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Packington (Holy Rood)
PACKINGTON (Holy Rood), a parish, in the union
of Ashby, partly in the hundred of Repton and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby, but chiefly in
the hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county
of Leicester, 1½ mile (S. by E.) from Ashby; containing, with the chapelry of Snibston, 1024 inhabitants.
The parish comprises about 2000 acres, in equal portions of arable and pasture. The living is a vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £5. 15. 10.; net income,
£258; patron and impropriator, Sir C. Abney Hastings,
Bart. The church is an ancient structure, with a tower.
There is a chapel of ease at Snibston. A benefaction of
16 acres of land, now producing £20 per annum, is appropriated to the relief of widows; and the produce of
two cottages and some land, amounting to £38 per
annum, left by Robert Breedon in 1464, is applied to the
repair of roads.
Packington
PACKINGTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Weeford, union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred
of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3¾ miles
(W. N. W.) from Tamworth; containing 55 inhabitants.
It is on the north side of the parish, and comprises
about 1000 acres of land. The Hall is a handsome
mansion standing on a spacious lawn, and approached
by an avenue of elm and other trees.
Packington, Great (St. James)
PACKINGTON, GREAT (St. James), a parish, in
the union of Meriden, Solihull division of the hundred
of Hemlingford, N. division of the county of Warwick, 8 miles (N. W. by W.) from Coventry; containing 340 inhabitants. This was the property, at the time
of the Norman survey, of Turchil de Warwick, by whom,
or by whose son, it was given to Geoffrey de Clinton,
founder of the castle and priory of Kenilworth: the son
of Geoffrey gave it to that monastery. Coming to the
crown at the Dissolution, it passed by letters-patent to
the Fisher family, and was carried by their heiress to
the Hon. Heneage Finch, ancestor of the Earl of Aylesford, the present noble proprietor. The parish comprises 2257 acres, and is on the road between Birmingham and Coventry. The neighbourhood contains some
of the highest ground in England, and many parts command the most beautiful, as well as extensive, views.
There is a quarry of red-sandstone, chiefly used for the
roads. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £7. 10. 2½.; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Aylesford: the great tithes have been
commuted for £180, and the vicarial for £240; the glebe
contains 46 acres. His lordship's handsome mansion
here is beautifully situated in an extensive park, abounding in rich scenery, diversified with wood and water,
and embellished with gardens, statues, and other ornaments: the house was greatly improved by the two last
earls. The church, which stands in the park, was built
in 1789, after the model of the temple at Pæstum.
Packington, Little (St. Bartholomew)
PACKINGTON, LITTLE (St. Bartholomew), a
parish, in the union of Meriden, Solihull division of
the hundred of Hemlingford, N. division of the county
of Warwick, 9 miles (W. N. W.) from Coventry; containing 151 inhabitants. This place is supposed to have
been anciently part of the Earl of Mellent's possessions.
A moiety of it belonged in the reign of Henry VII. to
John Grey, Viscount L'Isle, from whom it passed to
Thomas, Marquess of Dorset, and from him to the Duke
of Suffolk. On the attainder of the last-mentioned
nobleman, it came to the crown, and was granted by
Queen Elizabeth to Edward, Earl of Lincoln; it was
next sold to the Baker family. Within the lordship
was a hermitage, which, with the church, was given by
Sir Gilbert Picot to the monks of Worcester; on the
Dissolution, their lands were granted to the Dean and
Chapter of Worcester. The parish comprises 970 acres
of productive land, and is intersected by the Derby
railway, and by the river Blyth, from the bank of
which rises a sloping hill richly wooded. The living
is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£3; net income, £212; patron, the Earl of Aylesford.
The tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in the
year 1818.
Packwood (St. Giles)
PACKWOOD (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of
Solihull, Warwick division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, 4½ miles
(N. N. E.) from Henley-in-Arden; containing 352 inhabitants. This parish comprises by admeasurement
1640 acres of land, the property of Earl Cornwallis,
John Fetherston, Esq., and Wilson Aylesbury Roberts,
Esq. The surface, though considerably elevated, is
generally flat, and the soil chiefly marl and clay, peculiarly
adapted to the growth of oak-trees, of which some
magnificent specimens are to be seen in the grounds of
Packwood House, the seat of the Fetherston family, who
settled here from the castle of Fetherstonhaugh, in the
county of Northumberland, in the 8th of Edward IV.
This ancient mansion is a remarkably fine example of
the timber frame-work buildings of the 14th century,
with offices and stables in the Elizabethan style, and,
from its numerous gables of curious and elaborate masonry, ornamented with sun-dials, having Latin inscriptions, has a singularly striking appearance. One of the
fronts of the edifice is approached through an outer and
an inner court-yard. The gardens are laid out in terraces,
and adorned with shrubs clipped into fantastic devices;
in one part of them is an ancient apiary of about 40
hives inclosed in brickwork, and in one of the walks a
smoking-room of early date. The Pleasantry Mount,
or Calvary, extending over two acres, and encircled with
broad-cut hedges of box and yew, contains some very
ancient yew-trees, of which three are symbolical of the
Trinity, and others of the Twelve Apostles, with various
appendages illustrative of Our Saviour's suffering and
the consequent propagation of Christianity. The Stratford canal and the road from Birmingham to Warwick
pass through the parish. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £100, with a good house recently
built; patron and impropriator, Earl Cornwallis. The
tithes have been commuted for £318. 10.; the incumbent's glebe consists of 30 acres. The church is an
ancient structure, and contains two piscinæ, and several
handsome monuments to the Fetherston family.
Padbury (St. Matthew)
PADBURY (St. Matthew), a parish, in the union,
parliamentary borough, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 2½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Buckingham; containing 696 inhabitants. The parish is pleasantly situated on the road from Buckingham to London, and is
separated from the parish of Buckingham by the river
Ouse, over which is a neat stone bridge, built in 1827,
in lieu of a former one erected in 1742. It comprises
nearly 2000 acres, of which more than half are leasehold
under All Souls' College, Oxford. The manor-house is
a spacious well-built edifice, adjoining the road. The
manufacture of lace affords employment to the females.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £6. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown;
net income, £115. On the inclosure, in 1795, land was
assigned in lieu of tithes. The church has three piscinæ.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Paddington
PADDINGTON, an ecclesiastical district, partly in
the township of Pendleton, parish of Eccles, and
partly in the district of Christ-Church, Salford,
parish of Manchester, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire. This place, which is situated on
the west side of Manchester, on the road to Bolton, was
constituted an ecclesiastical district in July 1846, under
the provisions of the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37.
The area of the district is about half a square mile.
Divine service is at present performed in a licensed
room, which also serves as a Sunday school; but it is
proposed to erect a church, in the early English style, of
which the estimated cost is £3000. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop
of Manchester, alternately. There are two places of
worship for dissenters.
Paddington
PADDINGTON, a suburban parish, in the union of
Kensington, Holborn division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex; containing 25,173
inhabitants. The manor was given by King Edgar to
Westminster Abbey, and at the Dissolution was appropriated to the endowment of the then newly-founded
bishopric of Westminster, since the abolition of which,
in the reign of Edward VI., it has belonged to the see
of London. A chapel existed here at an early period,
which before the 16th century was a chapel of ease to
St. Margaret's, Westminster. The district consists
principally of numerous modern streets and detached
houses, and its population has, within the last ten years,
been nearly doubled; it is partially paved, and lighted
with gas, under a local act. Besides much other building, numerous fine streets, terraces, and squares have
been lately completed in the neighbourhood of St. John's
church, and towards Hyde Park: to the north of Bayswater, is the handsome line of houses called Westbourne
Terrace. The inhabitants are supplied with water from
the West Middlesex water-works: the reservoir originally constructed for the supply of Kensington Palace,
and now belonging to the Grand Junction water-works,
is situated in the parish. Paddington is within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan police. A customary market
is held on Friday, for poultry, butter, eggs, &c. The
Paddington canal, which communicates with all the
principal canals in the kingdom, and on the banks of
which are extensive wharfs and warehouses, was constructed under an act of parliament passed in 1795; it
is joined by the Regent's canal, which unites it with the
Thames at Limehouse. The Great Western railway to
Bristol, one of the most stupendous works of the kind
in the world, which is 117½ miles long, and was opened
in August, 1840, has its commencement at this place,
where is a commodious station.
The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £930;
patron, the Bishop of London. The present parish
church was completed in 1843, and is a handsome
building in the pointed style, with a tower and spire,
containing 1616 sittings, of which 616 are free: it is
dedicated to St. James. The late parish church, called
St. Mary's, was begun in 1788, and consecrated April
27th, 1791; it stands on a piece of ground adjoining
the old churchyard, and is a neat building, with a Doric
portico on the south side, and a handsome cupola. In
the church and adjacent cemetery lie the remains of
John Bushnell, an eminent statuary, who died in 1701;
Sir John Elliot, M. D., a popular writer, in 1787; Dr.
Alexander Geddes, a learned Roman Catholic divine,
interred in 1802; Thomas Banks, an ingenious sculptor;
Lewis Schiavonetti, engraver; and John Henry Petty,
late Marquess of Lansdowne. The living of St. Mary's
is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop; income,
£500. Before the erection of this church, the inhabitants assembled in a church dedicated to St. James,
founded by Sir Joseph Sheldon, lessee of the manor,
about the year 1700. A district church dedicated to
St. John, in the later English style, with a campanile
turret, was erected in 1831, at an expense of £8778:
the living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £560;
patron, the Incumbent of Paddington. Holy Trinity
church, Bishop's-road, contiguous to the terminus of the
Great Western railway, was consecrated in July 1846;
it is an elegant structure of the period of Henry VI.,
with a steeple 214 feet high, and cost £18,000, of which
the Rev. John Miles contributed upwards of £5000.
The living is in the gift of the Bishop; income, £1000.
Another church, dedicated to St. Stephen, and to which
a district has been assigned, was consecrated in November 1847: it is a neat and convenient edifice in the
pointed style, capable of accommodating 1200 persons;
two-thirds of the sittings are free. There is an episcopal chapel at Bayswater. At Westbourne-Green are
the Lock Hospital, Asylum, and chapel, lately erected
at a cost of about £15,000. St. Mary's Hospital, in
Cambridge-place, for Mary-le-Bone and Paddington,
was commenced under the auspices of Prince Albert, by
whom the first stone was laid in June 1845: the site,
which consists of more than an acre, was partly granted
by the trustees of the Paddington estate. There are
places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans. The
poor have funds amounting to about £250 per annum,
arising from lands and tenements.
Paddlesworth
PADDLESWORTH, an ancient parish, in the union
of Malling, hundred of Larkfield, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 6¼ miles (S. W.) from
Rochester; containing 11 inhabitants. The living is a
rectory, united at an early period to that of Snodland,
and valued in the king's books at £3. 6. 8. A rentcharge of £8. 10. is paid to an impropriator. The
church has been destroyed, and the inhabitants have
attended that of Snodland since the reign of Elizabeth.
Paddlesworth (St. Oswald)
PADDLESWORTH (St. Oswald), a parish, in the
union of Elham, hundred of Loningborough, lathe of
Shepway, E. division of Kent, 3¾ miles (N. W.) from
Folkestone; containing 49 inhabitants. It comprises
349 acres, of which 55 are in wood. The living is
annexed, with that of Standford, to the vicarage of
Lyminge: the tithes have been commuted for £90.
The church is in the early English style.
Paddock, with Marsh
PADDOCK, with Marsh, a hamlet, in the parish
and union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the
wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York; containing 3536 inhabitants. This place forms an appendage
to the town of Huddersfield, by a continuous range of
houses, and the inhabitants are mainly employed in the
woollen manufacture. A district church, dedicated to
All Saints, was erected in 1830, at an expense of £2500,
by the Parliamentary Commissioners; it is a neat edifice, of stone raised from an adjacent quarry, in the
early English style, with a square embattled tower, and
contains 800 sittings, of which 200 are free: the churchyard is a handsome plot of ground. The living is a
perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Huddersfield, with a net income of £150. There is a place
of worship for the Society of Friends.
Padfield
PADFIELD, a township, in the parish and union of
Glossop, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the
county of Derby, 1½ mile (N. W.) from the town of
Glossop; containing 1656 inhabitants. It comprises
643 acres of land; and has a pleasant village, overlooking the river Etherow, and through which runs the
Sheffield and Manchester railway. Here are three factories. The Independents and Methodists have places
of worship.
Padgate
PADGATE, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish
and union of Warrington, hundred of West Derby,
S. division of Lancashire, 2 miles (N. E.) from the
town of Warrington; containing about 1500 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Mersey, on the north
side; the surface is very flat, and the soil generally
sandy, in some parts peat. The living is a perpetual
curacy, in the patronage of the Rector. The great
tithes belong to Warwick hospital; the small tithes
have been commuted for £150. The church, built in
1838, is a plain structure in the early English style:
the parsonage-house and schools are built to correspond. There are two places of worship for Wesleyans.
A chalybeate spring rises here.
Padiham
PADIHAM, a township, in the parish of Whalley,
union of Burnley, Higher division of the hundred of
Blackburn, N. division of Lancashire, 3 miles (W.
by N.) from Burnley; containing 3789 inhabitants.
The township is supposed by some to have taken its
name from the resemblance in its situation to that of
Padua: and that resemblance, it is held, was first discovered and mentioned by the Roman emperor Antoninus Caracalla, in a royal progress between York and
Ribchester. Dr. Whitaker, from the catalogue of the
nativi belonging to the abbey of Cockersand, conceives
it to have been the abode of the sons of Padd. Edmund
de Lacy had a charter of free warren in his lands of
Padiham, and the place is described as a manor in the
inquisition taken on his death. The Whitacre family
possessed lands here, which in the reign of Elizabeth
were sold to the Shuttleworths, of Gawthorpe, from
whom they passed to Frederick North, Esq., by his
marriage with the widow of the late R. Shuttleworth,
Esq.
The parochial chapelry of Padiham comprises the
townships or places of Padiham, Dunnockshaw, Hapton,
Heyhouses, Higham, Read, Simonstone, and Westclose
Booth. This portion of Whalley is in the centre of the
parish, and comprehends an area of about 9000 acres,
of which 1915 are in Padiham township. The country
exhibits a wild aspect: the hills along the Calder are
lofty and precipitous; to the south is the frowning and
almost perpendicular fell of Hameldon, northward rise
Padiham Heights, and still higher Pendle Hill. Coal
and stone abound; and the cotton manufacture, which
has been for some time established, employs a great
part of the population. A fair is held for pedlery on
the 12th of August. The Leeds and Liverpool canal
passes through the chapelry, and the road from Burnley
to Blackburn through the village of Padiham. The
living is a perpetual curacy; total net income, £131;
patron, Le Gendre Pierce Starkie, Esq. The impropriate tithes of the township have been commuted for
£41. 5., and the tithes payable to the curate for £10;
he has also a glebe of two acres. The chapel, dedicated
to St. Leonard, was partly rebuilt in 1776, and the accommodation increased in 1822. At Heyhouses is
another incumbency. There are places of worship for
Wesleyans, Unitarians, and Baptists. A school was
erected and endowed at Padiham, by subscription, in
1698; and there are schools in other parts of the
chapelry.
Padley, Nether
PADLEY, NETHER, a hamlet, in the parish of
Hope, union of Bakewell, hundred of High Peak,
N. division of the county of Derby, 2¾ miles (N. E. by
N.) from Stony-Middleton; containing 48 inhabitants.
It comprises 269 acres, of which 20 are common or
waste land. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for
12s.; and the appropriate tithes for £26. 5., payable to
the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield.
Padside, with Thornthwaite, in the county of York.—See Thornthwaite.
PADSIDE, with Thornthwaite, in the county of
York.—See Thornthwaite.
Padstow (St. Petrock)
PADSTOW (St. Petrock),
a sea-port, market-town, and
parish, in the union of St.
Columb Major, hundred of
Pyder, E. division of Cornwall, 14 miles (W. N. W.)
from Bodmin, and 249 (W.
S. W.) from London; containing 2145 inhabitants, of
whom 1791 are in the town.
This place is of great antiquity, and was known,
under the name of Lodenek
at Heglemith, in the earliest
annals of Cornish history. According to Borlase and
others a religious house, called Laffenack, was established
here in 432 by St. Patrick; about a century afterwards
he was succeeded by St. Petrock, and under the auspices
of this popular saint a monastery was founded in 513,
which, having progressively increased in extent and reputation, was visited by Athelstan, on the occasion of
his triumphant excursion into Cornwall, in 932. This
sovereign conferred important privileges on both the
monastery and the town, the latter of which he named
after himself, Adelstow, or Aldestow. In ancient records,
Patrickstowe and Petrocstowe are equally common; from
the former of these, Padestowe or Padstow is naturally
derived, and perhaps the continued influx of Irish at the
port from the earliest times may have had some influence on the change of name. In the year 981, when the
monastery was in the plenitude of its prosperity, it was
ravaged by Danish pirates, and burnt to the ground;
upon this event it became necessary to find a site
less exposed for the new foundation, which was fixed at
Bodmin, and the sacred ashes of St. Petrock were transferred to its sanctuary. In 1346, the place was one of
the few ports in Devonshire and Cornwall that furnished
ships for the siege of Calais. In 1645, the Prince, afterwards Charles II., was a short time here; and in the
same year, when the town was in the possession of a
party of parliamentary dragoons, a packet-boat coming
in from Ireland was boarded and taken by them, with
the assistance of the inhabitants; the despatches were
thrown overboard, but were partly recovered.
Seal used by the Old Corporation.
The town is beautifully situated on an estuary of the
Bristol Channel, formed by the junction of the Camel
and Alan rivers about seven miles above Padstow. It
is embosomed in a richly-cultivated vale, and the
eastern side opens on the harbour, the entrance of
which is about two miles distant; the high land to the
north and west is occupied by the grounds of Place, an
ancient seat of the Prideaux family. On the southern
eminences and along the vale are the fine plantations of
Saunders Hill, which command a varied and luxuriant
prospect. In the immediate vicinity, however, nature
assumes a severity and boldness of aspect seldom
equalled: the cliffs of black granite on the coast, frequently visited by the scientific traveller, present curious
specimens of geological strata peculiar to this part of
the kingdom. The streets are paved, though roughly,
and the town is plentifully supplied with water; the
houses are roofed with fine blue slate, raised in the
neighbourhood. The cliffs contain good limestone.
Previously to the sixteenth century, the harbour was
deemed one of the finest on the western coast of England; but from the accumulation of sand, the driving of
which was so violent as, in the course of one night, to
cover several houses on the coast, it became of less
importance. The business, however, was very considerable at the commencement of the present century, and
Padstow now carries on a large trade in corn, malt, and
other merchandise, which are sent to Liverpool, Bristol,
London, Wales, and Ireland; it has also an increasing
trade with America and the Baltic. The number of
vessels of above 50 tons' burthen registered at the port
is 32, the aggregate tonnage being 3533; and about 200
persons are employed in ship-building, and rope and sail
making. In 1844 an act was passed for improving the
port. The market is held on Saturday, by prescription,
for meat and provisions; and fairs take place on April
18th and September 21st. In the 25th of Elizabeth
the town was incorporated by charter; but about the
middle of the seventeenth century, the municipal rights
having been allowed to lapse by desuetude, the borough was placed under the jurisdiction of the county
magistrates.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £11. 3. 4.; net income, £202; patron,
Charles Prideaux Brune, Esq.; impropriators, the family
of Hole. The tithes have been commuted for £245, and
the glebe contains 18 acres. The church is a spacious
structure in the decorated and later English styles,
erected at different periods; its richly-sculptured font
and curious pulpit attract much attention. Here are
places of worship for Wesleyans and Baptists; also a
national school, instituted in 1819. In 1640, some
donations for the benefit of the poor were laid out in
land which now produces £100 per annum. With
slight exceptions, the remains of eight religious edifices,
two in the town and six in other parts of the parish,
have entirely disappeared. The old provincial festivities
of Christmas and May-day are here attended with many
singular customs, traditionally connected with the early
history of the place. The learned Dr. Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, was born at Padstow in 1648.
Padworth (St. John the Baptist)
PADWORTH (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in
the union of Bradfield, hundred of Theale, county
of Berks, 10 miles (S. W. by W.) from Reading; containing 272 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated
in the southern part of the county, and skirted by the
Kennet and Avon canal at its northern extremity, comprises 1085 acres, of which 549 are arable, 381 pasture,
75 wood, and 80 common. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £6. 6. 8., and in the gift
of the Lord Chancellor: a rent-charge of £250 is received by the incumbent in commutation of tithes, and
the glebe contains 28 acres. The church is in the early
Norman style; the chancel, which is semicircular, is
separated from the nave by a fine Norman arch, enriched
with mouldings, and sustained by two well-proportioned
pillars, whose capitals are ornamented with grotesque
sculptures. The earthwork called Gryme's Bank, supposed to be either of Roman or Saxon origin, may be
traced in the fields adjoining the rectory-house.
Pagefold, York.—See Bashall-Eaves.
PAGEFOLD, York.—See Bashall-Eaves.
Pagham (St. Thomas à Becket)
PAGHAM (St. Thomas à Becket), a parish, in the
union of West Hampnett, hundred of Aldwick, rape
of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 6 miles (S. S. E.)
from Chichester; containing, with the tythings of Aldwick, South Mundham, and Nytimber, and the hamlets
of Lagness and Rosegreen, 1047 inhabitants. The manor belonged in the time of the Conqueror to the see of
Canterbury, the archbishops of which occasionally lived
here till the reign of Henry VIII., when it was granted
to the king by Cranmer. Anselm was consecrated at
Pagham in 1106; and Thomas à Becket was a frequent
resident, with a large retinue. The foundations and
moat of the palace may still be seen, at a short distance
from the church, to the south-east. The parish is
bounded on the south by the English Channel, and on
the west by Pagham harbour, which is an estuary about
a mile wide, formed by an irruption of the sea in the
beginning of the fourteenth century. The hamlet of
Aldwick, and the adjoining coast, are adorned with
several beautiful villas, with well laid-out grounds, commanding extensive views. A fair, originally granted by
King John, in 1204, is held on Easter-Tuesday. The
living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Archbishop,
valued in the king's books at £9. 18. 9.; net income,
£211; impropriator, J. B. Fletcher, Esq. The church,
which was to a great extent rebuilt in 1837, is a cruciform structure in the early English style, of considerable
beauty, with a tower at the north end of the west front,
surmounted by a shingled spire.
Paglesham (St. Peter)
PAGLESHAM (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Rochford, S. division of Essex, 4 miles
(N. E. by E.) from Rochford; containing 436 inhabitants. This parish, which includes the western portion
of Wallasea Island, is bounded on the north by the navigable river Crouch, and on the south by the Bromhill;
and comprises by computation 1840 acres, of which
about 1200 are arable, 400 pasture, 10 woodland, and
130 common or waste. The living is a rectory, valued
in the king's books at £26, and in the gift of the Bishop
of London: the tithes have been commuted for £560;
the glebe comprises 18 acres. The church is a small
ancient edifice.
Paignton (St. John the Baptist)
PAIGNTON (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in
the union of Totnes, hundred of Haytor, Paignton
and S. divisions of Devon, 5¾ miles (E.) from Totnes;
containing 2501 inhabitants. This place was anciently
held in demesne by the bishops of Exeter, who had a
palace here, of which some fragments still remain. The
parish comprises 4396 acres, whereof 92 are common
or waste. The village is situated on Tor bay, at its
western extremity, and has a considerable trade in cider,
for shipping which, and discharging coal, &c., vessels
come within half a mile. In 1838, an act was passed
for the construction of a harbour and other works. A
small fair is held on Whit-Tuesday. The living is a
vicarage, with the living of Marldon annexed, valued in
the king's books at £52. 1. 0½., and in the patronage of
the Northcote and Templar families. The vicarial tithes
of Paignton have been commuted for £430, and the
impropriate for £405. The church has an enriched
Norman door, and the transept and upper part of the
tower are in the later English style; it contains a screen
of elegant tabernacle-work, and a stone pulpit richly
ornamented with foliage. There is a place of worship
for Independents. In 1800, Allan Balfield bequeathed
£1000 three per cents. for education.
Painshaw, or Pensher
PAINSHAW, or Pensher, a township, in the parish
and union of Houghton-le-Spring, N. division of
Easington ward and of the county of Durham, 3 miles
(N. by E.) from Houghton; containing 1912 inhabitants.
This township comprises 1054a. 3r. 12p., of which 542
acres are arable, 355 grass-land, 44 wood, and 112
waste; it is situated on the road from Sunderland to
Chester-le-Street, and is the property of the Marquess
of Londonderry and the Earl of Durham. The surface is
varied, and the higher grounds command extensive and
interesting prospects, one of which, from the churchyard,
embraces the cathedral of Durham; the scenery is enriched with wood, mostly oak. The soil is partly clay,
but chiefly a rich loam producing abundant crops; the
substrata are principally freestone, limestone, and firestone, of which last considerable quantities are sent to
various parts. The York and Newcastle railway has a
station here. The church of Painshaw, dedicated to All
Saints, was erected in 1746, and a cemetery was added
to it in 1756: the living is a district rectory, in the gift
of the Bishop of Durham, with an income of £380.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans in the village,
and also in the hamlet of Shiney-Row. On Painshaw
Hill is a monument in the Grecian style, erected to the
memory of the late Earl of Durham, after a design by
John and Benjamin Green, of Newcastle.
Painswick (St. Mary)
PAINSWICK (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, in the union of Stroud, hundred of Bisley, E.
division of the county of Gloucester, 6½ miles (S. S.
E.) from Gloucester, and 100 (W. by N.) from London;
containing, with the chapelry of Shepscomb, and the
tythings of Edge, Spoonbed, and Stroud-End, 3730
inhabitants. The manor is noticed in Domesday book,
under the name of Wiche, among the possessions of
Roger de Lacy; the prefix to its name is derived from
one of its subsequent proprietors, Pain Fitz-John. The
town is situated on the declivity of Spoonbed Hill, at
the foot of which runs a branch of the Stroud river;
and the roads from Stroud to Gloucester, and from
Cheltenham to Bath, pass through it. The inhabitants
are supplied with water from wells. The manufacture
of cloth is extensively carried on in the town and neighbourhood, although on the decline; and there are quarries of freestone and weather-stone in the vicinity. The
market is on Tuesday, but is now very inconsiderable.
There was formerly a large market for sheep on the
first Tuesday after All Saints' day (O. S.), which is also
much reduced: fairs take place, principally for cattle
and sheep, on Whit-Tuesday and September 19th. A
court leet for the manor is held twice in the year, at
which constables and tythingmen are chosen.
The parish comprises 5840a. 1r. 4p., of which about
2318 acres are arable, 2495 pasture, and 685 wood.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£14. 15. 2½.; net income, £449; patrons, the Parishioners; impropriators, the landowners. The church,
a spacious edifice with a very lofty spire and a fine peal
of twelve bells, was erected at different periods, and
presents an incongruous combination of the Grecian
and English styles: in the chancel are monuments of
the Jerningham family, to whom the manor belonged in
the reign of Elizabeth; a handsome altar-piece was
erected in 1743. There is a district church at Shepscomb;
and another church has been built at the Slad, in the
parish, containing 380 sittings, of which 300 are free:
both livings are in the gift of the Vicar. The Society of
Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, and Presbyterians,
have places of worship. A grammar school was founded
in 1724, by Giles Smith, who bequeathed £200, which,
with £200 raised by voluntary contributions, were vested
in land; other benefactions have since been made, and
the produce is now £50 per annum.
On the summit of Spoonbed Hill is a camp with a
double intrenchment, called Kimsbury Castle, King's
Barrow, or Castle Godwin; it comprehends about three
acres, and is supposed to have been a British fortress,
afterwards used by the Romans. In the reign of Edward the Confessor, it was occupied by Earl Godwin,
who headed an insurrection against the king, in 1052.
During the siege of Gloucester by Charles I., his forces
encamped on the hill; and it is related that after
raising the siege, the king being seated on a stone near
the camp, with his two elder sons, one of them asked
him when they should return home,—"Alas! my son,"
answered the unfortunate monarch, "I have no home
to go to." When the insurrections broke out in the
west and other parts of the kingdom, in the reign of
Edward VI., Sir Anthony Kingston, then knight-marshal, being lord of the manor of Painswick, caused a
gallows to be erected on Shepscomb green, for the execution of insurgents, and gave three plots of land in his
lordship, since called Gallows' lands, for the purpose of
keeping in readiness a gallows, two ladders, and halters.
He appointed the tythingman of Shepscomb to the
office of executioner, with an acre of land in the tything,
as a reward for his services; and a field held by the
tythingman for the time being, is still known by the
appellation of Hangman's acre.
Paitton, or Pailton
PAITTON, or Pailton, a hamlet, in the parish
of Monks-Kirby, Kirby division of the hundred of
Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick,
5¼ miles (N. N. W.) from Rugby; containing 602 inhabitants. It comprises 1657 acres of a productive soil,
and is intersected by the road from Coventry to Lutterworth, from which a road to Rugby branches off at this
place. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for
£46. 16. 8., payable to Trinity College, Cambridge, and
the vicarial for £1. 13.
Pakefield (All Saints)
PAKEFIELD (All Saints), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Mutford and Lothingland,
E. division of Suffolk, 2¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Lowestoft; containing 495 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the coast, and comprises by admeasurement 670
acres: the London and Yarmouth road runs through
the village. There is a lighthouse on the cliff. The
living is a discharged rectory, in medieties, both valued
in the king's books at £14; patron, the Earl of Gosford: the tithes have been commuted for £205, and the
glebe contains about 15 acres. The church has an embattled tower; under the altar is an ancient crypt.