Billingham (St. Cuthbert)
BILLINGHAM (St. Cuthbert), a parish, in the
union of Stockton-Upon-Tees, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham; comprising the townships of Cowpen-Bewley and NewtonBewley, and the chapelry of Wolviston; and containing
1653 inhabitants, of whom 782 are in the township of
Billingham, 2½ miles (N. N. E.) from Stockton. This
place is distinguished as the scene of a battle fought in
the time of Eardulph, King of Northumbria. It was
given to the convent of Durham by William the Conqueror, upon a scrap of parchment which is preserved
among the muniments there, and which is not so large
as the space occupied by this notice. The parish comprises 5409a. 2r. 25p.: it is bounded on the south and
east by the river Tees; and the road from Stockton to
Sunderland passes through the village. The Clarence
railway commences at Port Clarence, about three miles
distant eastward, near Haverton Hill, north of the river
Tees, in the parish, where shipping staiths have been
erected; and pursues a course nearly east till it joins
the Stockton and Darlington railway at Sim Pasture, in
the parish of Heighington. The Stockton and Hartlepool
railway quits the Clarence railway here by a gentle curve,
and proceeds in a north-eastern direction. The Living
is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 3. 1½.;
patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The great
tithes have been commuted for £810. 18., and the vicarial tithes for £132. 11.; there are also about 110 acres of
glebe appurtenant to the vicarage. The original church,
of which little remains, is supposed to have been built
by Egbrid, Bishop of Lindisfarn, about the year 830,
and to have been given by him to the church of St.
Cuthbert, Durham; the present edifice is very ancient,
with pointed arches, and a lofty Norman tower. The
chapel of Wolviston forms a separate incumbency. There
is a place of worship for Methodists.
Billinghay (St. Michael)
BILLINGHAY (St. Michael), a parish, in the
union of Sleaford, First division of the wapentake of
Langoe, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 9½
miles (N. E.) from Sleaford; containing, with the townships of Dogdyke and Walcott, 2095 inhabitants. The
parish comprises 7827a. 2r. 22p., and is situated on the
road from Sleaford to Horncastle: a stream called Billinghay Skirth is navigable for small coal-vessels, and
runs into the river Witham about 3½ miles from the
village. An act was passed in 1840 for the more effectual drainage of land. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 4.; net income,
£450; patron, Earl Fitzwilliam. The vicarial glebe
consists of about 230 acres, with a house. There are
places of worship for dissenters.
Billingley
BILLINGLEY, a township, in the parish of Darfield, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth
and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (E. by S.)
from Barnsley; containing 220 inhabitants. This place,
which is the property of Earl Fitzwilliam, is in the heart
of a rich agricultural district: a coal-pit was opened
some years since, but it has been abandoned. The village is pleasantly situated on the declivity of an eminence. The tithes have been commuted for £190,
equally divided between the rector of the parish, and
Trinity College, Cambridge. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Billingshurst (St. Mary)
BILLINGSHURST (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union of Petworth, hundred of West Easwrith, rape
of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 7½ miles (S. W.
by W.) from Horsham; containing in East and West
Billingshurst 1439 inhabitants. It comprises 5903
acres, of which 20 are common or waste: the soil is
generally clay, upon a substratum of sandstone or beds of
Sussex marble. The river Arun, and the Arun and Wey
Junction canal, pass through the parish; and the village
is situated on the road from London to Arundel and
Bognor. It is a post-town, with a corn-market on alternate Tuesdays; and at the hamlet of Adversam fairs are
held for horses, cattle, and pigs. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 6. 0½.: the incumbent's tithes have been commuted for £200, with a
glebe of 12 acres; and the impropriate tithes, belonging
to Sir C. F. Goring, Bart., the patron, for £916, with a
glebe of 3 acres. The church consists of a nave, chancel,
and aisles, with a tower surmounted by a lofty shingled
spire. There are places of worship for Independents
and Unitarians.
Billingside
BILLINGSIDE, a township, in the parish and
union of Lanchester, W. division of Chester ward,
N. division of the county of Durham, 13 miles (N. W.)
from Durham; containing 13 inhabitants. It comprises about 340 acres, and is situated north of the
road between Shotley-Bridge and Lanchester: the river
Derwent passes about three miles distant on the west.
Billingsley (St. Mary)
BILLINGSLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Bridgnorth, hundred of Stottesden, S. division of
Salop, 6 miles (S. by W.) from Bridgnorth; comprising
about 1300 acres, and containing 149 inhabitants. Under
the name Billigesleage, historians mention this place as
the scene of a congress held between King Harold, and
Griffin, Prince of Wales, at which they engaged to observe mutual peace and amity. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 13. 4.,
and in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland; the
tithes have been commuted for £186, and there are
twelve acres of glebe. Dr. Thomas Hyde, professor of
oriental literature at Oxford, was born here in 1636.
Billington
BILLINGTON, a chapelry, in the parish and union
of Leighton-Buzzard, hundred of Manshead, county
of Bedford, 2 miles (S. E.) from Leighton; containing
323 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Leighton to London through Hemel-Hempstead, and comprises by computation 1050 acres: the Grand Junction
canal, and London and Birmingham railway, pass within
two miles of the church. The living is a perpetual
curacy, in the patronage of the Inhabitants; net income,
£45. The church is supposed to have been erected about
300 years ago.
Billington-Langho
BILLINGTON-LANGHO, a township and district
chapelry, in the parish, union, and Lower division of the
hundred, of Blackburn, N. division of the county of
Lancaster, 5½ miles (N. N. E.) from Blackburn; containing 988 inhabitants. In the reign of Stephen the
manor was held by a family of the same name. A
moiety of it was subsequently possessed by the abbey of
Whalley, the other moiety being held by the Hodlestons; and in the reign of Philip and Mary, Sir Thomas
Holcroft, the great dealer in abbey lands, died seised of
the manor, which afterwards became the property of the
Ashtons. Langho is supposed to have been the scene of
a battle that occurred between Wada, a Saxon duke, one
of the murderers of Ethelred, and Ardulph, King of
Northumbria, in the year 798, when the former was
defeated, and his army put to flight. The chapelry is
bounded on the north and east by the river Calder, and
in other parts by the Ribble; and comprises about 1800
acres. The surface is hilly, and the scenery very interesting: the soil is cold and wet, and in some places
are pits of marl, sunk to a great depth; also quarries of
stone, principally used in draining. The inhabitants are
partly employed in hand-loom weaving. The Blackburn
and Clitheroe railway passes through. The living is a
perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Blackburn; net income, £120. The chapel is seated in the
hamlet of Langho, and is called Langho chapel; it is an
ancient structure: in the south wall of the chancel is a
piscina of elegant design; and inserted in the east wall
is a font of a single stone, beautifully enriched with
tracery. There is a Roman Catholic chapel. An asylum
for insane patients was for some time conducted by the
late Dr. Chew, and is now conducted by Dr. Hindle with
every attention to the comfort and benefit of the inmates. A school for the instruction of the poor is supported by an endowment, and two schoolrooms have
been built.
Billisborrow, or Billsborough
BILLISBORROW, or Billsborough, a township,
in the parish and union of Garstang, hundred of
Amounderness, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 4½ miles (S. S. E.) from Garstang, on the road
to Preston; containing 157 inhabitants. The family of
Billisburgh was early seated here, and in the reign of
Edward II. the Banasters are mentioned as holding
lands in "Billesworth." The township comprises 784
acres; the surface is undulated, the soil various and
fertile, and the scenery picturesque. The river Brock
passes through; and there is a station, called the Brock
station, on the Lancaster and Preston railway. In the
township is a paper-mill. The impropriate tithes have
been commuted for £104. 3. There is a place of worship
for Wesleyans. John Cross, in 1718, bequeathed property producing about £70 per annum, with a house,
for the endowment of a free school for the townships of
Billisborrow and Myerscough.
Billockby (All Saints)
BILLOCKBY (ALL SAINTS), a parish, in the East
and West Flegg incorporation, hundred of West
Flegg, E. division of Norfolk, 2½ miles (N. E.) from
Acle; containing 71 inhabitants. The road from Norwich to Yarmouth intersects the parish. The living is
a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£2. 8. 9.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. William
Lucas: the tithes have been commuted for £147, and
the glebe comprises about 2 acres. The church forms
a picturesque ruin, the chancel only being fitted up for
divine worship.
Bill-Quay
BILL-QUAY, a village, in the chapelry of Nether
Heworth, parish of Jarrow, E. division of Chester
ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 3 miles
(E.) from Gateshead. This place, which has its name
from being situated opposite to Bill Point, is a manufacturing district, running along the south margin of
the river Tyne. The Arkendale and Derwent Mining
Company have works here, where lead-ore is occasionally
smelted, and where is a large mill for rolling sheet-lead,
and making the various oxides of that metal, called
"litharge" and "red lead:" the extraction of silver is
performed by a patent process. Some extensive greenglass bottle works have been established for nearly a
century and a half. There are thirteen cinder ovens in
operation; a tar, naphtha, and turpentine distillery; and
an establishment for distilling oil from bones, the calx
of which, after having been reduced to ashes, is used in
making ivory-black, &c. Among other manufactories
is one for preparing colours, and making mustard; and
Mr. Boutland has a large ship-building yard and floating-dock. In a deep dene called Catdene, now overgrown with forest-trees and thorns, are extensive quarries, from which it is said the stone was obtained for
building the walls of Newcastle.
Billy-Row, with Crook.—See Crook.
BILLY-ROW, with Crook.—See Crook.
Bilney, East (St. Mary)
BILNEY, EAST (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Mitford and Launditch, hundred of Launditch,
W. division of Norfolk, 5 miles (N. N. W.) from East
Dereham; containing 218 inhabitants. It comprises
541a. 28p., of which 338 acres are arable, 140 meadow
and pasture, and 46 woodland and plantations. The
living is a discharged rectory, with that of Beetley, and
valued in the king's books at £5. 14. 2.; patron, John
Collison, Esq.: the tithes of the parish have been commuted for £112, and there are 26 acres of glebe, with a
handsome parsonage in the Elizabethan style. The
church is an ancient structure with a low tower. William
Pearse, Esq., in 1840 built almshouses for 3 aged couples,
and endowed them with land producing £63 per annum.
Thomas Bilney, a learned divine, who was burnt at
Norwich, in the year 1531, for preaching against popery,
is said to have been born here.
Bilney, West (St. Cecilia)
BILNEY, WEST (St. Cecilia), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Freebridge-Lynn, W. division
of Norfolk, 6¼ miles (S. E. by E.) from Lynn; containing 298 inhabitants. The parish is intersected by
the road and railway from Lynn to Norwich, and comprises by measurement 2414 acres, of which about 1500
are arable, 770 meadow, pasture, and heath, and 130
woodland. The railway has a station here. The living
is a perpetual curacy; net income, £60; patron and impropriator, John Dalton, Esq. The church is chiefly in
the early English style.
Bilsby (Holy Trinity)
BILSBY (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of
Spilsby, Wold division of the hundred of Calceworth,
parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, ¾ of a mile (E.
by N.) from Alford; containing, with the hamlets of
Asserby and Thurlby, 584 inhabitants. It comprises by
computation 2800 acres, of which about 1000 are arable,
and 1800 pasture and meadow. The living is a vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £13. 3. 4.; patron, James
Mason, Esq.; impropriators, the Trustees of Caistor
grammar school: the vicarial tithes have been commuted
for £150, and the glebe consists of 15 acres. The church,
a very ancient edifice, has recently undergone great
alterations and repairs, having been previously in a very
dilapidated state. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a school has a small endowment of £5 per
annum.
Bilsdale, West Side
BILSDALE, WEST SIDE, a township, in the parish
of Hawnby, union of Helmsley, wapentake of Birdforth, N. riding of York, 8 miles (N. W. by N.) from
Helmsley; containing 168 inhabitants. This is a moorland township, extending in length between seven and
twelve miles, and rising in lofty fells at Ryedale Head;
it comprises by computation 6090 acres. The river Seth
flows on the east in a direction nearly from north to
south. In 1757, John Smales and Gregory Elsley bequeathed £120. 5., directing the proceeds to be applied
to teaching six poor boys.
Bilsdale-Midcable
BILSDALE-MIDCABLE, a chapelry, in the parish
and union of Helmsley, wapentake of Ryedale, N.
riding of York, 7 miles (N. N. W.) from Helmsley;
containing, with Bilsdale-Kirkham, 738 inhabitants.
This place is on the east side of Ryedale, and includes
the hamlets of Crosett and Chapel-Yate; it comprises
by computation 8380 acres, of which a large portion is
high moorland. The chapel, built about 20 years since,
and dedicated to St. Hilda, is a neat structure with a
square tower: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the
patronage of the Vicar of Helmsley, and has a net income
of £91. There is a place of worship for the Society of
Friends. Upon Studfast hill, in this district, the site of
a Druids' temple was discovered in 1824.
Bilsington (St. Peter and St. Paul)
BILSINGTON (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish,
in the union of East Ashford, partly in the liberty of
Romney Marsh, but chiefly in the hundred of Newchurch, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 8
miles (S. S. E.) from Ashford; containing 385 inhabitants. The parish consists of 2843 acres, of which 557
are in wood. It comprises the manors of Bilsington
Superior, or the Priory, and Bilsington Inferior, or the
Moat; and the proprietor for the time being is cupbearer to the king at his coronation, on which occasion
he presents three maple cups to his majesty, and, on
performing that office in person, receives the honour of
knighthood. The upper part of the parish is thickly
wooded, and in that portion lying in Romney Marsh are
some luxuriant pastures: the soil is clay, alternated with
sand; the chief crops are wheat, oats, beans, peas, and
hops. Over the Royal Military canal, which passes
through the parish, is a neat bridge, and adjoining it a
coal and timber wharf. A fair for toys is held on the
5th of July. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £49; patrons and impropriators, the family of
Cosway, whose tithes have been commuted for £615.
A priory for Black canons was founded here, before the
year 1253, by John Mansell, provost of Beverley, who
dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin; its revenue was
valued at the Dissolution at £81. 1. 6., and was granted
in exchange for other lands to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Bilson, county of Suffolk.—See Bildeston.
BILSON, county of Suffolk.—See Bildeston.
Bilsthorpe (St. Margaret)
BILSTHORPE (St. Margaret), a parish, in the
union of Southwell, South-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 5 miles (S.) from Ollerton; containing 244
inhabitants, and comprising 1420 acres. The living is
a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£5. 1. 8.; patron, the Earl of Scarborough: the tithes
have been commuted for £372, and there are 75 acres of
glebe. The church stands on an eminence above the
village; the tower, which has two bells, appears to have
been built in 1663.
Bilston
BILSTON, a market-town and chapelry, in the
parish, borough, and union of Wolverhampton, N.
division of the hundred of Seisdon, S. division of the
county of Stafford, 3 miles (S. E.) from Wolverhampton, 19 (S. by E.) from Stafford, and 120 (N. W.) from
London; containing 20,181 inhabitants. This place,
which formerly belonged to the portionists or prebendaries of Wolverhampton, and in their charter is called
"Bilsreton," was a royal demesne at the time of the
Conquest, and in the reign of Edward III. was, under
the appellation of "Billestune," certified to be exempt
from toll. It comprises part of the manor of Stowheath, and the whole of the manor of Bradley, separated from each other by a brook which, rising at
Sedgley, about two miles distant, forms one of the
tributaries of the river Tame, and flows through the
township. Previously to the introduction of the ironworks, Bilston merely contained a few private houses;
and its population in 1695, according to the census
then taken, was only 1004; but from the abundance
and rich quality of its coal and ironstone, and the consequent establishment of the iron-trade, it rapidly increased in extent and population, and has become one of
the largest manufacturing places in the county.
The town is situated on rising ground in the centre
of a district abounding with foundries, forges, furnaces,
steam-engines, and other works necessary for the various
processes of the iron manufacture, of which the smoke
by day and the fires by night present a scene singularly
impressive. It extends nearly two miles in length, is
irregularly built, and lighted with gas; the principal
streets contain several substantial and handsome houses,
and throughout the neighbourhood are scattered, in every
direction, the numerous habitations of persons employed in the different works. The manufacture of tin,
japanned and enamelled wares of every kind, iron-wire,
nails, screws, iron gates and palisades, machinery,
steam-engines, and all the heavier articles in the irontrade, is carried on to a very considerable extent; there
are some mills for forming pig-iron into bars, and many
iron and brass foundries. Clay, of which the coarser
kind of pottery-ware is made, and a particularly fine
sand for casting, are found in great abundance; and
there are quarries of a very hard stone much valued for
grindstones and troughs and for building, lying in horizontal strata of twelve layers gradually increasing in
thickness from the surface. The Birmingham and Staffordshire canal, which passes near the town, and several
branch canals in the vicinity, together with the Liverpool and Birmingham, and the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Dudley, railways, afford the means of
conveying the produce of the mines, the massive productions of the foundries, and the various manufactures
of the town and neighbourhood, to different parts of the
kingdom. The market days, established by act of parliament in 1825, are Monday and Saturday; and the
fairs, which are toll-free, are on Whit-Monday and the
Monday preceding the Michaelmas fair at Birmingham.
The township comprises, exclusively of the town,
1728a. 3r. 26p. which are in cultivation. The Living
is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the resident
Householders; net income, £635. The curacy was
originally founded about 1458, by the householders, at
that time about fifteen in number, who endowed it with
considerable portions of land, which were sequestered in
the reign of Edward VI. The chapel, dedicated to St.
Leonard, was built in the reign of Richard II., and rebuilt in 1826 by the united exertions of the Rev. William
Leigh, then incumbent, and the parishioners. In 1830
a chapel dedicated to St. Mary was erected at an expense
of £8500, which was defrayed by the Parliamentary
Commissioners; it is an elegant structure, in the later
English style, with an embattled tower. The minister
is appointed by the incumbent of St. Leonard's, and
derives his income from the rents of the pews, amounting to about £220 per annum. A church district named
St. Luke's, in the centre of the town, was endowed in
1845 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the living is
in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Lichfield,
alternately. There are places of worship for Baptists,
Independents, Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists,
Methodists of the New Connexion, and Roman Catholics;
also a small Welsh chapel. A Blue-coat school, called
the Town school, was founded in 1699, by Humphrey
Perry, Esq. During the prevalence of the Asiatic
cholera, in the autumn of 1832, this place suffered
severely from its destructive ravages; in the months of
August and September, 3568 of the inhabitants were
attacked, and 742 died in less than seven weeks. To
mitigate the aggravated sufferings of the poor, a subscription, amounting to £8536, was raised in various
parts of the kingdom; and for the gratuitous education
of the children under 12 years of age, in number 450,
bereaved of their parents by the visitation, two excellent
schoolrooms were erected from the surplus fund, and
opened with much solemnity.
Bilstone
BILSTONE, a chapelry, in the parish of NortonJuxta-Twycross, union of Market-Bosworth, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of
Leicester, 3½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Market-Bosworth; containing 126 inhabitants.