Walterstone - Walthamstow

Walterstone (St. Mary)

WALTERSTONE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Dore, hundred of Ewyaslacy, county of Hereford, 15 miles (S. W. by W.) from Hereford; containing 150 inhabitants, and comprising an area of 991 acres. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £136; patron, Edmund Higginson, Esq.; impropriator, the incumbent of Rollstone.

Waltham (St. Bartholomew)

WALTHAM (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Bridge, hundred of Bridge and Petham, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 7 miles (S. S. W.) from Canterbury; containing 544 inhabitants. The parish comprises 3215 acres, of which 858 are woodland, and 23 common or waste. The living is a vicarage, with that of Petham annexed, valued in the king's books at £7. 15. 5.; net income, £535; patrons, alternately, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir C. Honywood, Bart.; impropriator of Waltham, the archbishop; and of Petham, the Rev. J. K. S. Brooke, and the archbishop of a small portion. The great tithes of Waltham have been commuted for £400, and the vicarial for £320; the glebe contains an acre and a half. The church is in the early English style. There are some remains of a chapel and castle at Ashenfield, and of a chapel at Waddenhall, in the parish.

Waltham (All Saints)

WALTHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Caistor, wapentake of Bradley-Haverstoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 3¾ miles (S. by W.) from Great Grimsby; containing 656 inhabitants. The parish comprises by measurement 2350 acres, of which the greater portion appears to have been anciently covered with wood. The village is pleasantly situated on the road to Binbrook: the Hall, a spacious brick residence, was erected in 1737, by the grandfather of the present lord of the manor. A statute-fair is held in May, and an agricultural society is supported by the gentry and farmers of the vicinity. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 10. 10., and in the patronage of the Chapter of Southwell; net income, £331. The tithes were commuted for land in 1769; the glebe altogether comprises 367 acres, with a rectory-house, a large mansion in the Elizabethan style, built in 1836. The church is in the later English style, and contains a monument of black marble with the effigies of Johanna Waltham and her son and daughter. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans.

Waltham-Abbas.—See Waltham, White.

WALTHAM-ABBAS.—See Waltham, White.

Waltham-Abbey, or Holy-Cross (Holy Cross and St. Lawrence)

WALTHAM-ABBEY, or Holy-Cross (Holy Cross and St. Lawrence), a market-town and parish, in the union of Edmonton, hundred of Waltham, S. division of Essex; containing, with the hamlets of Holyfield, Sewardstone, and Upshire, 4177 inhabitants, of whom 2041 are in the town, 23½ miles (W. by S.) from Chelmsford, and 12½ (N. by E.) from London. The name Waltham is compounded of the Saxon words Weald and Ham, signifying a residence in or near a wood. The town derived its origin, in the time of Canute the Great, from the facility and inducement for hunting afforded by the neighbourhood, which led Ralph de Toni, standard-bearer to that monarch, to build a few houses. A church was soon afterwards erected, principally for the preservation of the holy cross, to which many legends of miraculous efficacy were attached; and upon a lapse of the property to the crown, Harold, to whom it was given by Edward the Confessor, founded (in 1062) a monastery for Secular canons, for whom in 1177, Henry II. substituted monks of the order of St. Augustine, at the same time dedicating the establishment to the Holy Cross: at the Dissolution, the revenue was valued at £1079. 12. 1. Within the choir, or eastern chapel, was entombed the body of Harold, who was slain in the battle of Hastings; with the bodies of his brothers Gurth and Leofwin. In a place called Romeland, adjoining the abbey, was a house at which Henry VIII. occasionally resided; and to a conversation held here, on the important subject of the king's divorce, Cranmer was indebted for the royal favour.

The town is spacious and irregularly built, consisting chiefly of one long street. It is situated on the banks of the river Lea, which here divides into many streams, and which separates the two counties of Essex and Herts about half a mile to the west, and also the parishes of Cheshunt and Waltham-Abbey. The inhabitants are well supplied with water. Some gunpowder-mills belonging to government, situated here, afford employment to nearly 200 persons. About 100 are engaged in printing silk handkerchiefs, and some business is done in the manufacture of pins, though it is by no means so extensive as formerly: there are also a brewery, flour-mill, and two malt-kilns; and, in the hamlet of Sewardstone, a factory for throwing and spinning silk, employing between 200 and 300 persons. At the west end of the town is the new cut from the river Lea, and the Eastern Counties railway passes within half a mile. The market is on Tuesday: fairs are held on May 14th and September 25th, for horses and cattle; and on Sept. 26th is a statute-fair for hiring servants. The powers of the county debt-court of Waltham-Abbey, established in 1847, extend over the parishes of Waltham-Abbey and Cheshunt, and the registration-district of Epping. A town-hall has been erected. The parish comprises 11,474a. 1r. 38p., of which about 9000 acres are inclosed, 400 in common fields and meadows, 280 marsh, 385 road, river, and waste, and 1352 ancient forest land.

The living is a donative curacy; net income, £100; patrons and impropriators, the Trustees of the Earl of Norwich. The church, which is the nave of the old abbey church, is a spacious structure in the Norman style with a tower of later date; on the south side is the Lady chapel, now used as a vestry and schoolroom. In the interior are three tiers of semicircular arches with zigzag ornaments, supported on circular massive piers. Among the monuments and sepulchral tablets, the principal is a memorial of Sir Edward Denny, who died in 1599; a slab near the communion-table retains the impression of an abbot with his crosier, the brass having been taken away. The only remains of the venerable abbey, exclusively of the church, are a fine gate with a postern, the bridge leading to it, and some dilapidated walls. A district church has been erected at Sewardstone. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans. Several bequests have been left to the poor, and for purposes of education.

Waltham, Bishop's (St. Peter)

WALTHAM, BISHOP'S (St. Peter), a markettown and parish, in the union of Droxford, hundred of Bishop's-Waltham, Droxford and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 10 miles (E. N. E.) from Southampton, and 65 (S. W. by W.) from London; containing, with the tythings of Ashton, Curdridge, and West Hoe, 2193 inhabitants. The river Hamble has its source about half a mile from the village, and passes through the piece of water termed Waltham Pond, which formerly deserved the appellation given it by historians, of "a large and beautiful lake," but which is now contracted by the encroachments of alluvial soil and rushes. Here are the remains of the once magnificent palace annexed to the see of Winchester, built in 1135 by Bishop Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen, and greatly embellished by Wykeham. Henry II. held a great council in this palace in 1182, previously to entering upon the crusade, when a large sum of money was granted for that expedition; and Richard I., after his coronation in Winchester cathedral, visited the town in 1194. Cardinal Beaufort in his will bequeathed to Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England, the damask hangings of the apartments she used to occupy when at Waltham; and William of Wykeham, who died here, left a chalice to Waltham church. The palace continued to be the principal episcopal residence till the parliamentary war, when it was destroyed by the army under Waller: the extensive park in which it stood was afterwards converted into farms by Bishop Morley. The market is on Friday. Fairs are held on the second Friday in May, for horses and toys; on July 30th, for cheese and pedlery; and the first Friday after Old Michaelmas-day, for horses, and for stockings and toys. The powers of the county debt-court of Bishop's-Waltham, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Droxford. A bailiff is appointed at the manor court, held by the Bishop of Winchester. The parish comprises 7412a. 1r. 10p., of which 4237 acres are arable, 381 meadow and pasture, 463 woodland, 627 common, 114 in homesteads and gardens, and 110 road, waste, and water. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26. 12. 8½., and in the gift of the Bishop: the tithes have been commuted for £1250, and the glebe contains 98 acres. A district church was erected on Curdridge Common, in 1834, by subscription, towards which the Incorporated Society granted £230; it is a neat structure in the later English style. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £100 per annum from the tithes, and in the patronage of the Rector. A free school was founded by Bishop Morley, who endowed it with an annuity of £10, which has been augmented by benefactions to £38, for which 36 boys are instructed in a national school.

Waltham, Bright, Brickleton, or Bright-Wolton (All Saints)

WALTHAM, BRIGHT, Brickleton, or BrightWolton (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Wantage, hundred of Faircross, county of Berks, 5 miles (W. S. W.) from East Ilsley; containing 441 inhabitants, and comprising 1891a. 1r. 18p., of which 57 acres are common or waste land. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 15., and in the gift of T. R. Harman, Esq. The tithes have been commuted for a yearly rent-charge of £700, and the glebe contains about 86 acres.

Waltham, Cold

WALTHAM, COLD, a parish, in the union of Thakeham, hundred of Bury, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 5½ miles (S. E.) from Petworth; containing 460 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the river Rother, and on the east by the Arun. Part of the Roman road from Chichester to London may be traced within its limits. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Bishop of Chichester, the appropriator; net income, £65. The tithes have been commuted for £290; the glebe comprises 12 acres. Near the hamlet of Waterfield, a coarse earthen vessel was broken by a labourer at work, and was found to contain 1700 coins of the Emperor Gallienus and his immediate successors.

Waltham-Cross

WALTHAM-CROSS, a ward, in the parish of Cheshunt, union of Edmonton, hundred and county of Hertford, 9 miles (S. by E.) from Hertford. This place received the adjunct to its name from a noble cross erected on the eastern side of the high road, by Edward I., to his beloved consort Eleanor, whose corpse rested at Waltham-Abbey, on its way from Lincolnshire to London. The cross is hexangular, and highly enriched with tabernacle-work and foliage; it has pendent shields bearing the devices of England, Castile, Leon, and Ponthieu, and is ornamented with crowned statues of the queen, the left hand holding a cordon, and the right a sceptre or globe. This beautiful monument having suffered much from mutilation, was, in 1757, at the instance of the Society of Antiquaries, inclosed by a brick wall, at the expense of Lord Monson, then lord of the manor; and one of the statues has recently been replaced, the cross perfectly restored, and surrounded by an iron palisade, by subscription. Courts leet are held at Whitsuntide, and a court baron in October. The river Lea separates the ward from the parish of Waltham Holy-Cross; the New River runs through the western portion of it, and the Eastern Counties railway has a station here. At a short distance from the village is a mansion, built near the site of the palace of Theobalds, and pleasantly situated in an extensive park. A chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity has been erected by voluntary contribution, aided by parliamentary grant: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Cheshunt. There is a place of worship for Independents; and almshouses for four widows, founded and endowed by Beaumont Spital, and taken down in 1830, have been rebuilt in the decorated English style.

Waltham, Great (St. Mary and St. Lawrence)

WALTHAM, GREAT (St. Mary and St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chelmsford, S. division of Essex, 4½ miles (N. by W.) from Chelmsford; containing 2154 inhabitants. This is a fertile district, intersected by the river Chelmer, and supplied with excellent water from numerous springs. The parish comprises 7335a. 15p., of which 5701 acres are arable, 1010 pasture and meadow, 101 woodland, 105 in homesteads, and 243 road and waste; the soil is rich, and favourable to the growth of wheat. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £18. 13. 4., and in the gift of the President and Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford: the great tithes have been commuted for £1800, with a glebe of 122 acres; and the vicarial for £400, with a glebe of 3 acres. The church is a spacious edifice of brick, with an octangular tower surmounted by a spire, and contains several splendid monuments. In scraping the walls, preparatory to colouring them, some curious remains of old painting were discovered, in the summer of 1847. Near the western gateway of the churchyard is an ancient building called the Guildhall. At Black-Chapel is a separate incumbency.

Waltham St. Lawrence

WALTHAM ST. LAWRENCE, a parish, in the union of Cookham, hundred of Wargrave, county of Berks, 5¼ miles (S. W.) from Maidenhead; containing 724 inhabitants. The parish comprises about 3500 acres; and the Great Western railway passes through the northern part of it. A fair is held on the 11th of August. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 6. 8.; net income, £211; patron, Lord Braybrooke. Certain tithes were commuted for land in 1810, and others have been just commuted for a rentcharge of £350, of which £50 are payable to the vicar. The church contains a fine monument to Sir Henry Neville, a gentleman of the privy chamber in the reign of Edward VI., and who died in 1593. A school is supported by Lord Braybrooke, the lord of the manor, who has an ancient residence at Billingbear, in the parish. There are some small bequests. In a field between the church and the Bath road was a Roman station, where coins, urns, and tiles have frequently been dug up.

Waltham, Little (St. Martin)

WALTHAM, LITTLE (St. Martin), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chelmsford, S. division of Essex-, 4 miles (N. by E.) from Chelmsford; containing 690 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Chelmer, and on the road to Norwich, through Sudbury and Bury; and comprises 2210a. 36p., of which 1836 acres are arable, 222 meadow and pasture, 118 woodland, and 32 in homesteads. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 10., and in the gift of the Hodges family: the tithes have been commuted for £670, and the glebe comprises 12 acres. The church is a small edifice with an embattled tower, and contains several interesting monuments. There is a place of worship for Independents. Roger Poole, in the reign of Philip and Mary, assigned property for the support of a school; and John Aleyn, in 1660, gave £500 to be vested in land for apprenticing children.

Waltham, North (St. Michael)

WALTHAM, NORTH (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Basingstoke, hundred of Overton, Kingsclere and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 6 miles (S. W. by W.) from Basingstoke; containing 494 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 13. 4., and in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester: the tithes have been commuted for £390, and the glebe comprises 90 acres. The church has been enlarged, the Incorporated Society granting £40 in aid of the expense.

Waltham-On-The-Wolds (St. Mary Magdalene)

WALTHAM-ON-THE-WOLDS (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Melton-Mowbray, hundred of Framland, N. division of the county of Leicester, 5¼ miles (N. E.) from Melton-Mowbray; containing 768 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £19. 5.; net income, £481; patron, the Duke of Rutland: the tithes were commuted for land in 1766. The church is in the decorated style, with portions of earlier date, and has three enriched stalls; the font presents a curious admixture of the Norman and early English styles. Joseph and George Noble in 1776, and Thomas Baker, left sums for instruction, now producing £12. 13. per annum.

Waltham, Up

WALTHAM, UP, a parish, in the union of West Hampnett, hundred of Box and Stockbridge, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 6 miles (S. S. W.) from Petworth; containing 99 inhabitants. It forms a portion of the South Downs, and comprises about 2000 acres, of which the soil is chalky, and the surface boldly undulated: the village is on the road from London to Chichester, by Petworth. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 2. 11., and in the gift of Colonel Wyndham: the tithes have been commuted for £128, and the glebe comprises 4½ acres. The church is in the early English style, with a circular east end.

Waltham, White, or Waltham-Abbas (St. Mary)

WALTHAM, WHITE, or Waltham-Abbas (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Cookham, hundred of Beynhurst, county of Berks, 4 miles (S. W.) from Maidenhead; containing 1021 inhabitants. It comprises 2643a. 1r. 15p., of which about 250 acres are meadow and pasture, 100 woodland, and the remainder arable; the soil is partly a fine mould resting on chalk, and partly a strong clay, producing good crops of grain. The surface is flat; a small stream passes on the south, and flows into the river Loddon. The Great Western railway runs through the parish. The living is a vicarage, united to the rectory of Shottesbrook in 1744, and valued in the king's books at £10. 13. 4.: the great tithes of White Waltham have been commuted for £170; the vicarial tithes were commuted for 237 acres of land in 1807, and there is an old glebe of 13 acres. The church is in the Norman style. Here are places of worship for Independents and Lady Huntingdon's Connexion; and a national school. Smewin's House, now occupied by a farmer, is said to have been a huntingseat belonging to Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII.; and was also the retreat of the learned Dodwell, first Camden professor of ancient history at Oxford, and a celebrated writer on ecclesiastical antiquity. The vicarage-house was partly paved with Roman bricks; and many Roman tiles, coins, and other relics have been found near the church. There was formerly a chapel of ease at Feens. Hearne, the antiquary, was born in the parish in 1678.

Walthamstow (St. Mary)

WALTHAMSTOW (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of West Ham, hundred of Becontree, S. division of Essex, 6 miles (N. E. by N.) from London; containing 4873 inhabitants. This manor, according to the Norman survey, wherein it is called Welannestun, was in the possession of Judith, niece to the Conqueror; and having subsequently belonged to the earls of Warwick, on the attainder and execution of Earl Thomas, in 1396, it lapsed to the crown. The name appears to be of Saxon origin, from weald, "a wood," and ham, "a dwelling;" the adjunct stowe, "a place," distinguishing it from other Walthams in the county; and the entire name being accurately descriptive. The village consists of numerous detached dwelling-houses and mansions, encompassed with trees and woodland, and pleasantly situated on the borders of Epping Forest, through which a new road has been cut to Woodford, in order to form a nearer communication with the great road from London to Newmarket. The parish comprises 4436 acres, of which 501 are common or waste. It is separated from the county of Middlesex by the navigable river Lea, over which is a bridge, and on the banks of which are extensive copper and flour mills, and an oil-mill. The Eastern Counties line of railway passes through the parish.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; net income, £772; patron and incumbent, the Rev. W. Wilson, B.D.; impropriator, R. Orlebar, Esq. The church is situated on an eminence, and is a neat structure, originally of flint and stone, with a tower at the west end, which was partly rebuilt by Sir George Monox, who also erected a chapel at the end of the north aisle, in 1535. It was enlarged, repaired, and beautified in 1817, at an expense of about £2000; and in the chancel is a circular window of stained glass, divided into compartments, representing a Gloria presented by Miss Russell. Among the various sepulchral memorials are those of Sir G. Monox, lord mayor of London in 1514, and his lady; a splendid monument of white marble, with figures of full size, to Sigismond Trafford, his wife, and their infant daughter; and another in memory of Lady Lucy Stanley, erected by her husband, Sir Edward Stanley. In the burial-ground is a white marble tomb, by Chantrey, in memory of Jesse Russell, Esq. At Chapel-End, a district church dedicated to St. John was erected in 1829, at an expense of £1800; it is a plain building in the Grecian style. A church dedicated to St. Peter, in the Norman style, was built at Forest-End in 1840; and another, dedicated to St. James, also Norman, was erected in the parish in 1841. All the three livings are in the Vicar's gift. There are places of worship for Independents and Unitarians.

The almshouses and free school on the north side of the churchyard were founded in 1542, by Sir G. Monox, and endowed with a rent-charge of £42. 17. 4., which has been augmented, by benefactions, to an annual income of about £155; the almshouses are occupied by eight men and five single women, and the schoolmaster's emoluments are about £85 per annum. Almshouses for six widows were built by Mrs. Mary Squires, in 1795, and endowed with stock producing an annual dividend of £87. Henry Maynard, in 1686, bequeathed for various charitable purposes property now producing a net income of about £200. The churchwardens and other members of the vestry have under their control a sum of £273 per annum, chiefly distributed in coal; and a fund of £61. 10. a year, left by James Holbrook (in 1805) and others, is appropriated towards supplying bread to the poor. George Gascoigne, a poet of considerable repute, and author of several dramatic pieces, who died in 1578, was a native of Walthamstow. William Piers, D. D., Bishop of Bath and Wells, who died at the advanced age of 94, and was at the time the oldest bishop in Christendom, both with respect to years and to date of consecration, lies interred in the chancel of the church; and Edward Rowe Mores, an eminent scholar, and one of the principal agents in forming the Equitable Assurance Society, was buried here in 1778. Thomas Cartwright, afterwards Bishop of Chester, and Edmund Chishall, a learned antiquary and divine, were respectively vicars of the parish.