Draycot

DRAYCOT, a hamlet, in the parish of Bourtonupon-Dunsmoor, union of Rugby, Rugby division of the hundred of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Dunchurch; containing 142 inhabitants.

Draycot-Cerne (St. Peter)

DRAYCOT-CERNE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Chippenham, hundred of Malmesbury, Chippenham and Calne, and N. divisions of Wilts, 3½ miles (N. by E.) from Chippenham; containing 181 inhabitants. The parish takes the distinguishing affix to its name from the family of Cerne, to whom the manor anciently belonged. It is situated on the Avon, and intersected by the Great Western railway, in a detached portion near the river; and comprises by measurement 970 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 7. 11., and in the gift of the Earl of Mornington: the tithes have been commuted for £260, and the glebe comprises 52 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is an ancient structure. Weapons supposed to be Saxon have been found. Dr. Buckeridge, successively Bishop of Rochester and of Ely, was born here about 1562.

Draycot-Foliatt

DRAYCOT-FOLIATT, a parish, in the union of Highworth and Swindon, hundred of Kingsbridge, Swindon and N. divisions of Wilts, 4½ miles (S. S. E.) from Swindon; containing 26 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 6. 8.; net income, £165; patron, A. Goddard, Esq. The church has long been demolished, and the inhabitants attend that of the adjoining parish.

Draycot-Foliatt

DRAYCOT-FOLIATT, a chapelry, in the parish of Wilcot, union of Pewsey, hundred of Swanborough, Everley and Pewsey, and N. divisions of Wilts, 2¼ miles (N.) from Pewsey. The tithes produce £180.

Draycot-in-the-Moors (St. Margaret)

DRAYCOT-IN-THE-MOORS (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Cheadle, S. division of the hundred of Totmonslow, N. division of the county of Stafford, 7½ miles (N. E.) from Stone; containing 550 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the road from Uttoxeter to Newcastle-under-Lyme, and intersected by the river Blyth; and comprises 3880a. 3r. 17p., whereof 240 acres are wood, and 69 common or waste: the scenery is pleasing. Red sandstone is quarried for building; and the sinking of a shaft for coal was commenced, at Draycot Cross, in 1844. About half a mile to the east of the village is the hamlet of Totmonslow, which gives name to the hundred, and where the hundred court was formerly held; it is supposed to have been anciently a place of some importance. Sir Edward Vavasour, Bart., is lord of the manor. The late baronet introduced the allotment system, which greatly conduces to the comfort and prosperity of the poorer inhabitants: thirty-six allotments of land are at present let at a nominal rent; and further encouragement is afforded by a parochial agricultural society.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 6. 8., and in the patronage of Sir E. Vavasour: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £423. 5. 3.; and the glebe contains 48 acres, valued at £130 per annum, with a glebe-house, almost entirely rebuilt in 1840. The nave of the church and upper part of the tower were rebuilt in 1735; but the rector's chancel and the patron's chancel (a mortuary chapel on the north) are very ancient. In the south side of the former chancel are a piscina and three sedilia, and a fine altar-tomb of the 16th century, with recumbent effigies, and small sculptured statues on the sides; and in the other chancel or chantry, are five altar-tombs, the earliest that of a Knight Templar. The church also contains some fine old monuments of the Draycot family; and in the churchyard is a pyramidal stone, similar to those stones with which the Danes marked the depositories of their deceased heroes. In 1839 a neat and commodious school-house, close to the church, was built by the Rev. E. C. Sneyd Kynnersley, the then rector, aided by the principal Protestant farmers in the parish; and a school is supported by Sir E. Vavasour, who, among other annual charities, gives the rent of the manor-mill to be distributed in flour to the poor. Painsley Hall, in the parish, was a place of some note in the civil wars; it was the manor-house of the Draycot family, and parts of the old building are still remaining: the present occupant, a few years since, filled up the moat by which it was surrounded. This Hall seems to have been a refuge for Roman Catholics in times of religious peril, and one of its rooms was used by them for the celebration of mass, which was secretly performed with closed doors. Joseph Rees, a shepherd, of Totmonslow hamlet, lived to the age of 127 years; and Hannah Barnes, of Draycot village, who died in 1777, lived to 100 years.—See the article on Creswell.

Draycott

DRAYCOTT, a liberty, in the parish of Wilne, union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 6½ miles (E. S. E.) from Derby; containing 895 inhabitants. It comprises 1380a. 25p., whereof two-thirds are arable, and the remainder pasture, with a little woodland: the surface generally is level, but hilly towards the north; and the soil various, in some parts clay, and in others a light loam. In 1800 the late Mr. Towle established a cottonmill here; the present factory was erected in 1814, and enlarged in 1818. The Messrs. Towle have also works for the manufacture of lace; and a second cotton-mill, erected in 1831, The village, which is populous and well built, is contiguous to the river Derwent, and to the Derby canal, and Midland railway. The Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyans have places of worship; and a school is partly supported by subscription.

Draycott

DRAYCOTT, a hamlet, in the parish of Ickford, union of Thame, hundred of Ewelme, county of Oxford; containing 12 inhabitants.

Draycott

DRAYCOTT, a hamlet, in the parish of Limington, union of Yeovil, hundred of Stone, W. division of the county of Somerset; containing 50 inhabitants.

Draycott

DRAYCOTT, a hamlet, partly in the parish of Chedder, union of Axbridge, and partly in that of Rodney-Stoke, union of Wells, hundred of Winterstoke, E. division of the county of Somerset, 6 miles (N. W. by W.) from the city of Wells; containing 590 inhabitants.

Draycott

DRAYCOTT, a hamlet, in the parish of Blockley, union of Shipston-on-Stour, Upper division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Blockley and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3½ miles (N. N. W.) from Moreton-in-the-Marsh; containing 193 inhabitants.

Draycott-in-the-Clay

DRAYCOTT-IN-THE-CLAY, a township, in the parish of Hanbury, union of Uttoxeter, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 6 miles (S. E. by E.) from Uttoxeter; containing 431 inhabitants. The manor was included in the Conqueror's gift to Henry de Ferrers, and has for many ages been possessed by the noble family of Vernon. The village, which is scattered, lies on the Lichfield and Sudbury road, one mile west-by-north, of Hanbury. The tithes of the township, with those of Stubby-Lane and Moreton, have been commuted for £48 payable to the vicar, and £160 to the Bishop of Lichfield. In a meadow beyond Draycott mill are the ruins of an ancient mansion, surrounded by a moat.

Draycott-Moor

DRAYCOTT-MOOR, a hamlet, in the parish of Longworth, union of Abingdon, hundred of Ock, county of Berks, 7½ miles (E. by N.) from Farringdon; containing 238 inhabitants.

Drayton

DRAYTON, a parish, in the union of Abingdon, hundred of Ock, county of Berks, 2¼ miles (S. W. by S.) from Abingdon; containing 521 inhabitants. This place suffered severely from a fire that accidentally occurred in 1780, when more than thirty houses were destroyed. The parish comprises 1738 acres, the soil of which is partly gravel and partly a strong clay; the village is pleasantly situated, near the Wilts and Berks canal. The living is annexed to the vicarage of St. Helen's: the church is dedicated to St. Peter. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Drayton

DRAYTON, a township, in the parish of Bringhurst, union of Uppingham, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester, 2¾ miles (W.) from Rockingham; containing 148 inhabitants. Here was formerly a chapel, dedicated to St. James. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1804. George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, was born at this place in 1624.

Drayton (St. Margaret)

DRAYTON (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of St. Faith, hundred of Taverham, E. division of Norfolk, 4½ miles (N. W.) from Norwich; containing 372 inhabitants. The parish is traversed by the Fakenham road, and comprises 1292 acres. In the village, which is pleasantly situated in the vale of Wensum, are the remains of an ancient cross, that had an inscription in French, offering pardon to all who would pray for the souls of William de Bellemont and Joan his wife. A place called "Blood's Dale," is said to have been the scene of a battle in Saxon times. The living is a discharged rectory, with that of Hellesdon united, valued in the king's books at £6. 2. 9., and in the gift of the Bishop of Norwich: the tithes of Drayton have been commuted for £253, and the glebe contains 18 acres. The church is an ancient structure in the early English style, with a square embattled tower. At the inclosure, in 1813, 50 acres of land were allotted to the poor for fuel.

Drayton

DRAYTON, a hamlet, in the parish and union of Daventry, hundred of Fawsley, county of Northampton, ¾ of a mile (N. W. by W.) from Daventry; containing 388 inhabitants. A Roman pavement was discovered near this place in 1736.

Drayton (St. Peter)

DRAYTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Banbury, hundred of Bloxham, county of Oxford, 2 miles (N. W. by W.) from Banbury; containing 206 inhabitants. It comprises 856a. 1r. 32p.: the soil is a light loam of reddish colour, and the surface is hilly. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 16. 0½.; net income, £316; patron, Earl Delawarr. The tithes were commuted for land and cornrents in 1801. The church, which has been renovated, is pleasantly situated in the vicinity of the well-wooded park of the Ladies North, at Wroxton; near the north door is an ancient stone coffin, on which are sculptured three stars entwined with tendrils and foliage.

Drayton (St. Leonard)

DRAYTON (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Abingdon, hundred of Dorchester, county of Oxford, 5 miles (N.) from Wallingford; containing 327 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Dean and Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford, whose tithes here have been commuted for £325; a payment of £16. 5. is made to certain impropriators.

Drayton (St. Catherine)

DRAYTON (St. Catherine), a parish, in the union of Langport, hundred of Abdick and Bulstone, W. division of Somerset, 2 miles (S. W.) from Langport; containing, with the tything of Middleney, 469 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Parret, and comprises by measurement 2201 acres: there are quarries of stone for building and for burning into lime. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £97; patron and impropriator, R. T. Combe, Esq., as lessee of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol, whose tithes have been commuted for £330: there are nearly six acres of glebe. The church has an embattled tower at the west end, and a fine south porch of Norman architecture.

Drayton

DRAYTON, a tything, in the parish and hundred of Barton-Stacey, union of Andover, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 46 inhabitants.

Drayton

DRAYTON, a township, in the parish and union of Penkridge, E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford, 1¼ mile (N. by E.) from Penkridge. This is a hamlet and manor of 700 acres, situated on the west side of the river Penk. The road from Penkridge to Stafford passes through.

Drayton

DRAYTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Old Stratford, union of Stratford, Stratford division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 2¼ miles (W.) from Stratford; containing 20 inhabitants.

Drayton-Bassett (St. Peter)

DRAYTON-BASSETT (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Tamworth, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 2¾ miles (S. S. W.) from Tamworth; containing 404 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the east by the river Tame, and comprises 3189a. 1r. 28p. of land, in about equal portions of arable and pasture. The Birmingham and Fazeley canal passes on the east, and the Birmingham and Derby railway has a station at Wilnecote, about two miles distant. A mill is worked for spinning cottonyarn, and making tapes and laces. The manor formerly belonged to the Weymouth family, but is now held by Sir Robert Peel, Bart., who is proprietor of two-thirds of the parish, the remaining third being the property of Sir Francis Lawley, Bart. A splendid mansion, in the Elizabethan style, has been erected by Sir Robert Peel, who had the honour of entertaining Her present Majesty, the Dowager Queen, Prince Albert, and the court, within its walls, from the 28th of November to the 1st of December 1843: a magnificent portrait gallery, attached to the south-east angle of the mansion, was completed in 1846. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 8. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £209. 12. 6., and the glebe consists of 25 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is a modern edifice, with an ancient tower.

Drayton-Beauchamp (St. Mary)

DRAYTON-BEAUCHAMP (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Aylesbury, hundred of Cottesloe, county of Buckingham, 2 miles (W. by N.) from Tring; containing 231 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 9. 7., and in the patronage of W. Jenney, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £304. 15., and the glebe comprises 28 acres.

Drayton, Dry (St. Peter and St. Paul)

DRAYTON, DRY (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chesterton, county of Cambridge, 5 miles (W. N. W.) from Cambridge; containing 478 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 2389 acres, nearly all arable; the soil is generally a strong clay. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £21. 1. 3.; net income, £320; patron, the Rev. Dr. Smith. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1809. A school has an endowment of about £7. 17. per annum

Drayton, East (St. Peter)

DRAYTON, EAST (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of East Retford, South-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 4 miles (N. E.) from Tuxford; containing 212 inhabitants, and comprising 1520 acres. The living is a vicarage, with the livings of Askham and Stokeham annexed, valued in the king's books at £9. 3. 4.; net income, £165; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of York.

Drayton, Fen (St. Mary)

DRAYTON, FEN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of St. Ives, hundred of Papworth, county of Cambridge, 3¾ miles (S. E. by S.) from St. Ives; containing 381 inhabitants. The living is a rectory; net income £100; patrons, the Master and Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge, whose tithes here have been commuted for £426, and whose glebe contains 42½ acres. In 1838, an act was passed for inclosing the common.

Drayton, Fenny (St. Michael)

DRAYTON, FENNY (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Atherstone, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 6 miles (W. N. W.) from Hinckley; containing 127 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 1. 5½.; net income, £278; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Samued Bracebridge Heming.

Drayton-in-Hales, or Market-Drayton (St. Mary)

DRAYTON-IN-HALES, or Market-Drayton (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, chiefly in the Drayton division of the hundred of North Bradford, N. division of the county of Salop, but partly in the N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford; comprising the townships of Betton, Drayton Magna and Parva, Longslow, Sutton, and Woodeaves, in Salop; and Almington, and Bloore-in-Tyrley with Hales, in Stafford; the whole containing 4680 inhabitants, of whom 1699 are in Drayton Magna, and 1462 in Drayton Parva, 19¼ miles (N. E. by N.) from Shrewsbury, and 159½ (N. W. by N.) from London. Nennius endeavours to identify this place with the Caer Draithon of the Britons, enumerating it as one of the principal cities belonging to that people; and the correctness of his opinion has not been arraigned by any succeeding writer. It is evident from the discovery of the foundations of several houses in the adjoining fields, that the town anciently occupied a more extended site than it does at present. In the record of Domesday it is mentioned by the name Draitune. The manor was successively in the possession of the abbot of St. Ebrulph, in Normandy, and the abbot of Combermere, in Cheshire; the latter, in 1246, received the grant of a market to be held at Drayton on Wednesday, and a fair on the eve, day, and morrow of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. During the parliamentary war, the neighbourhood was the scene of a skirmish, on the 25th of Jan., 1643, when Prince Rupert routed the enemy, who were commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax.

The town stands on the north-western bank of the river Tern; it is clean, and moderately well paved, and the houses present a neat appearance. There are manufactories for paper, and for hair-cloth for chair bottoms, and some business is done in malting; but the trade, which was once very considerable, has declined in consequence of the construction of the Grand Trunk canal. The market is on Wednesday. There are fairs for horned-cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and hempen and woollen cloth, on the Wednesday before Palm-Sunday, Wednesday before June 22nd, on Sept. 19th, and Oct. 24th; and fairs have been lately established, which are held on the last Wednesday in November, and the first Wednesday in February, May, and August. The petty-sessions for the Drayton division of the hundred are held here: the powers of the county debt-court of Drayton, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Drayton. The parish comprises 7741 acres of arable and pasture land, the soil of which is rich and fertile; the vicinity abounds with interesting objects. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12. 10. 7½., and in the gift of the Trustees of Sir C. Corbet, the impropriators: the great tithes have been commuted for £1305. 19. 10., and the vicarial for £279. 19. 6.; the glebe comprises about one acre. The church was built, with the exception probably of the steeple, in the reign of Stephen, and consists of a nave, aisles, chancel, and square tower supported by buttresses and adorned with battlements and pinnacles: the whole of the building, except the tower, was thoroughly repaired in 1787. In 1846-7 a church was erected in Little Drayton; it is in the lancet style, with a tower, and will accommodate 600 persons, on the ground floor. There are places of worship for Particular Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans. A free grammar school was founded in 1554, and endowed with a rent-charge of £22 by Sir Rowland Hill, and £10 per annum by Sir Thomas and Lady Lake. The Rev. Richard Price in 1730 left property now producing upwards of £40 per annum, for teaching children, and other purposes; and John Bill bequeathed £240, for teaching and apprenticing boys. There are various other benefactions for apprenticing poor children, (among which is one by Elizabeth Watenhall, producing £38. 18. per annum,) and for other charitable purposes, amounting in the whole to about £200 per annum. The union of Drayton comprises 11 parishes or places, and parts of 2 others, 10 being situated in the county of Salop, 2 in that of Stafford, and 1 in that of Chester; and the union contains a population of 13,950.

Drayton-Parslow (Holy Trinity)

DRAYTON-PARSLOW (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Winslow, hundred of Cottesloe, county of Buckingham, 5¼ miles (E. by N.) from Winslow; containing 526 inhabitants. It comprises 1681a. 1r. 28p.: the Birmingham railroad passes within about 2½ miles. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12; net income, £248; patron, the Rev. Samuel Wright. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1797; the glebe contains 350 acres, and there is a commodious and excellent glebehouse, lately put into complete repair.

Drayton, West (St. Martin)

DRAYTON, WEST (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of Uxbridge, hundred of Elthorne, county of Middlesex, 3¼ miles (N. E.) from Colnbrook; containing 802 inhabitants. The Grand Junction canal passes through the parish; and here is a station of the Great Western railway, which passes a short distance to the north of the church. The living is a discharged vicarage, united to that of Harmondsworth, and valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1824. The church has an embattled tower at the west end, and contains a font curiously sculptured in compartments.

Drayton, West

DRAYTON, WEST, a chapelry, in the parish of East Markham, union of East Retford, South-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 3 miles (N. W. by N.) from Tuxford; containing 109 inhabitants, and comprising 612 acres. Henry Walter, in 1688, bequeathed a rent-charge of £25 towards the maintenance of a schoolmaster.