Wall - Wallsend

Wall

WALL, a chapelry, in the parish of St. John Lee, union of Hexham, S. division of Tindale ward and of Northumberland, 3¾ miles (N. by W.) from Hexham; containing 437 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Beaumont family: the tithes have been commuted for £274. The chapel, dedicated to St. Oswald, was erected by the monks of Hexham, upon the spot where King Oswald, who was afterwards canonized, raised the standard of the Cross, and defeated the Britons under Cadwalla. A silver coin of the saint was found when the chapel underwent repair, and a mutilated Roman altar lies in the cemetery; adjoining is a field, where human skulls and fragments of military weapons have been often turned up by the plough.

Wall

WALL, a hamlet, in the parish of St. Michael, Lichfield, union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 2½ miles (S. S. W.) from Lichfield; containing 91 inhabitants. The Rev. Burnes Floyer gave a piece of land for the site of a district church, and John Smith, Esq., £500 towards the building; it was erected in 1843, at a cost of about £1400, and is a neat edifice with a bell-tower. The church is dedicated to St. John, and the living is in the gift of the Incumbent of St. Michael's. There is a day and Sunday school. The hamlet is intersected by the Watling-street, and is the ancient Roman station Etocetum, of which many vestiges may still be traced in the walls.

Wall-Town

WALL-TOWN, a township, in the parish and union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 3 miles (N. W. by W.) from Haltwhistle; containing 85 inhabitants. This was one of the twelve villes of South Tindale which, in 1315, prayed the king for remedy against William de Soules, to whom Robert de Brus, King of Scotland, had given the manor of Wark, in Tindale, in which these townships were situated. In Henry VIII.'s time Wall-Town was the property of the Ridleys, who continued here till the reign of Charles I., if not later; and the place has been subsequently owned by the families of Marshall, Bacon, and Wastell. The Roman wall passed through the township, in which were the stations Vindolana, now termed Little Chesters, and Æsica, called Great Chesters, the ramparts of which, particularly of the latter, where are also considerable traces of a town, are in better preservation than those of any other station on the wall. Roman baths, altars, tombstones, inscriptions, curious pieces of sculpture, and numerous other relics of antiquity, have been found in both; and in a neighbouring hill called Chapel-Steads, many urns have been discovered. Near the military road connecting the two stations are some tumuli, termed the Four Lawes; and on an adjoining hill a rude monument of three large stones, vulgarly called the Mare and Foals. The tower of Wall-Town, which was a castellated building, is described, in 1542, as the inheritance of John Ridley, and in good repair; at present only the site is visible, the ruins having been used in the construction of a modern farmhouse.

Wallasea, Isle Of

WALLASEA, ISLE OF, in the parishes of Canewdon, Eastwood, Paglesham, Great Stambridge, and Little Wakering, union and hundred of Rochford, S. division of Essex, 6 miles (E. N. E.) from Rochford. It is now a peninsula, formed by the rivers Crouch and Broomhill, and joined to the main land by a causeway, kept up at the expense of the several parishes.

Wallasey (St. Hilary)

WALLASEY (St. Hilary), a parish, in the union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester; containing, with the villages of Egremont and New Brighton, the township of Seacombe with Poolton, and the township of Liscard, 6261 inhabitants, of whom 942 are in Wallasey township. This parish, situated in the north-west corner of the county, is a peninsula of triangular form, bounded on the west by the Irish Sea, on the north-east by the Mersey, and on the south-east by a branch of the Mersey, called Wallasey Pool or the new Birkenhead Float. Bordering on the sea are sand-hills, forming a natural barrier against its encroachments. Many handsome houses and marine villas have been erected on the banks of the Mersey, and the villages near the river are much frequented for bathing. An act was passed in 1845 for paving, lighting, and otherwise improving the parish, and for establishing a market. By the sea side is an ancient mansion denominated Mockbeggar Hall, or more properly, Leasowe Castle, formerly a seat of the Egertons. The building originally consisted only of an octagonal tower, with square turrets on the alternate faces; in 1818 great additions were made to it, and many alterations since, so that the castle is now of considerable extent. It is a decorative stone structure containing several handsome apartments, among which is one fitted up with the oak panelling that covered the walls of the celebrated Star Chamber at Westminster, and which was purchased on the demolition of the old Exchequer Buildings, in 1836. Between the village and the shore is the inclosure (formerly a common) named the Leasowe, where races, of very early origin, were held till 1760; here the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth ran his horse, in the reign of Charles II., won the plate, and presented it to the daughter of the mayor of Chester. The parish comprises 3276 acres, whereof 3015 are in cultivation, and the remainder sand-hills, which are now designed for building-plots: 1789 acres are in Wallasey township. The soil varies from stiff marl to sand; the general surface is flat, and there are some quarries of sandstone. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 0. 2½.; net income, £393; patron, the Bishop of Chester. A tithe rent-charge of £230 is paid to the bishop, and one of like amount to the rector, who has 30 acres of glebe. The church, rebuilt about 90 years since, except the tower, which bears date 1560, stands in the centre of the parish, on a hill composed of red-sandstone: it was enlarged in 1837. There were two other churches prior to the Dissolution, appropriated to Birkenhead Abbey, but no traces exist of them, though a path is still called the Kirkway. A school is endowed with land producing £90 per annum. Near the rectory-house, under an ash-tree, is a very large and curious bed of muscle-shells. At Egremont and Seacombe are separate incumbencies, of recent creation.

Wallbottle

WALLBOTTLE, a township, in the parish of Newburn, union and W. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland, 4¾ miles (W. by N.) from Newcastle, on the road to Hexham and Carlisle; containing 683 inhabitants. It is the property of the Duke of Northumberland, lord of Newburn manor, and comprises 1241a. 1r. 29p., of which 905 acres are arable, 273 meadow and pasture, 5 woodland, and 58 occupied with buildings, roads, and waste. The soil produces good crops of wheat, barley, and oats, and a portion of it grows turnips and potatoes. From the higher grounds are extensive views of the south side of the river Tyne, and of its fine valley. In the township are several beds of coal, the lowest seam of the Newcastle series being worked here: whinstone and freestone, also, are quarried, the former for the roads, and the latter for building. The Newcastle and Carlisle railway passes about two miles south of the village. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans; also two schools, for one of which the owners of the colliery provide the schoolroom. The site of the Roman wall may be traced through the township.

Wallcott

WALLCOTT, a hamlet, in the parish of Charlbury, union of Chipping-Norton, hundred of Chadlington, county of Oxford, 5½ miles (S. S. E.) from ChippingNorton; containing 9 inhabitants.

Wallditch (St. Mary)

WALLDITCH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bridport, hundred of Godderthorne, Bridport division of Dorset, l½ mile (E. by S.) from Bridport; containing 191 inhabitants. It comprises about 308 acres, and is situated on the road from Bridport to Dorchester. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £54; patrons and impropriators, the Rolle family, and J. Bragge, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £60, and the incumbent's for £33; the impropriate glebe comprises 28 acres. The church, once a free chapel or chantry, is a small neat edifice, forming a picturesque object as seen from the surrounding hills.

Wallerscoat

WALLERSCOAT, a township, in the parish of Weaverham. union of Northwich, Second division of the hundred of Eddisbury, S. division of the county of Chester, 1½ mile (W.) from Northwich; containing 8 inhabitants, and comprising 116 acres of land.

Wallerthwaite.—See Markington.

WALLERTHWAITE.—See Markington.

Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, a borough and market - town, havingexclusivejurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the hundred of Moreton, county of Berks, 15 miles (N. N. W.) from Reading, and 46 (W. by N.) from London; containing, with the extra-parochial liberty of the castle, 2780 inhabitants. The name is derived from the ancient British word Guallen, or the Roman Vallum, each signifying "an old fort," and from a ford over the Thames: the place is supposed to have been the principal station of the Attrebatii, and was converted into a strong fortification by the Romans. On the arrival of the Saxons, it became one of their chief forts, and continued to be of considerable repute until it was burnt by the Danes in 1006, from the effects of which calamity it, however, speedily recovered. In the reign of Edward the Confessor, it had risen to the dignity of a royal prescriptive borough. At the Conquest, William, having arrived with his army, received here the homage of Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, and many other prelates and barons. During the civil war between Stephen and the Empress Matilda, the castle was occupied for the latter. The honour, becoming vested in the crown, was given by Richard I. to his brother John; and Henry III., on being elected King of the Romans, entertained all the prelates and barons in the castle. Having been afterwards annexed, by act of parliament, to the duchy of Cornwall, on the reversion of the duchy estates to the crown, the castle and manor were granted to Cardinal Wolsey, who conferred them on his then newly-erected college of Christ-Church, Oxford; and in Camden's time, part of the castle was used as an occasional retreat in time of sickness, by the students of that college. At the commencement of the parliamentary war, it was repaired and garrisoned by the royalists, who kept it till nearly the close of the war; in 1653, it was demolished, and at present, part of a wall towards the river is all that remains of this ancient and celebrated structure. A portion of the buildings, called the Priests' Chambers, has been converted into a malt-house.

The town is situated on the road between Reading and Oxford, and has a remarkably neat and clean appearance. It consists principally of a handsome marketplace and two streets, well paved, and lighted with gas, under an act obtained in 1795; and is abundantly supplied with water. Across the river Thames, which passes on the eastern side of the town, is a fine stone bridge of several arches, about 300 yards in length, constructed in 1809, in lieu of a dilapidated structure supposed to have been built five centuries before: there is a rent-charge of £42 per annum on houses for its repair, under the management of trustees appointed by an act of the 49th of George III. Some business is done in malting, but it is not so extensive as formerly, A line of communication has been opened with Birmingham, Bath, and Bristol, by means of a canal navigation running into the Thames, by which river coal is brought hither, and corn and flour are conveyed to London and other places: the Great Western railway, also, passes near the town. The market is on Friday; and a statute and pleasure fair is held on September 29th. Wallingford has received charters from various sovereigns: by the act 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, the corporation consists of a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors; and the number of magistrates is six. The borough formerly returned two members to parliament: it now sends only one, and the right of election has been extended to the £10 householders of an enlarged district; the old borough comprised 435 acres, and the new comprehends 16,352. In former times, criminals convicted capitally in the borough, for the first time, had their lives spared on certain conditions; and in the 45th of Henry III., a return made by the jurors declared, that no person belonging to the place ought to be executed for one offence. The powers of the county debt-court of Wallingford, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Wallingford, and part of that of Henley. Petty-sessions for the division are held every Friday.

Wallingford comprises the parishes of All Hallows, containing 172; St. Leonard, 883; St. Mary-le-More, 1241; and St. Peter, 476 inhabitants. The living of All Hallows' is a sinecure rectory, in the patronage of Pembroke College, Oxford: certain tithes in the parish which belong to the Dean and Canons of Windsor, have been commuted for £45. 10.; and others, in the possession of Pembroke College, for £283, with a glebe of 3½ acres. The church was demolished in 1648. The living of St. Leonard's is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Sotwell annexed, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 6., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £153. The church is a very ancient building, with a few Norman remains. The living of St. Maryle-More's is a discharged rectory, valued at £4, and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £137. The church is a very handsome edifice, situated in the space near the market-house, with a square embattled tower, on which is the figure of an armed knight on horseback, supposed to represent King Stephen: this tower, which bears the date of 1658, was built by the corporation, with materials said to have been taken from the ruins of the castle. The living of St. Peter's is a discharged rectory, valued at £6. 1. 3.; net income, £100; patron, W. S. Blackstone, Esq. The church is a fine structure, bearing date 1769, with a square tower surmounted by an elegant spire of Portland stone, supported on pillars and arches, and erected in 1777, by subscription, to which the learned Sir William Blackstone, who was an inhabitant of the town, and whose remains are deposited in the church, was a liberal contributor. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of friends, Independents, Calvinists, and Wesleyans; also a free school established in 1659 by Walter Bigg, alderman of London, by whom it was endowed with £10 per annum. An almshouse for six widows was founded, and endowed with £34 per annum, in 1681, by William Angier and Mary his sister; and the endowment has been augmented by subsequent benefactions. The poor-law union of Wallingford comprises 28 parishes or places, 17 of which are in Berks, and 11 in Oxfordshire; and contains a population of 13,930. On Wittenham Hill (the ancient Sinodun), in the neighbourhood, are some remains of a Roman camp, where numerous coins have been found. Richard de Wallingford, abbot of St. Alban's, a celebrated mathematician and mechanic; and John de Wallingford, a monk of the same abbey, are supposed to have been natives of the town. Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, widow of the Black Prince, died here in 1385.

Wallingford (St. Mary)

WALLINGFORD (St. Mary), a. parish, in the union of Buntingford, hundred of Odsey, county of Hertford, 3 miles (E.) from Baldock; containing 274 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 15. 2½., and in the gift of the Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge: the tithes have been commuted for £458. 16. The church is an ancient structure, with an embattled tower, surmounted by a short spire; on the north side of the chancel are several mutilated altar-tombs, and other sepulchral remains.

Wallington (St. Margaret)

WALLINGTON (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Downham, hundred of Clackclose, W. division of Norfolk, 3½ miles (N. by E.) from Downham; containing, with Thorpland, 77 inhabitants. The parish comprises about 574 acres, and is on the road to Lynn. Not far from the village is a station of the Lynn and Ely railway. Wallington Hall, formerly the seat of the Coningsbys and the Gawdys, is a handsome mansion, situated in a well-wooded park, in which are the tower and spire of the ancient church, now a ruin. The living is a rectory, united to that of South Runcton: the tithes have been commuted for £100.

Wallington

WALLINGTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Beddington, union of Croydon, Second division of the hundred of Wallington, E. division of Surrey, 2¾ miles (W. by S.) from Croydon; containing 934 inhabitants. This place, called in Domesday book Woleton, gives name to the hundred. Here was formerly a chapel, pulled down in 1791; it had latterly been used as a stable and cart-house. The building was of stone and flints: on each side of the east window was a niche, of rich pointed architecture; and at the south-east corner was another niche, for holy water. On the road to the village of Beddington are some national schools, built in 1843, at the cost of £1300.

Wallington-Demesne

WALLINGTON-DEMESNE, a township, in the parish of Hartburn, union of Morpeth, N. E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 12½ miles (W. by S.) from Morpeth; containing 167 inhabitants. The township consists of 1781 acres, of which 664 are arable, 954 pasture, and 163 woodland. It was formerly the property of the Fenwicks, and in the beginning of the last century became that of Sir Walter Blackett, who built the mansion-house, and laid out the park and surrounding grounds; from him it passed to the Trevelyans, an ancient Somersetshire family, now represented by Sir John Trevelyan, Bart. The house is a large and imposing structure, and the extensive pleasure-grounds display some taste, and present many fine views; it contains a well-selected museum of natural history. Most of the land is tithe-free; a rent-charge of £1, 4. only is paid to the vicar of Hartburn. In pulling down the remains of Fenwick Tower here, in 1775, several hundred gold nobles, of the coinage of Edward III., were found in an open stone chest, supposed to have been concealed in 1360 on the invasion of David, King of Scotland, who made prisoners the two sons of Sir John Fenwick, then owner of the castle.

Wallingwells

WALLINGWELLS, an extra-parochial liberty, partly in the S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, but chiefly in the Hatfield division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, county of Nottingham, 3¾ miles (N. by W.) from Worksop; containing 36 inhabitants. A Benedictine nunnery in honour of the Virgin Mary was founded here in the reign of Stephen, by Ralph de Cheroulcourt, and at the Dissolution had a revenue of £88. 11. 6. The district is included within the consolidated chapelry of Woodsetts, and comprises 612 acres, the property of Sir Thomas Woollaston White, Bart., whose mansion, erected on the site of the ancient priory, is beautifully situated in an extensive and richly-wooded park. In excavating near the house, in 1829, several stone coffins were found, and amongst them that of Dame Margery Dourant, second abbess of the convent, who died in the reign of Richard I.

Wallop, Nether (St. Andrew)

WALLOP, NETHER (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Stockbridge, hundred of Thorngate, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 7 miles (S. W. by S.) from Andover; containing 949 inhabitants. The parish comprises 7201a. 3r. 32p., of which the soil is chiefly chalk, and the surface hilly; the lower grounds are watered by a stream. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 13. 4., and in the gift of the Subchanter and Vicars Choral of York: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £346. 18., and the glebe comprises two acres. The church is an ancient structure, and contains several old monuments, among which are a brass to Lady Gore, an abbess, dated 1432, and one to a mitred abbot: in the churchyard is a pyramidal monument to Dr. Douce. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans. A national school is endowed with £17 per annum bequeathed by Dr. Douce in 1759, and with £21 by William Warwick, Esq., in 1826; Dr. Douce also left £12 a year for the poor. On a point, or head, of an elevated ridge called Danebury Hill or Bill, are remains of a circular fortification, with lofty ramparts inclosing an extensive area. A short distance to the west is an outwork, for the defence of that side; while on the east and north sides, where the ground is more steep, is a single ditch only: the entrance is by a winding course, strengthened by embankments. In the adjacent country are several barrows, two of which, two miles distant from the camp, are called Canute's barrows.

Wallop, Over (St. Peter)

WALLOP, OVER (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Stockbridge, hundred of Thorngate, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 7 miles (S. W.) from Andover; containing 481 inhabitants. It comprises 4576 acres, of which 118 are common or waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £27. 5. 2½., and in the gift of the Earl of Portsmouth: the tithes have been commuted for £820, and there are 9 acres of glebe. The church is an ancient structure, and contains several monuments, among which is one to the late lady of the Rev. Henry Wake, who was first cousin to the Earl of Portsmouth.

Wallsend (Holy Cross)

WALLSEND (Holy Cross), a parish, in the union of Tynemouth, E. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland, 3½ miles (E. N. E) from Newcastle, on the road to North Shields and Tynemouth; containing, with the townships of Howden-Pans and Willington, 4758 inhabitants, of whom 1988 are in Wallsend township. This parish, the name of which is obviously derived from its situation at the extremity of the wall of Severus on the east, contained the Roman station Segedunum, so called from its position, and from its having been a magazine for corn, whence stations in the interior were supplied. The place was garrisoned by the first cohort of the Lergi, who were posted here for the defence of shipping; and an altar to Jupiter, centurial stones, tegulæ, horns and bones of various animals, and evident traces of the ramparts, and of three of the turrets, with other curious relics, have been found upon the spot. Beyond this point the wall does not appear to have been continued; the Tyne itself, near its influx into the ocean, forming, by its great breadth and depth, a sufficient barrier. The ruins of a quay still further evince that this was a considerable trading colony of the Romans, who nearly sixteen centuries since discharged their freights where now are numerous staiths projecting from the northern bank of the Tyne, at which vessels are continually taking in immense quantities of the celebrated coal termed Wallsend, for the London and other markets. The parish comprises about 2038 acres, of which the soil is generally a strong clay, producing good wheat; Wallsend township consists of several small estates held under leases from the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The village is situated on the north side of, and about a field's breadth from, the Shields road; it has a spacious green in the centre, and contains some good houses. To the south-west of the village is Carville House, a fine old mansion, surrounded with thriving plantations, and commanding fine views of the river. There are several yards for ship-building, some extensive roperies, limekilns, and manufactories for copperas and earthenware, a steam corn-mill, and several ballast-quays: John Carr and Company have large coke-works. At Howden and Carville are stations on the Newcastle and Tynemouth railway.

The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, with a net income of £250: the tithes of Wallsend township have been commuted for £193 payable to the impropriators, and £75 payable to the incumbent, who has 42 acres of glebe. The present church, a stone building with a spire, situated on the turnpike-road, at some distance from the village, was erected at an expense of nearly £5000, of which about £3300 were raised by tontine; the first stone was laid in 1807, and the edifice was consecrated in August 1809. Two galleries were erected in 1830, containing 300 free sittings; and an excellent organ has been supplied, and a new clock placed in the tower, through the exertions of the present incumbent, the Rev. J. Armstrong, by whom also the churchyard has been tastefully planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers, and surrounded by a substantial wall. The old church, which is supposed to have been built in the 11th century, is now a ruin; the porch and west end are still standing, and the inner entrance of the porch contains a fine specimen of an early Norman arch. One Allanus is recorded as "Presbyter de Valeshead" in 1153, at which period the parish was called Valeshead, from its situation at the head of a valley or dene. The Methodists, Independents, and Anti-Burghers have places of worship.