Bourton
BOURTON, a tything, in the parish and hundred of
Shrivenham, union of Farringdon, county of Berks,
7 miles (S. W. by S.) from Farringdon; containing 396
inhabitants; and, according to a survey in 1838, comprising 1182 acres.
Bourton
BOURTON, a hamlet, in the parish, union, hundred,
and county of Buckingham, 1½ mile (E.) from Buckingham; containing 48 inhabitants.
Bourton
BOURTON, a chapelry, in the parish and liberty of
Gillingham, union of Mere, Shaston division of
Dorset, 2½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Mere; containing
901 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in
the patronage of the Vicar and Inhabitants; net income,
£50. The chapel has been enlarged within the last few
years. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Bourton, with Easton
BOURTON, with Easton, a tything, in the parish of
Bishop's Cannings, union of Devizes, hundred of
Potterne and Cannings, Devizes and N. divisions of
Wilts; containing 216 inhabitants.
Bourton, Black (St. Mary)
BOURTON, BLACK (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union of Witney, hundred of Bampton, county of
Oxford, 4 miles (S. W.) from Witney; containing 331
inhabitants, and comprising about 2250 acres. The
living is a discharged vicarage; net income, £151;
patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Canons of
Christ-Church, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £95. The church is in the early English
style: in the chancel are the remains of Sir Arthur
Hopton, ambassador to the court of Spain in the reign
of Charles I., and at the east end of the north aisle are
several monuments to the Hungerford family; the pulpit is of stone, exquisitely sculptured in the decorated
English style.
Bourton, Flax
BOURTON, FLAX, a parish, in the union of Bedminster, hundred of Portbury, E. division of Somerset, 5½ miles (W. by S.) from Bristol; containing 232
inhabitants. This place derives the adjunct by which it
is distinguished from other places of the same name,
from the manor having anciently belonged to the abbot
of Flaxley, in the county of Gloucester. The parish is
situated at the base of a chain of hills forming the
commencement of the Mendip range, and, from the
higher grounds, commands a fine view of the Bristol
Channel, with the distant sea; it comprises an area of
621a. 2r. 3p. of fertile land. The village is pleasantly
situated on the road to Weston-super-Mare, at the
extremity of the parish; and the Bristol and Exeter
railroad passes in the immediate vicinity. The living is
a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of
Nailsea: the tithes have been commuted for £95. The
church is a small edifice, chiefly in the Norman style,
with a low embattled tower; the entrance is under a
beautiful arch of Norman character: in the churchyard
are the remains of a very ancient cross.
Bourton, Great and Little
BOURTON, GREAT and LITTLE, a township, in
the parish of Cropredy, union and hundred of Banbury, county of Oxford, 3 miles (N.) from Banbury;
containing 593 inhabitants. The tithes were commuted
for land and money payments in 1777. In Great Bourton is an interesting chapel, in the early English style,
now used as a school and house for the master: the
school was endowed by Mr. Thomas Gill, with rentcharges on lands now belonging to Sir Egerton Leigh
and others, producing a net income of £18 per annum.
Bourtonhold
BOURTONHOLD, a hamlet, in the parish, union,
hundred, and county of Buckingham; containing 614
inhabitants.
Bourton-on-the-Hill (St. Lawrence)
BOURTON-on-the-Hill (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Shipston, partly in the Upper
division of the hundred of Tewkesbury, and partly in
the Upper division of that of Westminster, E. division
of the county of Gloucester, 2 miles (W. by N.) from
Moreton; containing 542 inhabitants. The living is a
rectory, with the living of Moreton annexed, valued in
the king's books at £14; net income, £675; patron
and incumbent, the Rev. S. W. Warneford: the tithes
were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1821. Sir
Thomas Overbury, an ingenious writer in the reign of
James I., who was poisoned while a prisoner in the
Tower, was born here in 1581.
Bourton-on-the-Water (St. Lawrence)
BOURTON-on-the-Water (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Stow-on-the-Wold, Lower division of the hundred of Slaughter, E. division of the
county of Gloucester, 4 miles (S. S. W.) from Stow;
containing 943 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, with
the living of Lower Slaughter annexed, valued in the
king's books at £27. 2. 8½., and in the patronage of
Wadham College, Oxford; net income, £475. The
church is a modern edifice, having a tower at the
western end, rising from a rustic basement, with Ionic
pilasters at the angles, and surmounted by a balustrade,
urns, and cupola; within is a colonnade of the Ionic
order. There is a place of worship for Particular Baptists; and a school is endowed with £12 per annum,
accruing from property bequeathed by Anthony Collett,
in 1719. The Roman Fosse-way passes through the
parish; and about a quarter of a mile from the village is
a square intrenchment, where coins, and other relics of
the Romans, have been discovered: a paved aqueduct
was formerly visible on one side of it. John Foster,
author of the Essays, resided for some time in the
village.
Bourton-upon-Dunsmoor (St. Mary)
BOURTON-upon-Dunsmoor (St. Mary), a parish,
in the union of Rugby, Rugby division of the hundred
of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick,
4 miles (W. by S.) from Dunchurch; containing, with
the tything of Draycot, 390 inhabitants. The manor
was held by the Verdons, lords of Brandon. In the
time of Henry III. it came to the Garshales, in which
family it continued in the male line for several generations; it afterwards passed by marriage to the Burdets
and Staffords, and from the latter was purchased
by the Shuckburghs, of Birdingbury. The parish
comprises about 2000 acres, divided into arable and
pasture; the surface is undulated, the scenery picturesque: limestone abounds. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £19. 17. 3½., and in the
patronage of Mrs. Shuckburgh; net income, £450. The
tithes were commuted for land in 1765. The church is
an ancient edifice. The Baptists have a place of worship; and there is a small school.
Boustead-Hill
BOUSTEAD-HILL, a township, in the parish of
Burgh-upon-the-Sands, union of Carlisle, Cumberland ward, and E. division of Cumberland, 7½ miles
(W. N. W.) from Carlisle; containing 74 inhabitants.
Boveney, Lower
BOVENEY, LOWER, a chapelry, in the parish and
hundred of Burnham, union of Eton, county of Buckingham, 2 miles (W.) from Eton; containing, with the
liberty of Upper Boveney, 362 inhabitants, and comprising 407 acres, of which 70 are common or waste.
The chapel, in which divine service is performed once a
month, is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. The great
tithes have been commuted for £97, and the vicarial
for £25.
Boveridge
BOVERIDGE, a tything, in the parish of Cranborne, union of Wimborne and Cranborne, hundred
of Monckton-up-Wimborne, Wimborne division of
Dorset; containing 174 inhabitants. Here is a chapel
of ease, lately rebuilt.
Bovey, North (St. John the Baptist)
BOVEY, NORTH (St. John the Baptist), a parish,
in the union of Newton-Abbot, hundred of Teignbridge, Crockernwell and S. divisions of Devon, 1¾ mile
(S. W. by S.) from Moreton-Hampstead; containing
660 inhabitants, and comprising 4299 acres, of which
2780 are common or waste. The lords of this manor
formerly exercised the power of inflicting punishment
for capital crimes. The vicinity is noted for mines of
tin, which are worked to a considerable extent. A fair
for cattle is held on the Monday next after Midsummerday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books
at £22. 10. 5., and in the patronage of the Earl of
Devon: the tithes have been commuted for £325, and
there are 26 acres of glebe.
Bovey-Tracey (St. Thomas à Becket)
BOVEY-TRACEY (St. Thomas à Becket), a parish,
in the union of Newton-Abbot, hundred of Teignbridge, Teignbridge and S. divisions of Devon, 4 miles
(W. by S.) from Chudleigh; containing 1823 inhabitants.
This place derives the affix to its name from the family
of Tracey, barons of Barnstaple, to whom the manor
anciently belonged, and who were descendants of William de Tracey, the chief agent in the assassination of
St. Thomas à Becket of Canterbury, in 1170. An
encounter took place between the royalist and parliamentarian forces on Bovey-Heathfield. The parish is
pleasantly situated near the road from Exeter to Plymouth, and comprises 7186a. 22p., all fertile land with
the exception of about 900 acres, which are common or
waste: the substrata are chiefly coal of inferior quality,
granite, and stone. A manufactory for earthenware is
established on Bovey-Heathfield, for which purpose the
remains of an ancient building, formerly the priory of
Indiho, and subsequently a private mansion, were appropriated in 1772. A canal from Teignmouth to Ventiford
bridge, about four miles from the village, and a railroad
from the Haytor Rocks to the same place, have been
constructed by George Templar, Esq., for the conveyance of wrought granite; they also afford facility for
bringing coal, sea-sand, and lime, and sending away
Bovey coal, and pipe and potter's clay, which are found
here in great plenty. The place is under the government
of a portreeve and bailiff; the latter, chosen at the court
leet of the lord of the manor, is, after having served that
office, appointed portreeve. The living is a vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £26. 2. 1., and in the
patronage of the Crown: the impropriation is in the
landholders. The tithes have been commuted for £430,
and the glebe comprises 7a. 1r. 10p., with a house. The
church is a large edifice in the early English style, of
which it displays some interesting details. There are
places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans; also a
school endowed with a house and garden for the master,
and with £35 per annum, arising from lands purchased
with the aggregate of various bequests.
Bovingdon
BOVINGDON, a chapelry, in the parish and union
of Hemel-Hempstead, hundred of Dacorum, county
of Hertford, 4 miles (S. W.) from Hemel-Hempstead;
containing 1072 inhabitants. This chapelry comprises
3513 acres, of which 110 are common or waste; it contains the villages of Felden and Bourn-End, and is situated near the Grand Junction canal, and the London
and Birmingham railway. Straw-platting is extensively
carried on by the women and children. The living is a
perpetual curacy, constituted in 1834, and endowed with
the vicarial tithes; also by the governors of Queen
Anne's Bounty; and by the patron, the Hon. Granville
D. Ryder. The impropriate tithes belong to the Dean
and Chapter of St. Paul's, and have been commuted for
£710; the vicarial have been commuted for £190, and
there are 11 acres of glebe. The chapel, dedicated to
St. Lawrence, and formerly only a chapel of ease, is a
very ancient edifice, exhibiting marks of Anglo-Saxon
origin. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans in the
village, and for Independents in Box Lane.
Bow, or Nymett-Tracey (St. Bartholomew)
BOW, or Nymett-Tracey (St. Bartholomew), a
parish, in the union of Crediton, hundred of North
Tawton, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon,
7¼ miles (W. by N.) from Crediton; containing 973 inhabitants. The manor anciently belonged to the Tracey
family, one of whom, Henry Tracey, obtained in 1258
the grant of a weekly market, and an annual fair: both
of these have been discontinued; but fairs for cattle are
held on the 9th of March, the 20th of May, and 22nd of
November. The parish comprises 2339 acres; 958 are
common or waste. The living, to which that of Broad
Nymett has been annexed, is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £19. 8. 9., and in the patronage of F.
Vandermeulen, Esq.: the tithes of Bow have been commuted for £370, and the glebe comprises 80 acres. The
church is a neat edifice.
Bow, or Stratford-Le-Bow (St. Mary)
BOW, or Stratford-le-Bow (St. Mary), a parish,
in the borough of Tower Hamlets, union of Poplar,
Tower division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county
of Middlesex, 4½ miles (E. N. E.) from London; containing 4626 inhabitants. This place derives its name
"Stratford" from an ancient ford over the river Lea, on
the line of the Roman stratum, or road from London to
Durolitum (Layton, in Essex). It is said that Matilda,
queen of Henry I., passing this dangerous ford, narrowly
escaped being drowned, and consequently ordered a
bridge to be erected, from the arched form of which the
village received the adjunct to its name. This bridge,
which is supposed to have been the first of its kind
erected in the kingdom, was by some referred to the
time of Alfred the Great, whose arms were carved on the
central stone: it consisted of three groined arches, of
which the central arch was considerably larger than the
rest; and from the inconvenient narrowness of the
bridge, a wooden platform was constructed on the outside of one of the parapets, for the accommodation of
foot passengers. An act for rebuilding it was obtained
in 1834, and a new bridge was opened with much ceremony on the 14th of Feb. 1839, consisting of one flat
elliptical arch, 66 feet in span, rising to the height of
13 feet from the water level, and defended with solid
parapets. The village is pleasantly situated; the streets
are paved, and lighted with gas, and the inhabitants are
supplied with water by the East London Company's
works. The manufacture of porcelain, formerly carried
on to a considerable extent, has been discontinued; and
the fair held at Whitsuntide has, within the last few
years, been entirely suppressed. A little to the north of
the town, runs the Eastern Counties railway. The
powers of the county debt-court of Bow, established in
1847, extend over the parishes of Bow and Bromley, and
the registration-district of West Ham. Three headboroughs and a constable are annually appointed at the
court leet of the lord of the manor.
It was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Stepney,
from which it was separated in 1730. The living is a
rectory; net income, £319; patrons, the Principal and
Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford, by whom an addition was made, a few years since, to the stipend of the
rector. The church, founded in the reign of Henry II.,
is an ancient structure, partly Norman, and partly in
the early English style, with a low square tower having
a small turret at one of the angles; the east window is
ornamented with figures of Moses and Aaron, and
the Twelve Apostles, in stained glass. There are places
of worship for Wesleyans, Baptists, and Roman Catholics; that for the first-named, though belonging to the
congregation in this place, is situated within Bromley
parish. A free school was founded in 1613, by Sir John
Jolles, who endowed it for thirty-four boys of this parish
and that of Bromley. Another school for fifty boys was
founded in 1701, by Mrs. Prisca Coburne, who endowed
it with houses and lands at that time producing £40 per
annum; and from the increased value of the property,
the income, on the expiration of the present leases, will
amount to £500: a schoolroom has been built for 100
children of each sex, the school being under the inspection of the rectors of Bow, and four adjoining parishes.
Sir John Jolles also founded and endowed almshouses
for eight people; and there are other charitable bequests
for the relief of the poor, including one of £1400 in the
funds under the will of Mrs. Margaretta Browne, dated
in 1826, out of the dividends of which the sum of £20
is paid to the rector.
Bowcombe
BOWCOMBE, a hamlet, in the parish of Carisbrooke, liberty of West Medina, Isle of Wight
division of Hants; containing 93 inhabitants.
Bowden, Great (St. Peter)
BOWDEN, GREAT (St. Peter), a parish, in the
union of Market-Harborough, hundred of Gartree,
S. division of the county of Leicester; containing,
with the town of Harborough, 3698 inhabitants. The
parish comprises upwards of 3000 acres, principally rich
grazing-land; the river Welland bounds it on the south,
and a branch of the Union canal passes near the village.
The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £86;
patrons, the Dean and Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford. There is a separate incumbency in the town.
Bowden, Little (St. Nicholas)
BOWDEN, LITTLE (St. Nicholas), a parish, in
the union of Market-Harborough, hundred of Rothwell, N. division of the county of Northampton, ½ a
mile (E. S. E.) from Harborough; containing, with the
hamlet of Little Oxendon, 439 inhabitants. The parish
is situated on the border of Leicestershire, from which
it is separated by the river Welland; and comprises by
computation 2366a. 2r. 10p., of which three-fourths are
pasture, and one-fourth arable, the surface being moderately undulated, and the soil of the most productive
quality. It is closely connected with Harborough by
means of two bridges over the Welland, and the roads
from that town to Northampton and Kettering intersect
the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £15. 4. 2.; net income, £293; patron and
incumbent, the Rev. John Barlow. The tithes were
commuted for land and money payments in 1779.
Bowden's-Edge
BOWDEN'S-EDGE, a township, in the parish and
union of Chapel-en-le-Frith, hundred of High Peak,
N. division of the county of Derby, 1½ mile (N. E.)
from Chapel-en-le-Frith; containing 1021 inhabitants.
Bowdon, or Bowden (St. Nicholas)
BOWDON, or Bowden (St. Nicholas), a parish, in
the union of Altrincham, hundred of Bucklow, N.
division of the county of Chester; comprising the
chapelries of Altrincham and Carrington, the townships
of Ashley, Baguley, Bowdon, Dunham-Massey, Hale,
Partington, and Timperley, and part of the townships of
Agden, Ashton-upon-Mersey, and Bollington; the whole
containing 9373 inhabitants, of whom 549 are in the
township of Bowdon, 1 mile (S. W. by S.) from Altrincham. The manor was anciently parcel of the barony
of Dunham-Massey; a moiety of it was given, about
1278, to the priory of Birkenhead by Hamon de Massey,
the fifth of that name, and the other moiety passed to a
younger branch of the Massey family. The Bowdens,
Booths, Holcrofts, and Breretons afterwards possessed
the lands; and more recently the whole manor became
the property of the Earl of Stamford and Warrington.
The parish comprises by admeasurement 16,918 acres,
whereof 770 are in the township of Bowdon; the soil of
the latter is a sandy loam. The living is a vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £24, and in the gift of the
Bishop of Chester: the tithes have been commuted for
rent-charges amounting altogether, for the bishop, to
£1671. 6., and for the vicar, to £364; the vicar's glebe
comprises 37½ acres. The rectorial tithes are leased by
the bishop to the Earl of Stamford and Warrington,
who, as lord of the barony of Dunham-Massey, appoints
four churchwardens for the parish. The church is an
ancient structure, commanding an extensive and pleasing
panoramic view of the surrounding country: it was
annexed to the see of Chester by Henry VIII., on the
dissolution of Birkenhead priory. There are three
chapels, forming separate incumbencies; viz., Altrincham, built in 1799; Carrington, built about 1760, at
the cost of the Countess of Stamford; and Ringway,
the date of which is uncertain. Edward Vawdrey, about
the year 1600, gave £4 per annum towards the endowment of a grammar school: the schoolroom was rebuilt
at the expense of the parishioners, about 1670, and again
in 1806. A national school is supported by subscription; and there are also a school for boys at Scamons
Moss, and one for boys and girls at Littleheath, the
latter founded and endowed by the late Mr. Thomas
Walton. The Earl of Warrington in 1754 gave £5000,
now amounting to £5610 three per cent. reduced bank
annuities, for educating or apprenticing children of the
parish, and for the relief of the poor of this and the
parish of Barnwell All Saints. A Roman road passed
through the parish.
Bower-Chalk (Holy Trinity)
BOWER-CHALK (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the
union of Wilton, hundred of Chalk, Salisbury and
Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 7½ miles (S. W.)
from Wilton; containing 447 inhabitants. The living
is a discharged vicarage, united to the consolidated rectory of Broad Chalk and vicarage of Alvediston.
Bower-Hinton, with Hurst
BOWER-HINTON, with Hurst, a hamlet, in the
parish and hundred of Martock, union of Yeovil, W.
division of Somerset; containing 688 inhabitants.
Bowers-Gifford (St. Margaret)
BOWERS-GIFFORD (St. Margaret), a parish, in
the union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S.
division of Essex, 4½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Rayleigh; containing 249 inhabitants. It comprises about
2400 acres; and is bounded on the south by Holly and
East havens, which afford a navigable communication
with the Thames. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £25, and in the patronage of Mrs. Curtis; net income, £564. The church is a small ancient
edifice, with a tower surmounted by a shingled spire,
and consists of a nave and chancel.
Bowes (St. Giles)
BOWES (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of
Teesdale, wapentake of Gilling-West, N. riding of
York, 6 miles (W. by N.) from Greta-Bridge; containing 850 inhabitants, of whom 763 are in the township
of Bowes, and 87 in that of Gillmonby. This place,
from its situation on one of the Roman military roads,
and from the discovery of numerous relics of antiquity
(among which was a votive inscription to the Emperor
Adrian, on a stone slab used in the time of Camden as
the communion-table in the church), appears to have
been the site of a Roman station. Most antiquaries
have identified it with the Lavatræ of Antonine, where
the first Thracian cohort was stationed, in the reign of
Severus, and where also, towards the decline of the
Roman empire, were fixed the head-quarters of the
"Numerus Exploratorum," and their prefect, under the
"Dux Britanniæ." At the time of the Conquest, there
were still vestiges of a town, which had been destroyed
by fire, from which circumstance Camden supposes the
present name of the place to be derived; and within
the vallum of the Roman fortress, and with part of the
materials, a castle was soon afterwards built by Alan,
Earl of Richmond, of which there are considerable
remains, occupying the summit of an eminence declining
on the south towards the river Greta.
The village consists principally of one street, nearly
three-quarters of a mile in length; and has long been
noted for its boarding-schools, to which numerous pupils
are sent from London, on grounds of economy. It is
situated near the verge of Stanemore, and on the banks
of the Greta, over which, at the distance of two miles,
is a natural bridge of picturesque character, called
"God's bridge," formed by a rude arch of limestone
rock, sixteen feet in the span, and twenty feet in breadth,
affording a passage for carriages. Lead-ore, ironstone,
and some coal are found in the neighbourhood. A
market which was held on Friday, and a fair on Oct. 1st,
have both fallen into disuse. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £90; patron and impropriator,
T. Harrison, Esq. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A free grammar school was founded in 1693,
by William Hutchinson, who gave an estate now producing £258 per annum, for the instruction of children
and for supplying the poor with coal. This place is
interesting as the scene of Mallet's pathetic ballad of
Edwin and Emma, which has reference to Roger Wrightson and Martha Railton, both of whom, according to the
parish register, were interred here in the same grave,
March 15th, 1714.