Cheshunt (St. Mary)
CHESHUNT (St. Mary), a parish, and formerly a
market-town, in the union of Edmonton, hundred and
county of Hertford, 8 miles (S. by E.) from Hertford;
containing, with Cheshunt-street, Waltham-Cross, and
Woodside wards, 5402 inhabitants. In this parish was
formerly a bank separating the kingdoms of Mercia
and East Anglia during the heptarchy, the lands on
one side of which the elder brother still inherits, and the
younger those on the other side. Cardinal Wolsey
possessed the united manors of Andrews and Le Mote,
in the parish, and received from the crown the appointment of bailiff of the honour, and keeper of the park, of
Cheshunt. Here stood the palace called Theobalds, the
favourite residence of Lord Burleigh, and afterwards of
James I., who died in it in 1625; it was also the occasional resort of Charles I., who here received the petition
from both houses of parliament in 1642, a short time
before he placed himself at the head of the army. The
greater part of the palace, the park attached to which
was ten miles in circuit, and surrounded by a wall, was
taken down by the Parliamentary Commissioners for
selling the crown lands, in 1650. Near the church is a
house in which Richard Cromwell, after resigning the
protectorate, lived in retirement, under the assumed
name of Clark, till his death in 1712. The parish
comprises about 8450 acres, the soil of which is rich and
fertile, consisting of the several varieties of gravel, clay,
and loam; the surface is undulated, and the scenery
enlivened by the picturesque windings of the New
River, and the expansive stream of the Lea. The Cheshunt station of the Cambridge railway is 16¼ miles from
the London terminus. The village is supposed to occupy
the site of a Roman station on the Ermin-street: the
petty-sessions for the division are held here.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £26; net income, £401; patron, the Marquess of
Salisbury; impropriator, J. J. Martin, Esq.: there is a
good glebe-house, with nearly 200 acres of land allotted
at the inclosure, in 1800, in lieu of tithes. A new church,
in the later English style, with a campanile turret, was
erected in 1832, at an expense of £3282, under an act
of the 58th of George III. At Waltham-Cross, is
Trinity chapel, in the gift of the Vicar. Cheshunt College, for the preparation of young men for the ministry,
was originally established in 1768, at Talgarth, in the
county of Brecon, South Wales, by the Countess of
Huntingdon, who continued to support the college until
her death in 1791, when it was removed by the trustees
to this place; a chapel was built in 1806, and in 1821
a new building was annexed for the accommodation of
20 additional students. The institution is supported by
the interest on about £8000 stock, a portion of an estate
called Cobham, and subscriptions, the whole producing
about £1200 per annum. A free school was founded
about 1642, and endowed with land by Robert Dewhurst, who built the school-house, and also assigned 20
nobles each for apprenticing six boys. Almshouses for
ten widows, at Turner's Hill, are endowed with a donation of £500 from James I., and the income has been
augmented by various benefactions. To the north were
lately some remains of a nunnery founded in the reign
of Stephen, by Peter de Belengey, in honour of the
Blessed Virgin, for nuns of the Sempringham order,
whom Henry III. afterwards displaced for others of the
Benedictine order: its revenue, in the 26th of Henry
VIII., was estimated at £27. 6. 8. Roman coins of the
reigns of Adrian, Claudius Gothicus, and Constantine,
were found in 1724.
Cheslyn-Hay
CHESLYN-HAY, an extra-parochial liberty, locally
in the parish of Cannock, union of Penkridge, E.
division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of
the county of Stafford, 7 miles (S. E. by S.) from
Penkridge; containing 774 inhabitants, and comprising
by computation 790 acres. It includes the large and
irregularly-built village of Wyrley-Bank, which extends
from one mile south of Cannock to the township of
Great Wyrley: an eminence here, planted with firs,
may be seen at a considerable distance. The opening of
the neighbouring coal-mines has much improved the
place, which now has a meeting-house for Methodists,
and a Sunday school.
Chessington
CHESSINGTON, a parish, in the union of Epsom,
Second division of the hundred of Copthorne and
Effingham, W. division of Surrey, 3 miles (S.) from
Kingston; containing 226 inhabitants. The parish
comprises by admeasurement 1223 acres, of which 970
are arable, and about 200 pasture; the soil is chiefly
clay. It is annexed to the vicarage of Malden, and the
Warden and Fellows of Merton College, Oxford, are impropriators: the tithes have been commuted for £305,
and the glebe contains 25 acres. The church is in the
early English style. There is a strong chalybeate spring,
called Jessop's Well.
Chester
CHESTER, a city, port,
and county of itself, locally
in the hundred of Broxton,
S. division of the county of
Chester, of which it is the
capital, 17 miles (S.) from
Liverpool, 36 (S. W.) from
Manchester, and 197 (N.
W.) from London; containing 23,115 inhabitants, and,
including those portions of
the parishes of St. Mary on
the Hill, St. Oswald, and
the Holy Trinity, which are without the limits of the
city, 25,613. The origin of this ancient city has been
ascribed to the Cornavii, a British tribe who, at the time
of the Roman invasion, inhabited that part of the island
which now includes the counties of Chester, Salop, Stafford, Warwick, and Worcester; and its British name
Caer Leon Vawr, "city of Leon the Great," has been referred to Leon, son of Brût Darian Là, eighth king of
Britain. But there is no authentic account of Chester
prior to the period when it was made the station of the
twentieth Roman legion, after the defeat of Caractacus;
and the more respectable historians deduce its names,
Caer Leon Vawr, "city" or "camp of the great legion,"
and Caer Leon ar Dwfyr dwy, "the city of the legion on
the Dee," from its connexion with the Roman people.
It was also called Deunana and Deva, from the same
river. The Romans occupied it from the year 46 till
their departure from the island in 446, when it reverted
to the Britons, from whom it was taken by Ethelfrith,
king of Northumbria, who in 607 defeated them with
the king of Powysland, with great slaughter. Having
regained the place, the Britons continued to hold it till
828, when Egbert, as sole monarch of England, annexed
it to his other possessions. By the Saxons the city was
called Legancester and Legecester. It suffered greatly
from the Danes in the ninth century: on their retreat,
the walls were repaired by Ethelfreda, Countess of Mercia: and after her death the Britons once more became
its masters, but were again driven out by Edward the
Elder. In 971–3, Edgar assembled a naval force on the
Dee, on which occasion that king, as mentioned by some
writers, was rowed from his palace on the southern bank
of the river to the conventual church of St. John, by
eight tributary kings, he himself taking the helm, to
denote his supremacy.
Arms.
On the division of England between Canute and Edmund Ironside, in 1016, Canute retained possession of
Mercia and Northumbria; and Chester, which was included in Mercia, continued to form part of it till the
Norman Conquest, when William bestowed it, with the
earldom, on his kinsman, Hugh Lupus. At this time,
according to Domesday book, the city contained 431
rateable houses. For more than two centuries after the
Conquest, it was the head-quarters of the troops employed to defend the English border against the incursive attacks of the Welsh, and, on account of its importance as a military station, was more or less favoured
by the reigning monarchs. In the war between Henry
III. and the barons, Chester was captured by the Earl
of Derby, in the year 1264, and held for the crown till
the battle of Evesham, in which the barons were defeated
with the loss of their leader, and an end put to the contest. On the subjugation of Wales, in 1300, by Edward I., several of the Welsh chieftains did homage to
his son, Edward of Carnarvon, then an infant, in Chester
Castle. Richard II., by an act of parliament which was
rescinded by his successor, erected the earldom of Chester into a principality, to be held only by the king's
eldest son.
The city, in common with the whole county, suffered
considerably from the sanguinary conflicts between the
houses of York and Lancaster, during which it was
visited by Margaret of Anjou. In 1554, the inhabitants
experienced the severity of the persecution by which the
reign of Mary was distinguished; and the martyrdom of
George Marsh, a clergyman who was burnt for preaching the tenets of Protestantism, was rendered memorable by an attempt of one of the sheriffs to rescue him,
which was defeated by the other. In 1634, the city
suffered dreadfully from the plague; during its continuance the court of exchequer was removed to Tarvin,
and the court of assize to Nantwich, and the fairs were
suspended. In the memorable siege of the city by Sir
William Brereton, in 1645, when the garrison was commanded by Lord Byron, the inhabitants experienced
great privations for their adherence to the cause of
Charles I., who had the mortification to witness, from
the Phœnix tower and the great tower of the cathedral,
the entire defeat of his army under Sir Marmaduke
Langdale, and its pursuit by the enemy even to the very
walls. The noble commander, after a gallant resistance,
surrendered on honourable terms, February 3rd, 1646.
In 1659, Sir George Booth surprised and took possession
of the city, but it was soon given up to the parliamentary
forces under General Lambert. In 1688, the Roman
Catholic lords, Molyneux and Aston, raised a force, and
made themselves masters of Chester, for James II.; but
his abdication rendered further efforts useless. Under
William III. it was chosen one of the six cities for the
residence of an assay-master, and allowed to issue silver
coinage. In the rebellion of 1745, it was fortified against
the Pretender, the last military event of importance recorded of a place celebrated as the rendezvous of troops
from the earliest times.
Situated on a rocky elevation, on the northern bank
of the Dee, and half encircled by a fine sweep of the
river, the appearance of Chester is remarkable and
picturesque. The city is entirely surrounded by a wall,
and comprises four principal streets, diverging at right
angles from a common centre, and extending towards
the cardinal points; at the extremities of the streets are
gates, after three of which are respectively named Eastgate-street, Northgate-street, and Watergate-street. This
plan, strictly conformable to the Roman style of building,
affords strong presumptive evidence of a Roman origin.
Within the liberty of the city is an extensive southern
suburb, called Hanbridge, which in feudal times generally fell a prey to the predatory incursions of the Welsh,
and thence obtained, in their language, the appellation
of Treboeth, "the burnt town." The streets of Chester,
being cut out of the rock, are several feet below the
general surface, a circumstance that has led to a singular
construction of the houses. Level with the streets are
low shops, or warehouses, over which is an open balustraded gallery, with steps at convenient distances into
the streets; and along the galleries, or, as they are
called by the inhabitants, "rows," are houses with shops:
the upper stories are erected over the row, which, consequently, appears to be formed through the first floor of
each house; and at the intersection of the streets are
additional flights of steps. The rows in Bridge and
Eastgate streets, running through the principal part of
the city, are much frequented as promenades. Pennant
considered these curious galleries to be remnants of the
vestibules of Roman houses; but other writers are of
opinion that they were originally constructed for defence,
especially against the sudden inroads of the Welsh. The
fronts of such of them as have not been modernised are
bounded by a heavy wooden railing; and immense
pillars of oak, supporting transverse beams, sustain the
weight of the upper stories. Many of the houses in
Bridge and Eastgate streets, having been rebuilt, are
considerably improved and enlarged, and their appearance rendered light by iron-railing. The streets are well
lighted with gas; they are indifferently paved, but the
inconvenience to foot passengers, to whom the rows
afford a sheltered walk, is little felt: the inhabitants are
plentifully supplied with water, and the city, both within
and without the walls, has been much improved of late
by the addition of well-built houses. The new bridge,
consisting of one arch of 200 feet in the span, is constructed of Peckforton stone, with quoins of granite, at
an expense of £50,000, from a design by Mr. Thomas
Harrison: the old bridge, consisting of seven arches,
has, within the last few years, been considerably widened.
In 1845 an act was passed for further improving the city,
and for establishing new market-places. Fine views of
the peninsula of Wirrall, the Welsh hills, and the estuary
of the Dee, are obtained from the walls, which afford a
delightful and favourite promenade. There are two
public libraries: the theatre, a small neat edifice, is open
during the races, and generally throughout the summer;
and grand musical meetings are held at distant periods.
The races, which attract much company from Wales and
the neighbouring counties, commence on the first Monday in May, and terminate on the Friday following;
they take place on the Rood-eye, a fine level beneath the
city walls, well adapted to the purpose.
The port is not of much importance, owing to the
shallowness of the water; but, by the exertions of the
River Dee Company, the channel has been deepened, the
navigation improved, and a tract of ground, formerly
sands, but now arable land, has been gained by altering
the course of the river, and making embankments, the
last of which was completed in 1824. The commerce,
both domestic and foreign, was once somewhat extensive, but is now chiefly confined to Ireland, though a
few ships trade with the Baltic, Spain, Portugal, and
the Mediterranean shores. The articles imported are,
linen, butter, provisions, timber, hides, tallow, feathers,
iron, hemp, flax, kid and lamb skins, fruit, oil, barilla,
and wine; those shipped, chiefly coastwise, are cheese
(in large quantities), coal, lead, copper, calamine, and
lead, copper, and iron ores. About 1736, Chester became a great mart for Irish linen, the trade in which
increased so much, that the fairs were principally distinguished by the quantity sold annually at them, estimated
at 4,000,000 yards. The manufactures are inconsiderable; the principal articles are tobacco, snuff, whitelead, shot, tobacco-pipes, and leather. The skin trade
was formerly extensive, but is now extinct; and the
manufacture of gloves, in which several hundred persons
were employed, has much declined. The city mills,
standing on the western side of the old bridge, are complete and extensive; they were erected a few years
since, in consequence of the destruction by fire of the
former mills, which were a source of considerable profit
to the earls of Chester, the inhabitants not being permitted to grind their corn elsewhere.
Chester is connected with Liverpool by the Ellesmere
canal, which commences at Ellesmere Port, on the Mersey, and here joins the Dee and the Chester canal. The
Chester and Crewe railway diverges from the Liverpool
and Birmingham railway a little to the north of Crewe,
and proceeds in a west-north-west direction towards
Chester, on reaching which, it is connected with the
Chester and Birkenhead line at its terminal station in
Brook-street; it was opened in October, 1840. The
Birkenhead line commences at the station in Brookstreet, and runs north-north-west to Birkenhead; it
was opened for passengers and general traffic in September, 1840, and is 16 miles long. A railway to Holyhead
has been carried straight through the walls of the city,
so as to cut them in two places; the walls are here of
considerable height, and the railway reaches them from
a bridge that has been thrown over a canal, and leaves
them by an embankment that is carried onwards to the
Dee. Two strong bridges of iron and wood continue
the walk upon the walls, on which a person can stand
and see a train passing immediately under his feet. In
1845 an act was passed for making a railway to Shrewsbury; and in 1846 another act authorizing the formation
of a railway from Chester, to join the proposed line between Hooton and Stockport. In 1847 a central station
was projected for all the lines meeting at Chester.
The market-days are Wednesday and Saturday: the
market-place comprising five distinct buildings, was
erected at the expense of the corporation, in 1828.
Fairs are held on the last Thursday in February, for
horses and cattle; and July 5th and October 10th, for
articles in general, of which Irish linen, Manchester
goods, Welsh flannel, and Birmingham and Sheffield
wares, are the principal. The two latter fairs were
granted by Norman earls; and their antiquity is proved
by the recorded jurisdiction of the Dutton family over
the Cheshire minstrels, which is said to have originated
in the deliverance of Earl Ranulph de Blundeville from
a body of Welsh invaders, by a band of minstrels and
buffoons, under the command of Hugh Dutton, who had
assembled at Chester fair; for which service Dutton was
afterwards allowed to license minstrels, and other itinerants, without their being accounted vagabonds. Fourteen days before the commencement of each general fair,
a wooden hand, as the emblem of traffic and bargain,
used to be suspended from the Pentice, adjoining St.
Peter's church, where it remained during the fair, a
period of twenty-nine days, when non-freemen were
allowed to trade in the city. Besides these fairs, are
others for the sale of live-stock, held on the last Thursday in April, the first Thursday in September, and the last
Thursday in November; and for the sale of cheese and
other agricultural produce, on the days preceding all the
fairs. The Linen Hall, built about the year 1780, is a
spacious pile of building, forming an oblong, and comprises more than one hundred shops.
The city is one of the most
ancient corporate towns in
England. At the Conquest,
it ranked as a Guilda Mercatoris, a constitution somewhat similar to that of
modern municipal corporations; it was chartered by
its Norman earls, and additional immunities were
conferred on the inhabitants
by charter of King John.
Edward III. granted to the
corporation all the vacant lands within the liberty of
the city; and Richard II. authorized the mayor, sheriffs,
and commonalty, to hold courts of common law and
other courts, which privileges were confirmed and extended by Henry IV. and VI. Henry VII., besides
granting a more extensive charter, remitted four-fifths of
the fee-farm rent of £100 per annum, which Henry III.
and Edward I. had claimed from the citizens in consideration of continuing their privileges; and constituted
the city a county of itself, under the style of the "City
and County of the City of Chester." Charles II. disfranchised it in 1684–5; but its liberties were afterwards restored, with a discretionary power in the crown
to displace the officers of the corporation. James II.,
availing himself of this prerogative, displaced the mayor,
recorder, and other functionaries, but was induced, at
the approach of the Revolution, to restore them to
office. By the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV.,
cap. 76, the government is vested in a mayor, 10 aldermen, and 30 councillors; the council appoint a sheriff;
and the city, formerly in 12 wards, is by that act divided
into 5 only: the number of magistrates is 15. No fewer
than 24 guilds or trade companies, headed by aldermen
or wardens, hold charters of incorporation under the
city seal. The freedom of the city is inherited by all
the sons of freemen, and acquired by servitude. On
the abridgment of the privileges of the county palatine,
in 1541, an act was passed, empowering the county to
return two knights, and the city two burgesses, to parliament. The election for the city was vested in the
mayor, aldermen, and common-councilmen, whether
resident or not, and freemen resident in the city a year
preceding, in number about 1300; but by the act of
the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the right of voting
was extended to the £10 householders; and the limits
of the borough, which anciently comprised 3000 acres,
were enlarged, so as, for electoral purposes, to include
part of the township of Great Boughton, and comprehend 3080 acres. The sheriff is returning officer. By
ancient usage, confirmed by the several charters, the
mayor, assisted by the recorder, held crown-mote and
port-mote courts: the recorder has been sole judge
since the passing of the act of the 5th and 6th William IV. The earliest rolls in these courts are of the
date 1277: the jurisdiction of the crown-mote extends
to all crimes except that of high treason, the mayor
having had power to pass sentence of death, and order
execution, independently of the crown; and in the portmote, pleas to any amount are cognizable. There are
two other ancient courts; one called the "Pentice
court," which has cognizance of personal actions to any
amount; and the other the "Port-mote court," held
before the mayor, to which records are removable from
the Pentice court, by command of the mayor, without
writ. The courts of quarter-sessions are held in the
exchange, where the town officers and the members for
the city are elected; and the assizes for the county are
held in the castle. The powers of the county debtcourt of Chester, established in 1847, extend over the
registration-district of Great Boughton. The exchange
is a handsome brick building, finished in 1698; it is
fronted with stone, supported by columns, and surmounted by a glazed cupola. On the ground-floor are
the record-room and shops; and on the first floor the
council and assembly rooms, which are decorated with a
picture of George III. by Reynolds, and portraits of
members of the Grosvenor, Cholmondeley, Bunbury,
and Egerton families, and of several charitable individuals. The city gaol contains twelve wards, day-rooms,
and airing-yards, and eight work-rooms.
Corporation Seal.
Of the ancient castle, built by the Conqueror, there
remains only a large square tower, called "Julius Agricola's Tower," now used as a magazine for gunpowder.
Though of modern appearance, having been newly
fronted, it is undoubtedly of great antiquity, and interesting as the probable place of confinement of the Earl of
Derby, and the place in which Richard II., and Margaret, Countess of Richmond, were imprisoned. In the
second chamber James II. heard mass, on his tour
through this part of the kingdom, a short time previously
to the Revolution. This apartment, when opened after
many years of disuse as a chapel, exhibited, from the
richness of its decorations, a splendid appearance, the
walls being completely covered with paintings in fresco,
as vivid and beautiful as when executed; and the roof,
from the fine effect produced by the ribs of the groined
arches, springing elegantly from slender pillars with
capitals in a chaste and curious style, was equally
striking. The remainder of the original structure, which
was pulled down in 1790, contained a room termed
Hugh Lupus' Hall, that was regarded as a superb specimen of baronial grandeur. The new edifice, which has
excited general admiration, was erected from a design
by Mr. Harrison, and under his inspection: the principal
entrance is of the Doric order, resembling the Propylæa
at Athens. Opposite to the great gate is the shire-hall,
a magnificent structure: on the right of the hall is the
entrance to the gaol, which is appropriated to debtors
and felons of the county. At the eastern side of the
yard are barracks for 120 men, fronted with white freestone, and ornamented with Ionic pillars; on the western
side is a corresponding building, used as an armoury,
which will contain 30,000 stand of arms. The castle is
a royal fortress: the establishment consists of a governor,
lieutenant-governor, ordnance-keeper, and barrack-master. The constableship of the tower is held by patent,
and is free from municipal control.
Chester, with part of the kingdom of Mercia, at an
early period gave name to a diocese, which afterwards
was incorporated with that
of Lichfield. In 1075, Peter, Bishop of Lichfield, restored the episcopal chair
to Chester, whence it was
a second time removed to
Lichfield, by his successor,
Robert de Lindsey. Chester again became a distinct
diocese under Henry VIII.,
who named it one of the six
new sees created in 1541,
and endowed it with a portion of the possessions of the abbey of St. Werburgh, the
revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £1073. 17. 7.
The first bishop was John Bird, previously a provincial
of the Carmelites, and Bishop of Bangor, who, in 1547,
granted the manors and demesnes of the bishopric to
the king, accepting impropriations of little value in
exchange, and thus rendered it one of the least valuable
of the English sees. Its temporalities in Chester consist
only of the palace, which was rebuilt in 1752, by Bishop
Keene, and its appendages, and two houses near St.
John's church. The act of the 10th and 11th Victoria,
cap. 108, provides that the diocese of Chester shall
consist of the county of Chester, and of the rural
deanery of Warrington, in Lancashire. The bishop has
the patronage of the canonries, of the honorary canonries, and the archdeaconries and chancellorship. The
Dean and Chapter have the patronage of the minor
canonries. The cathedral, originally the conventual
church of St. Werburgh, was at first dedicated to St.
Peter and St. Paul, but subsequently placed by Ethelfreda under the patronage of the Saxon saint Walmgha,
daughter of Wulphere, King of Mercia: that princess,
and Leofric, Earl of Mercia, were great benefactors to
the church, as well as Hugh Lupus, who substituted
Benedictine monks for Secular canons. On the suppression of the abbey, a dean, six canons or prebendaries,
and six minor canons, were appointed in lieu of the
abbot and monks, the last abbot being made dean: there
are now a dean, four canons, four honorary canons, four
minor canons, two archdeacons, a chancellor of the diocese,
registrar, sacrist, and precentor. At the Dissolution the
cathedral was dedicated to Christ and the Blessed
Virgin. It stands on the eastern side of Northgatestreet, and exclusively of some interesting remains of
the abbey, the present building was erected in the reigns
of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. With the exception of
the western end, it is externally a heavy irregular pile:
the tower in the centre, originally intended to sustain a
spire, is supported by massive piers, and is in the later
style of English architecture. The interior is elegant
and impressive, and exhibits portions in the Norman
and the early and decorated English styles. The piers
of the nave are in the decorated style, with flowered
capitals; and the clerestory, which is in the later style,
has a fine range of windows. To the east of the north
transept are traces of some chapels in the early English
style; the south transept, which is larger than the north,
and consists of a centre and two aisles, is in the decorated style, and, being separated from the cathedral by
a screen, forms the parish church of St. Oswald. The
choir has a chequered floor of black and white marble,
and the stalls are adorned with light tabernacle-work
skilfully executed; the bishop's throne, usually deemed
Werburgh's shrine, is a beautiful specimen of workmanship, in the style of the early part of the fourteenth
century. The chapter-house, an admirable relic of
antiquity, in the early English style, stands in the eastern
walk of the cloister; it was built by Earl Randulph the
first, and became the burial-place of the earls of the
original Norman line, except Richard, who perished by
shipwreck. The cathedral was re-opened at the close of
1845, having undergone an almost complete restoration.
Beneath part of the prebendal houses is a fine Norman
crypt, in good preservation, which supported the great
hall of the monastery, and had lain concealed till it was
cleared out and rendered accessible by order of Dr.
Blomfield, the present Bishop of London, who then presided over this see.
Arms of the Bishopric.
The city comprises the parishes of St. Bridget, containining 675 inhabitants; St. John the Baptist, 6752;
Little St. John, extra-parochial; St. Martin, 532; St.
Michael, 649; St. Olave, 430; and St. Peter, 847;
part of the parishes of St. Mary on the Hill, 2975, St.
Oswald, 5959, and the Holy Trinity, 3340; and the
precinct of the Cathedral Close, 329. The living of St.
Bridget's is a rectory not in charge, with that of St.
Martin's; net income, £150; patron, the Bishop. The
church, lately rebuilt, is a chaste and elegant structure
of the Doric order; towards its erection the Bridge
Committee gave £4000, and the parishioners £500.
The living of St. John the Baptist's is a vicarage not in
charge; net income, £237; patron and impropriator,
the Marquess of Westminster. The church, formerly
collegiate, and, on the removal of the see of Lichfield to
Chester by Bishop Peter, used as the cathedral, consists
of the nave and portions of the transepts of the ancient
cruciform structure, of which the eastern part has been
long destroyed. The nave has massive Norman piers,
with a triforium and clerestory of early English character; the north porch, in the same style, is very beautiful: the tower, a fine composition though greatly mutilated, is detached from the church by the shortening of
the western part of the nave. Little St. John's is a perpetual curacy; net income, £164; patrons, the Mayor
and Corporation, who, by the Municipal Corporations'
act, were directed to dispose of the advowson. The
living of St. Michael's is a perpectual curacy, with that
of St. Olave's; net income, £173; patron, the Bishop.
St. Peter's is a discharged perpetual curacy, valued in
the king's books at £6. 13. 4.; net income, £120;
patron, the Bishop. The living of the parish of St.
Mary on the Hill is a rectory, valued in the king's books
at £52, and in the gift of the Marquess of Westminster:
the tithes have been commuted for £400. The church
is a venerable building, in the later style of English
architecture. St. Oswald's is a discharged vicarage, with
the chapelry of Churton-Heath annexed, valued in the
king's books at £8. 18. 4.; net income, £245; patrons,
the Dean and Chapter. The church is formed of the
south transept of the cathedral. The living of the
parish of the Holy Trinity is a discharged rectory, valued
in the king's books at £8. 15. 6.; net income, £290;
patron, the Earl of Derby: the tithes have been commuted for £245. An additional church, dedicated to
St. Paul, has been erected at Boughton, of which the
living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £60; patron,
the Vicar of St. John's. In New Town, likewise, is a
church, dedicated to Christ, built in 1835: the living is
a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Bishop, with a net
income of £150. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, the Connexion of the
Countess of Huntingdon, Independents, Welsh and
Wesleyan Methodists, New Connexion of Methodists,
Sandemanians, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics.
The Free Grammar school was founded by Henry VIII.,
who, in the 36th year of his reign, endowed it with a
rent-charge of £108. 16., for two masters and twentyfour boys, from amongst whom the choristers of the
cathedral are chosen: it has an exhibition for a scholar
at one of the Universities. The schoolroom, originally
the refectory of the monastery, is a fine specimen of the
early English style, but retaining little of the ancient
edifice, except a stone pulpit, and a staircase in good
preservation. The Blue-coat school was founded in 1700,
on the recommendation of Bishop Stratford, and endowed for the maintenance of thirty boys: it is supported by the interest of money arising from benefactions, legacies, surpluses of musical festivals, rent of
land, and annual subscriptions. In 1781, the revenue
being augmented, a plan was adopted for educating
90 day scholars in addition; hence the origin of the
Green-cap school. A similar school for girls was established in 1718, to which in 1793 Mary Tilley bequeathed £400, paid in 1815. In 1811, the late Marquess of Westminster founded a school for boys, and
the marchioness a school for girls; the rooms are
situated near St. John's church. There are two diocesan schools, one of which, the Diocesan Central school,
was instituted in 1812, under the patronage of Bishop
Law; also a day school supported by endowment; a
training college, with a commercial, agricultural, and
mechanical school under the same roof; and various
infants' and Sunday schools which are maintained by
subscription.
St. John's Hospital, a very ancient institution, founded
probably before the reign of Henry III., was demolished
during the siege of Chester, but was rebuilt in the reign
of Charles II., and its revenues conferred by charter
on the corporation, in trust for the poor in the hospital;
the charter also included the revenues of St. Giles's
Hospital in Spital Broughton. In consequence of extreme neglect and misapplication, the property belonging to this charity has been greatly reduced. The
buildings which now occupy the site of St. John's Hospital form, towards the front, three sides of a quadrangle, separated from North-street by iron-railings;
the south wing is used for the church of Little St. John's,
the Blue-coat school occupies the centre, and the remaining wing contains the master's house, at the back
of which is an inclosed yard, whereof one side contains
six dwellings for poor women, who represent the sisterhood of the hospital. Six almshouses founded by Sir
Thomas Smith in the reign of Henry VII., are inhabited
by widows of freemen; four were founded by Robert
Fletcher, in 1674, for widows; and almshouses containing 16 rooms, in St. John's lane, are tenanted by as
many poor women. In 1658, William Jones, of the
Middle Temple, granted buildings containing 10 rooms,
and endowed them for six poor women and four men
above 55 years of age; the houses are situated in Pepperstreet, and the income amounts to £67. 16. per annum.
There are various endowments and bequests belonging
to dissenters of the Presbyterian denomination, among
which are almshouses for four women, in Trinity-lane,
erected and endowed with property bequeathed by Mrs.
Jane Dean, in 1729. The house of industry, built in
1751, is pleasantly situated near the Rood-eye. The
general infirmary, a well-built commodious structure, on
the western side of the city, originated in 1756, from a
bequest of £300 by Dr. John Stratford, and its expenditure is now nearly £3000 per annum: the establishment
of fever wards was proposed in 1774, and a few years
afterwards carried into execution, chiefly through the
exertions of Dr. Haygarth. There is also a lying-in
institution, supported by subscription; and a county
asylum for lunatics, capable of accommodating 96
patients, has been erected on the Liverpool road, from
a design by Mr. William Cole, jun., at a cost of
£25,125.
The Walls of Chester rank amongst its principal Antiquities, and are the only specimen of this species of
ancient fortification in Britain remaining entire; they
comprise a circuit of nearly two miles, and, in the narrowest parts, are sufficiently wide for two persons to
walk abreast. Of the small towers, or turrets, erected
within bow-shot of each other, only the Phœnix and
Water towers exist. To keep the walls in repair, a small
murage duty was granted by Edward I. on all merchandise brought to the town by sea, but this revenue is not
now very productive, in consequence of the principal
articles of commerce being landed at Liverpool, and
conveyed hither by canal; the corporation, however,
continue the repairs. Besides the city gates before
enumerated, which, in comparison with the walls, are
modern erections, is a fifth, or postern, between East
gate and Bridge gate, called New gate. The military importance of the city rendered the custody of four of the
gates, for centuries, an honourable and lucrative office;
it was held successively by the Earls of Shrewsbury,
Oxford, and Derby, and Lord Crewe, and that of the
fifth by one of the magistrates for the city. The
custody of Water gate, connected with the office of
issuing process for offences committed on the Dee, was
sold in 1778, by the Earl of Derby, to the corporation.
Among the ancient Religious Establishments may be noticed the monastery, or abbey, of St. John the Baptist,
founded in 906 by Ethelred, Earl of Mercia, the revenue
of which, at the Dissolution, was £88. 16. 8., and the
remains of which constitute the parish church of St.
John; the monastery of St. Mary, of uncertain foundation, for Benedictine nuns, mentioned in Domesday
book, and the revenue of which was £99. 16. 2.; the monastery of St. Michael, of which mention occurs in the
charter of Roger, constable of Chester, and also in the
reign of Henry II.; a house of Grey friars, in the
parish of the Holy Trinity, probably founded by Henry
III.; a house of Carmelites, and another of Black friars,
in the parish of St. Martin; and, without the North
gate, the hospital of St. John, which had a sanctuary
and extensive privileges, and the revenue of which was
£28. 10. In the neighbourhood of the castle were
formerly numerous Roman antiquities, particularly at
Nunsfield, where remains of a tessellated pavement have
been discovered. The esplanade, when cleared of the
ancient parts of the castle, was given by government
to the county, for the erection of the splendid public
buildings which now ornament the site; but the right
of establishing a fortification, whenever necessary, was
reserved for the crown. The eastern wall is built over
part of a Roman wall; but a segment of the wall is left
outside the esplanade, for the purpose of clearing it. In
a cellar belonging to the Feathers hotel is a Roman hypocaust, in a remarkably perfect state; and in a close at the
southern end of the bridge, termed Edgar's field, the
supposed site of Edgar's palace, and adjoining a cavity
in a rock, is a stone figure of the goddess Pallas, a relic
alluded to by ancient writers. Remains of Roman
altars, with figures and inscriptions, have also at different
times been discovered. Randle Higden, Roger of Chester, and Bradshaw, mention subterraneous passages under
the city; one of these was discovered about the commencement of the present century, extending in a southeastern direction from the ruins of the abbey, but it was
soon closed up, On taking down an old house lately in
Eastgate-street, a silver coin of Titus was found among
the rubbish, and while digging for the foundation of the
new building, a pavement was discovered about eight
feet below the present road, giving authority to the prevalent opinion that the level of the city was formerly
the same as that of the cathedral, the descent to which
is now made by several steps.
This ancient city has been the birthplace of several
eminent men, the most distinguished of whom were,
four antiquaries of the same family, all named Randle
Holme; Dr. William Cowper, who made collections for
a History of Chester; and the celebrated mathematicians, Edward Brerewood and Samuel Molyneux, the
latter a friend and correspondent of Locke. In the
church of the Holy Trinity were interred, Matthew
Henry, the commentator on the Bible, and a pastor in
the city from 1687 to 1713, to whose memory a brass
tablet has been placed over the communion-table; and
Parnell, the poet. Chester gives the title of Earl to the
Prince of Wales, eldest son of the sovereign.
Chester-Le-Street (St. Mary and St. Cuthbert)
CHESTER-LE-STREET (St. Mary and St. Cuthbert), a parish, and the head of a union (though a
portion of the parish is in the union of Lanchester),
partly in the N. division of Easington ward, but chiefly
in the Middle division of Chester ward, N. division of
the county of Durham; comprising the chapelries of
Birtley, Lamesley, Pelton, and Tanfield, and the townships of Chester, Edmondsley, Harraton, Hedley, Kibblesworth, Lambton, Great and Little Lumley, Ouston,
Plawsworth, Ravensworth, Urpeth, and Waldridge; the
whole containing 16,359 inhabitants, of whom 2599 are
in the township of Chester, 6 miles (N.) from Durham.
This place occupies the site of the Roman station Condercum, and was called by the Saxons Coneceaster, from
which its present appellation is derived, as is its adjunct
from its position on the line of the Roman military way to
Newcastle: several Roman coins (especially a Gordian
in gold, in the possession of the family of the late Mr.
Surtees, of Mainsforth), and an altar much defaced, have
been found; and specimens of antiquity are still frequently turned up. It was made the head of the ancient
see of Lindisfarne by Eardulph, eighteenth prelate, who
in 882 removed hither the relics of St. Cuthbert, and
founded a church which continued under a succession
of eight bishops to be the cathedral of the diocese, till
the removal of the see, in 995, to the city of Durham.
At this period the church became parochial, and in
1286, Bishop Anthony Beck founded in it a collegiate
establishment, consisting of a dean, seven prebendaries,
three deacons, and other members, who remained till
the Dissolution, when the dean's portion of the revenue
was estimated at £77. 11. 8.
The parish comprises by measurement 23,852 acres,
of which 2619 are in the township, where the soil is
light and variable, and the scenery rich and beautiful;
the neighbourhood abounds with coal, and there are
some freestone-quarries. The town, which extends
nearly a mile in length, is situated in a valley, on the
western side of the Wear, and on the road to Newcastle;
a more irregular line of buildings runs east and west, at
right angles with the former. In 1771 it suffered from
an inundation of the river, which greatly damaged many
of the houses and destroyed considerable property. A
bridge was built over the Cone or Cong, also called
Chester brook, a branch of the Wear, in 1821; a
mechanics' institute was established in 1825. Here are
a large brewery, a tannery, a foundry and engine-building
works employing about 125 hands, and manufactories for
ropes, nails, and tiles; cannon were formerly cast in a
foundry commenced about the close of the last century.
A market which was held weekly has been discontinued.
A court leet is holden twice in the year by the Bishop of
Durham, as lord of the manor, at which small debts are
recoverable; and the petty-sessions for Chester ward,
for which a coroner is specially appointed, are held every
alternate Thursday. The town is a polling-place for the
northern division of the county. The Living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift, alternately, of Lady Byron and
the Joliffe family, with a net income of £377: the patrons
are also the impropriators. The church is partly in the
early and partly in the later English style, with an enriched tower, square at the base and octangular in the
second stage, and surmounted by a finely-proportioned
spire 156 feet high, considered to be the handsomest in the
north of England. In the north aisle is an interesting
series of fourteen altar-tombs, with recumbent effigies of
the family of Lumley, of Lumley Castle, from the time
of the Conquest to the sixteenth century, the greater
part of them set up by John, Lord Lumley, in the reign
of Elizabeth. There are churches at Lamesley, Tanfield,
and Pelton; and places of worship in the parish for Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans. The
poor law union of which this place is the head, comprises 20 parishes or places, and contains a population of
18,357.
Chester, Little
CHESTER, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of
St. Alkmund, union of Derby, but without the limits
of that borough, in the hundred of Morleston and
Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby;
containing 364 inhabitants It is situated on the eastern
bank of the Derwent, about one mile north-north-east
from the town; and occupies the site of the Roman
station Derventio, the most important in the county,
which was of an oblong form, and comprised nearly six
acres. The wall that surrounded it was traced by Dr.
Stukeley, in the year 1721; but subsequent cultivation
has removed every vestige. It stood on the line of the
Ikeneld-street, which here crossed the river; and is
noticed in Domesday book under the name of Cestre,
being therein described as parcel of the ancient demesne
of the crown. Numerous foundations, coins of gold,
silver, and copper, and other remains of Roman antiquity, have been discovered.
Chesterblade
CHESTERBLADE, a chapelry, in the parish of
Evercreech, hundred of Wells-Forum, E. division of
Somerset, 4¼ miles (E. S. E.) from Shepton-Mallet;
containing 57 inhabitants. The chapel is dedicated to
St. Mary. There are vestiges of a Roman encampment
on a small hill in the vicinity.
Chesterfield (All Saints)
CHESTERFIELD (All
Saints), a parish, and the
head of a union, in the
hundred of Scarsdale, N.
division of the county of
Derby; comprising the incorporated market-town of
Chesterfield, which has a
separate jurisdiction, and
the townships of Calow,
Hasland,Newbold with Dunstan, Tapton, Temple-Normanton, and Walton; the
whole containing 10,451 inhabitants, of whom 6212 are
in the town, 24 miles (N. by E.) from Derby, and 151
(N. N. W.) from London, on the road to Leeds. This
place, from its Saxon name Ceaster, appears to have been
a Roman station; its Roman name is said to have been
Lutudarum; and there is reason to suppose that in
Roman times it was an emporium of the mining districts
of Derbyshire. At the period of the Norman survey it
was called Cestrefeld, and was only a bailiwick to Newbold, the latter being now a small hamlet in the parish;
but within a century from the Conquest, it seems to have
risen into such importance as to have obtained from
King John, who conferred it upon William de Briwere,
a charter of incorporation, with the privilege of two
markets and a fair. In the reign of Henry III., a decisive
battle was fought here between Henry, nephew of that
monarch, and the barons: it terminated in the defeat of
the latter, several of whom were slain; and Robert de
Ferrers, Earl of Derby, who had espoused their cause,
being taken prisoner, was sent in chains to Windsor,
and afterwards, by act of parliament, degraded from his
honours and deprived of his estates. During the parliamentary war, another conflict took place, between the
royalists, under the command of the Earl of Newcastle,
and the parliamentarians, in which the former obtained
a signal victory.
Seal and Arms.
The Town is situated on an eminence, and the borough
is bounded on the south and south-west by the Hipper,
and on the east by the Rother, which are here inconsiderable streams: the houses are of brick, roofed with
stone; the streets are indifferently paved, but well lighted
with gas, by an act of parliament obtained in 1825, and
the inhabitants are plentifully supplied with water.
There are a subscription library, a mechanics' institute,
and a theatre; and races take place in autumn. An
agricultural society was established in 1819, the members
of which hold their meetings alternately at Chesterfield
and Bakewell, generally in October. Some of the inhabitants are engaged in tambour-work, and the manufacture of bobbin-net lace and hosiery; there is a silk-mill
in the town, and in the neighbouring village of Little
Brampton a cotton-wick mill, called the bump-mill, and
a small-ware manufactory. In the vicinity are productive
mines of ironstone and coal, and some foundries; also
several potteries, chiefly for coarse brown and yellow
stone ware, which afford employment to upwards of 200
men. The Chesterfield canal, communicating with the
Trent and the Humber, was completed in 1777, at an
expense of £160,000: the Midland railway passes by the
town, a little to the east of which is a station. The
market is on Saturday: fairs, principally for cattle, are
held on Jan. 27th, Feb. 28th, the first Saturday in April,
May 4th, July 4th, Sept. 25th, and Nov. 25th, the last
being toll-free; those in May and September, at the
latter of which a great quantity of cheese is sold, are
attended by clothiers from Yorkshire.
The government, by charter of incorporation, granted
by King John, ratified by succeeding monarchs, enlarged
by Queen Elizabeth, and confirmed by Charles II., was
vested in a mayor, six aldermen, six brothers, and twelve
capital burgesses, assisted by a town-clerk, chamberlain,
two meat inspectors, and a serjeant-at-mace. The corporation now consists of a mayor, four aldermen, and
twelve councillors, under the act of the 5th and 6th of
William IV., cap. 76: the limits of the borough are coextensive with the township of Chesterfield. The mayor
for the time being, and for the previous year, are justices
of the peace ex officio; and there are two others. The
petty-sessions for the division are held here; and a
court of record, for the recovery of debts not exceeding
£20, is held under the lord of the manor, by letterspatent granted by King John to William de Briwere,
and confirmed by Charles I., in the seventh year of his
reign, to William, Earl of Newcastle, and Sir Charles
Cavendish, then lords of the manor: the jurisdiction
extends over the hundred of Scarsdale, eight miles round
Chesterfield. The powers of the county debt-court of
Chesterfield, established in 1847, extend over the greater
part of the registration-district of Chesterfield. The
town-hall, standing in the market-place, was built in
1790; on the ground-floor is a prison for debtors.
There is also a house of correction, under the superintendence of the county magistrates.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £15. 0. 2½.; net income, £204; patron, the Bishop
of Lichfield. The church is a spacious cruciform structure, principally in the decorated, but partly in the
early, and partly in the later, style of English architecture, with a tower rising from the intersection, and
surmounted by a grooved or channelled spire of wood
covered with lead. The clerestory windows of the nave,
and the east window of the chancel, are fine compositions
in the later style; and in the south transept are a beautiful screen and rood-loft: there are two very antique
monuments in the nave, and three in the chancel, to
members of the family of Foljambe. The interior of the
edifice was renovated in 1842, at a cost of £4000; and
it now gives accommodation to 1800 persons. Portions
of the hamlets of Walton and Newbold, and the contiguous parts of the parish of Brampton, have been
consolidated as a district to the new church of St.
Thomas, Brampton. In 1838, a church was built and
dedicated to the Holy Trinity; it is in the early English
style, with a tower, and cost £3700. To this church a
district has been assigned, having a population of 3000:
the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of
certain Trustees: net income, £90, with a glebe-house.
There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of
Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians. The
free grammar school, for the endowment of which Godfrey Foljambe, in 1594, appropriated £13. 6. 8. annually,
was founded in the reign of Elizabeth, and placed under
the management of the corporation; the endowment, augmented by benefactions, produces annually £109. 10. 9.:
the master is chosen by the trustees of charities, subject
to approval by the Archbishop of York. The schoolhouse was rebuilt by subscription in 1710, and was again
rebuilt only a very few years since. The school, in
common with the schools of Ashbourn and Wirksworth,
has the preference, after the founder's relatives, to two fellowships and two scholarships, founded by the Rev. James
Beresford, in St. John's College, Cambridge. A school
intended originally as preparatory to the grammar
school, was founded in 1690, and endowed by Cornelius
Clarke; the endowment was subsequently augmented
by John Bright, senior, and John Bright, junior, Esqrs.,
and the income is now £74. A national school was
built in 1814, and a Lancasterian school in 1819. The
Victoria school, just erected, is intended for the children
of the district annexed to the parish church; of these
children 50 boys and 50 girls are now clothed and
educated at the expense of the vicar, the Rev. Thomas
Hill. Judith Heathcote, and other members of the
family, in the year 1619 appropriated estates, producing
an income of about £114 per annum, to the apprenticing of children.
Thomas Large, in 1664, gave lands and tenements,
now worth about £45 per annum, for the foundation
and endowment of three almshouses, to which two more
were added in 1751, by Mrs. Sarah Rose, who left £200
for their endowment. Almshouses for six aged persons
were founded in 1668, by George Taylor, who endowed
them with property at present yielding £22 per annum.
The dispensary, erected in 1800, is liberally supported
by subscription. Godfrey Foljambe, in 1594, bequeathed
the rectory of Attenborough, and an estate at Ashover,
producing together about £640 a year, which sum, after
paying £40 per annum to the minister, £13. 6. 8. to
the master of the grammar school, £20 to Jesus College,
and £13. 6. 8. to Magdalen College, Cambridge, is appropriated to the relief of the poor. Godfrey Wolstenholme, in 1682, gave a house, let for £38. 5. per annum,
which sum is distributed in coats and gowns; and Sir
Godfrey Webster, in 1720, bequeathed £1100 South Sea
stock. Mrs. Hannah Hooper, in 1755, gave £2000
three per cent. consols., and Mrs. Elizabeth Bagshaw, in
1802, £2000 three per cent. consols.; the dividends on
which are distributed to the poor. The union of Chesterfield comprises 34 parishes or places, and contains a
population of 39,379. An hospital for lepers, founded
prior to the 10th of Richard I., and dedicated to St.
Leonard, existed here till the reign of Henry VIII.; and
there was a guild or fraternity, dedicated to St. Mary
and the Holy Cross, founded in the reign of Richard II.,
the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £19. The
chantry of St. Michael, founded by Roger de Chesterfield in 1357, and the chantry of the Holy Cross, founded
in the reign of Edward III., were also among the ancient
religious establishments of this place. There were besides,
prior to the Reformation, three free chapels, dedicated
respectively to St. James, St. Thomas, and St. Helen:
on the site of the last, the grammar school was built.
Chesterfield gives the title of Earl to the family of Stanhope; a title conferred Aug. 4th, 1628, on Sir Philip,
Baron Stanhope, a firm supporter of the royal cause
during the civil war.
Chesterford, Great (All Saints)
CHESTERFORD, GREAT (All Saints), a parish,
and formerly a market-town, in the union of SaffronWalden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 4 miles (N. W. by N.) from Saffron-Walden; containing 917 inhabitants. It is by most antiquaries identified with the Camboricum of Antoninus, and the foundation of walls inclosing a quadrangular area of 50 acres,
was, till lately, plainly discernible. That it was a Roman
station is evident, not only from its name, but from its
contiguity to several Roman roads, of which the Ikeneld
and Ermin streets intersect each other in the immediate
vicinity; and Roman bricks, coins of the earlier and
later emperors, and other relics have been found, in
great quantities. Besides the large camp, are several
smaller camps, including one near the church, in the
grounds between which and the river Granta are traces
of an amphitheatre: at the distance of half a mile from
the larger camp is another, called Hingeston Barrows,
and on the opposite side of the river a third. On an
eminence, near the Roman road from Inckleton towards
Newmarket, is Fleamsdyke, where is a small square fort,
probably the castra exploratorum, in the centre of which
are vestiges of a building; and the Roman road to
Grantchester may be plainly discovered, forming a ridge
of 200 yards, in a direction towards the river above
Cambridge. The parish comprises by admeasurement
2811 acres, of which 200 are woodland: the soil, in the
more elevated parts, is a dry thin loam resting on chalk,
and in the valleys a rich loam on a gravelly bottom.
The village is pleasantly situated, and commands an uninterrupted prospect extending into the county of Cambridge. Here is a station of the railway from London
to Cambridge, ten miles distant from Cambridge. The
market has been discontinued; but a fair for horses is
held on July 5th. The living is a discharged vicarage,
with the rectory of Little Chesterford annexed, valued in
the king's books at £10; net income, £427; patron and
impropriator, the Marquess of Bristol. The tithes of
both parishes were commuted for land and a money
payment in 1801. The church is an ancient and spacious structure, and formerly contained a chantry,
founded in the reign of Henry VIII., by William Howden, and the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was
£9. 9. 7. John Hart, of Saffron-Walden, in 1592
founded what he intended to be a grammar school, and
endowed it with upwards of 30 acres of land, under the
management of the Master and Fellows of Magdalen
College, Cambridge, who appoint the master; but a
considerable part of the endowment having been lost, the
charity has been incorporated with a national school.
Chesterford, Little (St. Mary)
CHESTERFORD, LITTLE (St. Mary), a parish, in
the union of Saffron-Walden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 3 miles (N. W. by N.) from
Saffron-Walden; containing 229 inhabitants. It is
separated from the parish of Littlebury by the river
Granta, and comprises 1166a. 3r. 9p., of which about
65 acres are pasture, 107 woodland, and the rest arable.
The living is a rectory, annexed to the vicarage of Great
Chesterford, and valued in the king's books at £11. The
church is a small edifice, partly in the early and partly
in the decorated English style; the chancel is separated
from the nave by a screen of wood, and contains an
ancient tomb of marble, with a recumbent figure of a
member of the Walsingham family. There are places of
worship for Baptists and Wesleyans.
Chesterhope
CHESTERHOPE, a hamlet, in the parish of Corsenside, N. E. division of Tindale ward, S. division
of Northumberland, 5 miles (E. N. E.) from Bellingham. This place, which derives its name from the Roman castra, Habitancum, or Risingham, being situated at
the foot of it, is of considerable antiquity. The church
of Hexham had some property here at an early period:
in 1294 the prior of the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem claimed extensive privileges over lands he possessed
in Chesterhope; and the Halls, Forsters, and others have
subsequently been owners of estates in the district.
At Park Head are the remains of the celebrated figure
called Robin of Risingham, cut in bas-relief in a rock,
and which may certainly be assigned to the Roman era
in Britain; and stones bearing Latin inscriptions have
been found, which are supposed to be relics of the station
at the adjoining village of Risingham.
Chesterton (St. Andrew)
CHESTERTON (St. Andrew), a parish, and the
head of a union, in the hundred of Chesterton, county
of Cambridge, 1¼ mile (N. E.) from Cambridge; containing 1617 inhabitants. The name of this place is derived from a castrum, or fortification, called Arbury
Camp, at a small distance from the village, three parts
of the vallum of which are still remaining, inclosing a
square area of nearly six acres, where many Roman coins
have been found. It appears that every one who kept a
fire here, in 1154, was bound to pay an Ely farthing, as
it was called, to St. Peter's altar, in the cathedral of
Ely; and the fourth farthing arising from this town and
that of Grantchester used to be paid to the castle of
Norwich, by the name of Ely ward penny, because that
place received it before. The parish is watered by the
river Cam, and comprises 2729 acres, of which 169 are
common or waste; the soil is in general a gravelly earth,
with a subsoil of clay. In 1837, an act was passed for
inclosing waste lands. The living is a vicarage, valued
in the king's books at £10. 12. 3½.; net income, £206;
patrons and impropriators, the Master and Fellows of
Trinity College, Cambridge. The great tithes have been
commuted for £500, and the vicarial for £180; the impropriate glebe consists of 90½ acres, and the vicarial contains 27½ acres, with a glebe-house. The church is
principally in the decorated and later English styles.
The poor law union of Chesterton comprises 38 parishes
or places, and contains a population of 21,608. The
remains of Cambridge Castle are in the parish.
Chesterton (St. Michael)
CHESTERTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the
union of Peterborough, hundred of Norman-Cross,
county of Huntingdon, 4½ miles (N. N. W.) from Stilton; containing 129 inhabitants. The parish is situated
on the great north road, which is here crossed by the
road from Lynn to Northampton. It comprises by admeasurement 1330 acres, consisting of arable and pasture land in nearly equal portions; the soil is in some
parts a rich clay, mixed with red sand, and in others
chalk of fertile quality. The living is a rectory, valued
in the king's books at £17. 3. 4., and in the gift of the
Marquess of Huntly: the tithes have been commuted
for £417. 11., and the glebe comprises 4¼ acres, with
a glebe-house. The church is principally in the early
English style. Midway between this and Castor is the
site of the ancient city of Durobrivœ, the fort of which
was placed on the Huntingdonshire side of the river
Nene; and at Castle Field is a large tract inclosed by a
ditch and rampart, with the Roman Ermin-street running through it obliquely. On making a road across
the site of Durobrivœ, several stone coffins, urns, and
coins were dug up; and by the side of the high road
near this place, in 1754, was found a coffin of yellowish
stone, six feet two inches long, within which were a
skeleton, three glass lachrymatories, some coins, and
scraps of white wood inscribed with Greek and Roman
letters.
Chesterton (St. Mary)
CHESTERTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Bicester, hundred of Ploughley, county of Oxford, 2 miles (W. by S.) from Bicester; containing 393
inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued
in the king's books at £7. 8. 9.; net income, £210;
patrons and appropriators, the Warden and Fellows of
New College, Oxford. The tithes were commuted for
land in 1767. The church was consecrated in 1238.
The Roman Akeman-street crosses the parish.
Chesterton
CHESTERTON, an ecclesiastical district, partly in
the parish of Audley, union of Newcastle-underLyme, but chiefly in the parish of Wolstanton, union
of Wolstanton and Burslem, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford; containing upwards of 2000 inhabitants, of whom 1207 are
in the township of Chesterton, 2 miles (N. by W.) from
Newcastle. The name of Chesterton evidently has reference to the ancient Roman fortress situated here, the
Mediolanum of Antonine; the site is still clearly marked
out, and a large fosse exists along the north side of the
station. Camden calls the place Chesterton-under-Lyme.
The district comprises 2700 acres, whereof 843 are in
Audley parish, and 1857 in the parish of Wolstanton;
the township of Chesterton, which is wholly in Wolstanton, contains about 1100 acres, lying on the north side
of that parish. The surface is hilly, and consists of such
land as is usual above iron and coal mines; parts are
wooded, and the views are extensive. The road from
Newcastle to Liverpool passes on the east; and Sir
Nigel Gresley's canal (now belonging to R. E. Heathcote, Esq.) runs through. Considerable quantities of
blue bricks, tiles, and pipes for drains and conduits, of
superior hardness, are manufactured here; and potteries
have been established at Red-street, in the northern part
of Chesterton township, for a long period. There are
iron and coal mines, several blast-furnaces for smelting
the ironstone, and extensive iron-works belonging to
Mr. Heathcote. The district was constituted in July,
1846, under the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37: the
living is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of
Lichfield, alternately. At Chesterton are places of worship for Wesleyans and Independents; at Alsager's
Bank, about two miles and a half west of that village, is
another place of worship for dissenters, and at Red-street
a small Unitarian meeting-house. The site of an ancient
castle of John of Gaunt's, is to be seen behind an old
mansion in Chesterton, called the Old Hall: the castle
was removed to Newcastle, from which circumstance
that place derived its name.
Chesterton (St. Giles)
CHESTERTON (St. Giles), a parish, in the union
of Southam, Warwick division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, 6 miles
(N. N. E.) from Kington; containing 192 inhabitants.
This place, which was once a populous town, is situated
on the line of the Roman fosse-way, and derives its
name from a Roman camp, within the limits of which
coins have been discovered. The manor, long possessed
by the Peto family, now belongs to Lord Willoughby de
Broke. The parish comprises 3566 acres, chiefly pasture and woodland, and of which the surface is hilly,
and the soil mostly clay: the road from Warwick to
Banbury passes through. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £82; patron and impropriator,
Lord Willoughby de Broke. The church is an ancient
edifice, and contains some handsome monuments to the
Petos.
Cheswardine (St. Swithin)
CHESWARDINE (St. Swithin), a parish, in the
union of Drayton, Drayton division of the hundred of
North Bradford, N. division of Salop, 4½ miles (S.
W.) from Drayton; containing 1015 inhabitants, and
comprising 5724 acres, of which 96 are common or
waste. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £5. 6. 8., and in the gift of the family
of Harding: the tithes have been commuted for £1015.
10., of which £197. 10. belong to the incumbent, with a
glebe of 30 acres. The church was rebuilt a few years
since. There is a school, which has a bequest of £4 per
annum; and a sum of about £36 per annum, the interest
of bequests, is appropriated to the purchase of wheat,
distributed among the poor.
Cheswick
CHESWICK, a township, in the parochial chapelry
of Ancroft, union of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Islandshire, N. division of Northumberland; containing
290 inhabitants. The tithes have been commuted for
£347.—See the article on Ancroft.
Chetnole
CHETNOLE, a chapelry, in the parish and hundred
of Yetminster, union of Sherborne, Sherborne division of Dorset, 7 miles (S. W. by S.) from Sherborne;
containing 222 inhabitants. The chapel is dedicated to
St. Peter. A school is supported by endowment.
Chettiscombe
CHETTISCOMBE, a chapelry, in the parish, union,
and hundred of Tiverton, Cullompton and N. divisions
of Devon, 2 miles (N. E. by N.) from the town of
Tiverton. The chapel is dedicated to St. Mary.
Chettisham
CHETTISHAM, a chapelry, in the parish of St.
Mary, city, union, and Isle of Ely, county of Cambridge, 2 miles (N. by W.) from Ely; containing 90 inhabitants. Here is a station of the Ely and Peterborough
railway. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income,
£79; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter
of Ely. The chapel is dedicated to St. Michael.
Chettle (St. Mary)
CHETTLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Wimborne and Cranborne, hundred of Moncktonup-Wimborne, Wimborne division of Dorset, 6 miles
(N. E.) from Blandford; containing 122 inhabitants. It
is situated within a mile of the road from Exeter to
London, through Blandford and Salisbury, and comprises
1113a. 3r. 25p., with a level surface and chalky soil. A
stately mansion, in the style of Sir John Vanbrugh, and
probably the old manor-house, is in tolerable preservation. The manor and whole parish, with the mansion,
and also the advowson of the church, were sold in 1846
to Edward Castleman, Esq., for £24,400. The living is
a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£8. 2. 9.: the tithes have been commuted for £180, and
the glebe contains about 21 acres. The church is partly
in the early and partly in the later English style, and
has a very ancient and handsomely carved pulpit. There
is a large tumulus or barrow, which, from its extent, is
called the "Giant's grave."
Chetton (St. Giles)
CHETTON (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of
Bridgnorth, hundred of Stottesden, S. division of
Salop, 4 miles (S. by W.) from Bridgnorth; containing,
with the chapelry of Loughton, 693 inhabitants. The
parish is situated on the road from Bridgnorth to Ludlow, and intersected in the southern part by the road
to Cleobury-Mortimer; it comprises by measurement
4945 acres, the surface of which is undulated, and the
soil a strong clay, resting upon marl and coarse limestone, with some sandstone. Coal of moderate quality
and of sulphureous smell is procured in tolerable quantity. Clay for brick-making, which is carried on to
some extent, is obtained near the collieries; and in the
parish generally is found a brecciated limestone, which,
when burnt, is of a reddish colour, and is used for manure, but considered to have only half the strength of
white lime. There is likewise abundance of red sandstone alternated with the limestone, which is used for
rubble-masonry and for building cottages: in the southeast portion of the parish, white freestone of good quality is quarried; and there is also some good flagstone.
A few inconsiderable streams intersect the surface and
run into the Severn. The living is a rectory, with the
livings of Deuxhill and Glazeley consolidated in 1760,
valued in the king's books at £11; patron, T. W. W.
Browne, Esq. The tithes, including those of Loughton,
have been commuted for £654. 14. 9., and the glebe
comprises 11 acres. The nave of the church was rebuilt about the year 1770; the tower was rebuilt in
1830, and, like the chancel, which is ancient, is in the
early English style. There is a bequest of about £8 per
annum for teaching children; a national school was
erected in 1821. The produce of bequests amounting
to £260, is distributed among the poor in bread and
clothing.
Chetwood (St. Mary and St. Nicholas)
CHETWOOD (St. Mary and St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 5 miles (S. W. by W.) from Buckingham; containing 197 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy,
annexed to that of Barton-Hartshorn: the tithes were
commuted for land in 1812. The church, made parochial in 1480, is remarkable for some beautiful specimens of stained glass, formerly belonging to a priory of
Augustine monks, founded by Sir Ralph de Norwich in
1244, and which was dissolved on account of its poverty
in 1460, and annexed to the abbey of Nutley. There
was also a hermitage dedicated to St. Stephen and St.
Lawrence, founded by a member of the Chetwode family,
the representative of which claims suit and service, by
prescriptive right, over this place and some neighbouring hamlets, that are said to have been included within
the limits of an ancient forest of 1000 acres, called
Rockwood.