S.) from the town of Buckingham; containing 112 inhabitants.

Poundstock (St. Neot)

POUNDSTOCK (St. Neot), a parish, in the union of Stratton, hundred of Lesnewth, E. division of Cornwall, 5½ miles (S. S. W.) from Stratton; containing 672 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the west by Widemouth bay, in the Bristol Channel, and is intersected by the road between Stratton and Camelford. It comprises 4304 acres, of which 200 are common or waste land: the soil is stiff, and the subsoil in general clay; the south-west part is hilly, and the north-east flat. A vein of lead-ore has been discovered, but it is not of sufficient extent to repay the expense of working. A fair is held on the Monday before Ascension-day. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; patron, John Dayman, Esq.; impropriator, H. Hawkes, Esq.: the great tithes have been commuted for £370, and the vicarial for £200; the glebe consists of 25 acres. The church is a plain edifice, with a lofty tower.