Chedgrave (All Saints)
CHEDGRAVE (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Loddon and Clavering, hundred of Loddon, E.
division of Norfolk, 1 mile (N. by W.) from Loddon;
containing 348 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1432 acres, of which 492 are arable, 822 pasture,
and 92 woodland. The living is a discharged rectory,
valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8., and in the gift of
Sir W. B. Proctor, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £220, and the glebe comprises 6 acres. The
church is chiefly in the decorated style, and has a low
tower at the north-east end; it was repewed in 1819,
and ornamented with a handsome east window of stained
glass, by the Rev. T. H. W. Beauchamp. The entrances
on the north and south are through richly-decorated
Norman doorways.
Chedington (St. James)
CHEDINGTON (St. James), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Beaminster, Bridport division of Dorset, 4 miles (N. by E.) from Beaminster; containing
186 inhabitants. The parish comprises 773a. 2r. 25p.,
and is separated from that of Beaminster by the river
Axe, which rises within its limits. The surface is extremely irregular, rising into numerous hills, with
scarcely a level field; the hills are composed of a hard
durable fossil rock, and afford rich and extensive views.
The river Parret rises in the parish, and, with the Axe,
adds greatly to the fertility and beauty of the district.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£8. 8. 4., and in the gift of William Trevelyan Cox,
Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £128. 10.,
and the glebe comprises 46¾ acres, with a glebe-house.
The church is a handsome edifice, erected on a new site,
in 1840, chiefly at the expense of Mr. Cox. On one of
the hills are the remains of a Roman encampment, and
in the fields below it, is the site of a Roman villa. The
Rev. Thomas Hare, translator of Horace, was rector.
Chediston (St. Mary)
CHEDISTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Blything, E. division of Suffolk,
2 miles (W.) from Halesworth; containing 433 inhabitants, and comprising 2378a. 34p. The living is a
discharged vicarage, united to the rectory of Halesworth,
and valued in the king's books at £6. 7. 6.: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £230, and the
vicarial for £13. 14. 6.; the glebe comprises 61½ acres.
The church is chiefly in the perpendicular style, consisting of a nave and chancel, with a Lady chapel on the
north; it has an embattled tower, and contains a font
of Caen stone, curiously sculptured. An almshouse was
in 1575 vested in trustees, by Henry Claxton, for three
poor families.
Chedworth (St. Andrew)
CHEDWORTH (St. Andrew), a parish, in the
union of Northleach, hundred of Rapsgate, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 4½ miles (W. S. W.)
from Northleach; containing 983 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 5000 acres, the soil of which is
chiefly light, and good barley land. The living is a
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 8. 4., and in
the patronage of Queen's College, Oxford. The vicarial
tithes have been commuted for £278. 7., with a glebe of
110 acres; and the impropriate for £371. 2. payable to
the master, and £185. 11. to the usher, of Northleach
grammar school: the masters also have 118¼ acres of
glebe. The church contains a handsome stone pulpit,
and is supposed to have been built in the reign of
Henry VI. In 1760, a Roman hypocaust was discovered
at Lestercomb Bottom, in the parish, with a brick floor
and pillars, a spring, and a cistern, the bricks of which
bore the inscription "a'rviri." On a hill a little above
is a large tumulus, in which, on the removal of a stone
set upright at its mouth, a great quantity of human
bones was exposed. Chedworth gave the title of Baron
to the family of Howe, which became extinct on the
death of John, Lord Chedworth, in 1804.
Chedzoy (St. Mary)
CHEDZOY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Bridgwater, hundred of North Petherton, W. division of Somerset, 2¾ miles (E. by N.) from Bridgwater; containing 507 inhabitants. It is situated about
a mile and a quarter from the Bath and Exeter road,
and comprises 1655a. 2r. 36p.: the soil is rather of a
sandy nature, but tolerably fertile. The river Parret,
which runs through Bridgwater, affords facility for the
conveyance of coal; and the Bristol and Exeter railway
is within three miles of the village. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £38. 7. 11., and in
the gift of the Rev. Richard James Luscombe: the tithes
have been commuted for £380, and the glebe comprises
30 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is a spacious
cruciform structure in the Norman style, with a lofty
embattled tower, and a north and south porch, over the
latter of which is the date 1579. Roman coins have
frequently been discovered; and in 1701, some earthen
urns and a fibula were dug up near the church.
Cheeseburn-Grange
CHEESEBURN-GRANGE, a township, in the parish
of Stamfordham, union of Castle ward, N. E. division
of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland,
12 miles (N. W. by W.) from Newcastle-upon-Tyne;
containing 56 inhabitants. This township, anciently
called Chyseburgh, is situated on the river Pont, and
comprises 795a. 2r. 39p. of high table land, upon a substratum of blue mountain limestone: it is the property
of Edward Riddell, Esq., high sheriff for the county in
1841, to whose ancestor the estate passed, in the female
line, from Sir Thomas Widdrington. Mr. Riddell has a
beautiful seat here, which has been much improved, and
attached to the mansion is a Roman Catholic chapel.
The township having been annexed to the abbey at
Hexham, it is free from large tithes: the vicarial tithes
have been commuted for £8. 13., and 10s. are payable to
the Bishop of Durham.
Cheetham
CHEETHAM, a township, in the parish and union
of Manchester, hundred of Salford, S. division of the
county of Lancaster, 2 miles (N. by W.) from Manchester; containing 6082 inhabitants. The township
lies on the new and old roads to Bury; is beautifully
situated on rising ground; and comprises 954 acres, all
pasture land. It abounds with the private residences of
Manchester merchants and others, among which is
Green Hill, the seat of Edward Loyd, Esq., banker of
that town. The views of the surrounding country are
very extensive. The river Irwell separates the township
from Salford. St. Mark's church here was built in
1794, at the expense of the Rev. Charles Ethelston: the
living is a perpetual curacy, patron and incumbent, the
Rev. Hart Ethelston, M.A., grandson of the founder;
net income, £350. An ecclesiastical district is assigned
to the church, including portions of Crumpsall and
Broughton. St. Luke's church, built on land given by
the Earl of Derby, was consecrated in October, 1839; it
cost £15,000, and is an elegant structure in the decorated
English style, with a tower surmounted by a graceful
spire, forming a conspicuous object in the scenery: the
interior is particularly neat. The living is a perpetual
curacy, in the patronage of Mr. Loyd and four other
Trustees; net income, £300, with a good glebe-house.
St. Thomas's church, at the corner of Derby-street,
Redbank, was commenced in 1843, by the Manchester
and Eccles Church Building Society. The living is a
perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop of Chester.
There are two meeting-houses for Wesleyans, with a
burial-ground and a school attached to one of them;
also a place of worship for Associated Methodists. St.
Chad's Roman Catholic chapel, in York-street, was commenced in the spring of 1846, and completed in August
1847, at a cost of £8500: it is an elegant edifice of the
14th century, 134 feet long, and has a fine tower. Connected with St. Mark's church are good schools, towards
the enlargement of which a government grant was made
in 1844; they contain a useful village library. Excellent
schools are also attached to St. Luke's.—See Crumpsall.
Chelborough, East, or Luccombe
CHELBOROUGH, EAST, or Luccombe, a parish,
in the union of Beaminster, hundred of Tollerford,
Sherborne division of Dorset, 16 miles (N. W.) from
Dorchester; containing 96 inhabitants. The parish was
anciently called Luccombe, and East Chelborough was
a hamlet within its limits. It comprises 948a. 1r., of
which about 258 acres are arable, 594 pasture, 62 wood
and plantation, and 23 orchard and garden-ground. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8, and
in the gift of the Rev. Blakeley Cooper; the tithes have
been commuted for £160, and the glebe comprises 110
acres, with a glebe-house.
Chelborough, West
CHELBOROUGH, WEST, a parish, in the union of
Beaminster, hundred of Tollerford, Sherborne division of Dorset, 2½ miles (W. N. W.) from Evershot;
containing 58 inhabitants, and consisting of 578a. 3r.
28p. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the
king's books at £4. 15. 7½., and in the gift of the
family of Rolle, and John Bragge, Esq.: the tithes have
been commuted for £82, and the glebe comprises 29¼
acres.
Cheldon (St. Mary)
CHELDON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
South Molton, hundred of Witheridge, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (E. by S.) from
Chulmleigh; containing 90 inhabitants, and consisting
by estimation of 1012 acres, of which 332 are common
or waste. There are quarries of stone, which is chiefly
used for the roads. The living is a discharged rectory,
valued in the king's books at £4. 18. 6½., and in the
patronage of the Hon. N. Fellowes: the tithes have
been commuted for a yearly rent-charge of £77, and the
glebe comprises 35 acres of land. The church is a small
neat edifice.
Chelford
CHELFORD, a chapelry, in the parish of Prestbury,
union and hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the
county of Chester, 5 miles (S. E. by E.) from Knutsford;
containing, with the township of Old Withington, 392
inhabitants, of whom 201 are in Chelford township.
This township comprises 1161a. 34p., of which about a
fourth is arable land, of a level surface, and a sandy soil.
It lies on the Knutsford and Macclesfield road, and five
roads meet in the village. The Birtles and Henbury
brooks unite immediately below the chapel, forming in
Astle Park a fine sheet of water, which empties itself
into a brook called Peover-leve. Here is a station on the
Manchester and Birmingham railway. Astle Park is the
seat of J. Dixon, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £128; patron and impropriator, Mr. Dixon:
there is a glebe-house, with 11½ acres of glebe; and
in Newton, near Middlewich, are also 30 acres. The
chapel, rebuilt in 1776, is a plain edifice. In 1754, John
Parker, Esq., erected a school, and endowed it with £50,
to which Thomas Moss and Samuel Brook added each
£100.
Chell
CHELL, a township, in the parish of Wolstanton,
union of Wolstanton and Burslem, N. division of the
hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford,
2 miles (N.) from Burslem; containing 737 inhabitants.
It is divided into two townsteads, called Great and
Little Chell, containing 740 acres: coal-mines are wrought
on the confines. The village, which is seated on an eminence, and on the road from Newcastle to Congleton, is
chiefly occupied by potters. There is a place of worship
for Primitive Methodists. The workhouse for the parishes
of Wolstanton and Burslem, lately erected here, is a fine
capacious structure of gabled architecture. At Turnhurst, in the township, James Brindley, the eminent
engineer, died in 1772.
Chellaston (St. Peter)
CHELLASTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
of Shardlow, hundred of Repton and Gresley, S.
division of the county of Derby, 4½ miles (S. E. by S.)
from Derby; containing 461 inhabitants. This place
belonged to the earls of Huntingdon, whose manorhouse has long been destroyed. The parish, which was
formerly part of the rectory of Melbourne, comprises by
computation 800 acres: some very productive mines of
gypsum or alabaster, of fine quality, are in operation.
The Derby canal passes to the north, and the Trent and
Mersey canal to the south, of the village. The living is
a perpetual curacy; net income, £80; patron, the Bishop
of Carlisle; impropriator, Lord Melbourne: the tithes
were commuted for land at the inclosure of the parish.
The church is in the later English style; the tower has
been rebuilt. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Chellesworth, or Chelsworth (All Saints)
CHELLESWORTH, or Chelsworth (All Saints),
a parish, in the union and hundred of Cosford, W. division of Suffolk, 5 miles (N. W. by N.) from Hadleigh; containing 284 inhabitants, and consisting of
861a. 2r. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £8. 8. 9., and in the patronage of the Crown:
the tithes have been commuted for £264. 7., and the
glebe comprises 30 acres, with a house.
Chellington (St. Nicholas)
CHELLINGTON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the
hundred of Willey, union and county of Bedford, 7
miles (N. E. by E.) from Olney; containing 125 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, united in 1769 to that of
Carlton, and valued in the king's books at £10: the
tithes were commuted for land in 1805.
Chelmarsh (St. Peter)
CHELMARSH (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
of Bridgnorth, hundred of Stottesden, S. division
of Salop, 4 miles (S. by E.) from Bridgnorth; containing 495 inhabitants. It comprises 3126 acres, whereof
110 are common or waste; and is situated on the river
Severn, which flows a little to the east of the village,
and is here navigable. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 5. 8.; patron
and impropriator, Sir J. Sebright, Bart.: the great tithes
have been commuted for £369. 8., and the vicarial for
£235; the glebe contains 20 acres, with a house.
Chelmerton
CHELMERTON, a chapelry, in the parish and
union of Bakewell, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the county of Derby, 4¼ miles (S. W. by S.) from
Tideswell; containing 238 inhabitants. The manufacture of ribbons is carried on. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £86; patron, the Vicar of Bakewell; impropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield,
and the Duke of Devonshire. The chapel has some remains of a rood-loft and screen-work. There are meeting-houses for Wesleyans and Presbyterians; also a
school, to which Mr. Brocklehurst, who died in 1792,
gave £200. On the summit of an eminence above the
village are two barrows, the circumference of the larger
being about 240 feet: in this, when opened in the year
1782, several human skeletons were discovered, in rude
stone coffins, with bones and teeth perfect.
Chelmondiston (St. Andrew)
CHELMONDISTON (St. Andrew), a parish, in
the hundred of Samford, E. division of Suffolk, 6¼
miles (S. S. E.) from Ipswich; containing 566 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Orwell, by
which it is bounded on the north; and comprises the
hamlet of Penemill, pleasantly seated on the south bank
of that river, which is here navigable. The hamlet is
chiefly inhabited by persons engaged in dredging for
stone, which is found on a ledge of rocks six or seven
miles out at sea, east of Harwich, and is made into
Roman cement; nearly thirty boats are employed in the
trade. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the
king's books at £8. 10., and in the patronage of the
Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £346. 10.
There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans.
The noted John Henley, familiarly termed "Orator
Henley," was for a short time rector.
Chelmsford (St. Mary)
CHELMSFORD (St. Mary), a market-town and
parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of
Chelmsford, S. division of Essex, of which it is the
chief town, 29 miles (N. E. by E.) from London, on the
road to Yarmouth; containing, with the hamlet of
Moulsham, 6789 inhabitants. This place, which is
within a short distance of the Cæsaromagus of the Romans, derives its name from an ancient ford on the
Chelmer, near the natural confluence of that river with
the Cann, into which its stream is previously diverted
by an artificial channel near the bridge. In the reign of
Edward the Confessor, and at the time of the Norman
survey, it was in the possession of the bishops of London; and two buildings, still called Bishop's Hall and
Bishop's Mill, seem to indicate its having been either
permanently or occasionally their residence. In other
respects it was an inconsiderable place till the reign of
Henry I., when Maurice, Bishop of London, built a stone
bridge of three arches over the river Cann; and, diverting the road, which previously passed through Writtle,
made Chelmsford the great thoroughfare to the eastern
parts of the county, and to Suffolk and Norfolk. From
this period the town increased in importance; and its
trade so much improved, that, in the reign of Edward
III., it sent four representatives to a grand council at
Westminster. A convent for Black, or Dominican, friars
existed at an early date, the foundation of which has
been erroneously attributed to Malcolm, King of Scotland: its revenue, at the Dissolution, was £9. 6. 5. In
this convent, of which only the site is visible, Thomas
Langford, a friar, compiled a Universal Chronicle, from
the creation to his own time. During the late war with
France, two extensive ranges of barracks, for 4000 men,
were erected near the town, both of which have been
taken down; and at a short distance from it, a line of
embankments, defended by star batteries, of which some
traces are still remaining, was raised to protect the approaches to the metropolis from the eastern coast.
The town is surrounded by interesting scenery. It
is well paved, and lighted with gas: the houses, several
of which, on both sides of the town, have gardens
extending to the river, are in general modern and well
built; and the inhabitants are amply supplied with
water. Considerable improvements have been made of
late years in the appearance of the neighbourhood: a
handsome iron bridge has been erected over the Chelmer;
and more recently a road has been formed, which, commencing at the twenty-eighth milestone on the London
road, and crossing the river Cann by an elegant iron
bridge (about one hundred yards from the stone bridge,
erected in 1787, and connecting Chelmsford with the
hamlet of Moulsham), enters the town about the centre
of the High-street. A building called the Institute has
been erected for the delivery of lectures, for concerts,
and public meetings; and near the Eastern Counties
railway, which passes a little to the west, numerous
villas have been erected: this railway has a station here,
21 miles from the Colchester station, and 30 from the
London terminus. Races, which continue for two days,
are held in August, on Galleywood Common, about two
miles distant, where is an excellent two-mile course.
The trade consists principally in corn, which is sent
to London, and in the traffic arising from the situation
of the town as a great public thoroughfare: there are
several large corn-mills on the banks of the Chelmer.
A navigable canal to the river Blackwater, twelve miles
distant, was constructed in 1796. The market is on
Friday, for corn, cattle, and provisions; and fairs are
held on May 12th and November 12th. The town is
within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who
hold petty-sessions for the division every Tuesday and
Friday; and constables and other officers are appointed
at the court leet of the lord of the manor, who also holds
a court baron occasionally. The powers of the county
debt-court of Chelmsford, established in 1847, extend
over the registration-districts of Chelmsford and Witham.
The assizes and sessions for the county, and the election
of knights for the southern division of the shire, take
place here. The shire-hall is an elegant and commodious
structure, fronted with Portland stone, and having a
rustic basement, from which rise four handsome pillars
of the Ionic order, supporting a triangular pediment;
the front is ornamented with appropriate figures, in
basso-relievo, of Wisdom, Justice, and Mercy: in the
lower part is an area for the corn-market. The old
county gaol, a spacious stone building, in Moulsham,
was completed in 1777, at an expense of upwards of
£18,000; it is appropriated exclusively to the reception
of persons confined for debt, and of prisoners committed
for trial. Adjoining the gaol, and incorporated with it,
is the house of correction, for convicted female prisoners;
it was built in 1806, at a cost of about £7500. The new
convict gaol at Springfield Hill, on the road to Colchester, is a very extensive and well-arranged edifice of
brick ornamented with stone, completed in 1825, at an
expense of £55,739; and since enlarged. A building
has been erected within the last few years for the reception of vagrants.
The parish comprises 2348 acres, the soil of which is
generally a deep rich loam, occasionally intermixed with
gravel, and producing fair average crops. The living
is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £31. 2. 6.,
and in the patronage of Lady St. John Mildmay: the
tithes have been commuted for £500, and the glebe
contains 15¾ acres, with a glebe-house. The body of
the church has been rebuilt, at an expense of £15,000,
the former having fallen down in 1800, from the unskilfulness of some workmen who, in digging a vault,
undermined two of the principal pillars: it is a stately
structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, crowned with pinnacles, and surmounted
by a lofty spire. A chapel in a modern style has been
erected at Moulsham, on a site given by Lady Mildmay.
There are places of worship for Independents, Baptists,
Irvingites, the Society of Friends, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics. The free grammar school was founded
and endowed, in 1551, by Edward VI.: the income is
about £488; and, in common with the schools at
Maldon and Brentwood, it has an exhibition of £6 per
annum to Caius College, Cambridge. The school-house
was built by R. Benyon, Esq., in 1782, on the site of a
more ancient one erected by Sir John Tyrrell, Bart.
Philemon Holland, translator of Camden's Britannia, and
a native of Chelmsford; John Dee, the celebrated mathematician; Sir Walter Mildmay, Bart., founder of
Emmanuel College, Cambridge; and Dr. Plume, Archdeacon of Rochester, received the rudiments of their
education in the establishment. The union of Chelmsford comprises 31 parishes or places, and contains a
population of 30,603. The inhabitants of an island in
the river have from time immemorial practised the form
of electing a representative, on a dissolution of parliament or the vacation of a member for the county: the
ceremony concludes with the chairing of the successful
candidate, who is dipped in the river, and the chair
broken to pieces.
Chelsea
CHELSEA, a suburb of the metropolis, comprising
the parishes of St. Luke and Upper Chelsea, in the
Kensington division of the hundred of Ossulstone,
county of Middlesex; containing, with part of the
chapelry of Knightsbridge, 40,179 inhabitants. This
place was anciently called Chelcheth or Chelchith, probably from the Saxon Ceosl, or Cesol, sand, and Hythe,
a harbour; from which its present name is derived.
In 785, a synod for the reformation of religion in
England was assembled here by the legates of Pope
Adrian. The beauty of its situation on the Thames,
which is wider here than in any other part above London bridge, made it, at an early period, the residence of
illustrious persons, whose superb mansions procured
for it the appellation of the "village of palaces." Among
these was the residence of the chancellor, Sir Thomas
More, at the north end of Beaufort-row; which, after
being successively in the occupation of several distinguished characters, was taken down by Sir Hans Sloane,
in the year 1740. The bishops of Winchester had a
palace at the upper end of Cheyne-walk, which, under
an act of parliament passed in 1823, enabling the bishop
to alienate it from the see, was taken down in 1824.
Queen Elizabeth had also a palace here; and Sir Robert
Walpole resided for some time in a mansion previously
belonging to the crown, on the site of which a fine
edifice was erected in 1810, by Gen. Gordon. The
mansion and gardens of the Earl of Ranelagh were converted into a place of public amusement, which after
having been fashionably attended for a considerable
time, was closed in 1805, and the buildings taken down;
the site is now occupied by dwelling-houses. Just above
Battersea bridge, near the western extremity of Chelsea,
are Cremorne Gardens, occupying the grounds of a
villa that stood here belonging to Viscountess Cremorne,
which was built by Theophilus, Earl of Huntingdon, in
the reign of George II.
Chelsea comprehends the old town on the bank of the
Thames, over which is a bridge of wood leading to Battersea, in Surrey; the new buildings, erected since 1777,
and called Hans Town, in honour of Sir Hans Sloane, a
former lord of the manor; and several ranges of building of recent erection in various directions. In the old
town is Cheyne-walk, which contains many handsome
houses, commanding an interesting view of the river and
the scenery on its opposite bank; in the new town are,
Sloane-street, a regular range of respectable houses,
nearly a mile in length, Sloane-square, and Upper and
Lower Cadogan places. The streets are partially paved,
and well lighted with gas, under the superintendence of
40 commissioners, including the rector and the churchwardens, appointed annually by act of parliament obtained about the year 1820: an act for more effectually
paving, lighting, and otherwise improving the parish of
St. Luke, exclusively of the district of Hans Town, was
passed in 1845. The inhabitants are supplied with water
by the Chelsea Water-Works Company, incorporated in
1724. There are a soap-manufactory, two breweries, a
manufactory for papier-maché, and an extensive floorcloth manufactory: a considerable trade is carried on in
coal; and in the neighbourhood are large tracts of
ground cultivated by market-gardeners. The county
magistrates hold a petty-session here for the hundred
every Tuesday; and four headboroughs, nine constables, and other officers are appointed at the court for the
manor. The Botanic Gardens were established in 1673,
by the Company of Apothecaries, to whom Sir Hans
Sloane granted, at a quit-rent of £5 per annum, four
acres on the bank of the river; they contain a great
variety of medicinal plants systematically arranged, a
hot-house, green-houses, and a library, in which are
many volumes of natural history. Lectures are delivered periodically to the students, by a demonstrator
appointed for that purpose. In the centre of the gardens is a fine statue of Sir Hans Sloane, by Rysbrach;
and in the front opposite to the river are two remarkably
fine cedars of Libanus. A second botanic garden, occupying more than six acres, and well stocked with
plants arranged after the Linnæan system, in seventeen
compartments, was established in 1807, near Sloanestreet, where lectures are delivered in May and June.
The Royal Hospital for veteran soldiers, a handsome structure of brick ornamented with columns,
quoins, and cornices of stone, erected after a design by
Sir Christophen Wren, at an expense of £150,000,
towards defraying which the projector, Sir Stephen Fox,
grandfather of Charles James Fox, contributed £13,000,
was begun in the reign of Charles II., and completed in
that of William III. The buildings occupy a spacious
quadrangle, in the centre of which is a statue in bronze
of Charles II.; the east and west sides, which are 360
feet in length, comprise wards for the pensioners, and
the governor's house. In the centre of the north side is
a large vestibule lighted by a handsome dome, with the
great hall on one side, in which the pensioners dine, and
on the other, the chapel, a neat and lofty edifice, containing a handsome altar-piece with a good painting of
the Resurrection. The south side of the quadrangle is
open to the river, affording a fine view of the extensive
gardens, which reach to its margin. There are smaller
quadrangles, in which are the infirmaries and various
offices, formed by the addition of wings to the extremities of the north side of the large quadrangle. On the
north side of the hospital is an inclosure of thirteen
acres, planted with avenues of trees. The number of inpensioners is about 500, and of out-pensioners indefinite; the annual expenditure is from £700,000 to
£800,000. York Hospital, also in the parish, is a receptacle for wounded soldiers arriving from foreign stations,
who are waiting for a vacancy in the royal hospital.
The Royal Military Asylum was founded in 1801, by the
Duke of York, for the support and education of the
orphan children of soldiers, and of those whose fathers
are serving on foreign stations: at present the number
of boys is 350. There were formerly nearly 1000 boys
in the institution, and 300 girls; but the latter, in 1823,
were removed to Southampton, where a cavalry barrack,
which had been previously converted into an asylum
for 400 boys, was appropriated to their use. The premises, which are of brick ornamented with stone,
form three sides of a quadrangle: the west front consists of a centre, with a stone portico of the Doric order,
connected with two wings by an arcade; and within the
grounds is a handsome chapel.
The ancient parish of Chelsea has lately been divided
into two distinct and separate parishes. The living of
St. Luke's is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£13. 6. 8.; net income, £1003; patron, Earl Cadogan.
The church, erected in 1824, at an expense of £40,000,
of which the Parliamentary Commissioners granted
£8785, is a magnificent structure in the decorated and
later styles of English architecture, with a tower crowned
by dome turrets at the angles; the west front is strikingly beautiful. The interior has an impressive grandeur
of effect, arising from the loftiness of the nave, which
has a triforium and a fine range of clerestory windows
of three lights, and is separated from the aisles by
clustered columns and pointed arches: the altar-piece
is ornamented with shrine-work of elegant design, and
with a painting of the Descent from the Cross; the east
window is lofty and of graceful character, and the roof
of the building is groined. The living of Upper Chelsea is a rectory not in charge; net income, £840;
patron, Earl Cadogan. The church, situated in Sloanestreet, and dedicated to the Trinity, is a handsome edifice in the later English style, with two minaret turrets
at the west end, erected in 1830, at an expense of
£5849, by grant from the Commissioners.
The old church, now used as a Chapel, is a small edifice, partly in the early and partly in the decorated
English style, with a low tower surmounted by a campanile turret: it is chiefly of brick, and was built in
the early part of the sixteenth century; it was enlarged,
and the tower added, about 1670. At the end of the
north aisle is a chapel in the decorated style, and at the
extremity of the south aisle is one erected by Sir Thomas
More, in 1520. Among the many interesting monuments are those of Sir Thomas More; Dr. Edward
Chamberlayne, author of The Present State of England;
Thomas Shadwell, poet-laureate in the reign of William
and Mary; Sir Hans Sloane; and others. The living
is a perpetual curacy; net income, £300; patron, the
Rector of St. Luke's. An episcopal chapel, called Park
chapel, was built by Sir Richard Manningham, in 1718,
and is in the gift of J. D. Paul, Esq. Christ Church,
situated in Queen-street, and consecrated in June, 1839,
is a neat edifice of brick, in the early English style, with
a campanile turret surmounted by a dwarf spire; it was
erected by the Trustees of Miss Hyndman, at a cost of
nearly £4000, and will accommodate 1200 persons. The
living is in the gift of the Trustees. St. Saviour's district church, behind Hans-place, in Upper Chelsea, was
also built for a congregation of 1200 persons, at an estimated expense of £5000, of which one-half was
granted by the Metropolitan Church Building Society,
and the remainder raised by voluntary contributions;
it was consecrated in May, 1840. A district church
dedicated to St. Jude has been since erected in Turk'srow, in the parish of Upper Chelsea. The two livings
are in the gift of the Rector. St. Mark's College, Stanley
Grove, is a training institution for masters of national
schools, with a chapel annexed, and nearly 60 young
men have been prepared here since the foundation. At
Whitelands is an institution for training schoolmistresses; the building will accommodate 75 young
women, and in connexion with it is a large school taught
by the pupils in training. There are places of worship
for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Roman
Catholics. John King, A.M., editor of some of the
tragedies of Euripides; and Dr. Thomas Martyn, F.R.S.,
an eminent antiquary and natural philosopher, and
regius professor of botany at Cambridge for sixty-four
years, were natives of the parish.
Chelsfield (St. Mary)
CHELSFIELD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Bromley, hundred of Ruxley, lathe of Sutton-AtHone, W. division of Kent, 6¼ miles (S. E.) from
Bromley; containing 1541 inhabitants. It comprises
4692 acres, of which 578 are woodland. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £24. 14. 2., and
in the patronage of All Souls' College, Oxford: the
tithes have been commuted for £820, and the glebe
comprises 53 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is
in the early English style, with a tower and spire at the
north-east angle of the nave. At Farnborough, in the
parish, is a chapel of ease.
Chelsham (St. Leonard)
CHELSHAM (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union
of Godstone, Second division of the hundred of Tandridge, E. division of Surrey, 6 miles (S. E.) from
Croydon; containing 347 inhabitants. It is ecclesiastically consolidated with Warlingham (which see), under
the title of Warlingham with Chelsham. The church is
in the early English style, and capable of accommodating
about 200 persons; the chancel is separated from the
body of the building by an oak screen of great beauty
and elaborate carving. At Ledgers, in the parish, at a
short distance from the dwelling-house of the proprietor,
is a moat, in which, on its being partially cleared out a
few years ago, several mutilated remains of ancient
vases were discovered.
Chelsworth.—See Chellesworth.
CHELSWORTH.—See Chellesworth.
Cheltenham (St. Mary)
CHELTENHAM (St. Mary), a borough, markettown, and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Cheltenham, E. division of the county of
Gloucester, 9 miles (E. N. E.) from Gloucester, and 95
(W. N. W.) from London; containing, according to the
census of 1841, 31,411 inhabitants; and now considerably more. This place takes its name from the small
river Chelt, which rises at Dowdeswell, in the vicinity,
and runs through the town in its course to the Severn.
The manor belonged to Edward the Confessor, and was
afterwards held by the Conqueror; in 1199 it was
granted to Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, who exchanged it with King John for other lands: it was next
given to the abbey of Feschamp, in Normandy, and subsequently to the nunnery of Sion, in Middlesex, on the
dissolution of which it reverted to the crown. Cheltenham derives its importance from its mineral springs.
The oldest of these was noticed in 1716, and since that
time various others have been discovered, possessing
different proportions of chalybeate, aperient salts, chiefly
sulphate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, and oxyde of iron
held in solution by carbonic acid; the last was discovered in 1803, by Dr. Thomas Jameson, according to
whose analysis it contains a greater proportion of sulphureous gas than the others, and, in many instances,
bears a strong affinity to the Harrogate water. They
are efficacious in the cure of jaundice and other diseases
of the liver, in dyspepsia, and in the complaints arising
from the debilitating influence of hot climates. In 1721,
the old well, or spa, to the south of the town, was inclosed; and in 1738 Captain Henry Skillicorn erected
over it a brick pavilion supported on four arches, built a
pump-room, and laid out walks for the accommodation
of visiters. In 1780, the number of lodging-houses
amounted only to thirty; but since the visit of George
III., with the queen and princesses, in 1788, Cheltenham
has been rapidly rising into celebrity as a place of
fashionable resort; and at present it is eminent for the
elegance of its buildings, the extent and variety of its
accommodations, and the rank and number of its visiters,
of whom, in the course of the season, there are generally
not less than 15,000. It now assumes, also, more the
character of a permanent residence of the gentry than
formerly.
The town is pleasantly situated on an extensive plain,
sheltered on the north and east by the Cotswold Hills,
and consists of numerous fine streets, the principal of
which is more than a mile and a half in length, containing many excellent ranges of building, interspersed
occasionally with houses of more ancient date and less
pretending character. To the south of this street are a
crescent and colonnade, and the upper and the lower
promenade, lately built; and on each side are dwellings
displaying much beauty and variety of architectural decoration. The masonic hall, in Portland-street, is a
handsome edifice in the style of a Roman mausoleum,
completed in 1823, and decorated in front and on one
side with the insignia of the order of freemasonry. The
streets are well paved, and lighted with gas, under an
act procured in the 59th of George III. and amended in
the 2nd of George IV.: the Gas-light and Coke Company was formed pursuant to an act passed in 1819;
and in 1824 an act was obtained for the establishment
of water-works, under the direction of a company. An
act was also passed, in 1833, for the better sewerage,
draining, and cleansing of the town. About half a mile
towards the south is the Montpelier spa: the pumproom, a spacious rotunda, has a noble colonnade in front,
above the centre of which is the figure of a lion couchant.
Nearer the town stood the Imperial spa, an elegant
building in the Grecian style of architecture, opened in
1818; this, however, has disappeared, and on its site
has been erected the Queen's Hotel, one of the largest
hotels in Europe. The Old well, or original spa, was
enlarged by the erection of a new pump-room in 1803.
There are also the chalybeate spa, opened in 1802; the
Cambray chalybeate spa, discovered in 1807; and
Alstone spa, opened in 1809. On the north side of
Cheltenham is Pittville, where a new town has been
planned on a magnificent scale, by Joseph Pitt, Esq.:
the pump-room, of which the first stone was laid on the
4th of May, 1825, is a grand edifice, erected at an expense of more than £20,000. A fine assemblage of
houses, also, has been formed to the south of the Montpelier pump-room, on the Lansdowne and Suffolk
estates; it consists of a crescent of 48 handsome
houses, and of elegant terraces, and parades, constituting by far the most splendid part of the town.
Cheltenham contains warm, cold, medicated, and vapour
baths, furnished with all the requisite appendages;
hotels, affording every accommodation; and several
hundred lodging-houses, many of which are beautifully
fitted up. The various libraries, reading-rooms, and
musical repositories, are well conducted; and concerts
and assemblies take place regularly during the season,
under the superintendence of a master of the ceremonies,
in a suite of rooms completed in 1816. The theatre,
built in 1805, by Mr. J. Watson, a coadjutor of John
Kemble and Mrs. Siddons, was destroyed by fire on the
3rd of May, 1839. Races took place annually, on the
adjoining eminence, but they have been for some years
past wholly discontinued.
The trade, exclusively of the ordinary business necessary for the supply of the inhabitants and the numerous visiters, consists principally in malt and in various
kinds of medicinal salts, for the preparation of which
latter there is an extensive manufactory on the road to
Bath. The Birmingham and Bristol railway has one
of its principal stations here, a spacious building of the
Doric order, with a colonnade extending along the whole
of the front, which is on the Queen's road. The market
is on Thursday and Saturday: fairs are held on the
second Thursday in April, Aug. 5th, the second Thursday in September, and the third Thursday in December,
for cattle and cheese: also statute-fairs on the first and
second Thursday after Michaelmas-day. The markethouse, a handsome and commodious building, was erected
in 1823, at the expense of Lord Sherborne. By the act
of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, Cheltenham was
constituted a borough, with the privilege of returning
a member to parliament, to be elected by the £10 householders: the limits of the borough are co-extensive with
those of the parish, comprising about 3650 acres; the
returning officer is appointed by the sheriff for the
county. The town is within the jurisdiction of the
county magistrates, who hold a petty-session for the
division every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday: a high
bailiff and constables are appointed at the court leet of
the lord of the manor; and the local affairs are under
the control of commissioners appointed by an act passed
in the 2nd of George IV. The powers of the county debtcourt of Cheltenham, established in 1847, extend over
the registration-district of Cheltenham. By an ancient
manorial custom, confirmed by act of parliament, land
descends as by common law, but the eldest female
inherits solely. The new gaol, near St. George's square,
is a convenient edifice, erected in 1814.
The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, about
£1000; patrons, certain Trustees; impropriator, J. Pitt,
Esq. The tithes were commuted for land and a
money payment, for the hamlet of Cheltenham, in 1801;
and for the tythings of Arle and Arlestone, in 1830.
The parochial church is an ancient cruciform structure,
in the early, decorated, and later English styles, with a
tower rising from the intersection, and surmounted by
a lofty octagonal spire. On the east side of the north
transept is a grand circular window, 15 feet in diameter,
divided into 33 compartments, and filled with tracery of
the decorated and later styles intermixed; the east
window of the chancel, and others, are also fine compositions: there is a curious, ornamented piscina in the
chancel. In the churchyard is an ancient stone cross,
of a single shaft, with an ascent of several steps. The
church of the Holy Trinity, in Portland-street, a handsome structure in the later English style, was erected by
subscription, but finished by Lord Sherborne, and was
consecrated in 1823. This is a chapel of ease to the mother
church, and is served by stipendiary curates. St. Paul's
church, an edifice of the Grecian-Ionic order, with a
portico and tower, was completed in 1831, at a cost of
£6500, half of which was defrayed by a grant from the
Parliamentary Commissioners. This, also, is a chapel of
ease to the parent church. St. James' church, Suffolksquare, St. John's, Berkeley-street, and Christ-Church,
Lansdowne, were erected under what is called the Forty
Years' act, 5 George IV., cap. 5, by which the patronage
is in Trustees for forty years, after which period it will
lapse to the incumbent of Cheltenham. The livings are
perpetual curacies, but without districts assigned; and
the income of each is derived from pew-rents, having no
other endowment. Another church, St. Peter's, on the
Tewkesbury road, was commenced in 1847, in the Norman style; a district has been assigned to it under the
act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37, and on the consecration
of the church the district will be constituted an ecclesiastical parish. A spacious burial-ground has been purchased by the parishioners. There are places of worship
for Baptists, the Society of Friends, the Connexion of
the Countess of Huntingdon, Independents, Wesleyan
and other Methodists, and Roman Catholics. The
Baptist meeting-house has a burial-ground attached to
it; and there is a fund of £25 per annum, for distribution among the poor of that congregation.
The Free Grammar school was established and endowed
in 1574, by Richard Pates; the endowment, augmented
by Queen Elizabeth, produces a salary of £30 per
annum to the master, who is appointed by Corpus
Christi College, Oxford. There are eight scholarships
in Pembroke College, Oxford, founded in 1682, by George
Townsend, for boys from Gloucester, Cheltenham,
Chipping-Campden, and Northleach, with preference in
presentation to his donatives of Uxbridge and Colnbrook: the same benefactor instituted and endowed
a school here, for poor boys, and similar schools in the
parishes of Winchcomb, Chipping-Campden, Northleach, and Nether Guyting, or Blockley, and for apprenticing them he appropriated part of the income,
which amounts to £207. The Rev. William Stanley, in
1704, gave land producing £25 per annum, subject to a
rent-charge of £8, the residue being applied to the same
purpose. A portion of an endowment by Lady Capel,
amounting to £37. 10. per annum, is paid for the instruction of poor children. There are also national,
Lancasterian, and infants' schools, maintained by subscription. A proprietary college, the object of which is
to supply a good general education, founded on sound
religious principles, was opened on the 22nd of June,
1843: the building is entirely of stone raised from
Dodswell-hill, near the town, and has a facade 240 feet
in length; the cost of its erection exceeded £8000. It
contains 300 boys, "the sons of noblemen and gentlemen," who are prepared for the universities in the classical department, and for the professions in the civil and
military departments. Almshouses for six persons were
founded and endowed by Richard Pates, in 1574. A
"dispensary and casualty ward," established in 1813,
and lately enlarged, is supported by subscription; and
there are many other charitable institutions, among
which may be noticed the female orphan asylum, the
Coburg Society for the relief of indigent married women
in child-birth, and the Dorcas Society. The poor law
union of Cheltenham comprises 13 parishes or places,
and contains a population of 40,221.