Egerton

EGERTON, a township, in the parish of Malpas, union of Nantwich, Higher division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester, 5 miles (N. E. by N.) from Malpas; containing 143 inhabitants, and comprising 720 acres of land. The tithes have been commuted for £76 payable to the impropriator, and £2 to the rectors of Malpas. Here are the ruins of a chapel which was attached to a manor-house that stood here.

Egerton (St. James)

EGERTON (St. James), a parish, in the union of West Ashford, hundred of Calehill, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 13 miles (S. E. by E.) from Maidstone; containing 880 inhabitants. It comprises 2780 acres, of which 125 are in wood. A pleasure-fair is held on August 5th. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £111; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London: there are 9 acres of glebe. A gallery has been built in the church, by which 70 free sittings have been provided. The Baptists have a place of worship; and there are two schools. In the parish is a petrifying spring.

Egg-Buckland.—See Buckland, Egg.

EGG-BUCKLAND.—See Buckland, Egg.

Eggesford

EGGESFORD, a parish, in the union of Crediton, hundred of North Tawton, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon, 2½ miles (S.) from Chulmleigh; containing 168 inhabitants. It comprises 1143 acres, of which 300 are waste land or common. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 18. 9.; net income, £121; patron, the Hon. Newton Fellowes. Here was an hospital, founded by Ibote Reigny.

Eggington

EGGINGTON, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Leighton-Buzzard, hundred of Manshead, county of Bedford, 2 miles (E.) from Leighton-Buzzard; containing 390 inhabitants. The manor passed in the last century through several hands, and was more recently the property of John Bond, Esq., and George Goodwin, Esq. The land is laid out in arable and pasture, and is open country, chiefly of a clayey soil. The village lies south of the road from Leighton-Buzzard to Hockliffe. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of about £100; patrons, the Parishioners, The chapel is an ancient edifice, in the pointed style. There are places of worship for Independents and Primitive Methodists. About £153 per annum, proceeding from charity lands, are thus appropriated, one-half to the incumbent, one-quarter for the repairs of the chapel, and one-quarter to the poor.

Egginton (St. Wilfrid)

EGGINTON (St. Wilfrid), a parish, in the union of Burton-upon-Trent, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 4¼ miles (N. N. E.) from Burton; containing 374 inhabitants. This place, called Eghintune in Domesday survey, is there described as having a church, a priest, a mill, and six farmers. William Fitz Ralph, founder of Dale Abbey, gave the manor to his nephew, William de Glendon, in exchange for Stanley, and from him it passed by marriage to Sir John Chandos, whose descendants brought it to the De la Poles and de Staffords, respectively, in moieties. The manor afterwards vested in the family of Lathbury, of whom a coheiress brought a moiety to the Leighs; and on the death of Sir Henry Leigh in the reign of James I., the estate passed to his daughter Anne, married to Simon Every, Esq., of Chard, in Somersetshire, who was created a baronet in 1641. The manor of Hargate, formerly called Heath House, became the property of the Leighs by purchase. During the parliamentary war, a battle occurred on the heath here between a party of the royalist forces and some troops under Sir John Gell, the former of whom were defeated. The parish comprises 2291 acres, of which 1554 are meadow and pasture, and 737 arable; the surface is generally flat, and the soil a light gravel. The river Dove passes through, and is crossed by a stone bridge, called Monk's bridge, on the Derby and Burton road, soon after which, at the south extremity of the parish, it has its confluence with the Trent. The Trent and Mersey canal crosses the Dove by an aqueduct of twelve arches, near Monk's bridge, about half a mile east from which the Birmingham railway also crosses the river by a bridge constructed of wood. The Hall was destroyed by fire in 1736, but was soon afterwards rebuilt, and is a good brick mansion pleasantly situated in a park of about fifty acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 2. 8½.; net income, £453; patrons, Sir H. Every, Bart., and S. Pole and James Heath Leigh, Esqrs., the two former having each two presentations, and the last one: the tithes were commuted for land in 1791. The church, an ancient structure with a nave, chancel, aisles, and a neat low tower, contains several monuments to the Every family, and has some remains of stained glass. A school is endowed with a house and garden, and with £5 per annum. William Newton, in 1820, left £2000 three per cent. bank annuities, in trust for the benefit of the poor; and there are other charities.

Egglescliffe, or Eaglescliffe, in the county of Durham.—See Eaglescliffe.

EGGLESCLIFFE, or Eaglescliffe, in the county of Durham.—See Eaglescliffe.

Eggleston-Abbey

EGGLESTON-ABBEY, a township, in the parish of Rokeby, union of Teesdale, W. division of the wapentake of Gilling, N. riding of York, 1½ mile (S. E. by S.) from Barnard-Castle; containing 77 inhabitants. An abbey for Præmonstratensian canons, dedicated to St. Mary and St. John the Baptist, was founded about 1189, by Ralph de Multon; it was refounded in 1537, and at the Dissolution its revenue was estimated at £36. 8. 3. On elevated ground near the road side are considerable remains of the buildings; the abbey church, a cruciform structure with a noble window, being almost entire: from the bank on the opposite side of the river Tees, the view is very imposing.

Egglestone

EGGLESTONE, a chapelry, in the parish of Middleton-in-Teesdale, union of Teesdale, S. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 6 miles (N. W. by N.) from Barnard-Castle; containing 617 inhabitants. The chapelry is bounded on the south by the river Tees, over which is a handsome bridge; and comprises an area of 7920 acres. The surface is pleasingly diversified, rising gradually from the river, near which it is richly wooded; the trees diminish in number as they recede from the bank of the Tees, and disappear towards the summits of the hills in a vast tract of moorland abounding in grouse, where numerous trunks and branches of pine-trees are found imbedded in the soil, apparently vestiges of an ancient forest. The soil near the river is extremely rich; in other parts generally clay, alternated with beds of sand, and veins of stone. Lead and iron ore are found in abundance, and vestiges of iron-mines are frequently discovered, some of which bear internal evidence of having been wrought by the Romans; mines of lead have been in operation since the time of Henry VI., and the London Lead Company have established works here, in which from 60 to 70 persons are employed in smelting the ore raised from various lead-mines in Teesdale. Egglestone Hall is a handsome mansion, erected on the site of a former structure by William Hutchinson, Esq., uncle of the present proprietor. The chapel, which is situated within the demesne of the Hall, is an ancient structure in the Norman style, consisting of a nave and chancel, in which are several monuments to the Hutchinson family; the nave was enlarged and newly roofed about the commencement of the present century. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of Middleton, and has a net income of £100. There is a place of worship for a congregation of Wesleyan Methodists.

Egham (St. John the Baptist)

EGHAM (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Windsor, Second division of the hundred of Godley, W. division of Surrey, 4 miles (N. N. W.) from Chertsey, and 20 miles (W. by S.) from London; containing 4448 inhabitants. The village is pleasantly situated on the bank of the river Thames (which here separates the counties of Surrey and Middlesex), and is intersected by the Roman road from Silchester, commencing at the Belvidere, in Shrub's Park, and directing its course to the village, east of Virginia Water. The road becomes conspicuous on the rising grounds, where it is remarkable for the almost entire preservation of its original form, and whence it may be traced, with some intervals, to Ashford, in Middlesex. In this parish, also, is the plain of Runymede, appointed by King John for holding a conference with the barons, who had leagued together for the preservation of their liberty, and celebrated as the spot on which, after a debate of a few days, during which each party encamped as open enemies, the king consented to grant the privileges and exemptions contained in Magna Charta. The village is neatly built, containing many respectable houses, and is connected with the market-town of Staines by a handsome stone bridge, erected in a more direct line with the London road than the old bridge, which has been taken down; it is paved, lighted with gas, and well supplied with water. An act was passed in 1846 for a railway, 6¼ miles in length, to this place, from the SouthWestern line at Weybridge. The parish comprises a considerable portion of Windsor Great Park, and, in addition, 6430 acres, of which 1484 are woodland. There are several handsome seats and villas in the neighbourhood. Cooper's Hill was first celebrated by the muse of Denham, who resided here, and afterwards by Pope and Somerville; Camomile Hill obtained its appellation from the luxuriant growth of that herb, with which it is covered, and which appears to be indigenous to the soil. Races are held in August, on Runymede, and are well attended. There is a fair at Englefield Green, on the 30th of May and the two following days.

The living is a vicarage, partly endowed with the great and small tithes, valued in the king's books at £11. 9. 7., and in the patronage of Benjamin Gostling, Esq., the impropriator of the remainder of the tithes, the whole of which have been commuted for £1250, whereof £1088 are payable to the impropriator, and £162 to the vicar, who has a glebe of 56 acres. The church, an edifice of brick ornamented with stone, was built in 1817-20, at a cost of about £11,000, defrayed by subscription, His Majesty George IV. being a liberal contributor. Over the altar, which is of marble, is a beautiful picture by Westall, representing Elijah Raising the Widow's Son; and on each side of the chancel are splendid monuments, one to the memory of George Gostling, Esq., and the other to his lady, respectively by Flaxman and Bailey: near the vestry is a monument to Thomas Foster, chief justice of the king's bench in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. and II., and who resided in the parish; and on the staircases are monuments to the ladies Denham, and a fine sculptured monument representing in white marble a figure rising from the grave. Christ Church, at Virginia Water, was erected in 1838, by subscription, at a cost of about £2000, and endowed by Miss Irvine with £2000; it is a neat structure in the later style, and a district has been assigned to it, which comprises Portnall, Shrub's-hill, Strode, Trotsworth, Virginia Water, and Wentworth. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A charity school was founded in 1703, by Henry Strode, Esq., who bequeathed £6000 for that purpose, and for the foundation and endowment of almshouses for twelve aged men and women; the buildings were taken down a few years since, and handsomely rebuilt; the income arising from the endowment is nearly £800 per annum. Five other almshouses were founded in 1627, by Sir John Denham, who endowed them with a rent-charge of £30, and with tenements producing a rental of £8. 8., for aged women; and Mrs. Stewart, in 1834, built five houses for poor women. Viscountess Warren Bulkeley left £1000 for the benefit of the poor, and there are several other charitable bequests.

Egleton

EGLETON, a township, in the parish of Bishop's-Froome, union of Ledbury, hundred of Radlow, county of Hereford, 9¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Hereford; containing 179 inhabitants. It forms a detached portion of the parish, and comprises 750 acres, of a moderately productive soil; the surface is gently undulated, with a small portion of wood, and is intersected by the road from Hereford to Worcester. There are quarries of good building-stone. The population is entirely agricultural. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment, under an inclosure act, in 1813.

Egleton

EGLETON, a chapelry, in the parish, union, and soke of Oakham, county of Rutland, 2 miles (S. E.) from the town of Oakham; containing 138 inhabitants. The chapel is dedicated to St. Edmund.

Eglingham (St. Maurice)

EGLINGHAM (St. Maurice), a parish, in the unions of Alnwick and Wooler, chiefly in the N. division of Coquetdale ward, but partly in the S. division of Bambrough ward, N. division of Northumberland; consisting of the townships of Bassington, Beanley, New and Old Bewick, Brandon, Branton, Crawley, Ditchburn, Eglingham, Harehope, Hedgeley, East and West Lilburn, Shipley, Titlington, and Wooperton; and containing 1832 inhabitants, of whom 304 are in the township of Eglingham, 7 miles (N. W.) from Alnwick. The parish comprises by measurement 21,241 acres; the surface is in some parts hilly, in others flat, and on the west of the river Breamish rises gradually to the range of the Cheviot hills. The Breamish has its source in those hills, and, with numerous other streamlets, intersects the parish, forming a rich vale of dry gravelly loam; in the centre of the parish the soil is clayey, and towards the south and east open moorland, affording pasture. There is a sheet of water of considerable depth, called Kimmer lough, which covers nearly ten acres of ground. Coal and limestone are abundant, and are wrought in the eastern portion of the parish; there are also quarries of good freestone. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the archdeaconry of Lindisfarne in 1842, and valued in the king's books at £23. 3. 1½.; impropriators, the Earl of Tankerville and others: the tithes have been commuted for £830, and the glebe comprises 133 acres. The church was destroyed by the Scots, in the rebellion against Charles I., but was rebuilt after the Restoration, and enlarged in 1836 by the erection of a transept; it is a neat edifice, and contains 600 sittings. There is a place of worship at Brandon for Presbyterians.

Egloshayle

EGLOSHAYLE, a parish, in the union of Bodmin, hundred of Trigg, E. division of Cornwall; containing, with part of the town of Wadebridge, 1357 inhabitants. The parish comprises by measurement 5436 acres, of which 4169 are arable, 296 pasture, 836 wood, and 288 roads. It is separated from that of St. Breock by the river Camel, over which a noble bridge of 16 arches was erected some centuries since, by a vicar of the parish, named Lovebond, who left £20 per annum for keeping it in repair. About a quarter of a mile above the bridge, the Camel unites with the Allar. Petty-sessions for the division are held on the last Monday in every month, at the Washway inn, near Pencarrow. The living is a vicarage, endowed with a portion of the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £16; patron, the Bishop of Exeter. The great tithes have been commuted for £500, and the vicarial for £399. 15.; the glebe comprises 29a. 2r. 3p. The church contains an ancient and curious stone pulpit, and two neat monuments to the Molesworths, of Pencarrow; its lofty tower was erected by the same vicar that built the bridge. At Burnere, or Brenere, the bishops of Exeter had formerly a seat. In the neighbourhood are the remains of a treble intrenchment, called Castle Killibury; there are vestiges of fortifications at Pencarrow; and the Kelly Rounds, or barrows, are also in the parish.

Egloskerry (St. Corantinus)

EGLOSKERRY (St. Corantinus), a parish, in the union of Launceston, N. division of the hundred of East, E. division of Cornwall, 3¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Launceston; containing 552 inhabitants. This parish was for many years the property of the Sheccot family, of whom Paul Sheccot, privy councillor of Charles I., resided in the manor-house of Penheal, in the ample stables of which he kept a troop of horse for the service of his royal master. The ancient mansion is still remaining, and has been restored by its present proprietor, the Rev. H. A. Simcoe. The parish comprises 2826 acres, of which 500 are waste land or common. Stone of good quality for building is quarried extensively, and there are some mines of manganese. The living is a perpetual curacy, with that of Tremayne annexed; patron, incumbent, and impropriator, the Rev. H. A. Simcoe: the tithes have been commuted for £180. The church is an ancient structure, and has a fine Norman arch at the entrance. There is a place of worship at Tregeare for Wesleyans.

Egmanton (St. Mary)

EGMANTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Southwell, South-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 1¼ mile (S.) from Tuxford; containing 391 inhabitants. The parish is situated about a mile west of the great north road, and comprises 2159a. 1r. 31p., of which 619 acres are grass, and about 100 woodland. The soil is a strong rich clay, and the surface is diversified with gentle undulations of hill and dale; from an eminence north of the village is a highly picturesque view of the vale of the Trent, with Lincoln cathedral in the distance. The orchards are extensive, and produce large quantities of apples, pears, and plums, which are sent to the Yorkshire markets. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 6. 0½.; net income, £148; patron, the Duke of Newcastle: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment, in 1821; the land consists of 130 acres. The church is ancient. There is a meeting-house for Wesleyans. A large conical mound surrounded by a moat, west of the church, is supposed to have been a place of burial. Egmanton Hall was built by Nicholas Poutrell, a justice of assize in the reign of Elizabeth, and who lies buried in the chancel of the church.

Egmere (St. Edmund)

EGMERE (St. Edmund), a parish, in the union of Walsingham, hundred of North Greenhoe, W. division of Norfolk, 2½ miles (W. by N.) from Little Walsingham; containing 54 inhabitants. This parish, which occupies a comparatively elevated situation, comprises by computation 1200 acres: the farm called Quarles, which is extra-parochial, intervenes between it and Holkham parish. The living is a rectory, with the vicarage of Holkham annexed, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £180; patron, the Earl of Leicester. The tithes have been commuted for £24. The church is a ruin.

Egremont, Cheshire.—See Liscard.

EGREMONT, Cheshire.—See Liscard.

Egremont (St. Michael)

EGREMONT (St. Michael), a market-town and parish, in the union of Whitehaven, Allerdale ward above Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 42½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Carlisle, and 293 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 1750 inhabitants. This place is of great antiquity, and the neighbourhood is supposed to have been the scene of various conflicts between the Saxons and the Danes. At the time of the Conquest, Ranulph de Meschines, to whom William had granted the whole county of Cumberland, gave the great barony of Copeland, now called the barony of Egremont, to his brother, William de Meschines, who erected his baronial castle on the site of an old Danish fort. The remains of this fortress, to the north-west of the town, though not extensive, exhibit traces of antiquity and strength, and consist chiefly of the gateway-tower, and vaulted entrance, of circular arches in the Norman style; portions of the outer wall, inclosing a quadrangular area; the postern; and three narrow gateways, communicating with the outworks. Near the ruins is a cairn of stones, called Woful Bank, which seems to have some reference to a battle fought prior to the Conquest.

The town is situated within less than three miles of the Irish Sea, and consists mainly of one spacious street; the houses are in general ancient, but many improvements have been recently effected, and a new bridge has been built over the river Echen. The clothing business appears to have been once carried on: the principal articles of manufacture at present are checks, linen, canvas, sailcloth, and paper; the tanning and dressing of leather prevail to a limited extent. In the parish are mines of ironstone, from which about 100 tons of ore are raised per day, and shipped at Whitehaven, for the supply of the iron-foundries of South Wales; limestone and red freestone are procured in the neighbourhood, and a considerable quantity of lime is burnt. The market is on Saturday, and is well supplied with corn. The fairs are on Feb. 18th for horses, the third Friday in May, and Sept. 18th for horned-cattle, sheep, &c.; on the three days following the last fair, a festival is celebrated, during which the inhabitants are allowed to sell ale without a licence: statute-fairs for hiring servants are held at Whitsuntide and Martinmas. The town was anciently a borough, and returned members to parliament in the 23rd of Edward I., but was, on its own petition, disfranchised in the 24th of the same reign: the burgesses possessed many other privileges, of which all records are lost. A borough serjeant, two bailiffs, four constables, two hedge and corn viewers, and assessors of damages, are appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor, held in April, at which time a customary court is also held; a court baron is held every third Friday, for the recovery of debts under 40s. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 1., and in the patronage of the Wyndham family; net income, £249. The church is an ancient structure, of which the east end is in the early English style, and the remainder chiefly Norman; it has a low tower. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Egton, with Newland

EGTON, with Newland, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands, N. division of Lancashire, 20 miles (W.) from Milnthorpe; containing 1024 inhabitants, of whom 547 are in Egton. The manor of Egton and Newland belonged at the time of the Dissolution to the abbey of Furness; and Upper and Lower Sathwaite, in Newland, are named among the first estates conferred upon that foundation. The chapelry comprises 3143a. 3r. 6p. It has a cotton-mill and an iron-forge; and at Greenodd, where the river Crake flows into Morecambe bay, a considerable quantity of iron in bars, copper-ore, slate, hoops, tanned-leather, gunpowder, pyroligneous-acid, and other articles of merchandise, are shipped for Liverpool, Glasgow, and Whitehaven. The neat village of Penny-Bridge, so called perhaps from the British word Pen, "the head," was the seat of the family of Penny. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £92; patron, J. Penny Machell, Esq. The chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was built and endowed by William Penny, Esq., was consecrated in 1791, and in 1831 enlarged. Henry Lindow, in 1735, made a bequest of £138, now vested in a savings' bank, and producing £4 per annum, for the support of a school.

Egton (St. Hilda)

EGTON (St. Hilda), a parish, in the union of Whitby, E. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 6¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Whitby; containing 1102 inhabitants. The parish is intersected by the river Esk, and comprises 13,600 acres, of which nearly 7000 are open moorland: the vale of the Esk is richly wooded, and in many parts of romantic character: the soil, naturally of inferior quality, has been much improved by careful management. The principal substrata are, ironstone, freestone of good quality for building and for engineering purposes, and whinstone affording excellent materials for the roads; they are all wrought, and large quantities are sent by the Whitby and Pickering railway, which passes for several miles along the south and south-east boundaries of the parish, to Whitby, whence they are shipped to various places. The inhabitants obtained from William III. the grant of a weekly market and four annual fairs. The market is now held only on the Tuesday before Palm-Sunday, and on the Tuesdays following till Midsummer; there is a large market for cattle, on the Tuesday before Old Michaelmas-day. The fairs are held on the Tuesdays immediately preceding the 15th of February, the 11th of May, the 4th of September, and the 22nd of November, for horned-cattle, and for boots and shoes.

The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £120; patron and appropriator, the Archbishop of York, whose tithes have been commuted for £175. The church, which is situated about half a mile from the village, is said to have been consecrated by the Bishop of Damascus in 1349; but it is evidently of much earlier foundation, and, from the style of the doorway and the south aisle, which are of Norman character, must have been built soon after the Conquest. A second church, dedicated to St. Matthew, has been recently erected. There is a place of worship for Independents in the village; also a Roman Catholic chapel at Egton-Bridge. A fine spring here, called Cold Kell well, which is much resorted to for strengthening weakly children, is supposed to have been connected with an ancient baptistry, of which the remains of the bath and the steps leading into it are in good preservation. A priory was founded about the year 1200, by Johanna, wife of Robert de Turnham, who endowed it with lands in the parish, for the support of monks from the monastery of Grosmont, in Normandy: the priory was situated on the north bank of the Esk, in a beautifully sequestered spot now forming part of the line of the Whitby and Pickering railway; and at present, part of an old tomb, and a few sculptured stones, are the only remains of the establishment. When clearing some ground on the farm of Julian Park, a few years since, the foundations were discovered of an extensive range of buildings supposed to have been the baronial seat of the lords de Mauley.

Eighton-Banks or Ayton-Banks

EIGHTON-BANKS, or Ayton-Banks, a hamlet, in the chapelry of Lamesley, parish of Chester-le-Street, Middle division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 4 miles (S.) from Gateshead. The hamlet is situated on an eminence, commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country, and contains about 120 houses, and 600 inhabitants, who are chiefly employed in the adjacent coal-pits, and the extensive grindstone and other quarries in the neighbourhood. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans.

Eisey (St. Mary)

EISEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Cricklade and Wootton-Bassett, hundred of Highworth, Cricklade, and Staple, Cricklade and N. divisions of Wilts, 1 mile (N. N. E.) from Cricklade; containing, with the tything of Water-Eaton, 188 inhabitants. It comprises about 900 acres: the surface is flat, and occasionally subject to inundation; the soil is a fertile loam. The river Isis, and the Thames and Severn canal, pass through the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Latton, and valued in the king's books at £11. 14. 4.