Arvans (St.)
ARVANS (ST.), a parish, in the union and division
of Chepstow, partly in the hundred of Raglan, but
chiefly in the Upper division of the hundred of Caldicot, county of Monmouth, 2¼ miles (N. W. by N.)
from Chepstow; containing, with the hamlet of Portcasseg, 354 inhabitants. This parish, which is washed
on the north-east by the river Wye, and situated on the
road from Monmouth to Chepstow, comprises by computation 2840 acres, and abounds in romantic scenery,
which, in many situations, is of great diversity. From
Piercefield Park, a splendid seat, the views are remarkably magnificent, and embrace numerous reaches of the
Wye, the Severn, and a great range of the surrounding
country. The mansion, situated on an eminence, in
the midst of fine plantations, is a superb elevation of
freestone, consisting of a centre and two wings, and
much admired for its tasteful architecture: on the
spacious staircase are four beautiful pieces of Gobelin
tapestry which belonged to Louis XVI., representing
subjects in the natural history of Africa. The living is
a perpetual curacy; net income, £53; patron and impropriator, the Duke of Beaufort: about 50 acres of
land of indifferent quality, contained in two small farms
in other parishes, belong to the curacy. The church is
in the early English style, with a square tower. Remains exist of two ancient chapels, dedicated respectively to St. Kingsmark and St. Lawrence: in the park,
where is a chalybeate spring, are the remains of an encampment; and there is a small intrenchment in the
hamlet of Portcasseg.
Aryholme
ARYHOLME, with Howthorpe, a township, in
the parish of Hovingham, union of Malton, wapentake of Ryedale, N. riding of York, 7¼ miles (W.)
from Malton; containing 36 inhabitants.
Asby, Great (St. Peter)
ASBY, GREAT (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
and division of East ward, county of Westmorland,
4½ miles (S. by W.) from Appleby; containing, with the
townships of Asby-Windewath, Asby-Coatsforth, and
Little Asby, 407 inhabitants, of whom 222 are in the
first, with the hamlet of Garthern; 129 in the second;
and 56 in the third, with the hamlet of Asby-Overgrange. It comprises by computation 6500 acres, and
is bounded on the south by the parish of Crosby-Garret
and by Orton Fells; the surface is diversified with hills
and valleys, and watered by numerous rivulets, near the
margin of one of which, in the hollow called Asby Gill,
is Plate hole, a remarkable cavern, intersected by a
small stream, and which has been explored to an extent
of more than 500 yards. The substratum is principally
limestone, and on the common belonging to the manor
has been lately discovered a very valuable fossil marble.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£23. 13. 4.; patron, Sir F. F. Vane; net income, £205.
The church is a very ancient structure with lofty gables,
and strengthened by massive buttresses: the parsonagehouse occupies the site of a nunnery, the chapel and
prison of which are still partly remaining, the latter being
used as a cellar. There was formerly a chapel at Little
Asby, dedicated to St. Leonard. A school-house was
built in 1688, by George Smith, citizen and merchanttailor of London, to which Dr. Thomas Smith, Bishop
of Carlisle (who was born at Whitewall, near the village),
gave £100. Near the church is St. Helen's well.
Ascot, Berks.—See Winkfield.
ASCOT, Berks.—See Winkfield.
Ascote, Chapel
ASCOTE, CHAPEL, an extra-parochial liberty, in
the S. division of the hundred of Knightlow, S. division of the county of Warwick, 2 miles (N. W. by N.)
from Southam; containing 10 inhabitants, and comprising 600 acres.
Ascott
ASCOTT, a hamlet, in the parish of Wing, union of
Leighton-Buzzard, hundred of Cottesloe, county of
Buckingham; containing 98 inhabitants.
Ascott
ASCOTT, a hamlet, in the parish of Great Milton,
union and hundred of Thame, county of Oxford, 4½
miles (N.) from Bensington; containing 29 inhabitants.
Ascott-under-Wychwood (Holy Trinity)
ASCOTT-under-Wychwood (Holy Trinity), a
parish, in the union of Chipping-Norton, hundred of
Chadlington, county of Oxford, 5¾ miles (N. E. by N.)
from Burford; containing 463 inhabitants. The parish
is divided into two portions, Earl's-Ascott and AscottRegis; the village is pleasantly situated in a valley on
the bank of the river Evenlode, near the border of Wychwood Forest. The living is a perpetual curacy; net
income, £100; patron, the Vicar of Shipton. The
church is a neat ancient building. There is a place of
worship for Particular Baptists.
Asenby
ASENBY, a township, in the parish of Topcliffe,
wapentake of Hallikeld, N. riding of York, 5¾ miles
(N.) from Boroughbridge; containing 261 inhabitants.
It is situated on the south-western acclivities of Swaledale, and comprises by computation 1131 acres, mostly
occupied in farms. A bed of gravel affords excellent
material for repairing roads; and a bed of coal-shale
shows itself on the eminences of the dale. The tithes
have been commuted for £250 payable to the impropriator, £64. 10. to the vicar of Topcliffe, and £20 to the
Dean and Chapter of York.
Asgarby (St. Andrew)
ASGARBY (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of
Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 2¾ miles (E.) from Sleaford;
containing, with the hamlet of Boughton, 77 inhabitants.
The living is a vicarage, united in 1737 to the rectory
of Kirby-le-Thorpe, and valued in the king's books at
£10. 14. 4½. The church is in the later English style,
with a lofty tower surmounted by a fine crocketed
spire.
Asgarby (St. Swithin)
ASGARBY (St. Swithin), a parish, in the union of
Horncastle, W. division of the soke of Bolingbroke,
parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 2 miles (N. by
W.) from Bolingbroke; containing 131 inhabitants. It
comprises by computation 1950 acres, two-thirds of
which are pasture, and one-third arable; the soil is a
sandy loam. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the
patronage of the Bishop of Lincoln; net income, £55,
with three acres of glebe. The church is a small plain
edifice, built about forty years ago. There are some
vestiges of an encampment, probably formed during the
civil wars, and near which human skeletons are frequently dug up.
Ash
ASH, a hamlet, in the parish of Sutton-on-theHill, union of Burton-Upon-Trent, hundred of
Appletree, S. division of the county of Derby, 8
miles (W. S. W.) from Derby; containing 51 inhabitants. It contains 692 acres of strong land; and a neat
small village, a mile east from Sutton. The place was
the property of the Sleigh family, from whom it came
to the Chethams, and subsequently to the Cottons. The
vicarial tithes have been commuted for £83.
Ash
ASH, a hamlet, in the parish of Throwley, union
of Oakhampton, hundred of Wonford, Crockernwell
and S. divisions of Devon, 7¼ miles (E. S. E.) from
Oakhampton. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough,
the celebrated general, was born here in 1650.
Ash, county of Durham.—See Esh.
ASH, county of Durham.—See Esh.
Ash (St. Peter and St. Paul)
ASH, (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the
union of Dartford, hundred of Axton, Dartford,
and Wilmington, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent, 9 miles (N. E.) from Seven-Oaks; containing 663 inhabitants. It comprises 3022 acres, of
which 1780 are arable, 180 meadow, 624 woodland, 244
cinque-foil, 169 hop-ground, and 21 furze and waste;
the surface is hilly and well wooded, and the soil in
some parts chalky, but chiefly a stiff loam. The living
is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 18. 4.,
and in the gift of the family of Lambard; the tithes
have been commuted for £675, and there are 20 acres
of glebe. A school is endowed with £20 per annum.
Ash
ASH, a hamlet, in the parish and hundred of Martock, union of Yeovil, W. division of Somerset;
containing 322 inhabitants. Here is a district church
dedicated to the Trinity: the living is in the gift of the
Vicar.
Ash (St. Peter)
ASH (St. Peter), a parish, under Gilbert's act,
partly in the First division of the hundred of Godley,
and partly in the First division of the hundred of
Woking, W. division of Surrey, 4½ miles (N. E. by E.)
from Farnham; containing, with Frimley chapelry and
Normandy tything, 2236 inhabitants. The parish is
intersected by the Basingstoke canal and the SouthWestern railway, and comprises, with Normandy, about
4000 acres, of which 2041 are common or waste; and
including Frimley, about 10,015 acres. A species of
sandstone, dug out of the common, is used for building;
and pebbles are found, susceptible of a bright polish,
which are commonly called Bagshot diamonds. The
village is long and scattered, and situated in a dreary
part of the country: south-eastward of it is Henley
Park, which, being on an eminence, forms a beautiful
contrast with the wild heath around. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 18. 11½.;
net income, £473; patrons, the Warden and Fellows of
Winchester College. The church, previously to the dissolution of monasteries, was attached to the abbey of
Chertsey. There is a chapel at Frimley. Dr. Young is
said to have written a portion of the Night Thoughts at
the rectory-house, then the residence of Dr. Harris, who
married a sister of the poet, and was incumbent from
1718 to 1759.
Ash-Bocking (All Saints)
ASH-BOCKING (All Saints), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Bosmere and Claydon, E. division of Suffolk, 6 miles (E. by S.) from NeedhamMarket; comprising by measurement 1398 acres, and
containing 321 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, and valued
in the king's books at £9. 18. 6½.; it is in the patronage
of the Crown. The incumbent's tithes have been commuted for £375, and £3 per annum are paid to the
rector of Hemingstone; the glebe consists of about
11 acres.
Ash, Campsey (St. John The Baptist)
ASH, CAMPSEY (St. John the Baptist), a parish,
in the union of Plomesgate, hundred of Loes, E. division of Suffolk, 2 miles (E.) from Wickham-Market;
containing 374 inhabitants. In the reign of Richard I.,
Theobald de Valoins gave his estate here to his two
sisters, that they might build a nunnery in honour of
the Virgin Mary; it was of the order of St. Clare, or
the Minoresses, and at the Dissolution had a revenue of
£182. 9. 5.: a portion of the building still remains. A
collegiate chapel, in honour of the Annunciation, was also
founded here, by Maud, Countess of Ulster, for a warden
and four secular priests, in 1347, seven years after which
the establishment was removed to Bruisyard. The
parish comprises by measurement 1813 acres. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 5.,
and in the gift of Thellusson's Trustees: the tithes have
been commuted for £430, and there are 9½ acres of
glebe.
Ash-Gill
ASH-GILL, a hamlet, in the township and parish
of Coverham, union of Leyburn, wapentake of HangWest, N. riding of York, 1¾ mile (W.) from Middleham. Here is a noted training-ground for horses, the
property of the Lister family.
Ash, Great
ASH, GREAT, a township, in the parish of Whitchurch, Whitchurch division of the hundred of North
Bradford, N. division of Salop, 2¼ miles (S. E. by E.)
from Whitchurch; containing 204 inhabitants.
Ash, Little
ASH, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Whitchurch, Whitchurch division of the hundred of North
Bradford, N. division of Salop, 2¾ miles (S. E. by E.)
from Whitchurch; containing 208 inhabitants. A
church, erected by subscription, was consecrated Aug.
31st, 1837: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift
of the Rector.
Ash-near-Sandwich (St. Nicholas)
ASH-Near-Sandwich (St. Nicholas), a parish, in
the union of Eastry, hundred of Wingham, lathe of
St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 3 miles (E.) from
Wingham; containing 2077 inhabitants. This place is
by most antiquaries identified with the Rutupium, or
Urbs Rutupiæ, of the Romans, one of the earliest stations, if not the first, in the island, and supposed by
Camden to have been established by that people for the
protection of their haven called Portus Rutupensis, the
landing-place of their fleets, and the usual passage into
Britain. According to Bede, the station was called by
the Saxons Reptaceastre, and subsequently, by Alfred of
Beverley, Richeberg, from which its present name Richborough is derived. Of the ancient city every vestige
has disappeared, and the site is now covered with cornfields: part of the citadel alone remains, consisting of
portions of the walls, about 200 feet in length, varying
from ten to thirty feet in height, and about twelve feet
thick, forming one of the most interesting relics of
Roman antiquity in the kingdom. The parish is intersected by the road from London to Deal, and bounded
on the north by the river Stour, over which are two
ferries. It comprises 6872a. 1r. 36p., of which 3128
acres are arable, 3258 meadow, 331 orchard and garden,
100 hop ground, 49 wood, and 6 rectorial glebe; the
soil is rich and fertile. Pleasure-fairs are held on April
5th, and Oct. 11th. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £147; patron and appropriator, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is a handsome
building in the early and later English styles. A chapel
of ease dedicated to the Trinity was erected in 1841, in
the early English style, partly by subscription and partly
by aid of a grant from the Church Building Society.
There are two small places of worship for Wesleyans;
and a free school, founded, and endowed with £75 per
annum, in 1714, by the Cartwright family.
Ash-Priors (Holy Trinity)
ASH-PRIORS (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the
union of Taunton, W. division of the hundred of Kingsbury and of the county of Somerset, 6 miles (N. W.
by W.) from Taunton; comprising by computation 600
acres, and containing 226 inhabitants. The name of
this place is a corruption of Esse Prioris, "the property
of the prior," which related to a house here, anciently
used for a country residence by the prior of Taunton.
The church and principal parts of the village are beautifully situated on rising ground, commanding a fine view
of Taunton-Dean. There are some quarries of red sandstone, which is of good quality for building, and is also
burnt for manure. The living is a perpetual curacy, in
the gift of Sir Thomas Buckler Lethbridge, Bart., with a
net income of £70: the tithes have been commuted for
£110. The church, a neat structure in the later English
style, has been enlarged by the addition of a new aisle,
and beautified, at the expense of Sir T. B. Lethbridge.
Priory House, of which a small portion yet remains, was
the residence of the celebrated Admiral Blake.
Ash, The
ASH, THE, a hamlet, in the parish and union of
Stoke-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of
Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 3 miles from
Hanley. This place occupies elevated ground; the
scenery in its vicinity is very pleasing, and embraces extensive views. Coal, ironstone, and quarry-stone are
wrought in the hamlet. Ash Hall, and the estate of
Ash, are the property of Job Meigh, Esq., a magistrate
of the county of Stafford. Washerwall spring here, is
the finest in the county.
Ashampstead (St. Clement)
ASHAMPSTEAD (St. Clement), a parish, in the
union of Bradfield, hundred of Moreton, county of
Berks, 10 miles (N. W. by W.) from Reading; containing 404 inhabitants. It comprises 1666a. 1r. 32p., of
which 1350 acres are in cultivation; there are 70 acres
of beech-wood, 250 of coppice, and 100 common. The
living is annexed to the vicarage of Basildon; impropriator, R. Hopkins, Esq.
Ashampstead
ASHAMPSTEAD, a chapelry, in the parish of
Lewknor, union of Wycombe, hundred of Desborough, county of Buckingham, 3¾ miles (N. W.) from
Great Marlow. The chapel is dedicated to St. Mary de
More.
Ashbourn (St. Oswald)
ASHBOURN (St. Oswald), a market-town and
parish, comprising the townships of Hulland, HullandWard, Hulland-Intacks, Sturston, and Yeldersley, in the
hundred of Appletree; the township of Clifton and
Compton, in the hundred of Morleston and Litchurch; and the chapelry of Alsop-le-dale and Eaton,
the hamlet of Newton-Grange, and the liberty of OffcoteUnderwood, in the hundred of Wirksworth; S. division
of the county of Derby; the whole containing 4884 inhabitants, of whom 2246 are in the town, 13½ miles (N. W.
by W.) from Derby, and 140 (N. W. by N.) from London.
This place, which at the time of the Conquest was held
in royal demesne, is in Domesday book called Esseburn.
No event of importance occurred until the 17th century,
when, in 1644, a battle was fought here between the
royalists and the parliamentarians, the former of whom
were defeated with considerable loss. Charles I. was
at Ashbourn during the battle, and again in 1645, on
his march to Doncaster, at the head of 3000 horse, when
a skirmish took place, in which the royalists defeated
Sir John Gell, the leader of the parliamentarian forces in
this part of the country: during his stay the king
attended divine service at the church. Charles Edward
Stuart, accompanied by the Dukes of Athol and Perth,
on their return from Derby in 1745, remained for one
night in the town, taking forcible possession of the
manor-house, from which they expelled Sir Brooke
Boothby and his family. On Sir Brooke's return, he
found the names of the officers written in chalk upon
the doors of the apartments they had severally occupied:
of these inscriptions, which were overlaid with white
paint, some are preserved, and the bedroom where the
Pretender slept is still shown.
The Town is beautifully situated in a deep vale, near
the eastern bank of the river Dove over which there is
a bridge of stone: the houses are principally built of
red brick, and roofed with slate; the streets are partly
paved, and the inhabitants are well supplied with water
and with gas. The entrance from London is highly
picturesque, commanding a fine view of the beautiful
vale on the left, and of Ashbourn Hall, the seat of Sir
William Boothby, Bart., on the right: the vicinity
abounds with pleasing and richly varied scenery. The
reading and news rooms, and the libraries, are respectably supported. The manufacture of cotton and tambour
lace is carried on to a considerable extent, and a great
quantity of cheese and malt is sent to the metropolis and
other towns; but the principal support of the town is
derived from its market and numerous fairs. The market
is on Saturday: the fairs are held on the first Tuesday in
Jan. and on Feb. 13th, for horses and cattle; the second
Monday in March, for horses, cattle, and cheese; April
3rd, May 21st, and July 5th, for horses, cattle, and wool;
August 16th and Sept. 20th, for horses and cattle; the
third Monday in Sept., for horses, cattle, and cheese;
and Nov. 29th, for horses. The powers of the county
debt-court of Ashbourn, established in 1847, extend
over the greater part of the registration-district of Ashbourn; and courts leet and baron are held annually
under the lord of the manor, at which constables and
other officers for the town are appointed. A prison was
built in 1844.
The parish comprises 7043 acres. The Living is a
discharged vicarage, with the rectory of Mappleton
united, valued in the king's books at £5. 4. 7.; net
income, £134; patron, the Bishop of Lichfield. The
church, erected in 1240 by Hugh de Patishull, Bishop
of Coventry, is a spacious cruciform structure, in the
early style of English architecture, with a central tower
surmounted by a lofty and richly ornamented octagonal
spire: the interior has lately undergone extensive repairs and embellishments. The northern part of the
chancel, appropriated as a sepulchral chapel to the
Boothby family, contains, among others, an exquisitely
sculptured monument by Banks, to the memory of
Penelope, only child of Sir Brooke Boothby, who died at
the age of five years: this is said to have suggested to
Chantrey the design of his celebrated monument in
Lichfield cathedral. At Alsop, Clifton, and Parlich are
additional churches. There are places of worship for
Wesleyans, Independents, and others. The free grammar school was founded in 1585, under a charter of
Queen Elizabeth, and endowed with estates purchased
by the inhabitants, from the proceeds of which, £131. 10.
per annum, with a house and garden, are given to
the master, and £65. 15., with a house, to the usher.
An English school was founded in 1710, and endowed
with £10 per annum, by Nicholas Spalden, for the instruction of thirty boys, till they should be fit to enter
the grammar school; he also endowed a school for
thirty girls under twelve years of age, the mistress of
which has £10 per annum. In addition to these, a
national school is carried on; a savings' bank was
erected in 1843, and there are several almshouses,
founded at various periods, and some of them endowed
with considerable funds. The poor-law union of Ashbourn comprises 61 parishes and townships, of which 17
are in Staffordshire. In the neighbourhood formerly
stood a chapel dedicated to St. Mary, which previously
to its being taken down some years ago, was used as a
malt-house.
Ashbrittle (St. John the Baptist)
ASHBRITTLE (St. John the Baptist), a parish,
in the union of Wellington, hundred of Milverton,
W. division of Somerset, 6¾ miles (W.) from Wellington; containing 540 inhabitants, and comprising 2489a.
2r. 10p., of which 95 acres are common or waste. The
parish is situated on the borders of the county of Devon,
and includes the tything of Greenham. Fairs are held
in Feb. and Oct. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £19. 3. 11½., and in the gift of J. Quick,
Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £400, and the
glebe consists of 80 acres.
Ashburnham (St. James)
ASHBURNHAM (St. James), a parish, in the
union of Battle, hundred of Foxearle, rape of Hastings, E. division of Sussex, 4½ miles (W. by S.) from
Battle; containing 790 inhabitants. The manor, with
the exception only of a few years, has been from a time
anterior to the Conquest in the continued possession of
the noble family of Ashburnham, whose mansion-house
here is beautifully situated, and surrounded by a fine
park. The parish comprises about 3600 acres; and
was once noted for the smelting of iron-ore. The living
is a vicarage, with the rectory of Penhurst annexed,
valued in the king's books at £8. 13. 4.; patron and
impropriator, the Earl of Ashburnham. The great
tithes of the parish have been commuted for £260, and
the vicarial for £239; the glebe consists of 6 acres. A
lectureship was founded in 1631 by R. Bateman, Esq.,
and others, with an endowment of £40 per annum for
two sermons every week; it is in the gift of the coheiresses of the late Sir Hugh Bateman, the last surviving trustee. The church, situated behind Ashburnham House, is a neat cruciform edifice in the decorated
English style, with a tower; the south transept contains a gallery for the family, and in the north are handsome monuments to William and John Ashburnham,
and their wives: in a glass case lined with red velvet,
are preserved the watch of Charles I., and portions of
the dress which he wore when he was beheaded. There
are several mineral springs in the parish.
Ashburton (St. Andrew)
ASHBURTON (St. Andrew), a borough, markettown, and parish, in the
union of Newton-Abbott,
hundred of Teignbridge,
Teignbridge and S. divisions
of Devon, 19 miles (S. W.)
from Exeter, and 192 (W. by
S.) from London, on the
road to Plymouth; containing 3841 inhabitants. This
town, anciently called Aisbertone, in the time of Edward the Confessor belonged to Brietric, and at the
Conquest to Judael de Totnais. It seems by Domesday
book to have then been part of the demesne of the
crown, being therein described as "Terra Regis." The
place was subsequently annexed to the see of Exeter:
in 1310, Bishop Stapylton obtained for it a grant of a
market and four fairs; and in 1672, another market,
chiefly for wool and yarn spun in Cornwall, was procured by Mr. John Ford, which has long been discontinued. It was made a stannary town by charter of
Edward III., in 1328, being then noted for the mines of
tin and copper which abounded in the neighbourhood.
Henry IV., in the third year of his reign, granted a
charter, declaring that "the men of the manor of Aisbertone, which is ancient demesne of our Crown," should be
free from paying toll throughout the kingdom. It also
appears that Ashburton belonged to the crown in the
time of Charles I., as that king bestowed the manor
upon his son Charles, when he created him Prince of
Wales. How it was alienated by the crown is unknown;
but in the reign of Charles II. it was the property of
Sir Robert Parkhurst, and Lord Sondes, Earl of Feversham, the former of whom sold his moiety to Sir John
Stawell, of Parke, in South Bovey, by whose executors
it was sold to Roger Tuckfield, Esq., from whom Lord
Clinton, the present proprietor of one moiety of the
borough, claims. The other moiety was, about the
same time, purchased by Richard Duke, Esq., and
is now vested in Sir L. V. Palk, Bart. In the parliamentary war, Ashburton, having been previously occupied by the royal troops under Lord Wentworth, was
taken by Sir Thomas Fairfax, on his march westward,
in January 1646.
Seal and Arms.
The town is situated about a mile and a half from
the river Dart, and consists principally of one street of
considerable length: the houses are built of stone, and
roofed with slate, which is obtained from quarries in the
vicinity. The inhabitants are well supplied with water;
the river Yeo, a rapid stream, runs through the town
and turns several mills. There is a book society; and
card and dancing assemblies, and music meetings, are
frequently held in a handsome suite of rooms at the
Golden Lion inn. The environs abound with objects of
interest, and the scenery on the banks of the river is
celebrated for its picturesque and romantic beauty. The
manufacture of serge and other woollen goods for the
East India Company is carried on to a very great
extent in the town and neighbourhood; there are some
mills for fulling cloth and for the spinning of yarn, and
in addition to the slate-quarries, mines of tin and copper
are still worked. An act was passed in 1846, for constructing a railway from the South-Devon railway at
Newton-Abbott to Ashburton, 10½ miles long. The
market is on Saturday; and fairs are held on the first
Thursdays in March and June, the first Thursday after
the 10th of Aug., and on the 11th of Nov., which last is
a great sheep fair. Ashburton is a borough by prescription: a portreeve, bailiff, constables, and subordinate officers are appointed annually at a court leet held
by the steward of the borough; but they have no magisterial authority. A stannary court is held occasionally.
The borough made two returns to parliament, in the
26th of Edward I. and the 8th of Henry IV., but none
subsequently until 1640, when the franchise was restored
by the last parliament of Charles I.; and until the
passing of the Reform act it continued to return two
members. It now returns only one, the elective franchise being in the resident freeholders and the £10
householders of the entire parish; the portreeve is the
returning officer.
The parish comprises 5074 acres, of which 584 are
common or waste. The living is a vicarage, with the
livings of Bickington and Buckland-in-the-Moor annexed, valued in the king's books at £38. 8. 11½.;
patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of
Exeter. The great tithes have been commuted for
£390, and the vicarial for £528; the glebe consists
of 60 acres. The church, which was formerly collegiate,
is a venerable and spacious cruciform structure in the
later English style, with a square embattled tower.
There are places of worship for Particular Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans. The free grammar school
was founded in the 3rd of James I. by William Werring,
and endowed with lands, a portion of which had belonged
to the dissolved chantry of St. Lawrence, a fine ancient
building with a tower and small spire, now appropriated
to the use of the school, and for public meetings: the
original endowment was augmented by subsequent benefactions; and two scholarships, each of £30 per annum,
in Exeter College, Oxford, were founded in favour of
boys educated at the school, by the late Mr. Gifford.
The free school, in which 180 children are educated, was
endowed in 1754, by Lord Middleton, and John Harris,
Esq., then representatives of the borough, in gratitude
for the liberality of their constituents; and in 1831 an
excellent school-house was built, at the expense of £500.
Inconsiderable vestiges of a chapel, which belonged to
the abbot of Buckfastleigh, are still discernible in the
walls of a house occupied by Mr. Parham. John Dunning, Baron Ashburton, the eminent lawyer, was born
here, Oct. 18th, 1731; he died Aug. 18th, 1783, and
was interred in the church. Dr. Ireland, Dean of
Westminster, and Mr. Gifford, editor of the Quarterly
Review, were also natives of the place. The title of
Baron Ashburton was revived in 1835, in the person of
Alexander Baring, Esq., nephew, by marriage of his
father's sister, of the celebrated lawyer above noticed.