Deane - Dembleby

A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848.

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'Deane - Dembleby', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 23-28. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp23-28 [accessed 18 March 2024]

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Deane (St. Mary)

DEANE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bolton-le-Moors, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 1 mile (S. W. by W.) from Bolton; containing 16,157 inhabitants. It comprises the townships of Heaton, Middle and Over Hulton, and Rumworth, which constitute the district attached to the parish church; and Halliwell, Horwich, Little Hulton, and West Houghton, which are separate chapelries. Till very lately, it included also Farnworth and Kearsley, which now form a separate vicarage. This is an important manufacturing district, containing many cottonestablishments, and some of the most extensive bleachworks in the kingdom; and a large number of the inhabitants are engaged in hand-loom weaving, and in coal-mines, which abound in the parish. The river Croal, commonly called the Middlebrook, and the Bolton and Kenyon and the Bolton and Lancaster railway, pass through. There are two fine specimens of Elizabethan architecture: one of them is Smithills Hall, in the township of Halliwell; the other, Peel Hall. The principal landowners are, the Earl of Ellesmere, Henry Tempest, Esq., and William Hulton, Esq., whose residence, Hulton Park, is beautifully situated in the township of Over Hulton.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4, and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £213, with a house picturesquely seated: the impropriation belongs to Mr. Tempest. The church is a fine building in the perpendicular style, standing in a spacious churchyard, in which is a very large yew-tree; it has been enlarged and repaired at considerable expense within the last few years, and a considerable portion of the interior is laid out in old oak open benches. The east window, which is of great size, has been embellished with figures of Our Lord, St. John the Baptist, and the Twelve Apostles, in richly stained glass, executed by Mr. William Warrington, of London; and this imitation of ancient stained glass is thought to be one of the best yet produced in the country. There is still remaining a very old and elaborately carved oak pulpit, hallowed by the preaching of George Marsh, a former vicar, whose apprehension and subsequent martyrdom at Chester in 1555, are recorded at length in Fox's Book of Martyrs. From a Latin deed lately discovered in the chartulary of Whalley Abbey, of the date 1276, describing accurately the brooks and other boundaries of the glebe land as they at present exist, and conveying it to trustees (among whom the names of some of the oldest families at present landowners in the parish are mentioned), it would seem not improbable that part of the foundation of the church is of a much more ancient date than even the existing venerable structure. In the parish are five episcopal chapels, and several dissenting places of worship. A national school, endowed with £40 per annum, is in connexion with the church; and there are three Sunday, two daily, and four infant schools. Each chapelry has also its own schools.

Deanham

DEANHAM, a township, in the parish of Hartburn, union of Morpeth, N. E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 12½ miles (W. by S.) from Morpeth; containing 43 inhabitants. It was anciently designated Danum, Denome, Deneham, &c.; and notice of it first occurs in 1207, when King John confirmed to the monks of Tynemouth the ville of Bilesho, and the land of Role and Danum. Mention is made of the Deanham colliery and the glass clay there, in the 10th of William III. The township consists of the places called Old and New Deanham and Scarlethall, and comprises 740 acres, of which 444 are arable, 293 pasture, and 2½ woodland; it is the property of Lord Decies, who pays a rent-charge of £94 to the vicar of Hartburn.

Dearham

DEARHAM, a parish, in the union of Cockermouth, Allerdale ward below Derwent, W. division of Cumberland; comprising the townships of Dearham, and Ellenborough with Ewanrigg, and containing 1803 inhabitants, of whom 1037 are in the township of Dearham, 6¼ miles (N. W.) from Cockermouth. There are extensive collieries, and a manufactory for earthenware, in the parish; a considerable quantity of the coal is shipped at Maryport adjoining. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 13. 4.; net income, £85; patron, John Christian, Esq.; impropriators, the Earl of Lonsdale, and J. Christian and H. Senhouse, Esqrs. The vicarial tithes were commuted for land in 1825. The church, originally of Norman architecture, was much modernised by repairs in 1814; it has an ancient and curiously carved font, and in the churchyard is a sculptured cross. Near Unerigg Hall is the site of an old castle.

Debach (All Saints)

DEBACH (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Woodbridge, hundred of Wilford, E. division of Suffolk, 4¼ miles (N. N. W.) from Woodbridge; containing 121 inhabitants, and comprising by measurement 464 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, consolidated in 1761 with that of Boulge: the tithes have been commuted for £130, and the glebe contains upwards of 15 acres.

Debden (St. Mary)

DEBDEN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Saffron-Walden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Thaxted; containing 979 inhabitants. At the time of the Norman survey, this place belonged to Ralph Peverel; and, reverting to the crown, it was given by Henry II. to his son John, afterwards king of England. The parish comprises 4357a. 2r. 7p., of which 3057 acres are arable, 778 grass, and 446 wood: the surface is beautifully varied, rising into numerous hills of considerable elevation, between which are fertile valleys; and the village is pleasantly situated on an eminence. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £34; net income, £837; patron, Sir F. Vincent, Bart. The church is a handsome structure in the early English style, of which it presents many interesting details, and has at the east end an octangular chapel, containing several monuments of the Chiswells; the font, an elegant piece of workmanship, adorned with statues, was presented by the late Mr. Chiswell. A school in union with the National Society is partly supported from the rent of lands, amounting to £78 per annum, left for charitable purposes.

Debdon

DEBDON, a township, in the parish and union of Rothbury, W. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 2¼ miles (N.) from Rothbury; containing 13 inhabitants. This place includes the northern portion of Rothbury Forest. Debdon Hill and Cragend Hill, between the Black burn and Debdon burn, exhibit heathy eminences and rugged and naked cliffs. There is a chalybeate spring, efficacious in scorbutic complaints. Several excavations have been made, from which ochre is obtained.

Debenham (St. Mary)

DEBENHAM (St. Mary), a small market-town and a parish in the union of Bosmere and Claydon, hundred of Thredling, E. division of Suffolk, 13 miles (N.) from Ipswich, and 83 (N. E. by N.) from London; containing 1667 inhabitants. This place derives its name from its situation on the river Deben, which rises at some distance above the town, on the confines of Mickfield and Mendlesham. It appears to have been of considerable importance at an early period, and according to tradition, a river of sufficient depth to admit ships of large burthen, flowed up to the town; an account in some degree corroborated by the discovery of an anchor some years since, imbedded in the sand at a place now called the "Gulls." The kings of the East Angles are said to have held their courts at Debenham, where they had a palace. The town suffered considerable damage in 1744 from an accidental fire that broke out at the house of a baker, and destroyed more than thirty houses; and a spot adjoining the town, called Burnt-Wood Fields, is supposed to have derived its name from a similar conflagration.

The town is situated on the road from Ipswich to Eye, and, lying on the declivity of a hill, the streets are always dry and clean: the market is on Friday, for corn; and fairs are held on the 24th of June for toys, and the 8th of August for cattle. In the market-place is a cross, erected in the year 1448. The scenery is richly varied, and from many parts are obtained extensive and interesting views. The manufacture of hempencloth was anciently carried on, and a very considerable number of persons were employed in spinning wool; but the population at present is agricultural. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15. 2. 6.; patron and impropriator, Lord Henniker. The great tithes have been commuted for £651, and the vicarial for £282. The church, built on an eminence in the centre of the town, is a venerable structure, chiefly in the early and later English styles, but having some portions of Norman architecture, with a porch of elegant design, and a lofty embattled tower, which it is said was formerly surmounted by a spire; the interior displays much beauty, and contains some very ancient monuments. There is a place of worship for a congregation of Independents. A free school was founded about the year 1648, and endowed with £30 per annum by Sir Robert Hitcham.

Debtling (St. Martin,)

DEBTLING (St. Martin,) a parish, in the union of Hollingbourn, hundred of Maidstone, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 2¾ miles (N. E.) from Maidstone; containing 318 inhabitants. It comprises 1576 acres, of which 512 are in wood. Lime is burnt here for manure, and carried principally into the Weald. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, under whom the rectorial tithes, commuted for £158, are held on lease by N. Baldwin, Esq. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £190: the vicarage-house was built in 1831; the glebe consists of 10 acres. There are also about 25 acres of glebe belonging to the archbishop.

Decuman, St. (St. Peter)

DECUMAN, ST. (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Williton, hundred of Williton and Freemanners, W. division of Somerset, 5¼ miles (E. by S.) from Dunster; containing 2241 inhabitants, and comprising the town of Watchett and chapelry of Williton. This parish derives its name from St. Decombes or Decumanus, who, landing from South Wales, and finding a perfect wilderness, fixed upon the spot in order to seclude himself from the world, and who, after his death by violence, was dignified by the natives with the title of saint. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 10. 5½.; net income, £134; patron, the Prebendary of St. Decuman's in the Cathedral of Wells. The church is a handsome structure, with a tower. At Williton is a separate incumbency. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Baptists.

Deddington (St. Peter and St. Paul)

DEDDINGTON (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford; containing, with the townships of Clifton and Hempton, 2025 inhabitants, of whom 1443 are in the town, 16 miles (N. by W.) from Oxford, and 69 (N. W.) from London. This place, though anciently of some consequence, having sent members to two parliaments in the reign of Edward I., is now an inconsiderable town. A castle was built here probably by the Normans, but few vestiges of it can be traced; nor is there any event of importance in the history of the place, except this castle having been the prison-house of Piers Gaveston, the favourite of Edward II., a short time after his capture by the Earl of Warwick, and before his decapitation on Blacklow Hill; and subsequently the possession of his successor in that monarch's affections, Hugh de Spencer, who suffered a similar fate. The town, which has been noted for its malt-liquor, contains several well-built houses, and is well supplied with water: several of the inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of coach-wheels and axles. A branch of the Oxford canal passes through the parish. The market has been discontinued; but a fair for cattle is still held on November 22nd. A bailiff is annually appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor: a petty-session is held by the magistrates on the first Saturday in every month. The parish comprises 4000 acres, chiefly arable.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15. 9. 4.; net income, £150; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1807. The church is a spacious structure: the tower fell down in 1634, and some years elapsed before it was rebuilt; meanwhile, Charles I., then at Oxford, despatched an order to the inhabitants to send the broken bells to his magazine at New College, with a person to ascertain the weight, in order that they might receive an equal quantity of metal, or the value in money, when the tower should be erected. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Independents; also almshouses for eight aged men and women, founded in 1818, and endowed with property arising from benefactions to the poor, producing about £140 per annum. In the neighbourhood are two mineral springs, now neglected, one of which is said to have been highly impregnated with sulphur. Sir Thomas Pope, an eminent statesman, and founder of Trinity College, Oxford, was born here, in 1507; and Lord Chief Justice Scroggs, who lived in the reign of Charles II., was also a native of the parish.

Dedham (St. Mary)

DEDHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Lexden and Winstree, Colchester division of the hundred of Lexden, N. division of Essex, 7 miles (N. E. by N.) from Colchester; containing 1787 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded by the river Stour, and intersected by the rivulet Blackbrook, comprises about 2530 acres; the land is generally elevated, and of superior quality. The village is situated in a picturesque valley on the river, over which is a good bridge, and consists chiefly of one street: it had formerly the privilege of a market on Tuesday; there is a fair for toys on Easter-Tuesday. The clothing-trade flourished here so early as the reign of Richard II., but has wholly declined, and the place is now only remarkable for the number of genteel residences in its vicinity. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 0. 2½., and in the patronage of the Crown, in right of the duchy of Lancaster; net income, £170. The church is a spacious structure in the later English style, with a lofty embattled tower at the west end, crowned by octagonal turrets richly pinnacled: it appears to have been built on the site of a more ancient foundation, of which there are still some remains; beneath the arches are the roses of York and Lancaster, and on the east side of the battlements is a statue of Margaret, Countess of Richmond. Annexed to the church is a lectureship, which, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, was endowed with the great tithes by the Rev. William Burkitt, then lecturer, the able and learned commentator on the New Testament. The free grammar school was built by Dame Jane Clarke, prior to 1571, when it was endowed by William Littlebury with a farm of 180 acres, in augmentation of which William Cardinal, in 1593, bequeathed land now let for £60 per annum, for the maintenance of two boys in St. John's College, Cambridge: the governors were incorporated by charter of Queen Elizabeth, in 1574. William Littlebury also founded and endowed an English school, and some almshouses.

Dedworth

DEDWORTH, a hamlet, in the parish and union of Windsor, hundred of Ripplesmere, county of Berks, 2 miles (W. by S.) from Windsor; containing 101 inhabitants, and comprising 320a. 2r. 34p.

Deene (St. Peter)

DEENE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Oundle, hundred of Corby, N. division of the county of Northampton, 12 miles (W. S. W.) from Wansford; containing 516 inhabitants, of whom 250 are in the hamlet of Deene-Thorpe. The parish comprises by computation 3200 acres, of which 1500 are in Deene-Thorpe; it is intersected by the road from Kettering to Stamford, and watered by a stream that falls into the river Nene. The mansion of Deene Park, the seat of the Earl of Cardigan, stands on an eminence commanding a delightful prospect; it is a low embattled structure with wings, each of them terminated by a turret, and, among other spacious apartments, has a fine hall with a timber roof reaching to the top of the building. The principal rooms exhibit many curious specimens of ancient arrangement, and are decorated with paintings of considerable interest. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £24. 3. 6½.; net income, £350; patron, the Earl: the glebe comprises about 70 acres, with an excellent glebe-house. The church contains portions of the early and decorated English styles, and has windows exhibiting some superior tracery, and several ancient monuments to the Brudenell family. Here was a priory, a cell to the abbey of Westminster, which was suppressed soon after the Conquest, by consent of the monks, who accepted an annuity in lieu of its revenues. Henry VII. slept at Deene Hall after the battle of Bosworth-Field.

Deeping (St. James)

DEEPING (St. James), a parish, in the union of Bourne, wapentake of Ness, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, ¾ of a mile (E.) from Market-Deeping; containing 1733 inhabitants. This place is of considerable antiquity, and in 1139 a convent of Benedictine monks was founded here by Baldwin Wac or Wake, and dedicated to St. James, as a cell to Thorney Abbey, as part of which establishment, it was in the 32nd of Henry VIII. granted to Thomas, Duke of Norfolk. The parish is situated on the river Welland, which is navigable for small craft: the lands were subject to the frequent inundations of the river, but have, at a very great expense, been secured from encroachment. The number of acres by measurement is 3968; the principal part is in a very profitable state of cultivation. In the village is an ancient stone cross, the pedestal of which is about twelve feet square, and decorated in the panelled faces with armorial bearings; in 1819, it was converted into a lock-up house. The highways, bridges, &c., are repaired from the proceeds of a trust estate bequeathed in the reign of Edward VI., by Robert Tyghe, for these and for charitable purposes. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 19. 9½.; net income, £191; patron and impropriator, Sir T. Whichcote, Bart.: the glebe contains 74½ acres. The church, originally a chapel, erected by the monks of Croyland Abbey, and made parochial by Richard de Rulos, is a handsome edifice with a tower surmounted by a spire. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a national school is supported by part of the proceeds of the trust estate, which produces about £200 per annum. At the eastern end of the village is a chalybeate spring, strongly impregnated.

Deeping-Fen

DEEPING-FEN, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Peterborough, wapentake of Elloe, parts of Holland, county of Lincoln, 6 miles (S. W.) from Spalding; containing 540 inhabitants. Another tract, also extra-parochial, which extends into the union of Bourne, wapentake of Ness, parts of Kesteven, contains 433 inhabitants. This extensive district was a portion of the waste belonging to several parishes, and is partly held by adventurers, for draining, and partly by persons who are free from drainage expenses by the nature of their tenures; all the land is exempt from ecclesiastical and other assessments. A church was erected and endowed by the Stevenson family, and consecrated in July, 1846: the cost of erection was £4000, and of the endowment, £5000.

Deeping-Gate

DEEPING-GATE, a hamlet, in the parish of Maxey, union and soke of Peterborough, N. division of the county of Northampton, 1¼ mile (S. E.) from Market-Deeping; containing 201 inhabitants.

Deeping, Market (St. Guthlack)

DEEPING, MARKET (St. Guthlack), a markettown and parish, in the union of Bourne, wapentake of Ness, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 43 miles (S. S. E.) from Lincoln, and 86 (N. by W.) from London; containing 1219 inhabitants. This place derived its name from its situation among deep or low meadows, or pastures, formerly the receptacle of many streams in the lowest part of the Fens; and its origin from Richard de Rulos, chamberlain to William the Conqueror, who built several houses on the dykes that he had constructed to confine within its channels the river Welland, which frequently inundated the adjoining grounds. The neighbourhood has been greatly improved by draining, which has been successfully and extensively practised; and several tracts of land have been recovered, and rendered fit for culture. The houses are in general old and inconveniently built: there is an ample supply of water from the Welland, which is navigable, and affords facility for the conveyance of coal, grocery, and other articles of merchandise. The market is on Wednesday; the fairs are on the second Wednesday in May, O. S., and on Oct. 10th, for cattle and toys. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 1. 3., and in the patronage of the Crown, with a net income of £579: the tithes of this parish and of Deeping St. James' were commuted for land and money payments in 1806. The church is an ancient structure, containing many portions of its original Norman architecture, though principally in the later English style. There is a place of worship for Independents. The accumulated bequests of various benefactors produce an income of £100, from which a schoolroom, with a dwelling-house for the master, was built in 1815, at an expense of £500.

Deeping, West (St. Michael)

DEEPING, WEST (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Stamford, wapentake of Ness, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 2 miles (W. S. W.) from Market-Deeping; containing 306 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Stamford to Boston, and on the bank of the river Welland; the canal from Boston to Stamford passes through it. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 17. 11., and in the patronage of the Crown, with a net income of £373: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1801; the glebe contains altogether about 200 acres, with a glebe-house. The church has portions in the early, decorated, and later English styles; the font is a fine specimen of the early English.

Deerhurst (Holy Trinity)

DEERHURST (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Tewkesbury, partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Deerhurst, and partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Westminster, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 2 miles (S. W.) from Tewkesbury; containing, with the hamlets of Apperley and Whitfield, 937 inhabitants, of whom 257 are in the hamlet of Deerhurst-Walton. It is bounded on the west by the navigable river Severn. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £102; patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol; impropriator, W. Barnard, Esq. The church, which exhibits portions in the Norman, early English, and decorated styles, belonged to a priory established about 715, by the Mercian duke, Doddo, one of the founders of Tewkesbury Abbey. This priory, having been destroyed by the Danes, was refounded in 980, and given by Edward the Confessor to the Benedictine abbey of St. Denis, in France, to which it became a cell; upon the seizure of alien priories it was granted to Eton College, but Edward IV., revoking that grant, made it a cell to the abbey of Tewkesbury, and so it remained till the Dissolution. The remains of the structure, which have been converted into a farm-house, are in the later English style, much enriched with decorated tracery. Deerhurst gives the title of Viscount to the family of Coventry.

Defford

DEFFORD, a chapelry, in the parish of St. Andrew, Pershore, union, and Upper division of the hundred, of Pershore, Pershore and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3 miles (S. W.) from Pershore; containing 422 inhabitants. The chapelry comprises 1677 acres, of which 428 are open common, and the remainder arable and pasture in nearly equal portions. The road from Pershore to Upton passes through; and the river Avon here pursues a winding course eastward. A station on the Bristol and Birmingham railway is situated near the village, from which the line is continued across the common into the parish of Besford. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £2. 13. 4., and annexed to the living of St. Andrew's: the tithes were commuted for land in 1774. The chapel, dedicated to St. James, has a tower, and contains 140 sittings.

Deighton

DEIGHTON, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Northallerton, wapentake of Allertonshire, N. riding of York, 5½ miles (N. by E.) from Northallerton; containing 132 inhabitants. The township comprises by computation 1900 acres. The chapel, a neat edifice, was erected in 1715: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £200, the vicarial for £108. 10., and within the chapelry are above 45 acres of glebe.

Deighton

DEIGHTON, a township, in the parish of Escrick, wapentake of Ouse and Derwent, union and E. riding of York, 5¼ miles (S. by E.) from York; containing 185 inhabitants. It includes the hamlet of Crocky Hill, and comprises about 2280 acres of land, partly the property of Lord Wenlock. The village is small, and several houses are scattered through the township.

Deighton, Kirk (All Saints)

DEIGHTON, KIRK (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Barwick (under Gilbert's act), Upper division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding of York; containing 539 inhabitants, of whom 168 are in the township of North Deighton, and 371 in that of Kirk-Deighton, one mile (N. by W.) from Wetherby. This parish is bounded by the river Nidd, and the beautiful river Wharfe winds along its southern confines. The area is about 3700 acres, which are arable, with the exception of a little pasture and woodland; the surface is gently undulated, and the soil, which rests on limestone, is fertile. Great quantities of limestone are quarried, and burnt into lime for manure. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 11. 10½.; net income, £901; patron and incumbent, the Rev. J. W. Geldart, LL.D. The church is an ancient and handsome structure, with a spire. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A Sunday school was endowed by the late Sir Hugh Palliser with £30 a year, and a parochial school has been united to it.

Delamere

DELAMERE, a parish, partly in the union of Northwich, and partly in that of Runcorn, First division of the hundred of Eddisbury, S. division of the county of Chester; containing 914 inhabitants, of whom 412 are in the township of Delamere, 5¾ miles (W.) from Northwich. This tract, which includes the ancient and royal forest of Delamere, was almost wholly common land, and extra-parochial, before 1812, when it was inclosed and erected into a parish by act of parliament, certain allotments having been reserved to the crown and others. On its inclosure it gave the title of Baron Delamere, of Vale Royal, to Thomas Cholmondeley, Esq., the proprietor of the ancient possessions of the Cistercian monks of Vale Royal, whose sumptuous abbey, completed in 1330 by Edward III., at a cost of £32,000, was dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Nicholas, and St. Nichasius, and in the 26th of Henry VIII. had a revenue of £540. 6. 2. The sessions for the division are held on the 22nd of March, also meetings of the county magistrates monthly, at the Abbey Arms, in the centre of the Forest; and at the time of the meeting in March there are races, termed the Tanfield Hunt, at which two cups are given to be run for by the county, and one by the trainers. Delamere Forest, comprising about 10,000 acres, once contained a great number of red and fallow deer; it exhibits a pleasing variety of well-wooded hills, rich valleys for pasturage, meres affording plenty of fish and aquatic fowl, and mosses producing an abundance of turf and peat for fuel. Upon the highest hill stood the Saxon fortress of Finborrow, and near it a city, both of which are said to have been founded by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great; the latter, called Eadesbury (the happy town), gave name to the hundred: the ancient residence of the chief forester is all that now remains; this house is termed the "Chamber in the Forest," and at convenient distances around it are neat lodges for the keepers of the several walks. About half of the forest, still belonging to the crown, has within the last thirty years been planted by order of government with forest-trees, which promise a vast supply of timber for the royal navy: the remaining 5000 acres were sold or allotted to private individuals, under whose superintendence the land is rapidly advancing in cultivation upon the most approved system of agriculture. The living is a rectory not in charge, in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes were commuted for land, under the act of inclosure; the glebe comprises 140 acres. The church, which is a neat edifice, with a parsonagehouse adjoining, was consecrated in 1817.

Delapre

DELAPRE, a hamlet, in the parish and union of Hardingstone, hundred of Wymmersley, S. division of the county of Northampton, 1¼ mile (S. by E.) from Northampton; containing 24 inhabitants. An abbey for nuns of the Cluniac order was founded in the reign of Stephen, by Simon Seinliz, Earl of Northampton, and dedicated to St. Mary: at the Dissolution it contained ten sisters, whose revenue was £119. 9. 7¼.

Delph

DELPH, a village, in the chapelry of Saddleworth, parish of Rochdale, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 12 miles (N. E.) from Manchester. This village is situated on Friar Mere, and the road from Manchester to Huddersfield and Leeds, and is the principal village in the chapelry; the population is almost wholly engaged in the woollen manufacture. There is a remarkable quarry, designated the Bake-stone quarry, the stone from which is capable of standing any degree of heat; the material is called "delph-stone," and is said to have given to the village its name. There is a branch line from the Hudders-field and Manchester railway at Dobcross to this place. Fairs are held on the 24th April, 9th July, and 24th September. The Independents have a place of worship, erected and endowed in 1747; and there are two for Wesleyans: a school is attached to each. The Roman road from Manchester to York is still visible at Knott Hill, and by way of Hill Top.

Dembleby (St. Lucia)

DEMBLEBY (St. Lucia), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 6 miles (N. W. by W.) from Folkingham; containing 58 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 11. 8., and in the gift of T. R. Buckworth, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £234.

Denbury (St. Mary)

DENBURY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newton-Abbott, hundred of Haytor, Teignbridge and S. divisions of Devon, 2½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Newton-Abbott; containing 470 inhabitants. This place, which is said to have been anciently a borough, belonged, with the manor, to the abbot of Tavistock, who in 1285 obtained for it a weekly market and a fair, the former of which is disused. The parish comprises by admeasurement 1075 acres: lime-quarries are in operation for supplying manure, and slate is wrought for the roofing of houses; large pieces of manganese have been occasionally discovered on the north side of the village. About 30 looms are engaged in the making of serge for the factories at Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, and many of the male population go to Newfoundland in the summer season for employment in the fisheries. The fair is held on the 19th of September. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 7. 6., and in the gift of the Duke of Bedford: the tithes have been commuted for £186, and the glebe contains 16 acres, with a glebe-house. A national school is endowed with about £30 per annum. On the hill called Denburydown is a military work, supposed to be Roman, covering a space of 6 or 7 acres; the eminence itself, which appears to be of volcanic origin, is composed of greenstone.