Blankney, or Blackney (St. Oswald)
BLANKNEY, or Blackney (St. Oswald), a parish,
in the union of Sleaford, Second division of the
wapentake of Langoe, parts of Kesteven, county of
Lincoln, 10 miles (N.) from Sleaford; containing, with
the hamlet of Linwood, 640 inhabitants. It comprises
by computation 5000 acres, chiefly arable land. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£16. 10. 7½.; net income, £752; patron, C. Chaplin,
Esq. On Blankney heath are the remains of a British
camp about eighty yards in diameter, with a fosse; the
site has been recently planted by Mr. Chaplin.
Blaston (St. Michael)
BLASTON (St. Michael), a chapelry, in the parish
of Hallaton, union of Uppingham, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester, 7 miles
(N. E.) from Market-Harborough; containing, with
Blaston St. Giles, 102 inhabitants. The chapel is a
small plain building. Another chapel, called the Nether
chapel, dedicated to St. Giles, was founded by Richard I.,
to whom the manor belonged, and rebuilt about 1710:
it is a donative belonging to the lord of the manor;
patron, the Rev. G. O. Fenwick. The tithes of Blaston
St. Michael's, payable to the minister of Hallaton, have
been commuted for £74, and there is a glebe of 7 acres:
the incumbent of Blaston St. Giles' receives £169, and
has a glebe of 44 acres.
Blatchington, or Bletchington, East (St. Peter)
BLATCHINGTON, or BLETCHINGTON, EAST
(St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Newhaven,
hundred of Flexborough, rape of Pevensey, E. division of Sussex, ¼ of a mile (N.) from Seaford; containing 163 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 700
acres, of which 405 are arable, and 295 pasture; and is
bounded on the south by the English Channel, and intersected by the road from Newhaven to Seaford. The
living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books
at £14; net income, £88; patron, the Rev. R. N.
Dennis. The church is a neat edifice in the early English style of architecture.
Blatchington, West (St. Peter)
BLATCHINGTON, WEST (St. Peter), a parish,
in the union of Steyning, hundred of Whalesbone,
rape of Lewes, E. division of Sussex, 1½ mile (N. W.
by W.) from Brighton; containing 64 inhabitants. The
living is a discharged rectory, consolidated with the
vicarage of Brighton, and valued in the king's books at
£6. 4. 4½.: the tithes have been commuted for £200.
The church is in ruins. On an elevated spot commanding an extensive range of the coast, were discovered
in 1818 the site and some vestiges of a Roman villa.
Blatchinworth, with Calderbrook
BLATCHINWORTH, with Calderbrook, a township, in the parish and union of Rochdale, hundred
of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster,
4 miles (N. E.) from Rochdale; containing 4456 inhabitants.—See Littleborough.
Blatherwycke (Holy Trinity)
BLATHERWYCKE (Holy Trinity), a parish, in
the union of Oundle, hundred of Corby, N. division
of the county of Northampton, 8 miles (W. S. W.) from
Wansford, and 8 (E. N. E.) from Rockingham; containing 236 inhabitants, with a portion of Rockingham
Forest, said to be extra-parochial. This parish, which is
intersected by the road from Kettering to Stamford,
comprises 2105a. 2r. 39p. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £14. 13. 3.; net income,
£394; patron, Augustus Stafford, Esq.: the glebe
consists of about 400 acres, with a house. Blatherwycke anciently included two parishes, united in 1448,
since which one of the churches, dedicated to St. Mary
Magdalene, has been demolished; the existing structure
is a mixture of the Norman and early English styles.
There are a chalybeate and a sulphureous spring in
Blatherwycke Park.
Blawith
BLAWITH, a chapelry, in the parish and union of
Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands,
N. division of the county of Lancaster, 7 miles (N.)
from Ulverston; containing 186 inhabitants. Portions
of the manors of Ulverston, Egton with Newland, Torver,
and Conishead, constitute this township. The living
is a perpetual curacy; net income, £59; patron and
impropriator, T. R. G. Braddyll, Esq. The chapel existed in 1715. In 1772 Margaret Lancaster bequeathed
£50, and in 1777 William Lancaster gave £110, for the
support of a school.
Blaxhall (St. Peter)
BLAXHALL (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Plomesgate, E. division of Suffolk,
3¾ miles (E. by N.) from Wickham-Market, and 7 (N. E.)
from Woodbridge; containing 173 inhabitants. It comprises 1975 acres, of which 115 are common or waste.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20,
and in the gift of Andrew Arcedeckne, Esq.: the tithes
have been commuted for a yearly rent-charge of £510,
and there are 80 acres of glebe.
Blaxton
BLAXTON, a township, in the parish of Finningley, union and soke of Doncaster, W. riding of the
county of York, 4¾ miles (N. by E.) from Bawtry; containing 183 inhabitants.
Blaydon
BLAYDON, a village, in the parish of Winlaton,
union of Gateshead, E. division of Chester ward,
N. division of the county of Durham, 4 miles (W.) from
Newcastle-upon-Tyne; containing 1114 inhabitants.
This place is situated on the south of the Tyne; the
soil is generally light, but produces good wheat, turnips,
and potatoes, and the scenery is varied with hill and
dale, wood and water. The river affords great facility
for the conveyance of coal, of which immense quantities
are sent in keels from the Townley-main, Blaydon-main,
and Cowen's collieries, to the shipping at Shields.
There is an extensive manufactory and depôt for lead;
the lead is brought from the Allendale and Weardale
mines, where it is smelted, to the works here, where it
is manufactured, and shipped for the London market.
At this place are also some white-lead and sulphuric-acid
works, established in 1839; an iron manufactory for
chains, nails, &c.; a cast-iron foundry for ovens, stoves,
engines, and other articles; a coke and lamp-black
factory; a steel and iron forge; and a fire-brick manufactory. A good road from Newcastle crosses the Tyne
by an elegant suspension-bridge at Scotswood, and
forms a junction with the Gateshead and Hexham turnpike here; the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, also, has
a station at which the trains meet from Newcastle and
Gateshead. A church, for which a site was given by Mr.
Beaumont, was consecrated in August, 1845; it is called
St. Cuthbert's. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Methodists of the
New Connexion.
Blaydon-Burn
BLAYDON-BURN, a hamlet, in the parish of Winlaton, union of Gateshead, W. division of Chester
ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 6 miles
(W. S. W.) from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It is picturesquely situated on the Tyne, at the confluence of a
small rivulet or burn; and has an extensive establishment where fire-bricks, fire-clay retorts for gas-works,
flint for potteries, and almost every article of which fireclay is susceptible, are manufactured: the first fire-clay
made into bricks in this part of the country, was produced at these works about 80 years ago. A colliery is
in full operation, employing from 200 to 300 hands; and
there is a private railway winding through the romantic
dell of Blaydon-Burn, opened in 1841, and extending to
the Tyne, whence goods are conveyed by wherries to
Newcastle and Shields, and there shipped.
Blazey (St.)
BLAZEY (ST.), a parish, in the union of St. Austell, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the
county of Cornwall, 4 miles (E. N. E.) from St. Austell;
containing 3284 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1480
acres, of which 71 are common or waste; the surface is
hilly, and in the lower grounds is subject to inundation.
The substratum is rich in mineral produce, and mines of
copper and tin are extensively wrought. The living is
a vicarage, in the gift of Col. Carlyon: the impropriate
tithes have been commuted for £120, and the vicarial
for the same amount. A church district named Par was
formed in 1846 out of the parishes of St. Blazey and
Tywardreth, by the Ecclesiastical Commission. There
are places of worship for Wesleyans.
Bleadon (St. Peter)
BLEADON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of
Axbridge, hundred of Winterstoke, E. division of
Somerset, 5¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Axbridge; containing, with the hamlets of Oldmixton and Shipslade,
778 inhabitants. It comprises 2745 acres, whereof 854
are common or waste. The navigable river Axe passes
through the parish, and a considerable trade in coal is
carried on. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £27. 7. 8½.; net income, £469, patron, the
Bishop of Winchester. Meric Casaubon, D.D., an eminent critic and divine, and son of the celebrated Isaac
Casaubon, was collated to the benefice about 1624. Here
are vestiges of a British settlement, but the Roman road
on which it stood can scarcely be traced; and there are
several barrows on an eminence in the vicinity.
Bleane.—See Cosmus (St.) and Damian.
BLEANE.—See Cosmus (St.) and Damian.
Bleasby
BLEASBY, a hamlet, in the parish of Legsby, union
of Caistor, W. division of the wapentake of Wraggoe,
parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln; containing 123
inhabitants.
Bleasby (St. Mary)
BLEASBY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Southwell, Southwell division of the wapentake of
Thurgarton, S. division of the county of Nottingham,
4 miles (S. S. E.) from Southwell; containing 353 inhabitants. It comprises 1468a. 1r. 5p., of which 760 acres are
arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture: the
surface presents hill and vale; the soil is clay and sand.
The village occupies a secluded situation on the western
side of the river Trent, over which is a ferry; it is a
pleasant, straggling place. Within the limits of the
parish are the hamlets of Notown, Goverton, and Gibsmere, and Heaselford ferry, near which the Trent forms
two channels, and encompasses an island of twenty
acres, called the "Knabs." The living is a discharged
vicarage, in the patronage of the Chapter of the Collegiate
Church of Southwell, valued in the king's books at £4;
it is held with the perpetual curacy of Morton, and has a
net income of £115. The tithes were commuted for land in
1777; the vicarial portion consists of 58 acres, and there
is a vicarage-house, built in 1843. The church is an
ancient edifice, in the early English style, with modern
alterations, and is in good repair.
Bleasdale
BLEASDALE, a chapelry, in the parish of Lancaster, union of Garstang, hundred of Amounderness,
N. division of the county of Lancaster, 7 miles (E. by
N.) from Garstang; containing 249 inhabitants. The
forest of Bleasdale, which is held of the crown, in right
of the duchy of Lancaster, comprises about 8490 acres,
and is co-extensive with the township; it is wild and
mountainous, and the upper ridge of hills joins the
county of York: the soil is of a clayey quality. There
is a good stone-quarry; also a paper-mill. Six thousand
acres belong to William Garnett, Esq., whose house here,
called Bleasdale Tower, is the residence of his son,
W. J. Garnett, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy, in
the patronage of the Vicar of Lancaster; net income,
£73, with a house: there are about 22 acres of glebe.
The chapel, called Admarsh Chapel, is a neat edifice
with a square tower, rebuilt in 1835; it has a beautiful
east window of stained glass, executed by Ward of
London, the gift in 1840 of Mr. Sergeant Bellasis. A
school here has an endowment of £22 per annum.
Bleatarn
BLEATARN, a hamlet, in the parish of Warcop,
East ward and union, county of Westmorland, 4¾
miles (W. by S.) from Brough. John Tailbois, in the
reign of Henry II., gave the manor to the abbot of Byland, in Yorkshire, who founded a cell in the vicinity,
the ruins of which indicate the conventual buildings to
have been somewhat extensive. The Sawbridge estate,
and others within the manor, are tithe-free if occupied
by their respective owners, but subject to the claim if
held by a tenant. Limestone abounds.
Blechingdon (St. Giles)
BLECHINGDON (St. Giles), a parish, in the union
of Bicester, hundred of Ploughley, county of Oxford, 5 miles (E. by N.) from Woodstock; containing
638 inhabitants. It is bordered on the south-west by
the Oxford canal; and contains quarries of stone well
adapted for building and paving. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 9. 4½., and in
the gift of Queen's College, Oxford: the tithes have
been commuted for £272. 18., and the glebe consists
of 209½ acres. Leonard Power, by will in 1620,
endowed an almshouse for four poor persons; it was
rebuilt about the end of the last century, and £33 per
annum are assigned for the support of the inmates.
Dr. Mills, Principal of St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford, and
author of the Prolegomena, was rector of the parish; he
was interred in the church, and a handsome monument
has been erected to his memory.
Bledington (St. Leonard)
BLEDINGTON (St. Leonard), a parish, in the
union of Stow-on-the-Wold, Upper division of the
hundred of Slaughter, E. division of the county of
Gloucester, 4 miles (S. E. by E.) from Stow; containing 354 inhabitants. It comprises by computation
1400 acres, and is divided from Oxfordshire by the
Evenlode stream, by which the flat grounds are sometimes flooded; the soil is gravelly, with some clay, and
the surface level. The living is a discharged vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.; net income,
£88; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Canons
of Christ-Church, Oxford, to whom land and a money
payment were assigned in lieu of tithes in 1769.
Bledlow (Holy Trinity)
BLEDLOW (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union
of Wycombe, hundred of Aylesbury, county of Buckingham, 5½ miles (E. S. E.) from Thame; containing
1205 inhabitants. It comprises 4112a. 1r. 1p., of which
about 500 acres are woodland, 100 pasture, and onethird of the rest meadow and two-thirds arable. There
are two paper-mills, and females find employment by
making cotton and blond lace by hand on pillows. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £16. 9. 7.; net income, £250; patron, Lord
Carrington: land and money payments were assigned
in 1809, in lieu of all tithes, woodlands excepted. The
church was erected about the year 1200. At Bledlow
Ridge, three miles from the church, is a chapel, which
was rebuilt by subscription in 1835, and is vested in
three trustees; the vicar, who is also chaplain, being
one. There is also a Wesleyan meeting-house at Bledlow Ridge; and several endowments, amounting to about
£30 per annum, have been left to the poor.
Blencarn, with Kirkland.—See Kirkland.
BLENCARN, with Kirland.—See Kirkland.
Blencogo
BLENCOGO, a township, in the parish of Bromfield, union of Wigton, Cumberland ward, E. division of Cumberland, 4½ miles (W. by S.) from Wigton;
containing 211 inhabitants. The Rev. Jonathan Boucher, who published a Supplement to Dr. Johnson's
Dictionary, was born here in 1738.
Blencow, Great
BLENCOW, GREAT, a township, in the parish of
Dacre, union of Penrith, Leath ward, E. division of
Cumberland, 5 miles (W. N. W.) from Penrith; containing 64 inhabitants. In 1772 land and a money
payment were assigned to the impropriator in lieu of
tithes. A grammar school, of high repute, was founded
in 1576 by Thomas Burbank, who endowed it with
property now producing about £200 per annum: a new
schoolroom, and a house for the master, were built in
1793. The late Lord Ellenborough received a part of
his early education at this school, which has also produced several distinguished clergymen.
Blencow, Little
BLENCOW, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of
Greystock, union of Penrith, Leath ward, E. division of Cumberland, 4¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Penrith; containing 69 inhabitants. Near an ancient
house, once the residence of the Blencows, are some
dispersed ruins of buildings, particularly those of a
chapel, with a burial-ground adjoining; and near the
road is an inclosed cemetery, in which stands a stone
cross, with the arms of the family engraved on it.
Blendon
BLENDON, a hamlet, in the parish of Bexley,
union of Dartford, hundred of Lessness, lathe of
Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent; containing
122 inhabitants.
Blendworth (St. Giles)
BLENDWORTH (St. Giles), a parish, in the union
of Catherington, hundred of Finch-Dean, Petersfield
and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, ¾ of
a mile from Horndean; containing 280 inhabitants.
It comprises 1421a. 1r. 23p., of which 611 acres are
arable, 146 meadow, 386 downs, and 253 woodland:
the soil is chalky, and the surface level and dry. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£6. 7. 8½., and in the gift of the Rev. Edward Langton
Ward: the tithes have been commuted for two rentcharges, £130 payable to the incumbent of Chalton,
and £243 to the rector of Blendworth, who has also a
glebe of 6 acres. William Appleford, in 1695, gave
£200 in trust, to be invested in land, and the proceeds
applied to education.
Blenheim-Park
BLENHEIM-PARK, an extra-parochial district, in
the liberty of Oxford (though locally in the hundred of
Wootton), union of Woodstock, county of Oxford;
containing 109 inhabitants. This district was granted in
1704, by Queen Anne, to John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, in reward of the splendid victory obtained by
him over the French and Bavarians, on the 2nd of
August, near the village of Blenheim; and the grant
was confirmed by parliament in the following year, when
the house of commons voted the sum of £500,000 for
the erection of a palace. The structure was completed
in 1715, after a design by Sir John Vanbrugh, and is a
magnificent pile 850 feet in extreme length, generally
considered to be the only public work of magnitude sufficient for the full development of the genius of that
architect, and consequently regarded as his chef d'æuvre.
In the centre of the principal front is a projecting portico of the Corinthian order supporting a triangular
pediment, crowned on the apex by a statue of Minerva,
and displaying in the tympanum the armorial bearings
of the duke; at each extremity of the front is a lofty
massive tower. The demesne, which comprises 2940
acres, and is inclosed by a wall twelve miles in circuit,
is intersected by the river Glyme, which passes in its
several windings under bridges of elegant design, and
expands into a noble and beautifully picturesque lake,
250 acres in extent. On a fine lawn is a column 130
feet in height, surmounted by a colossal statue of the
duke, holding in one hand his baton of command, and
in the other a figure of Victory. In different parts of
the grounds are temples, grottoes, and statues of beautiful design; and the numerous lodges at the various
entrances into the widely-extended demesne, form interesting features in the scenery of the contiguous villages:
the principal approach is from Woodstock, under a
triumphal arch. The Roman Akeman-street passes
through the northern portion of the park, and may be
distinctly traced near the lodge.
Blenkinsopp
BLENKINSOPP, a township, in the parish and
union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward,
S. division of Northumberland, 1½ mile (W.) from
Haltwhistle; containing 845 inhabitants. This has
long been the property of the Blenkinsopp family. In
1399 "Thomas de Blencansopp" had a license to fortify
his mansion: it occurs in the list of border castles about
1416; and in 1488 its proprietor committed the custody
of it to Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, at that
time warden of the west and middle marshes, when it is
supposed that the Blenkinsopps abandoned it finally as
a residence. The township comprises 4725 acres,
whereof 3844 are common or waste; and is situated on
the road from Newcastle to Carlisle, and near the site of
the Roman station Magna, now called Caer Voran, which
latter name it must have received from the ancient
Britons, probably from having been placed under the
tutelage of the virgin goddess Minerva, Caer Vorwen or
Morwen signifying Maiden's fort. The foundations of
buildings and traces of streets are still evident to the
view; the Roman wall is strongest near this station, and
at the distance of a quarter of a mile is more than twelve
feet high and nine broad. The geological features of the
district are generally interesting, and the township
abounds in mineral wealth: coal of good quality is very
extensively wrought by a company, and near the collieries
are quarries of grey slate and limestone. The Newcastle
and Carlisle railway passes through the township, and
attains its summit level a mile and a half to the northwest of the village of Greenhead (which see), where four
locomotive engines are usually stationed. Blenkinsopp
Castle, the seat of the ancient family of that name, and
now in the possession of their descendant, John Blenkinsopp Coulson, Esq., is a venerable pile of grey massive
walls, with a farmhouse attached, used as the residence
of the agent of the colliery.