Shardlow

SHARDLOW, with Great Wilne, a township, and the head of a union, in the parish of Ashton-uponTrent, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 7 miles (S. E. by E.) from Derby; containing 1306 inhabitants, of whom 1043 are in the hamlet of Shardlow. The hamlet comprises 824a, 3r. 1p., whereof one-fourth is arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture. The surface of the township is level, and the scenery rather woody: the soil is chiefly composed of a sandy loam, but there is a variety of earths; the subsoil is mostly gravel, of a clayey nature. The Trent and Mersey canal runs through the village of Shardlow, and joins the river Trent about half a mile below it. On its banks and branches are several coal and timber wharfs, a large warehouse for iron, another for cheese, corn, and salt, and other warehouses belonging to carrying establishments and malting concerns; so that for many years this has been an improving place. Cavendish bridge, over the Trent, about a quarter of a mile south-east from the village, is a substantial stone structure of five elliptical arches, built in 1771, at a cost of £3333, with approaches 82 yards long and 6 yards wide. The Sawley station of the Midland railway is distant about three miles. A church, a handsome edifice in the pointed style, consisting of a nave, chancel, and a pinnacled tower, was erected in 1838: it is partly pewed, and a part has open seats; at the west end is a gallery, with an organ. The living, now a perpetual curacy, will be a rectory on the death of the present rector of Aston; patrons, the Sutton family. There are places of worship for Baptists and the New Connexion of Methodists; also a school conducted on the national plan. The poor-law union comprises 46 parishes or places, 33 of which are in the county of Derby, 7 in the county of Leicester, and 6 in that of Nottingham; the population of the whole amounting to 32,640.

Shareshill (The Virgin Mary)

SHARESHILL (The Virgin Mary), a parish, in the union of Penkridge, E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford, 5¾ miles (N. N. E.) from Wolverhampton; containing, with the township of Great and Little Saredon, 594 inhabitants, of whom 305 are in Shareshill township. The parish comprises about 2817 acres, of which 887a. 2r. 3p. are in Shareshill; the surface is hilly, the soil gravelly, suitable for turnips and barley, and the scenery rather picturesque. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal crosses the north-western angle of the parish, and the Four-Ashes station of the Liverpool and Birmingham railway is about two miles and a half distant in the same direction. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Lord Hatherton (the impropriator), with a net income of £114: the tithes have been commuted for £470. 18. The church, with the exception of the tower, is of modern erection, and contains several curious antique monuments, preserved on the demolition of the former edifice; it was beautified in 1842. On the north and south sides of the village are vestiges of encampments, probably Roman.

Sharlston

SHARLSTON, a township, in the parish of Warmfield, union of Wakefield, Lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 4¼ miles (E. by S.) from Wakefield; containing 221 inhabitants. The township comprises 1120 acres, of which 70 are common or waste. Sharlston Hall is occupied by the agent of the Earl of Westmorland: a room attached to it has been licensed for divine service. The village, which is small, is pleasantly situated on the margin of a large and fertile common, and the surrounding scenery is agreeably diversified. Coal was formerly worked extensively, but the mines are nearly exhausted. The Countess of Westmorland, a native of this place, in 1729 bequeathed £20 per annum, for putting out children as apprentices, or for the relief of widows.

Sharnbrook (St. Peter)

SHARNBROOK (St. Peter), a parish, in the hundred of Willey, union and county of Bedford, 4 miles (N. E.) from Harrold ; containing 848 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the river Ouse, and intersected by the road from Bedford to Kettering. It comprises 2360a. 32p., whereof 1082 are old inclosures, 1220 in new allotments, and 38 occupied by roads; of the whole, about 1300 acres are arable, 758 pasture, and 146 wood. The surface is diversified with hill, wood, and water; and the soil is of various kinds, clay, gravel, and peat, meadow land, and limestone-rock. The manufacture of bonelace is as old here as the close of the 16th century. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor; impropriator, John Gibbard, Esq., whose tithes have been commuted for 239 acres of land. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for 112a. 1r. 15p., and there is a vicarage-house. The church was given by William Triguet, in the time of the Conqueror, to the Earl of Mellent, for the support of his abbey of Maria di Prata at Leicester; the present edifice is in the style of the 14th and 15 th centuries, and has a lofty spire. Here are places of worship for Old and Calvinistic Baptists; and a school supported by subscription. A circular mound and moat called Castle Close, indicate the site of a castle, probably of the time of Stephen; but there are no remains of the structure. In a field called Temples are the foundations of buildings supposed to have belonged to the preceptory of Knights Templars at Melchbourne, five miles distant.

Sharnford (St. Helen)

SHARNFORD (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Hinckley, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 4¼ miles (E. S. E.) from Hinckley ; containing 624 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Soar, and comprises 1400 acres. The soil is chiefly sand and gravel; the surface rises gradually, and the scenery is pleasing. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 18. 9., and in the gift of the Crown, with a net income of £329: the tithes were commuted for land in 1764; the glebe altogether comprises 234 acres. The church is ancient.

Sharpenhoe

SHARPENHOE, a hamlet, in the parish of Streatley, union of Luton, hundred of Flitt, county of Bedford, 4 miles (S. S. W.) from Silsoe; containing 172 inhabitants. A school is endowed with a rentcharge of £10. Thomas Norton, a dramatic writer, was born here in the early part of the sixteenth century.

Sharperton

SHARPERTON, a township, in the parish of Allenton, union of Rothbury, W. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 6½ miles (W. by N.) from Rothbury; containing 89 inhabitants. It stands on the east of the river Coquet, on the road to Harbottle; and contains some fertile soil. The Charity Hall estate here belongs to the poor of Rothbury, being the bequest in 1719 of the Rev. J. Thomlinson.

Sharples

SHARPLES, a township, in the parish and union of Bolton, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 2¾ miles (N.) from Bolton; containing 2880 inhabitants. It was a member of the ancient barony of Manchester, and was possessed by Roger de Mareshay or Maresey, who conveyed it to Randulph de Blundeville, Earl of Chester. Subsequently, the place gave name to a local family, who occupied the Hall, now a plain edifice consisting of a centre and two gables. Sharpies is not a manor, but the lord of Sharpies, by an ancient tenure, can claim from the estate of Smithills, in the vicinity, a pair of gilt spurs annually. The township adjoins Little Bolton, and includes the ecclesiastical district of Belmont, and part of the ecclesiastical districts of Rivington and Astley-Bridge. It rises gradually for five miles, on the old Preston road, to the mountainous country of Belmont; and comprises 3920 acres of land, mostly pasture, with wild and extensive moorland abounding in grouse at Hill Top. The population is chiefly employed in cotton-mills and bleachworks. In excavating through the peat earth here, oaktrees have been dug up at the depth of fifteen feet, perfectly sound, and as black as ebony.

Sharrington (All Saints)

SHARRINGTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Walsingham, hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Holt; containing 229 inhabitants. It comprises 864a. lr. 38p., of which 820 acres are arable, and about 40 meadow and pasture. The living is a discharged rectory, annexed to that of Saxlingham, and valued in the king's books at £10: the tithes have been commuted for £299. 16., and the glebe comprises about an acre. The church is in the early and later English styles, with a tower.

Sharrow

SHARROW, a township, in the parish and liberty of Ripon, W. riding of York, 1½ mile (E. by N.) from Ripon; containing 185 inhabitants. The township comprises about 670 acres of fertile land, and the scenery is of pleasing character. Sharrow Lodge is a handsome mansion, commanding a fine view over the vale of Ure, A district church dedicated to St. John was erected in 1825, for this township, Hutton-Conyers, Hewick-Copt, Hewick-Bridge, and Nunwick, on a site presented by the late Mrs. Lawrence: the expense was £5000, of which £2000 were given by that lady, and the remainder raised by subscription, aided by a grant. The structure is in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, and contains 550 sittings, of which 280 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the representative of Mrs. Lawrence; net income, £100; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Ripon. A schoolroom, also, was built by Mrs. Lawrence.

Shatton, with Brough.—See Brough.

SHATTON, with Brough.—See Brough.

Shaugh

SHAUGH, a parish, in the union of Plympton St. Mary, hundred of Plympton, Ermington and Plympton, and S. divisions of Devon, 6 miles (N.) from Earl'sPlympton; containing 698 inhabitants. The parish is situated in a district abounding with romantic scenery, and comprises 8773 acres, of which 6367 are common or waste land. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to that of Samford-Spiney.

Shavington

SHAVINGTON, with Gresty, a township, in the parish of Wybunbury, union and hundred of Nantavich, S. division of the county of Chester, 4¼ miles (E.) from Nantwich; containing 441 inhabitants. It comprises 1115a. lr. 2p., the soil of which is partly clay and partly sand. Here stood the manorial seat of the Wodenothes (of whom was John Wodenothe, the antiquary, born in 1624), a mansion highly curious from its age, and the abundance of stained glass and other relics it contained. After remaining in the possession of that family for more than 500 years, the estate was sold in 1661; the house was taken down, and a modern mansion built upon the site, in which some of the ancient glass is preserved. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £106. 10., and the vicarial for £18.

Shaw, county of Lancaster.—See Crompton.

SHAW, county of Lancaster.—See Crompton.

Shaw cum Donnington (St. Mary)

SHAW cum Donnington (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newbury, hundred of Faircross, county of Berks, 1¼ mile (N. E.) from Newbury; containing 642 inhabitants. The ancient manor-house was usually the resting-place of Charles I., when on his route to the west of England; and in 1644, an attempt was made here by a soldier of Cromwell's army to assassinate that monarch, which event is recorded by a brass plate fixed on the spot where the ball entered: a bed on which Queen Anne reposed is also preserved. In the second battle of Newbury the mansion was garrisoned for the king, and attacked by a large body of the enemy, who were repulsed with great loss. The parish comprises 1989a. 2r. 26p., chiefly arable land, and including about 100 acres of common or waste; the soil is clay, alternated with gravel and sand. The surface is generally level, and the river Lambourne flows through. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 11. 8., and in the gift of the Rev. Thomas Penrose, D.D.: certain impropriate tithes have been commuted for £13. 7., and the incumbent's for £623; the glebe comprises 28 acres. The church has been rebuilt upon a larger scale, by subscription; it is a neat structure in the Norman style. A school is supported; and there are almshouses for twelve persons, founded about 1618 by Sir Richard Abberbury, Knt.—See Donnington.

Shawbury (St. Mary)

SHAWBURY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Wem, partly in the liberties of Shrewsbury, partly in the hundred of Pimhill, and partly in the Whitchurch division of the hundred of North Bradford, N. division of Salop; containing 1079 inhabitants, of whom 279 are in the township, 7¼ miles (N. E.) from Shrewsbury. The parish comprises by measurement 7221 acres. The substrata of this and the adjoining districts contain freestone of excellent quality, and the quarries have afforded materials for most of the public buildings of the town of Shrewsbury, and for many gentlemen's seats in the neighbourhood. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 1. 5½., and in the gift of Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, Bart., who, with Lord Hill and W. Charlton, Esq., is impropriator: the great tithes have been commuted for £436. 8., and the vicarial for £394. 12.; the glebe comprises 37 acres. The church is an ancient structure, chiefly in the Norman style, of which it contains numerous elegant details, with a handsome embattled tower in the later English style. There is a fund of £46 per annum, the rent of land devised by Elizabeth Corbet in 1702, and Robert Payne in 1738, for apprenticing children, and for the poor.

Shawdon

SHAWDON, a township, in the parish of Whittingham, union of Alnwick, N. division of Coquetdale ward and of Northumberland, 7½ miles (W.) from Alnwick; containing 94 inhabitants. The township is intersected by the road from Morpeth to Wooler, and comprises about 1200 acres of land, mostly arable, the property of William Pawson, Esq., whose mansion here is surrounded with excellent wood. There is a stone quarry. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £53. 2. 9.; and the appropriate for £1. 8., payable to the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. Two ancient urns of common earthenware were found in the neighbourhood some years since.

Shawell (All Saints)

SHAWELL (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton, S. division of the county of Leicester, 3 miles (S.) from Lutterworth; containing 203 inhabitants. It comprises 1407a. 2r. 15p.: the soil is partly clay, and partly a rich loam, and the surface generally level. The village, which is scattered, lies east of the Roman Watling-street. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £345, and the glebe comprises 74 acres, with a good glebe-house. The church is in the pointed style, with a tower containing five bells. A free grammar school was established by John Elkington, which has an endowment of £20 per annum, with a house and garden, and a field of four acres, for the master; and the founder also erected an almshouse for six men, who have a weekly allowance, and some perquisites. A dame's school endowed by the Rev. Edward Sherier, a former rector, with 50s. per annum, is further supported by the incumbent. Twelve acres of land, producing £21 per annum, were allotted to the poor on the inclosure of the parish. In a field nearly adjoining the church, numerous skeletons have been dug up, supposed to be the remains of those who were slain in the several skirmishes which took place here during the parliamentary war.