Hungerton (St. John the Baptist)
HUNGERTON (St. John the Baptist), a parish,
in the union of Billesdon, chiefly in the hundred of
Gartree, S. division, but partly in that of East Goscote, N. division, of the county of Leicester, 7 miles
(E. by N.) from Leicester; comprising the liberty of
Baggrave, and the hamlets of Ingarsby and Quenby;
and containing 267 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Twyford and the chapelry
of Thorp-Satchville united in 1732, valued in the king's
books at £9. 8. 1½., and in the alternate patronage of the
families of Peacocke and Ashby; net income, £220.
Hungerton
HUNGERTON, an ancient parish, in the union
of Grantham, wapentake of Loveden, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 4¾ miles (S. W. by S.) from
Grantham. The living is a discharged rectory, united
to that of Wyvill, and valued in the king's books at
£2. 3. 4. The church being demolished, the inhabitants
attend that at Harlaxton.
Hunmanby (All Saints)
HUNMANBY (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Bridlington, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding
of York, 8½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Bridlington;
containing, with the chapelry of Fordon, 1277 inhabitants, of whom 1214 are in the township of Hunmanby.
The parish comprises by computation 6500 acres, whereof
about 4300 are arable, 2000 pasture, and 200 woodland.
There is a large manufactory of brick and tiles, for
which good clay is found. The Scarborough and Bridlington railway passes through the parish. A cattlemarket is held monthly; and fairs take place on the
6th of May and 29th of October. The living is a
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20. 1. 8.; net
income, £350; patron and impropriator, Robert Mitford, Esq., R. N. The church, a very ancient structure,
contains a splendid monument to the memory of different
members of the Osbaldeston family. There are places
of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans. A library was
founded here by the Associates of Dr. Bray, for the use
of the neighbouring clergy, and a parochial library for
the poor. Here is a national school; also almshouses
for six widows. On an eminence called Castle Hill are
vestiges of an ancient fortification.
Hunningham (St. Margaret)
HUNNINGHAM (St. Margaret), a parish, in the
union of Warwick, Southern division of the hundred of
Knightlow, S. division of the county of Warwick,
5½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Southam; containing, with
the hamlet of Hyde's-Pastures, 245 inhabitants. It
comprises 1241 acres, and is on the left bank of the
river Leam. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued
in the king's books at £5; net income, £68; patron,
Lord Leigh.
Hunnington
HUNNINGTON, a township, in the chapelry of
St. Kenelm, parish of Hales-Owen, union of Bromsgrove, Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire,
Hales-Owen, and E. divisions of the county of Worcester; containing 158 inhabitants.
Hunsdon
HUNSDON, a parish, in the union of Ware, hundred of Braughin, county of Hertford, 5 miles (W.
by S.) from Sawbridgeworth; containing 430 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books
at £12, and in the gift of the family of Calvert: the
tithes have been commuted for £270, and the glebe
comprises 47 acres. The church has a chapel on the
south side belonging to the family of Cary, barons
Hunsdon, and at the west end an embattled tower surmounted by a spire.
Hunshelf
HUNSHELF, a township, in the parish of Penistone, union of Wortley, wapentake of Staincross,
W. riding of York, 3½ miles (S. E.) from Penistone;
containing 578 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 3130 acres, chiefly a hilly moorland district, the
greater portion of which has been brought into cultivation; the substratum abounds with coal, of which
some mines are in operation, and with freestone,
which is extensively quarried. The village is on the
north bank of the Don, and consists chiefly of scattered dwellings. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Hunsingore (St. John the Baptist)
HUNSINGORE (St. John the Baptist), a parish,
in the Upper division of the wapentake of Claro, W.
riding of York; containing 625 inhabitants, of whom
262 are in the township, 4 miles (N. N. E.) from Wetherby. This parish consists of the townships of Cattal,
Hunsingore, and Great Ribston with Walshford, and
comprises by computation 3743 acres, of which about
984 are in Hunsingore township; the river Nidd flows
in a devious course on the south of the village, and the
parish is intersected by the great north road. The ancient mansion of the Goodricke family, to whom the
manor belonged, was destroyed during the war in the
reign of Charles I. The living is a vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £5. 17. 3½.; net income, £300;
patron and impropriator, Joseph Dent, Esq. The church
is an ancient structure, with a tower.
Hunslet, or Hunfleet
HUNSLET, or Hunfleet, a chapelry, in the parish, and liberty of the borough, of Leeds, and locally
in the wapentake of Morley, W. riding of York, 2
miles (S. S. E.) from Leeds; containing 15,852 inhabitants. This place, at the time of the Domesday survey,
belonged to the Lacys, from whom the manor passed to
various families. The chapelry is bounded on the east
by the river Aire, and comprises by computation nearly
1200 acres, forming a level district. From its vicinity
to the town of Leeds, of which it is a populous suburb,
it has within the last forty years rapidly increased in
manufacturing importance; Hunslet Lane, to the east,
now forms a continuous range of buildings, and the
township contains some pleasant hamlets. A subscription library was established in 1827, which has a collection of nearly 1000 volumes. The inhabitants are
chiefly employed in the spinning of flax, for which there
are several very large mills; there are also some chemical works, and works for the manufacture of crown and
flint glass, with extensive potteries for coarse earthenware, and an establishment for the finer kinds. The
substratum of the district abounds with coal of good
quality. The Midland railway intersects the township.
The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, was
erected in 1636, and greatly enlarged in 1774: it is a
brick edifice, with a tower, which was added to it by
subscription, in 1826; it contains 1150 sittings. The
living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £182; patron,
the Vicar of Leeds. The great tithes have been commuted for £40. There are places of worship for dissenters.
Hunsley
HUNSLEY, a township, in the parish of Rowley,
union of Beverley, Hunsley-Beacon division of the
wapentake of Harthill, E. riding of the county of
York, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from South Cave; containing
30 inhabitants. This place appears to have been anciently of more importance than it is at present, many
foundations of buildings having been dug up at various
times. Upon a hill here, was a beacon that gave name
to the largest division of the wapentake. The tithes
have been commuted for £84.
Hunsonby, with Winskill
HUNSONBY, with Winskill, a township, in the
parish of Addingham, union of Penrith, Leath ward,
E. division of Cumberland, 7 miles (N. E.) from the
town of Penrith; containing 191 inhabitants. There is
a place of worship for Wesleyans. Mr. Joseph Hutchinson, in 1726, devised an estate now let for £49 a year,
for teaching children.
Hunstanton (St. Mary)
HUNSTANTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Docking, hundred of Smithdon, W. division of
Norfolk, 16½ miles (N. N. E.) from Lynn; containing
527 inhabitants. The parish comprises by admeasurement 1481 acres, of which 933 are arable, 334 pasture,
65 plantation, 33 common, 51 warren, and 65 sea-beach
and chalk-pits. It lies at the north-western extremity
of the county, and is distinguished by its bold shore and
its lofty and precipitous cliffs, one of which, commonly
called St. Edmund's Point, from the tradition of Edmund the Martyr having landed here when he came from
Germany to be crowned king of East Anglia, extends
westward from the village, and rises to a height of from
60 to 100 feet above the beach. The waters abound
with fish, and at certain refluxes of the tide a fine walk
of about two miles is afforded along the sands to a place
called the "Oyster Sea," which supplies almost every
variety of fish in large quantities. The ancient manorhouse, situated in a beautiful park, was from a remote
period the residence of the family of L'Estrange, one of
whom, Sir Roger L'Estrange, Knt., born here in 1616,
espoused the cause of Charles I., and, after the Restoration, became conspicuous as a political writer. This
mansion, which had been long unoccupied and ruinous,
has lately been completely renovated by Henry Styleman L'Estrange, Esq., lord of the manor, whose ancestor married one of the sisters of the last baronet of
the L'Estrange family. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12; patron and
appropriator, the Bishop of Ely: the great tithes have
been commuted for £272, and the vicarial for £160;
the vicarial glebe contains 27 acres. A school, erected
in 1842 at a cost of £500, is endowed with £900, vested
in three trustees. The church is a large edifice, with a
strong tower rising from the west end of the north
aisle; it contains several handsome monuments to the
L'Estranges. There are vestiges of an ancient chapel
on St. Edmund's Point.
Hunsterson
HUNSTERSON, a township, in the parish of Wybunbury, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division
of the county of Chester, 6 miles (S. E.) from Nantwich; containing 245 inhabitants. It comprises 1497a.
17p. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for
£126, and the vicarial for £24. A school is partly supported by endowment.
Hunston (St. Michael)
HUNSTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of
Stow, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of Suffolk, 3½ miles (E.) from Ixworth; containing 162 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income,
£55; patron and impropriator, J. H. Heigham, Esq.
The church, beautifully situated in the grounds of Hunston Hall, the seat of Mr. Heigham, is in the early
English style, with a square embattled tower.
Hunston (St. Leodegar)
HUNSTON (St. Leodegar), a parish, in the union
of West Hampnett, hundred of Box and Stockbridge, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex,
2½ miles (S.) from Chichester; containing 193 inhabitants. It is crossed by the Arundel and Portsmouth
canal. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £9. 4. 7.;
net income, £348; patron, J. B. Fletcher, Esq. The
church is in the early English style, with a fine Norman
doorway in the south porch, and consists of a nave,
south aisle, and chancel.
Hunstonworth, or Hunstanworth
HUNSTONWORTH, or Hunstanworth, a parish,
in the union of Weardale, W. division of Chester
ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 8 miles
(N. N. W.) from Stanhope; containing 567 inhabitants.
The hospital of Kepier seems to have had possessions
here for a considerable period prior to the Dissolution,
upon which event the estate was granted to William,
Lord Paget, the founder of the house of Beaudesert.
Nearly one-half of the lands now belong to the trustees
of Bishop Crewe's charity, who are lords of the manor.
The parish is bounded on the north by the river Derwent, which is formed here by the union of the two rivulets called Beldon beck and Nuckton beck, and which
divides it from Northumberland: the Derwent leadmines are principally in the parish. The living is a
perpetual curacy, in the patronage of R. Capper, Esq.,
the impropriator, and has a net income of £60. The
church is a small neat structure, almost entirely built
towards the close of the last century, on the site of a
very ancient edifice.
Hunsworth
HUNSWORTH, a township, in the parish of Birstal, union of Bradford, wapentake of Morley, W.
riding of York, 3½ miles (S.) from Bradford; containing 978 inhabitants. This township, which is comprehended in the ecclesiastical district of Birkenshaw, includes the hamlets of Hunsworth, East Bierley, and
Toftshaw, and comprises by computation 1310 acres.
It is principally pasture land, and is divided into numerous dairy-farms, which are under good management.
The population is employed in agriculture and mining,
and in the manufacture of stuff and woollen-cloth; the
strata abound with coal, which is extensively wrought,
and with ironstone, purchased in 1841 by the Bowling
Iron Company. The village of Hunsworth, which is
pleasantly situated, is small and irregularly built, consisting chiefly of scattered dwellings.
Hunt-End, Worcester.—See Feckenham.
HUNT-END, Worcester.—See Feckenham.
Huntingdon
HUNTINGDON, a borough and market-town,
and the head of a union, in
the hundred of Hurstingstone, county of Huntingdon, 59 miles (N. by W.)
from London; containing
3507 inhabitants. This place,
called by the Saxons Huntantun, and in the Norman
survey Huntersdune, appears
to have derived its name
from its situation in a tract
of country which was anciently an extensive forest
abounding with deer, and well suited for the purposes of
the chase. A castle was built here in 917, by Edward
the Elder, and enlarged by David, Earl of Huntingdon
and King of Scotland, to whom King Stephen had given
the borough; but becoming a retreat for the disaffected
in the reign of Henry II., it was levelled with the ground.
This fortress is supposed, from the form of its outworks,
which may still be traced, to have been the site of Duroliponte, a station of the Romans. A mint was established
here at a very early period, and coins of Edwy and of
his successors, until the time of William Rufus, were
struck and issued from the town. Huntingdon has been
honoured with many royal visits: James I., on his
arrival from Scotland, with all his court, was sumptuously entertained by Sir Oliver Cromwell, uncle of the
Protector, in his princely mansion of Hinchinbrook, a
spacious quadrangular building in the Elizabethan style,
in which, also, Charles I. frequently partook of the
hospitality of its possessor. Prior to the commencement
of the civil war, that monarch kept his court at Huntingdon, where he carried on his negotiations with the
parliament then sitting in London; and during the subsequent contests it was repeatedly the head-quarters of
his army. Not long after the breaking out of the war,
however, it appears to have fallen into the hands of the
parliament; for it is stated to have been plundered, in
August 1645, by the royalists, commanded by the king
in person. In 1646, the king, on his route from Holmby
to Hampton Court, in the custody of Cornet Joyce and
the parliamentary commissioners, was lodged at Hinchinbrook House, at that time belonging to Colonel
Montague, then an officer in the army of the parliament,
but afterwards, on joining Charles II. at the Restoration, created Earl of Sandwich; from whose lady the
captive monarch received every tribute of sympathising
loyalty, and by whose courage he was protected from
the insults of a factious mob. In 1745, the inhabitants,
assisted by the surrounding gentry, came forward to
support the reigning dynasty against the claims of the
Pretender, and raised a large sum of money for that
purpose.
Seal and Arms.
The town is pleasantly situated on a gentle acclivity,
on the northern bank of the river Ouse, over which is
an ancient stone bridge of six arches connecting it with
Godmanchester. It has one principal street, extending
a mile in length, and intersected at right angles by
several smaller streets; the houses are in general large,
well built, and of handsome appearance, and the town is
paved, lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water.
The environs are agreeable, and from the Castle Hill
the prospect is varied and extensive. Within a quarter
of a mile of the town is a meadow called Portholm,
more than two miles in circumference, on which is one
of the finest race-courses in the kingdom: the races
take place in August, continuing three days, during
which, and usually for a fortnight after, the theatre, a
small edifice erected in 1800, is open. There are two
public subscription reading-rooms, and a literary and
scientific institution has lately been erected; it is a
chaste and pleasing structure in the Grecian style, with
a cornice surmounted by a statue of Minerva. In 1821,
an horticultural society was established. Monthly
assemblies are held during the season, in a suite of
rooms in the town-hall, and public balls take place there
in the race week. The trade is principally in wool and
corn: there are two breweries. The Ouse is navigable
for small vessels from Lynn, and for barges from this
town to Bedford. An act was passed in 1845 for effecting railway communication with Cambridge and with
Ely, and the lines were opened in 1847: the great railway from London to York will also pass by. The
market, on Saturday, is plentifully supplied with corn
and provisions: fairs are held on the Tuesday before
Easter, and on the second Tuesday in May, for cattle of
all sorts; there is a statute-fair about two weeks before
Michaelmas, on a day fixed by the mayor, and large
cattle-markets are held on the Saturday before Old
Michaelmas-day, and on the third Saturday in November. The market-place occupies a spacious square in
the centre of the town.
Huntingdon was first incorporated in 1206, by charter
of King John, which was confirmed and extended by
Henry III. and succeeding sovereigns until the 6th year
of the reign of Charles I., when it was renewed with
modifications. Under that charter the government was
vested in a mayor, recorder, and 11 aldermen, forming
the common-council, together with a high steward,
town-clerk, two sergeants-at-mace, and other officers.
By the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76,
the corporation now consists of a mayor, 4 aldermen,
and 12 councillors; and the mayor and late mayor are
justices of the peace, the county magistrates having
concurrent jurisdiction within the town. This borough,
jointly with the neighbouring parish of Godmanchester,
sends two representatives to parliament; the mayor is
returning officer. Petty-sessions are held every Wednesday, before the mayor; and there is a court of record,
for the recovery of debts to any amount, once in three
weeks. The assizes, the election of members of parliament for the county, and the general quarter-sessions of
the peace, are also held here: the powers of the county
debt-court of Huntingdon, established in 1847, extend
over the registration-districts of Huntingdon and St.
Ives. The town-hall is a handsome building, erected in
1745, by subscription, on the site of the old court-house,
and surrounded with piazzas, under which the market
is kept; above the ground floor is a suite of assemblyrooms, and the ball-room is ornamented with portraits
of George II. and III., with those of their queens, by Sir
Joshua Reynolds, and one of John, Earl of Sandwich, by
Gainsborough. A new prison has been erected on the
western side of the great north road.
Huntingdon was formerly much more extensive than
it is at present, and contained fifteen parish churches,
the greater number of which had fallen into decay before Leland's time; only four were then remaining, and
two of these were destroyed during the parliamentary
war. The old borough at present comprises the parishes of All Saints, containing 568; St. Benedict, 814;
St. John the Baptist, 1057; and St. Mary, 1068 inhabitants. The living of All Saints' is a rectory, with that of
St. John the Baptist's united, the former valued in the
king's books at £6. 11. 10½., and the latter at £6. 7. 6.;
it is in the patronage of the Crown, and the net income
is £190. The church of All Saints' is a venerable and
handsome structure, partly in the early and partly in
the later English style, with a square embattled tower,
strengthened with buttresses, ornamented with niches, and
crowned by pinnacles; the chancel is early English, and
has a remarkably good doorway, now walled up. The
nave is separated from the chancel by a lofty and finelypointed arch, and from the aisles by pointed arches
resting upon clustered columns; the oak roof is richly
carved, and there are several ancient monuments, among
which are some to the ancestors of Oliver Cromwell.
The registry books of the parish of St. John contain an
entry of the baptism of the Protector, in 1599. The
living of St. Mary's is a rectory, united with the discharged rectory of St. Benedict's, and valued in the
king's books at £10. 0. 5.; it is in the patronage of the
Crown, and the net income is £162. The church of St.
Mary's was rebuilt in 1620, and is in the later English
style, with a square embattled tower, strengthened by
buttresses, and profusely ornamented with niches and
sculpture. The nave is separated from the aisles by finelypointed arches, and octangular and circular columns
alternately: the font is of octangular form, and supported on a column encircled by small pillars; in the
chancel are several handsome monuments, and in other
parts of the church some mural tablets. There are
places of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyans.
St. John's Hospital is of uncertain date; the earliest
notice of it occurs in the year 1261, in the rolls of the
Bishop of Lincoln, from which it appears to have been
founded and endowed in the reign of Henry II., by
David, Earl of Huntingdon, for the maintenance and
relief of poor people, and the support of a free grammar
school. The free grammar school is open to the sons of
inhabitants, for classical instruction. There is a scholarship for a boy from this town at Peter House, Cambridge, founded by Thomas Miller, who gave for that
purpose land now producing £20 per annum, tenable
from admission until obtaining the degree of M.A.; also
a scholarship founded in Christ's College, Cambridge,
for a native of Huntingdon. Richard Fishborn, in 1625,
gave £2000 in trust to the Mercers' Company, London,
for the maintenance of a lecture, a Latin grammar school,
and an almshouse in the town: this sum, together with
£4560 arising from other donations, was in 1630 vested
in the purchase of the manor of Chalgrave, in the county
of Bedford, now producing a revenue of £700 per annum, of which £60 are paid to a lecturer, and £175 to
trustees for charitable uses. A school for boys was established by a decree of chancery in 1735, under the will
of Lionel Walden, who in 1719 had bequeathed £500 for
that purpose; the net income is £90, and 25 of the
scholars are clothed in green by a bequest of £26 per
annum by Gabriel Newton, alderman of Leicester, in
1760. National central schools are supported by subscription; and there are various charitable bequests for
distribution among the poor. The union of Huntingdon
comprises 33 parishes or places, and contains a population of 18,431; a workhouse has been built on the
western side of the great north road, close to the town;
and the old workhouse has been sold, and converted into
an iron-foundry.
Of the monastic establishments that existed here, was
a priory of Black canons, dedicated to St. Mary, founded
prior to the year 973, and removed by Eustace de
Lovetot in the reign of Stephen, or that of Henry II., to
the eastern part of the town; the revenue, at the Dissolution, was £232. 7.: there are no remains. A priory
for nuns of the Benedictine order was removed from
Eltesley, in the county of Cambridge, to Huntingdon,
the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £19. 9. 2.;
the site was granted by Henry VIII. to Sir Richard
Cromwell, who erected the mansion of Hinchinbrook
House, with part of the materials. A convent of Augustine friars was founded in the parish of St. John, in the
reign of Edward I., which subsisted until the Reformation; and in the latter part of the sixteenth century, the
site of the friary belonged to Robert Cromwell, whose
son became Protector. Here was also an hospital dedicated to St. Margaret, for a master and leprous brethren,
to which Malcolm, King of Scotland and Earl of Huntingdon, was a benefactor, and which was annexed to
Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 1445, by letters-patent of
Henry VI.: the only remains are two tenements with
small gardens attached, called the Spitals, usually occupied rent-free by poor widows or families. The learned
Henry of Huntingdon, author of a history of England,
continued to the reign of Stephen; and Oliver Cromwell, were natives of Huntingdon. The town gives the
title of Earl to the family of Rawdon-Hastings.
Huntingdonshire
HUNTINGDONSHIRE, an inland county, bounded
on the north and west by the county of Northampton,
on the south-west and south by that of Bedford, and on
the east by that of Cambridge. It extends from 52° 8'
to 52° 36' (N. Lat.), and from 0° 3' (E. Lon.) to 0° 31'
(W. Lon.); and contains 370 square miles, or 236,800
acres. Within its limits are 11,860 houses inhabited,
377 uninhabited, and 65 in progress of erection; and
the population amounts to 58,549, of whom 29,072 are
males, and 29,477 females.
Before the Romans had obtained possession of this
part of Britain, the territory now included in the small
county of Huntingdon formed the western extremity of
the country of the Iceni. It subsequently became part
of the great division of Roman Britain, called Flavia
Cæsariensis; and at the period of the Saxon heptarchy,
was at first included in the kingdom of East Anglia, and
afterwards annexed by conquest to the more powerful
kingdom of Mercia. Its early annals afford no materials for history, but such as relate to the acquisition
and possession of its earldom by the royal family of
Scotland, which furnished the two crowns with an additional object of contention and mutual annoyance. A
short time before the Norman Conquest, the earldom, or
governorship, of the shire (being then an office granted
at pleasure, and not hereditary) was held by one Siward,
who was in consequence styled Earl of Huntingdon, but
who, having received a grant of the earldom of Northumberland, afterwards assumed the latter title. William
the Conqueror, having taken into favour Waltheof, the
son of Siward, gave him in marriage his own niece
Judith, who, after the execution of Waltheof for high
treason, was offered by the king in marriage to Simon de
St. Liz, a Norman soldier, and, on her refusal, was deprived of her estates, which were conferred upon her
eldest daughter, the latter at the same time espousing
the Norman whom her mother had rejected. Simon de
St. Liz thus became Earl of Huntingdon; but dying
early in the reign of Henry I. his widow was married to
David, brother and successor to Alexander, King of
Scotland; who in her right inherited the possessions of
Waltheof, and was made Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland. After his death, according to the fluctuations in the tide of political events, or the caprice of
the English monarchs, the earldom was sometimes enjoyed by the descendants of Matilda by Simon de St.
Liz, and sometimes by her posterity by the Scottish
prince. Henry, son of the latter, was at first admitted
earl; but on his father's refusal to acknowledge the
claim of Stephen, Count of Blois, to the throne of England, that monarch seized all the English possessions of
the Scottish king, and restored the earldom to the young
Simon de St. Liz. At the termination of the subsequent
war between the two countries, through the mediation
of the empress, one of the conditions of the peace was,
that the counties of Huntingdon and Northumberland
should remain in the possession of Prince Henry, as heir
by maternal right, and that he and his successors should
render homage for these lands to the kings of England:
nevertheless, they continued a subject of frequent disputes between the two crowns. On the accession of
Henry's grandson, Malcolm, to the Scottish throne, he
was summoned to London by Henry II., to do homage
for the lands of Cumberland, Northumberland, and
Huntingdon; and not long after, Henry sent a second
summons commanding him to repair to York, where a
parliament had assembled, by which, on the charge of
his having in the late campaign of France, whither King
Henry had commissioned him, betrayed to the French
the plans of the English army, he was condemned to
forfeit all his English possessions. A war between the
two countries ensued, which was terminated by a treaty
concluded near Carlisle, when it was stipulated that
Malcolm should receive back Cumberland and Huntingdon, and that Northumberland should be fully surrendered to Henry. In the war with Malcolm's successor,
William the Lion, the Scottish monarch was made prisoner; and his English territories, being seized, were
held in pledge for his ransom, until delivered up by
Richard I., on condition that all the castles and fortified
places within the earldoms of Huntingdon and Cumberland should be garrisoned by Richard's own officers and
soldiers. In the subsequent wars occasioned by the rival
claims to the Scottish crown, between the families of
Bruce and Balliol, this earldom was finally seized by the
kings of England, since which it has been granted successively to several families; a portion of the lands,
however, was retained by the Bruces, and from them
descended to the family of Cotton. The ancient celebrity of this part of the country for the purposes of the
chase is indicated by the name of the shire and the county
town. According to Leland, the shire was in former
times very woody, and the deer resorted to the fens:
it was not entirely disafforested until the reign of Edward I.
Huntingdonshire was formerly included in the diocese
of Lincoln, but under the provisions of the act of the
6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77, was transferred to
the diocese of Ely; it forms an archdeaconry, comprising
the deaneries of Huntingdon, St. Ives, Leightonstone,
St. Neot's, and Yaxley, and containing 93 parishes.
For civil purposes it is divided into the hundreds of Normancross, which includes the northern part of the
county; Toseland, the southern; Hurstingstone, the
eastern; and Leightonstone, the western. It contains
the borough and market-town of Huntingdon, and the
market-towns of Kimbolton, Ramsey, St. Ives, and St.
Neot's. Two knights are returned for the shire, and
two representatives for the borough. The county is included in the Norfolk circuit; the assizes and quartersessions are held at Huntingdon, where stands the county
gaol. A peculiarity in the civil government of Huntingdonshire is, that it is included under the same shrievalty
with Cambridgeshire; the sheriff being annually chosen,
in rotation, from the county of Cambridge, the Isle of
Ely, and this county.
The Soils consist chiefly of clay and loam of various
qualities, sand, gravel, and peat-earth. Of these, the
clay predominates, being found all over the county: the
sandy and light soils, and the loams, are dispersed in
small tracts in different parts; while the peat-earth is
confined almost wholly to the fens, in the north-eastern
part of the county. These fens, including the lakes, the
chief of which are Whittlesea Mere and Ramsey Mere,
comprise 44,000 acres, and form about one-seventh of
the Great Bedford Level: 8000 or 10,000 acres of this
area may be considered productive, but, as stated in the
last agricultural survey of this county, made under the
sanction of the Board of Agriculture, a sum equal to
two-thirds of the rental is required to preserve even
these from inundation; for, although they have a more
elevated surface than those situated between them and
the sea, yet they are not nearly so well drained, in consequence, as is asserted in the survey, of some defect
in the original plan of the dykes. Timber is somewhat
scarce, owing to the great demand for it in the fens.
Turf is used for fuel in about half the parishes; but the
inhabitants generally burn wood, and coal also, though
in many places very little of the latter. The only Rivers
of magnitude are the Ouse and the Nene; the latter
forms the northern boundary of the county, and both
are navigable in the whole of their course in connexion
with it. Owing to the want of springs, the greater part
of the county is supplied with water from ponds.
The chief Roman stations were Durolipons and Durobrivæ, the respective sites of which are at Godmanchester,
or Huntingdon, and near Dornford Ferry. Of the ancient roads, the three principal were as follows. The
British Ermin-street appears to have entered the county
from the neighbourhood of Cæsar's camp, in Bedfordshire, and to have run by Crane Hill, in the tract since
known by the name of Hell Lane, whence, passing
through Toseland, Godmanchester, and Huntingdon,
and by Alconbury, Weston, and Upton, and falling into
the line called the Bullock-road, it entered Northamptonshire at Wansford. The Roman Ermin-street entered
from Cambridgeshire in the vicinity of Papworth St.
Agnes, and proceeding nearly in the line of the present
high road to Godmanchester, thence followed the course
of the British Ermin-street to the vicinity of Alconbury,
whence branching off eastward, it resumed the line of
the present high road through Sawtry, Stilton, and
Chesterton, to the station of Durobrivæ, where it entered
Northamptonshire. The Via Devana entered from Cambridgeshire in the neighbourhood of Fen-Stanton, and
proceeded in the line of the present turnpike-road to
Godmanchester, whence, pursuing the track of the British
Ermin-street to Alconbury, it passed to the north of
Buckworth and Old Weston, and entered Northamptonshire in the vicinity of Clapton. Numerous Roman
coins have been discovered at Godmanchester: coins,
coffins, urns, lachrymatories, &c., have been found near
the site of the station Durobrivæ; urns and coins near
Somersham; urns in Sawtry field; and Roman pottery
at Holywell. The celebrated Cars-dyke, supposed to have
been originally a work of the Romans, enters Huntingdonshire at Earith, crosses Huntingdon river, passes by
Littleport, and proceeds northward to the stream named
the West Water, by Benwick, and then by the Old River
Nene, to Whittlesea-dyke. At the time of the Reformation, the number of Religious houses, according to
Bishop Tanner, was nine, including one hospital: the
principal remains are comprised in the gateway of the
mitred abbey of Ramsey. Among the ancient Mansions
the most interesting, from their antiquity and other circumstances, are Buckden Palace; Kimbolton Castle,
the seat of the Duke of Manchester; and Hinchinbrook
House, once the seat of the Cromwell family, and subsequently that of the Montagues, earls of Sandwich and
viscounts Hinchingbroke. There is a mineral spring at
Somersham, now in little repute.