Willoughby - Wilstrop

Willoughby (St. Helen)

WILLOUGHBY (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Spilsby, Wold division of the hundred of Calceworth, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 3½ miles (S. S. E.) from Alford; containing 661 inhabitants, and including the hamlets of Abbertoft, Asthorpe, Bonthorpe, Butter-Bump, Mawthorpe, Sandfield, Sloothby, and Wytche. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £39. 10. 2½., and in the gift of Lord Willoughby de Eresby: the tithes have been commuted for £1020, and the glebe comprises 50 acres. The church contains an altar-tomb with the recumbent effigy of a Knight Templar. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Anthony Barnes, in 1728, bequeathed land now producing more than £25 per annum, for teaching and apprenticing children.

Willoughby (St. Nicholas)

WILLOUGHBY (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Rugby, Rugby division of the hundred of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick, 3 miles (S. by E.) from Dunchurch; containing 446 inhabitants. This place, in the neighbourhood of which many Roman antiquities have been discovered, is in Domesday book called Wilbere and Wilebei. It was formerly of much more importance than it is at present, and enjoyed a market and fairs, to which, from the name of a small hamlet in the parish, called Pie Court, it seems probable a court of pie-poudre was attached. The parish is bounded on the east, and partly on the north and south, by the county of Northampton; it comprises 1711 acres, of fertile soil, and at the eastern end is intersected by the Oxford canal. Here are some sulphureous and saline springs, resembling those at Harrogate, efficacious in cases of scrofula, and in scorbutic and cutaneous diseases. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 4. 4.; net income, £217, with a house; patrons and impropriators, the President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford. The church is a spacious and neat structure in the later English style, with a low square embattled tower; the chancel was rebuilt in 1779. A school was founded in 1816, and a school-house erected at a cost of £460, paid by the trustees of property amounting to £400 per annum, bequeathed by various benefactors for charitable uses: the school is on the national system.

Willoughby-In-The-Wolds (St. Mary and All Saints)

WILLOUGHBY-IN-THE-WOLDS (St. Mary and All Saints), a parish, in the union of Loughborough, S. division of the wapentake of Rushcliffe and of the county of Nottingham, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Loughborough; containing 569 inhabitants. According to Horsley, this was the Roman station Vernometum, but Gale and Stukeley fix Margidunum here. In the great civil war, an engagement took place commonly termed the battle of Willoughby Field. The parish is situated about two miles distant from the road between Nottingham and Melton-Mowbray, and half a mile south-east of the Roman fosse-road. It comprises by measurement 2000 acres, whereof three-fourths are pasture, and the remainder arable; the soil is chiefly a cold clay. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 18. 6½.; net income, £87; patron, T. Dodson, Esq.: the tithes were commuted for land in 1793. The church contains 400 sittings, of which 238 are free. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. In a field called Herrings, or Black Field, are traces of an old town, where many coins, pavements, and other relics of antiquity have been found; and in the centre of the village stands a cross, the shaft consisting of one stone, fifteen feet high, resting on four steps. On a tumulus called Cross Hill, an annual revel is held.

Willoughby, Scott (St. Andrew)

WILLOUGHBY, SCOTT (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 3 miles (N. W. by N.) from Falkingham; containing 22 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road between Grantham and Donington, and comprises 560 acres, of which 220 are arable, 330 grass, and 10 woodland. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 1. 3., and in the gift of Earl Brownlow; net income, £160. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1795; the glebe comprises 4 acres. The church is a neat edifice, built about 20 years since.

Willoughby, Silk (St. Denis)

WILLOUGHBY, SILK (St. Denis), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 2 miles (S. S. W.) from Sleaford; containing 227 inhabitants. This parish, in 1494 termed North Willoughby, received the adjunct Silk from the circumstance of a hamlet, anciently called Silkby, being about that period added to it. The manor was possessed by Sir William Armyn, at first keeper of the privy seal and vice-chancellor to Edward II., and afterwards lord chancellor, and bishop of Norwich; it remained in the family until 1662. The parish comprises by measurement about 2500 acres, and is situated on the road from Sleaford to Falkingham. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 8. l½., and in the gift of the Earl of Dysart: the tithes have been commuted for £625, and the glebe consists of 11½ acres, with a house. The church is a handsome structure, with a well-proportioned tower and spire; the body is principally in the decorated English style, and the chancel of later date. In the latter are three stalls, some fine screen-work of wood, and fragments of ancient stained glass; the font is a rare specimen of the Norman style of interweaving arches. Some tumuli are visible.

Willoughby-Waterless (St. Mary)

WILLOUGHBY-WATERLESS (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton, S. division of the county of Leicester, 6 miles (N. N. E.) from Lutterworth; containing 348 inhabitants. It comprises 1100 acres. The Midland railway runs at the distance of about a mile and a half. The manufacture of stockings affords employment to about twenty-five families. The living is a rectory, with the vicarage of Peatling Magna united in 1729, valued in the king's books at £11. 11. 3.; net income, £347; patron, the Rev. John Miles; impropriator of Peatling Magna, J. R. Swindall, Esq. There are 46 acres of glebe, with a house. The church is a plain edifice.

Willoughby, West

WILLOUGHBY, WEST, a hamlet, in the parish of Ancaster, poor-law union of Grantham, wapentake of Loveden, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln; containing 67 inhabitants.

Willoughton (St. Andrew)

WILLOUGHTON (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, W. division of the wapentake of Aslacoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 8½ miles (E. by N.) from Gainsborough; containing 581 inhabitants. An alien priory, a cell to the abbey of St. Nicholas at Angiers, is said to have existed here. Roger de Buslei and Simon de Canci, in the time of Stephen, gave a moiety of the church, and the greater part of the town, to the Knights Templars, who had a preceptory here, which from that order came to the Hospitallers, and at the Dissolution was valued at £219. 19. 8. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 4. 2.; net income, £192; patrons, alternately, King's College, Cambridge, and the Earl of Scarborough, the latter of whom is impropriator. The tithes were commuted for land in 1768. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Wills-Pastures

WILLS-PASTURES, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Southam, Southarn division of the hundred of Knightlow, S. division of the county of Warwick; containing 13 inhabitants, and 146 acres.

Willsworthy

WILLSWORTHY, a hamlet, in the parish of St. Peter Tavy, union of Tavistock, hundred of Lifton, Tavistock and S. divisions of the county of Devon, 6 miles (N. E. by N.) from Tavistock; containing 91 inhabitants. It is situated a little east of the road between Oakhampton and Tavistock.

Wilmington (St. Michael)

WILMINGTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Dartford, hundred of Axton, Dartford, and Wilmington, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent, 1 mile (S.) from Dartford; containing 845 inhabitants. It comprises 1715 acres, of which 393 are in wood. The celebrated Earl of Warwick, in the reign of Edward IV., resided at the manor-house in the village. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 17. 6.; net income, £340; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church occupies the summit of a hill near the high road, and has a handsome spire-steeple.

Wilmington (St. Mary and St. Peter)

WILMINGTON (St. Mary and St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Eastbourne, hundred of Longbridge, rape of Pevensey, E. division of Sussex, 4½ miles (S. W.) from Hailsham; containing 314 inhabitants. A Benedictine priory, a cell to the abbey of Grestein, in Normandy, was founded here in the time of William Rufus. It was valued at 240 marks per annum, and was sold by licence of Henry IV. to the Dean and Chapter of Chichester, to whom it was confirmed by Henry V., towards founding a chantry of two priests in the cathedral. Some portions of the priory have been converted into a farmhouse, one of the rooms in which exhibits a groined roof; the gateway still remains. The parish is on the road from Lewes to Eastbourne, and comprises by measurement 1744 acres: the village is situated on the north-east declivity of the South Downs, on an elevated site commanding extensive views. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the gift of the Earl of Burlington: the great tithes have been commuted for £65, and the vicarial for £51. 16.; the glebe comprises 4 acres. The church is principally in the early and decorated styles, and consists of a nave and chancel, with chapels on the north and south sides, and a small tower surmounted by a spire; in the churchyard is a fine yew-tree, six yards in circumference at two feet from the ground. Wilmington gives the title of Baron to the Marquess of Northampton.

Wilmslow (St. Bartholomew)

WILMSLOW (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Altrincham, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 8 miles (N. W. by N.) from Macclesfield; containing, with the townships of Bollin-Fee, Chorley, Fulshaw, and Pownall-Fee, 4973 inhabitants. This parish comprises by measurement 7050 acres, of which the soil is red and grey marl; the pasture land is rich, the arable also highly productive, and the surface undulated. It is situated on the road from Manchester to Birmingham, and is intersected by the small river Bollin, on the bank of which, about a quarter of a mile east of the church, is Bollin Hall. On the same river are two cotton-mills and a silk-mill; the former, at Styal, afford employment on the average to 400 persons. The railway from Manchester to Crewe runs through the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £32. 15.; net income, £955; patron, Sir Thomas Joseph de Trafford, Bart. The church is a handsome and very ancient structure in the decorated and later English styles, with a square tower; it comprises a nave, chancel, and two aisles, of which the east end of one and the west end of the other are inclosed as sepulchral chapels, for the families of Dunham and Trafford. Near the altar are brasses with inscriptions to Sir Robert Booth, of Dunham, and Douce Venables his wife; also the figure of a divine, with an inscription to Henry Treffort, rector, 1537. In the north chapel are two altar-tombs sunk in the wall, on which are figures representing the Newtons of Newton and Pownall. There is also a chapel of more recent date, in which are several tombs of the Leigh family, of Hawthorn Hall, near Wilmslow. The Wesleyans, Calvinistic Methodists, Quakers, and Unitarians, have places of worship. A workhouse was established about 1780 on Lindow common, and land now producing more than £200 per annum was assigned for its support; but it has been disused since the introduction of the present poor-law. Some remains exist of an ancient chapel, forming part of a farmhouse.

Wilncote

WILNCOTE, a hamlet, partly in the parish of Old Stratford, hundred of Barlichway, Stratford division, and partly in the parish of Aston-Cantlow, hundred of Hemlingford, Birmingham division, of the county of Warwick; containing 415 inhabitants. It is on the west bank of the Stratford and Avon canal. A chapel, dedicated to St. Andrew, was consecrated in 1841; it cost £2000, and has two painted windows.

Wilne (St. Chad)

WILNE (St. Chad), a parish, in the union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 7¾ miles (S. E.) from Derby; containing 2057 inhabitants. It includes the liberties of Draycott and Church Wilne, the hamlet of Hopwell, the parochial chapelry of Breaston, and part of Risley; and comprises 1380 acres, whereof a third is arable, and the remainder pasture: the surface is level, and the soil alluvial. The river Derwent bounds the parish on the south for three miles, and propels the machinery of an extensive cotton concern erected half a century ago, now conducted by Thomas Draper, Esq., and employing 200 persons. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Sawley: the tithes were commuted for land in 1763. The church is an ancient edifice with a tower, and contains a private chapel built by the Willoughby family, in the windows of which is some stained glass.

Wilne, Church

WILNE, CHURCH, a liberty, in the parish of Wilne, union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby; containing 223 inhabitants.

Wilne, Far, or Great, with Shardlow

WILNE, FAR, or GREAT, with Shardlow, a township, in the parish of Aston-upon-Trent, union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 7¾ miles (S. E. by E.) from Derby; containing 1306 inhabitants, of whom 263 are in the hamlet of Wilne, which comprises 250 acres of rich land. The Derwent runs past the village, and soon after has its confluence with the Trent.—See Shardlow.

Wilnecote

WILNECOTE, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Tamworth, Tamworth division of the hundred of Hemlingford, N. division of the county of Warwick, 2 miles (S. E. by S.) from Tamworth; containing 718 inhabitants. This chapelry, sometimes called Willowencote, comprises by measurement 1005 acres, chiefly pasture land. Collieries and limekilns have been established of late; and here is a station of the Birmingham and Derby railway. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £90; patron, the Vicar of Tamworth. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was rebuilt in the year 1821, by subscription, aided by a grant from the Incorporated Society.

Wilnecote, near Alcester.—See Wilncote.

WILNECOTE, near Alcester.—See Wilncote.

Wilpshire

WILPSHIRE, a township, in the parish, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Blackburn, N. division of Lancashire, 3¼ miles (N. by E.) from Blackburn; containing 281 inhabitants. This place appears to have been the property of the Braddylls, and of the monks of Whalley. In after times the township became a possession of the Walmesleys, of whom Sir Thomas Walmesley died seised of the estate in the reign of Charles I. It was then called "Libshire alias Wilpshire," and the people of the district still give it the name of Lipshaw. Lord de Tabley is now the chief proprietor. The road from Blackburn to Whalley passes on the eastern extremity of the township.

Wilsden

WILSDEN, a township, and, with Allerton, a district parish, in the parish and union of Bradford, wapentake of Morley, W. riding of York, 5 miles (N. W.) from Bradford; the township containing 2684 inhabitants. This township is divided into Lower and Upper, the former including part of the ancient manor of Allerton, and the latter the Hallowes or Hallas estate, Manuels, Birchin-Lee, and a small portion of Cullingworth. It comprises by measurement 2607 acres. The lands are distinguished as the old and new cultivations, the old separated into small farms, and the new greatly extended and improved by the growth of the worsted manufacture; the soil is various, but principally adapted to dairy purposes, and the arable land to the production of oats. The neighbourhood abounds with coal, of which several mines are in operation, and with freestone of good quality, which is extensively quarried, and with which the inhabitants are supplied from one of the quarries, for building, free of expense. The scenery is striking, and in the north-eastern part beautifully picturesque, embracing towards Bingley an extensive prospect. At Manuels is a stream of water rising from numerous springs, and discharging about 400 gallons per minute; it belongs to the New Water-works' Company at Bradford. On Harden Beck is a cascade called the Hallas Lumb, falling from two several heights of five and fifteen feet, and, from its partial concealment by precipitous and thickly-wooded rocks, having a singularly romantic appearance. The village, which is chiefly modern, consists of a long line of detached and irregularly-built houses, stretching along the northern acclivity of an eminence rising from Harden beck. Its inhabitants are chiefly employed in the worsted manufacture, which is carried on to a very great extent, there being not less than eleven mills and factories. A mechanics' institution was erected in 1827. The church (St. Matthew's), erected near the village, in 1823, by the Church Commissioners, at an expense of nearly £10,000, was consecrated on the 1st of November, 1826; it is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower crowned by pinnacles, and contains 1400 sittings, of which 600 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Bradford; net income, £150. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans.

Wilsford (St. Mary)

WILSFORD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Flaxwell, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 4½ miles (W. S. W.) from Sleaford; containing 429 inhabitants. A Benedictine priory, a cell to the abbey of Bee, in Normandy, was founded here in the reign of Stephen; at the suppression of alien houses it was settled on the abbey of Bourn, in this county, and at the general Dissolution was granted to Charles, Duke of Suffolk. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10; net income, £500; patron and incumbent, the Rev, C. Blackenbury. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1774. The church has a tower and spire, and exhibits an admixture of the early and decorated English styles: the font, which is octagonal, with concave sides, is of later date.

Wilsford (St. Michael)

WILSFORD (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Amesbury, hundred of Underditch, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 1¾ mile (S. W. by W.) from Amesbury; containing, with the tything of Lake, 123 inhabitants, of whom 49 are in Wilsford hamlet. The parish is bounded on the east by the river Avon; the soil is generally a light loam, and the lands are chiefly arable, with a portion of good water-meadow. The ancient manor-house of Lake is a remarkably fine specimen of the Elizabethan style. The living is a vicarage, with that of Woodford consolidated, in the patronage of the Bishop of Salisbury; income, £241.

Wilsford-Dauntsey (St. Nicholas)

WILSFORD-DAUNTSEY (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Pewsey, hundred of Swanborough, Devizes and N. divisions of Wilts, 4½ miles (W. S. W.) from Pewsey; containing, with the tything of Manningford-Bohun, 587 inhabitants, of whom 304 are in Wilsford-Dauntsey township. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 17. 11.; net income, £242; patron and impropriator, the Master of the Hospital of St. Nicholas, Salisbury.

Wilshampstead (All Saints)

WILSHAMPSTEAD (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Redbornestoke, union and county of Bedford, 4 miles (S. by E.) from Bedford; containing 763 inhabitants. The parish is divided by the road between Bedford and Luton, which runs nearly north and south. It comprises 3014a. 1r. 30p., exclusively of ground occupied by cottages and gardens. The eastern side is the better land, bearing turnips, and being easily convertible; the soil of the western portion is more heavy, but produces good wheat, beans, peas, barley, &c. The female cottagers are employed in making bone-lace. The living is a vicarage, endowed with one-third of the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £9. 9. 7.; net income, £280; patron, Lord Carteret; impropriators of the remainder of the rectorial tithes, J. C. Crook, Esq., and another. The tithes were commuted for 269a. 2r. 28p. of land in 1809, and there is a good parsonagehouse, almost entirely built by the late incumbent, in 1816. The church is supposed to have been erected about the time of Henry VII.; the tower fell down on Sunday, April 11th, 1742, being probably shaken by the ringing of the bells. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a small school is endowed with land producing £8 per annum. Samuel Richardson, master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, was born here in 1698; and the Rev. John Gay, author of Prefatory Observations to King's Origin of Evil, and who died in 1745, was vicar.

Wilsick, with Stancill.—See Stancill.

WILSICK, with Stancill.—See Stancill.

Wilsthorpe

WILSTHORPE, a hamlet, in the parish of Sawley, union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 8 miles (E. S. E.) from Derby; containing 56 inhabitants. It lies near the Nottinghamshire border, and comprises 600 acres of fertile loamy land. The Earl of Harrington is lord of the manor, and principal owner of the soil. The Derby and Erewash canals pass through the hamlet.

Wilsthorpe

WILSTHORPE, a chapelry, in the parish of Greatford, union of Stamford, wapentake of Ness, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 5 miles (N. W.) from Market-Deeping; containing 70 inhabitants.

Wilstone

WILSTONE, a hamlet, in the parish of Tring, union of Berkhampstead, hundred of Dacorum, county of Hertford; containing 386 inhabitants.

Wilstrop

WILSTROP, a township, in the parish of KirkHammerton, E. division of Ainsty wapentake, W. riding of the county of York, 7½ miles (W. by N.) from York; containing 86 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Nidd, and comprises by computation 1120 acres; the village consists of scattered houses. The tithes have been commuted for £8, payable to the perpetual curate of Hammerton.