Conhope
CONHOPE, a township, in the parish of Aymestrey, hundred of Stretford, union of Leominster,
county of Hereford, 4½ miles (N. by E.) from Pembridge; containing 72 inhabitants.
Coningsby (St. Michael)
CONINGSBY (St. Michael), a parish, in the union
and soke of Horncastle, parts of Lindsey, county of
Lincoln, 8 miles (S.) from Horncastle; containing
1959 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on
the rivers Bain and Witham, and on the road from
Sleaford to Horncastle, comprises by computation
3400 acres; the surface is flat, and the soil chiefly
sand and gravel. An act for more effectually draining
the lands was obtained in 1840. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £39. 10. 2½., and in the
gift of Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Bart.: the tithes were
commuted at the inclosure in 1802, for 600 acres of
land, valued at £644 per annum. The church is a handsome structure, in the early English style. There are
places of worship for General Baptists, and Primitive
and Wesleyan Methodists. The poet Dyer, who was for
six years resident in this parish, of which he was rector,
was buried in the churchyard.
Conington (St. Mary)
CONINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of St. Ives, hundred of Papworth, county of Cambridge, 3¼ miles (S. by E.) from St. Ives; containing
196 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £9. 15. 10.; net income, £238; patron,
the Bishop of Ely. The tithes were commuted for land
in 1799. There is an endowed school. Traces of the
moat surrounding the site of an ancient fortress, called
Bruce Castle, may be discerned.
Conington (All Saints)
CONINGTON (All Saints), a parish, in the hundred of Norman-Cross, union and county of Huntingdon, 3 miles (S. E. by S.) from Stilton; containing
224 inhabitants. The lordship, together with the ancient
castle, of which there are some vestiges in the village,
was given by Canute to Turkill, a Danish lord, who,
taking advantage of his residence among the East
Angles, invited over Sueno to plunder the country.
After Turkill's departure it fell to Waldeof, Earl of
Huntingdon, who married Judith, niece to the Conqueror, from whom it descended to the royal line of
Scotland, and thence to the Cottons, ancestors of Sir
Robert Cotton, celebrated for his valuable collection of
books and MSS., known by the name of the Cottonian
Library. The parish is situated near the north road,
between Alconbury Hill and Stilton, and comprises
3089 acres, which consist partly of highland and partly
of fen, the former a clayey soil, and the lower parts extremely fertile, with some excellent meadow and pasture. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books
at £19. 6. 8., and in the gift of J. Heathcote, Esq.: the
tithes have been commuted for £450, and the glebe
contains 27 acres, with a glebe-house, lately built. The
church is a large handsome structure, erected in the
reign of Henry VII., and has an embattled tower with
octagonal pinnacles; the interior has lately undergone
extensive repairs, and contains many monuments to the
Cottons, and an inscribed tablet to the memory of Prince
Henry of Scotland, Lord of Conington, &c. The Rev.
James Oram, in 1769, left £1000 for the endowment of
two schools, one being at this place. Sir Robert Cotton,
on making an excavation for a pond, found the skeleton
of a sea fish, twenty feet long, lying in perfect silt, about
six feet below the surface of the ground.
Conisbrough (St. Peter)
CONISBROUGH (St. Peter), a parish, in the
union of Doncaster, S. division of the wapentake of
Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 6½
miles (N. E. by E.) from Rotherham; containing 1445
inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the road
from Sheffield to Doncaster, is of high antiquity, and has
been connected with all the different dynasties by which
Britain has been governed: it is stated to have been
the seat of a civil jurisdiction, comprising twenty-eight
towns, and is famed for the ruin of its Saxon castle,
which stands upon a conical hill rising abruptly from
the Don, and consists of the body of a circular tower
encompassed by the ordinary concomitants of strong
fortifications. Conisbrough is first mentioned as a
fortress belonging to Hengist, the Saxon leader, who
was defeated here in 487, by Aurelius Ambrosius, and
again in 489, at which period, according to Geoffrey of
Monmouth, he was made prisoner and beheaded at the
northern gate of the citadel, where a tumulus is said to
cover his relics: some, however, suppose that the present pile was erected by Earl Warren, to whom William
the Conqueror gave the manor. In this castle, Richard,
Earl of Cambridge, second son of the Duke of York,
and grandson of Edward III., was born; he was beheaded for conspiring against Henry V. The round
tower, or keep, is almost perfect, the remaining part
forming a picturesque ruin: one of the principal scenes
in Sir Walter Scott's romance of Ivanhoe is laid here.
The parish comprises about 4000 acres of fertile land, in
the vale of the Don, and abounds with beautiful scenery.
Limestone of good quality is quarried to some extent,
and the inhabitants are partly employed in the manufacture of linen checks. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 12. 8½.;
patron, the Archbishop of York; impropriators, Sackville Lane Fox, Esq., and others. The great tithes have
been commuted for £366. 16., the vicarial for £223. 6.,
and a rent-charge of £1. 11. is paid to the archbishop;
the glebe contains 66½ acres, with a glebe-house. The
church is of Norman character, combined with the early,
decorated, and later styles of English architecture; and
had formerly a chantry, founded in the fifteenth of Edward II.: there are several monuments, and the mutilated statue of a knight, together with a curious stone
adorned with many hieroglyphics. Here is a place of
worship for Wesleyans.
Coniscliffe (St. Edwin)
CONISCLIFFE (St. Edwin), a parish, in the union
of Darlington, S. E. division of Darlington ward,
S. division of the county of Durham; containing, with
the townships of Carlebury and Low Coniscliffe, 422
inhabitants, of whom 244 are in the township of High
Coniscliffe, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Darlington, on the
road to Barnard-Castle. The village of High Coniscliffe,
in which stands the church, is situated on the north
bank of the Tees, occupying an eminence nearly surrounded by quarries. The living is a vicarage, endowed
with a portion of the rectorial tithes, and valued in the
king's books at £7. 18. 1½.; patron, the Bishop of
Durham; impropriator of the remainder of the rectorial
tithes, P. H. Howard, Esq. The great tithes have been
commuted for £179, and the small for £182; the vicar
has a glebe of 60 acres. The church is a very ancient
structure, partly in the Norman and partly early English, with a Norman tower surmounted by a handsome
spire. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Coniscliffe, Low
CONISCLIFFE, LOW, a township, in the parish of
Coniscliffe, union of Darlington, S. E. division of
Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 3 miles (W.) from Darlington; containing 134
inhabitants. This place is on the north bank of the
Tees, and on the road from Darlington to Carlebury.
Thornton Hall, within the township, now a farmhouse,
was the seat of the Tailbois, the Thornton, the Bowes,
and Honeywood families.
Conisholm (St. Peter)
CONISHOLM (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
of Louth, Marsh division of the hundred of LouthEske, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 8¼ miles
(N. E. by E.) from Louth; containing 146 inhabitants.
The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's
books at £9. 13. 6½., and in the gift of the Earl of
Ripon: the tithes have been commuted for £180. 2. 6.,
and the glebe contains 64 acres. There is a place of
worship for Wesleyans.
Coniston
CONISTON, a township, in the parish of Swine,
union of Skirlaugh, Middle division of the wapentake
of Holderness, E. riding of York, 5½ miles (N. E. by
N.) from Hull; containing 110 inhabitants. The abbey
of Thornton had possessions at this place (styled in
Domesday book Coiningsesbi) in the 12th century; the
monastery of Swine held land here at a later period;
and among other proprietors in former times occurs the
family of Cobbe. The township consists of about 600
acres; the village is pleasantly situated on the road
from Hull to Hornsea. The tithes were commuted for
land and a money payment in 1789.
Coniston, with Kilnsay
CONISTON, with Kilnsay, a chapelry, in the parish
of Burnsall, union of Skipton, E. division of the
wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of
York, 12 miles (N. by E.) from Skipton; containing
172 inhabitants. The chapelry comprises by computation 5380 acres, a great portion of which is open
moorland, affording tolerable pasture. Kilnsay Craggs,
a lofty range of limestone rocks rising to the height
of 170 feet, presenting a rugged front more than
half a mile in length, and in places overhanging the line
of their base nearly forty feet, form a strikingly grand
and romantic feature in the scenery of Wharfdale.
The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, is a small neat
edifice.
Coniston, Cold
CONISTON, COLD, a township, in the parish of
Gargrave, union of Skipton, E. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York,
7 miles (W. N. W.) from Skipton; containing 242 inhabitants. This place was distinguished during the Border
warfare for the intrepid conduct of its inhabitants, who
in an attempt to resist the progress of an army of Scottish invaders at a spot called Sweep Gap, on the northern
side of Coniston Moor, were nearly all killed. The
township comprises by computation 1710 acres, chiefly
moorland affording excellent pasture; the village is
situated on the road to Settle, and the surrounding
scenery is pleasingly diversified. Here is a church
dedicated to St. Peter, the living of which is a perpetual
curacy, in the gift of J. G. Garforth, Esq.: a consolidated chapelry is annexed, comprising part of the parishes
of Gargrave and Kirkby-Malhamdale.
Coniston, Monk, with Skelwith
CONISTON, MONK, with Skelwith, a township,
in the parish of Hawkshead, union of Ulverston,
hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands, N. division
of the county of Lancaster, 4 miles (W. by N.) from
Hawkshead; containing 470 inhabitants, of whom 259
are in Monk-Coniston. This place consists of various
groups of houses and neat cottages, roofed with slate
from the adjacent mountains, and beautifully scattered
round the head of Coniston Lake, anciently called
Thurston Water, which is about six miles in length
from north to south, about half a mile in its greatest
width, and about twenty-seven fathoms in depth. The
lake abounds with char, said to be of finer flavour than
the char of other lakes; and at the head, on the margin
of the water, is an inn for the accommodation of visiters,
where post-horses, carriages, and pleasure-boats are
always in readiness. The scenery around abounds with
every variety of picturesque and romantic grandeur.
A church was erected and endowed by Mr. Redmayne,
on the Brathey Hall estate, here, in 1835, and consecrated the year following; it is a neat edifice on the
road from Hawkshead to Ambleside, near Brathey Bridge,
where are two pleasing cascades.
Conistone, Church
CONISTONE, CHURCH, a chapelry, in the parish
and union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north
of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster,
6 miles (S. W.) from Ambleside; containing 1148
inhabitants. The manor, which was held by the Urswicks, passed by marriage in the reign of Henry III.
to the le Flemings, and became the seat of seven
descents of the family. About the 10th of Henry IV.,
Thomas le Fleming married one of the four daughters
of Sir John de Lancaster, by whom he acquired the
manor of Rydal, in Westmorland; and for seven generations more, Rydal and Conistone vied to fix the family
in Westmorland or Lancashire. Sir Daniel Fleming,
Bart., died in 1821, leaving his lady his estates. The
township is the most northern part of the county,
stretching to the shire-stone near the hills of Wrynose
and Hard-Knot; within its limits are Yewdale and the
reputed lordship of Tilberthwaite. The population of
the village has increased from the flourishing state of the
copper-mines and slate-quarries here. A fair for cattle
is held on the third Saturday in September. The chapel
was consecrated in 1586, and re-erected in 1819, when
230 additional sittings were provided: the living is
a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of T. R. G. Braddyll, Esq.; net income, £100. To the north-west
of the village is the Old Man, the most elevated mountain
in the county, 2576 feet above the level of the sea; on
its summit are three heaps of stones called the Old Man,
his Wife, and Son, supposed relics of the Sabæan
superstition.
Conock
CONOCK, a tything, in the parish of Churton,
union of Devizes, hundred of Swanborough, Devizes
and N. divisions of Wilts, 4½ miles (N. E. by E.) from
East Lavington; containing 160 inhabitants.
Cononley
CONONLEY, a township, in the parish of Kildwick, union of Skipton, E. division of the wapentake
of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York,
3 miles (S.) from Skipton; containing 1159 inhabitants.
The township formerly constituted a joint township with
Farnhill, from which it was separated in 1838; it
comprises by computation 1500 acres. The village
is pleasantly situated on the western acclivity of Airedale, and the surrounding scenery is pleasingly diversified. A lead-mine was opened in 1840. Tithe rentcharges have been awarded amounting to £62. 3., of
which £33. 14. 6. are payable to the Dean and Chapter
of Christ-Church, Oxford, and £28. 8. 6. to the vicar
of the parish.
Consall, Staffordshire.—See Cunsall.
CONSALL, Staffordshire.—See Cunsall.
Conside, or Consett, with Knitsley
CONSIDE, or CONSETT, with Knitsley, a township, in the chapelry of Medomsley, parish and union
of Lanchester, W. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 14½ miles (N. W. by W.)
from Durham; containing 195 inhabitants. This place,
anciently Conkesheved, was successively in the possession
of various families, and once belonged to the Halls, of
whom several had a taste for literary pursuits, especially John Hall, born in 1627, who was a man of very
considerable talent, and is commemorated by Antony a
Wood. The township comprises 2353 acres, of which
1561 are arable, 520 pasture, and 272 woodland. Extensive iron-works are carried on at Consett, being a
recent revival of the ancient manufacture of which this
neighbourhod was the seat; the Romans, and, about
two centuries ago, a colony of Germans who had settled at Shotley-Bridge, having worked the mines, the
produce of which, known as the Derwent iron, is very
superior. Coal is also abundant, and, being the outcrop of the Durham coal-field, is probably worked at
less expense than that of any other part of the kingdom.
Fire-bricks are manufactured; and besides the coal
and iron, a considerable traffic exists in lead, lime, and
timber. The Stanhope railway, in connexion with the
Pontop and Shields railway, intersects the township.
Constantine (St. Constantine)
CONSTANTINE (St. Constantine), a parish, in
the union of Falmouth, E. division of the hundred of
Kerrier, W. division of Cornwall, 5½ miles (N. E.
by E.) from Helston; containing 2042 inhabitants.
This parish, which is bounded on the south by the
navigable river Hel, and includes a part of the port of
Gweek, comprises 8000 acres by computation: the soil
near the river is rich and fertile, but in the higher parts
sterile rock; the hills are chiefly of granite. The village
is pleasantly situated on an eminence nearly surrounded
by tin-works, and commands some delightful views of
the river, with its numerous creeks, the banks of which
are finely clothed with wood. A copper and tin mine,
called Wheal-Vyvyan, is worked; and large masses of
granite are scattered over the surface of the lands, of
size sufficient for building bridges. Great quantities of
oysters are sent from Merthen, on the river, to Rochester.
The petty-sessions for the division are held here. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £19. 3. 10½., and in the gift of the Dean and
Chapter of Exeter, who are also appropriators: the
tithes have been commuted for £480 payable to the appropriators, and £485. 12. to the incumbent, who has a
glebe of 11 acres. The church contains an ancient monument, with a brass, to the family of Gervis. There are
places of worship for Wesleyans and Bryanites. On
the estate of Mayere, in the parish, is a vast rock of
granite computed to weigh 750 tons, called the Tolmen,
in the shape of an egg, with several excavations on the
top, curiously poised upon two others; and at a short
distance is another mass, of circular form, resembling a
cap. The sites of decayed chapels are discernible at
Bonallock and Budockvean; and near the church,
a bag, full of silver coins of Arthur and Canute, was
found about the close of the seventeenth century.
Cookbury (St. John The Baptist)
COOKBURY (St. John The Baptist), a parish, in
the union of Holsworthy, hundred of Black Torrington, Holsworthy and N. divisions of Devon, 4¾
miles (E. N. E.) from Holsworthy; containing 301 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1833 acres, of which 1083
are common or waste. The living is a perpetual curacy,
annexed to the rectory of Milton-Damerell.
Cookham (Holy Trinity)
COOKHAM (Holy Trinity), a parish, the head of a
union, and formerly a market-town, in the hundred of
Cookham, county of Berks, 3½ miles (N. by E.) from
Maidenhead; containing 3676 inhabitants. This parish,
extending south-westward to Maidenhead Thicket, and
comprehending the whole of that waste, is situated on
the river Thames, by which it is bounded on the north
and east; and comprises by measurement about 10,000
acres, of which nearly 4000 are arable, more than 1000
grass, 93 in orchards, 151 wood, and 884 common.
There is a considerable hamlet called Cookham-Dean,
about a mile and a half to the west of the village, bordering upon Bisham, and consisting of scattered cottages;
it is noted for its orchards, rural scenery, and woodland;
and the wildness of its character, in the midst of a
highly cultivated neighbourhood, renders it the more
attractive to the lover of nature in her simpler form.
A bridge has been built across the Thames, which
greatly facilitates traffic, and affords ready access out of
Buckinghamshire to the Great Western railway. The
manufacture of coarse paper is carried on; fairs are
held on May 16th and October 11th. The living is a
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £14. 14. 2.;
patron, John Rogers, Esq.; impropriators, the landowners. The great tithes have been commuted for
£1252, and the vicarial for £480; there is a vicarial
glebe of 7½ acres. Near the entrance into the chancel of
the church is a brass plate to the memory of Sir Edward Stockton, vicar of the parish, who died in 1534,
and is styled "Pylgrym of Jerusalem, and canon professed of the House of our Lady at Guisbro' in Yorkshire:" this no longer appears, being probably concealed
by a pew. Several descendants of General Washington,
and Mr. Hooke, the historian of the Roman empire, are
interred in the church. There is an episcopal chapel in
that part of Maidenhead situated in the parish; and at
Cookham-Dean is a church dedicated to St. John, which
has a chapelry district attached. The Independents
and Wesleyans have places of worship. The poor law
union of Cookham comprises 7 parishes or places, and
contains a population of 11,060.
Cookley (St. Michael)
COOKLEY (St. Michael), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Blything, E. division of Suffolk, 2½
miles (W. S. W.) from Halesworth; containing 324
inhabitants, and comprising by computation 1664 acres.
The living is a discharged rectory, united to that of
Huntingfield, and valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.
The church is chiefly in the later English style, and
consists of a nave and chancel, with an embattled
tower; the font is curiously sculptured, and there is a
Norman doorway on the north side filled up. A school
was founded by Thomas Neale, in 1701.
Cookley
COOKLEY, a hamlet, in the parish of Wolverley,
union of Kidderminster, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Kidderminster and W. divisions
of the county of Worcester, 3 miles (N. by E.) from
Kidderminster. The soil here is of light quality, and
good for the cultivation of turnips and barley; the
surface is undulated, and the scenery very pleasing.
The river Stour and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal pass through the hamlet. The village lies
about a mile higher up the stream than Wolverley; it
is a busy manufacturing place. The Cookley ironworks, established two centuries ago, and now the property of Messrs. John Knight and Company, employ
550 hands in making iron and tin plates, and all kinds
of best iron; and the Wood-Screw Company employ
150 hands. The cottages of the workmen and villagers
are very neat. The Wesleyans have a place of worship;
and an infant school is supported by the Sebright
charity.
Cooknoe, Northampton.—See Cogenhoe.
COOKNOE, Northampton.—See Cogenhoe.