Bourton - Bowes

Bourton

BOURTON, a tything, in the parish and hundred of Shrivenham, union of Farringdon, county of Berks, 7 miles (S. W. by S.) from Farringdon; containing 396 inhabitants; and, according to a survey in 1838, comprising 1182 acres.

Bourton

BOURTON, a hamlet, in the parish, union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 1½ mile (E.) from Buckingham; containing 48 inhabitants.

Bourton

BOURTON, a chapelry, in the parish and liberty of Gillingham, union of Mere, Shaston division of Dorset, 2½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Mere; containing 901 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar and Inhabitants; net income, £50. The chapel has been enlarged within the last few years. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Bourton, with Easton

BOURTON, with Easton, a tything, in the parish of Bishop's Cannings, union of Devizes, hundred of Potterne and Cannings, Devizes and N. divisions of Wilts; containing 216 inhabitants.

Bourton, Black (St. Mary)

BOURTON, BLACK (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Witney, hundred of Bampton, county of Oxford, 4 miles (S. W.) from Witney; containing 331 inhabitants, and comprising about 2250 acres. The living is a discharged vicarage; net income, £151; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £95. The church is in the early English style: in the chancel are the remains of Sir Arthur Hopton, ambassador to the court of Spain in the reign of Charles I., and at the east end of the north aisle are several monuments to the Hungerford family; the pulpit is of stone, exquisitely sculptured in the decorated English style.

Bourton, Flax

BOURTON, FLAX, a parish, in the union of Bedminster, hundred of Portbury, E. division of Somerset, 5½ miles (W. by S.) from Bristol; containing 232 inhabitants. This place derives the adjunct by which it is distinguished from other places of the same name, from the manor having anciently belonged to the abbot of Flaxley, in the county of Gloucester. The parish is situated at the base of a chain of hills forming the commencement of the Mendip range, and, from the higher grounds, commands a fine view of the Bristol Channel, with the distant sea; it comprises an area of 621a. 2r. 3p. of fertile land. The village is pleasantly situated on the road to Weston-super-Mare, at the extremity of the parish; and the Bristol and Exeter railroad passes in the immediate vicinity. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of Nailsea: the tithes have been commuted for £95. The church is a small edifice, chiefly in the Norman style, with a low embattled tower; the entrance is under a beautiful arch of Norman character: in the churchyard are the remains of a very ancient cross.

Bourton, Great and Little

BOURTON, GREAT and LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Cropredy, union and hundred of Banbury, county of Oxford, 3 miles (N.) from Banbury; containing 593 inhabitants. The tithes were commuted for land and money payments in 1777. In Great Bourton is an interesting chapel, in the early English style, now used as a school and house for the master: the school was endowed by Mr. Thomas Gill, with rentcharges on lands now belonging to Sir Egerton Leigh and others, producing a net income of £18 per annum.

Bourtonhold

BOURTONHOLD, a hamlet, in the parish, union, hundred, and county of Buckingham; containing 614 inhabitants.

Bourton-on-the-Hill (St. Lawrence)

BOURTON-on-the-Hill (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Shipston, partly in the Upper division of the hundred of Tewkesbury, and partly in the Upper division of that of Westminster, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 2 miles (W. by N.) from Moreton; containing 542 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, with the living of Moreton annexed, valued in the king's books at £14; net income, £675; patron and incumbent, the Rev. S. W. Warneford: the tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1821. Sir Thomas Overbury, an ingenious writer in the reign of James I., who was poisoned while a prisoner in the Tower, was born here in 1581.

Bourton-on-the-Water (St. Lawrence)

BOURTON-on-the-Water (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Stow-on-the-Wold, Lower division of the hundred of Slaughter, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 4 miles (S. S. W.) from Stow; containing 943 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, with the living of Lower Slaughter annexed, valued in the king's books at £27. 2. 8½., and in the patronage of Wadham College, Oxford; net income, £475. The church is a modern edifice, having a tower at the western end, rising from a rustic basement, with Ionic pilasters at the angles, and surmounted by a balustrade, urns, and cupola; within is a colonnade of the Ionic order. There is a place of worship for Particular Baptists; and a school is endowed with £12 per annum, accruing from property bequeathed by Anthony Collett, in 1719. The Roman Fosse-way passes through the parish; and about a quarter of a mile from the village is a square intrenchment, where coins, and other relics of the Romans, have been discovered: a paved aqueduct was formerly visible on one side of it. John Foster, author of the Essays, resided for some time in the village.

Bourton-upon-Dunsmoor (St. Mary)

BOURTON-upon-Dunsmoor (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Rugby, Rugby division of the hundred of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Dunchurch; containing, with the tything of Draycot, 390 inhabitants. The manor was held by the Verdons, lords of Brandon. In the time of Henry III. it came to the Garshales, in which family it continued in the male line for several generations; it afterwards passed by marriage to the Burdets and Staffords, and from the latter was purchased by the Shuckburghs, of Birdingbury. The parish comprises about 2000 acres, divided into arable and pasture; the surface is undulated, the scenery picturesque: limestone abounds. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £19. 17. 3½., and in the patronage of Mrs. Shuckburgh; net income, £450. The tithes were commuted for land in 1765. The church is an ancient edifice. The Baptists have a place of worship; and there is a small school.

Boustead-Hill

BOUSTEAD-HILL, a township, in the parish of Burgh-upon-the-Sands, union of Carlisle, Cumberland ward, and E. division of Cumberland, 7½ miles (W. N. W.) from Carlisle; containing 74 inhabitants.

Boveney, Lower

BOVENEY, LOWER, a chapelry, in the parish and hundred of Burnham, union of Eton, county of Buckingham, 2 miles (W.) from Eton; containing, with the liberty of Upper Boveney, 362 inhabitants, and comprising 407 acres, of which 70 are common or waste. The chapel, in which divine service is performed once a month, is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. The great tithes have been commuted for £97, and the vicarial for £25.

Boveridge

BOVERIDGE, a tything, in the parish of Cranborne, union of Wimborne and Cranborne, hundred of Monckton-up-Wimborne, Wimborne division of Dorset; containing 174 inhabitants. Here is a chapel of ease, lately rebuilt.

Bovey, North (St. John the Baptist)

BOVEY, NORTH (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Newton-Abbot, hundred of Teignbridge, Crockernwell and S. divisions of Devon, 1¾ mile (S. W. by S.) from Moreton-Hampstead; containing 660 inhabitants, and comprising 4299 acres, of which 2780 are common or waste. The lords of this manor formerly exercised the power of inflicting punishment for capital crimes. The vicinity is noted for mines of tin, which are worked to a considerable extent. A fair for cattle is held on the Monday next after Midsummerday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £22. 10. 5., and in the patronage of the Earl of Devon: the tithes have been commuted for £325, and there are 26 acres of glebe.

Bovey-Tracey (St. Thomas à Becket)

BOVEY-TRACEY (St. Thomas à Becket), a parish, in the union of Newton-Abbot, hundred of Teignbridge, Teignbridge and S. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Chudleigh; containing 1823 inhabitants. This place derives the affix to its name from the family of Tracey, barons of Barnstaple, to whom the manor anciently belonged, and who were descendants of William de Tracey, the chief agent in the assassination of St. Thomas à Becket of Canterbury, in 1170. An encounter took place between the royalist and parliamentarian forces on Bovey-Heathfield. The parish is pleasantly situated near the road from Exeter to Plymouth, and comprises 7186a. 22p., all fertile land with the exception of about 900 acres, which are common or waste: the substrata are chiefly coal of inferior quality, granite, and stone. A manufactory for earthenware is established on Bovey-Heathfield, for which purpose the remains of an ancient building, formerly the priory of Indiho, and subsequently a private mansion, were appropriated in 1772. A canal from Teignmouth to Ventiford bridge, about four miles from the village, and a railroad from the Haytor Rocks to the same place, have been constructed by George Templar, Esq., for the conveyance of wrought granite; they also afford facility for bringing coal, sea-sand, and lime, and sending away Bovey coal, and pipe and potter's clay, which are found here in great plenty. The place is under the government of a portreeve and bailiff; the latter, chosen at the court leet of the lord of the manor, is, after having served that office, appointed portreeve. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £26. 2. 1., and in the patronage of the Crown: the impropriation is in the landholders. The tithes have been commuted for £430, and the glebe comprises 7a. 1r. 10p., with a house. The church is a large edifice in the early English style, of which it displays some interesting details. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans; also a school endowed with a house and garden for the master, and with £35 per annum, arising from lands purchased with the aggregate of various bequests.

Bovingdon

BOVINGDON, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Hemel-Hempstead, hundred of Dacorum, county of Hertford, 4 miles (S. W.) from Hemel-Hempstead; containing 1072 inhabitants. This chapelry comprises 3513 acres, of which 110 are common or waste; it contains the villages of Felden and Bourn-End, and is situated near the Grand Junction canal, and the London and Birmingham railway. Straw-platting is extensively carried on by the women and children. The living is a perpetual curacy, constituted in 1834, and endowed with the vicarial tithes; also by the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty; and by the patron, the Hon. Granville D. Ryder. The impropriate tithes belong to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, and have been commuted for £710; the vicarial have been commuted for £190, and there are 11 acres of glebe. The chapel, dedicated to St. Lawrence, and formerly only a chapel of ease, is a very ancient edifice, exhibiting marks of Anglo-Saxon origin. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans in the village, and for Independents in Box Lane.

Bow, or Nymett-Tracey (St. Bartholomew)

BOW, or Nymett-Tracey (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Crediton, hundred of North Tawton, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon, 7¼ miles (W. by N.) from Crediton; containing 973 inhabitants. The manor anciently belonged to the Tracey family, one of whom, Henry Tracey, obtained in 1258 the grant of a weekly market, and an annual fair: both of these have been discontinued; but fairs for cattle are held on the 9th of March, the 20th of May, and 22nd of November. The parish comprises 2339 acres; 958 are common or waste. The living, to which that of Broad Nymett has been annexed, is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £19. 8. 9., and in the patronage of F. Vandermeulen, Esq.: the tithes of Bow have been commuted for £370, and the glebe comprises 80 acres. The church is a neat edifice.

Bow, or Stratford-Le-Bow (St. Mary)

BOW, or Stratford-le-Bow (St. Mary), a parish, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, union of Poplar, Tower division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 4½ miles (E. N. E.) from London; containing 4626 inhabitants. This place derives its name "Stratford" from an ancient ford over the river Lea, on the line of the Roman stratum, or road from London to Durolitum (Layton, in Essex). It is said that Matilda, queen of Henry I., passing this dangerous ford, narrowly escaped being drowned, and consequently ordered a bridge to be erected, from the arched form of which the village received the adjunct to its name. This bridge, which is supposed to have been the first of its kind erected in the kingdom, was by some referred to the time of Alfred the Great, whose arms were carved on the central stone: it consisted of three groined arches, of which the central arch was considerably larger than the rest; and from the inconvenient narrowness of the bridge, a wooden platform was constructed on the outside of one of the parapets, for the accommodation of foot passengers. An act for rebuilding it was obtained in 1834, and a new bridge was opened with much ceremony on the 14th of Feb. 1839, consisting of one flat elliptical arch, 66 feet in span, rising to the height of 13 feet from the water level, and defended with solid parapets. The village is pleasantly situated; the streets are paved, and lighted with gas, and the inhabitants are supplied with water by the East London Company's works. The manufacture of porcelain, formerly carried on to a considerable extent, has been discontinued; and the fair held at Whitsuntide has, within the last few years, been entirely suppressed. A little to the north of the town, runs the Eastern Counties railway. The powers of the county debt-court of Bow, established in 1847, extend over the parishes of Bow and Bromley, and the registration-district of West Ham. Three headboroughs and a constable are annually appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor.

It was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Stepney, from which it was separated in 1730. The living is a rectory; net income, £319; patrons, the Principal and Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford, by whom an addition was made, a few years since, to the stipend of the rector. The church, founded in the reign of Henry II., is an ancient structure, partly Norman, and partly in the early English style, with a low square tower having a small turret at one of the angles; the east window is ornamented with figures of Moses and Aaron, and the Twelve Apostles, in stained glass. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Baptists, and Roman Catholics; that for the first-named, though belonging to the congregation in this place, is situated within Bromley parish. A free school was founded in 1613, by Sir John Jolles, who endowed it for thirty-four boys of this parish and that of Bromley. Another school for fifty boys was founded in 1701, by Mrs. Prisca Coburne, who endowed it with houses and lands at that time producing £40 per annum; and from the increased value of the property, the income, on the expiration of the present leases, will amount to £500: a schoolroom has been built for 100 children of each sex, the school being under the inspection of the rectors of Bow, and four adjoining parishes. Sir John Jolles also founded and endowed almshouses for eight people; and there are other charitable bequests for the relief of the poor, including one of £1400 in the funds under the will of Mrs. Margaretta Browne, dated in 1826, out of the dividends of which the sum of £20 is paid to the rector.

Bowcombe

BOWCOMBE, a hamlet, in the parish of Carisbrooke, liberty of West Medina, Isle of Wight division of Hants; containing 93 inhabitants.

Bowden, Great (St. Peter)

BOWDEN, GREAT (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Market-Harborough, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester; containing, with the town of Harborough, 3698 inhabitants. The parish comprises upwards of 3000 acres, principally rich grazing-land; the river Welland bounds it on the south, and a branch of the Union canal passes near the village. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £86; patrons, the Dean and Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford. There is a separate incumbency in the town.

Bowden, Little (St. Nicholas)

BOWDEN, LITTLE (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Market-Harborough, hundred of Rothwell, N. division of the county of Northampton, ½ a mile (E. S. E.) from Harborough; containing, with the hamlet of Little Oxendon, 439 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the border of Leicestershire, from which it is separated by the river Welland; and comprises by computation 2366a. 2r. 10p., of which three-fourths are pasture, and one-fourth arable, the surface being moderately undulated, and the soil of the most productive quality. It is closely connected with Harborough by means of two bridges over the Welland, and the roads from that town to Northampton and Kettering intersect the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 4. 2.; net income, £293; patron and incumbent, the Rev. John Barlow. The tithes were commuted for land and money payments in 1779.

Bowden's-Edge

BOWDEN'S-EDGE, a township, in the parish and union of Chapel-en-le-Frith, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the county of Derby, 1½ mile (N. E.) from Chapel-en-le-Frith; containing 1021 inhabitants.

Bowdon, or Bowden (St. Nicholas)

BOWDON, or Bowden (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Altrincham, hundred of Bucklow, N. division of the county of Chester; comprising the chapelries of Altrincham and Carrington, the townships of Ashley, Baguley, Bowdon, Dunham-Massey, Hale, Partington, and Timperley, and part of the townships of Agden, Ashton-upon-Mersey, and Bollington; the whole containing 9373 inhabitants, of whom 549 are in the township of Bowdon, 1 mile (S. W. by S.) from Altrincham. The manor was anciently parcel of the barony of Dunham-Massey; a moiety of it was given, about 1278, to the priory of Birkenhead by Hamon de Massey, the fifth of that name, and the other moiety passed to a younger branch of the Massey family. The Bowdens, Booths, Holcrofts, and Breretons afterwards possessed the lands; and more recently the whole manor became the property of the Earl of Stamford and Warrington. The parish comprises by admeasurement 16,918 acres, whereof 770 are in the township of Bowdon; the soil of the latter is a sandy loam. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £24, and in the gift of the Bishop of Chester: the tithes have been commuted for rent-charges amounting altogether, for the bishop, to £1671. 6., and for the vicar, to £364; the vicar's glebe comprises 37½ acres. The rectorial tithes are leased by the bishop to the Earl of Stamford and Warrington, who, as lord of the barony of Dunham-Massey, appoints four churchwardens for the parish. The church is an ancient structure, commanding an extensive and pleasing panoramic view of the surrounding country: it was annexed to the see of Chester by Henry VIII., on the dissolution of Birkenhead priory. There are three chapels, forming separate incumbencies; viz., Altrincham, built in 1799; Carrington, built about 1760, at the cost of the Countess of Stamford; and Ringway, the date of which is uncertain. Edward Vawdrey, about the year 1600, gave £4 per annum towards the endowment of a grammar school: the schoolroom was rebuilt at the expense of the parishioners, about 1670, and again in 1806. A national school is supported by subscription; and there are also a school for boys at Scamons Moss, and one for boys and girls at Littleheath, the latter founded and endowed by the late Mr. Thomas Walton. The Earl of Warrington in 1754 gave £5000, now amounting to £5610 three per cent. reduced bank annuities, for educating or apprenticing children of the parish, and for the relief of the poor of this and the parish of Barnwell All Saints. A Roman road passed through the parish.

Bower-Chalk (Holy Trinity)

BOWER-CHALK (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Wilton, hundred of Chalk, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 7½ miles (S. W.) from Wilton; containing 447 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, united to the consolidated rectory of Broad Chalk and vicarage of Alvediston.

Bower-Hinton, with Hurst

BOWER-HINTON, with Hurst, a hamlet, in the parish and hundred of Martock, union of Yeovil, W. division of Somerset; containing 688 inhabitants.

Bowers-Gifford (St. Margaret)

BOWERS-GIFFORD (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S. division of Essex, 4½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Rayleigh; containing 249 inhabitants. It comprises about 2400 acres; and is bounded on the south by Holly and East havens, which afford a navigable communication with the Thames. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £25, and in the patronage of Mrs. Curtis; net income, £564. The church is a small ancient edifice, with a tower surmounted by a shingled spire, and consists of a nave and chancel.

Bowes (St. Giles)

BOWES (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of Teesdale, wapentake of Gilling-West, N. riding of York, 6 miles (W. by N.) from Greta-Bridge; containing 850 inhabitants, of whom 763 are in the township of Bowes, and 87 in that of Gillmonby. This place, from its situation on one of the Roman military roads, and from the discovery of numerous relics of antiquity (among which was a votive inscription to the Emperor Adrian, on a stone slab used in the time of Camden as the communion-table in the church), appears to have been the site of a Roman station. Most antiquaries have identified it with the Lavatræ of Antonine, where the first Thracian cohort was stationed, in the reign of Severus, and where also, towards the decline of the Roman empire, were fixed the head-quarters of the "Numerus Exploratorum," and their prefect, under the "Dux Britanniæ." At the time of the Conquest, there were still vestiges of a town, which had been destroyed by fire, from which circumstance Camden supposes the present name of the place to be derived; and within the vallum of the Roman fortress, and with part of the materials, a castle was soon afterwards built by Alan, Earl of Richmond, of which there are considerable remains, occupying the summit of an eminence declining on the south towards the river Greta.

The village consists principally of one street, nearly three-quarters of a mile in length; and has long been noted for its boarding-schools, to which numerous pupils are sent from London, on grounds of economy. It is situated near the verge of Stanemore, and on the banks of the Greta, over which, at the distance of two miles, is a natural bridge of picturesque character, called "God's bridge," formed by a rude arch of limestone rock, sixteen feet in the span, and twenty feet in breadth, affording a passage for carriages. Lead-ore, ironstone, and some coal are found in the neighbourhood. A market which was held on Friday, and a fair on Oct. 1st, have both fallen into disuse. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £90; patron and impropriator, T. Harrison, Esq. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A free grammar school was founded in 1693, by William Hutchinson, who gave an estate now producing £258 per annum, for the instruction of children and for supplying the poor with coal. This place is interesting as the scene of Mallet's pathetic ballad of Edwin and Emma, which has reference to Roger Wrightson and Martha Railton, both of whom, according to the parish register, were interred here in the same grave, March 15th, 1714.