Elberton - Ellenborough

Elberton (St. Mary)

ELBERTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Thornbury, Lower division of the hundred of Berkeley, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 9 miles (N.) from Bristol; containing 190 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1523 acres, of which 416 are arable, 995 pasture, and 112 woodland: the surface is in some parts flat, in others hilly; the soil is partly sandy, and partly a deep rich loam. The Thames and Severn canal passes through the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 12. 6.; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The bishop's tithes have been commuted for £79. 10., the impropriate for £8, and the vicarial for £202; there are 40 acres of glebe. The church has a central tower with a spire, and was probably erected in the thirteenth century. East of the village are some remains of a Roman intrenched camp, supposed to have been constructed for the protection of the trajectus, or ferry, at Aust; it was a regular parallelogram, inclosing two acres.

Elcombe

ELCOMBE, a tything, in the parish of Wroughton, union of Highworth and Swindon, hundred of Elstub and Everley, Swindon and N. divisions of the county of Wilts; containing 348 inhabitants.

Elcot

ELCOT, a tything, in the parish of Preshute, union of Marlborough, hundred of Selkley, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and N. divisions of the county of Wilts; containing 96 inhabitants.

Elden

ELDEN, an extra-parochial place, in the hundred of King's-Sombourn, N. division of the county of Southampton, 4½ miles (S. E.) from Stockbridge; containing 19 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £2; patron, John Hussey, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is dilapidated and unfit for service.

Elden county of Suffolk.—See Elvedon.

ELDEN, county of Suffolk.—See Elvedon.

Eldersfield (St. John the Baptist)

ELDERSFIELD (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Upton-on-Severn, Lower division of the hundred of Pershore, Upton and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 7 miles (W. by S.) from Tewkesbury; containing 837 inhabitants. The parish is situated at the southern extremity of the county, and bounded partly on the north, and wholly on the south, by the county of Gloucester. It is nearly circumscribed by the roads from Upton to Gloucester, from Gloucester to Ledbury, and from Ledbury to Tewkesbury; and comprises 3310 acres, of which 17½ are woodland, 262 road and waste, and the remainder nearly equally divided between arable and pasture: the soil is a red marl. Stone of inferior quality for building is quarried. A few hands are employed in making gloves for the Worcester houses. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 16. 8., and in the gift of Sir Anthony Lechmere, Bart.: the impropriate tithes, belonging to the Rev. Charles Martin, have been commuted for £630, and the vicarial for £290; and the glebe contains 2 acres, with a house in a dilapidated state. The church is a handsome structure, chiefly in the early English style, with an embattled tower surmounted by a spire. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a school, in which 10 boys and 10 girls are instructed, is supported by the interest of £500 in the four per cents., left by Mrs. Pollock. William Underhill, in 1646, bequeathed land now let for £20 per annum, to be distributed among the poor. On Gadbury Hill, an eminence 60 feet in height, are some vestiges of a camp, supposed to be Roman.

Eldon

ELDON, a township, in the parish of St. Andrew Auckland, union of Auckland, S. E. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 3½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Bishop-Auckland; containing 186 inhabitants. The township is comprised in the district of Shildon. John Scott, Earl of Eldon, and lord high chancellor of England, was elevated to the peerage by the title of Baron Eldon, on the 18th of July, 1799, and raised to the dignities of Viscount Encombe and Earl of Eldon, July 7th, 1821. A great part of the township belongs to his successor.

Eldon

ELDON, an extra-parochial district, in the hundred of King's-Sombourn, Romsey and S. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 19 inhabitants. It comprises 276 acres of land.

Eldroth

ELDROTH, a hamlet, in the township of Lawkland, parish of Clapham, union of Settle, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York, 4¼ miles (W. by N.) from Settle; containing 36 inhabitants. An ancient chapel of ease has been converted into a school, which is endowed with certain bequests.

Eleigh, Monks.—See Monks-Eleigh.

ELEIGH, MONKS.—See Monks-Eleigh.

Elford

ELFORD, a township, in the parish of Bambrough, union of Belford, N. division of Bambrough ward and of Northumberland, 7 miles (E. S. E.) from Belford; containing 112 inhabitants. It comprises 646 acres of excellent arable land, the property of Henry Dinning, Esq., of Newlands. Good coal and limestone are obtained. The village, which is small, is situated about one mile west from Sunderland, which is on the sea-coast. The road from Belford to Alnwick runs at some distance on the west of the place. A stone coffin containing a skeleton, was dug up in 1838.

Elford (St. Peter)

ELFORD (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 5 miles (E. by N.) from Lichfield; containing 434 inhabitants. It is said to have derived its name from the great number of eels with which the river here formerly abounded. Before the Conquest the manor belonged to Earl Algar, and in the reign of Henry III. was held by William de Alderne, whose descendants continued to enjoy it until the marriage of the heiress of Sir John Alderney with the Stanleys, when the property passed to that family. It afterwards came by a succession of female heirs to the Stantons, Smiths, Huddlestons, and Bowes family, with which last it remained for several generations, and from which it devolved, also by marriage, to the Howards. The parish is bounded on the south-west by the river Tame, and comprises about 1800 acres of highly cultivated land, most of which was open common until 1766; the surface is gently undulated, and the soil a rich loam, mostly arable. Elford Hall is a handsome mansion, erected about 1758. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the family of Howard; income, arising from 240 acres of glebe, £405. The church is a fine old edifice, and has an ancient stained-glass window, brought from the continent in 1828, representing Christ turning the Water into Wine. A school, now conducted on the national plan, was founded in the reign of James I. by the Rev. John Hill. Two lowes here, evidently sepulchral, were probably the burial-places of the slain in some battle fought during the Saxon heptarchy.

Elham (St. Mary)

ELHAM (St. Mary), a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Loningborough, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 11 miles (S.) from Canterbury; containing 1291 inhabitants. This place, which was anciently of greater importance, was, at the time of the Conquest, in the possession of the Norman earl Ewe, a near relation of the Conqueror's, who obtained for it many valuable privileges: in the reign of Henry III. it belonged to Prince Edward, who procured the grant of a weekly market, which has not been held for many years. The parish comprises by admeasurement 6580 acres; 3330 are arable, 2330 pasture, 800 woodland, and the remainder roads and common: the surface is boldly undulated, and the surrounding scenery pleasing. The village is situated on the small river Stour, and contains many houses neatly built of brick. Elham Park, of which notice occurs in the time of Henry III., is now overgrown with wood. Fairs are held on PalmMonday, Easter-Monday, Whit-Monday, and October 20th, for horses, cattle, and pedlery. The county magistrates hold a petty-session for the division monthly; and manorial courts are held on the Thursday in Easterweek, and the Thursday after the 20th of October. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20; net income, £390; patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the nomination of Merton College, Oxford, the impropriators. The church is a spacious structure in the early English style, with a massive embattled tower; over the west door is a fine window of three lights, in the decorated style. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Bryanites; and a school, founded in 1725 by Sir John Williams, Knt., is endowed with a house and land producing £18 per annum. The poor law union of Elham consists of 20 parishes or places, and contains a population of 14,662: the workhouse is in the parish of Lyminge.

Eling (St. Mary)

ELING (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of NewForest, hundred of Redbridge, Romsey and S. divisions of the county of Southampton, 5 miles (W. by N.) from Southampton; containing, with the tythings of Bartley-Regis, Bauldoxfee, Bistern with Bartley, Colebury, Durley, Langley, Lopperwood, Marchwood, Rumbridge, Tatchbury, Testwood, Wade with Over, and Wigley, 5410 inhabitants, of whom 1052 are in North, and 343 in South, Eling. This place, which is noticed in the Norman survey as having a church, two mills, a fishery, and a saltern, comprises the manor of Bury Farm, held of the crown by the tenure of presenting to the king a brace of white greyhounds in silver couples, whenever His Majesty may visit the New Forest; which presentation was last made in 1789, to George III., immediately on stepping out of his carriage at Lyndhurst, by the Rev. Sir Charles Mill, Bart. The village stands at the upper end of the Southampton Water, and has a good trade in corn, timber, and coal; spacious granaries and warehouses have been erected on the quay, which is accessible to vessels of 200 tons' burthen, and provided with every facility for loading and discharging cargoes. Its proximity to the New Forest, which affords a plentiful supply of timber at a moderate expense, is favourable for ship-building, which has been carried on to a considerable extent; several West Indiamen have been launched within the last few years, and numerous vessels repaired. The establishment has, however, been removed to the opposite side of the water, at Redbridge. A fair for cattle is held on July 5th. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 18. 1½.; net income, £904; patron, the Rev. W. I. G. Phillips; impropriators, several proprietors of land. The church is an ancient edifice, enlarged at different periods, and exhibiting various styles. A chapel has been erected near Cadnam, containing 535 sittings, 418 of which are free; and at Marchwood is a district church. At Totton, separated from Redbridge by the river, is a place of worship for Independents. In this parish is the union workhouse; the union comprises 9 parishes, 8 in the county of Southampton, and one in Wilts, the population of the whole amounting to 13,224.

Elkington

ELKINGTON, a parish, in the union of Rugby, hundred of Guilsborough, S. division of the county of Northampton, 3 miles (S. S. W.) from Welford; containing 46 inhabitants. This parish, through which passes the Grand Union canal, comprises 1868 acres of a moderately productive soil, the property of the Earl Spencer and the Langham family. The church, which belonged to the monastery of Daventry, and subsequently to that of Pipewell, is supposed to have been destroyed in the civil wars.

Elkington, North (St. Helen)

ELKINGTON, NORTH (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Louth, Wold division of the hundred of Louth-Eske, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 4¼ miles (N. W.) from Louth; containing 91 inhabitants. It comprises 991a. 2r. 25p.; the soil is chalk, of which there are some pits for dressing the land. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 19. 4½.; patron and impropriator, the Rev. William Smyth: the great tithes have been commuted for £159. 9., and the vicarial for £99. 17.; the glebe comprises nearly 6½ acres. The church is very small.

Elkington, South (All Saints)

ELKINGTON, SOUTH (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Louth, Wold division of the hundred of Louth-Eske, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 2¼ miles (W. N. W.) from Louth; containing 273 inhabitants. It is situated on the road to Market-Rasen, and comprises 3008a. 2r. 23p.; the soil is generally light, resting on chalk, which is obtained for agricultural uses. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 7. 6.; patron and impropriator, the Rev. William Smyth: the great tithes have been commuted for £494. 17., and the vicarial for land and a rent-charge, together £301; the glebe comprises 10 acres. The church is an ancient structure, in the later English style, with a handsome embattled tower. There are several tumuli on a farm called Boswell, or Burgh's Hill, in the western extremity of the parish; and on the eastern side are traces of the Barton-street. Archdeacon Echard, the learned historian, was incumbent of the parish.

Elksley (St. Giles)

ELKSLEY (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of East Retford, Hatfield division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 5 miles (S. by W.) from East Retford; containing 414 inhabitants. The parish comprises by computation 2016 acres; the surface is undulated, and the scenery pleasing. The river Poulter flows by the village, and joins the Idle at the distance of a quarter of a mile from it. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £3. 16. 0½.; patron and impropriator, the Duke of Newcastle. The tithes have been commuted for £80, and the glebe comprises 22½ acres. The church is an ancient structure, with a tower.

Elkstone (St. John the Evangelist)

ELKSTONE (St. John the Evengelist), a parish, in the union of Cirencester, hundred of Rapsgate, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 7½ miles (N. N. W.) from Cirencester; containing 335 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the old Roman road to Cirencester, comprises by measurement 2034 acres. A part of the population is employed in a manufactory for bone manure; and stone is quarried for building purposes, which is easily cut when first taken from the quarry, but acquires a great degree of hardness by exposure to the air. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 9. 2., and in the gift of the Hon. Keppel Craven: the tithes have been commuted for £340, and the glebe comprises 78 acres. The church is a small edifice, affording good specimens of Norman architecture in the ornamented south porch, the east window, and the interior of the chancel; it has a square embattled tower in the later English style, erected in the reign of Richard II. The remains of a Roman tessellated pavement have been discovered at Cornbend, a hamlet in the parish.

Elkstone, Lower and Upper

ELKSTONE, LOWER and UPPER, a chapelry, in the parish of Alstonfield, union of Leek, N. division of the hundred of Totmonslow and of the county of Stafford, 5½ miles (E. N. E.) from Leek; containing 253 inhabitants. These are two townships, forming the chapelry, and divided by a small brook: the houses are mostly on the eastern side of Mixon Hill, a lofty ridge, in which copper, lead, and rottenstone have been obtained. A court leet and baron is held for the manor of Upper Elkstone. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £74; patron, the Vicar of Alstonfield; impropriator, Sir John Crewe, Bart. The chapel is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and is a small edifice with a wooden belfry. A school is supported by endowment.

Ella, Kirk (St. Andrew)

ELLA, KIRK (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Sculcoates, and county of the town of Hull, locally in the E. riding of York; containing, with the whole of the township of Anlaby, which is partly in the parish of Hessle, and the whole of the township of Willerby, which is partly in the parish of Cottingham, 1061 inhabitants, of whom 291 are in the township of Kirk-Ella, 5 miles (W. by N.) from Hull, and 133 in the township of West Ella. This place derives its name from its ancient proprietor, the Saxon King of Deira, of whose demesne it formed a part. The parish comprises by computation 2974a. 26p.; the soil is a strong clayey marl, well adapted for wheat, of which fine crops are produced, and the surface, though generally flat, is well drained. The village is situated on elevated ground, commanding views of the river Humber, and consists of well-built houses and pleasing villas, inhabited by opulent merchants of Hull, and other respectable families. The surrounding country is richly diversified; and the beauty of the scenery, and the salubrity of the air, render Ella desirable as a place of residence. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 2. 8½.; net income, £235; patron and impropriator, R. Sykes, Esq.: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1796. The church, seated on an eminence, is a spacious structure in the later English style, with a lofty embattled tower, and contains several monuments, of which one to Joseph Sykes, who died in 1805, is very beautiful.

Elland-Cum-Greetland

ELLAND-CUM-GREETLAND, a township and chapelry, in the parish and union of Halifax, wapentake of Morley, W. riding of York, 3¼ miles (S. S. E.) from Halifax; the township containing 6479 inhabitants. Elland was anciently of considerable importance, and in the reign of Edward II. had a grant of a weekly market and two annual fairs: it was for many years the only chartered market-town in an extensive district, had a cloth-hall of its own, and for a long period was superior to Halifax for the extent of its various manufactures; but at present it has no market. The township comprises by computation 3388 acres. The population is chiefly employed in the spinning of worsted, and the manufacture of coarse woollen-cloths: several collieries are in operation; stone of good quality for building is quarried, and large quantities of bricks and black earthenware are made, for which clay is obtained in abundance; there are also some copperas-works. The village is situated on the south side of the vale of Calder, over which river is a handsome stone bridge; it is spacious and well built, and, together with the hamlet of Greetland, is lighted with gas from works erected in 1836 at an expense of £6000, by a proprietary of £10 shareholders. On the north side of the river is the Calder and Hebble navigation; and the Manchester and Leeds railway passes to the north of the village, near which it is carried through a tunnel 410 yards in length. A fair is held on the first Monday after the 12th of August. The chapel is an ancient structure with a tower, and consists of a nave, one aisle, and a chancel; in the east window are the armorial bearings of John of Gaunt. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150, with a house; patron, the Vicar of Halifax. The tithes of the township were commuted for land in 1803. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. A school was founded in 1734, by Mrs. Grace Ramsden, who endowed it with an estate now producing a rent of £63. 10. Near the village is the "Spa Well," the water of which holds in solution sulphuretted hydrogen and a free alkali; and at Greetland is a similar spring, called Upper Elliston's Farm Well.

Ellastone (St. Peter)

ELLASTONE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Ashbourn, S. division of the hundred of Totmonslow, N. division of the county of Stafford, 5 mile (W. S. W.) from Ashbourn; containing, with the townships of Calwick, Prestwood, Ramshorn, Stanton, and Wootton, 1308 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated in a fertile district abounding with romantic scenery, is bounded by the Dove, a stream affording fine trout, and is also skirted by the river Churnet. It comprises about 8000 acres, whereof the greater part is pasture or meadow, a small portion arable, 410 acres woodland, and nearly 500 sheep-walk or common, with much gorse, heather, and stone ground, some of which is every year brought into cultivation. The surface is varied, rising from the vale of the Dove to Weaver Hill, and commanding extensive and richly diversified prospects, embracing, in clear weather, the Malvern, Wrekin, and Welsh hills. There are some lead mines near Stanton, but not in operation: facility of conveyance is afforded by the Uttoxeter canal, which passes through the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 9. 2.; net income, £154; patron and impropriator, D. Davenport, Esq., who is proprietor of a great part of the village. The church is a neat structure, situated on an eminence; the body was rebuilt in 1838, partly by subscription and partly by a rate, the stone being given by Mr. Davenport and the Rev. Geo. Hake: it contains memorials of the Fleetwoods, the ancient owners of a part of the parish. On the top of Weaver Hill are several barrows from which have been dug some ancient coins, and there are also vestiges of a Roman encampment. Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 1677, was born in the parish.

Ellel, North and South

ELLEL, NORTH and SOUTH, a chapelry, in the parish of Cockerham, union of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of Lancashire, 4 miles (S. by E.) from Lancaster, on the road to Garstang and Preston; containing 2223 inhabitants. The manor of Ellel appears to have been a member of that of Warton, after the Norman Conquest. William Fitz-Gilbert, who first assumed the name of Lancaster, gave to Grimbald de Ellale, with other lands, two carucates in Ellale, to be held by knight's service. A Jordan de Ellal was forester of Wyresdale, and having married Alice de Thweng, a descendant of the house of Lancaster, left a daughter and heiress, who married Sir William de Molyneux, of Sefton, before the reign of Edward III., in which reign, Sir John de Coupeland appears as a proprietor. The Thwengs had possession long after this period, and Sir James Lawrence subsequently; the estates are now chiefly freehold in various hands.

The chapelry comprises 5620a. 1r. 38p., whereof threefourths are meadow and pasture, and the remainder arable. The surface is elevated and undulating, the soil various and generally productive and the scenery very fine; from the higher parts are extensive views of Morecambe bay, the town of Fleetwood, the Lake mountains, and the rivers Wyre and Lune. The Conder and Cocker rivers, the Lancaster and Preston canal, and Lancaster and Preston railway, run through; the last having two stations, and passing over two high viaducts. Ellel Hall, built about 70 years ago, is, with 500 acres of land, the property of Abraham Rawlinson Ford, Esq. Foxholes, with 150 acres, is the seat of William Talbot Rothwell, Esq. The latter house was nearly rebuilt in 1847, from the designs of Mr. Richard Lane, of Manchester, in the style of the domestic architecture of the 16th century; and the lights and shadows arising from the irregularity of its plan, give to the edifice much of the picturesque effect so characteristic of that period. The principal front is about 100 feet in length, and is ornamented with richly-carved barge-boards and pendent gables; the entrance consists of an arcade of three Tudor arches, and opens into a large lofty hall with a groined ceiling, having a noble gallery supported by carved Gothic brackets. This hall is replete with articles of vertu and marble statuary brought from abroad by the proprietor: an oak screen separates the staircase, which is also of oak; and the windows are of rich painted glass. Hay Carr, with 200 acres, all planted round, is the property of William Lamb, Esq.; the house has been much enlarged. There are several quarries of good stone. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £140, with a house, built in 1840. The chapel, a plain structure, is situated in the hamlet of Galgate, which see. A school is endowed with £8 per annum.

Ellenborough, with Ewanrigg

ELLENBOROUGH, with Ewanrigg, a township, in the parish of Dearham, union of Cockermouth, Allerdale ward below Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 1 mile (E. S. E.) from Maryport; containing 766 inhabitants. This was an important Roman station, which Camden and Baxter consider to have been Volantium, Horsley Virosidum, and others Olenacum. Camden says that the first band of the Dalmatians was quartered here. There is, perhaps, no station in Britain where a greater number of altars and inscribed tablets have been found. At Ewanrigg is an endowed school, founded in 1718 by Ewan Christian and others. Coal is obtained near the village. Sir Edward Law, lord chief justice of the court of king's bench, derived his title from this place, being created Baron Ellenborough in 1802.