Stokeham - Stoney-Middleton

Stokeham

STOKEHAM, a parish, in the union of East Retford, South-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 7 miles (S. E. by E.) from East Retford; containing 49 inhabitants. It comprises by computation an area of 564 acres, of which the surface is undulated, and the soil clay. The living is annexed, with that of Askham, to the vicarage of East Drayton: the tithes have been commuted for £120, and the glebe contains 20 acres.

Stokeinteignhead (St. Andrew)

STOKEINTEIGNHEAD (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Newton-Abbott, hundred of Wonford, Teignbridge and S. divisions of Devon, 3 miles (S.S.W.) from Teignmouth; containing 591 inhabitants. The parish is situated about a mile from the coast, in a deep, narrow, and thickly-wooded valley, and comprises by admeasurement 2040 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £36. 15. 10.; net income, £467; patron, the Bishop of Exeter: there is a glebehouse, and the glebe contains 40 acres. The church is a cruciform structure, containing some good screenwork: it anciently belonged to a college for a warden and several chaplains, established in honour of the Virgin Mary and St. Andrew, by John de Stanford, in the reign of Edward III. The manor belonged in the reign of Henry II. to the family of Fitzpayne, of whom Sir Robert Fitzpayne sold it to the above John de Stanford, who was made chief baron of the exchequer in 1346. It afterwards passed, by successive female heirs, to the Brightlys, Cornus, and Speccots; and was held in later times, in succession, by the families of Scawen, Nicholls, and Trehawke: John Trehawke, Esq., who died about 1790, bequeathed it to the Kekewich family. The lords of the manor had formerly the power of inflicting capital punishment. Fossil remains are frequently discovered, among which are madrepores.

Stokenchurch (St. Peter and St. Paul)

STOKENCHURCH (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Wycombe, hundred of Lewknor, county of Oxford, 7 miles (W. N. W.) from Wycombe; containing 1334 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from London to Oxford, through Wycombe. The village, which consists only of a few scattered houses, is on one of the highest points of the Chiltern hills. The manufacture of common chairs is carried on to a considerable extent, principally for the London market. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor; income, £135. The church was restored in 1847-8, and has a new east window of painted glass; it contains monuments to two members of the Morley family, who distinguished themselves in the wars of Edward III. and Richard II. There is a place of worship for Independents. Twelve children are educated, clothed, and apprenticed for a rent-charge of £41, the bequest of B. Tipping in the year 1675.

Stokenham (St. Barnabas)

STOKENHAM (St. Barnabas), a parish, in the union of Kingsbridge, hundred of Coleridge, Stanborough and Coleridge, and S. divisions of Devon, 5¼ miles (E. by S.) from Kingsbridge) containing 1619 inhabitants. It comprises 5225 acres, of which 275 are common or waste. The living is a vicarage, with the livings of Chivelstone and Sherford annexed, valued in the king's books at £48. 7. 8½ and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £625; impropriator, A. H. Holdsworth, Esq. The great tithes of Stokenham have been commuted for £311, and the small for £360; there is a vicarial glebe of one acre. The church has an ancient wooden screen, and contains memorials to several families. The manor of Stokenham-Priory belonged to Sir Gregory Norton, one of the regicides.

Stokesay (St. John the Baptist)

STOKESAY (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Ludlow, hundred of Munslow, S. division of Salop, 7 miles (N. W.) from Ludlow, on the road to Shrewsbury; containing 556 inhabitants. It comprises about 5000 acres, of which 1250 are in wood; the remainder is arable and pasture in equal portions. The scenery is very beautiful, the parish lying in a rich vale. The river Onny passes through. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 13. 4.; patron, R. Marston, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £241, and the vicarial for £350; the glebe contains 5¼ acres, with a house. A school is partly supported by an endowment of £7. 8. per annum, and partly by the Earl of Craven.

Stokesby (St. Andrew)

STOKESBY (St. Andrew), a parish, in the East and West Flegg incorporation, hundred of East Flegg, E. division of Norfolk, 2 miles (E.) from Acle, by the ferry across the Bure; containing, with Herringby, 366 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the south and west by the navigable river Bure, and on the north by the stream Mockfleet: it is chiefly fertile marsh land, comprising in the whole about 2000 acres. The living is a rectory, with that of Herringby united, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8., and in the gift of the Rev. Lucas Worship: the tithes have been commuted for £522.16., and the glebe contains 46¾ acres. The church is chiefly in the decorated style, with a square embattled tower, and contains memorials to the family of Clere. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The poor have a right of pasturage on twenty acres of marsh allotted at the inclosure.

Stokesley (St. Peter)

STOKESLEY (St. Peter), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Busby, Easby, and Newby, 2734 inhabitants, of whom 2310 are in Stokesley township, 41 miles (N. by W.) from York, and 242 (N. by W.) from London. This place anciently belonged to the family of Fitz-Richard, one of whom, in the reign of Henry III., obtained from that monarch the grant of a weekly market, and of an annual fair to be held on the eve of the translation of St. Thomas the Martyr. The manor is now the property of Lieut.-Col. Robert Hildyard, but a large portion of the land belongs to others. The town is pleasantly situated on the road from Northallerton to Whitby, nearly in the centre of the fertile vale of Cleveland, and consists of one spacious street, extending from east to west, along the north bank of the river Leven. The houses are chiefly modern, and of handsome appearance. Till lately, the inhabitants were partly employed in the linen manufacture, which was carried on to a considerable extent, and in the spinning of yarn and the manufacture of patent thread, for which an extensive mill was erected in 1823; this mill has been lately taken down, and the site converted into a garden. The market is on Saturday: fairs for cattle are held on the Saturdays immediately before Palm and Trinity Sundays, and on every alternate Saturday between those periods; statute-fairs are held on the Saturdays next preceding May-day and Martinmas. Petty-sessions are held here for the division, on the second and fourth Saturdays in every month; and the town has been made a polling-place for the North riding of the county. The powers of the county debt-court of Stokesley, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Stokesley and Guisborough.

The parish comprises about 5960 acres, of which 1744a. lr. 28p., are in Stokesley township. The lands are rich, and generally level, forming an extensive plain adorned with thriving plantations, and enlivened by the winding streams of the Leven and Tame, which abound with trout of excellent quality. The manor-house, the residence of Lieut.-Col. Hildyard, is a handsome mansion pleasantly situated near the church. The living is a rectory, with the curacy of Westerdale; it is valued in the king's books at £30. 6. 10½., and is in the patronage of the Archbishop of York. The tithes of Stokesley have been commuted for £956, and the glebe comprises 76 acres; the rector's tithes in Westerdale have been commuted for £250, and the glebe comprises 11 acres. The church was rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1771. There are places of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans. The free grammar school was founded by John Preston, Esq., who in 1814 bequeathed £2000 for its endowment; the validity of the bequest was disputed by the next of kin, and the funds consequently accumulated to £4000. The school-house was rebuilt by the trustees, in 1833, and the school has been since conducted by a head master who has a salary of £80, and an under master who has a salary of £50. It affords gratuitous instruction in the classics, and in writing and arithmetic, to about twenty-seven boys; and the building, which is in the early English style of architecture, is well adapted to its purpose. A national school is supported by subscription. The West Langbaurgh savings' bank was established here in 1823, and has deposits to the amount of £17,000, belonging to several charitable societies and about 600 individuals. There is also a dispensary for the relief of the sick poor. The union of Stokesley comprises twenty-eight parishes and places, containing a population of 9046.

Stonall, Over

STONALL,OVER, a chapelry district, in the parish of Shenstone, union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 6 miles (S. W.) from Lichfield; containing 722 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £100; patron, the Vicar of Shenstone. There is a parsonage-house.

Stonar (St. Augustine)

STONAR (St. Augustine), a parish, in the union of the Isle of Thanet, hundred of Ringslow, or Isle of Thanet, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, ¾ of a mile (N. by E.) from Sandwich; containing 52 inhabitants. It is supposed that the site of this place, in the time of the Romans, was entirely covered with water. On the sea retiring from Ebbs-fleet, at an early period, Stonar became a common landing-place, and, in consequence, a town of considerable importance; in 1090 it had so increased, that the seignory was claimed by the citizens of London as subject to that port. But after sustaining repeated injuries from the Danes and other marauders, as well as from inundations of the sea, it began about the reign of Richard II. to decay; and Leland, who wrote in the time of Henry VIII., describes it as " sometime a pretty town," but then "having only the ruin of the church, which some people call Old Sandwich." The parish comprises 700 acres. Salt-works are carried on, the produce of which serves all the purposes of bay-salt. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 6. 8.; but no presentation has lately been made.

Stondon, Lower

STONDON, LOWER, a hamlet, in the parish of Shitlington, poor-law union of Ampthill, hundred of Clifton, county of Bedford, S miles (S. by E.) from Shefford; containing 137 inhabitants.

Stondon-Massey.—See Standon-Massey.

STONDON-MASSEY.—See Standon-Massey.

Stondon, Upper (All Saints)

STONDON, UPPER (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Biggleswade, hundred of Clifton, county of Bedford, 2¾ miles (S.) from Shefford; containing 38 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 6. 10½.; net income, £125; patrons, J. and T. Smith, Esqrs. The tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1820.

Stone (St. John the Baptist)

STONE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union and hundred of Aylesbury, county of Buckingham, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Aylesbury; containing 809 inhabitants. It is separated from Waddesdon by the river Thame, and comprises 2464a. 2r. 26p.,of which about two-thirds are arable, and the rest pasture. The manufacture of lace, which was formerly more considerable, is still carried on. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9, and in the gift of the Astronomical Society; net income, £149: the tithes were commuted for land and money payments in 1776. The church is partly Norman, and partly in the early English style. There are two places of worship for Methodists.

Stone

STONE, a chapelry, in the parish, and Upper division of the hundred, of Berkeley, union of Thornbury, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 3 miles (S. by W.) from Berkeley; containing 296 inhabitants. The road from Gloucester to Bristol passes through the village. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £80; patron, the Vicar of Berkeley; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The chapel, dedicated to All Saints, is partly in the early and partly in the later English style.

Stone (St. Mary)

STONE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Tenterden, hundred of Oxney, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 6½ miles (S. E.) from Tenterden; containing 467 inhabitants. The parish comprises 3042 acres, of which 150 are in wood. The Grand Military canal passes through. A fair for pedlery is held on Holy-Thursday. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 14. 4½., and in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury: the great tithes have been commuted for £263; and the vicarial for £440, with a glebe of 5½ acres. The church is a spacious and handsome structure.

Stone (St. Michael)

STONE (St. Michael), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 7 miles (N. by W.) from Stafford, and 141 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 8349 inhabitants, of whom 7437 are in the town. The name is traditionally reported to be derived from a monumental heap of stones placed, according to the custom of the Saxons, over the bodies of the princes Wulford and Rufinus, who had been slain here by their father Wulf here, King of Mercia, on account of their conversion to Christianity. The king himself becoming subsequently a convert, founded a college of secular canons in 670, dedicating it to his children, in expiation of his crime; and to this institution the town is supposed to owe its origin. The canons having been expelled during the war with the Danes, the college fell into the possession of some nuns, who established themselves here. No mention is made of it in Domesday book, but it appears to have been granted by Henry I. to Robert de Stafford, who displaced the nuns, and made it a cell to the monastery of Kenilworth, which it continued to be until 1260, when it became independent, with the exception of paying a small sum annually to that monastery, and an acknowledgment of its patronage. Its revenue was valued, at the Dissolution, at about £119. The remains adjoin the churchyard, and consist of one perfect arch and rather extensive cloisters.

The town is situated on the road from London to Liverpool, and on the eastern bank of the river Trent, over which is a bridge to Walton. It is paved, and well supplied with water; and consists of one long street, with several others branching off. Races are occasionally held in the neighbourhood, and assemblies sometimes in the town. The prevailing branch of manufacture is that of shoes; there are two considerable breweries, and on a stream which falls into the Trent are four corn-mills. The Trent and Mersey canal passes through the town, running parallel for several miles with the river; and the principal office of the company of proprietors of this prosperous and important navigation is fixed here. The market, which is on Tuesday, was, about 70 years since, a great mart for corn; but it has very much declined, owing, probably, to the rapidly-increasing population and additional markets in the neighbouring Potteries. The fairs are on the Tuesday after Midlent, on Shrove-Tuesday, Whit-Tuesday, and August 5th. Petty-sessions are held by the county magistrates every fortnight; and two constables are annually chosen at the court leet of the lord of the manor. The powers of the county debt-court of Stone, established in 1847, extend over nearly the whole of the registration-district of Stone.

The parish comprises the townships of Aston with Burston and Stoke, Darlaston, Hilderstone, Stone, and part of Beech; the chapelry of Fulford; and the liberties of Kibblestone, Normicott, Stallington, Tittensor, and Walton. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £214. The church is a modern structure in the later English style, with a square tower; the altar-piece is a fine painting by Sir William Beechey of St. Michael binding Satan, and the church contains a marble monument surmounted by a bust to the memory of Earl St. Vincent, the celebrated naval commander, who was born at Meaford, in the parish, and was buried in the churchyard. The old church fell down about the middle of the last century, owing, it is said, to the undermining of one of the pillars in digging a vault: no interment is allowed to take place within the walls of the present edifice. An additional church has been erected within the last few years, which is in the gift of the Rev. Charles Simeon's Trustees; it is dedicated to Christ. At Aston, Fulford, and Hilderstone are other incumbencies. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans of the Old and New Connexions. The free school was founded, and endowed with a small income, by the Rev. Thomas Alleyn, in 1558. A bequest of £100 per annum, to ten widows, charged on the Stone Park estate, is paid by Earl Granville, though void by the Mortmain act; and there are some other small charitable endowments. The poor-law union of Stone comprises ten parishes or places, and contains a population of 18,837: the workhouse is a large and handsome brick building near the town. In a field now allotted to the poor, at a short distance from the town, the army under the Duke of Cumberland was encamped in 1745, expecting the Pretender to pass this way, but he avoided them by taking the route by Leek.

Stone (St. Mary)

STONE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Kidderminster, Lower division of the hundred of Halfshire, Kidderminster and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 2¼ miles (S. E. by E.) from Kidderminster; containing 469 inhabitants. Stone was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Chaddesley-Corbet; it consists of 2326 acres, and is intersected by the road between Kidderminster and Bromsgrove. The spinning of yarn, connected with the manufactures of Kidderminster, is carried on in two mills. The living is a vicarage endowed with the rectorial tithes, in the patronage of the Crown, and valued in the king's books at £15; net income, £827. The old church, taken down in 1830, was replaced in 1831-2 by the present structure, and a spire has since been added by the incumbent, the Rev. John Peel, who has also presented a beautiful painted window for the chancel; the cost of both exceeding 400 guineas. The free school, founded pursuant to the will of the Rev. Mr. Hill, B.D., is endowed with 24 acres of land, let for £32 per annum. The parish possesses some land near Stourbridge, which, containing clay for making firebricks, &c, was let upon a lease of 14 years, and produced upon an average nearly £700 per annum; but the lease having expired, and the mines having been worked out, the surface rent is now not more than £40 a year. This sum, with the dividends of about £5000 three per cent, stock, is applied to repairing the church, and to charitable purposes.

Stone-Easton

STONE-EASTON, a parish, in the union of Clutton, hundred of Chewton, E. division of Somerset, 14 miles (S. W.) from Bath; containing 430 inhabitants. It comprises 1374a. 2r. 16p., about 100 acres of which are arable, and the remainder pasture. The living is annexed with that of Emborrow to the vicarage of Chewton Mendip: the tithes have been commuted for £36 and £84, the former sum payable to the impropriator.

Stone-Near-Dartford (St. Mary)

STONE-NEAR-DARTFORD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Dartford, hundred of Axton, Dartford, and Wilmington, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent, 2 miles (E. by N.) from Dartford; containing 751 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the Thames, and comprises 3000 acres, of which 454 are in wood. Stone Castle, to the south of the Dovor road, is said to be one of the 115 castles which were preserved entire in accordance with an express stipulation to that effect between Stephen and prince Henry. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26. 10., and in the gift of the Bishop of Rochester: the tithes have been commuted for £929; there is a glebe-house, and the glebe contains 7½ acres. The church is a peculiarly fine specimen of the later English style, and contains several ancient stalls, remarkable for the elegance of their workmanship, and the delicacy of their pillars, which are of crown marble.

Stone-Next-Faversham

STONE-NEXT-FAVERSHAM, a parish, in the union and hundred of Faversham, Upper division of the lathe of Scray, E. division of Kent, 2½ miles (W. by N.) from Faversham; containing 86 inhabitants. It comprises 745a. 2r. 4p., of which 362 acres are arable, 293 meadow and pasture, 50 woodland, 21 in hop plantations, and 16 orchard. The living is a perpetual curacy: there are but slight remains of the ancient church, which has long been in ruins.

Stonebeck, Down

STONEBECK, DOWN, a township, in the chapelry of Middlesmoor, parish of Kirkby-Malzeard, union of Pateley-Bridge, Lower division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding of York, 14 miles (W. by S.) from Ripon; containing 429 inhabitants. It is situated on the southern side of the valley of the river Nidd, and comprises 14,710 acres, of which 8650 are common or moor-land, 5592 meadow and pasture, 286 arable, and 182 wood. A valuable lead-mine is wrought, and the substratum of the township contains much ironstone, but it is not worked: there is also a quarry of marble. John Yorke, Esq., is lord of the manor; and in the centre of the township is Gowthwaite Hall, the ancient residence of his family, presenting a venerable appearance, and now inhabited by three families who hold farms under Mr. Yorke. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £54, and the vicarial for £44. A neat district church was built at Ramsgill in 1842, near the site of an old chapel, of which the east end is preserved; the cost of its erection, £686, was raised by subscription, as was also a fund of £790 for endowment and repairs. The living is in the gift of the Vicar of Kirkby-Malzeard. Gowthwaite Hall was the birthplace of William Craven, D.D., master of St. John's College, Cambridge, an eminent scholar and divine, who died in 1815, aged 84. At Ramsgill was born Eugene Aram, executed at York, in 1757, for the murder of Daniel Clarke.

Stonebeck, Upper

STONEBECK, UPPER, a township, in the chapelry of Middlesmoor, parish of Kirkby-Malzeard, union of Pateley-Bridge, Lower division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding of York, 16 miles (W. by N.) from Ripon; containing 373 inhabitants. The township includes the village of Middlesmoor, and comprises 14,160 acres, of which 9180 are common or moorland, 4874 meadow and pasture, 91 arable, and 15 wood, the whole the property of John Yorke, Esq. The surface is boldly undulated, and the lofty height of Great Whernside borders on the township. Lead and coal mines are wrought, employing about 50 persons. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £42; and the impropriate for £64. 10., payable to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here is a cavern called Eglin's Hole: when first discovered, it presented a curious appearance, the roof being hung with stalactites, which by candlelight had a very striking effect; but in consequence of its being left open to the public, the roof has been stripped of these appendages, and the cave now possesses little attraction.

Stoneferry

STONEFERRY, a township, in the parish of Sutton, union of Sculcoates, Middle division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 1½ mile (N. by E.) from Hull; containing 237 inhabitants. It occupies the east bank of the river Hull, and consists of many scattered farms. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Ann Waters, in 1720, bequeathed property for the erection and endowment of almshouses for seven widows or old maids, who each receive £13 per annum.

Stonegrave

STONEGRAVE, a parish, in the union of Helmsley, wapentake of Ryedale, N. riding of York; containing, with the townships of West Ness, and East Newton with Laysthorpe, 351 inhabitants, of whom 194 are in Stonegrave township, 4¾ miles (S. E. by S.) from Helmsley. The township consists of about 900 acres, in equal portions of arable and pasture; the soil is rich, the surface undulated, and the scenery picturesque, and agreeably interspersed with wood. Stone of good quality is quarried for building and for burning into lime. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £33. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £495. The tithes of the townships of Stonegrave and West Ness were commuted for land and money payments in 1776. The church, situated on the declivity of a hill, is partly in the decorated and partly in the later English style, and has a square tower.

Stoneham, North (St. Nicholas)

STONEHAM, NORTH (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of South Stoneham, hundred of Mansbridge, Southampton and S. divisions of the county of Southampton, 4 miles (N. N. E.) from Southampton; containing 871 inhabitants. It comprises 5250 acres, consisting of about equal portions of arable, pasture, and woodland. The Itchen navigation and the London and South-Western railway pass through. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £21. 9. 7.; net income, £536; patron, John Fleming, Esq. The church contains the remains of the celebrated admiral, Lord Hawke, to whose memory there is a superb monument of white and variegated marble, bearing the family arms and appropriate emblems, with a sculptured representation of his victory over the French admiral, Conflans, in Qniberon bay. Two miles south of the village is an old mansion which was the residence of Lord Hawke.

Stoneham, South (St. Mary)

STONEHAM, SOUTH (St. Mary), a parish, and the head of a union, partly in the county of the town of Southampton, but chiefly in the hundred of Mansbridge, Southampton and S. divisions of the county of Southampton, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Southampton; containing, with the tythings of Allington, Barton, Bittern, Eastley, Pollack, Portswood, and Shamblehurst, 3763 inhabitants. It is intersected by the London and South-Western railway, and by the river Itchen, which is navigable from Winchester to its influx into the Southampton Water. At Wood Mills, blocks and pumps were formerly manufactured for the supply of the royal navy; the factory was destroyed by fire some years since, and there is now a flour-mill upon its site. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12; net income, £500; patron and appropriator, the Rector of St. Mary's, Southampton. A district church dedicated to St. James was lately erected at West End, containing 610 sittings, 380 of which are free; the living was augmented in 1841 to £150 per annum out of the Canonry and Prebend Suspension Fund. At Portswood is another incumbency. The poor-law union comprises 9 parishes or places, and contains a population of 12,692. At Swathling is a mineral spring.

Stonehouse (St. Cyril)

STONEHOUSE (St. Cyril), a parish, in the union of Stroud, Lower division of the hundred of Whitstone, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 3 miles (W.) from Stroud; containing 2711 inhabitants. The parish forms a pleasing and fertile vale, situated on the road from Gloucester to Bath, and intersected by the river Frome and the Stroudwater canal. It comprises 1520a. 2r. 1p. The surface is in some places varied with elevations, of which the substratum is limestone; the soil in other portions is loamy, and favourable to the growth of apples for cider. The cloth manufacture appears to have been introduced at an early period, as, in the reign of Henry VIII., a fulling-mill in the parish formed part of the possessions of the abbey of Gloucester. During the 17th century, and the greater part of the 18th, the place was celebrated for its scarlet cloth, which was considered the finest in the kingdom; and its clothing establishments still rank among the most extensive and flourishing in the district. Here is a station of the Bristol and Birmingham railway, and the Swindon line branches off at Stonehouse in a south-eastern direction. Fairs are held on May 1st and October 11th. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £22; net income, £510: it is in the patronage of the Crown. The church, though much modernised, retains portions of its original Norman style, of which the north door is a good specimen. At Cain's-Cross is a separate incumbency. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. John Elliott and others, in 1774, subscribed £612. 10. for establishing a free school in the village of Stonehouse, and another in the hamlet of Ebley; two rooms were built in 1831, and the income arising from the endowment is £47 per annum.

Stonehouse, East (St. George)

STONEHOUSE, EAST (St. George), a town and parish, forming a union of itself, in the borough of Devonport, and suburbs of Plymouth, Roborough and S. divisions of Devon; containing 9712 inhabitants. This place, originally called Hipperston, was in the reign of Henry III. the property of Joel de Stonehouse, from whom it derives its present name. It contains several good streets, lighted with gas, and one of which is paved. The houses are of neat and respectable appearance, and the inhabitants are well supplied with water from the reservoir of the Devonport Water Company in the parish of Stoke-Damerall, and from a fine stream brought into the town under an act passed in the 35th of Elizabeth. A very handsome quadrangle of Grecian architecture, inclosing the new church of St. Paul, was lately commenced in the south-western part of the town. The communication with Devonport is by means of a stone bridge across Stonehouse creek, erected at the joint expense of the Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe and Sir John St. Aubyn; the tolls are let, and the income derived from them is very considerable. Higher up the creek, to the north, a bridge has been erected affording a passage to Stoke. On Crimhill Point, which commands, perhaps, the finest prospect of Mount-Edgcumbe, is the picturesque ruin of a blockhouse erected in the time of Elizabeth, over which is a modern battery occupied by the Royal Marine Artillery. At a short distance is Eastern King's battery, commanding the mouth of the Hamoaze: there is also a fort for the protection of the creek. The three towns of Stonehouse, Plymouth, and Devonport are brilliantly lighted from works in this parish, and the gasometer presents a conspicuous object from the road between Plymouth and Devonport. In Stonehouse Pool are convenient quays for merchant vessels; and in addition to the general business arising from the maritime relations of the town, and from its naval and military establishments, are some large manufactories for varnish used in the dockyards, for soap, and tallow. A customary market is held on Wednesday, in a convenient building in Edgcumbe-street; there are fairs on the first Wednesday in May, and the second Wednesday in September.

Among the most important public establishments is the Royal Naval Hospital, for the reception of wounded seamen and marines, opened in 1762. It is situated on an eminence near the creek, and comprises ten buildings, each containing six wards, each ward affording accommodation for about twenty patients, with a chapel, storeroom, operating-room, small-pox ward, and dispensary. The buildings form a quadrangle, ornamented on three sides with a piazza; and the entire edifice, with its spacious lawn, is said to occupy an area of twenty-four acres. The Royal Marine Barracks, on the west shore of Mill bay, comprise a handsome range of buildings forming an oblong square, and are adapted for the accommodation of about 1000 men. The new Victualling Establishment at Crimhill Point is upon a vast scale; it is approached through a granite gateway and double colonnade of singular beauty, and the various ranges are surprisingly magnificent. Among the more remarkable features of the work are, the removal of 300,000 cubic yards of limestone rock, and the erection of a granite sea wall 1500 feet in length, the foundation of which was laid by means of a diving-bell. The water for the brewery is supplied at the rate of 350 tuns per day, from the Plymouth Leat; it first runs into a reservoir capable of receiving 2000 tuns, and is thence conveyed through iron pipes into a second basin of 6000 tuns.

Stonehouse was formerly a chapelry, in the parish of St. Andrew, Plymouth. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £197; patron, the Vicar of St. Andrew's; impropriators, the Corporation of Plymouth. The church was built when the old chapel was taken down, about 1790, and is a plain edifice containing 1100 sittings. An additional church in the early English style, with a tower, was erected in 1831, at an expense of £2899, and was consecrated, and dedicated to St. Paul, in 1833; it contains 1000 sittings, of which 460 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Incumbent of Stonehouse, A church district has been since formed, named St. Peter's: the living is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Exeter, alternately. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics.

Stoneleigh (St. Mary)

STONELEIGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Warwick, Kenilworth division of the hundred of Knightlow, S. division of the county of Warwick, 4 miles (S.) from Coventry; containing 1371 inhabitants. This place, anciently called Stan-lei, from the rocky nature of the soil, was in former times distinguished for its abbey, founded in 1154 by Henry II., for monks of the Cistercian order, who were removed hither from Radmore, in the county of Stafford. In 1245 the abbey suffered greatly from an accidental fire, and was subsequently repaired by Robert de Hockele, the sixteenth abbot, who in 1300 built the gateway tower and entrance, now remaining entire. The revenue of the establishment, at the Dissolution, was valued at £178. 2. 5. The parish is crossed by the London and Birmingham railroad, and comprises by admeasurement an area of about 9700 acres, of which the substratum abounds with good red-sandstone, though none is quarried: the rateable annual value of the railway property in the parish is £1500. The village is intersected by the river Sowe, which, passing under an ancient stone bridge of eight arches, unites with the Avon about half a mile beyond. Stoneleigh Abbey, the elegant seat of Lord Leigh, stands on the site of the monastery, in a park well stocked with deer, and enriched with a profusion of stately oaks. Of the monastic buildings, the principal remains are found in the cellars and domestic offices of the modern mansion, consisting chiefly of groined arches resting upon massive pillars, and of details in the latest and most finished period of the Norman style. A market and a fair, granted to the monks by Henry II., were formerly held in the village. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £16. 15. 5., and in the patronage of the Crown; impropriator, Lord Leigh: the great tithes have been commuted for £533, and the small for £470; the glebe of the vicar consists of 3 acres. The church is a venerable structure, partly Norman, with a low massive tower, strengthened by angular buttresses, and surmounted by another tower of smaller dimensions. Near the altar are, a splendid monument to Lady Alice Leigh, Duchess of Dudley, and a recumbent figure of stone which was recently found in an upright position when digging the foundation for the handsome mausoleum of the Leigh family; the figure is supposed to represent Geoffrey de Muschamp, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in the reign of John. A free school was established in 1708, by Thomas, Lord Leigh, who endowed it with land; and there are almshouses for five aged men and five women, founded in 1576 by Dame Alice Leigh, whose endowment is augmented with a portion of the Duchess of Dudley's charity at Bidford.

Stoneraise, with Brocklebank

STONERAISE, with Brocklebank, a township, in the parish of Westward, union of Wigton, Allerdale ward below Derwent, W. division of the county of Cumberland, 2¼ miles (S. S. E.) from Wigton; containing 617 inhabitants, of whom 446 are in Stoneraise. In the township are the ruins of Old Carlisle, a considerable city, supposed by Horsley to have been the Olenacum of the Notitia.

Stonesby (St. Peter)

STONESBY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Melton-Mowbray, hundred of Framland, N. division of the county of Leicester, 7 miles (N. E.) from the town of Melton-Mowbray; containing 283 inhabitants. It comprises 1350 acres, of which 600 are arable, 25 woodland, and the remainder pasture. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 0. 7½.; net income, £90; patron and impropriator, R. Norman, Esq. The tithes of the commons were commuted for land and annual money payments in 1780, under an inclosure act. An allotment of church land yields £9. 9. per annum.

Stonesfield (St. James)

STONESFIELD (St. James), a parish, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 4 miles (W.) from Woodstock; containing 553 inhabitants. It comprises 938 acres, of which about 738 are arable, and 200 woodland. A large number of the population are employed in slate-pits. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 19. 9½.; net income, £139; patron, the Duke of Marlborough: the tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1801. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Among the fossil remains of the oolite limestone formation in the parish, bones of animals of the opossum genus have been discovered.

Stoney-Middleton.—See Middleton, Stoney.

STONEY-MIDDLETON.—See Middleton, Stoney. —And all places having a similar distinguishing prefix will be found under the proper name.