Holy-Oakes
HOLY-OAKES, a liberty, in the parish of DryStoke, union of Uppingham, hundred of Gartree,
S. division of the county of Leicester, 3 miles (S. W.
by S.) from Uppingham; containing 2 inhabitants.
Holywell (St. John the Baptist)
HOLYWELL (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in
the union of St. Ives, hundred of Hurstingstone,
county of Huntingdon, 2 miles (E. by S.) from St.
Ives; containing, with Needingworth, 959 inhabitants.
The river Ouse runs through the parish. The living is
a rectory, valued in the king's books at £30. 6. 3.; net
income, £528; patron, the Duke of Manchester. The
church stands on a hill, at the foot of which is a spring
of excellent water, called the Holy Well, formerly held
in great veneration.
Holywell
HOLYWELL, with Awnby, a chapelry, in the parish of Castle-Bytham, union of Bourne, wapentake
of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln,
7 miles (N. N. W.) from Stamford; containing 98 inhabitants, of whom 54 are in Holywell. The tithes and
moduses were commuted for land and a money payment
in 1811. The chapel is dedicated to St. Wilfrid.
Holywell
HOLYWELL, a township, in the parish of Earsdon,
union of Tynemouth, E. division of Castle ward, S.
division of Northumberland, 5 miles (N. N. W.) from
North Shields; containing 1164 inhabitants. It derives
its name from St. Mary's Well; and was anciently held
of the Balliols by the family of Delaval, who had property
here in 1435. The village is on the road between Earsdon and Whitridge. The well was destroyed in 1822,
by the opening of a quarry.
Homersfield (St. Mary)
HOMERSFIELD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Wangford, E. division of Suffolk,
4 miles (E. N. E.) from Harleston; containing 291 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the
river Waveney, which separates this part of the county
from Norfolk. In the reign of Henry III., the Bishop
of Norwich, who had a residence here, obtained from
that monarch the grant of a market and fair, the former
of which has fallen into disuse, and the latter dwindled
into a pleasure-fair. The number of acres is computed
at 804; the soil is partly light, and partly a strong
clay. The living is a discharged rectory, with that of
South Elmham St. Cross, or Sandcroft, annexed, valued
in the king's books at £5. 6. 8., and in the gift of
William Adair, Esq.: the tithes of Homersfield have
been commuted for £140, and about 8½ acres of glebe
are attached to the benefice. The church contains portions of various styles of English architecture, and its
elevated site and ivy-mantled tower render its appearance picturesque.
Homington (St. Mary)
HOMINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Alderbury, hundred of Cawden and Cadworth, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 3 miles
(S. W. by S.) from Salisbury; containing 171 inhabitants. The country is hilly; the soil is chalky, producing good crops of wheat and other grain. The living
is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Dean and
Chapter of Salisbury, the appropriators; net income,
£57. The tithes were commuted for land and money
payments in 1783.
Hom-Lacy (St. Cuthbert)
HOM-LACY (St. Cuthbert), a parish, in the hundred of Webtree, union and county of Hereford,
6 miles (S. E.) from Hereford; containing 369 inhabitants. It is bounded by the river Wye on the east and
partly on the north, and consists of 3225 acres of highly
productive land. The living is a vicarage, with that of
Bolstone annexed, endowed with the rectorial tithes,
valued in the king's books at £8, and in the gift of
Sir E. F. Scudamore Stanhope, Bart.: the tithes have
been commuted for £515, and the glebe contains 14½
acres, with a house. An abbey for Præmonstratensian
canons, in honour of the Blessed Virgin and St. Thomas
à Becket, was founded, and endowed with divers manors,
by William Fitzwain, in the time of Henry III.
Honeybourne, Church (St. Egwin)
HONEYBOURNE, CHURCH (St. Egwin), a parish,
in the union of Evesham, Upper division of the hundred of Blackenhurst, Pershore and E. divisions of
the county of Worcester, 5 miles (E.) from Evesham;
containing 119 inhabitants. This place is recorded in
Domesday book as belonging to the famous abbey of
Evesham: at the Dissolution, the greater part of the
abbey lands here were given to the Dean and Chapter
of Westminster. The parish forms an insulated portion
of the county, surrounded on all sides, except the northwest, by Gloucestershire; and consists of 1296 acres, of
which the greater part is pasture. The living is a vicarage, with the living of Cow-Honeybourne annexed, valued in the king's books at £6. 4. 4½.; patron, the
Rev. Augustus Stapylton; appropriators, the Dean and
Chapter of Westminster. The income consists of a
rent-charge of £80, for which the vicarial tithes have
been commuted; 100 guineas per annum, left by Mrs.
Williams, widow of the late vicar; and a certain portion
of beans from Littleton. The glebe contains 22½ acres.
The church has a plain tower surmounted by a graceful
spire, and has lately been repewed, and a gallery erected,
by aid of £500, bequeathed by Mrs. Williams, to which
the inhabitants added £100 for decoration. There is a
place of worship for Wesleyans.
Honeybourne, Cow
HONEYBOURNE, COW, a parish, in the union of
Evesham, Upper division of the hundred of Kiftsgate,
E. division of the county of Gloucester, 5 miles (E.)
from Evesham; containing 327 inhabitants. The living
was annexed to the vicarage of Church-Honeybourne at
the Dissolution: the tithes were commuted for land and
money payments in 1778. The church has been from a
remote period converted into cottages for the poor, but
the tower is still entire, as well as the chancel windows,
and one or two windows in the nave. The Wesleyans
have a place of worship; and a school is endowed with
£30 per annum.
Honeychurch (St. James)
HONEYCHURCH (St. James), a parish, in the
union of Oakhampton, hundred of Black Torrington,
Black Torrington and Shebbear, and N. divisions of
Devon, 6 miles (N. N. E.) from Oakhampton; containing 69 inhabitants. The parish comprises 500 acres, of
which two-fifths are common or waste land. The living
is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£6. 7. 8., and in the gift of J. Alliston Alliston, Esq.:
the tithes have been commuted for £48, and the glebe
comprises 52 acres. The church is a very neat edifice,
and contains some specimens of stained glass.
Honily (St. John the Baptist)
HONILY (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the
union of Warwick, Snitterfield division of the hundred
of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick,
6¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Warwick; containing 50 inhabitants, and comprising 635 acres. The living is a rectory; net income, £150; patron, Court Granville, Esq.
Honing (St. Peter and St. Paul)
HONING (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in
the Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of
Tunstead, E. division of Norfolk, 3¾ miles (S. E. by
E.) from North Walsham; containing 344 inhabitants.
The parish comprises 1401a. 1r. 2p., the surface of
which is diversified with numerous undulations; the
Ant navigation runs through. The living is a discharged
vicarage, united to that of Dilham, and valued in the
king's books at £4. 13. 4.: about 7 acres of glebe are
attached to it. The church is situated on an eminence,
and commands fine views towards the east and south;
it was rebuilt in 1796, with the exception of the tower,
and repewed in 1840. Thomas Husband and John
Baxter bequeathed property now producing £37. 17. per
annum, for charitable purposes; and the poor have the
privilege of turning their cattle upon the common here,
and of cutting turf.
Honingham (St. Andrew)
HONINGHAM (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union
of St. Faith, hundred of Forehoe, E. division of Norfolk, 8 miles (W. N. W.) from Norwich; containing 358
inhabitants. It comprises 2563a. 14p., of which 1970
acres are arable, 320 meadow and pasture, and 248 woodland. The Hall, a handsome mansion in the Elizabethan
style, situated in a well-wooded park, is the seat of Lord
Bayning, who is lord of the manor. The road from
Norwich to Dereham runs through the village, in which
is an extensive flour-mill. The living is a discharged
vicarage, with that of East Tuddenham annexed, valued
in the king's books at £8. 12. 6.; patron, and impropriator of Honingham, Lord Bayning. The great tithes
of the parish have been commuted for £543. 5., and the
vicarial for £210. The church is in the early style, and
consists of a nave and chancel, with a square embattled
tower surmounted at each corner by a sculptured figure:
the interior has lately been repewed and thoroughly repaired; and there are handsome monuments to Sir Thomas Richardson, and the Rt. Hon. Charles Townshend,
created Lord Bayning in 1797.
Honingham, Warwick.—See Hunningham.
HONINGHAM, Warwick.—See Hunningham.
Honington (St. Wilfrid)
HONINGTON (St. Wilfrid), a parish, in the union
of Grantham, wapentake of Loveden, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 5½ miles (N. N. E.) from
Grantham; containing 149 inhabitants. This parish,
which is situated on the road from Grantham to Lincoln and to Sleaford, comprises about 1500 acres:
stone of good quality is quarried for building and for
repairing the roads. The living is a discharged vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £4. 0. 5.; patron and appropriator, Sir T. G. Apreece, Bart.: the incumbent's
tithes have been commuted for £200; the glebe consists
of only one rood, but there is other land attached to the
living, producing £25 per annum. The church is a plain
edifice. Eastward of the village is a square doubletrenched camp, within the area of which, two urns full
of Roman coins, with some fragments of bridles and
warlike weapons were discovered in 1691. In the
valley between Honington and Carleton is a large flat
tumulus.
Honington (All Saints)
HONINGTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Thetford, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of
Suffolk, 3 miles (N. N. W.) from Ixworth; containing
273 inhabitants, and comprising by admeasurement
1222 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, valued
in the king's books at £7. 13. 4., and in the patronage
of the Crown: the tithes, a portion of which is paid to
the rector of Great Fakenham, have been commuted for
£336, and the glebe comprises 30 acres. The church is
an ancient structure, with some details of the Norman
style. An allotment of land has been awarded to the
poor in lieu of the right of cutting furze, producing £35
per annum, which sum is expended in the purchase
of coal, distributed by the parochial officers. Robert
Bloomfield, author of the Farmer's Boy, was born here
in 1788.
Honington (All Saints)
HONINGTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Shipston-upon-Stour, Brails division of the hundred of Kineton, S. division of the county of Warwick,
1½ mile (N. by E.) from Shipston; containing 335 inhabitants. This place in Domesday book is written
Huningeham, a name supposed to have been derived
from Huninge, a Saxon possessor, and ham, a "dwellingplace or habitation." The manor was held under the
families of Cotes and Cokesey during several reigns,
and was afterwards drawn within the domain of the
house of Leigh; being purchased of Mr. Henry Vane
in 1695, by Thomas, Lord Leigh, of Stoneleigh. The
parish is situated on the right bank of the river Stour,
which separates it from a detached portion of the county
of Worcester; it comprises 2441 acres of good land,
well wooded, and in equal portions of arable and pasture.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £9. 6. 8.; patron and impropriator, the Rev.
H. Townsend. The vicarial tithes have been commuted
for £47. 10., and the glebe consists of 52 acres. The
church has an ancient tower covered with ivy; the body
of the edifice is modern. There is a Church Sunday
school.
Honiton (St. Michael)
HONITON (St. Michael), a borough, markettown, and parish, and the
head of a union, in the hundred of Axminster, Honiton and S. divisions of Devon, 16 miles (E. N. E.)
from Exeter, and 156 (W. S.
W.) from London; containing 3895 inhabitants. This
place is situated on rising
ground, in a picturesque
and fertile vale, on the south
side of the river Otter, and on the line of the great
western road from London to Plymouth. It possesses
claims to high antiquity. According to some, it originated from a Roman settlement at Hembury Fort, contiguous to the present town, where, and at Dumbdon,
about two miles to the north-east, are traces of extensive
intrenched camps, supposed to have been the Moridunum
of Antoninus. In the reign of Edward VI., Lord Gray
quartered his forces at this place, the evening before
he defeated the Cornish rebels at Fenny Bridge. During
the civil war, Charles I., who passed and repassed through
the town, slept at a house still standing, which had been
given by Queen Elizabeth to Dr. Marwood, her physician, for recovering her favourite, the Earl of Essex,
from a dangerous illness; it was subsequently visited
by the parliamentary general, Fairfax, after his successful campaign in the west of England, in 1645. The
town repeatedly suffered from fire; especially in 1747
and 1765, on which latter occasion 115 houses were destroyed, together with a part of the chapel, the damage
being estimated at nearly £11,000.
Seal of the Borough.
It consists chiefly of one very wide street, running
nearly from east to west, about a mile in length, lighted
with gas, paved, and plentifully supplied with water; the
street has a gentle declivity towards the west, and in
the central part are some well-built brick houses and
shops, the principal inns, and the public room where the
business of the borough is transacted. This part of
the town, with the exception of a few houses, is of
modern erection, the buildings having been raised subsequently to the last great fire, and with so much attention to uniformity as to render Honiton one of the
neatest towns in the county. Races are occasionally
held on the hill of St. Cyrus, in the vicinity. The
manufacture of serge was established at an early period;
and the place was also noted for the large quantity of
valuable lace made, some kinds of which were sold for
more than five guineas a yard, being woven of thread
imported from the Netherlands, and rivalling in fineness
and beauty the genuine Brussels lace. The serge trade
has long since declined; but lace is still made, particularly sprigs for the decoration of the patent net. Shoes
and coarse earthenware are likewise manufactured,
though not extensively. Honiton is famous as a mart
for butter and cheese, a large quantity of which is sent
weekly to the metropolis. About six miles to the north
are the Black Down hills, in which is found a silicious
stone intermixed with sea-shells, from which whetstones
are formed for sharpening scythes. The markets, held
by prescription, are on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, the last being the principal. A fair for sheep, oxen,
and horses, takes place on the Wednesday and Thursday after the 19th of July; and there are great markets
on the second Saturday in April, and the Saturday before October 18th.
The municipal affairs are under the direction of a
portreeve, bailiff, and two ale-tasters, who, with three
constables, two tythingmen, and other officers, are appointed at the court-leet of the manor, on Michaelmasday. Under an ancient charter granted to the lord of
the manor, the portreeve has authority to hold monthly
courts, and to make by-laws for the government of the
borough; but at present he does not exercise it, the
jurisdiction being vested in the county justices, who
hold petty-sessions here every month. The powers of
the county debt-court of Honiton, established in 1847,
extend over the registration-district of Honiton. The
town sent members to parliament in the reigns of
Edward I. and II., after which the elective franchise was
suspended till the 16th of Charles I., since which time
it has been regularly exercised; the borough, for parliamentary purposes, comprises 2800 acres, and the portreeve is returning officer.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£40. 4. 2.; net income, £866; patron, the Earl of
Devon. The old church, which stands on an eminence
about half a mile from the town, is a fine edifice with
aisles and a transept, in the later English style, having
been built, or enlarged, about 1484, by Courtenay,
Bishop of Exeter, who erected the beautiful screen, ornamented with carving and gilding, which separates the
nave from the chancel: among several ancient monuments is one to the memory of Dr. Thomas Marwood,
who died in 1617, at the age of 105. The new parochial
church was consecrated in April, 1839, and contains
1300 sittings, whereof 720 are free; it is in the Norman
style, with a tower, and occupies the site of All-hallows
chapel, originally a chantry-house, and for the reparation
of which, and other charitable purposes, Sir John Kirkham and the Rev. Elizeus Harding conveyed to certain
trustees property at Honiton and Yarcombe, valued by
the Commissioners of Charities at £174 per annum.
Here are places of worship for Wesleyans and Unitarians. A free grammar school, founded at a very
early period, was endowed with a small amount by the
Rev. John Fley, in 1614; a national school was endowed with £300 by the Rev. James How, in 1816, and
a diocesan commercial school has been established. St.
Margaret's hospital, about half a mile westward from
the town, was founded in 1589, by Thomas Chard, the
last abbot of Ford, for four lepers: it now consists of
houses for a governor and eight poor persons, who have
small stipends: and connected with it is a chapel, in
which the governor reads prayers twice a week. The
union of Honiton comprises 28 parishes or places, and
contains a population of 23,890. A battery was erected
on St. Cyrus' Hill by the late General Simcoe. Captain
Westcott, who fell in the battle of the Nile, and to whom
a public monument was raised in St. Paul's Cathedral,
was born here; and Ozias Humphry, R.A., an eminent
painter, was also a native of the town.
Honley
HONLEY, a chapelry, in the parish of Almondbury, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the
wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 3½ miles
(S. by W.) from Huddersfield; containing 5383 inhabitants. This chapelry, which is beautifully situated in
the picturesque vale of the Holme, comprises 2441a. 2r.
12p., chiefly the property of the Earl of Dartmouth, who
is lord of the manor; the surface is undulated, the
higher grounds command extensive and diversified
views, and the scenery is in many parts picturesque,
and embellished with wood. The village stands close
to the river, and on the western acclivities of the vale,
reaching to their summit. The inhabitants are principally employed in the manufacture of woollen and
fancy cloths, for which there are several factories on the
banks of the river. Excellent stone for roads and buildings is procured in abundance at Scott Gate Head
quarry; and coal of inferior quality is obtained in large
quantities. The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, was rebuilt by subscription, in 1842-3, in the early English
style, and consists of a nave and aisles, with a tower at
the west end. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £180; patron, the Vicar of Almondbury. There
are places of worship for Independents, Primitive
Methodists, Methodists of the New Connexion, and
Wesleyans.
Honor
HONOR, a tything, in the parish and hundred of
Portbury, union of Bedminster, E. division of the
county of Somerset; containing 22 inhabitants.