Farndon - Farnworth

Farndon (St. Chad)

FARNDON (St. Chad), a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, Higher division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester; containing, with the townships of Barton, Churton, Clutton, and Crewe, 999 inhabitants, of whom 521 are in the township of Farndon, 8 miles (S.) from Chester. This parish is situated on the road to Wrexham, and bounded on the west by the river Dee, which separates it from the county of Denbigh; it comprises 2796a. 1r. 35p., of which 884 acres are in Farndon township. There are some quarries of red sandstone for ordinary uses. The river is navigable for small boats, and over it is a bridge, erected in 1345, formerly of ten arches, whereof eight are still remaining; it affords communication with the borough of Holt. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £115; patron and impropriator, the Marquess of Westminster, whose tithes in Farndon township have been commuted for £104. The church, an ancient structure in the early English style, on a sandstone rock of considerable elevation, was garrisoned in the civil war by the parliamentary forces, and in consequence sustained great injury during the siege of Holt Castle, in 1645; in 1658 it was repaired: it contains some interesting monuments, and has a curious stained window representing several persons who commanded in Chester during the war. A parochial school was erected in 1623. John Speed, the celebrated topographer and historian, was born here in 1552.

Farndon, West

FARNDON, WEST, a hamlet, in the parish of Woodford, union of Daventry, hundred of Chipping-Warden, S. division of the county of Northampton, 9½ miles (S. S. W.) from the town of Daventry; containing 128 inhabitants.

Farndon (St. Peter)

FARNDON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Newark, S. division of the wapentake of Newark and of the county of Nottingham, 2¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Newark; containing 575 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the west by the Trent, on the bank of which the village is pleasantly situated. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Balderton annexed, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.; net income, £244; patron, the Prebendary of Farndon in the Cathedral of Lincoln: the tithes were commuted for land in 1767. The church is a large and lofty edifice. There is a small endowment for a school.

Farndon, East (St. John the Baptist)

FARNDON, EAST (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Market-Harborough, hundred of Rothwell, N. division of the county of Northampton, 2 miles (S. S. W.) from Market-Harborough; containing 250 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated about 1½ mile to the west of the London road, comprises by computation 1471 acres, chiefly pasture; the soil is generally clay, and the surface hilly. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 1. 0½.; net income, £400; patrons, the President and Fellows of St. John's College, Oxford: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1780; the land comprises 325a. 3r. 8p. The church is in the Norman style, with later insertions. The Independents have a place of worship; and a parochial school is supported. There is a mineral spring.

Farndon, West

FARNDON, WEST, a hamlet, in the parish of Woodford, union of Thrapstone, hundred of Huxloe, N. division of the county of Northampton; containing 128 inhabitants.

Farne-Islands.—See Farn-Islands.

FARNE-ISLANDS.—See Farn-Islands.

Farnham (St. Lawrence)

FARNHAM (St. Lawrence), a parish, partly in the union of Tisbury, hundred of Chalk, S. division of Wilts, but chiefly in the union of Wimborne and Cranborne, hundred of Cranborne, Shaston division of Dorset, 7 miles (N. E. by N.) from Blandford; containing 117 inhabitants. The parish comprises 373 acres, of which 25 are waste or common. A fair, chiefly for cheese, is held on the 21st of August. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 10., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £149. The church, a neat structure of considerable antiquity, was enlarged in 1836, when 150 additional sittings were provided.

Farnham (St. Mary)

FARNHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bishop-Stortford, hundred of Clavering, N. division of Essex, 3¼ miles (W. by N.) from Stansted-Mountfitchet; containing 549 inhabitants. It borders closely on the county of Hertford. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £23. 8. 9., and in the gift of Trinity College, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £607, and the glebe contains 23 acres, to which there is a house. The church, a small low edifice with a tower, contains several ancient monuments. A school, conducted on the national plan, is endowed with £45 per annum; and there are some small bequests for the poor.

Farnham

FARNHAM, a township, in the parish of Allenton, union of Rothbury, W. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 6 miles (W.) from Rothbury; containing 40 inhabitants. It is divided into High and Low Farnham, and situated on the river Coquet, in the south of the parish.

Farnham (St. Mary)

FARNHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Plomesgate, E. division of Suffolk, 2¾ miles (S. W.) from Saxmundham; containing 186 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £78; the patronage and impropriation belong to the family of Long, whose tithes have been commuted for £240.

Farnham (St. Andrew)

FARNHAM (St. Andrew), a market-town, parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Farnham, W. division of Surrey, 10 miles (W. by S.) from Guildford, and 38 (S. W.) from London, on the road to Southampton; comprising the tythings of Badshot, Runfold, Culverlands, Tilford, Farnham, Runwick, Wrecklesham, and Bourne; and containing 6615 inhabitants, of whom 3400 are in the town or tything of Farnham. This place, originally called Fernham, from the fern growing on the extensive heaths by which on all sides, except the south-west, it is for many miles surrounded, was by Ethelbald, King of the West Saxons, annexed to the see of Winchester. In 893, Alfred obtained a signal victory over the Danes who were ravaging this part of the country. In the reign of Stephen, Henry de Blois, brother of that monarch, and Bishop of Winchester, erected on a hill commanding the town a castle of great strength and of considerable extent, which is said to have been seized by the Dauphin of France, in his expedition against King John. In the following reign, this castle, having become a retreat for the malcontents, was demolished by Henry III., in the war with the barons; but it was rebuilt by the bishops of Winchester, with greater magnificence, as the episcopal palace. During the parliamentary war, the castle was garrisoned for the king, but being besieged by Waller, the republican general, it fell into his hands, and was afterwards dismantled and nearly destroyed. The principal remains are some portions of the walls, and the keep, which still retains vestiges of its ancient strength; on the top is a neat garden, about 40 yards square, in which are cherry, apple, and other fruit trees. There are two fosses, an inner and an outer: the inner is converted into a kitchen and pleasure garden; the outer, which is very deep, surrounding the walls, is in parts planted with forest-trees. At the Restoration, the greater part of the present house was erected by Bishop Morley, at an expense of £8000; it has been since modernised, and is still the principal residence of the bishops of the diocese. The structure is quadrangular, built of brick covered with stucco, excepting the tower at the west end, and seems to have been patched up at different times. From the top of the keep are some fine views of the neighbourhood, and from a spacious lawn in front is a prospect of the market-place and town of Farnham, with the distant country. The park, three miles in circumference, commands a good view of the valley in which the town lies, and of the scenery to the south and south-east. To the east of the palace is a noble avenue of ancient elms, forming a delightful promenade about half a mile in length, open to the inhabitants.

The town is situated on the river Wey, and consists of four chief streets diverging nearly at right angles from the market-place in the centre, and of several smaller streets, roughly paved, and lighted with gas. The houses are mostly well built; many of them are handsome, and the general appearance of the place is respectable and prepossessing: the principal houses are supplied by a company with water brought from the Lawday-house hill, about a mile distant, by means of iron pipes, into a reservoir which holds 1000 hogsheads on the Castle-hill. The view of the castle from the market-place, though partially obstructed by the markethouse, is picturesque; and the environs abound with pleasing and richly-varied scenery. Farnham is celebrated for the cultivation of hops, which has prevailed here for about 150 years; from the favourable nature of the soil, and the peculiar care bestowed on their culture, the hops possess a decided superiority over those produced in any other part of the kingdom, and invariably obtain a higher price. On the banks of the Wey are several flour-mills, from which large supplies are sent to the London market by the Basingstoke canal, which crosses the high road within four miles of the town; there are also several breweries, and a small factory for weaving coarse cloth for sacking, and oilcloth. An act was passed in 1846 for a railway from Guildford, by Farnham, to Alton. The market is on Thursday; and fairs are held on Holy-Thursday, Midsummer-day, and November 13th, for live-stock. Farnham was anciently a borough, and returned members to parliament from the 4th of Edward II. till the 38th of Henry VI. It had a charter of incorporation granted by the bishops, under which the government was vested in two bailiffs and twelve burgesses; but these privileges were so little regarded that the vacancies in the number of the burgesses were not filled up; and in 1790, the bailiffs, having been indicted for not repairing the bridges at Tilford, surrendered their charter to the bishop, and sent the records of the borough to the castle. The town is now within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold petty-sessions for the division on the last Thursday in every month; and the bishop holds a court leet in autumn, at which constables and tythingmen are appointed. The powers of the county debt-court of Farnham, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Farnborough, and nearly the whole of that of Farnham.

The parish comprises 10,395a. 1r. 16p., of which 3372 acres are arable, 1093 in hop-grounds, 977 meadow, 640 pasture, 1276 wood and plantations, and upwards of 2500 waste. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £29. 9. 5.; net income, £430; patron, the Archdeacon of Surrey. The church is a spacious structure in the later English style, with a low tower at the west end; the nave is separated from the aisles by obtuse pointed arches resting upon octagonal pillars: additional accommodation has been provided by building a gallery. A handsome church in the later English style, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected at Wrecklesham, in 1840, by subscription; there is a district church at Hale, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist; and at Tilford is a licensed place of worship, in connexion with the Establishment. The Independents have meeting-houses in the town, and at Tilford and Hungary-hill; and there is a free grammar school, founded prior to 1611. Almshouses for eight aged persons were founded in 1619 by Andrew Windsor, to which the principal bequests are, £500 by Mrs. Mary Smither, in 1792; £2232. 16., three per cent. consols., by Captain Samuel Fenner; £640 by Mr. D. Bristow, in the three per cent. consols.; and £575. 10., three per cent. consols., by T. B. Mill, Esq. There are also several benefactions for the poor generally: the principal is by Henry Smith, who in 1650 bequeathed £1000, which were laid out in lands now producing upwards of £110 per annum.

At the distance of about two miles south of the town are the remains of the Abbey of Waverley, founded in 1128, by Giffard, Bishop of Winchester, for monks of the Cistercian order, then introduced into England. The abbot, according to Gale, was accounted the superior of the order in this country; the clear revenue of the society, at the Dissolution, was £174. 8. 3. The remains consist of part of the south aisle of the church, in the windows of which, within the memory of the present generation, were many specimens of the rich stained glass wherewith the church was decorated; and part of the dormitory, refectory, and the cloisters, mantled with ivy, and extending in detached portions over a space of three or four acres: stone coffins and sepulchral remains have been frequently discovered on the spot. Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, died at Farnham, and was buried at Winchester, but his heart was deposited at Waverley, and is said to have been dug up entire a few years since, inclosed in a leaden box containing a saline liquid. Henry III. visited the monastery on the 17th of December, 1225, and was received with great solemnity, and next day admitted a member of the fraternity. Hely, Bishop of Winchester, was buried here, and his heart at Winchester. On the 2nd of June, 1268, John Breton was consecrated Bishop of Hereford in this house by the Bishop of Winchester. At Moor Park died Sir William Temple, the eminent statesman, and patron of Dean Swift, who, on quitting college, came to reside at the place, where, with the exception of a journey to Ireland for the recovery of his health, and a short residence at his prebend of Kilroot, he remained till the death of Sir William, and contracted an intimacy with the daughter of Mr. Johnson, steward to his patron, whose virtues he celebrated under the name of Stella. At the extremity of Moor Park is St. Mary's Well, commonly called "Mother Ludlam's Cave," a remarkable cavern. Nicholas de Farnham, successively physician to Henry III., Bishop of Chester, and Bishop of Durham, and author of several works on the practice of physic and the properties of herbs; and the Rev. Augustus Montague Toplady, the controversial divine, were natives of Farnham. William Cobbett, also, was born and buried here.

Farnham

FARNHAM, a parish, in the Lower division of the wapentake of Claro, union of Great Ouseburn (under Gilbert's act), W. riding of York; comprising the townships of Farnham, Ferensby, and Scotton; and containing 580 inhabitants, of whom 170 are in the township of Farnham, 2 miles (N.) from Knaresborough. The parish comprises by computation 2800 acres; the soil is chiefly a stiffish mould on a substratum of limestone, thin, and of moderate quality, and the greater portion of the land is arable. There are some quarries of magnesian limestone. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £6. 12. 1.; net income, £130; patrons, the Rev. Thomas Collins, incumbent, and Thomas Shann, Esq. The church, which belonged to the priory de Bello Valle, in the county of Lincoln, is an ancient structure, pleasantly situated on an eminence; the chancel is Anglo-Norman.

Farnham-Royal (St. Mary)

FARNHAM-ROYAL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Eton, hundred of Burnham, county of Buckingham, 4½ miles (N. W.) from Colnbrook; containing, with the hamlets of Hedgerley-Dean and Seer-Green, 1258 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Windsor to Beaconsfield, and comprises by computation 2917 acres; the surface is pleasingly undulated, and the surrounding scenery abounds with interest. The Great Western railway crosses the parish at Salt-Hill. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 16. 0½., and in the gift of Eton College: the tithes have been commuted for £304. 17. 8., and there are about 19 acres of glebe. The church, a plain neat structure, has been almost entirely rebuilt within the last twenty years, and contains a monument to the wellknown Jacob Bryant, author of many learned works, who lived and was buried here. At Seer-Green is a chapel of ease. There are places of worship for Independents.

Farnham-Tollard

FARNHAM-TOLLARD, a tything, in the parish of Tollard-Royal, union of Wimborne and Cranborne, hundred of Cranborne, Shaston division of Dorset; containing 224 inhabitants.

Farnhill

FARNHILL, a township, in the parish of Kildwick, union of Skipton, E. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York, 3¾ miles (S. S. E.) from Skipton; containing 459 inhabitants. This township, which was separated from Cononley in 1838, is pleasantly situated on the east side of Airedale, and comprises about 400 acres; the surface is varied, and the village consists chiefly of scattered houses, some of which adjoin the village of Kildwick.

Farnhurst

FARNHURST, a parish, in the union of Midhurst, hundred of Easebourne, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 5 miles (N. by E.) from Midhurst; containing 762 inhabitants. The road from London to Chichester, viâ Haslemere, runs through the village, where large quantities of charcoal were formerly made by government; the concern is now in the hands of a private individual, who has also some chemical-works. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage and impropriation of the Earl of Egmont; net income, £111. The church is in the early English style.

Farningham (St. Peter and St. Paul)

FARNINGHAM (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Dartford, hundred of Axton, Dartford, and Wilmington, lathe of Sutton-atHone, W. division of Kent, 5 miles (S.) from Dartford; containing 701 inhabitants. This parish, anciently called Fremingham, signifying "the village by the brook," is situated upon the road from London to Maidstone, and on the river Darent, and comprises 2625a. 3r. 8p., of which 278 acres are in wood; the lands are chiefly arable. The village is pleasantly seated on the river, over which is a neat bridge of four arches; on the banks are some flour-mills, and there is a commodious hotel and posting-house. It had formerly a market on Tuesday, and a fair for four days, commencing on the eve of St. Peter's day; there is still a fair for horses and cattle on October 15th. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Archbishop, valued in the king's books at £9. 5. 10.; net income, £260; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is principally in the early English style, having at the west end a handsome flint tower, and containing brasses and other remnants of antiquity, with an octagonal font curiously and elaborately carved.

Farn-Islands

FARN-ISLANDS, a cluster of seventeen small islands, in the parish of Holy-Island, union of Berwick, in Islandshire, county of Northumberland; extending about 7 miles (S. E.) from Holy-Island, and containing 15 inhabitants. The largest of these isles, anciently Farne, and now called House Island, lies nearly two miles to the east of Bambrough Castle, and is remarkable as the spot where St. Cuthbert passed a few of the later years of his life, and where a priory subordinate to Durham was subsequently founded for Benedictine monks, whose revenue at the Dissolution was £12. 17. 8. Ethelwold, St. Bartholomew, and Thomas, prior of Durham, among other celebrated devotees, since the time of St. Cuthbert, sequestered themselves in the place. A square tower, the ruins of a church, and other buildings, are still remaining; also a stone coffin, wherein it is said the body of St. Cuthbert was first laid. At the northern end of the isle is a deep chasm, through which, in stormy weather, the sea forces its way with such violence as to form a fine jet d'eau sixty feet high, called the Churn.

Farnley

FARNLEY, a chapelry, in the parish of Otley, Upper division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding of York, 2 miles (N. N. E.) from Otley; containing 217 inhabitants. It comprises about 1810 acres, the property of F. Hawksworth Fawkes, Esq., of Farnley Hall, whose ancestors were proprietors in the reign of Henry III. The soil is fertile, and in a high state of cultivation; the surface is boldly undulated: the substratum abounds with excellent freestone, which is quarried for building. The village, seated on the north side of Wharfdale, is small and straggling. The chapel is an ancient structure, the former chancel of a larger building. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £40; patron, Mr. Fawkes.

Farnley

FARNLEY, a chapelry, in that part of the parish of St. Peter, Leeds, which is within the liberty of Leeds, though locally in the wapentake of Morley, union of Leeds, W. riding of York, 3½ miles (W. by S.) from Leeds; containing 1530 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 2200 acres, nearly encompassed by rivulets flowing through deep valleys. The neighbourhood abounds with iron-ore and coal, of both which there are several mines in operation; and the quarries of Park Spring produce stone of excellent quality, whereof considerable quantities are sent to London. The new line of road from Leeds to Halifax, by which the distance between those places is shortened to 14½ miles, intersects the chapelry. The village is extensive, and many of the inhabitants are employed in the woollen manufacture. The chapel, rebuilt in 1760, is a good edifice, containing 300 sittings: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Leeds, with a net income of £204; appropriators, the Dean and Canons of ChristChurch, Oxford, whose tithes have been commuted for £300. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Farnley-Tyas

FARNLEY-TYAS, a chapelry, in the parish of Almondbury, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 4 miles (S. S. E.) from Huddersfield; containing 844 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1700 acres, chiefly the property of the Earl of Dartmouth, who is lord of the manor. The surface, which is very elevated, forming one of the highest spots in the county, is finely varied, and beautifully embellished with wood. The substratum abounds with coal, of which a mine is in operation; there are likewise quarries of stone, mostly flags, but also used for the roads; and many of the inhabitants are employed in hand-loom weaving, and in some powerlooms. A church dedicated to St. Lucian was erected and endowed in 1839, at the expense of Lord Dartmouth; it is a handsome structure, in the later English style, with a square embattled tower surmounted by a lofty spire, and contains 540 sittings, of which 230 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of his lordship.

Farnsfield (St. Michael)

FARNSFIELD (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Southwell, Southwell division of the wapentake of Thurgarton, S. division of the county of Nottingham, 4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Southwell; containing 1099 inhabitants. The parish comprises 3689a. 1r. 32p.; the village, which is large and well built, is situated on an eminence commanding some fine views over the adjacent country. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the patronage of the Chapter of the Collegiate Church of Southwell, valued in the king's books at £4. On the inclosure of the parish in 1780, an allotment of 157a. 3r. 15p. was given in lieu of tithes; and there is a glebe of 19a. 3r. 5p. in addition. The church has a square tower, in which are five harmonious bells. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a school is endowed with a house and land of the annual value of £20.

Farnworth (St. John)

FARNWORTH (St. John), a parish, in the union of Bolton, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 2¼ miles (S. S. E.) from Bolton; comprising the townships of Farnworth and Kearsley, and containing 8265 inhabitants, of whom 4829 are in Farnworth. This place probably derives its name from the AngloSaxon word Fearn; the fern plant formerly overran the land, and still grows abundantly in the neighbourhood. In the reign of Queen Mary, Farnworth township, lately a part of the parish of Deane, was a portion of the township of Barton-upon-Irwell, in Eccles parish, though distant from it about five miles. In 1663 it was still called "the hamlet of Farnworth within the township of Barton;" and so late as 1725 a determination was made, that the inhabitants of Barton should convey their felons to the gaol of Lancaster without the assistance of Farnworth and Kearsley, which previously had contributed to that cost. The Hultons of Farnworth Hall, a branch from the parent stock of Hulton, were settled here in the 4th of Edward II., and the last of the family at Farnworth died in the reign of Elizabeth. There are extensive coal-mines belonging to the Earl of Ellesmere, and William Hulton, Esq.; large spinning and powerloom mills; and one of the best paper-mills in the kingdom, belonging to Messrs. John and Thomas B. Crompton, whose premises, called the "Farnworth mills," are of great extent, and who are patentees of a process for cutting, drying, and finishing paper.

The township of Farnworth and the adjoining township of Kearsley were separated by an order in council dated 23rd July 1828, from the parish of Deane, and constituted a distinct parish, under the act 58th George III. cap. 45. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of Hulme's Trustees; income, about £260, arising partly from endowment, and partly from pew-rents, with a very good vicarage-house, built by the parishioners at a cost of £2000. The church is a handsome stone structure with a tower, erected in 1825, by the Commissioners for Building Churches, at an expense of £8000. The Independents and Wesleyans have places of worship. A school, erected on land given by James Roscow in 1715, was endowed in 1728 with £300 by Nathan Dorning; the Commissioners of Inclosures, in 1798, allotted certain land to the trustees, and in 1825 the school-house was rebuilt: there is a house and garden for the master, who teaches nine boys free. A handsome national school accommodates 500 children, and adjoining it is an infants' school capable of receiving about 150. A very neat daily and infant school has been built by the mill-owners; and there is also a Sunday school occupied by the Wesleyan Methodists, supported by an endowment from the late Mrs. Holland, of Bradford House, near Bolton.

Farnworth

FARNWORTH, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of Prescot, hundred of West Derby, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 5¾ miles (W.) from Warrington; comprising the townships of Bold, Cronton, Ditton, and Widness, which are in the union of Prescot, and contain 3836 inhabitants; and the townships of Cuerdley, Penketh, and Great Sankey, which are in the union of Warrington, and contain 1440 inhabitants. The chapelry is bounded by the river Mersey for three miles, and being rather elevated land, commands views of the Cheshire hills and the Welsh mountains: the soil is of various quality; and red sandstone is quarried. The manufacture of watch-movements is carried on to a considerable extent, as is also that of sailcloth. Cattle-fairs are held in spring and autumn. The St. Helen's and Runcorn railway, and the Huyton branch of the London and North-Western railway, pass near the village.

The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Prescot; net income, £172, with a house. The chapel is dedicated to St. Wilfrid, and is an ancient edifice, in which different kinds of architecture are combined. The earliest notice of it is preserved in Sir Peter Leycester's History of Cheshire, where it is mentioned that "Sir Peter Dutton received orders from William Harrington, chief steward of Halton, under Henry, Archbishop of Canterbury, and other feoffees of King Henry V., to deliver an oak for the repair of Farnworth chapel." The east window is handsomely enriched, and the edifice contains some interesting monuments to the Bold and other families. There is an endowed chapel at Sankey, which see. A grammar school was founded in the reign of Henry VIII. by Bishop Smith, who was born here, and who endowed it with £10 per annum, since increased to £50 by bequests; there are also excellent national schools.