Aston-Botterell (St. Michael)

ASTON-BOTTERELL (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Cleobury-Mortimer, hundred of Stottesden, S. division of Salop, 9 miles (S. W. by W.) from Bridgnorth; containing, with the chapelry of Bold, 173 inhabitants. This place derives the adjunct to its name from the family of Botterell, by whom the manor was held under the earls of Arundel in the reign of Henry III. It is situated on the road from Bridgnorth to Ludlow, and comprises 2238a. 22p.: limestone is obtained for manure, but in very small quantity, and basaltic stone for the repair of the roads. There was formerly a blast-furnace here, in which the iron was smelted with charcoal, the cinder hill from which also forms materials for the roads. By a charter of Henry III. a market was held on Tuesday, and a fair at Michaelmas; but both have been long discontinued. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 1. 0½., and in the gift of the Duke of Cleveland: the tithes have been commuted for £345, and there are 70 acres of glebe. In the church is an altar-tomb, on which are recumbent figures, supposed to be of the Botterell family. During some late repairs, on the whitewash being removed from the interior walls, were exposed various texts from Scripture in old English characters; and, on the left of the porch, a figure of death.

Aston-By-Budworth

ASTON-BY-BUDWORTH, a township, in the parish of Great Budworth, union of Altrincham, hundred of Bucklow, N. division of the county of Chester, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Northwich; containing 405 inhabitants. Arley, in this township, has been the seat of the Warburton family ever since the reign of Henry VII. The Hall was lately rebuilt in a very handsome style; and a chapel, attached to the mansion, has been erected by the present representative of the family, A. E. E. Warburton, Esq. The township comprises 2860 acres; the soil is chiefly clay. The village is situated at the distance of about a mile from the main road between London and Liverpool, and the same distance from the Trent and Mersey canal. In the centre of the township are the remains of an ancient moated mansion, with an old bridge. A petrifying spring rises on the Gore farm.

Aston-By-Sutton

ASTON-BY-SUTTON, a parochial chapelry, in the parish and union of Runcorn, hundred of Bucklow, N. division of the county of Chester, 1 mile (S. by W.) from Preston-Brook; containing 508 inhabitants, of whom 206 are in the township of Aston. The manor belonged as early as the reign of Wm. I. to the family of Aston, of whom Thomas Aston was created a baronet by Charles I. in 1628; he was an officer in the king's service, and was actively engaged in the civil war, as was also Sir Arthur Aston, who was a personal friend of Charles. The title became extinct in the commencement of the eighteenth century. The chapelry comprises 2974a. 30p., whereof about 535 acres are arable, 1950 meadow and pasture, 410 woodland, and the remainder homesteads and gardens. Of the whole acreage, 1001 are in Aston township, which is chiefly of a clayey and sandy soil; the land is cultivated in a judicious manner, and is well wooded. The township lies on the river Weaver, which is navigable here and flows through the hamlet of Sutton into the Mersey. The Chester and Warrington road runs on the north of the township, and the Liverpool and Birmingham railway passes through it. Aston Hall, a handsome mansion, built about the close of the 17th century, and surrounded by an extensive park, is the seat of Sir Arthur Ingram Aston, G.C.B.; it stands on elevated ground, and commands fine views of the estuary of the Weaver, and of the Lancashire shore on the north-west. The living is a curacy, in the patronage of Sir Arthur; net income, £88: There was formerly a chapel at Middleton-Grange; and after it fell into decay, about the year 1450, another was erected on the present site, at Aston, which was made a parochial chapel by grant of Dr. John Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester, in 1635. It was rebuilt on an enlarged scale in 1737, is of red sandstone, and consists of a nave and chancel, with a belfry turret at the west end; there are several memorials of the Aston family.

Aston-Cantlow (St. John the Baptist)

ASTON-CANTLOW (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Alcester, Stratford division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 4 miles (N. E. by E.) from Alcester; containing, with part of the hamlet of Wilncote, 1089 inhabitants. This place appears to have derived the adjunct to its name from the family of Cantelu, or Cantelupe, of whom William de Cantelupe received from Henry III. a confirmation of the lordship, together with a market and fair. John de Hastings, into whose possession it had come, claimed by prescription, in the 13th of Edward I., a court leet, with assize of bread and beer, weifs, gallows, and free warren, all which were allowed. The parish comprises 4758 acres, and is intersected by the river Alne, on the left bank of which the village is situated. The Stratford canal also passes through. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 9. 7.; net income, £93; patron, the Rev. R. S. Carles; impropriator, the Earl of Abergavenny. The chapel of St. Andrew, Wilncote, was built in the year 1841.

Aston-Chetwynd

ASTON-CHETWYND, a township, in the parish of Edgmond, union of Newport, Newport division of the hundred of South Bradford, N. division of Salop, 1½ mile (S. S. E.) from Newport; containing 385 inhabitants.

Aston, Church

ASTON, CHURCH, a chapelry, in the parish of Edgmond, union of Newport, Newport division of the hundred of South Bradford, N. division of Salop, 1 mile (S.) from Newport; containing 512 inhabitants. The chapel is dedicated to St. Andrew.

Aston-Clinton (St. Michael)

ASTON-CLINTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union and hundred of Aylesbury, county of Buckingham, 2¾ miles (W. by N.) from Tring, on the London road; containing, with the hamlet of St. Leonard, 1025 inhabitants, of whom 847 are in the township of AstonClinton. The Grand Junction canal passes through the parish. The cottagers manufacture straw-plat and lace. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £23. 6. 10½.; net income, £506; patrons, the Principal and Fellows of Jesus' College, Oxford. The tithes, with the exception of those for woodland, were commuted for land and a money payment, in 1814. At St. Leonard's is an incumbency in the gift of Trustees. There is a place of worship for Baptists.

Aston, East

ASTON, EAST, a tything, in the parish of Longparish, union of Andover, hundred of Wherwell, Andover and N. divisions of Hants; containing 109 inhabitants.

Aston-Eyre

ASTON-EYRE, a chapelry, in the parish of Morvill, union of Bridgnorth, hundred of Stottesden, S. division of Salop, 4¼ miles (W. by N.) from Bridgnorth; containing 130 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to that of Morvill: the tithes have been commuted for £218. The chapel is a small structure in the Norman style, of the 12th century, and consists of a nave and chancel, the latter and a great part of the former having been lately rebuilt. Over the south doorway of the nave is a perfect and beautifully carved tympanum, lately exposed, representing the Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem, with the people strewing palm-branches in his path. Nearly adjoining the chapel are the remains of a religious house now a farmhouse, supposed to have been a priory under the abbey of Wenlock.

Aston-Flamville (St. Peter)

ASTON-FLAMVILLE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Hinckley, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 2 miles (E. S. E.) from Hinckley; containing, with the chapelry of Burbage, 1909 inhabitants. This parish comprises 4097 acres, of which 3057 are in Burbage; the portion of arable is computed to be 1450 acres, of woodland 149 acres, and the rest is pasture. It is chiefly the property of Sir E. C. Hartopp, Bart., who is lord of the manor. The place is famous for its cheese. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £33. 12. 8½.; net income, £878; patron, Earl de Grey. The tithes of Burbage have been commuted for a rent-charge of £677; the tithe at Aston is about £31. 18., and is a modus. The glebe consists of about 120 acres. The church is very ancient.—See Burbage.

Aston-Grange

ASTON-GRANGE, a township, in the parochial chapelry of Aston, parish and union of Runcorn, hundred of Bucklow, N. division of the county of Chester, 3¾ miles (E.) from Frodsham; containing 27 inhabitants. The manor of Aston-Grange, anciently Maurice-Aston, was given to the monks of Stanlow (who afterwards removed to Whalley) by John Lacy, constable of Chester; in the 37th of Henry VIII., 1545, it was purchased of the crown by the Brooke family, of Norton, and it was held by them until a few years since. The township is now the property of Sir Arthur Aston, and comprises 442 acres of land, the soil of which is chiefly clay and sand. The Liverpool and Birmingham railway passes a little to the east.

Aston-Ingham

ASTON-INGHAM, a parish, in the union of Newent, hundred of Greytree, county of Hereford, 3 miles (S. W. by W.) from Newent; containing 621 inhabitants. This parish comprises 1944 acres, of which about 100 are common or waste; it is bounded on the east and south by a portion of the county of Gloucester, and is intersected by the road from Newent to Mitchel Dean. The surface exhibits considerable undulations, and numerous patches of woodland; the soil is of average productiveness. There are some quarries of limestone, and also of stone for building. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 7. 1.; patron, the Rev. Henry Lawson Whatley, the present incumbent. The tithes have been commuted for £350, and there are about 100 acres of glebe, and a good house.

Aston-Juxta-Mondrum

ASTON-JUXTA-MONDRUM, a township, in the parish of Acton, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 4 miles (N.) from Nantwich; containing 164 inhabitants. It comprises 1193 acres, of a clayey soil. The Chester and Crewe railway passes close to the place, near which it is conducted over the Weaver by a bridge of 8 arches, 60 feet above the level of the river. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £71. 5., and the vicarial for £26. 7.

Aston-Le-Walls (St. Leonard)

ASTON-LE-WALLS (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Banbury, hundred of Chipping-Warden, S. division of the county of Northampton, 8½ miles (N. N. E.) from Banbury; containing, with the hamlet of Appletree, 252 inhabitants. This parish, which is intersected in its north-eastern extremity by the road from Banbury to Daventry, comprises 1528 acres, of a highly productive soil; the substratum is rock, and stone is quarried for repairing the roads and for rough building. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 9. 7.; net income, £343; patrons, the President and Fellows of St. John's College, Oxford. The glebe comprises 140 acres. The church is an ancient structure in the early English style, with a low Norman tower. There is a Roman Catholic chapel.

Aston Magna

ASTON MAGNA, a hamlet, in the parish of Blockley, union of Shipston-On-Stour, Upper division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Blockley and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 2¾ miles (N.) from Moreton-in-the-Marsh; containing 223 inhabitants. Here is a district church, dedicated to St. John; the living of which is a perpetual curacy in the gift of Lord Redesdale, with a net income of £105. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £95.

Aston, Middle

ASTON, MIDDLE, a township, in the parish of Steeple-Aston, union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 3 miles (S. by E.) from Deddington; containing 111 inhabitants, and comprising 842a. 3r. 20p.

Aston-Morris

ASTON-MORRIS, a tything, partly in the parish of Burnham, union of Axbridge, hundred of Bempstone, E. division, and partly in the parish of Huntspill, union of Bridgwater, hundred of Huntspill and Puriton, W. division, of Somerset; containing 239 inhabitants.

Aston, North (St. Mary)

ASTON, NORTH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 2 miles (S. S. E.) from Deddington, and 8 (N. N. E.) from Woodstock; comprising by measurement 1260 acres, and containing 289 inhabitants. The Oxford canal forms a boundary of the parish on the east. The views from the grounds of the mansion here are very extensive, and of the most pleasing description. On the village green, which is one of the prettiest in the county, are some fine elms, and other full-grown trees. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 10.; net income, £133; patron, J. Wills, Esq. The church consists of a nave, aisles, and chancel, of unequal height, with a tower picturesquely covered with ivy; in a chantry on the south side of the chancel is an elegant tomb, with recumbent effigies of a male and female, supposed to be those of Sir John Anne and Alicia his wife.

Aston-Pigot

ASTON-PIGOT, a township, in the parish of Worthen, hundred of Chirbury, S. division of Salop, 11 miles (N. E.) from Montgomery; containing 78 inhabitants.

Aston-Rogers

ASTON-ROGERS, a township, in the parish of Worthen, hundred of Chirbury, S. division of Salop, 2½ miles (N. E.) from Worthen; containing 174 inhabitants. The village is situated on the road between Shrewsbury and Montgomery.

Aston-Rowant (St. Peter And St. Paul)

ASTON-ROWANT (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Thame, hundred of Lewknor, county of Oxford, 3½ miles (S. E.) from Tetsworth; containing, with the townships of Chalford and Kingston-Blount, 885 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2800 acres by computation; the surface is in general flat, and the soil composed of chalk, sand, and deep clay. Many of the females are employed in lace-making. The living is a vicarage partly endowed with the great tithes, with the living of Stokenchurch annexed, and valued in the king's books at £16. 18. 11.; net income, £176; patron, the Crown. The remainder of the great tithes have been commuted for land under an act of inclosure. The church is partly in the early and partly in the later style of English architecture, and contains some ancient brasses. There is a place of worship for Independents at Kingston. Near the close of the seventeenth century, a large Roman vessel, containing five smaller ones, was discovered in Kingston field, within the parish, at the distance of about a furlong from the Ikeneld-street.

Aston-Sandford (St. Michael)

ASTON-SANDFORD (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Aylesbury, hundred of Ashendon, county of Buckingham, 3 miles (E. N. E.) from Thame; containing 86 inhabitants. It comprises 669a. 2r. 14p., of which 473 acres are tithable. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 16. 0½., and in the patronage of Mrs. Susannah Barber: the tithes have been commuted for £107, and the glebe consists of 53½ acres. The church is in the later English style, and has a wooden tower with three bells. The remains of the Rev. Thomas Scott, a learned and pious commentator on the Scriptures, and for some time rector, were interred in the chancel.

Aston-Somerville (St. Mary)

ASTON-SOMERVILLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Evesham, Lower division of the hundred of Kiftsgate, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 3½ miles (S. S. E.) from Evesham; containing 89 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Isperne, and comprises by measurement 1000 acres, of which three-fourths are arable, and the rest pasture land; the soil is a deep strong clay. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 3. 4., and in the patronage of Lord Somerville: the tithes have been commuted for £230, and there are about 40 acres of glebe. The church, a plain edifice, contains a monument to the late Lord Somerville, author of some tracts and essays on Agriculture and Rural Economy; he was a native of this place, and was interred here in 1819.

Aston, Steeple (St. Peter)

ASTON, STEEPLE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 6 miles (N. N. E.) from Woodstock; containing 580 inhabitants. This place is thought to have been occupied by the Romans, as a tessellated pavement was discovered in the vicinity in the 16th century. The parish includes the villages of Steeple-Aston and Middle Aston, and comprises 1875a. 2r. 37p.: it is skirted by the river Cherwell and the Oxford canal; and the Oxford and Rugby railway intersects a part of it. Limestone is quarried for building. The apricot-tree is cultivated extensively by the cottagers, and there are about twenty apple-orchards. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 2. 8½.; net income, £582; patrons, the Principal and Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford. The church is an ancient edifice, partly rebuilt in 1842: the north aisle, chancel, and tower are early English, and other portions in the decorated style. In a chapel on the north side of the chancel are recumbent effigies of Sir Francis Page and his lady, to whom the manor of Middle Aston formerly belonged: Sir Francis destroyed some monuments of the Dinham family to make room for his own, which was erected in his life-time. In the parish chest is preserved part of the hangings of the altar of the church, of the 14th century, richly embroidered; in the churchyard are the steps and base of a perpendicular cross. A school is endowed with £20 per annum, and a house and garden, from a bequest in 1640, by Dr. Samuel Radcliffe, principal of Brasenose College, who founded two scholarships in that college, to be supplied, if possible, from the school; he also founded an almshouse here for poor women. An account of the history and antiquities of the parish was published at Deddington, in the county, in 1845. Near the village, a strong chalybeate spring was discovered in 1833.

Aston-Sub-Edge (St. Andrew)

ASTON-SUB-EDGE (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Evesham, Upper division of the hundred of Kiftsgate, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 1¼ mile (N. N. W.) from Chipping-Campden; containing 134 inhabitants. This parish comprises by measurement 850 acres. Norton-Burnt House, so called from the greater portion of it having been destroyed by fire while the seat of Sir William Knight, Bart., is the property of the Earl of Harrowby, who, with Lord and Lady Sandon, occasionally resides here. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 2. 3½.; net income, £204; patron, the Earl. An allotment of 100 acres of land has been given in lieu of tithes. The church is a plain, neat edifice, erected in 1795, on the site of the old structure.

Aston-Tirrold (St. Michael)

ASTON-TIRROLD (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Wallingford, hundred of Moreton, county of Berks, 3½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Wallingford; containing 343 inhabitants. Bishop Gibson supposes this to be the place called in the Saxon Chronicle Aescesdune, where Ethelred I. and his brother Alfred defeated the Danes, in 871; but Gough, with greater probability, considers the battle to have been fought at Ashdown Park, near East Ilsley. The parish comprises 1650 acres by survey, and is situated near the Great Western railway. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 12. 11., and in the patronage of Magdalene College, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £278, and the glebe consists of 36 acres.

Aston-Upon-Carron

ASTON-UPON-CARRON, a tything, in the parish of Ashchurch, union of Tewkesbury, Lower division of the hundred of Tewkesbury, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 4¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Tewkesbury; containing 179 inhabitants.

Aston-Upon-Trent (All Saints)

ASTON-UPON-TRENT (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 6½ miles (S. E.) from Derby; comprising the townships of Aston, Shardlow, and Great Wilne; and containing 1952 inhabitants, of whom 646 are in Aston township. The manor was granted after the Reformation to Sir William Paget, and subsequently passed to the Ropers, from whom it was purchased in 1649 by the Holden family. A grant of a market and fair was obtained in 1256, but both have been long discontinued. The township of Aston contains 1770 acres of arable and pasture land, the soil of which is in some parts gravel and in others clay; the surface is generally level. It lies on the road from London to Manchester; and the Great Trunk navigation joins the river Trent below Shardlow, at which place are extensive wharfs. The parish contains some plaster pits. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £29. 15.; net income, £1030; patron, E. A. Holden, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land in 1762; there is a glebe-house, with glebe now comprising 383 acres. A chapel of ease has been erected at Shardlow; and the Wesleyans have a place of worship. In the village are some subscription schools; and six almshouses for widows, the rector having the nomination of the inmates.

Aston-Upthorp

ASTON-UPTHORP, a chapelry, in the parish of Blewberry, union of Wallingford, hundred of Moreton, county of Berks, 3¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Wallingford; containing 159 inhabitants. It forms a part of the parliamentary borough of Wallingford, and comprises 1270a. 1r. 2p. The chapel is said to be one of the most ancient in England.

Aston, West

ASTON, WEST, a tything, in the parish of Longparish, union of Andover, hundred of Wherwell, Andover and N. divisions of Hants; containing 170 inhabitants.

Aston, White Ladies (St. John The Baptist)

ASTON, WHITE LADIES (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Pershore, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Worcester and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 5 miles (E. by S.) from Worcester; containing 367 inhabitants. The ancient manor-house of this place, pulled down a few years since, was the abode of Oliver Cromwell, the night before the celebrated battle of Worcester. On the road to Evesham is a high hill called Lowe hill, which is bishop's land, and is supposed to be the Oswalds Lawe, or Mount, that gives name to the hundred. The parish comprises 1224a. 2r. 24p., in about equal portions of arable and pasture, with 10 acres of wood; the surface is undulated, the soil of mixed quality, and from Lowe hill are beautiful views of the Malvern hills and the surrounding country. The roads from Worcester to Alcester and Evesham pass through the parish, and the Spetchley station of the Gloucester and Birmingham railway is only about a mile and a half distant. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 17. 3½., and endowed with the great tithes; patron, R. Berkeley, Esq. The tithes have been commuted for £250. 5. 9., and there are about two acres of glebe, and a glebe-house. The church is an ancient building, with a white wooden spire, and contains a curious old font. Springs of water appear very near the surface of the soil, in this parish.