Willand - Willian

Willand (St. Mary)

WILLAND (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Tiverton, hundred of Halberton, Collumpton and N. divisions of Devon, 2½ miles (N. N. E.) from Collumpton; containing 345 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the road between Exeter and Bristol, comprises 983a. 2r. 37p. The soil is various; some portions consist of a light black earth: the meadow land is generally level, and subject to flood, the river Culm flowing through the lower part of the parish. A pleasurefair is held in September. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. ]0. 5., and in the gift of the Messrs. Salter: the tithes have been commuted for £103. 9., and the glebe consists of less than 2 acres. The church contains a monument to a member of the Bindford family. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Willaston

WILLASTON, a township, partly in the parish of Nantwich, but chiefly in that of Wybunbury, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, l½ mile (E. by N.) from Nantwich; containing 272 inhabitants. It comprises an area of 499a. 2r. 16p., of a sandy soil.

Willaston

WILLASTON, a township, in the parish of Neston, union, and Higher division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 2¾ miles (E.) from Great Neston; containing 332 inhabitants. It is a singular circumstance that Willaston is not mentioned in Domesday book, although it was of sufficient importance to confer its name upon the hundred, then called Wilaveston. The township comprises about 2300 acres, partly a sandy and partly a clay soil. The village is seated in about the centre of the hundred, and contains several substantial farmhouses. Willaston Hall, an ancient brick building, was erected by the Bennett family in 1558, and continued to be their residence until a very late period. The great tithes belong to Sir William Stanley, Bart.

Willen (St. Mary Magdalene)

WILLEN (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Newport-Pagnell, hundred of Newport, county of Buckingham, l½ mile (S.) from NewportPagnell; containing 97 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 10.; net income, £115; patrons, the Trustees of Dr. Busby, who nominate a Westminster student of Christ-Church College, Oxford. The church was erected in 1680, at the expense of Dr. Busby, head master of Westminster school, who endowed it with the rectorial tithes, and gave a library for the use of the vicar, who now receives a stipend in lieu of the rectorial tithes.

Willenhall

WILLENHALL, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Wolverhampton, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3 miles (W.) from Walsall, on the road to Wolverhampton; containing 8695 inhabitants. This place, at the period of the Norman survey, was called Winehala, the Saxon term for victory, probably from the great battle fought near it in 911. The village began to thrive in the reign of Elizabeth, when, from the extensive mines of ironstone and coal in the neighbourhood, the iron manufacture was first established here: at present it is noted for its collieries and its flourishing trade in locks, the latter of which it produces to a greater extent than any other place of its size in Europe. Many other articles of hardware are made, particularly currycombs, gridirons, screws, &c. The township comprises 2050a. 3r. 17p., in nearly equal portions of arable and pasture: the soil varies exceedingly. The Tame brook passes through; also the Wyrley and Essington canal; and the Liverpool and Birmingham railway has a station here. Courts leet and baron are annually held. In the neighbourhood are the remains of an old Hall, the seat of the maternal ancestors of the Duke of Cleveland. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £300; patrons, the Inhabitants: the tithes, which belong to the duke, have been commuted for £640. The chapel, dedicated to St. Giles, was rebuilt about 1748, and repaired in 1844. Two districts, named respectively St. Stephen's and Holy Trinity, were endowed in 1846 by the Ecclesiastical Commission: each contains a population of about 3000, and the living of each is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patrons, the Crown and the Bishop of Lichfield, alternately. There are places of worship for Baptists and Weslfeyans; and national and British schools.

Willenhall

WILLENHALL, a hamlet, in the parish of Holy Trinity, Coventry, union of Foleshill, Kirby division of the hundred of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick, 2¾ miles (S. E.) from Coventry; containing 117 inhabitants, and comprising 726 acres. The estate was bought by Lord Craven in 1846, for 51,800 guineas.

Willerby (St. Peter)

WILLERBY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Scarborough, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Binnington and Staxton, 364 inhabitants, of whom 40 are in Willerby township, 6 miles (W. by N.) from Hunmanby. The parish comprises 4099 acres of arable and pasture land, and 151 acres of wood. Its small village, which is on the road from Hunmanby to Sherburn, is seated in a picturesque valley. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 0. 7½., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £116; impropriator, W. J. Denison, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1801. The church is a neat building, with a tower at the west end. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a parochial school is supported by subscription.

Willerby

WILLERBY, a township, in the union of Sculcoates. partly in the parish of Cottingham, HunsleyBeacon division of the wapentake of Harthill, and partly in the parish of Kirk-Ella, county of the town of Hull, E. riding of York, 5½ miles (W. N. W.) from Hull; containing 214 inhabitants. It comprises about 840 acres of land, and is on the road from Hessle to Beverley. The mansion of Ray well is situated here.

Willersey (St. Peter)

WILLERSEY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Evesham, Upper division of the hundred of Kiftsgate, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 3 miles (W.) from Chipping-Campden; containing 375 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1100 acres. Stone is quarried for the repair of roads, and for building. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 2. 6., and with a net income of £162, in the patronage of Mrs. M. H. Cooper: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1767; the glebe consists of 85 acres, with a house. The church is a cruciform structure of various dates, with a tower at the intersection, crowned by pinnacles. On the hill above the village, is a camp inclosing about 60 acres, supposed to have been formed during the incursions of the Danes: from it is a fine view of the vale below.

Willersley (St. Mary Magdalene)

WILLERSLEY (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Kington, hundred of Huntington, county of Hereford, 7½ miles (E. N. E.) from Hay; containing 13 inhabitants, and comprising 235 acres. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Wye, whose banks are adorned with much picturesque scenery. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 6. 8., and in the gift of the Rev. Henry Blissett: the tithes have been commuted for £60.

Willesborough (St. Mary)

WILLESBOROUGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of East Ashford, hundred of Chart and Longbridge, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 2 miles (S. E. by E.) from Ashford; containing 641 inhabitants. It comprises 1458 acres, of which 174 are common or waste, and 39 in wood. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 16. 8.; net income, £167; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is principally in the decorated English style. In the parish is situated the East Ashford union workhouse.

Willesden (St. Mary)

WILLESDEN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Hendon, Kensington division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 5 miles (W. X. w.) from London; containing 2930 inhabitants. This place, sometimes written in old documents Willesdon, was also anciently called Willesdune, by which name it is mentioned in a charter of King Athelstan, granting certain lands to St. Paul's Cathedral. The parish contains the ancient village of Neasdon, the village of HarlesdonGreen, part of Kensal-Green (the two latter on the Harrow-road), and a part of the large village of Kilburn. The London and Birmingham railway passes through the southern extremity of the parish. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's (the appropriators), valued in the king's books at £14; income, £130. The church is principally in the later English style. There is a chapel at Kilburn.

Willesley (St. Thomas)

WILLESLEY (St. Thomas), a parish, in the union of Ashby, hundred of Repton and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby, locally in the W. division of the hundred of Goscote, county of Leicester, 2 miles (S. W. by S.) from Ashby; containing 53 inhabitants. The manor was given by Wulfric Spott to Burton Abbey, under which it was held in the 13th and 14th centuries by the family of Ingwardby, from whom it passed by marriage to the Abneys, who resided here for many generations. Thomas Abney (son of Sir Thomas, a justice of the common pleas), the last male of this family, died in 1791, leaving an only daughter, married to Captain, afterwards General, Hastings, who distinguished himself in the American war, and in 1806 was created a baronet; he died in 1823, at the age of 82, and was buried at Willesley. His title, and (among other property) the Wlllesley estate, passed to his son, Sir Charles Abney Hastings, the present baronet.

The parish comprises 910 acres, of which about 25 are woodland, and the remainder arable and pasture in nearly equal portions: the soil is various. The southwestern boundary of the parish is skirted by the Ashby and Coventry canal, whence a railway passes to the former town. The manor-house is a handsome structure in the form of the letter H, built about the time of Charles I., and situated in a park of undulated surface, embellished with plantations: the mansion has been enlarged and improved within the last six years. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £62: the patronage and impropriation belong to Sir C. Abney Hastings. The church, situated a short distance from the manor-house, is a very small plain edifice, with a tower at the west end; the walls are turreted, stuccoed on the outside, and much overgrown with ivy. The period of its erection is not known: the interior has been renovated within the last fifteen years.

Willey

WILLEY, a township, in the parish of Presteign, union of Knighton, hundred of Wigmore, county of Hereford, 2¾ miles (N.) from Presteign; containing 155 inhabitants, and comprising 2140 acres. It is bounded on the west by the county of Radnor, South Wales.

Willey (St. John the Baptist)

WILLEY (St. John the Baptist), a parish, within the liberties of the borough of Wen lock, in the union of Madeley, S. division of Salop, 4¾ miles (N. W. by N.) from Bridgnorth; containing 162 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Barrow annexed, valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 3., and in the gift of Lord Forester: the tithes produce £245, and the glebe comprises 27 acres.

Willey (St. Leonard)

WILLEY (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Lutterworth, Kirby division of the hundred of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick, 3 miles (W.) from Lutterworth; containing 138 inhabitants. This place was anciently called Wilega. In the reign of Elizabeth the manor was possessed by the families of Winter and Leigh, and was afterwards sold among various persons; it subsequently became the property of the noble family of Fielding. The parish lies on the road from Coventry to Lutterworth, and comprises 745a. 3r. 20p., of which the soil is clayey, and the surface elevated, but level: gravel is obtained, of good quality for roads. The Roman Watliug-street, and the Midland railway, pass through. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 6. 0½.; and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £250: the tithes were commuted for land, under an act of inclosure, in 1769. The church is a very ancient structure, with a tower. A rectory-house, distant about three-quarters of a mile from it, was built by the Rev. Frederick Morgan, M.A., in 1844. A parochial school is supported by subscription. Fossils are found here in abundance, particularly ammonites.

Williamscott, or Willscott

WILLIAMSCOTT, or Willscott, a hamlet, in the chapelry of Wardington, parish of Cropredy, union and hundred of Banbury, county of Oxford, 3¾ miles (N. N. E.) from Banbury; containing, with Coton, 193 inhabitants. Walter Calcott, in 1575, endowed a free school here with £13 per annum payable out of his manor of Williamscott, for 40 boys chosen by lot from the villages around: the manor is now in the possession of John Loveday, Esq. Some remains exist of an ancient house in which Charles I. slept, a night or two prior to the battle of Cropredy-Bridge; and it is said that the king dined under an ash-tree in Williamscott fields on the day of the battle.

Willian (All Saints)

WILLI AN (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Hitchin, hundred of Broadwater, county of Hertford, 2½ miles (S. S. W.) from Baldock; containing 291 inhabitants. This parish was formerly, though not usually, called Willien and Willei. It comprises 1854a. 3r. 34p., chiefly arable land, with about 150 acres of pasture, and 10 of wood. The old north road passes on the west of the village. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, valued in the king's books at £5, and in the patronage of Francis Pym, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £593. 12., and the glebe consists of 20 acres. The church has been recently beautified, at an expense of £250.