Potsgrove (St. Mary)
POTSGROVE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Woburn, hundred of Manshead, county of Bedford,
3¼ miles (S. by E.) from Woburn; with 294 inhabitants.
The living is a rectory, united to that of Battlesden, and
valued in the king's books at £10. 19. 4½.
Pott, with Ilton, county of York.—See Ilton.
POTT, with Ilton, county of York.—See Ilton.
Pott-Shrigley
POTT-SHRIGLEY, a chapelry, in the parish of
Prestbury, union and hundred of Macclesfield, N.
division of the county of Chester, 4½ miles (N. N. E.)
from Macclesfield; containing 391 inhabitants. It comprises 1393 acres; the prevailing soil is clay. The Macclesfield and Congleton canal passes through the chapelry.
Freestone and coal abound in the neighbourhood. The
living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £140; patrons,
the family of Turner. The chapel is a neat building of
stone, with an embattled tower.
Potter-Brompton
POTTER-BROMPTON, a township, in the parish of
Ganton, union of Scarborough, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding of the county of York, 9 miles (W.)
from Hunmanby; containing 124 inhabitants. It is on
the road from Hunmanby to Malton, about a mile to the
west of the village of Ganton.
Potter-Hanworth (St. Andrew)
POTTER-HANWORTH (St. Andrew), a parish, in
the Second division of the wapentake of Langoe, parts
of Kesteven, union and county of Lincoln, 6¼ miles
(S. E. by E.) from Lincoln; containing 439 inhabitants.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£13. 16. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £665. Land was assigned in lieu of tithes, on
certain conditions, under an inclosure act, in 1774.
Potter-Newton.—See Newton, Potter.
POTTER-NEWTON.—See Newton, Potter.
Potterne (St. Mary)
POTTERNE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Devizes, hundred of Potterne and Cannings, Devizes
and N. divisions of Wilts, 2 miles (S. by W.) from
Devizes; containing, with the tythings of Marston and
Worton, 1762 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises
by measurement 4946 acres, is pleasantly situated; the
road from Devizes to Salisbury, by Lavington, intersects it, and the Kennet and Avon canal is distant only
two miles. On the right of the road is East-well, a highlyinteresting mansion, which for some centuries has been
the property and residence of the family of Grubbe; the
walls are of extraordinary thickness, and the apartments
are wainscoted with oak: the pleasure-gardens are remarkable for the number of terraces sloping in succession to the south, and are ornamented with elms of
venerable growth. The living is a vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £20. 6. 8.; patron, the Bishop of
Salisbury. The great tithes have been commuted for
£879, and the vicarial for £726; there are about 23
acres of glebe. The church is a venerable cruciform
structure, built about the eleventh or twelfth century;
the pulpit and reading-desk are beautifully carved in
oak, and the church has been newly pewed and embellished. A chapel of ease has been erected for the hamlets of Worton and Marston. There are places of worship for Ranters and Wesleyans.
Potters-Bar
POTTERS-BAR, a hamlet, in the parish of South
Mimms, union of Barnet, hundred of Edmonton,
county of Middlesex, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Barnet.
A district church, dedicated to St. John, was built in
1835, chiefly at the expense of the late G. Byng, Esq.;
the living is in the gift of the Bishop of London, and
has a net income of £170. There is a place of worship
for Baptists.
Potters-Pury (St. Nicholas)
POTTERS-PURY (St. Nicholas), a parish, and the
head of a union, in the hundred of Cleley, S. division
of the county of Northampton, 2½ miles (N. W.) from
Stony-Stratford; containing, with the hamlet of Yardley-Gobion, 1651 inhabitants, of whom 962 are in Potters-Pury hamlet. The parish is situated on the borders
of Buckinghamshire, and is intersected by the Grand
Junction canal, and by the roads from Stony-Stratford
to Daventry and to Northampton; it comprises 2815a.
3r. 11p. of land. Some of the inhabitants are employed
in the manufacture of black and coloured laces, shawls,
&c. Wakefield Lodge, here, is the property of the Duke
of Grafton, as hereditary ranger of Whittlebury Forest,
and is visited by his grace during the hunting-season. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £8. 6.; net income, £116; patron, Earl Bathurst;
impropriator, the Duke of Grafton, who holds upwards
of 300 acres of glebe land, with a house, besides land in
the parish of Cosgrove, in lieu of tithes. The church is
a fine old edifice with a well-proportioned tower. There
is a place of worship for Independents; and a school for
boys is conducted on the national plan. The poor-law
union comprises 15 parishes or places, 11 of which are
in the county of Northampton, and 4 in that of Buckingham; and contains a population of 9794.
Potto
POTTO, a township, in the parish of Whorlton,
union of Stokesley, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 5¼ miles (S. W.) from
Stokesley; containing 148 inhabitants. It was anciently
possessed by the Meinells, lords of Whorlton, from whom
it descended to the D'Arcys, and afterwards to the
Strangeways; in the reign of Edward I. the place gave
name to a resident family, who at one time held lands
here of the see of Canterbury. The township is situated
on a branch of the river Leven, in the northern part of
the parish, and near the road from Stokesley to Thirsk.
The tithes have been commuted for £127. 4. payable to
the impropriators, and £9. 4. to the perpetual curate.
Potton (St. Mary)
POTTON (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, in
the union and hundred of Biggleswade, county of
Bedford, 11½ miles (E.) from Bedford, and 48 (N. by
W.) from London; containing 1781 inhabitants. A
great part of the town was destroyed by fire in 1783,
on which occasion the loss was estimated at £25,625,
exclusively of the expense of temporary erections in the
adjacent fields, used until the houses were rebuilt. It
is pleasantly situated at the foot of a hill, and consists
principally of one long street; the inhabitants are
supplied with water from several small rivulets. The
neighbourhood is highly respectable, and contains some
handsome mansions. Sandstone is quarried for roads,
and for building fence walls; lace-making and strawplatting are carried on to a small extent. The market
is on Saturday, and chiefly for corn and straw-plat, but
the business done is inconsiderable; fairs are held on
the third Tuesday in January for horses, on the last
Tuesday in April for sheep, on the first Tuesday in July
for fruit and for pleasure, and on the Tuesday before
October 29th for cattle. The parish comprises 2600
acres, of which 2115 are arable, and 45 race-ground;
one-half of the soil is clay, and the other half sand. The
road from St. Ives, which joins the great north road at
Biggleswade, passes through the parish. The living
is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£13. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown: about
300 acres of land, now valued at £1. 5. per acre, and a
money payment, were assigned in lieu of tithes in 1814.
The church, which is in the early English style, has
been repewed. There are places of worship for Baptists
and Wesleyans; and four schools endowed with £34
per annum.
Potwell
POTWELL, a hamlet, in the parishes of Widley
and Wymering, union of Fareham, hundred of Portsdown, Fareham and S. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 73 inhabitants.
Poughill (St. Olave)
POUGHILL (St. Olave), a parish, in the union and
hundred of Stratton, E. division of Cornwall, 1 mile
(N. W.) from Stratton; containing 472 inhabitants.
This parish, which is situated on the shore of the Bristol
Channel, comprises 1736 acres, whereof 79 are common
or waste land. It is memorable as the scene of a celebrated battle which took place on the 16th of May, 1643,
on Stamford Hill, and in which the parliamentarian
forces, under the command of the Earl of Stamford, were
signally defeated by the Cornish royalists, headed by Sir
Beville Granville. At Burshill House, here, are preserved
several articles of the costly furniture that once enriched
the mansion of Stowe, among which is the bed in which
Charles I. slept during his stay at that place. On the
hill are some remains of an ancient square fort. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £6. 12. 1., and in the patronage of the Crown; impropriators, the landowners: the tithes have been commuted for £125, and the glebe consists of 3½ acres. The
church is a plain edifice. There is a place of worship for
Wesleyans.
Poughill (St. Mary)
POUGHILL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Credition, hundred of West Budleigh, Crediton and
N. divisions of Devon, 7 miles (N. by E.) from Crediton; containing 361 inhabitants. The parish comprises
by measurement 1662 acres, chiefly arable land; 97 acres
are common or waste. The surface is undulated, and
the soil in some parts very good, but in others poor
and thin, covering a red-sandstone used for building.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£8. 17. 8½., and in the patronage of the Crown; net
income, £221. Here was formerly a chantry chapel,
dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
Poulshot (St. Peter)
POULSHOT (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of
Devizes, hundred of Melksham, Devizes and N. divisions of Wilts, 3¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from Devizes;
containing 372 inhabitants. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £6. 5., and in the gift of
the Bishop of Salisbury: the tithes have been commuted for £380, and the glebe comprises 80 acres. A
school is partly supported by endowment.
Poultney
POULTNEY, a hamlet, in the parish of Misterton,
union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton, S.
division of the county of Leicester, 2¾ miles (E. by N.)
from Lutterworth; containing 29 inhabitants.
Poulton
POULTON, a township, in the parish of Pulford,
union of Great Boughton, Lower division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester,
5½ miles (S. by W.) from Chester; containing 129 inhabitants. A Cistercian abbey was founded here in
1153, by Robert, who was butler to Ranulph, second
Earl of Chester; but the monks having suffered greatly
from frequent incursions of the Welsh, removed to
Dieulacres, in Staffordshire, in 1214, from which time,
till the Dissolution, Poulton continued parcel of the possessions of that monastery. The township comprises
1170 acres, of which the soil is clay. The river Dee
forms its eastern boundary.
Poulton cum Seacombe, in the hundred of Wirrall, and county of Chester.—See Seacombe.
POULTON cum Seacombe, in the hundred of Wirrall, and county of Chester.—See Seacombe.
Poulton, with Spittal
POULTON, with Spittal, a township, in the parish
of Bebington, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester,
4 miles (S.) from Birkenhead; containing 209 inhabitants. The family of Lancelyn were settled here soon
after the Conquest. Their heiress in the 16th century
brought the manor of Poulton to the Greens, from whom
it successively passed to the Parnells and Kents, who
each assumed the name of Green. At the same time
that Poulton passed to the Kents, the hamlet of Spittal
was settled on some sisters of that family: the elder of
these was Elizabeth, widow of Lord Henry Murray,
fourth son of the third duke of Atholl; and in Oct.
1844 her executors sold the property to William Jackson,
Esq., M.P., of Birkenhead. In the reign of Henry III.
there was a chapel in the parish, dedicated to Thomas à
Becket, and it is probable that it stood in Spittal and
was attached to the hospital in that hamlet, founded for
lepers: no trace of either chapel or hospital now exists,
except of the latter in the abbreviated name of Spittal.
The township comprises 865 acres, of a clay soil: the
population is engaged in agriculture. The road from
Chester to Birkenhead, and the Chester and Birkenhead
railway, pass here. Poulton Hall is situated on a gentle
eminence, and is surrounded with good timber; the
views from the mansion are bold and extensive, commanding the Welsh coast. The tithes of the township
have been commuted for £140.
Poulton (St. Michael)
POULTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union
of Cirencester, hundred of Crowthorne and Minety,
E. division of the county of Gloucester, 5 miles (E.
by S.) from Cirencester; containing 371 inhabitants.
A Gilbertine priory, in honour of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, was founded here about 1347, by Sir Thomas de
Sancto Mauro, or Seymor: at the Dissolution it was
valued at £20. 3. 2. per annum. The parish comprises
by measurement 1523 acres, and is intersected by the
road from Cirencester to Oxford; stone and rough tile
are quarried. The living is a perpetual curacy; net
income, £43; patron and impropriator, Sir G. Shiffner,
Bart.: the tithes were commuted for land and annual
money payments in the year 1795. The church is a
plain edifice.
Poulton
POULTON, a parish, in the union of Dovor, hundred of Bewsborough, lathe of St. Augustine, E.
division of Kent, 3½ miles (W.) from Dovor; containing 27 inhabitants, and comprising 990 acres. The
parish has no church. Here are the venerable ruins of
Bradsole or St. Radegund's Abbey, said to have been
founded in 1191, by Richard I., for monks of the Præmonstratensian order, and the abbots of which were
afterwards summoned to parliament as peers. It was
dedicated to St. Mary and St. Radegund, and at the
Dissolution possessed a revenue of £142. 8.
Poulton, with Fearnhead
POULTON, with Fearnhead, a township, in the
parish and union of Warrington, hundred of West
Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 2 miles (N. E. by E.)
from the town of Warrington; containing 693 inhabitants. This township has been the property of the Legh
family, of Lyme, since their union with the Haydocks.
Bruch, or Birch, the old manor-house, existing in the
12th of Charles I., was given by Sir Peter Legh to his
fourth son Peter, whose grand-daughter married the
grandson of Dr. Thomas Legh, the third son of Sir
Peter; and thus Bruch again became a possession of the
elder, and now the sole, branch of the family. Poulton
Hall, which has lately been rebuilt of brick, has several
times changed owners; it became the property of the
Bankes of Winstanley, and afterwards of Mr. Jonathan
Jackson, by whom it was sold, about 1826, to Thomas
Parr, Esq., of Warrington. The township is bounded
on the south by the river Mersey, and comprises 1189
acres of land: the road from Warrington to Manchester
passes through it. Here is the hamlet of Padgate,
which see.
Poulton-in-the-Fylde (St. Chad)
POULTON-IN-THE-FYLDE (St. Chad), a markettown and parish, in the union of the Fylde, hundred of
Amounderness, N. division of Lancashire; containing, with the new town of Fleetwood, and the townships
of Carleton, Hardhorn with Newton, Marton, and Thornton, 7273 inhabitants, of whom 1128 are in the township
of Poulton, 16 miles (W. N. W.) from Preston, 21 (S. W.
by S.) from Lancaster, and 235 (N. W. by N.) from
London. This place, called Poltun in the Domesday
survey, appears to have belonged, about the time of that
survey, to the priory of Lancaster; and in the 27th of
Edward I., Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and others held
Pulton in trust for the priory. In 1342, a family of the
local name possessed a small quantity of land in the
parish. This is an extensive tract of champaign country,
comprehending one-third, or more, of the hundred of
Amounderness: the addition of "the Fylde," given to
it to distinguish it from Poulton in Lonsdale, means a
field, the district being celebrated for the growth of corn.
The northern part is formed into a peninsula by the
Irish Sea and the river Wyre, and that river, with the
parish of Kirkham, bounds the parish on the east; while
the Irish Sea and the parish of Bispham are the western
boundaries. The area is 14,289 acres, of which 899a.
3r. 38p. are in Poulton township.
The town is a small, irregular, and old-fashioned
place, situated on an eminence rising gradually on every
side, and one mile distant from the Wyre. It consists of
seven streets, five of which are conjoined into the form of
the letter I: the general lighting and watching act is
partly in operation. Here is a station on the Preston and
Fleetwood railway. Petty-sessions are held on the first
Friday in each month; and one of the county debtcourts established in 1847 is fixed at Poulton, with
powers extending over the registration-districts of The
Fylde and Garstang. The market is on Monday; and
fairs for cattle, cloth, and other commodities, are held
on Feb. 3rd, April 13th, and Nov. 3rd.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £7. 16. 8.; net income, £257; patron,
the Rev. Charles Hesketh, M.A.; impropriators, Sir
Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, Bart., and three others. The
great tithes of Poulton township have been commuted
for £94, and the small for £55: the vicar has a glebe
of 12 acres. The church occupies the site of an ancient
structure which, having stood for nearly seven centuries,
was taken down in 1751, with the exception of the tower,
that had been rebuilt in the time of Charles I., and
remains attached to the modern edifice. At Fleetwood,
Marton, and Thornton are other livings. The Wesleyans
have a place of worship in the town, where also a Roman
Catholic chapel, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist,
was built in 1813; the priest has six acres of ground,
and a house. The children of the township of Poulton
have the privilege of attending an endowed school at
Hardhorn, founded in 1717, by James Baines, who also
bequeathed property now producing £100 per annum for
apprenticing children, one moiety for those in Poulton
township, and the other moiety for the children in the
four other townships of the parish. A savings' bank
was established in 1815, and a neat house built for it in
1839.
Poulton-Le-Sands
POULTON-LE-SANDS, a chapelry, in the parish of
Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands,
N. division of the county of Lancaster, 4 miles (N. W.)
from Lancaster; containing, with the hamlets of Bare
and Torrisholme, 1037 inhabitants, of whom 700 are in
the hamlet of Poulton. "Poltune" appears to have been
held soon after the Conquest by a Saxon named Eiward
or Esward, to whose son Hugh, King John in the 1st
year of his reign granted the "town." In the 32nd of
Henry VIII., the manor was in the possession of Sir
Robert Bellingham; it subsequently passed by marriage
to the Ashtons and the Hoghtons. Poulton, Bare, and
Torrisholme together form one township, comprising
1641a. 3r. 4p., whereof 770 acres are in Poulton. The
hamlet is beautifully situated on Morecambe bay, and
commands fine views of the opposite coast of Furness,
and the mountains of Westmorland and Cumberland;
it has a good row of houses facing the beach, erected in
1847, a comfortable hotel, and tolerable accommodation
for visiters, who are attracted by the convenience afforded
here for bathing. The inhabitants, who are a hardy
healthy race, are engaged in fishing; and large quantities of muscles, shrimps, and cockles are sent inland.
A harbour is now in course of formation, on the coast,
between Poulton and Heysham. Poulton Hall is an ancient and curious building. The living is a perpetual
curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Lancaster; net
income, £120, with a house: the great tithes have been
commuted for £265, and there is an impropriate glebe
of 16 acres. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity,
was built in 1745, and rebuilt in 1841, and is in the
early English style, with a square tower: its re-erection
cost £1700. Francis Bowes, in 1732, demised lands for
a school now producing an annual income of about £35.
—See Bare, Torrisholme, and Heysham.
Pounden
POUNDEN, a hamlet, in the parish of Twyford,
union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 6¾ miles
(S. W. by S.) from the town of Buckingham; containing 112 inhabitants.
Poundstock (St. Neot)
POUNDSTOCK (St. Neot), a parish, in the union
of Stratton, hundred of Lesnewth, E. division of
Cornwall, 5½ miles (S. S. W.) from Stratton; containing 672 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the
west by Widemouth bay, in the Bristol Channel, and is
intersected by the road between Stratton and Camelford. It comprises 4304 acres, of which 200 are
common or waste land: the soil is stiff, and the subsoil
in general clay; the south-west part is hilly, and the
north-east flat. A vein of lead-ore has been discovered,
but it is not of sufficient extent to repay the expense of
working. A fair is held on the Monday before Ascension-day. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued
in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; patron, John Dayman, Esq.; impropriator, H. Hawkes, Esq.: the great
tithes have been commuted for £370, and the vicarial
for £200; the glebe consists of 25 acres. The church
is a plain edifice, with a lofty tower.