Otterbourne (St. Matthew)
OTTERBOURNE (St. Matthew), a parish, in the
union of Hursley, hundred of Buddlesgate, Winchester and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 4¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Winchester; containing,
with the tything of Boyatt, 621 inhabitants. The parish
comprises about 1200 acres, and is situated on the road
from Winchester to Southampton: the Itchen navigation and the South-Western railway also pass through it.
The living is annexed to the vicarage of Hursley: the
tithes have been commuted for £310, and there are nearly
9 acres of glebe. A new church was consecrated on July
30th, 1839, a beautiful structure in the later English
style, erected at a cost of £4000, and containing 420
sittings, of which 300 are free.
Otterburn
OTTERBURN, a township, in the parish of Kirkbyin-Malham-Dale, union of Settle, W. division of the
wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of
York, 7 miles (S. E.) from Settle; containing 48 inhabitants. The township comprises about 950 acres, the
soil is fertile, and the substratum chiefly limestone.
The village is situated on the river Aire.
Otterburn-Ward
OTTERBURN-WARD, a township, in the parish of
Elsdon, union of Bellingham, S. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 11 miles
(N. E. by N.) from Bellingham; containing 412 inhabitants. Here was fought, in 1388, the famous battle
between the English under Percy, surnamed Hotspur,
and the Scots commanded by Earl Douglas, in which
the latter nobleman fell by the sword of the former, who,
with many of his knights, was afterwards taken prisoner.
The popular ballad of "Chevy Chase," in which, however, there are material deviations from historical facts,
was founded upon this sanguinary contest. On the
ground where the battle was fought are several tumuli,
and the remains of intrenchments; and a cross, erroneously called "Percy's Cross," has been erected on the spot
where Douglas is supposed to have fallen. Otterburn
Tower was a strong fortress, well adapted for sustaining
the frequent attacks of the Scottish borderers; the present castle is a modern edifice, in which some parts of
the ancient building may be traced. The township
comprises about 8517 acres, of which 464 are arable,
180 woodland, and the remainder pasture. The village
is neat and well built, and pleasantly situated: trees of
every ordinary variety thrive well about it. The burn
Otter, rising in the moors to the north, and coming
through the lands of Davyshiel, has its steep sides covered with wood as it approaches the village, and after
passing it, and turning the wheel of an ancient fullingmill, winds through rich haughs, and soon joins the
Rede. Near the village is a small manufactory for
woollen-cloth, including carding, &c. There is a place
of worship for Seceders from the Church of Scotland.
Otterden (St. Lawrence)
OTTERDEN (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union
of Hollingbourn, partly in the hundred of Faversham, Upper division of the lathe of Scray, but chiefly
in the hundred of Eyhorne, lathe of Aylesford, W.
division of Kent, 3½ miles (N.) from Charing; containing 205 inhabitants. It comprises 1434 acres, of which
390 are in wood. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £6. 14. 2., and in the gift of W. G. Paxton, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £207. 10.,
and there is an excellent rectory-house, with 225 acres
of land. The church was erected in 1753, near the ruins
of the former edifice: on the east side are some fine
monuments to the family of Curteis, and opposite, on the
west side, one to the memory of Alderman Bunce.
Otterford (St. Leonard)
OTTERFORD (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union
of Taunton, hundred of Taunton and Taunton-Dean,
W. division of Somerset, 7 miles (S.) from Taunton;
containing 491 inhabitants. It comprises about 2000
acres, of which 750 are common or waste. The living is
a perpetual curacy; income, £72; patrons, the Beadon
family; impropriators, various landowners.
Otterham (St. Denis)
OTTERHAM (St. Denis), a parish, in the union of
Camelford, hundred of Lesnewth, E. division of
Cornwall, 6 miles (N. E. by N.) from Camelford; containing 234 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1114
acres, of which 680 are common or waste. The living
is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£6. 14. 2.; income, £161; patron, Admiral Carthew.
There is a barrow near the road to Stratton.
Otterhampton
OTTERHAMPTON, a parish, in the union of
Bridgwater, hundred of Cannington, W. division of
Somerset, 5¾ miles (N. W.) from Bridgwater; containing 222 inhabitants. It is situated on the western bank
of the navigable river Parret, and comprises 1000a.
3r. 1p. A few hands are employed in quarrying stone
for lime, and for building purposes. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 6.,
and in the gift of J. Evered, Esq.: the tithes have been
commuted for £220, and the glebe comprises nearly 18
acres, with an excellent glebe-house built by the Rev.
Dr. Jeffery. The church is an ancient plain edifice, in the
later English style, with a very neat interior, and a handsome chancel erected by the present incumbent.
Otterington, North (St. Michael)
OTTERINGTON, NORTH (St. Michael), a parish,
in the unions of Northallerton and Thirsk, partly
in the wapentake of Allertonshire, and partly in
that of Birdforth, N. riding of York, 3½ miles (S.)
from Northallerton; containing, with the townships of
Thornton-le-Beans and Thornton-le-Moor, 688 inhabitants, of whom 79 are in the township of North Otterington. This parish lies in the well-cultivated vale of
the river Wiske, and comprises about 3550 acres, of
which 900 are in the township of North Otterington. Of
the latter area, about 90 acres are woodland and plantations, and the remainder arable, meadow, and pasture;
the soil is various. The village is situated on the east side
of the vale, near the river, which is here little more than
a brook, and on the road from Northallerton to Boroughbridge: a few persons are employed in hand-loom
weaving at Thornton-le-Moor. The York and Newcastle
railway passes through the parish. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4; net
income, £130; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and
Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford. The church is ancient. There is a chapel of ease at Thornton-le-Moor.
Otterington, South (St. Andrew)
OTTERINGTON, SOUTH (St. Andrew), a parish,
in the union of Thirsk, wapentake of Birdforth, N.
riding of York, 5 miles (S. by E.) from Northallerton;
containing 326 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on
the west by the river Wiske, which separates the diocese
of York from that of Ripon. It comprises by computation 1500 acres, whereof 700 are arable, and the remainder
meadow and pasture; the soil is generally fertile. The
village is pleasantly situated on the east bank of the
river; the road from Northallerton to Boroughbridge
intersects the parish from north to south, and near the
western boundary is a station on the York and Newcastle railway. The living is a discharged rectory,
in medieties called respectively Gamwell House and
Weatherel House, each valued in the king's books at
£7. 14. 4½.; whole net income, £290; patron, T. Darnbrough, Esq. A new parish church was completed in
1846, a stone edifice in the Norman style; the chancel
windows are of stained glass.
Ottersay-Stocklinch, in the county of Somerset.—See Stocklinch, Ottersay.
OTTERSAY-STOCKLINCH, in the county of Somerset.—See Stocklinch, Ottersay.
Otterton (St. Michael)
OTTERTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union
of St. Thomas, hundred of East Budleigh, Woodbury
and S. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from
Sidmouth; containing 1245 inhabitants. Here was an
alien priory of Black monks, founded in the reign of the
Conqueror, and subordinate to the abbey of St. Michael
in Periculo Maris, in Normandy; at the suppression, in
the 1st of Edward IV., its revenue was estimated at
£87. 10. 4., and its possessions were given to the monastery of Sion. The parish is situated on the eastern
bank of the river Otter, the estuary of which at a short
distance communicates with the English Channel; it is
bounded by Sidmouth on the east, and on the west by
East Budleigh, and comprises about 4353 acres. Redsandstone is taken from the cliffs, for building purposes.
Pillow-lace is made by the females. Small fairs are held
on April 18th and October 17th. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £22; net income,
£312; patrons, the family of Rolle. The vicar has all
the tithes, except the sheaf-tithe, which belongs to the
Rolle family, who possess nearly the whole of the parish;
there is a glebe-house, with about 24 acres of land.
The church is ancient, and remarkable for the situation
of the tower at the east end. At Hederland was formerly a chapel.
Ottery St. Mary
OTTERY ST. MARY, a market-town and parish,
constituting the hundred of Ottery St. Mary, in the
union of Honiton, Woodbury and S. divisions of
Devon, 11 miles (E. by N.) from Exeter, and 161
(W. S. W.) from London; containing 4194 inhabitants.
This place derives its name from its situation on the
river Otter, and from the dedication of its church to the
Blessed Virgin. At the time of the Conquest, the manor
and church of Otrei belonged to the chapter of St.
Mary's church, at Rouen, in Normandy, to whom they
had been given by Edward the Confessor. At what
time a church was first founded here is not known; but
in 1260 a church was consecrated by Bronescombe,
Bishop of Exeter, which in 1337 was made collegiate for
a warden, minister, precentor, sacristan, and brethren,
in all forty in number, by Bishop Grandison, who, at his
own charge, purchased from the chapter of Rouen the
church and manor of Ottery, as an endowment for his
recently established college. He also built the choir
and Lady chapel, with a magnificent altar-screen which
was mutilated in the reign of Elizabeth, plastered over
in 1603, and in 1688 covered by wooden frame-work;
upon removing which, in 1829, the original was discovered: this screen has been restored in Beer stone, after
a splendid design by Edward Blore, Esq. In 1451,
Henry VI., in his progress through the kingdom, visited
Ottery, where he was received with every demonstration
of respect, and remained for two days, taking up his
lodging in the college. During the civil war of the
seventeenth century, it was alternately occupied by both
parties; in 1645 Sir Thomas Fairfax fixed his headquarters here for several weeks, during which time he
lost many of his men by disease, and several of his
officers, among whom was Colonel Pickering.
The town is pleasantly situated on the east bank of
the river Otter, and within a mile of the great road from
London to Exeter. It is irregularly built on very uneven ground, and, with the exception of a few respectable houses in the higher parts of it, consists chiefly of
cottages: the inhabitants are amply supplied with water
flowing freely through the streets. The surrounding
country is fertile, and diversified with pleasing scenery.
The manufacture of serge, which was formerly carried
on, has been superseded by the establishment of extensive silk-works, whose machinery is impelled by a
water-wheel of very large dimensions; in this concern
between 300 and 400 persons are employed, principally
in manufacturing handkerchiefs and ribbons. Some
lace is also made in the town. The market is on Thursday; and fairs, chiefly for cattle, are held on the Tuesday before Palm-Sunday, on Whit-Tuesday, and August
15th, at the last of which great quantities of cheese are
sold: a great market, likewise, takes place on the
Thursday before the second Friday in every month.
Courts leet and baron occur annually for the manor, at
which two constables for the town and two for the
parish are appointed; there is also a constable for the
hundred, whose office is permanent.
The parish comprises 8500 acres, of which 447 are
common or waste. The living is a discharged vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £20, and in the patronage
of the Crown; net income, £150. After the dissolution
of the college founded by Bishop Grandison, the revenue
of which was estimated at £338. 2. 9., the site was
granted to Edward, Earl of Hertford, in the 37th of
Henry VIII.; and in the same year the king gave the
church and cemetery, with the vicarage and collegiate
buildings, in trust to four inhabitants of the town, whom
he incorporated as "The Four Governors of the hereditaments and goods of the Church of St. Mary, Ottery."
Under this charter the governors make certain annual
payments to the vicar, chaplain-priest, and schoolmaster.
The great tithes of the parish belong to the Dean and
Canons of Windsor, and the small tithes to the governors. The church is a noble structure in the early
English style, with some portions of more recent date,
and has two towers, which form the transepts, a nave
and choir, both with aisles, and a Lady chapel. The
groined roof was added by Bishop Grandison; the
north aisle of the nave is in the later English style, with
a very beautiful ceiling of fan tracery and pendants: at
the east end of the Lady chapel, and also at the west
end of the church, are some richly-canopied niches. At
Tipton is a district church, dedicated to St. John, the
cost of which was defrayed chiefly by voluntary contributions, largely promoted by Sir John Kennaway and
the family of Mr. Justice Coleridge; it was consecrated
May 6th, 1840, and the living is a perpetual curacy, in the
gift of the Vicar, with a net income of £80. At West
Hill, two miles south of the town, on the Exmouth road,
is a church consecrated in September 1846, and dedicated to St. Michael and All Angels; it is in the early
English style, and cost £2000. A district is attached
to it, comprising above 2000 acres, formerly a wild
heath, but rapidly improving; the living is in the patronage of the Vicar. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans.
The King's Grammar School was founded in 1546, by
Henry VIII., who endowed it with £10 per annum from
the funds of the church corporation, to which benefactions were subsequently added; among these was a donation of land, in the year 1666, by Edward Salter. In
this school were educated, among other eminent characters, Sir Francis Buller, Bart., successively judge of
the courts of common pleas and king's bench; Dr. Luxmoore, late Bishop of St. Asaph; Dr. Coleridge, late
Bishop of Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands; and Sir
J. T. Coleridge, Knt., one of the present judges of the
court of queen's bench. The late Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the profound philosopher and gifted poet, was
born in the school-house, in 1772, his father being master.
Some almshouses were founded by Robert Hone, a
maternal ancestor of Sir Thomas Bodley's; and there
are numerous bequests for distribution among the poor.
The water of a spring near the town, called "Hawkins'
well," is said to be efficacious in diseases of the eye; and
persons afflicted with the stone have received great relief
from the water of a spring in Yonder-street, which acts
powerfully as a solvent. Among the natives of the
parish may be named Sir Isaac Heard, garter king at
arms. The notorious Joanna Southcott was born here
in 1750.
Ottringham (St. Wilfrid)
OTTRINGHAM (St. Wilfrid), a parish, in the
union of Patrington, S. division of the wapentake of
Holderness, E. riding of York, 6¼ miles (S. E. by E.)
from Hedon; containing 630 inhabitants. The parish
comprises about 4320 acres, including some fertile and
well-drained marshes, which extend southward to the
Humber, where several drains discharge their waters at
Stone creek: the lands are the property of various owners.
The village, which is long, is situated on the road between
Hedon and Patrington, about three miles north-eastward
of the latter place. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £83; patron, Frank Watt, Esq. The
church is principally in the decorated style, with a
tower surmounted by a spire. There is a place of worship
for Wesleyans.
Oughterby
OUGHTERBY, a township, in the parish of KirkBampton, union of Wigton, ward and E. division of
Cumberland, 7¼ miles (W.) from Carlisle; containing
131 inhabitants. It comprises 905 acres, of which 105
are common or waste land. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £9. 11.
Oughterside, with Allerby
OUGHTERSIDE, with Allerby, a township, in the
parish of Aspatria, union of Cockermouth, Allerdale ward below Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 6½ miles (N.) from Cockermouth; containing 555
inhabitants. Coal is obtained. The township is bounded
on the south by the river Ellen.
Oughtibridge
OUGHTIBRIDGE, an ecclesiastical district, in the
parish of Ecclesfield, union of Wortley, N. division
of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W.
riding of York, 5 miles (N. E.) from Sheffield; containing about 1000 inhabitants. This district, which is
situated on the river Don, is in the northern portion of
the parish of Ecclesfield, and abounds with beautiful
scenery. The substratum contains stone of good quality for building and other purposes. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of steel and
the making of files. Here is a station of the Manchester
and Sheffield railway. The church, erected in 1842, at
an expense of £650, raised by subscription, is in the
early Norman style, from the designs of Mr. Mitchell,
and contains 400 sittings: the living is a perpetual
curacy, in the gift of the perpetual curate of Wadsley,
with a neat glebe-house. There are places of worship
for Independents and Wesleyans; and at Onesacre is a
school endowed with £15 per annum.
Oulston
OULSTON, a township, in the parish of Coxwold,
union of Easingwould, wapentake of Birdforth, N.
riding of York, 4 miles (N. N. E.) from Easingwould;
containing 200 inhabitants. It comprises 1502a. 3r.
17p., of which 300 acres are arable, 1093 pasture and
meadow, and 108 wood and common. The tithes have
been commuted for £231, payable to Trinity College,
Cambridge. There is a Roman Catholic chapel.
Oulton
OULTON, a township, in the parish and union of
Wigton, ward and E. division of the county of Cumberland, 2 miles (N. N. W.) from Wigton; containing
406 inhabitants. The great tithes were commuted for
land and a money payment in 1823. There is a place of
worship for Baptists.
Oulton (St. Peter and St. Paul)
OULTON (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in
the union of Aylsham, hundred of South Erpingham,
E. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (W. N. W.) from Aylsham; containing 409 inhabitants. The parish is on
the road from Aylsham to Holt, and comprises 1849a.
31p., of which 1553 acres are arable, 108 meadow and
pasture, and 143 woodland and plantations. Oulton
Hall is a handsome mansion, in a tastefully-embellished
demesne commanding some fine views. The living is a
discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 5.;
patrons, the family of Cook. The impropriate tithes
are in the hands of the landowners, with the exception
of those of 74 acres belonging to Lady Suffield, which
have been commuted for £20. 10.; the vicarial tithes
produce £168, and the glebe consists of 13 acres. The
church, situated on an eminence about a mile from the
village, is in the decorated English style, with a tower.
There is a place of worship for Independents.
Oulton
OULTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Norbury,
poor-law union of Newport, W. division of the hundred
of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford,
½ a mile (S. S. W.) from the village of Norbury; containing 40 inhabitants.
Oulton (St. Michael)
OULTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Mutford and Lothingland,
E. division of Suffolk, 3 miles (W.) from Lowestoft;
containing 660 inhabitants. The parish comprises by
admeasurement 1900 acres, and is bounded on the west
by the river Waveney, which receives the surplus water
of Lake Lothing, commonly called Oulton Broad, on the
south. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books
at £14. 13. 4., and in the gift of the Rev. Geo. Anguish:
the tithes have been commuted for £450, and the glebe
comprises 50 acres. The church originally seems to have
been in the form of a Latin cross, but both transepts
have been taken down; the steeple stands between the
nave and chancel, and the whole building shows it to be
of the Norman style: there are some curious ancient
brasses in the chancel.
Oulton, with Woodlesford
OULTON, with Woodlesford, a township, in the
parish of Rothwell, Lower division of the wapentake
of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 5 miles (S. E. by E.)
from Leeds; containing 1789 inhabitants. The township comprises by computation 1240 acres, chiefly the
property of John Blayds, Esq., who is lord of the manor;
the surface is varied, and the low grounds are watered
by a stream that flows into the river Aire. There are
several quarries of stone valuable for building purposes.
The village, which lies on the road from Leeds to London, is pleasant and healthy. Oulton Hall, the seat of
Mr. Blayds, is a handsome mansion, situated in a wellwooded demesne. The church, dedicated to St. John,
was founded by the late Mr. Blayds, who in 1827 bequeathed ample funds for its erection, and £4000 three
per cent. consols. for its endowment. It is a well-built
structure in the early English style, with a square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles, and surmounted
by a finely-proportioned spire; the chancel, which is
hexagonal, is richly decorated, and the windows are embellished with stained glass. The church, with a house
for the minister in a corresponding style, was completed
in 1830, at a cost of £12,000; and the living is a donative, in the patronage of Mr. Blayds. There are places
of worship for Methodists and Ranters. The vicarial
tithes have been commuted for £140, and the impropriate for £51. 14. Dr. Richard Bentley was born here
in 1661.
Oulton, Low
OULTON, LOW, a township, in the parish of Over,
union of Northwich, First division of the hundred of
Eddisbury, S. division of Cheshire, 3¾ miles (E. by N.)
from Tarporley; containing 47 inhabitants. It comprises 905 acres, the soil of which is clay. A tithe rentcharge of £60 is paid to the Bishop of Chester.
Oundle (St. Peter)
OUNDLE (St. Peter), a market-town and parish,
and the head of a union, in the hundred of Polebrooke,
N. division of the county of Northampton, 30 miles
(N. E.) from Northampton, and 77 (N. by W.) from
London; containing, with the hamlet of Ashton, 3037
inhabitants, of whom 2404 are in the town. A monastery was established here before the year 711, when
Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, died in it: by some it is
thought to have been founded by that primate, while
others consider it to have been a cell to the abbey of
Peterborough, and part of its possessions. The parish
contains 4976a. 2r. 33p., of which 3667a. 3r. 13p. are in
the township. The town is situated on a gentle declivity on the northern bank of the Nene, by which river
it is nearly surrounded, and over which are two bridges,
leading respectively to the Thrapston and Peterborough
roads: North bridge is remarkable for its length and
the number of its arches, which support an elevated
causeway. The streets are well paved and lighted, and
under the provisions of a local act of parliament, the
general appearance of the town has been modernised
and improved: two or three houses yet remain, however,
which were built with stone from Fotheringay Castle.
Several of the inhabitants are employed in making
bobbin-lace. Here is a station of the Northampton and
Peterborough railway. The market is on Thursday;
and fairs are held on February 25th, Whit-Monday, and
August 21st, for horses, cattle, and sheep; and on
October 12th, for cheese, cattle, &c.: a commodious
market-house and shambles have been erected. Manorial
courts leet and baron, and a court for the hundred,
occur annually; a court takes place for the rectorial
manor of Oundle once in two or three years, and the pettysessions for the division are held here once a fortnight.
The powers of the county debt-court of Oundle, established
in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Oundle.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £13. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the
Crown; net income, £376; impropriator, John Smith,
Esq. The church is a spacious and very handsome
cruciform structure, combining the different styles of
English architecture, with a lofty tower terminated at
the angles by octagonal turrets, and surmounted by an
hexagonal crocketed spire: in the chancel are some rich
stalls, good screen-work, and a portion of ancient stained
glass. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans. The free grammar school
was founded in 1556, by Sir William Laxton, a native of
the town, and lord mayor of London in 1544; the amount
of endowment is about £400 per annum: the present
head master is the Rev. D. Pooley, M.A., of St. John's
College, Cambridge. A school was endowed in 1620,
by the Rev. Nicholas Latham, with £10 per annum;
another is endowed with a like sum; and a national
school is supported by subscription. An almshouse
was also established and endowed by Sir William Laxton
for seven men, and an hospital for sixteen women was
founded by the Rev. N. Latham. The poor-law union
of Oundle comprises 37 parishes or places, 32 of which
are in the county of Northampton, and 5 in that of
Huntingdon, altogether containing a population of 14,975.
In the vicinity are some chalybeate springs.
Ouneley, or Onneley
OUNELEY, or Onneley, a township, in the parish
of Madeley, union of Newcastle-under-Lyme, N.
division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county
of Stafford, 7 miles (W. S. W.) from Newcastle; containing 192 inhabitants. This township is the property
of the Earl of Wilton and others, and has a pleasant
hamlet about a mile and a half south-west of the village
of Great Madeley.