Shenfield - Shere

Shenfield (St. Mary)

SHENFIELD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S. division of Essex, 1 mile (N. E. by N.) from Brentwood; containing 983 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2417 acres, of which 95 are common or waste land. The village is pleasantly situated on the road to Colchester, and contains several well-built houses; a fair, chiefly for pleasure, is held in it on Whit-Monday. The EasternCounties' railway intersects the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 18. 4., and in the gift of Earl de Grey: the tithes have been commuted for £575, and the glebe comprises 77 acres. The church is an ancient edifice with a shingled spire, and contains a monument to Mrs. Robinson, which is much admired.

Shenington (Holy Trinity)

SHENINGTON (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Banbury, N. division of the hundred of Bloxham, county of Oxford, 6 miles (W. N. W.) from Banbury; containing 463 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded by the county of Warwick, comprises 1434a. 3r. 8p. of land, chiefly arable: the soil is fertile, producing good crops of wheat, barley, and turnips; the surface is hilly, and the scenery in some parts beautifully romantic. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 3. 4.; net income, £321; patron, the Earl of Jersey. The church, a handsome structure in the decorated English style, was partly rebuilt in the last century, without due regard to the preservation of its original character: the situation is beautiful.

Shenley (St. Mary)

SHENLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newport-Pagnell, partly in the hundred of Cottesloe, but chiefly in that of Newport, county of Buckingham, 3½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Fenny-Stratford; containing, with the hamlet of Brookend and the township of Churchend, 491 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £22. 9. 7.; net income, £424; patron, M. Knapp, Esq. Some tithes were commuted for land, under an act of inclosure, in 1762, and others, under the recent Tithe act, for a rentcharge of £267. 15.; the glebe comprises 67 acres. The chancel of the church is a fine specimen of the transition from the early to the later Norman style: in the south transept is a handsome monument to Sir Thomas Stafford, who founded an almshouse here in 1626, with an endowment of £35 per annum, for four widowers and two widows.

Shenley (St. Botolph)

SHENLEY (St. Botolph), a parish, in the union of Barnet, hundred of Dacorum, county of Hertford, 6 miles (N. W.) from Barnet; containing 1220 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which, anciently Sheenley, is descriptive of its beautiful pasture lands, comprises 4056 acres, whereof 119 are common or waste. The scenery is generally of pleasing character, and enlivened with several handsome seats and numerous picturesque villas, among the former of which is Porters, once the property of the gallant Admiral Earl Howe. The substratum is principally chalk, which is extensively used for dressing the land; flints and gravel are abundant, and are used for repairing the roads. The village is on an eminence; some few of the cottagers are employed in the straw-plat manufacture. A small fair is annually held, chiefly for pleasure. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at-£16. 8. 1½., and in the gift of the Rev. T. Newcome, the rector, in whose family both the patronage and the incumbency have remained in direct succession from the 1st of the reign of Elizabeth: the tithes have been commuted for £1189, and the glebe comprises 30 acres, with a rectory-house. The church is built of flints, with a wooden tower on the south side. Being inconveniently situated in a distant part of the parish, the present rector built a chapel of ease in the village, in 1840. There is a place of worship for Wesley an s, A chapel is supposed to have stood on a moated site in the park belonging to the house called Colney Chapel. Nicholas Hawksmoor, the architect, died at Shenley in 1727; and the Rev. Peter Newcome, rector of the parish, and who was author of the History of the Abbey of St. Albans, was interred here in the year 1797.

Shenstone (St. John the Baptist)

SHENSTONE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3½ miles (S. by W.) from Lichfield; containing, with the chapelry of Over Stonall, 1962 inhabitants. It comprises 8451a. 2r. 35p., of which 30 acres are common or waste land; the soil is fertile, producing crops of wheat and barley, and there are extensive and luxuriant pastures. The surface is undulated, and watered by several rivulets that abound with trout. The scenery is enlivened with gentlemen's seats and pleasant villas; the village is neatly built. The parish is intersected at one end by the Wyrley and Essington canal, by which limestone is brought hither from Rushall to be burnt at Sandhills, by Messrs. George and James Brawn, who have wharfs on the canal. A considerable fair for cattle is held on the last Monday in February. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 5. 8., and in the gift of the Rev. John Peel: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £500, and the vicarial for £435; the glebe comprises 38 acres. The church exhibits specimens of the various styles of English architecture, and has an enriched Norman arch at the south entrance; a gallery has been lately erected. There is a separate incumbency at Stonall; and national schools are supported both at Shenstone and Stonall.

Shenton

SHENTON, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Market-Bosworth, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 2½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Market Bosworth; containing 190 inhabitants. The Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal crosses the north-eastern angle of the chapelry.

Shephall (St. Mary)

SHEPHALL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Hitchin, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford, 2¼ miles (S. E. by S.) from Stevenage; containing 265 inhabitants. It comprises about 1150 acres, of which 795 are arable, 244 pasture, and 110 woodland. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 5. 10., and has a net income of £193; the patronage and impropriation belong to the Crown. A fund of £24. 16. per annum, arising from bequests, is distributed among the poor.

Shepley

SHEPLEY, a township, in the parish of KirkBurton, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 7 miles (S. E. by S.) from Huddersfield; containing 1088 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1250 acres of land; and the village, sometimes called Over and Nether Shepley, is situated in a deep valley, on the road from Huddersfield to Penistone. The population is engaged in the manufacture of cloth-blankets, flannel, and knitting-yarn. There is a place of worship for Methodists of the New Connexion.

Shepperton (St. Nicholas)

SHEPPERTON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Staines, hundred of Spelthorne, county of Middlesex, 2¼ miles (E. by S.) from Chertsey; containing 858 inhabitants. It comprises 1435a. 2r. 36p., of which 125 acres are common or waste land. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26; net income, £499; patron, S. H. Russell, Esq.

Shepreth (All Saints)

SHEPRETH (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Royston, hundred of Wetherley, county of Cambridge, 5¾ miles (N. by W.) from Royston; containing 353 inhabitants. The river Cam runs through it. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 11. 1.; patron and impropriator, James Wortham, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £306, and the vicarial for £91; the impropriate glebe comprises 185 acres, and the vicarial 12.

Shepscomb

SHEPSCOMB, a chapelry, in the parish of Painswick, union of Stroud, hundred of Bisley, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 4 miles (N.) from Stroud; containing 676 inhabitants. This place is situated in a retired vale remarkable for the variety of its scenery. To the east of the village, on the road to Stroud, is Shepscomb House; and on the acclivity of a woodcrowned hill, at the distance of a mile to the west, is Ebworth Park, from which is a beautiful view of a chain of hills stretching out in the form of an amphitheatre, and richly clothed with beech-trees of luxuriant growth. Extending along the eastern side of the vale is Loncheridge wood, comprising about 400 acres of beech and other trees. The manufacture of woollen-cloth is carried on to a considerable extent; there are two establishments for Saxony broad-cloths. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £45; patron, the Vicar of Painswick. The chapel was built in 1819.—See Painswick.

Shepton-Beauchamp (St. Michael)

SHEPTON-BEAUCHAMP (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Chard, hundred of South Petherton, W. division of Somerset, 3¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Ilminster; containing 637 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 8. 11½., and in the patronage of the Rev. P. Smith: the tithes have been commuted for £365; there are 16½ acres of glebe. £10 a year, arising from certain land bequeathed by Thomas Rich in 1723; and the interest of £100, the gift of Elizabeth Morgan in 1763; are applied in aid of a national school. The latter donor also bequeathed £200, the interest to be applied in apprenticing children.

Shepton-Mallet (St. Peter and St. Paul)

SHEPTON-MALLET (St. Peter and St. Paul), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Whitestone, E. division of Somerset, 14 miles (N. E.) from Somerton, and 125 (W. by S.) from London; containing, with the hamlet of CharltonWoodlands, and part of that of Oakhill, 5265 inhabitants. The origin of this town is traceable to the early part of the 14th century, the charter for its market having been granted by Edward II. in the 11th year of his reign. The manor, at the time of the Norman survey, was subordinate to that of Pilton, which had been conferred by King Ina upon the abbot of Glaston; and its sheep pastures, from which it is supposed to derive its name, are noticed in that record: the additional appellation, Mallet, was received from the barons Mallet, lords of Shepton in the reigns of Henry I., Stephen, and Henry II. The consequences of the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion were severely felt in this part; and thirteen persons of the town, having been convicted at the "bloody western assizes," suffered here for their participation in that enterprise.

The town is situated chiefly on the southern bank of a deep valley, and consists of a number of streets and lanes, the principal of which, crossing the valley from north to south, is spacious and well built; the others are mostly narrow and irregular. The erection of a bridge, and the opening of a new road, have materially improved the place. It is adequately supplied with water, and a stream runs through the bottom of the valley, turning several mills in its course; the manufacture of woollen-goods, silk, lace, stockings, sailcloth, and hair-seating, is carried on to a considerable extent. The parish comprises a portion of the Mendip range of hills, prior to the inclosure of which lead-ore was obtained. The market-days are Tuesday and Friday, the latter for all kinds of agricultural produce. The marketcross, a fine old structure erected by Walter and Agnes Buckland in 1500, originally consisted of only five arches; but it has lately undergone a thorough renovation, funds having been left by the founders to keep it in repair, and a sixth arch has been added: elevated above two rows of steps is an hexagonal pillar, ornamented with niches, and supporting a flat roof surmounted by a pyramidal spire. The fairs are on EasterMonday, the 18th of June, and 8th of August. The management of the local affairs is vested in a high constable and subordinate officers, who are chosen at a court leet in October, by the householders generally; and a court for the recovery of debts under £2 has been held from time immemorial. The county bridewell or house of correction, capable of receiving from 200 to 300 prisoners, is in the town.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £33. 12. 1., and in the alternate patronage of the Queen in right of the duchy of Cornwall, and the Rev. Provis Wickham; net income, £533. The church is a venerable cruciform pile, with two small chapels attached; the roof of the nave is curiously wrought, and the pulpit and font, which are of stone, are much admired. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics; and the nuns of the order of the Visitation have a convent here with about 30 inmates. The free school, established by Sir George Strode and others, in 1639, is endowed with property producing about £75 per annum. Four boys are educated, and an apprentice-fee of £7 given with each from a charity founded by Mr. John Curtis in 1730, now yielding about £20 per annum; and sixteen girls are clothed and educated from the produce of a bequest made by Mrs. Mary Gapper in 1783. Almshouses for four men were endowed in 1699, by Edward Strode, with property now worth about £360 a year, of which £80 are appropriated to the inmates, and about £200 to the purchase of bread for general distribution among the indigent. The union of Shepton-Mallet comprises 24 parishes or places, containing a population of 17,805. The Roman fosse-way to Ilchester ran through the parish, eastward of the town; and in 1840 some Roman urns were discovered in digging on Lapwing Farm, by Mr. Rugg, who, in prosecuting the search, found several others, in all about fourteen. Shepton-Mallet is the birthplace of Hugh Inge, chancellor of Ireland, who died in 1528; and of Walter Charlton, an eminent physician, author of a work on Stonehenge, and other productions.

Shepton-Montague (St. Peter)

SHEPTON-MONTAGUE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Wincanton, hundred of Norton-Ferris, E. division of Somerset, 2½ miles (S.) from Burton; containing 407 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 2428 acres of land, about equally divided into arable and dairy farms; the surface is undulated, and the scenery pleasing. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £8. 15.; net income, £62; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Ilchester, whose tithes have been commuted for £223. The church is an ancient structure in various styles.

Sheraton

SHERATON, a township, in the parish of MonkHesleton, union of Easington, S. division of Easington ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 11½ miles (N.) from Stockton; containing 147 inhabitants. The township comprises about 1660 acres, of which 50 are wood and plantations, and the remainder arable and pasture; the soil is generally clayey, and of great fertility in some parts, with small tracts of good turnip land. The Stockton and Sunderland road passes through the township; and at Castle-Eden, about 2½ miles to the north, is a post-office. The tithes, including those of Hulam, have been commuted for £199, of which £84 are payable to the vicar.

Sherborne (St. Mary)

SHERBORNE (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Sherborne, Sherborne division of Dorset, 18 miles (N. by W.) from Dorchester, and 117 (W. S. W.) from London; containing 4758 inhabitants. This place appears to have emerged from insignificance in the Saxon era. The name, anciently Schiraburn, Schireburn, and Seyreburn, is derived from the Saxon words Sirce, clear, and Burn, a spring or fountain; and in old Latin records the place is usually styled Fons clarus. In 670, a house was founded here for Secular canons, by Cenwalh, King of the West Saxons, and others; and in 704, Sherborne was made the head of a see which at first included the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, Devon, and Cornwall, by Ina, whose kinsman Aldhelm was the first bishop. About 998, the Secular canons were displaced, and a society of Benedictines established, under licence from Ethelred, by Wulfin, Bishop of Sherborne, who rebuilt the monastery, and dedicated it to St. Mary; the institution became richly endowed, and at the Dissolution its revenue was valued at £682. 14. 7. The remains are considerable, though in a state of gradual decay. They consist chiefly of the refectory, a noble room now appropriated as a silk manufactory; the grand entrance of the abbey, which still displays traces of its original magnificence; and the granary at a short distance to the north of the abbey, which has been converted into a private residence, but of which the ancient gateway and other characteristic features are carefully preserved.

The see continued for three centuries and a half, when it was removed to Sarum; this removal contributed much to depress the prosperity of Sherborne, and for a long period afterwards it was in comparative obscurity. About 1103, it is stated to have been burnt by a detachment of Danish invaders, and the entire destruction of the town and its ecclesiastical buildings is a matter of great probability. It is evident that a castle stood here at a very early period, but the founder and the time of its erection and demolition are unknown. Previously to the time of Henry I., however, another had been built by Roger, third bishop of Salisbury, as an episcopal palace; it was an octagonal structure, situated on a hill eastward of the town, and fortified by a moat and several drawbridges. Having been seized by Stephen, it remained in the possession of the crown for some time, but about 1350 it was recovered by Bishop Wyvil. During the civil war in the reign of Charles I., it was garrisoned in the royal interest; and although gallantly defended and one of the last fortresses that yielded, it was eventually taken by the forces under the command of Fairfax, and was demolished in 1645. Considerable portions of the ruins are remaining: the present mansion of Sherborne Castle, the seat of Earl Digby, standing in a very fine park, was built by Sir Walter Raleigh.

The town is situated principally on a gradual slope near the border of the White Hart Forest, and the vale of Blackmore; and is divided by a small stream into two parts, of which one is called Castle Town. It is well paved, lighted, and amply supplied with water. The woollen-trade, which formerly flourished, was succeeded by the making of buttons, haberdashery, and lace; in 1740 a silk-mill was erected, and the various branches of this manufacture, especially the making of silk twist and buttons, now afford employment to a great number of the working class. Markets are held on Tuesday, Thurday, and Saturday, the principal day being Thursday; and there are fairs on May 22nd, July 18th and 26th, and the first Monday after October 10th. The parish comprises 6467a. 31p. of land, chiefly arable, with portions of pasture and woodland, and about 120 acres of waste.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20. 4. 7., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £258; impropriator, Earl Digby. The church, most probably occupying the site of the ancient cathedral, is a magnificent cruciform structure of various dates, with a central tower 154 feet in height. The lower part of the tower, the south porch, and the south transept are of Norman character, forming perfect specimens of that style. The choir and the arch leading into the Lady chapel, with the east end of the old vestry, are early English; the south aisle is in the decorated style of architecture, and the other portions of the church, and the upper stages of the tower, are in the later Enelish style. The roofs, with the exception of that of the south transept, are all of stone, elaborately groined; the roof of the north transept is one of the most beautiful specimens extant. The large bell in the tower weighs 3 tons, and was the gift of Cardinal Wolsey. The Saxon kings Ethelbald and Ethelbert, and many Saxon nobles, bishops, and abbots, were interred here; and the church contains some very ancient monuments, including a handsome one of the Digby family. There are places of worship for Friends, Independents, and Wesleyans.

The free grammar school was founded by Edward VI., who endowed it with property belonging to several dissolved chantries in the counties of Dorset and Somerset, producing at present an income of about £850 per annum, and who placed it under the control of twenty of the inhabitants, whom he incorporated. By a recent statute, the governors are empowered to grant four exhibitions of £60 per annum each to either of the universities, tenable for four years by boys on the foundation. The almshouse here, originally an hospital of the order of St. Augustine, was refounded by licence from Henry VI., and dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, for twenty brethren, twelve poor men, four poor women, and a chaplain, under a master and trustees. It now contains sixteen men and eight women, under the superintendence of a master and nineteen brethren; and a chaplain officiates daily. One of the principal benefactors to the town was Mr. Benjamin Vowell, who by will gave the dividends of £1000 three per cent, consols., to be distributed in clothing, besides two sums of £300, and one of £400, to various benefit societies. There is a very considerable fund for the poor arising from land and houses given for that purpose, in 1448, by Robert Neville, Bishop of Sarum, and others. The union of Sherborne comprises 30 parishes or places, 23 of which are in the county of Dorset, and 7 in that of Somerset, altogether containing a population of 12,242.

Sherborne (St. Mary Magdalene)

SHERBORNE (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Northleach, Lower division of the hundred of Slaughter, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 6 miles (N. W. by W.) from Burford; containing 637 inhabitants, and supposed to contain about 2000 acres. Sherborne gives the title of Baron to the family of Dutton. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Windrush united, valued in the king's books at £15. 6. 8.; net income, £194; patron and impropriator, Lord Sherborne. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1777. James Bradley, D.D., regius professor of astronomy, and astronomerroyal, was born here in 1692.

Sherborne St. John, or East Sherborne (St. Andrew)

SHERBORNE ST. JOHN, or EAST SHERBORNE (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union and hundred of Basingstoke, Basingstoke and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 2¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Basingstoke; containing 718 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 8. 1½., and in the gift of W. L. W. Chute, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £600, and the glebe consists of 63 acres. There is a private chapel at the Vine, the seat of Mrs. Chute, containing a tomb in memory of Chaloner Chute, speaker of the house of commons in Richard Cromwell's parliament, and the purchaser of this noble mansion, which was erected in the reign of Henry VIII. by the first Lord Sandys.

Sherborne, Monk, or West Sherborne (All Saints)

SHERBORNE, MONK, or WEST SHERBORNE (All Saints), a parish, in the union, and partly in the hundred, of Basingstoke, but chiefly in the hundred of Chutely, Basingstoke and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 3½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Basingstoke; containing, with the tythings of Chineham and Woodgarston, 559 inhabitants. It comprises 3087a. 4p., of which 2318 acres are arable, 270 meadow and pasture, and 416 woodland. The soil is partly chalk, and partly clay; the surface is undulated, and the scenery pleasingly diversified. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 0. 7½.; patrons and impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, Oxford: the great tithes have been commuted for £647, and the small for £74. The church is an ancient structure in the Norman style. The chapel of a Benedictine priory still remains, and service is performed in it every Sunday; it has an altar-tomb with the recumbent figure of a Knight Templar carved in solid oak, supposed to be the effigy of Sir John de Port. The priory was dedicated to St. Mary and St. John, and was a cell to the abbey of Cerasy, in Normandy; it was given by Henry VI. to Eton College, but was subsequently granted by Edward IV. to the hospital of St. Julian, in Southampton, and finally to the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, as masters of that hospital.

Sherbourne (All Saints)

SHERBOURNE (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Warwick, Snitterfield division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 2¾ miles (S. W. by S.) from Warwick; containing 209 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river Avon, comprises about 1500 acres of land, chiefly arable and pasture; the soil is light, and the scenery enriched with wood, principally elm. The road from Warwick to Stratford-upon-Avon passes through the village. The living is a perpetual curacy, with the rectory of Fulbrook united; net income, £110; patron, Samuel Ryland, Esq. The church is an ancient structure.

Sherburn

SHERBURN, a township, partly in the parish of Pittington, and partly in that of Shadforth, S. division of Easington ward, union, and N. division of the county, of Durham, 2¾ miles (E.) from Durham; containing 1946 inhabitants. This place derives its name from a clear streamlet which joins the Pidding. In the record called Boldon Book, in the 12th century, it is included in Queringdonshire, and divided into North and South, a distinction now obsolete, as the latter district, which was probably the more ancient because it stood almost immediately on the brook that gave name to the township, is swallowed up in the possessions of the Hospital described in a subsequent article. The township comprises about 740 acres: the population is chiefly employed in collieries and limeworks. Facility of communication is afforded by the York and Newcastle and the Durham and Sunderland railways. Tithe rentcharges have been awarded amounting to £274, of which £150 are payable to the vicar of Pittington.

Sherburn (St. Hilda)

SHERBURN (St. Hilda), a parish, in the union of Scarborough, wapentake of Buckrose, E. riding of York, 11¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Malton; containing 623 inhabitants. The parish is situated partly on the Wolds, and is intersected by one of the roads from York to Scarborough. It comprises by measurement 4200 acres, of which about 3670 are arable, 400 meadow and pasture, and 30 woodland. The Derwent forms part of the northern boundary. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 0. 2½.; net income, £120; patron, Sir George Strickland, Bart.; impropriator, the Hon. M. Langley. The church is ancient: the arch between the chancel and nave, which is elliptical, is indicative of great antiquity, and is most probably early Norman; it is supported on short massive pillars. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Sherburn (All Saints)

SHERBURN (All Saints), a market-town and parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Barkstone-Ash, W. riding of York; comprising the townships of Barkstone, Huddlestone with Lumby, Lotherton, South Milford, Newthorpe, and Sherburn, and the chapelry of Micklefield; and containing 3757 inhabitants, of whom 1328 are in the town, 15 miles (S. W. by S.) from York, and 184 (N. by W.) from London. This place derives its name from the Saxon Scire, pure, and Burn, a stream, in reference to the rivulet on which it is situated. It was of considerable importance during the heptarchy, and the residence of King Athelstan, whose palace here was given to the see of York, and afterwards exchanged by Archbishop Holgate for property at Cawood and Bishopthorpe. Nothing remains of the structure but a few inequalities on the surface of the land, which indistinctly mark the site; the materials are said to have been used in the erection of the present church. During the war in the reign of Charles I., an engagement took place here between the parliamentarians under Colonel Copley, and the royalists commanded by Lord Digby, lieutenant-general of the king's forces north of the Trent. The latter were at first triumphantly victorious, but Copley's retreat being mistaken for a royalist flight by that part of Lord Digby's forces not on the field, they instantly dispersed, and some fresh republican troops coming up at the moment, the victory was turned into a defeat. The army of Lord Digby was entirely discomfited, and all his baggage and cabinet papers fell into the hands of the enemy.

The town is situated on the direct road from Tadcaster to Ferrybridge; the York and North-Midland railway has a station in the township, and the Leeds and Selby line has stations at Micklefield and South Milford. The vicinity abounds with fine orchards: flax is cultivated to some extent, for the Leeds market; and teasel also, which is largely grown in the neighbourhood, forms a prominent article of trade. On a stream called Bishop Dyke are several corn-mills. The substratum abounds with excellent freestone, of which great quantities were raised for the repair of York Minster and Westminster Abbey: the stone was pronounced by Chantrey to be the most durable in the kingdom. The market, which is on Friday, had grown almost into disuse, but since the construction of the railways has been revived, and is now numerously attended by dealers in corn. A fair for pedlery and various kinds of merchandise is held on the 25th of September, and a statute-fair on the Friday preceding and the Friday following Martinmas. There are petty-sessions every alternate Wednesday.

The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £10. 17. 1.; net income, £135; patron, the Archbishop of York. The tithes were commuted for land and money payments in 1770. The church is a spacious and handsome structure, the nave presenting a beautiful specimen of architecture. There are chapels of ease at Lotherton aud Micklefield, and a separate incumbency at South Milford. The Wesleyans and Roman Catholics have places of worship. The free grammar and hospital school was founded in 1619, by Robert Hungate, who endowed it with a rent-charge of £120 for the education and maintenance of twenty-four orphan boys, £13. 6. 8. for the master of the hospital, £30 for the schoolmaster, £13. 6. 8. for the usher, £26. 13. 4. for exhibitions for the poor scholars, and £2. 10. for an apprentice-fee with one of the orphans. These funds being found inadequate for all the purposes, the number of orphans was reduced to eight, the apprentice-fee increased to £7. 10., and the schoolmaster's salary to £80, without an usher. The school has an exhibition every fifth year for one scholar, on Lady Hastings' foundation; and is under the visitation of the Dean of York. A school for the maintenance and education of six female orphans was endowed in 1731, by the Rev. Samuel Duffield, with certain land and the sum of £1450, now producing an income of £114 per annum. A rich and elegant cross was found some years since, in the churchyard, when digging amongst the foundations of an old chapel. Traces of a Roman road to Aberford are yet visible.

Sherburn House or Hospital

SHERBURN HOUSE or HOSPITAL, an extraparochial liberty, in the S. division of Easington ward, union, and N. division of the county, of Durham, 2½ miles (E. by S.) from Durham; containing, according to the last census, 86 inhabitants, but now about 200, owing to the increase of its pit population. This place is usually called Sherburn House, from the legal title of its hospital, Domus Hospitalis Christi de Sherburn. The hospital was founded by Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, about 1181, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, to Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha; its revenue, in the reign of Henry VIII., was certified as of the value of £142. 0. 4., the society consisting of a master, several priests, and sixty-five lepers. The leprosy becoming extinct in England, the hospital was incorporated in 1585, by Queen Elizabeth, for a master and thirty brethren; and at present this is one of the most richly endowed charitable foundations in the north of England, its income amounting to several thousand pounds per annum. It is governed by a body of statutes given by Bishop Chandler in 1735, but the Bishop of Durham, as visiter, has full power to alter the statutes as he may think expedient.

Fifteen of the persons on the establishment are inbrethren, and must be single men; fifteen are out-brethren, and may, at the option of the master, be married men. The qualification is, the non-possession of property worth more than £20, birth in the county of Durham, and membership of the Church of England. The brethren are all nominated by the master, except one, who is appointed by a private family. The in-brethren have clothing and comfortable maintenance, and by the act of Elizabeth were to receive a small money payment; but this, and the larger pensions of the out-brethren, have from time to time been augmented, so as to keep pace with the value of money. The appointment of the master is vested in the visiter, and the office is not tenable with any ecclesiastical benefice which has the cure of souls; he must be at the least M.A. of Oxford or Cambridge, and by the act of 1585 is required to be in holy orders, though, by a dispensation from the crown, he may be a layman, as the appointment is now held to be lay preferment. The chaplain is also vice master, and to him the discipline of the hospital is ordinarily assigned. The livings of Bishopton, Grindon, Ebchester, and Sockburn, are in the patronage of the master, and the present master has augmented the income of each. The hospital stands on the eastern side of the small river Pidding, one of the feeders of the Wear; and forms three sides of a spacious court, the fourth being occupied by the wall of the ancient clausum and the entrance gateway. The chapel has been thoroughly restored; the dilapidated master's house has been rebuilt, and a separate house erected for the chaplain. On the re-incorporation of the hospital, it was dedicated to Christ.

Shere (St. James)

SHERE (St. James), a parish, in the union of Guildford, Second division of the hundred of Blackheath, W. division of Surrey, 6 miles (E. by S.) from Guildford; containing 1347 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Guildford to Dorking, and comprises about 6300 acres, of which 3900 are under cultivation, and 2400 waste; the soil of the inclosed land is fertile, and the scenery is pleasing. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26. 1. 5½., and in the gift of the Rev. D. C. Delafosse: the tithes have been commuted for £940, and there is a glebe of 5 acres. The church is principally in the early English style, with a tower and spire rising from the centre; it has some fine remains of stained glass, and several brasses. There are two places of worship for Independents. Thomas Gatton, Esq., in 1758, bequeathed £400 for teaching children, who are sent to the school at Albury: Edward Woods, Esq., in 1837 left £500 for poor widows. William Bray, Esq., the antiquary, and county historian, was born and is buried here.