Barton, St. Michael
BARTON, ST. MICHAEL, a hamlet, in the parish
of St. Michael, Gloucester, union of Gloucester,
Middle division of the hundred of Dudstone and
King's Barton, E. division of the county of Gloucester; containing 1116 inhabitants. A church has been
built and endowed by subscription, the living of which
is in the gift of the Bishop of the diocese.
Barton-Mills, Little Barton, or Barton Two-grind (St. Mary)
BARTON-MILLS, Little Barton, or Barton
Two-grind (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Mildenhall, hundred of Lackford, W. division of
Suffolk, 1 mile (S. E.) from Mildenhall; containing
640 inhabitants, and comprising by measurement 2000
acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £14. 15. 10.; net income, £550; patron, the
Crown. The tithes were commuted for land and a
money payment in 1796. There is a place of worship
for Particular Baptists. The sum of about £13 per
annum, the rental of fourteen acres of fen land, devised
by the Rev. James Davies in 1692, is distributed
amongst the poor.
Barton-On-The-Heath (St. Lawrence)
BARTON-ON-THE-HEATH (St. Lawrence), a
parish, in the union of Chipping-Norton, Brails division
of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of
Warwick, 3½ miles (E.) from Moreton-in-Marsh; containing 212 inhabitants. The parish is situated at the
southern extremity of the county, and comprises 1145a.
3r. 34p., of which about one-third is arable, and 85 acres
woodland; at its south-western point is a pillar, called
the "Four-Shire stone," where the counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick, and Oxford meet. The living
is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 17. 11.;
net income, £364; patrons, the President and Fellows
of Trinity College, Oxford.
Barton-Seagrave (St. Botolph)
BARTON-SEAGRAVE (St. Botolph), a parish, in
the union of Kettering, hundred of Huxloe, N.
division of the county of Northampton, 1¾ mile (S. E.
by E.) from Kettering; containing 219 inhabitants.
The parish is situated on the road between Kettering and
Higham-Ferrers, and comprises 1759 acres. The living is
a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 17. 1.;
net income, £492, with a house; patron, the Duke of Buccleuch. The glebe consists of 60 acres. The church
exhibits specimens of very ancient architecture. An
infant school is supported by Lady Hood. John Bridges,
an industrious collector of materials for the history of
Northamptonshire, was a native of the parish.
Barton-Stacey (All Saints)
BARTON-STACEY (All Saints), a parish, in the
union of Andover, hundred of Barton-Stacey, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton,
5 miles (S. S. W.) from Whitchurch; consisting of the
tythings of Barton-Stacey, Bransbury, Drayton, and
Newton-Stacey, and containing 561 inhabitants. It
comprises 4728 acres, of which 181 are common or waste.
A fair is held on the 31st of July. The living is a
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 2. 1.; patrons
and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Winchester.
The great tithes have been commuted for £968, and
the vicarial for £260; there are 55 acres of glebe.
The church is an ancient structure of the early and
decorated English styles, with a square embattled tower
crowned with pinnacles and surmounted by an angular
turret. A school is endowed with £10. 10. per annum,
being part of the rental of land left by Dorothy and
Elizabeth Wright. A Roman road passed through the
parish, and there are vestiges of a strong intrenchment
at Bransbury.
Barton, Steeple (St. Mary)
BARTON, STEEPLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of
Oxford, 4¾ miles (S. S. W.) from Deddington; containing 640 inhabitants, of whom 60 are in the township
of Steeple-Barton, and 49 in that of Sesswells-Barton.
The parish comprises 1032a. 3r. 17p., chiefly arable
land, with about 70 acres of wood and coverts. The
Heyford and Enstone road runs through the parish,
and the Dorn brook here turns a corn-mill. Many of
the females find employment in stitching gloves for the
Woodstock manufacturers. A house at Sesswells-Barton,
now a farmhouse, belonging to Henry Hall, Esq., is a
fine specimen of Tudor architecture; it was built about
1524, and was repaired in 1679, and again in 1840. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £7. 9. 4½.; net income, £78; vicar, the Rev.
Robert Wright; impropriator, the Duke of Marlborough.
The tithes were commuted for land and an annual money
payment in 1795. The church, an ancient and spacious
structure now in much want of repair, was granted about
1260 to the canons of Osney, who, in 1536, had a revenue
of £28. 10. 5. accruing here: in the chancel are some
monuments of the Dormer family. There is a place of
worship for the Society of Friends, but it is almost
disused. A school is supported by the Rev. William
Wilson. At Sesswells are the remains of a cromlech,
and of a British earthwork.
Barton-Turf (St. Michael)
BARTON-TURF (St. Michael), a parish, in the
Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of
Tunstead, E. division of Norfolk, 11 miles (N. N. E.)
from Norwich; containing 408 inhabitants. It comprises 1599a. 14p., of which 1005 acres are arable, 309
pasture and meadow, 35 woodland, and 167 water; and
is situated on the navigable river Ant, which opens out
into a large lake or broad on the east side of the parish.
The living is a discharged vicarage, with the rectory of
Irstead united, valued in the king's books at £3. 13. 4.;
patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Norwich. The
great tithes of Barton-Turf have been commuted for £290,
and the vicarial for £168, per annum; there is half an
acre of glebe belonging to the bishop, and the vicar's
glebe comprises 27½ acres, besides 7½ in Neatshead
parish. The church contains handsome monuments to
the Norris family. Under the inclosure act, about thirty
acres of land were allotted to the poor for fuel.
Barton-Under-Needwood
BARTON-UNDER-NEEDWOOD, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of Tatenhill, union of Burtonupon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Offlow
and of the county of Stafford, 6 miles (S. W. by W.)
from Burton; containing 1459 inhabitants. This place,
in Domesday book called Bertune, gave name to one of
the five wards into which the ancient royal forest of
Needwood was divided. Edward the Confessor granted
it to Henry de Ferrers, from whom it passed to the
Somervilles, and afterwards to the earls of Derby, one
of whom forfeited the property by rebellion in 1263, when
Henry III. gave it to his youngest son, Edmund, Earl of
Lancaster. It subsequently reverted to the crown as a
part of the duchy of Lancaster, and was sold by
Charles I. in 1629 to the citizens of London, of whom it
was purchased by Sir Edward Bromfield. The township comprises 3798a. 24p., in about equal portions of
arable and pasture; the surface is elevated and undulating, and the scenery picturesque. About a mile east
of the village, is the hamlet of Barton-Turning; and
further eastward is a handsome bridge, of stone and iron,
lately erected across the Trent to Walton, at a cost of
£7000. The Grand Trunk canal passes through the
chapelry; and there is a station on the Birmingham and
Derby railway. Courts leet and baron are held annually
in October; and fairs on May 3rd and November 28th.
Among the seats are, Barton Hall, Yewtree House, Newbold Manor, and Silverhill; the last, which is the seat of
C. W. Lyon, Esq., is built in the Elizabethan style, and
the views from it are extensive and beautiful. The living
is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £135; patron,
the Dean of Lichfield. The chapel, dedicated to St.
James, is a handsome building in the later style, with a
square tower and pinnacles; it was erected in the reign
of Henry VIII. by the Rev. John Taylor, D.D., a native
of the place. The free grammar school was founded in
1593 by Thomas Russell, who, by will, left money for its
erection, and endowed it with an annuity of £21. 10., to
be paid out of property in the parish of Shoreditch,
London, held in trust by the Drapers' Company, who
have increased the annuity; besides which, the master
has a house and three acres of land: the boys are instructed on Dr. Bell's system. A school for girls is
partly supported by an endowment of £20 per annum by
the late Thomas Webb, Esq.; and numerous small sums
are appropriated to the relief of the poor. There are
several saline springs.
Barton-Upon-Humber (St. Peter)
BARTON-UPON-HUMBER (St. Peter), a markettown and parish, in the union of Glandford-Brigg,
N. division of the wapentake of Yarborough, parts of
Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 34 miles (N.) from Lincoln, and 167 (N.) from London; containing 3495 inhabitants. This place, called in the Norman survey
Berton super Humber, is of great antiquity, and is thought
to have been a Roman station; which opinion is in
some degree confirmed by the direction of the streets,
which intersect each other at right angles. During the
Saxon and Danish contests it was of considerable importance, and is said to have been surrounded by a rampart and fosse, some remains of which, called the Castle
Dykes, are still perceptible. On the invasion of Anlaff
and his confederates in the reign of Athelstan, he is
supposed to have landed part of his forces and posted
them here to act in concert with the main body of his
army, which was stationed at Barrow, previous to the
great battle of Brunnam, which took place in the adjoining township, now Burnham. At the time of the Conquest, Barton was noted for its commerce, and was one
of the manors bestowed by William the Conqueror on
his nephew, Gilbert de Gaunt, who had a castle here. It
continued to flourish as a commercial town till Edward I.
gave to Wyke-upon-Hull the appellation of "King's
town upon Hull," and made it a free borough, at which
time the trade of Barton began to decline.
The town is pleasantly situated on the south bank
of the river Humber, at the foot of the northern termination of the range of chalk hills called the Lincolnshire
Wolds; and is of considerable extent, consisting of several streets, in which are numerous good dwelling-houses
with gardens and orchards attached, and combining with
the advantages of a market-town the pleasing appearance of a rural village. The trade is principally in corn,
flour, malt, coal, and bones for manure. There are a
large ropery and sacking manufactory; two tanneries,
in one of which the larch bark is used for the finer kinds
of leather; an extensive foundry for church bells, carried
on by Mr. James Harrison, whose grandfather obtained
a premium for the best time-piece for finding the longitude at sea; and large manufactories for starch and
malt. In the vicinity is a chalkstone-quarry, producing
great quantities of stone, the larger pieces of which
are used for repairing the banks of the Humber
and other rivers, and for the construction and repair of jetties, and the smaller for mending roads;
the finest quality is sold for making plaster of Paris,
and shipped for foreign markets. The market, under
an ancient grant, is on Monday, and is well supplied
with corn and with provisions of every kind; a market
is also held every alternate Monday for fat-cattle, and a
fair, chiefly for toys, on Trinity-Thursday and the following day. The ancient ferry to Hessle, across the
Humber, which is here about a mile broad, is appurtenant to the manor, which is vested in the crown: it
has been for a long time granted to different lessees,
and is now combined with the Hull ferry, under lease
to the corporation of that town, who have established a
steam-packet. There is a station on the Hull and
Selby railway at Hessle, just mentioned; and an act
was passed in 1846 for extending the New Holland
branch of the Gainsborough and Grimsby railway, to
Barton: the extension is four miles long. The town is
under the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who
hold a petty-session every fortnight; and constables and
other officers are appointed at the court leet of the
manor, which is held annually under the crown. The
powers of the county debt-court of Barton, established
1847, extend over the Barton sub-registration-district.
The parish comprises 6240 acres, of which about 700
are arable, and 100 plantation; the land adjoining the
Humber is of a clayey quality, but the greater part is a
fine soil resting upon chalk. The living is a vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £19. 4. 8.; net income,
£261; patrons and impropriators, the Uppleby family.
The great tithes were granted by Gilbert de Gaunt to
the abbey of Bardney; and, at the inclosure of the
waste lands, the tithe allotment and glebe of the rectory
amounted to more than 1000 acres. The church is a
spacious structure, principally in the decorated English
style, with a tower, of which the upper part is evidently
early Norman, and the lower of a much more remote
date, being probably one of the very few specimens of
Saxon architecture remaining in the kingdom. There
is also a church dedicated to St. Mary, formerly called
the chapel of All Saints, which, having no endowment,
is supposed to have been built as a chapel of ease to St.
Peter's, and which, according to tradition, was rebuilt
by the merchants of Barton; it is partly Norman, but
chiefly in the early English style, of which the tower is
a very elegant specimen. There are places of worship
for Wesleyans, Independents, and Primitive Methodists,
and a Roman Catholic chapel lately erected. In the
south part of the parish is a small encampment, supposed to have been an outpost to the larger station at
Burnham, and which has long been planted with trees,
and is now styled Beaumont Cote. In November, 1828,
a Roman urn of unburnt clay, and of excellent workmanship, was dug up in the West Field of Barton, near
the line of the ancient road to Ferriby: it contained
human bones unconsumed; and near the spot where it
had been deposited was a human skeleton, the bones of
which mouldered into dust on exposure to the air.
Barton-Upon-Irwell
BARTON-UPON-IRWELL, a township, in the parish of Eccles, hundred of Salford, S. division of the
county of Lancaster, 5½ miles (W. by S.) from Manchester; containing 10,865 inhabitants. The township
lies on both banks of the Irwell from Trafford Park to
Davyhulme, where the river becomes the boundary line
till it falls into the Mersey: the Mersey and the Glazebrook also form boundaries. The manufacture of calico
and nankeen goods is carried on. The Duke of Bridgewater's canal crosses the Irwell here, by means of a
stone aqueduct of three arches, which was the first constructed in England over a navigable river; and the
Liverpool and Manchester railway also passes through
the township. Barton Old Hall, a brick edifice, now a
farmhouse, was the seat successively of the Barton,
Booth, and Leigh families. A church dedicated to St.
Catherine, a neat stone building with an elegant octagonal spire rising to a height of about 100 feet from the
ground, was consecrated on the 25th of October, 1843;
the site is elevated, and commands extensive prospects.
The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the
Bishop of Chester, Vicar of Eccles, and others. There
are places of worship for Wesleyans, Independents, Independent Methodists, the New Connexion, Unitarians,
and Roman Catholics. The Eccles parochial school, in
the township, is endowed with pew-rents, amounting to
£8 per annum; and in another school, twenty children
are partly paid for by the trustees under the will of Mr.
James Bradshaw. There is also a national school
capable of accommodating 240 children, with a residence for the master.—See Patricroft.
Barton's-Village
BARTON'S-VILLAGE, a parochial district, in the
parish of Whippingham, liberty of East Medina, Isle
of Wight division of the county of Southampton,
¼ of a mile (E.) from Newport; containing about 700 inhabitants. The district was lately formed; and a church
after the Norman style, of which the first stone was laid
by Lady Worsley Holmes in April 1840, and which
contains 400 sittings, has been completed at an expense
of £1300. The living is a curacy, in the patronage of
the Rector of Whippingham.
Barton-Westcott (St. Edward)
BARTON-WESTCOTT (St. Edward), a parish, in
the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county
of Oxford, 8 miles (N. by W.) from Woodstock; containing 290 inhabitants. It comprises 921a. 3r. 12p.,
chiefly arable land: good limestone, used for building, is
obtained. The Dorn brook, a feeder of the Evenlode,
flows through the parish; and the Heyford and Enstone
turnpike-road passes through the village. The living is
a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7; net income,
£179; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Samuel Young
Seagrave. The church is a small neat edifice, principally
in the early English style. The Wesleyans have a place
of worship, erected in 1832. The poor are entitled to
fuel, from the rent of a piece of land which is occupied
by them in spade husbandry.
Barugh
BARUGH, a township, in the parish of Darton,
wapentake of Staincross, W. riding of York, 2½ miles
(W. N. W.) from Barnsley; containing 1266 inhabitants. It includes the villages of Barugh, Gawber, and
Higham, and comprises 1693a. 2r. 21p., of which 1044
acres are arable, about 600 pasture, and 48 woodland;
the soil is generally fertile, and the population is employed in weaving, bleaching, in the collieries of Gawber,
and in agriculture. Gawber Hall, an ancient mansion,
is now a farmhouse. The village of Barugh, though
small, is neatly built, and advantageously situated near
the Barnsley canal.
Barugh-Ambo
BARUGH-AMBO, a township, in the parish of
Kirkby-Misperton, Pickering lythe and union, N.
riding of York, 5¼ miles (S. W.) from Pickering; containing 304 inhabitants, of whom 186 are in Great, and
118 in Little, Barugh. The township is situated on the
east side of the small river Seven, and comprises by
computation 2150 acres. The-hamlets are distant from
each other about a mile. Bricks and tiles are manufactured.
Barwell (St. Mary)
BARWELL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Hinckley, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the
county of Leicester, 2 miles (N. E. by N.) from Hinckley; containing 1607 inhabitants. It is situated near
the road from Leicester to Hinckley, and near the
Hinckley and Coventry canal; and comprises 2345a.
2r. 9p., in equal portions of arable and pasture. The
population is partly employed in the manufacture of
cotton-stockings, which is carried on to a great extent.
The living is a rectory, with that of Elmsthorpe united,
valued in the king's books at £20. 10. 7½.; patron and
incumbent, the Rev. George Mettam: the tithes of Barwell have been commuted for £530, and there are more
than 115 acres of glebe. The church is a handsome
structure in the later English style. There are chapels
of ease at Potters-Marston and Stapleton, in the parish;
and a place of worship for Wesleyans. A school is endowed with about £20 per annum, the bequest of Gabriel
Newton in 1760.
Barwick
BARWICK, a hamlet, in the parish of Abbot's
Roothing, hundred of Ongar, N. division of Essex;
containing 126 inhabitants.
Barwick (St. Mary)
BARWICK (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Docking, hundred of Smithdon, W. division of Norfolk, 11 miles (N.) from Rougham; containing 32 inhabitants. It comprises 1233a. 3r. 19p., and contains
Barwick House, a neat brick mansion. The living is a
discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6;
patron and impropriator, Mr. Hoste: the great tithes
have been commuted for £132, and the vicarial for one
of £100; there are 45 acres of glebe.
Barwick (St. Mary Magdalene)
BARWICK (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the
union of Yeovil, hundred of Houndsborough, Berwick, and Coker, W. division of Somerset, 1¾ mile
(S. by E.) from Yeovil; containing, with the hamlet of
Stoford, 446 inhabitants. It is situated near the road
between Yeovil and Dorchester, and comprises by measurement 784 acres. Flax-spinning is carried on to
some extent; and sheep and cattle fairs are held on
June 11th and Sept. 28th. The living is a discharged
rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 14. 7., and in
the gift of John Newman, Esq.: the tithes have been
commuted for £245, and there are 46 acres of glebe.
Barwick-In-Elmet (All Saints)
BARWICK-IN-ELMET (All Saints), a parish, in
the Lower division of the wapentake of Skyrack, W.
riding of York, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Leeds; containing 2275 inhabitants, of whom 1836 are in Barwick
township. This place was the seat of Edwin, King of
Northumbria, and had its name from a castle of great
magnitude and strength, founded by that monarch on
an eminence called Hall-Tower Hill, and the walls of
which inclosed an area of upwards of thirteen acres.
On the banks of Grimsdike rivulet, which flows on the
west, was fought in 655 the great battle between the
Northumbrians and Mercians, when Penda and many of
his vassal princes were slain. The parish comprises by
measurement 8325 acres, whereof 1440 are in the township of Roundhay, and the remainder in Barwick township, which includes Barnbow, Kiddal-with-Potterton,
and Morwick-with-Scholes: the substratum consists for
a great part of coal and limestone. The Leeds and
Selby railway passes through. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £33. 12. 6., and in the
patronage of the Duchy of Lancaster, with a net income
of £1200: the church is a handsome structure, in the
later English style. At Roundhay is a district church.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A school,
endowed with £14 per annum, is conducted at Barwick;
and at Stanks is a school supported by the rector, the
schoolroom of which, built in 1839, is licensed for public
worship.
Baschurch (All Saints)
BASCHURCH (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Ellesmere, hundred of Pimhill, N. division of
Salop, 8 miles (N. W. by N.) from Shrewsbury; containing 1491 inhabitants. It is intersected by the Ellesmere canal; and comprises 8213a. 1r. 10p., exclusively
of the chapelry of Little Ness, which by computation
contains 1300 acres: red sandstone for building is
quarried. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £10. 16., and in the patronage of
the Crown; net income, £203; impropriators, certain
Landowners in the parish: the glebe comprises 40 acres.
At Little Ness is a chapel of ease. Vestiges of a Roman
camp may be traced in the neighbourhood.
Basford
BASFORD, a township, in the parish of Wybunbury, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of
the county of Chester, 4¾ miles (E.) from Nantwich;
containing 85 inhabitants. It comprises 642a. 3r. 29p.,
of a clayey, loamy, and sandy soil. The Liverpool and
Birmingham railway passes through the township, and
has a station on Basford Heath. The tithes have been
commuted for £58 payable to the Bishop of Lichfield,
and £6. 6. to the vicar of Wybunbury.
Basford (St. Leodgarius)
BASFORD (St. Leodgarius), a parish, and the
head of a union, in the N. division of the wapentake of
Broxtow and of the county of Nottingham, 2½ miles
(N. W. by N.) from Nottingham; containing 8688 inhabitants. This parish, which is pleasantly situated in
the vale of the river Leen, has a rich sandy soil, and
is ornamented around the extensive village of Old
Basford with well-wooded scenery, thickly studded
with modern mansions. Newly-rising and populous
villages, the houses of which are chiefly built of brick
and covered with blue slate, have lately sprung up in
several parts, the principal of them being New Basford,
Carrington on the Mansfield road, Mapperley-place,
and Sherwood. New Basford is situated at the southern
extremity of the old village, and consists of several good
streets which cross each other at right angles, and the
principal occupants of which are persons employed in
the manufacture of bobbin-net. The parish abounds
with numerous springs of soft water; it has been
selected as a place well adapted for the bleaching of
cotton-hose and lace, and several large factories have
been established for the manufacture of those articles.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£8. 17. 7., and in the patronage of the Crown; net
income, £260; impropriator, the Duke of Newcastle:
the tithes were commuted for land in 1792. The church,
which is situated at the southern extremity of the village, was repaired in 1819, when it received an addition
of 212 free sittings. A church district named New Basford was formed in 1847 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; patrons, the Crown and the Bishop alternately.
At Carrington is a church dedicated to St. John. There
are places of worship for Wesleyans, Methodists of the
New Connexion, and Baptists. The poor law union of
Basford comprises 43 parishes, of which 38 are in the
county of Nottingham, and 5 in the county of Derby,
and contains a population of 59,634; the workhouse
was formerly the house of industry for 32 parishes in
the county, and is a modern stone building.
Basford
BASFORD, a township, in the parish of Cheddleton, union of Cheadle, N. division of the hundred of
Totmonslow and of the county of Stafford, 3 miles
(S. by E.) from Leek; containing 349 inhabitants. The
river Churnet and the Uttoxeter canal pass on the
west.
Bashall-Eaves
BASHALL-EAVES, a township, in the parish of
Mitton, union of Clitheroe, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of
York, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Clitheroe; containing
279 inhabitants. This place, long distinguished as the
residence of the Talbots, has been variously designated
Beckshalgh, Batsalve, Bakesholf, and Bashall; but the
first orthography is the true one, viz., Beckshalgh, or
"the hill by the brooks," which agrees precisely with
its situation: in Domesday book it is styled Baschelf.
The township comprises about 3640 acres, and includes
the small hamlets of Exa and Pagefold: the river Ribble
passes on the east. John Taylor, Esq., of Moreton, is
lord of the manor. There is a place of worship for
Wesleyans.
Basildon (St. Bartholomew)
BASILDON (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the
union of Bradfield, hundred of Moreton, county of
Berks, 8 miles (N. W. by W.) from Reading; containing
812 inhabitants. This place appears to have been anciently a place of much greater importance than it is at
present, being noticed in Domesday book as having two
churches; and in the reign of Edward II. the inhabitants obtained the grant of a weekly market, and a fair
on St. Barnabas' day. The parish comprises 3083a.
6p., of which 52 acres are roads and waste; the soil
varies, but is principally flinty; the ground is hilly, and
the vicinity abounds with picturesque scenery. The
river Thames here separates the counties of Oxford and
Berks, and is crossed by a viaduct of four arches on the
line of the Great Western railway, erected at a cost of
£25,000. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the
living of Ashampstead annexed, valued in the king's
books at £7. 14. 4½.; patrons, alternately, the family of
Sykes and the Trustees of the late Rev. C. Simeon. The
great tithes have been commuted for £770, and the
vicarial for £215 per annum; the glebe comprises 19
acres. The church contains some hatchments of the
family of Fane, formerly proprietors of the estate; also
some chaste monuments belonging to the family of Sir
Francis Sykes, Bart. In excavating for the railway, a
beautiful tessellated pavement was discovered a few
inches below the surface of an elevated spot, not far from
the Thames; and coins of Vespasian in a high state of
preservation, domestic utensils, and several skeletons,
with a Roman sword lying near them, were also found
in the immediate neighbourhood.
Basildon
BASILDON, a chapelry, in the parish of Laindon,
union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S. division of Essex, 4½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Billericay;
containing 157 inhabitants. This is a place of considerable antiquity, and contains three manors. The
mansion of the manor of Barstable was about half a
mile from the chapel of Basildon, and is said to have
been surrounded by a town that gave name to the hundred; which is rendered probable by the fact, that
foundations of houses have been ploughed up in the
vicinity, as well as considerable quantities of human
bones. The record of Domesday informs us that the
estate of Barstable had been taken from a Saxon freeman, and given to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux; in the reign
of Edward III., it was generally holden, with the hundred, of the king. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy
Cross, is a neat and substantial edifice, consisting of a
nave and chancel, with an embattled tower surmounted
by a spire. The tithes have been commuted for £280,
and there is a glebe of 23 acres.
Basing (St. Mary)
BASING (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and
hundred of Basingstoke, Basingstoke and N. divisions
of the county of Southampton, 2 miles (E. N. E.) from
Basingstoke; containing 1172 inhabitants. This place
is remarkable for having been the scene of the defeat of
King Ethelred I. by the Danes, in 871. At the period
of the Norman survey, Hugh de Port held fifty-five
lordships in the county, of which Basing was the head.
The castle was rebuilt, in a sumptuous manner, by Sir
William Paulet, Knt., a lineal descendant from Hugh de
Port, created Marquess of Winchester by Edward VI.,
and one of the most polite noblemen of the age: here,
in 1560, he entertained Queen Elizabeth, who honoured
his great-grandson William, the fourth marquess, with a
visit, in 1601. John, the fifth marquess, distinguished
himself for his gallant defence of his house at Basing, in
the cause of Charles I., through a series of sieges that
lasted for two years, at the end of which, in Oct. 1645,
it was stormed and taken by Cromwell, who ordered it
to be burned to the ground. The fortress and its outworks occupied an area of about fourteen acres and a
half, through which the Basingstoke canal now passes;
the remains consist principally of the north gateway and
part of the outer wall. The river Loddon and the
London and Southampton railway run through the
parish, which comprises about 4000 acres; the surface
is undulated, and the soil chalk, clay, and gravel. The
living is annexed to the vicarage of Basingstoke: the
great tithes, payable to Magdalen College, Oxford, have
been commuted for £705, with a glebe of 19 acres, and
those of the incumbent for £475. The church is a large
ancient structure, with a central tower, and contains the
family vault of the Paulets, in which all the dukes of
Bolton of that family have been interred.