Bromeswell (St. Edmund)

BROMESWELL (St. Edmund), a parish, in the union of Woodbridge, hundred of Wilford, E. division of Suffolk, 2½ miles (E. N. E.) from Woodbridge; containing 200 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1700 acres, the soil of which is various, but generally fertile. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 15. 7½., and in the gift of the Marquess of Bristol: the tithes have been commuted for £270, and the glebe consists of an acre and a half. The church is a neat edifice.

Bromfield (St. Kentigern)

BROMFIELD (St. Kentigern), a parish, in the union of Wigton, partly in Cumberland ward, E. division, but chiefly in Allerdale ward below Derwent, W. division, of Cumberland; comprising the chapelry of Allonby, and the townships of Blencogo, Dundraw with Kelsick, Langrigg with Mealrigg, and West Newton; and containing 2312 inhabitants, of whom 364 are in the township of Bromfield with Crookdake and Scales, 6 miles (W. by S.) from Wigton. It is situated on the shore of the Solway Firth. The living is a vicarage, endowed with part of the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £22; net income, £270; patron, the Bishop of Carlisle; impropriator of the remainder of the great tithes, Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart. The tithes were commuted for land in 1817. There is a separate incumbency at Allonby. A free school, in the churchyard, was founded by Richard Osmotherly in 1612, and endowed with £10 a year: this was subsequently augmented by a donation of £100 from the family of Tomlinson; and in 1805, Mr. Tomlinson bequeathed £1400, one-fourth of which was assigned to the school. In a field belonging to the vicar, the site of Mungo Castle is visible.

Bromfield (St. Mary)

BROMFIELD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Ludlow, hundred of Munslow, S. division of Salop, 3 miles (N. W. by W.) from Ludlow, on the road to Shrewsbury; containing 531 inhabitants. The surface is undulated, the soil various, and the scenery beautiful. Of 6110a. 3r. 37p., the area of the parish, nearly equal portions are arable and pasture, the latter preponderating; and there is much fine wood, particularly around Oakley Park, the seat of the Hon. R. H. Clive, which is charmingly situated on the banks of the river Teme. Good stone is obtained for building. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6; net income, £334, with a house built in 1845; patron and impropriator, Mr. Clive. The church, which has a square tower, was repaired in 1842. It is part of a larger church that belonged to a Benedictine priory established as a cell to the abbey of St. Peter at Gloucester, about 1155, on the site of a college of prebendaries, or Secular canons, of earlier foundation: the revenue, at the Dissolution, was £78. 19. 4.

Bromfleet

BROMFLEET, a township, in the parish of South Cave, union of Howden, Hunsley-Beacon division of the wapentake of Harthill, E. riding of York, 4¼ miles (S. W.) from South Cave; containing 206 inhabitants. The township is situated on the north side of the Humber, and comprises about 1220 acres, forming a level district of rich marshes, including part of Walling fen, inclosed in 1780. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The line of the Hull and Selby railway passes in the vicinity.

Bromhall

BROMHALL, a township, in the parish of Wrenbury, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 3¾ miles (S. S. W.) from Nantwich; containing 157 inhabitants. It comprises about 1200 acres, of a clayey and sandy soil. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £124, and the vicarial for £33. 11. 5., the latter sum payable to the incumbent of Acton.

Bromham (St. Owen)

BROMHAM (St. Owen), a parish, in the hundred of Willey, union and county of Bedford, 3 miles (W. N. W.) from Bedford; containing 314 inhabitants. This place is situated on the banks of the Ouse, over which is a neat bridge of 25 arches (including 22 across the meadows) on the line of road from Bedford to Newport-Pagnell. It is recorded that, in the years 1399 and 1648, the waters of the river had so far deserted their channel, that persons walked in its bed for nearly three miles in this part of its course. The parish comprises 1798 acres, the soil of which, in the northern part, is a heavy clay, and in the other parts a light sand, resting on a deep gravel; an excellent coarse building-stone is quarried, beneath which is a thin stratum of a softer stone, suitable for sculpture, and which hardens upon exposure to the air. The females are employed in making pillow-lace. The living is a vicarage, with that of Oakley annexed, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £336; patrons, the Provost and Fellows of Eton College: there is a good glebe-house, built in 1831, with 18 acres of glebe. The church is pleasantly situated in the centre of the Park, the village standing partly round it, in the form of a crescent; it was built in the reign of Edward IV., and the interior was neatly restored in 1844, at a cost of £100. In 1825 the tower was struck by lightning, which forced out two of the southern windows. This edifice contains some handsome monuments to the families of Trevor and Dyve, of which latter was Sir Lewis Dyve, commander for Charles I. of the Newport-Pagnell district in the civil war. When about to be executed after the king's death, Sir Lewis threw himself from a great height into the Thames, and escaped by his skill in swimming. He was the great antagonist of Sir Samuel Luke, of Cople Hall, now a farmhouse, where Dr. Butler wrote Hudibras. There is a day and Sunday school; also a library of three hundred volumes, presented by Lord Trevor to the vicar and parishioners.

Bromham (St. Nicholas)

BROMHAM (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Devizes, hundred of Potterne and Cannings, Devizes and N. divisions of Wilts, 4 miles (N. W.) from Devizes; containing 1558 inhabitants. This place, which is situated near the Roman road from Marlborough to Bath, appears to have been a villa of the Romans. In 1763, a tessellated pavement and other remains of Roman baths were discovered, which were more fully explored in 1840, when four others were cleared from the earth in which they had lain so many centuries imbedded. The lordship, previously to the Conquest, belonged to Harold, Earl of the West Saxons, and subsequently king of England. Spye Park, about two miles north of the village, in the reign of Charles II. was the property and occasional residence of the Earl of Rochester. The manufacture of fine broad-cloth, and of kerseymeres, is carried on to a moderate extent. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 16. 0½., and in the gift of the family of Starkey: the tithes have been commuted for £780, and there are 79 acres of glebe. The church contains a mural tablet to the memory of Henry Season, M.D., the projector of a well-known almanack; and in an ancient chapel, at the east end, are several monuments to the family of Baynton, formerly lords of the manor. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans. Dr. George Webb, consecrated Bishop of Limerick in 1634, and the Rev. John Collinson, author of the History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset, and who died in 1796, were natives of the parish.

Bromley (St. Peter And St. Paul)

BROMLEY (St. Peter And St. Paul), a markettown and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Bromley and Beckenham, lathe of Suttonat-Hone, W. division of Kent, 10 miles (S. E.) from London, on the road to Tonbridge; containing 4325 inhabitants. This place, which is supposed to have derived its name from the quantity of broom with which the neighbourhood abounds, was in the eighth century given by Ethelbert, King of Kent, to the bishops of Rochester, in whose possession it remained, with very little interruption, till the recent purchase of an estate in Essex for the see. The episcopal residence had become so ruinous in 1184, that Gilbert de Glanvill was obliged to expend a considerable sum in repairing it. In this palace was found the plot of a conspiracy, of which Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, published an account in 1692. Dr. Thomas, on being appointed to the see, finding the building much decayed, pulled it down, and erected a new palace, which was completed in 1777, and was till recently occupied by the bishops. In the gardens was anciently an oratory, much resorted to on account of certain indulgences granted by Lucas, legate of Pope Sixtus IV., to all who should offer up their devotions there during Pentecost; and near it was a well of mineral water, similar in its properties to the waters at Tonbridge, but more strongly impregnated. This well, in honour of the saint to whom the oratory was dedicated, was called St. Blaze's well, and was for a considerable time in great repute; but the oratory becoming dilapidated after the Reformation, the well was choked up and the efficacy of its waters forgotten, till, being re-opened in 1756, it regained its former celebrity, and became much esteemed for its medicinal quality.

The town is pleasantly situated on the north-east side of the river Ravensbourne, and consists principally of one street, extending for a considerable distance along the turnpike-road. The houses are in general neat and well built, especially those in the market-place, in the centre of which is an ancient market-house, supported on wooden pillars; the streets are partially paved and lighted, and the inhabitants are supplied with water from springs. The market, granted to the Bishop of Rochester in 1447, and held on Thursday, has nearly fallen into disuse: fairs are held on Feb. 14th and Aug. 5th, for live-stock. The county magistrates hold a meeting for the division alternately here and at Farnborough, every second fortnight: the powers of the county debt-court of Bromley, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Bromley. The parish comprises 4646 acres, and is beautifully situated in a district abounding with varied scenery and objects of deep interest: the soil is fertile; that portion of the land which is arable produces abundant crops, and there are rich pastures, and 334 acres of wood.

The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester, with a net income of £163; the bishop receives tithes to the amount of £1200 per annum, and has glebe land to the extent of 275 acres. The church is a spacious structure, with a square embattled tower having a turret at one of the angles; it was partly rebuilt in 1792, and enlarged about the year 1830, when 437 additional sittings were provided. It contains an ancient Norman font, and various interesting monuments, among which are those of several of the bishops of Rochester; of Dr. Hawkesworth, author of the Adventurer, who was a native of the place; and of Elizabeth, wife of Dr. Johnson, who was buried here. A district church, dedicated to the Trinity, has been erected on the common, in the later English style: the living is a perpetual curacy; patron, the Bishop; net income of the incumbent, £120. There are places of worship for Independents and Methodists. A national school is partly supported by subscription: fifteen boys and as many girls are clothed by means of the dividends on £1400 stock, purchased with donations, the chief of which were by the Rev. George Wilson in 1718, and Launcelot Tolson in 1726. Bromley College, at the north-eastern extremity of the town, was founded in 1666, by John Warner, Bishop of Rochester, who endowed it with £450 per annum, for the residence and support of 20 widows of loyal and orthodox clergymen, to each of whom he assigned £20 per annum, and to a chaplain £50. This endowment has been augmented by many subsequent benefactions. In 1767, the Rev. William Hetherington bequeathed £2000 Old South Sea annuities; in 1774, Dr. Zachary Pearce, Bishop of Rochester, gave £5000 in the same stock; in 1782, William Pearce, the bishop's brother, bequeathed £12,000; in 1823, Walter King, Bishop of Rochester, gave £3000 three per cents.; and in 1824, Mrs. Rose bequeathed £8000. There are at present 40 widows resident in the college, who have £38 per annum each, with occasional diocesan grants; two additional widows, who occupy the treasurer's wing, and receive £20 a year each; and three out-pensioners, each of whom has £30 a year from the gift of Bishop King. The chaplain's salary has been advanced to £150. The college is a handsome appropriate pile of building of red brick, faced with stone, surrounding two quadrangular areas; it is encircled by about four acres of land, tastefully laid out. The poor law union of Bromley comprises 16 parishes or places, and contains a population of 16,079.

Bromley, Abbots (St. Nicholas)

BROMLEY, ABBOTS (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Uttoxeter, S. division of the hundred of Pirehill, N. division of the county of Stafford, 12½ miles (E.) from Stafford, and 130 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 1508 inhabitants. This place is bounded on the south-west by the river Blythe, and derives its distinguishing name from a Benedictine monastery founded at Blythebury, in the neighbourhood, in the latter part of the reign of Henry I., or the beginning of that of Stephen, by Hugh Mavesyn, and dedicated to St. Giles. The parish comprises 9392a. 17p., and contains the manor of Abbots or Paget's Bromley, the property of the Marquess of Anglesey; the manor of Bagots-Bromley, the ancient possession of the Bagot family, of Blithfield Hall, to whom it belonged prior to the Conquest; the manor of Bromley-Park, consisting of upwards of 900 acres, belonging to the Earl of Dartmouth; and the liberty of Bromley-Hurst. The trade is principally in malt, which is sold to some extent. The market here has been discontinued for many years: the market-house is an ancient building covered with shingles. The fairs are on March 11th, May 22nd, and September 4th, and are chiefly for cattle. The turnpikeroad from Uttoxeter to Lichfield passes through the village, which is six miles distant from the former, and twelve from the latter place.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 1. 8.; net income, about £155; patron and impropriator, the Marquess of Anglesey. The church is an ancient structure, partly in the decorated and partly in the later English style, with a Norman entrance; it has undergone considerable repairs, and been much modernised. There is a place of worship for Independents. A free school was founded in 1606, by Richard Clarke, who left £300 to purchase land for its endowment; the annual income is £20. An hospital was founded in 1702, by Lambard Bagot, Esq., who bequeathed £800 for its erection and endowment, for six aged men, three of this parish, and one from each of the parishes of Yoxhall, Hanbury, and Tatenhill; the income was augmented by Charles Bagot, Esq., and a matron has been added, who, as well as each of the inmates, receives a stipend of £10 per annum.

Bromley, Gerrard's

BROMLEY, GERRARD'S, a township, in the parish of Eccleshall, union of Stone, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 6 miles (N. W.) from Eccleshall; containing 33 inhabitants. This place is included in Broughton quarter. The tithes have been commuted for £83 payable to the Dean and Chapter of Durham, and 18s. to the vicar of the parish.

Bromley, Great (St. George)

BROMLEY, GREAT (St. George), a parish, in the union and hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex, 4½ miles (S. S. W.) from Manningtree; containing 738 inhabitants. This parish, which includes an area ten miles in circumference, belonged, at the time of the Norman survey, to Geoffrey de Magnaville. An act for inclosing lands was passed in 1843. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 16. 0½.; net income, £698; patrons, the family of Graham. The church is a handsome and spacious structure, with a lofty tower of elegant design, and consists of a nave, aisles, and chancel, the roofs of which are lofty and beautifully enriched. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Bromley, King's (All Saints)

BROMLEY, KING'S (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 5 miles (N. by E.) from Lichfield; containing 718 inhabitants. The manor was anciently called Brom Legge, and derived its present name from having been the property of the crown for nearly two centuries after the Norman Conquest, previously to which time it had been distinguished as the residence of the earls of Mercia. Leofric, the husband of the famous Lady Godiva, died here in 1057; and she was herself buried here. The road from Lichfield to Ashbourn in Derbyshire runs through the parish, and the river Trent passes by the village, about a mile from which is a wharf communicating with the Grand Trunk canal. The parish comprises 3463a. 3r. 16p., of which upwards of 1700 acres are arable, 1300 pasture and meadow, and nearly 200 in plantations. Bromley Hall is a handsome mansion surrounded by an extensive park. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Prebendary of Alrewas and Weeford in the Cathedral of Lichfield; net income, £72. The great tithes have been commuted for £320, and the small for £105; the glebe consists of 10 acres. The church is partly in the early English style, and is adorned with large and beautiful windows; it contains monuments to the families of Agard, Newton, and Lane. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A school was founded in 1699, by the Rev. Richard Crosse, who endowed it with property now producing £110 per annum; almshouses for 7 widows were also founded, and partly endowed, by him.

Bromley St. Leonard's (St. Mary)

BROMLEY ST. LEONARD'S (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Poplar, Tower division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, ½ a mile (S.) from Bow, and 3½ miles (E.) from Cornhill, London; containing 6154 inhabitants. The name appears to have been derived from Brom, broom, and Ley, a field, indicating that a great quantity of broom anciently grew in the vicinity. The village is lighted with gas, and supplied with water by the works of the East London Water Company: there is a distillery on a large scale, near the western entrance into it. A communication with the Regent's canal has been formed by a cut from the river Lea, made by Sir Charles Duckett. Two headboroughs and a constable are annually appointed at the manorial court; and the parochial affairs are under the superintendence of a select vestry. The living is a donative; net income, £190; patron, John Walter, Esq.; impropriators, the Mann family. The church, a small plain structure comprising only a nave and chancel, is surrounded by a high wall, and exhibits some remains of Norman architecture, containing also, in the southern wall of the chancel, some stone seats. It is part of a larger edifice, the conventual church of a Benedictine nunnery founded soon after the Conquest, by William, Bishop of London, and dedicated to St. Leonard: the society consisted of a prioress and nine nuns, whose revenue, in the 26th of Henry VIII., was rated at £121. 16. At New Town is a second church, the living of which is a perpetual curacy; net income, £100; patron, the Incumbent of Bromley. The Bow Wesleyan meeting-house stands in the parish. National and infants' schools are supported by subscription, and a Sunday school is endowed with £1400 three per cents., from the interest of which the minister is paid £20 per annum, to catechise the children once a month, and for an annual examination. Seventeen children of the parish are entitled to receive education at Sir John Jolles's school at Stratford: Sir John also founded eight almshouses for the poor at Stratford and Bromley, opposite to which are almshouses established for the benefit of decayed sail-makers, by John Edmonson; at the upper extremity, between the two rows of almshouses, is a neat chapel.

Bromley, Little (St. Mary)

BROMLEY, LITTLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex, 3½ miles (S. S. W.) from Manningtree; containing 426 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1841 acres, of which 1500 are arable, 80 pasture, 38 woodland, and about 220 acres roads and waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the patronage of Wadham College, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £560, and there is a good glebe-house, with 11 acres of land. The church is a plain edifice, with a stone tower.

Brompton

BROMPTON, a hamlet, in the parishes of Chatham and Gillingham, parliamentary borough of Chatham, union of Medway, hundred of Chatham and Gillingham, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent; containing 3727 inhabitants. This place, which is chiefly inhabited by persons connected with the dockyard of Chatham, stands on the brow of a hill overlooking the dockyard, and within the fortifications called the Lines, which were constructed for the defence of the arsenal. A church district was formed by the Ecclesiastical Commission, and the living endowed by the Conway family, in 1847. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Roman Catholics.

Brompton

BROMPTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Kensington, Kensington division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 1 mile (S. W. by W.) from HydePark Corner; containing 9515 inhabitants. This place, which has been considerably extended by the erection of numerous houses and handsome ranges of buildings within the last few years, is lighted with gas, and supplied with water by the Chelsea Water-Works' Company: a large portion of the land in the vicinity is laid out in nursery-grounds for the supply of the metropolis. One of the county debt-courts established in 1847 is fixed at Brompton. A chapel of ease was erected in 1769; and a district church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, for Old and New Brompton, and Little Chelsea, was built in 1828, chiefly by a grant of £5000 from the Parliamentary Commissioners: it is a handsome structure, in the later style of English architecture, with a square embattled tower at the west end; and was greatly improved in 1842-3. The living is a vicarage; net income, £639; patron, the Bishop of London. There are a meeting-house for Independents; and a proprietary school established in 1828. The first stone of a building here for the Hospital for Consumption was laid by Prince Albert, in June, 1844. The structure is of red brick, relieved by copings and architectural ornaments of white sandstone, and in the Elizabethan style; the centre and right wing have been completed, at a cost of more than £13,000, exclusively of internal fittings-up. The arrangements for ventilating the building are exceedingly good.

Brompton

BROMPTON, with Riston, a township, in the parish of Church-Stoke, hundred of Chirbury, county of Salop, 6 miles (N. W. by W.) from Bishop's-Castle; containing 190 inhabitants.

Brompton

BROMPTON, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Northallerton, wapentake of Allertonshire, N. riding of York, 1¾ mile (N. N. E.) from Northallerton; containing 1535 inhabitants. In this chapelry is Standard Hill, where the memorable battle of the Standard was fought, on the 23rd of August, 1138; the battle being thus named from a large banner having been placed on a lofty pole, which was fixed on a waggon and borne with the troops. The manufacture of linen is carried on. The living is a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, with an income of £120: the chapel is ancient. Tithe rentcharges have been awarded amounting to £590. 0. 7., of which £423. 3. are payable to the impropriators, and £166. 17. 7. to the vicar; the glebe consists of 47 acres. There are places of worship for Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists; and two schools endowed with £10 per annum each.

Brompton (All Saints)

BROMPTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Scarborough, Pickering lythe, N. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Sawdon and Troutsdale, and also the township of Snainton, part only of which is in the parish, 1534 inhabitants, of whom 609 are in the township of Brompton, 8 miles (S. W. by W.) from Scarborough. This is said to have been the residence of the kings of Northumberland; and on an eminence called Castle Hill, are the foundations of an ancient castle, about half a mile from which is Gallows' Hill, the place of execution for criminals within the barony. The Cayley family, of whom Sir William Cayley was distinguished for his services to King Charles I. and II., have been located here for more than two centuries. The parish comprises by measurement 10,180 acres, of which about 6000 are arable; the pasture, meadow, and heath cover 4000 acres, and about 180 are wood: the soil varies in quality in different situations, and the scenery in many parts is picturesque and beautiful. Limestone, in which some fossils are found, is quarried for building, for agricultural purposes, and the repair of roads; and a kind of slate is also obtained, used for roofing houses: a factory for bricks, coarse pots, &c., employs about fifteen persons. A fair is annually held for the sale of pigs, from which the name of Swine Brompton is sometimes given to the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12; net income, £103; patron, Sir George Cayley, Bart., to whom the impropriation also belongs: the tithes were commuted in 1768, for land and a money payment. The church, which is one of the most spacious and elegant in the county, is in the decorated style, with a square tower surmounted by a graceful spire. At Snainton is a chapel of ease. There are three places of worship for Wesleyans, and one for Primitive Methodists, John of Brompton, a monkish historian, who compiled a laborious work on the early annals of England, including the period between the years 558 and 1198, is supposed to have been born here: he lived twenty years in the Benedictine abbey of Whitby, during the abbacy of John of Skelton, which commenced in 1413.

Brompton-Patrick (St. Patrick)

BROMPTON-PATRICK (St. Patrick), a parish, in the union of Leyburn; comprising the townships of Brompton-Patrick and Newton-le-Willows, and part of those of Arrowthorne and Scotton, in the wapentake of Hang-East, and part of the chapelry of Hunton in the wapentake of Hang-West, N. riding of York; and containing, with the whole of Arrowthorne, Hunton, and Scotton, 1130 inhabitants, of whom 181 are in the township of Brompton-Patrick, 3¾ miles (N. W. by W.) from Bedale. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £100; patron, the Bishop of Chester: C. H. Elsley, Esq., is impropriator of the lay rectory, which is valued in the king's books at £34. 13. 1½. Mr. Elsley's tithes in the township of Brompton-Patrick have been commuted for £81, and his glebe consists of 91 acres. The church is an ancient edifice in the decorated English style, and the chancel is particularly admired, but the tower is considered a deformity: tradition relates that the original one having been blown down in a storm, the present was erected, in 1572.

Brompton-Ralph (St. Mary)

BROMPTON-RALPH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Williton, hundred of Williton and Freemanners, W. division of Somerset, 3½ miles (N.) from Wiveliscombe; containing 492 inhabitants. It comprises by admeasurement 2700 acres, of which 1460 are arable, 760 pasture and meadow, and 120 wood. An act for the inclosure of lands was passed in 1842. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17. 10. 5., and in the patronage of Gen. Blommant and the Rev. T. Sweet Escott: the tithes have been commuted for £400. The greater part of the church was rebuilt in 1738. Between Combe and Holcombe, in the parish, are vestiges of an encampment supposed to have been constructed by the Romans.

Brompton Regis (St. Mary)

BROMPTON REGIS (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Dulverton, hundred of Williton and Freemanners, W. division of Somerset, 5 miles (N. E.) from Dulverton; containing 875 inhabitants. This place anciently constituted a hundred; and in the reign of Henry II. a priory was endowed by William de Say, for Black canons, and dedicated to St. Nicholas: it was an appendage of Glastonbury Abbey, and continued till the Dissolution, when its revenue was £98. 14. 9½. About two miles to the south of the church are some remains of this establishment, called Barlynch Priory; and in the burial-ground have been discovered several stone coffins, containing skeletons. The parish is bounded on the south-west by the river Exe, which receives many mountain-streams, all stocked with trout. It comprises about 8000 acres, of which a considerable portion is uninclosed moorland, abounding with black game; and in the woods are great numbers of the wild red-deer peculiar to this country, for the hunting of which a subscription pack of hounds was formerly kept. The surface is diversified with hills and valleys, richly wooded with coppices of oak and hedge-rows of beech, and abounding in romantic scenery; the vales are watered by the river Had Yeo. There are quarries of good building-stone. A weekly market and two annual fairs were granted to the lord of the manor, Sir Thomas de Bessilles, Knt.; the market has long since fallen into disuse, but the fairs are still held, in May and Oct., for cattle and sheep. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12. 5. 7½.; patrons, the Master and Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge; impropriators, Trustees of various parishes. The rectorial tithes have been commuted for £176, and the vicarial for £421. 15.; and there is a good glebe-house, with about 30 acres of land; also an estate in another parish, belonging to the vicarage. The church has a curiously carved screen, separating the nave from the chancel. Three Roman tumuli are visible on an adjacent eminence; and at a mount called Hadborough, near the western extremity of Haddon Hill, Roman coins have been found.

Brompton-upon-Swale

BROMPTON-upon-Swale, a township, in the parish of Easby, union of Richmond, wapentake of GillingEast, N. riding of York, 1¾ mile (N. W.) from Catterick; containing 399 inhabitants. It is situated on the north side of the river Swale, and on the road from Catterick to Richmond; and comprises by computation 1710 acres of land.

Bromsberrow (St. Mary)

BROMSBERROW (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newent, hundred of Botloe, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 4 miles (S. E.) from Ledbury; containing 283 inhabitants. This parish, which anciently formed part of Malvern Chase, was for many years the property of the Yate family, from whom it was purchased by the late David Ricardo, Esq.; it comprises 1803 acres, of which about 1000 are arable, 381 meadow and pasture, 119 wood, and 76 common or waste. The soil is rather of a sandy nature; the surface is strikingly varied, and the scenery, which is greatly enriched with wood, is highly picturesque. Keysend Hill, the last of the Malvern range, is within the parish. The hill of Conygree, which is partly artificial, is near the church, and is of oval form, about 50 feet high and 700 yards round the base: it is thought to have been a hillaltar where the Druids held an annual assembly for judicial and other purposes. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 15.; patron, Earl Beauchamp: the tithes have been commuted for £350, and there is a good glebe-house, with a glebe of 55 acres. The church is an ancient edifice, with a low tower; adjoining the chancel is the mausoleum of the Yate family, built about a century since.

Bromsgrove (St. John The Baptist)

BROMSGROVE (St. John The Baptist), a markettown and parish, the head of a union, and formerly a borough, in the Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire, Droitwich and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 13 miles (N. E. by N.) from Worcester, 13 (S. W.) from Birmingham, and 116 (N. W.) from London; containing 9671 inhabitants. This place, anciently Bremesgrave, was a royal demesne at the time of the Conquest, and continued to be so till the reign of Henry III.: it returned members to parliament in the 23rd of Edward I. During the civil war it was the head-quarters of a party of royalists employed in the siege of Hawkesley House, about three miles distant, which, in 1645, was fortified and garrisoned by the parliament. The town is pleasantly situated on the western bank of the river Salwarp, and consists principally of one street, extending for a considerable distance along the Birmingham and Worcester turnpike-road; the houses are in general substantial and well built; and the inhabitants amply supplied with water. In 1846 an act was passed for paving and otherwise improving the place. The principal articles of manufacture are nails and silk buttons: potatoes, for the Bristol and other markets, are extensively cultivated in the neighbourhood. The Birmingham and Worcester canal passes within three miles to the east; and the Birmingham and Gloucester railway has one of its principal stations a mile and a quarter distant. The market is on Tuesday; the fairs are on June 24th and October 1st. The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates: a bailiff and other officers are appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor, held at Michaelmas; and a court is held every third week, for the recovery of debts under 40s. The town hall is a neat and commodious building, in the centre of the town.

The parish comprises 10,968 acres: the soil is in some parts fertile, in others of inferior quality. To the north of the town is Bromsgrove Lickey, a range of lofty hills, commanding an extensive and diversified prospect of the surrounding country; a considerable part, comprising a tract of 2000 acres, has been inclosed, and produces good crops of clover, turnips, and potatoes. A spring rising among these hills divides into two streams, one of which, flowing northward, joins the river Rea, and, uniting with the Trent, falls into the North Sea; the other, running into the Stour, joins the Severn, and empties itself into the Irish Sea. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £41. 8. 1½.; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Worcester, whose tithes have been commuted for £1200, and whose glebe consists of 75a. 3r. 22p.: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £1100, and the glebe consists of 1a. 2r., with a house. The church is a very ancient structure, combining portions in the Norman style and the decorated and later English styles, of which last the tower and spire are fine specimens; the interior contains many interesting monuments. A district church was built at Catshill in 1837. There are places of worship for Baptists, Primitive Methodists, Independents, and Wesleyans; and a Roman Catholic chapel at Grafton, an extra-parochial liberty adjoining. A free grammar school was instituted, with an endowment of £7 per annum, by charter of Edward VI., confirmed by Queen Mary; and the original endowment was augmented with £50 per annum by Sir Thomas Cookes, Bart., of Bentley, who in 1714 founded six scholarships, of £50 per annum each, in Worcester College, Oxford, for this school and four others in the county; and six fellowships, of £150 per annum each, in the same college, to which, as vacancies occur, those who hold the scholarships succeed. Thomas Hawkes, in 1809, left £1000 four per cent. bank annuities for the benefit of the poor; and there are several other endowments. The union of Bromsgrove comprises 15 parishes or places, of which 11 are in the county of Worcester, 2 in that of Salop, and one in each of the counties of Stafford and Warwick; and contains a population of 22,357. At Dadford, two miles from the town, are the remains of a small priory of Præmonstratensian canons founded by Henry I., now part of a farmhouse. At Shepley are some traces of the Roman Ikeneld-street; near Gannow is a petrifying spring.