Donington

DONINGTON, a parish, in the union of Shiffnall, Shiffnall division of the hundred of Brimstree, S. division of Salop, 8 miles (N. W.) from Wolverhampton; containing, with the extra-parochial district of Boscobel, 398 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Wolverhampton to Newport and Chester, and contains by admeasurement 2684 acres, including 50 woodland. The soil is generally light, gravelly, and rocky, but there are some portions of a stiffer quality; the former is of the first class for turnips and barley, and the latter produces excellent wheat and beans. The ground is in general flat, in some parts relieved by beautiful undulations; the air is salubrious, and there are many instances of longevity. The district of Boscobel and White Ladies is regarded as within the cure of this parish. Of the monastery of White Ladies nothing remains but the ruins of the chapel, consisting of the nave, choir, and transepts; at one of the doors is a fine Norman arch, and one or two of the windows display traces of the same style. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; patron, the Duke of Sutherland. Under the provisions of an inclosure act, in 1771, lands were allotted in lieu of tithes, and with the exception of 944 acres, the proprietors of which refused to concur in the act, the whole of the parish is tithe-free; a commutation of the tithes of the 944 acres for a rent-charge of £200 has taken place under the recent Tithe act. The glebe lands contain 257 acres, valued at £465 per annum. The church is a handsome structure, principally in the decorated English style, which, through all the subsequent alterations and repairs, has been preserved with due care. Below the rocky site on which the church is built is St. Cuthbert's Well.—See Boscobel.

Donington, Castle (St. Edward)

DONINGTON, CASTLE (St. Edward), a parish, in the union of Shardlow, hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 9½ miles (N. E.) from Ashby-de-la-Zouch; containing 3508 inhabitants. This place derives the prefix to its name from an ancient castle, of which there are still some remains, seated on an eminence near the village. An hospital was founded in the reign of Henry II., by John de Lacy, constable of Chester, for a master and thirteen brethren and sisters, and dedicated to St. John the Evangelist; its revenue at the Dissolution was estimated at £3. 13. 4., and some vestiges of the buildings may be traced. The parish is situated on the river Trent, by which it is bounded on the north-west, and comprises by admeasurement 3573 acres: the soil in the higher grounds is clayey, and in the meadows light and fertile. Fairs are held on March 18th, Whit-Thursday, and the 29th of September. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 2. 3½.; net income, £223; patron, the Marquess of Hastings; impropriator, Mr. Bateman: the glebe contains about 84 acres, with a glebe-house. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. £30 per annum, two-thirds of a bequest by Thomas Gray to this parish and that of Melbourne, are appropriated to the apprenticing of children, and the distribution of clothing and bread to the poor.

Donington-Upon-Bain (St. Andrew)

DONINGTON-upon-Bain (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Louth, N. division of the wapentake of Gartree, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 6¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from Louth; containing 344 inhabitants. The parish is situated upon the Bain, a small stream remarkable for fine salmon and trout, and comprises by measurement 1700 acres: building-stone of a greyish colour is dug occasionally, and many fossil shells are found imbedded in it. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 12. 2.; net income, £173; patron, Lord Monson. The tithes were commuted for 211 acres of land at the inclosure, and there are 2½ acres of old glebe. The church is a very ancient edifice, and appears to have been originally much larger than it is at present. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans. Thirty-five acres of land were bequeathed in 1669, producing £32 rent, for the poor.

Donisthorpe

DONISTHORPE, an ecclesiastical district, in the union of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, partly in the parish of Nether Seal, W. division of the hundred of Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, and partly in the parishes of Church-Gresley, Measham, and Stretton-en-le-Fields, hundred of Repton and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby, 3½ miles (S. W.) from Ashby-de-la-Zouch; containing about 1700 inhabitants, of whom 344 are in the hamlet of Donisthorpe. The district includes Oakthorpe and Moira; the Moira baths are celebrated for the cure of rheumatism, and there is a convenient hotel for the accommodation of visiters. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield; net income, £150, with a parsonage-house. The impropriate tithes of Donisthorpe have been commuted for £87. The church, dedicated to St. John, was built and endowed in 1838, at an expense of £6000, chiefly by three maiden ladies of the name of Moore; it is a neat edifice, with a tower and pinnacles. A national school was built in 1840, by Sir John Cave Browne Cave, Bart., by whom, also, it is supported.

Donnington

DONNINGTON, a tything, in the parish of Shaw, union of Newbury, hundred of Faircross, county of Berks, 1 mile (N.) from Newbury. Donnington Castle, built by Sir Richard de Abberbury, who was guardian to Richard II. in his minority, stood upon a declivity, at the foot of which runs the river Kennet. It was garrisoned for Charles I., and withstood two sieges during the civil war, in the first of which three of its towers were demolished, and in 1644 it was almost battered down by Colonel Dalbier, from whom a field in the vicinity, in which he planted his cannon, is still named. The only remains of this once impregnable fortress consist of a gateway flanked by two towers, a great portion of the ruins having been removed for the erection of a house near the site. A friary of the order of the Holy Trinity was also founded by Sir Richard de Abberbury, the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was valued at £20. 16. 6. per annum. An hospital, called God's House, is supposed to have been founded, in 1392, by the same individual, who endowed it with lands for a minister and certain poor persons: upon the petition of the Earl of Nottingham it was rebuilt, in 1570, and restored under the title of Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, for a minister and twelve poor brethren.

Donnington

DONNINGTON, a hamlet, in the parish and union of Stow-on-the-Wold, Upper division of the hundred of Slaughter, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 1½ mile (N.) from Stow; containing 189 inhabitants. A battle was fought here in 1645, in which the royalists under Lord Aston were defeated by Colonel Morgan; this victory occasioned the surrender of the king's garrison at Oxford.

Donnington (St. Mary)

DONNINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Ledbury, hundred of Radlow, county of Hereford, 2¼ miles (S. by W.) from Ledbury; containing 100 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the borders of Gloucestershire, and intersected by the roads from Ledbury to Gloucester and Newent, and comprises 800a. 3r. 34p., about half of which is pasture-land, and a large portion of the rest orchards. The surface is undulated, and agreeably interspersed with wood, principally oak and elm; the soil is a strong clay, producing rich pasturage and grain, and cider is made in considerable quantities. The Gloucester and Hereford canal passes at the west end of the parish. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 9. 9., and in the gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Lander: the tithes have been commuted for £193, and the glebe comprises 28 acres, with a glebe-house.

Donnington, with Hugglescote

DONNINGTON, with Hugglescote, a chapelry, in the parish of Ibstock, union of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 5½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Ashby; containing 864 inhabitants, of whom 187 are in Donnington. The manors of Donnington and Hugglescote were held in 1463 by William, Viscount Beaumont, Lord Bardolf, on whose attainder they were granted by Edward IV. to William, Lord Hastings. The chapelry comprises about 2470 acres of land; the soil is in some parts clay, and in others a light loam. The two villages lie on the road from Ashby to Leicester. The chapel is dedicated to St. James. The tithes have been commuted for £229. 12. 10. There are several chalybeate springs.

Donnington

DONNINGTON, a parish, in the union of West Hampnett, hundred of Box and Stockbridge, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 2 miles (S. S. W.) from Chichester; containing 206 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Chichester to Selsey, and on the Arundel and Portsmouth canal. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 10. 5., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Chichester; impropriator, General Sir John Crosbie. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £316. 13. 5., and the impropriate for £224. 3. 6.; there is a glebe of 15 acres. The church is in the early English style, with a square embattled tower; at the west end of the north aisle is a small sepulchral chapel belonging to the Page and Crosbie families, in which are several handsome monuments.

Donnington-Wood

DONNINGTON-WOOD, a chapelry, in the parish of Lilleshall, union of Newport, Newport division of the hundred of South Bradford, N. division of Salop, 3¾ miles (E. N. E.) from Wellington; containing 2367 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £147; patron, the Duke of Sutherland. The chapel, dedicated to St. Matthew, was lately erected at the sole expense of the duke. There is a place of worship for Particular Baptists, and a school is supported by subscription.

Donyatt (St. Mary)

DONYATT (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Chard, hundred of Abdick and Bulstone, W. division of Somerset, 2¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Ilminster; containing 525 inhabitants. It is watered by the river Isle, over which are four bridges within its limits; and comprises 1261a. 2r. 2p., whereof 156 acres are arable, 655 pasture and meadow, and 448 in Donyatt Park. Several of the inhabitants are engaged in the manufacture of earthenware, for which there are three potteries. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 15., and in the gift of R. T. Combe, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £131, and the glebe comprises 31 acres, with a glebe-house. John Dunster, citizen of London, founded in 1625 an almshouse for six men and women, with an endowment now producing £48 per annum.

Donyland, East (St. Lawrence)

DONYLAND, EAST (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Lexden and Winstree, Colchester division of the hundred of Lexden, N. division of Essex, 3¼ miles (S. E. by S.) from Colchester; containing 793 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the east by the river Colne, which here receives the water of the Romn. It is about 5 miles in circumference, and comprises 1065 acres, of which 31 are common or waste; the lands, except some portions in a low situation, are light, consisting of a loamy soil intermixed with sand and gravel, but generally produce good average crops. At the time of the Norman survey, the manor belonged to Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, from whom it passed into the hands of various proprietors, of whom Daniel Gausel, Esq., effected numerous improvements in the ancient mansionhouse, which he surrounded with tastefully-disposed grounds and a fine park. Row Hedge, a hamlet in the parish, is on the western side of the river; and great numbers of oysters are there preserved in pits, for the Cambridge, London, and other markets. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the gift of P. Havens, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £220, and the glebe contains 42 acres. The church is a small ancient edifice.

Donyland, West, Essex.—See Berechurch.

DONYLAND, West, Essex,—See Berechurch.

Dorchester

DORCHESTER, a borough and market-town, having separate jurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the hundred of St. George, Dorchester division of Dorset, 120 miles (S. W. by W.) from London; the town containing 3249 inhabitants. The early existence of the old town is evident from the etymology of its Roman names, Durnovaria and Durinum, "a place on or near the Varia," which was the British appellation of the Frome. Ptolemy describes it as the chief town of the Durotriges, and calls it Dunium; it was named by the Saxons Dornceaster, whence the modern Dorchester is derived. In Athelstan's charter to Milton Abbey, dated here, Dorchester, which then belonged to the crown, is called Villa Regalis, to distinguish it from Dorchester, in Oxfordshire, which was styled Villa Episcopalis. The Roman station stood on the Via Iceniana, and the remains of its ancient walls, the several vicinal roads leading from it, and the discovery of coins and other relics of antiquity, evince it to have been of great importance. In the Saxon age, two mints were granted to the place by Athelstan. In 1003, it was besieged and burnt, and its walls thrown down by Sweyn, King of Denmark, in revenge for the attempt of Ethelred to extirpate the Danes by a general massacre.

Seal and Arms.

In the reign of Elizabeth, several Roman Catholic priests were executed here; in 1595, the ravages of the plague were very extensive. In 1613, a fire consumed several houses, together with the churches of the Holy Trinity and All Saints: the damage amounted to £200,000. A second conflagration took place in 1662, and a third in 1775. During the civil wars, according to Lord Clarendon, Dorchester was considered one of the strongest holds of the parliament; it was fortified in 1642-3, but on the approach of the Earl of Carnarvon, with 2000 men, the town was immediately relinquished, and the governor fled by sea to Southampton: the Earl of Essex afterwards took possession of it. In 1645, an action took place here between General Goring, at the head of 1500 cavalry, and about 4000 of the parliamentary troops under Cromwell, in which the latter sustained a defeat, but kept possession of the town. In 1685, on the occasion of the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion, the assizes were held here, before Judge Jeffries, when 29 out of 30 persons tried in one day were found guilty and condemned; on the following day, 292 pleaded guilty and were condemned, of whom 80 were executed: on the morning of trial, Jeffries ordered the court to be hung with scarlet.

The town is pleasantly situated on elevated ground rising from the river Frome, by which it is bounded on the north-west. It occupies an area of about 80 acres, and consists principally of three spacious streets diverging from an area called Cornhill, in the centre, where the corn-market is held, and terminating severally in the roads to London, Weymouth, and Exeter: from Weststreet, in a northern direction, is the road to Bath. The town is well paved, and kept remarkably clean: a company was formed in 1834 for lighting it with gas, for which, and for its general improvement, an act was obtained. The adjacent scenery, which consists of extensive downs, sloping hills, and fertile inclosures, watered by branches of the Frome, forms a picturesque landscape. A small theatre was erected in 1828, which has since been converted into a masonic lodge; and races are held in September. Surrounding the town is a large tract called Fordington Field, partly meadowland, and partly in tillage, without any inclosure, seven miles in circumference; it belongs to the duchy of Cornwall, and is held by the owners on lives, with a widowhood. Six-hundred thousand sheep were formerly computed to be constantly fed within a circuit of six miles, and that number is now exceeded: the high estimation of Dorchester mutton is attributable to the sweet herbage of the soil; and the water, which springs from a chalky bed, is particularly favourable for brewing beer, which is here made to a great extent, and of a superior quality. During the reigns of Elizabeth, Charles I., and James I., there was a flourishing clothmanufactory; but this branch of business has greatly declined, there being only a little blanketing and linsey now manufactured, in addition to the spinning of worsted-yarn. In 1845 an act was passed for the formation of a railway from Weymouth, by Dorchester, to the counties of Somerset and Wilts; and a railway to Southampton was completed in 1847, which is 62 miles in length, including a branch of two miles to Poole. The principal market day is Saturday, and there is an inferior market on Wednesday. The fairs are on Candlemas-day, St. John the Baptist's and St. James' days (O. S.), and Oct. 25th; the three last are principally for sheep and lambs.

Dorchester claims to be a borough by prescription. Edward III. granted a charter, which was confirmed by succeeding sovereigns, as also did Richard III., but no specific form of municipal government was established until the charter of James I. Another charter was bestowed by Charles I., and under this the corporation consisted of a mayor, two bailiffs, six aldermen, and six capital burgesses, assisted by a high steward, recorder, town-clerk, two serjeants-at-mace, &c. By the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, the government is now vested in a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors; the mayor, and late mayor, are justices of the peace, and the total number of magistrates is seven. The borough has returned two members to parliament since the 23rd of Edward I. By the determination of a committee of the house of commons, on a petition in 1790, the elective franchise was resolved to be in the inhabitants paying church and poor rates in respect of their personal estates, and in persons paying church and poor rates in respect of their real estates, whether resident or not. Under the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the former non-resident electors, except within seven miles, were disfranchised, and the privilege was extended to the £10 householders of an enlarged district, comprising 572 acres, which was substituted for the ancient borough, which included only 67 acres: the mayor is returning officer. There is a court of record, as under the old charter; a court leet is held on the first Monday after New Michaelmas-day, at which four constables and other usual officers are appointed; and pettysessions of the mayor and justices are held every Monday. The powers of the county-debt court of Dorchester, established in 1847, extend over the registrationdistrict of Dorchester and Cerne. The town-hall was erected by the corporation in 1791; underneath is the market-house. The shire-hall is a plain and commodious edifice of Portland stone, containing court rooms where the assizes and quarter-sessions for the county are held: the corporation have a right to use the hall for all public purposes. The county-gaol was erected near the site of the old castle, between 1789 and 1795, at an expense of £16,179, on the plan of the benevolent Howard, and comprises a gaol, sheriffs' ward, penitentiary, and house of correction; the exterior is handsome, and the interior is divided into various departments for the classification of prisoners, having four wings, which, though detached, communicate with the central building by cast-iron bridges. Dorchester is the place of election for the knights of the shire.

The town is divided into three parishes, viz., All Saints', commonly called All Hallows, containing 692; St. Peter's, 1203; and the Holy Trinity, 1354, inhabitants. The living of All Saints' is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 4. 7.; net income, £84; patrons, the Trustees of the late Rev. C. Simeon. The church was rebuilt after the great fire. The living of Trinity parish is a rectory, to which the rectory of Froome-Whitfield adjoining was united by act of parliament in 1610, valued in the king's books at £17. 8. 6½., and in the patronage of the Feoffees of the free school and almshouse, who were incorporated by the same act: the tithes have been commuted for £350, and there are 25½ acres of glebe. The church, erected nearly on the site of an ancient edifice pulled down in 1821 in consequence of its dilapidated state and its protruding so far into the street, is an elegant and commodious structure, ornamented with beautifully painted glass. The living of St. Peters is a rectory not in charge, with a net income of £184: the present rector was appointed by the crown, but it has been made a question whether the patrons of Holy Trinity are not entitled to the patronage of St. Peter's also. The church is in the later English style, and consists of a chancel, nave, and aisles, with an embattled tower crowned by pinnacles, 90 feet in height. It contains several ancient and curious monuments, including one to the memory of Denzil, Lord Holies, of white marble, with his effigy in a recumbent posture, and the handsome tomb of Sir John Williams, of Herringstone, Knt., and his lady. In the north aisle, on a stone coffin lies the effigy of a knight, cross-legged, and completely armed in a coat of mail and helmet, with belt, spurs, and shield, but without armorial devices; and there is a similar figure in the south window: they are supposed to represent two crusaders belonging to the family of Chidiock, founders of the neighbouring priory, and to have been removed hither on the demolition of the priory church. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians. A free grammar school was founded in the year 1579, by Thomas Hardy, and endowed by him with an estate of about £20 per annum: it has an exhibition of £5 per annum, at any college in either university; in addition to which there are two exhibitions, of £10 per annum each, at St. John's College, Cambridge, for scholars from St. Paul's school, London, or this school. A second school was refounded by the corporation, about 1623, having existed prior to the establishment of the grammar school; the management is vested in six trustees. A handsome almshouse, founded by Sir Robert Napier, in 1615, for ten men, adjoins the grammar school. Near the priory is another, founded and endowed previously to 1617, by Matthew Chubb, one of the representatives of the borough, for nine women; and in the vicinity of All Saints' church are Whetstone's almshouses, for the maintenance of four persons, or four couples, at the discretion of the six trustees of municipal charities. The poor law union of Dorchester and Cerne comprises 59 parishes or places.

There are some probable remains of the wall and fosse by which the town was surrounded while in the possession of the Romans. The wall, which is six feet thick, and in some parts twelve feet high, is founded on the solid chalk rock, and is built of ragstone, laid obliquely and covered with mortar; every second course, in the Roman manner, running the reverse way, and there being occasional horizontal ones for binding, intermixed with flint: the remains appear to be only the groutwork, or interior part of the wall, the facing having been long removed. A great part of the fortifications was levelled and destroyed in making the walks which partially surround the town, particularly in 1764, when 87 feet of wall were pulled down, and only 67 feet left standing. A castle, probably of Roman origin, stood here, the site of which is placed by tradition in a large field near the county prison, still called Castle Green; but there are not the slightest traces of the building. A friary of the Franciscan order was built with the materials, a little eastward from the castle, by a member of the Chidiock family, some time previously to the 4th of Edward III. The conventual church was pulled down at the Reformation, and the house altered by Sir Francis Ashley for his own residence; it contains many of his armorial bearings and insignia. Here Denzil, the celebrated Lord Holies, died; after which the mansion was converted into a Presbyterian meeting-house, and so continued till 1722. Opposite to it, on the north, are the priory close and meadow. Several British tumuli are scattered round the town. In 1725, a large tessellated pavement was discovered, at the depth of three or four feet, in a garden near South-street; and in 1747, a brazen image of some Roman deity, probably of Bacchus, was found at the depth of five feet. In preparing the foundations for the gaol, a great number of Roman coins were dug up, including some of Antoninus Pius, Vespasian, Constantine, Carausius, Valerian, Valens, and Gallienus. In the immediate vicinity of the town are some interesting remains of a supposed British amphitheatre, a Saxon earthwork called Poundbury, and the intrenched residence now called Maiden Castle.

Dorchester (St. Peter and St. Paul)

DORCHESTER (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Wallingford, hundred of Dorchester, county of Oxford, 4 miles (N. W. by N.) from Wallingford; containing, with the hamlets of Burcott and Overy, 1078 inhabitants. This place, which is of very remote antiquity, was a city of some importance in the time of the Britons, by whom it was called Caer Dauri, or "the city on the water," probably from its position near the confluence of the Thame and Isis. It was subsequently a station of the Romans, and is identified by Richard of Cirencester as the Dorcina of that people, situated on the great Roman road, leading through the centre of the island. Of its occupation both by the Britons and the Romans many memorials remain, among which are a pure gold coin of Cunobeline, found in the adjoining fields in 1824, and numerous Roman coins of the Lower Empire (including one of Carausius), a Roman altar, and other relics, which have been discovered at various times; also the remains of an earthwork, evidently of Roman origin. On its occupation by the Saxons, it obtained the name of Dorci Ceastre, of which the modern Dorchester is a contraction. Under that people it continued to flourish, and was the first episcopal see erected in the kingdom of the West Saxons, by Cynegils, who, having been converted to Christianity by Birinus, an Italian missionary, was baptized at this place, and, on the establishment of the see, appointed Birinus bishop. Birinus, having presided over the see for fourteen years, died, and was interred in his own church: he was succeeded by Agilbert, a native of Gaul, who was appointed bishop by Kenwalch; but the same monarch, having founded a church at Winchester, removed the see to that place, from which, however, in 670, it was again transferred to Dorchester. The town suffered materially during the frequent ravages of the Danes, but still retained its importance as the head of a see, during the continuance of the Saxon heptarchy. King Athelstan held a great council here in 938, when he granted a charter to the abbey of Malmesbury, dated from this place, which is there styled the celebrated city of Cornacestre. At the time of the Conquest, William passed through Dorchester, with his army, on his route to Oxford, and, being soon afterwards quietly seated on the throne, appointed Remigius, of Feschamp, in Normandy, bishop of the see, which, subsequently on the removal of the sees to fortified cities, was transferred to Lincoln. With the removal of the see this place lost its importance, and decayed so rapidly that William of Malmesbury, who wrote about the year 1140, describes it as small and thinly inhabited; its market has long been discontinued, and it is at the present time only an inconsiderable village.

The parish comprises 1925a. 1r. 30p., nearly equally divided between pasture and arable land. The village is situated on the banks of the river Thame, over which is a stone bridge, at a short distance to the north of the confluence of the stream with the Isis; it retains many characteristics of its former importance, and the surrounding scenery is richly varied. A fair is held on Easter-Tuesday. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £100; patron, General Burrows: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1775. The church, formerly the church of the priory, is an ancient and highly-interesting structure of various periods, combining every variety of style, from the later Norman to the later English, with a tower at the west end: the interior possesses many features of elegance and beauty. There are several monuments to the Segrave family and others, a spirited effigy of a crusader, and a recumbent figure of the Stonor family, supposed to be that of Judge Stonor, in the reign of Edward III.; and the floor of the chancel is inlaid with brasses to some of the abbots of Dorchester. The ancient font, partly of lead on a stone pedestal, sculptured with intersecting Norman arches, and with the history of Birinus, is still preserved; and near the south porch is a cross. A grammar school, founded in 1656 by John Fettiplace, of Swinbrooke, has an endowment of £10 per annum.

A priory of Black canons was founded here in 1140, by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and dedicated to St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Birinus: it flourished till the Dissolution, when its revenue was estimated at £219. 12. The remains include part of the church, incorporated with the present parish church, and part of the conventual buildings, appropriated to the use of the grammar school; but the principal portion is at a small distance to the north of the church, consisting of the foundations of massive walls, indicating the site of a spacious quadrangle, round which were ranged the conventual buildings, now converted into barns of curious and picturesque character. The only military work remaining is that called Dyke Hill, which by some antiquaries is supposed to be Roman, and to have been raised to defend the passage of the rivers Thame and Isis; and by others to be only the outworks of the fortification on Long Witenham Hill, on the other side of the river, in the county of Berks. A few years since, a Roman altar of stone, three feet high, and two feet nine inches broad, was found some feet under ground, bearing an inscription. A pure gold ring was found in 1736, in the garden behind the church, with a cornelian, on which was engraved a mitre above an altar, and on the inside of the ring was the date 636, when Birinus was consecrated bishop. Dorchester gives the title of Baron to the family of Carleton.

Dore

DORE, a chapelry, in the parish of Dronfield, union of Ecclesall-Bierlow, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 5 miles (S. W.) from Sheffield; containing 575 inhabitants. It is situated on the roads to Bakewell and Manchester. The scenery, particularly that of the moorlands, which abound with game, is remarkably beautiful, and is ornamented by the course of the river Sheaf, which rises in the moors, and gives motion to several mills between this place and Sheffield. Stone for building and for the roads is quarried; a small coal-mine is in operation, and the population is partly employed in making scythes, handles for saws, and fire-bricks. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £90; patron, Earl Fitzwilliam; impropriator, the Duke of Devonshire. A neat church with a tower was erected in 1828, upon a more convenient site than that of the ancient edifice; it contains 460 sittings, of which 294 are free. A parsonagehouse was built in 1841, on a site given by the Duke of Devonshire, who contributed £75, and the Earl Fitzwilliam £300, towards its erection. The Rev. Robert Turie, in 1720, gave a small endowment for a school, which the Duke of Devonshire and other benefactors have, by various bequests and donations, raised to £37. 18. per annum.

Dore-Abbey (The Holy Trinity and St. Mary)

DORE-ABBEY (The Holy Trinity and St. Mary), a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Webtree, county of Hereford, 12 miles (S. W. by W.) from Hereford; containing 542 inhabitants. This parish derives its name from its situation on the river Dore, and from an abbey of White or Cistercian monks, founded here in the reign of Stephen, by Robert, son of Harold, Lord of Ewyas, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. Edmund. King John enlarged the endowment by a grant of all the lands between the river Dore and the rivulet called the Trivelbrook; and many of the abbots were highly distinguished for their learning and the important offices they held. Among them was Caducus, or Cadwgan, who in the reign of John was promoted to the see of Bangor; and Edward I., on his accession to the throne, issued a commission empowering the abbot of Dore to receive in his name the oath of allegiance from Llewelyn ab Grufydd, the last native prince of Wales. Edward III., in the 8th of his reign, appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Abbot of Dore, and Sir William de Clayton, his especial ministers, to treat with Philip, King of France; and in the following year the same abbot was associated with the Bishop of Norwich, in a similar negotiation. The monastery continued till the Dissolution, when its revenue was estimated at £118. 0. 2.: the only remains are the present parish church. James I. was entertained at Morehampton, in the parish, by Serjeant Hoskyns, on which occasion a morris-dance was performed before the king, by ten old men, whose united ages amounted to 1000 years.

The parish is situated about two miles west of the Abergavenny road, and comprises by admeasurement 5220 acres, of which 2382 are arable, 2176 meadow and pasture, and 606 woodland: the surface is undulated, and the wood with which it is thickly set consists principally of oak; the soil is a stiff clay. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the patronage of the Coheirs of the late Duchess of Norfolk: the tithes have been commuted for £678. 16., and the glebe contains about 8 acres. The church was presented to the parishioners by Lord Scudamore, the proprietor of the site and remains of the abbey, and reconsecrated in 1660; it has been repaired, and retains much of its pristine character and elegance. There is a small school, with an endowment of £7. 8. per annum, and a cottage and garden. The poor law union of Dore comprises 29 parishes or places, of which 27 are in the county of Hereford, and 2 in that of Monmouth.

Dorking (St. Martin)

DORKING (St. Martin), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the Second division of the hundred of Wotton, W. division of Surrey, 12 miles (E.) from Guildford, and 23 (S. S. W.) from London, on the road through Epsom to Worthing, Bognor, and Brighton: containing 5638 inhabitants. This place, anciently called Dorchinges, appears to have derived its name from its situation in a valley abounding with springs of water. It was probably founded by the Saxons, and, after its destruction by the Danes, was rebuilt, and had become a town of some importance prior to the Norman Conquest, at which period it was held in royal demesne, and had a church and three mills. In the reign of Edward I., it obtained the grant of a weekly market and an annual fair, and was endowed with many privileges. In a survey of the manor, in 1649, the town is stated to have considerably improved, and to have been pitched with large pebble stones. The summer assizes for the county were held here in 1699, but from what particular cause does not appear; the quartersessions used also to be held here occasionally.

The parish comprises 10,020a. 38p., of which about 3940 acres are arable, 2630 meadow, 1819 woodland, and 1344 common or waste; the soil is luxuriantly fertile, and the heights command magnificent views. In the environs are several gentlemen's seats, of which the splendid mansion of Deepdene, immediately adjoining the town, Denbies, and Bury Hill, are the principal. Betchworth Castle, which has been pulled down, occupied the site of an ancient fortress of that name, on the western bank of the river Mole, and was beautifully situated in an extensive park (now thrown into the demesne of Deepdene), celebrated for the stateliness of its fine chesnut-trees, some of which are seven yards in girth, and produce fruit equal to the Spanish tree. There were two other ancient fortresses in the parish, called Benham and Ewtons Castles, which are stated to have been demolished by the Danes: vestiges of the moat that surrounded each are still apparent, and the former has given name to a meadow in which it stood. Box Hill, about a mile from the town, a picturesque eminence planted with box-trees in the reign of Charles I., by the Earl of Arundel, commands an extensive view of the surrounding country, and is a place of resort for summer excursions from London. The vale beneath Box Hill, called Holmdale, was for several ages the retreat of the ancient Britons, in their conflicts with the Romans, and afterwards that of the Saxons, when the county was harassed by the Danes. In the reign of Charles II., it was celebrated for red deer, which the Duke of York, afterwards James II., preserved for his own sport; it was subsequently noted for the production of immense quantities of strawberries, which were conveyed to market in horse-loads.

The town is situated towards the south side of a sandy vale, on a stratum of sand-rock, in which excellent cellars are excavated: a small stream flowing into the river Mole intersects the vale, which is sheltered on the north by a ridge of chalky downs, extending from Farnham on the western side of the county into Kent, and abounding with picturesque scenery. The principal street is spacious, and the footpaths were paved a few years since; the houses are in general well built, and of neat appearance. The town is lighted with gas, and supplied with water brought from a spring by water-works, the property of a private individual, who has constructed baths adjoining them for the public accommodation. A library and reading-rooms are supported by subscription. Lime is dug in the vicinity, of very superior quality; there are also several breweries: but the town owes its chief support to the resident gentry, and visiters who frequent the place on account of the great salubrity of the air. An act was passed in 1846 for a railway from Epsom, by Dorking, to Portsmouth; and another act, for a railway from Reigate, by Dorking, to Guildford and Reading. Poultry, of which a particular species having five claws, stated to have been brought hither by the Romans, and known as Dorking fowls, is sold in large quantities for the supply of London. The market is on Thursday; on the second Thurday in every month is a large cattle-market, and a fair is held in May, the day before Ascension-day. The county magistrates hold petty-sessions here for the division; and a court leet and court baron are held in October, under the lord of the manor: the powers of the county debt-court of Dorking, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Dorking.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £14. 13. 11½.; patron, the Duke of Norfolk; impropriators, W. Coleman, Esq., and others: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £540. The present church, a handsome structure in a mixed style, with a lofty tower surmounted by a spire, was, with the exception of the chancel, erected in 1837, at a cost of about £10,000, defrayed by subscription, and a grant of £500 from the Incorporated Society; it contains 1800 sittings, of which 675 are free. There are several neat monuments in the chancel, and at the east end of the nave is an elegant tablet erected by subscription to the memory of the Earl of Rothes, who died suddenly in 1817, while hunting in Betchworth Park. A district church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, was erected in 1838, at Holmwood, 3 miles south from Dorking, on the road to Horsham; it is a neat building containing 274 sittings, 218 of which are free, and cost about £1000. Mrs. Arnold contributed liberally towards its erection, and also partly endowed it. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester, with a net income of £120. A parsonage-house in the Elizabethan style has been erected near the church, by subscription. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Wesleyans, and Independents. An almshouse, containing eighteen apartments, was founded on Cotmandane common, and endowed by Mrs. Susannah Smith with land, producing £40. 10. per annum. The rents of an estate purchased with a sum of money left for that purpose by Mrs. Margaret Fenwicke, in 1725, are distributed in marriage-portions to servantmaids, and apprentice-fees to poor children. About £200 are yearly received from Henry Smith's charity. The Rev. Samuel Cosin left 23 acres of marsh-land, in Chislett, Kent, now producing £81 per annum; and there are other bequests for the relief of the poor, besides several to the almshouses on Cotmandane common. The union of Dorking comprises eight parishes or places, and contains a population of 10,968.

Traces of the Roman Stane-street, which passed through Dorking, are frequently discovered in digging the ground in the churchyard; and on the summit of a hill three miles and a half from the town, is Anstie Bury, a Roman encampment inclosing more than eleven acres, defended by a triple intrenchment, and having the entrance on the east side, where the works have been levelled by the plough. On Winterfield farm, near this camp, a wooden box was discovered in 1817, about ten or twelve inches below the surface of the ground, containing 700 Anglo-Saxon coins, the uppermost of which were firmly cemented together by an incrustation formed by the decomposition of the metal used as an alloy to the silver. These coins were purchased on the spot by Robert Barclay and George Dewdney, Esqrs., who presented them to the trustees of the British Museum, in order that they might select such as might be found requisite to complete their series. Many curious fossils have been found in the chalk-pits; and within two miles of the town is Mag's Well, the water of which is slightly impregnated with sulphate of magnesia and iron, and closely resembles the Malvern water, being used as an alterative. Jeremiah Markland, the learned critic, who resided at Milton Court, in the parish, and died in 1763; and Abraham Tucker, author of the Light of Nature, who resided at Betchworth Castle, were buried in the chancel of the church; and John Hoole, translator of Tasso and Ariosto, was interred in the churchyard. The Rev. John Mason, author of a treatise on Self-knowledge, lived for several years in the town.

Dormington (St. Peter)

DORMINGTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the hundred of Greytree, union and county of Hereford, 5½ miles (E. by S.) from Hereford; containing, with the chapelry of Bartestree, 164 inhabitants. It consists of 1410 acres, about 1000 of which are in Dormington exclusively of Bartestree: the river Lug flows through it from north to south, and is here crossed by a bridge on the road from Hereford to Ledbury. The living is a discharged vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, with the perpetual curacy of Bartestree united, and valued in the king's books at £4. 6. 8.; net income, £284; patron, E. F. Foley, Esq. The tithes of Dormington have been commuted for £139, and the glebe consists of seven acres.

Dormsden

DORMSDEN, a hamlet, in the parish of Barking, union and hundred of Bosmere and Claydon, E. division of Suffolk, 2 miles (S. by E.) from NeedhamMarket; containing 61 inhabitants. Here is a chapel dedicated to St. Andrew.

Dormston

DORMSTON, a parish, in the union, and Upper division of the hundred, of Pershore, locally in the Middle division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Pershore and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 7 miles (W. by N.) from Alcester; containing 115 inhabitants. It comprises 765 acres: the soil is chiefly a stiff blue and yellow clay, of inferior quality, with some portions of greater fertility; the surface is interspersed with hills. The living is a perpetual curacy exonerated; net income, £53; patron, Thomas Bowater Vernon, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1790. The church is an ancient stone edifice, capable of seating 60 persons.

Dorne

DORNE, a hamlet, in the district chapelry of Aston Magna, parish of Blockley, union of Shipston-on-Stour, Upper division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Blockley and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 1½ mile (N.) from Moreton-in-the-Marsh; containing 47 inhabitants. This small place lies on the west of the road from Moreton-in-the-Marsh to Shipston. Tradition relates that it was once a city of importance; and this is confirmed by the discovery of ancient foundations, with some Roman and British coins.

Dorney (St. James)

DORNEY (St. James), a parish, in the union of Eton, hundred of Burnham, county of Buckingham, 2¼ miles (W. N. W.) from Eton; containing 324 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Thames, by which it is bounded on the south and west; the scenery is generally pleasing, and in many parts picturesque. It comprises 1425 acres, of which 75 are common or waste; the soil in the lower part is rich, lying on gravel, but in other parts less fertile. There are several gentlemen's seats; and the remains of Burnham Abbey, with the abbot's house, form an interesting feature. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 10. 5.; present net income, £68; patron and impropriator, John Palmer, Esq. The church has a handsome tower.

Dorrington, or Dirrington (St. James)

DORRINGTON, or Dirrington (St. James), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Flaxwell, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 4¾ miles (N.) from Sleaford; containing 379 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 3. 9.; net income, £94; patron, Sir G. Heathcote, Bart.; impropriators, the families of Thacker and Todkill. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1787. An allotment of 14 acres under an inclosure act produces £19, making, with other donations, £36 per annum, of which £20 are distributed in coal and £6 in clothes, and the remainder is applied to the support of a school.

Dorrington

DORRINGTON, a township, in the parish of Muckleston, union of Drayton, Drayton division of the hundred of North Bradford, N. division of Salop, 5¾ miles (N. E. by N.) from the town of Drayton; containing 188 inhabitants.

Dorsetshire

DORSETSHIRE, a maritime county, bounded on the south by the English Channel, on the west by the county of Devon, on the north by Somerset and Wilts, and on the east by Southampton. It extends from 50° 30' to 51° 4' (N. Lat.), and from 1° 48' to 3° 6' (W. Lon.), and contains 1005 square miles, or 643,200 statute acres: within its limits are 34,576 inhabited houses, 2019 uninhabited, and 299 in the course of erection; and the population amounts to 175,043, of whom 83,554 are males, and 91,489 females.

Prior to the invasion of Britain by the Romans, this county was inhabited by a native tribe, called by them Durotriges or Morini, names derived from British roots, and signifying "dwellers on the sea-shore:" by the Saxons it was styled Dor satta, which has a similar meaning, implying "dwellers by the water." The Romans included it in the division called Britannia Prima, and the Saxons in the kingdom of Wessex. It was successively under the jurisdiction of the see of Dorchester, in Oxfordshire, of that of Winchester, and of that of Sherborne; and after the last was united to the see of Salisbury or Sarum, it remained part of that diocese till the 31st of Henry VIII., when it was included in the newly-constituted bishopric of Bristol, by patent, June 4th, 1542. On the union of the dioceses of Bristol and Gloucester, the county was again transferred to the diocese of Salisbury, of which it now forms part, under the act of the 6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77. The archdeaconry of Dorset comprises the whole of the county, in which are five deaneries, viz., Bridport, Dorchester, Pimperne, Shaston, and Whitchurch, containing 258 parishes. The shire includes the town and county of the town of Poole; the borough and market towns of Bridport, Dorchester, Lyme Regis, Shaftesbury, Wareham, and the united boroughs of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis; the decayed borough of Corfe-Castle, which has no market, and by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, was deprived of the elective franchise; and the market-towns of Beaminster, Beer Regis, Blandford-Forum, Cerne-Abbas, Cranborne, Sherborne, Stalbridge, Sturminster-Newton, Swanage, and Wimborne-Minster. Of the above, Bridport, Lyme Regis, Poole, Wareham, and Weymouth, are likewise sea-ports. Under the act above named, three knights of the shire are sent to parliament: Bridport, Dorchester, and Poole, continue to return each two representatives; and the number sent by Weymouth and Melcombe Regis has been reduced from four to two by the same statute, which also restricts the representation of Lyme Regis, Shaftesbury, and Wareham, to one each. The county is included in the Western circuit: the assizes were anciently held sometimes at Sherborne, and sometimes, though rarely, at Shaftesbury; but have been generally in later times, and are now always, held at Dorchester, where the shire-hall, county gaol, and county house of correction, are situated. The Epiphany quartersessions were till within the last few years held at Blandford, the Easter at Sherborne, the Midsummer at Shaftesbury, and the Michaelmas at Bridport; but all the quarter-sessions are now held at Dorchester.

The surface is much diversified with hills: among its most remarkable features are the elevated tracts of chalky downs, which form the western portion of the extensive chalk districts stretching hence in two branches to the eastern coasts of the island. An elevated range of hills, of indurated chalk, extends from east to west through the peninsula called the Isle of Purbeck; and the same range continues westward, with some interruptions, On the south-western side of the county are many vales of great luxuriance; but on the southeastern there is much waste land, dreary and barren. The coast is very irregular, and presents various picturesque features. From Lyme Regis, at its western extremity, it turns gradually to front the south-west, terminating, far to the south, in the huge rocks of Portland Island, a tract no longer insulated, being connected with the main land near Abbotsbury by the extraordinary beach of pebbles called the Chesil Bank, about seventeen miles in length, and in some places nearly a quarter of a mile in width, which, by some amazing effort of nature, has been raised some distance in advance of the more ancient line of coast, between which and the bank a salt-water creek extends its whole length. The bay of Weymouth opens immediately below Portland, to the north; while the tract called the Isle of Purbeck stretches out on the opposite side, to the south-east, and terminates in St. Alban's Head; the range of cliffs which bound this coast, as well as the shoals called the Race of Portland, are extremely dangerous to shipping, and in stormy seasons wrecks are very frequent. To the north-east of Purbeck is the wide bay of Studland, or Poole, which extends eastward beyond the termination of the Dorsetshire coast, and forms the approach from sea to the great expanse of Poole harbour. The harbour penetrates far into the eastern part of the county; it is studded with several islands, and forms the northern boundary of the Isle of Purbeck. The superior pleasantness and fertility of the county have procured for it, from a remote period, the appellation of the "Garden of England," a distinction which it also partly owes to the mildness and salubrity of its climate, which, notwithstanding its vicinity to the sea, is likewise dry.

The soil is naturally divided into three principal classes, namely, chalky loams, gravelly sand, and clay, or various soils having a clay basis. The produce is chiefly corn, butter, cattle, sheep, wool, flax, and hemp: the chalky district produces a great quantity of barley, principally converted into malt, the abundance and good quality of which have occasioned Dorsetshire to become noted for its strong ale. The quantity of Grass-land is very great; the pastures, meadows, and common and down lands, being estimated to form about three-fifths of the entire surface of the county. In no part of the kingdom does the practice of irrigating meadows so extensively prevail as in Dorsetshire, particularly in the chalky district, where the irrigated meadows comprise an extent of about 6000 acres, the works for watering which are chiefly of ancient construction. The principal dairy tract is formed by the low pastures of the chalky district, besides those of a similar description in Purbeck, and along the coast to the confines of Devonshire: the dairy grounds are called "cow leases," and are let by the farmers to dairymen. In general all the cream is made into butter, which, being salted in tubs, is chiefly sent to the London and Portsmouth markets: from the skimmed milk is made an inferior sort of cheese, called in ridicule "Double Dorset." The open downs and the most elevated of the inclosed lands, are depastured by sheep during the summer, particularly in the tracts around Dorchester. Dorsetshire seems to have been long in the possession of a breed of Sheep remarkable for supplying the metropolis with house lamb at a very early period of the season. It is estimated that about 800,000 sheep are constantly kept within the county, and that more than 150,000 are annually exported. In the Isle of Portland is a very small breed, of which some flocks are also kept in Purbeck; and this is said by many to be the original breed of the county. The extent of land occupied by Orchards is estimated at 10,000 acres, and a great quantity of cider is made. This is not a well-wooded county, native Timber being in general scarce and dear. The Vale of Blackmoor is said to have formerly contained extensive woods, and it is still one of the best wooded districts, though it has little timber except that growing in the hedge-rows. Timbertrees have been planted by many of the principal proprietors, chiefly different kinds of fir; and on wet land, plantations of osiers have been made. The Waste lands are very extensive. The south-eastern part of the county, from Piddletown, Beer Regis, and Wimborne-Minster, to the Purbeck hills, is for the most part a dreary tract of heath, whereof the portions that have been inclosed are such as have been planted with fir-timber, that being the only improvement of which the higher parts are susceptible: the total extent of these heaths, including the ground now occupied by fir plantations, is estimated at about 50,000 acres. Cranborne Chase, on the northern verge of the county, is a free warren, and was granted by the crown to Lord Rivers.

The most valuable mineral production is the excellent stone for building, &c., quarried for exportation on the shores of Purbeck and Portland Isles. Portland is wholly based on beds of freestone, the produce of which is said to have been first brought into use and reputation in the time of James I., when it was employed in the erection of the Banqueting-house at Whitehall. After the great fire of London it was much used by Sir Christopher Wren, in the construction of different public edifices; and its beauty and durability have since procured for it a constant demand, for similar purposes, in various parts of the kingdom. There is only one bed of good stone in Portland, but it extends under the whole isle, at the depth of only a few feet, and is from ten to twelve feet in thickness; it is worked in various quarries, the most extensive of which are those called the King's, at Kingston, where upwards of 6000 tons are shipped annually. About 50 vessels, of from 30 to 140 tons' burthen, are employed in the conveyance of this stone; and the quantity exported annually is estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000 tons. The quarries of Purbeck have shared the reputation acquired by those of Portland: their produce is composed chiefly of a concretion of marine shells, and the hills in which they are worked extend nearly east and west, and at the cliff are 400 or 500 feet high; the only kind nearly resembling the Portland stone is that called "Purbeck Portland," dug to the south of Swanage, but which is of harder texture. The quantity of stone exported annually from Purbeck amounts to nearly 40,000 tons, chiefly flagstones for paving: some of the stones are cut into small squares for pitching, and the produce of these quarries is said to be harder and more durable than that of any other in the kingdom. At Swanage is a white stone full of shells, which takes a polish, and looks like alabaster; and at Dunshay, and in its vicinity, was formerly dug marble of various colours, blue, red, spotted, and grey, but chiefly the last: it is a conglomeration of shells, and was in great repute for gravestones and monuments. In the northern part of Purbeck, and in the vicinities of Wareham and Morden, is found a stone of an iron colour, called firestone.

At Long Burton, near the Vale of Blackmoor, in the north-west of the county, is a quarry of stone which bears a polish, and resembles the marble of Derbyshire; it is much used in the county for chimney-pieces. A considerable stratum of potter's-clay is found at various depths in several parts of the sandy district, in the vicinities of Wareham, Poole, and Corfe-Castle; and a vast quantity of it is dug at Norden, near the last-named place, and conveyed on a railway, constructed for the purpose, to Poole harbour, where it is shipped to Liver-pool, to the amount of from 16,000 to 20,000 tons annually, chiefly to be forwarded to the potteries in Staffordshire. There are 4000 tons of an inferior kind annually exported to London and Bristol, where it is used in making brown stone-ware. Thin veins of coal, unfit for use, exist in various places; and iron is found in the sandy district: marl is procured in a few spots; and some of the strata of clunch at Kimmeridge, in the south of Purbeck, are so highly bituminous as to have obtained the name of "Kimmeridge coal:" a similar substance is found in the Isle of Portland and other places. The fossil remains are numerous and interesting: in the quarries on the north-western side of Portland are found numerous petrified shells, of which the most common are those of the cockle, the muscle, the oyster, and the turbinated kinds. Here, as well as in Purbeck and various other parts, cornua ammonis are very common; and the quarries, shores, and cliffs on the south side of the Isle of Purbeck, afford an inexhaustible fund of natural curiosities.

The manufacture of flax and hemp into all kinds of fine string, twine, packthread, netting, sailcloth, cordage, ropes, and cables, is carried on at Bridport and Beaminster, and in the adjacent country. At Shaftesbury and Blandford, and in the surrounding villages to the distance of seven or eight miles, is a manufacture of shirtbuttons of various kinds, affording employment to a great number of women and children; and at Shaftesbury a sort of flannel, or coarse white woollen-cloth, is likewise made; but the chief manufacture of this kind is at Sturminster-Newton and Lyme Regis. Worsted stockings are knit for sale, in great abundance, at Wareham, Corfe-Castle, Wimborne, and intermediate places. At Sherborne, Stalbridge, and Cerne-Abbas are silk-mills. Malting and brewing are carried on at Wareham, Dorchester, &c., in some instances for exportation; and there are various manufactures of minor importance in different parts. The mackerel-fishery has not been so productive of late years as formerly, and the exposed situation of the coast renders it uncertain even in the best seasons: it is still, however, of considerable importance, great quantities being taken near Abbotsbury, and along the coast from Portland to Bridport. The commerce of the county is of inferior extent: the exports consist of the produce of its manufactures, quarries, and agriculture; and the imports are principally coal, culm for burning limestone, cod, salmon, oil, seal-skins, &c. The chief rivers are the Frome, the Stour, the Piddle, and the Ivel or Yeo; the Frome and Piddle empty themselves into Poole harbour, and the latter in its lower reaches affords a navigable access to Wareham. The only railway for passengers yet opeued is that from Dorchester to Southampton; it takes a course due east to the town of Wareham, and then proceeds in a northeastern direction, by Poole, to Wimborne-Minster, a few miles from which it quits the county for the county of Southampton.

The remains of antiquity are various, and many of them interesting. In the north-eastern part of the county are several ditches and valla, which Dr. Stukeley thinks were successively made by the Belgæ, during the progress of their conquest in this part of Britain. The remains supposed to be Druidical are, the remarkable rock of Agglestone near Studland, a circle of stones near Pokeswell, a cromlech near Portisham, the temple near Winterbourne and a segment of a circle of stones near it, a large group of barrows near Corfe, and a labyrinth at Leigh, in the parish of Yetminster. The Roman stations were, Durnovaria, at Dorchester, and Vindogladia, at Wimborne; to which Dr. Stukeley adds, with some probability, Ibernium, at Beer Regis. Near Dorchester are vestiges of walls, and of an amphitheatre which is computed to have been capable of accommodating nearly 10,000 spectators; and coins and tessellated pavements have been found both here and in other places. A large Roman intrenchment may be traced on Woodbury Hill, in the parish of Beer Regis. In the Chorography of Ravennas are mentioned the following places, the sites of which are here stated as conjectured by Baxter: Londinis, at Lyme Regis; Canca Arixa, at Charmouth; Dolocindo, or Dololindo, at Dorchester, or at Winterbourne St. Martin's, where are traces of an encampment; Clavinio, at Weymouth; Morinio, at Wareham; Bolbelaunia, or Bolnelaunia, at Poole; Aranus, at Sherborne; Anicetis, at Sturminster-Newton; Moiezo, at Hameldon Hill, where there is an intrenchment; Ibernio, at Blandford; and Bindogladio, at Wimborne-Minster. Vestiges of Roman camps may also be traced at Abbotsbury, Badbury, Banbury, near Okeford-Fitzpaine, Bulbarrow (in the parish of Stoke-Wake), Catstock, Chilcomb, Cranborne, Crawford, Dudbury (in the parish of West Parley), Duntich (in that of Buckland-Abbas), Eggardon (in Litton), Howersbarrow (in East Lulworth), Hod-Hill (in Stour-Pain), Kingston-Russell, Knowlton, Lambert Castle (on Coney Hill), Milbourn-Stileham, Melcomb-Horsey, Poundbury (in Fordington), Pilsdon Hill, Shaftesbury, and Toller-Fratrum. The principal of the Roman roads which crossed the county is that called the Ikening or Ikeneld way, which to the west of Dorchester takes the name of the Ridge-way, and is distinctly visible in different parts of its course: portions of several vicinal ways may also be traced. Numerous barrows, or tumuli, some of which are relics of the remotest period of British antiquity, are scattered over the county, especially upon the downs and in their vicinity.

Prior to the Reformation, there were twenty-nine Religious Houses (including one commandery of the Knights Hospitallers) and eight hospitals: the principal remains of the former are, those of the Benedictine monastery at Cranborne, of Cerne and Milton abbeys, the monastery at Shaftesbury, and some parts of the cloister and domestic buildings of the abbey of Sherborne. The remains of Castles are numerous; the most considerable are those of Corfe-Castle, Brownsea Castle, and Portland Castle. Numerous elegant Seats are dispersed over the county, of which Bryanston House, Lulworth Castle, Milton Abbey, Came, Sherborne Castle, and Kingstone House, claim distinction for elegance, and beauty of situation. Of the Mineral waters, Mr. Hutchins remarks that "they are chalybeate at Farringdon, Aylwood, and Corfe; sulphureous at Sherford, Morden, Nottington, and Sherborne; saline at Chilcomb; and petrifying at Sherborne, and Bothenwood near Wimborne-Minster." Some of the smaller streams in the chalky districts are dried up, or nearly so, in summer, and hence have received the name of "Winter-bournes:" so great is the deficiency of water on some of the high lands, that artificial ponds are formed, with bottoms composed of rammed clay covered with stones, &c., for the purpose of catching and preserving rain. Dorset gave the title of Duke to the family of Sackville, till the death of the 5th duke in 1843, when the title became extinct.