Shenfield (St. Mary)
SHENFIELD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S. division of
Essex, 1 mile (N. E. by N.) from Brentwood; containing 983 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2417 acres,
of which 95 are common or waste land. The village is
pleasantly situated on the road to Colchester, and contains several well-built houses; a fair, chiefly for pleasure, is held in it on Whit-Monday. The EasternCounties' railway intersects the parish. The living is
a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 18. 4., and
in the gift of Earl de Grey: the tithes have been commuted for £575, and the glebe comprises 77 acres. The
church is an ancient edifice with a shingled spire, and
contains a monument to Mrs. Robinson, which is much
admired.
Shenington (Holy Trinity)
SHENINGTON (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the
union of Banbury, N. division of the hundred of
Bloxham, county of Oxford, 6 miles (W. N. W.) from
Banbury; containing 463 inhabitants. This parish,
which is bounded by the county of Warwick, comprises
1434a. 3r. 8p. of land, chiefly arable: the soil is fertile,
producing good crops of wheat, barley, and turnips;
the surface is hilly, and the scenery in some parts beautifully romantic. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £15. 3. 4.; net income, £321; patron,
the Earl of Jersey. The church, a handsome structure
in the decorated English style, was partly rebuilt in the
last century, without due regard to the preservation of
its original character: the situation is beautiful.
Shenley (St. Mary)
SHENLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Newport-Pagnell, partly in the hundred of Cottesloe, but chiefly in that of Newport, county of Buckingham, 3½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Fenny-Stratford;
containing, with the hamlet of Brookend and the township of Churchend, 491 inhabitants. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £22. 9. 7.; net
income, £424; patron, M. Knapp, Esq. Some tithes
were commuted for land, under an act of inclosure, in
1762, and others, under the recent Tithe act, for a rentcharge of £267. 15.; the glebe comprises 67 acres.
The chancel of the church is a fine specimen of the transition from the early to the later Norman style: in the
south transept is a handsome monument to Sir Thomas
Stafford, who founded an almshouse here in 1626, with
an endowment of £35 per annum, for four widowers and
two widows.
Shenley (St. Botolph)
SHENLEY (St. Botolph), a parish, in the union of
Barnet, hundred of Dacorum, county of Hertford,
6 miles (N. W.) from Barnet; containing 1220 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which, anciently Sheenley, is descriptive of its beautiful pasture lands, comprises
4056 acres, whereof 119 are common or waste. The
scenery is generally of pleasing character, and enlivened
with several handsome seats and numerous picturesque
villas, among the former of which is Porters, once the
property of the gallant Admiral Earl Howe. The substratum is principally chalk, which is extensively used
for dressing the land; flints and gravel are abundant,
and are used for repairing the roads. The village is on
an eminence; some few of the cottagers are employed
in the straw-plat manufacture. A small fair is annually
held, chiefly for pleasure. The living is a rectory, valued
in the king's books at-£16. 8. 1½., and in the gift of
the Rev. T. Newcome, the rector, in whose family both
the patronage and the incumbency have remained in
direct succession from the 1st of the reign of Elizabeth:
the tithes have been commuted for £1189, and the
glebe comprises 30 acres, with a rectory-house. The
church is built of flints, with a wooden tower on the
south side. Being inconveniently situated in a distant
part of the parish, the present rector built a chapel of
ease in the village, in 1840. There is a place of worship for Wesley an s, A chapel is supposed to have stood
on a moated site in the park belonging to the house
called Colney Chapel. Nicholas Hawksmoor, the architect, died at Shenley in 1727; and the Rev. Peter Newcome, rector of the parish, and who was author of the
History of the Abbey of St. Albans, was interred here in
the year 1797.
Shenstone (St. John the Baptist)
SHENSTONE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in
the union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of
Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3½ miles (S. by
W.) from Lichfield; containing, with the chapelry of
Over Stonall, 1962 inhabitants. It comprises 8451a.
2r. 35p., of which 30 acres are common or waste land;
the soil is fertile, producing crops of wheat and barley,
and there are extensive and luxuriant pastures. The surface is undulated, and watered by several rivulets that
abound with trout. The scenery is enlivened with gentlemen's seats and pleasant villas; the village is neatly built.
The parish is intersected at one end by the Wyrley and
Essington canal, by which limestone is brought hither
from Rushall to be burnt at Sandhills, by Messrs.
George and James Brawn, who have wharfs on the canal.
A considerable fair for cattle is held on the last Monday
in February. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued
in the king's books at £6. 5. 8., and in the gift of the
Rev. John Peel: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £500, and the vicarial for £435; the glebe
comprises 38 acres. The church exhibits specimens of
the various styles of English architecture, and has an
enriched Norman arch at the south entrance; a gallery
has been lately erected. There is a separate incumbency
at Stonall; and national schools are supported both at
Shenstone and Stonall.
Shenton
SHENTON, a chapelry, in the parish and union of
Market-Bosworth, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 2½ miles (S. W. by S.)
from Market Bosworth; containing 190 inhabitants.
The Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal crosses the north-eastern
angle of the chapelry.
Shephall (St. Mary)
SHEPHALL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Hitchin, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's,
county of Hertford, 2¼ miles (S. E. by S.) from Stevenage; containing 265 inhabitants. It comprises about
1150 acres, of which 795 are arable, 244 pasture, and
110 woodland. The living is a vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £9. 5. 10., and has a net income of £193;
the patronage and impropriation belong to the Crown.
A fund of £24. 16. per annum, arising from bequests, is
distributed among the poor.
Shepley
SHEPLEY, a township, in the parish of KirkBurton, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of
the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 7 miles
(S. E. by S.) from Huddersfield; containing 1088 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1250 acres of
land; and the village, sometimes called Over and Nether
Shepley, is situated in a deep valley, on the road from
Huddersfield to Penistone. The population is engaged
in the manufacture of cloth-blankets, flannel, and knitting-yarn. There is a place of worship for Methodists
of the New Connexion.
Shepperton (St. Nicholas)
SHEPPERTON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the
union of Staines, hundred of Spelthorne, county of
Middlesex, 2¼ miles (E. by S.) from Chertsey; containing 858 inhabitants. It comprises 1435a. 2r. 36p.,
of which 125 acres are common or waste land. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26;
net income, £499; patron, S. H. Russell, Esq.
Shepreth (All Saints)
SHEPRETH (All Saints), a parish, in the union of
Royston, hundred of Wetherley, county of Cambridge, 5¾ miles (N. by W.) from Royston; containing
353 inhabitants. The river Cam runs through it. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £6. 11. 1.; patron and impropriator, James Wortham,
Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £306,
and the vicarial for £91; the impropriate glebe comprises 185 acres, and the vicarial 12.
Shepscomb
SHEPSCOMB, a chapelry, in the parish of Painswick, union of Stroud, hundred of Bisley, E. division
of the county of Gloucester, 4 miles (N.) from Stroud;
containing 676 inhabitants. This place is situated in a
retired vale remarkable for the variety of its scenery.
To the east of the village, on the road to Stroud, is
Shepscomb House; and on the acclivity of a woodcrowned hill, at the distance of a mile to the west, is
Ebworth Park, from which is a beautiful view of a chain
of hills stretching out in the form of an amphitheatre,
and richly clothed with beech-trees of luxuriant growth.
Extending along the eastern side of the vale is Loncheridge wood, comprising about 400 acres of beech and
other trees. The manufacture of woollen-cloth is carried
on to a considerable extent; there are two establishments for Saxony broad-cloths. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £45; patron, the Vicar of
Painswick. The chapel was built in 1819.—See Painswick.
Shepton-Beauchamp (St. Michael)
SHEPTON-BEAUCHAMP (St. Michael), a parish,
in the union of Chard, hundred of South Petherton,
W. division of Somerset, 3¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from
Ilminster; containing 637 inhabitants. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 8. 11½., and
in the patronage of the Rev. P. Smith: the tithes have
been commuted for £365; there are 16½ acres of glebe.
£10 a year, arising from certain land bequeathed by
Thomas Rich in 1723; and the interest of £100, the
gift of Elizabeth Morgan in 1763; are applied in aid of
a national school. The latter donor also bequeathed
£200, the interest to be applied in apprenticing children.
Shepton-Mallet (St. Peter and St. Paul)
SHEPTON-MALLET (St. Peter and St. Paul), a
market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the
hundred of Whitestone, E. division of Somerset, 14
miles (N. E.) from Somerton, and 125 (W. by S.) from
London; containing, with the hamlet of CharltonWoodlands, and part of that of Oakhill, 5265 inhabitants. The origin of this town is traceable to the early
part of the 14th century, the charter for its market
having been granted by Edward II. in the 11th year of
his reign. The manor, at the time of the Norman survey, was subordinate to that of Pilton, which had been
conferred by King Ina upon the abbot of Glaston; and
its sheep pastures, from which it is supposed to derive
its name, are noticed in that record: the additional appellation, Mallet, was received from the barons Mallet,
lords of Shepton in the reigns of Henry I., Stephen, and
Henry II. The consequences of the Duke of Monmouth's
rebellion were severely felt in this part; and thirteen
persons of the town, having been convicted at the
"bloody western assizes," suffered here for their participation in that enterprise.
The town is situated chiefly on the southern bank of
a deep valley, and consists of a number of streets and
lanes, the principal of which, crossing the valley from
north to south, is spacious and well built; the others
are mostly narrow and irregular. The erection of a
bridge, and the opening of a new road, have materially
improved the place. It is adequately supplied with
water, and a stream runs through the bottom of the
valley, turning several mills in its course; the manufacture of woollen-goods, silk, lace, stockings, sailcloth,
and hair-seating, is carried on to a considerable extent.
The parish comprises a portion of the Mendip range of
hills, prior to the inclosure of which lead-ore was obtained. The market-days are Tuesday and Friday, the
latter for all kinds of agricultural produce. The marketcross, a fine old structure erected by Walter and Agnes
Buckland in 1500, originally consisted of only five
arches; but it has lately undergone a thorough renovation, funds having been left by the founders to keep it
in repair, and a sixth arch has been added: elevated
above two rows of steps is an hexagonal pillar, ornamented with niches, and supporting a flat roof surmounted by a pyramidal spire. The fairs are on EasterMonday, the 18th of June, and 8th of August. The
management of the local affairs is vested in a high constable and subordinate officers, who are chosen at a
court leet in October, by the householders generally; and
a court for the recovery of debts under £2 has been held
from time immemorial. The county bridewell or house
of correction, capable of receiving from 200 to 300 prisoners, is in the town.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£33. 12. 1., and in the alternate patronage of the Queen
in right of the duchy of Cornwall, and the Rev. Provis
Wickham; net income, £533. The church is a venerable cruciform pile, with two small chapels attached;
the roof of the nave is curiously wrought, and the pulpit
and font, which are of stone, are much admired. There
are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics; and the nuns of the order
of the Visitation have a convent here with about 30 inmates. The free school, established by Sir George Strode
and others, in 1639, is endowed with property producing
about £75 per annum. Four boys are educated, and an
apprentice-fee of £7 given with each from a charity
founded by Mr. John Curtis in 1730, now yielding about
£20 per annum; and sixteen girls are clothed and educated from the produce of a bequest made by Mrs.
Mary Gapper in 1783. Almshouses for four men were
endowed in 1699, by Edward Strode, with property now
worth about £360 a year, of which £80 are appropriated
to the inmates, and about £200 to the purchase of bread
for general distribution among the indigent. The union
of Shepton-Mallet comprises 24 parishes or places, containing a population of 17,805. The Roman fosse-way
to Ilchester ran through the parish, eastward of the
town; and in 1840 some Roman urns were discovered
in digging on Lapwing Farm, by Mr. Rugg, who, in prosecuting the search, found several others, in all about
fourteen. Shepton-Mallet is the birthplace of Hugh
Inge, chancellor of Ireland, who died in 1528; and of
Walter Charlton, an eminent physician, author of a work
on Stonehenge, and other productions.
Shepton-Montague (St. Peter)
SHEPTON-MONTAGUE (St. Peter), a parish, in
the union of Wincanton, hundred of Norton-Ferris,
E. division of Somerset, 2½ miles (S.) from Burton;
containing 407 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 2428 acres of land, about equally divided into
arable and dairy farms; the surface is undulated, and
the scenery pleasing. The living is a perpetual curacy,
valued in the king's books at £8. 15.; net income, £62;
patron and impropriator, the Earl of Ilchester, whose
tithes have been commuted for £223. The church is
an ancient structure in various styles.
Sheraton
SHERATON, a township, in the parish of MonkHesleton, union of Easington, S. division of Easington ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 11½
miles (N.) from Stockton; containing 147 inhabitants.
The township comprises about 1660 acres, of which 50
are wood and plantations, and the remainder arable and
pasture; the soil is generally clayey, and of great fertility in some parts, with small tracts of good turnip
land. The Stockton and Sunderland road passes
through the township; and at Castle-Eden, about 2½
miles to the north, is a post-office. The tithes, including
those of Hulam, have been commuted for £199, of which
£84 are payable to the vicar.
Sherborne (St. Mary)
SHERBORNE (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Sherborne, Sherborne division of Dorset, 18 miles (N.
by W.) from Dorchester, and 117 (W. S. W.) from London; containing 4758 inhabitants. This place appears
to have emerged from insignificance in the Saxon era.
The name, anciently Schiraburn, Schireburn, and Seyreburn, is derived from the Saxon words Sirce, clear, and
Burn, a spring or fountain; and in old Latin records
the place is usually styled Fons clarus. In 670, a house
was founded here for Secular canons, by Cenwalh, King
of the West Saxons, and others; and in 704, Sherborne
was made the head of a see which at first included the
counties of Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, Devon, and Cornwall, by Ina, whose kinsman Aldhelm was the first
bishop. About 998, the Secular canons were displaced,
and a society of Benedictines established, under licence
from Ethelred, by Wulfin, Bishop of Sherborne, who rebuilt the monastery, and dedicated it to St. Mary; the
institution became richly endowed, and at the Dissolution its revenue was valued at £682. 14. 7. The remains
are considerable, though in a state of gradual decay.
They consist chiefly of the refectory, a noble room now
appropriated as a silk manufactory; the grand entrance
of the abbey, which still displays traces of its original
magnificence; and the granary at a short distance to the
north of the abbey, which has been converted into a
private residence, but of which the ancient gateway and
other characteristic features are carefully preserved.
The see continued for three centuries and a half,
when it was removed to Sarum; this removal contributed
much to depress the prosperity of Sherborne, and for a
long period afterwards it was in comparative obscurity.
About 1103, it is stated to have been burnt by a detachment of Danish invaders, and the entire destruction of
the town and its ecclesiastical buildings is a matter of
great probability. It is evident that a castle stood here
at a very early period, but the founder and the time of
its erection and demolition are unknown. Previously to
the time of Henry I., however, another had been built
by Roger, third bishop of Salisbury, as an episcopal
palace; it was an octagonal structure, situated on a hill
eastward of the town, and fortified by a moat and several
drawbridges. Having been seized by Stephen, it remained in the possession of the crown for some time,
but about 1350 it was recovered by Bishop Wyvil.
During the civil war in the reign of Charles I., it was
garrisoned in the royal interest; and although gallantly
defended and one of the last fortresses that yielded, it
was eventually taken by the forces under the command
of Fairfax, and was demolished in 1645. Considerable
portions of the ruins are remaining: the present mansion
of Sherborne Castle, the seat of Earl Digby, standing in
a very fine park, was built by Sir Walter Raleigh.
The town is situated principally on a gradual slope
near the border of the White Hart Forest, and the vale
of Blackmore; and is divided by a small stream into
two parts, of which one is called Castle Town. It is
well paved, lighted, and amply supplied with water. The
woollen-trade, which formerly flourished, was succeeded
by the making of buttons, haberdashery, and lace; in
1740 a silk-mill was erected, and the various branches
of this manufacture, especially the making of silk twist
and buttons, now afford employment to a great number
of the working class. Markets are held on Tuesday,
Thurday, and Saturday, the principal day being Thursday; and there are fairs on May 22nd, July 18th and
26th, and the first Monday after October 10th. The
parish comprises 6467a. 31p. of land, chiefly arable, with
portions of pasture and woodland, and about 120 acres
of waste.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£20. 4. 7., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £258; impropriator, Earl Digby. The church,
most probably occupying the site of the ancient cathedral,
is a magnificent cruciform structure of various dates,
with a central tower 154 feet in height. The lower part
of the tower, the south porch, and the south transept
are of Norman character, forming perfect specimens of
that style. The choir and the arch leading into the
Lady chapel, with the east end of the old vestry, are
early English; the south aisle is in the decorated style
of architecture, and the other portions of the church,
and the upper stages of the tower, are in the later Enelish style. The roofs, with the exception of that of the
south transept, are all of stone, elaborately groined; the
roof of the north transept is one of the most beautiful
specimens extant. The large bell in the tower weighs
3 tons, and was the gift of Cardinal Wolsey. The Saxon
kings Ethelbald and Ethelbert, and many Saxon nobles,
bishops, and abbots, were interred here; and the church
contains some very ancient monuments, including a
handsome one of the Digby family. There are places of
worship for Friends, Independents, and Wesleyans.
The free grammar school was founded by Edward VI.,
who endowed it with property belonging to several dissolved chantries in the counties of Dorset and Somerset,
producing at present an income of about £850 per annum, and who placed it under the control of twenty of
the inhabitants, whom he incorporated. By a recent
statute, the governors are empowered to grant four exhibitions of £60 per annum each to either of the universities, tenable for four years by boys on the foundation. The almshouse here, originally an hospital of the
order of St. Augustine, was refounded by licence from
Henry VI., and dedicated to St. John the Baptist and
St. John the Evangelist, for twenty brethren, twelve
poor men, four poor women, and a chaplain, under a
master and trustees. It now contains sixteen men and
eight women, under the superintendence of a master and
nineteen brethren; and a chaplain officiates daily. One
of the principal benefactors to the town was Mr. Benjamin Vowell, who by will gave the dividends of £1000
three per cent, consols., to be distributed in clothing,
besides two sums of £300, and one of £400, to various
benefit societies. There is a very considerable fund for
the poor arising from land and houses given for that
purpose, in 1448, by Robert Neville, Bishop of Sarum,
and others. The union of Sherborne comprises 30 parishes or places, 23 of which are in the county of Dorset,
and 7 in that of Somerset, altogether containing a population of 12,242.
Sherborne (St. Mary Magdalene)
SHERBORNE (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish,
in the union of Northleach, Lower division of the
hundred of Slaughter, E. division of the county of
Gloucester, 6 miles (N. W. by W.) from Burford; containing 637 inhabitants, and supposed to contain about
2000 acres. Sherborne gives the title of Baron to the
family of Dutton. The living is a discharged vicarage,
with that of Windrush united, valued in the king's books
at £15. 6. 8.; net income, £194; patron and impropriator, Lord Sherborne. The tithes were commuted
for land and a money payment in 1777. James Bradley,
D.D., regius professor of astronomy, and astronomerroyal, was born here in 1692.
Sherborne St. John, or East Sherborne (St. Andrew)
SHERBORNE ST. JOHN, or EAST SHERBORNE
(St. Andrew), a parish, in the union and hundred of
Basingstoke, Basingstoke and N. divisions of the
county of Southampton, 2¾ miles (N. N. W.) from
Basingstoke; containing 718 inhabitants. The living is
a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 8. 1½., and
in the gift of W. L. W. Chute, Esq.: the tithes have been
commuted for £600, and the glebe consists of 63 acres.
There is a private chapel at the Vine, the seat of Mrs.
Chute, containing a tomb in memory of Chaloner Chute,
speaker of the house of commons in Richard Cromwell's
parliament, and the purchaser of this noble mansion,
which was erected in the reign of Henry VIII. by the
first Lord Sandys.
Sherborne, Monk, or West Sherborne (All Saints)
SHERBORNE, MONK, or WEST SHERBORNE
(All Saints), a parish, in the union, and partly in the
hundred, of Basingstoke, but chiefly in the hundred of
Chutely, Basingstoke and N. divisions of the county of
Southampton, 3½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Basingstoke; containing, with the tythings of Chineham and
Woodgarston, 559 inhabitants. It comprises 3087a. 4p.,
of which 2318 acres are arable, 270 meadow and pasture, and 416 woodland. The soil is partly chalk, and
partly clay; the surface is undulated, and the scenery
pleasingly diversified. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 0. 7½.; patrons
and impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of Queen's
College, Oxford: the great tithes have been commuted
for £647, and the small for £74. The church is an ancient structure in the Norman style. The chapel of a
Benedictine priory still remains, and service is performed
in it every Sunday; it has an altar-tomb with the recumbent figure of a Knight Templar carved in solid oak,
supposed to be the effigy of Sir John de Port. The
priory was dedicated to St. Mary and St. John, and was
a cell to the abbey of Cerasy, in Normandy; it was given
by Henry VI. to Eton College, but was subsequently
granted by Edward IV. to the hospital of St. Julian, in
Southampton, and finally to the Provost and Fellows of
Queen's College, as masters of that hospital.
Sherbourne (All Saints)
SHERBOURNE (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Warwick, Snitterfield division of the hundred of
Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick,
2¾ miles (S. W. by S.) from Warwick; containing 209
inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river
Avon, comprises about 1500 acres of land, chiefly arable
and pasture; the soil is light, and the scenery enriched
with wood, principally elm. The road from Warwick to
Stratford-upon-Avon passes through the village. The
living is a perpetual curacy, with the rectory of Fulbrook
united; net income, £110; patron, Samuel Ryland,
Esq. The church is an ancient structure.
Sherburn
SHERBURN, a township, partly in the parish of
Pittington, and partly in that of Shadforth, S. division of Easington ward, union, and N. division of the
county, of Durham, 2¾ miles (E.) from Durham; containing 1946 inhabitants. This place derives its name
from a clear streamlet which joins the Pidding. In the
record called Boldon Book, in the 12th century, it is included in Queringdonshire, and divided into North and
South, a distinction now obsolete, as the latter district,
which was probably the more ancient because it stood
almost immediately on the brook that gave name to the
township, is swallowed up in the possessions of the
Hospital described in a subsequent article. The township comprises about 740 acres: the population is chiefly
employed in collieries and limeworks. Facility of communication is afforded by the York and Newcastle and
the Durham and Sunderland railways. Tithe rentcharges have been awarded amounting to £274, of which
£150 are payable to the vicar of Pittington.
Sherburn (St. Hilda)
SHERBURN (St. Hilda), a parish, in the union
of Scarborough, wapentake of Buckrose, E. riding
of York, 11¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Malton; containing 623 inhabitants. The parish is situated partly on
the Wolds, and is intersected by one of the roads from
York to Scarborough. It comprises by measurement
4200 acres, of which about 3670 are arable, 400 meadow
and pasture, and 30 woodland. The Derwent forms
part of the northern boundary. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 0. 2½.; net
income, £120; patron, Sir George Strickland, Bart.;
impropriator, the Hon. M. Langley. The church is
ancient: the arch between the chancel and nave, which
is elliptical, is indicative of great antiquity, and is most
probably early Norman; it is supported on short massive pillars. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Sherburn (All Saints)
SHERBURN (All Saints), a market-town and parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Barkstone-Ash, W. riding of York; comprising the townships of Barkstone, Huddlestone with Lumby, Lotherton,
South Milford, Newthorpe, and Sherburn, and the chapelry of Micklefield; and containing 3757 inhabitants,
of whom 1328 are in the town, 15 miles (S. W. by S.)
from York, and 184 (N. by W.) from London. This
place derives its name from the Saxon Scire, pure, and
Burn, a stream, in reference to the rivulet on which it is
situated. It was of considerable importance during the
heptarchy, and the residence of King Athelstan, whose
palace here was given to the see of York, and afterwards
exchanged by Archbishop Holgate for property at Cawood
and Bishopthorpe. Nothing remains of the structure
but a few inequalities on the surface of the land, which
indistinctly mark the site; the materials are said to
have been used in the erection of the present church.
During the war in the reign of Charles I., an engagement took place here between the parliamentarians under
Colonel Copley, and the royalists commanded by Lord
Digby, lieutenant-general of the king's forces north of
the Trent. The latter were at first triumphantly victorious, but Copley's retreat being mistaken for a royalist
flight by that part of Lord Digby's forces not on the
field, they instantly dispersed, and some fresh republican troops coming up at the moment, the victory was
turned into a defeat. The army of Lord Digby was entirely discomfited, and all his baggage and cabinet papers
fell into the hands of the enemy.
The town is situated on the direct road from Tadcaster to Ferrybridge; the York and North-Midland
railway has a station in the township, and the Leeds
and Selby line has stations at Micklefield and South
Milford. The vicinity abounds with fine orchards: flax
is cultivated to some extent, for the Leeds market; and
teasel also, which is largely grown in the neighbourhood,
forms a prominent article of trade. On a stream called
Bishop Dyke are several corn-mills. The substratum
abounds with excellent freestone, of which great quantities were raised for the repair of York Minster and Westminster Abbey: the stone was pronounced by Chantrey
to be the most durable in the kingdom. The market,
which is on Friday, had grown almost into disuse, but
since the construction of the railways has been revived,
and is now numerously attended by dealers in corn. A
fair for pedlery and various kinds of merchandise is held
on the 25th of September, and a statute-fair on the Friday
preceding and the Friday following Martinmas. There
are petty-sessions every alternate Wednesday.
The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's
books at £10. 17. 1.; net income, £135; patron, the
Archbishop of York. The tithes were commuted for
land and money payments in 1770. The church is a
spacious and handsome structure, the nave presenting a
beautiful specimen of architecture. There are chapels of
ease at Lotherton aud Micklefield, and a separate incumbency at South Milford. The Wesleyans and Roman
Catholics have places of worship. The free grammar
and hospital school was founded in 1619, by Robert
Hungate, who endowed it with a rent-charge of £120
for the education and maintenance of twenty-four orphan
boys, £13. 6. 8. for the master of the hospital, £30 for
the schoolmaster, £13. 6. 8. for the usher, £26. 13. 4.
for exhibitions for the poor scholars, and £2. 10. for an
apprentice-fee with one of the orphans. These funds
being found inadequate for all the purposes, the number
of orphans was reduced to eight, the apprentice-fee increased to £7. 10., and the schoolmaster's salary to
£80, without an usher. The school has an exhibition
every fifth year for one scholar, on Lady Hastings'
foundation; and is under the visitation of the Dean of
York. A school for the maintenance and education of
six female orphans was endowed in 1731, by the Rev.
Samuel Duffield, with certain land and the sum of £1450,
now producing an income of £114 per annum. A rich
and elegant cross was found some years since, in the
churchyard, when digging amongst the foundations of an
old chapel. Traces of a Roman road to Aberford are yet
visible.
Sherburn House or Hospital
SHERBURN HOUSE or HOSPITAL, an extraparochial liberty, in the S. division of Easington ward,
union, and N. division of the county, of Durham, 2½
miles (E. by S.) from Durham; containing, according to
the last census, 86 inhabitants, but now about 200,
owing to the increase of its pit population. This place
is usually called Sherburn House, from the legal title of
its hospital, Domus Hospitalis Christi de Sherburn. The
hospital was founded by Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, about 1181, and was dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin, to Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha;
its revenue, in the reign of Henry VIII., was certified as
of the value of £142. 0. 4., the society consisting of a
master, several priests, and sixty-five lepers. The
leprosy becoming extinct in England, the hospital was
incorporated in 1585, by Queen Elizabeth, for a master
and thirty brethren; and at present this is one of the
most richly endowed charitable foundations in the north
of England, its income amounting to several thousand
pounds per annum. It is governed by a body of statutes
given by Bishop Chandler in 1735, but the Bishop of
Durham, as visiter, has full power to alter the statutes
as he may think expedient.
Fifteen of the persons on the establishment are inbrethren, and must be single men; fifteen are out-brethren, and may, at the option of the master, be married
men. The qualification is, the non-possession of property worth more than £20, birth in the county of Durham, and membership of the Church of England. The
brethren are all nominated by the master, except one,
who is appointed by a private family. The in-brethren
have clothing and comfortable maintenance, and by the
act of Elizabeth were to receive a small money payment;
but this, and the larger pensions of the out-brethren,
have from time to time been augmented, so as to keep
pace with the value of money. The appointment of the
master is vested in the visiter, and the office is not
tenable with any ecclesiastical benefice which has the
cure of souls; he must be at the least M.A. of Oxford
or Cambridge, and by the act of 1585 is required to be
in holy orders, though, by a dispensation from the crown,
he may be a layman, as the appointment is now held to
be lay preferment. The chaplain is also vice master,
and to him the discipline of the hospital is ordinarily
assigned. The livings of Bishopton, Grindon, Ebchester, and Sockburn, are in the patronage of the master,
and the present master has augmented the income of
each. The hospital stands on the eastern side of the
small river Pidding, one of the feeders of the Wear;
and forms three sides of a spacious court, the fourth
being occupied by the wall of the ancient clausum and
the entrance gateway. The chapel has been thoroughly
restored; the dilapidated master's house has been rebuilt, and a separate house erected for the chaplain.
On the re-incorporation of the hospital, it was dedicated
to Christ.
Shere (St. James)
SHERE (St. James), a parish, in the union of
Guildford, Second division of the hundred of Blackheath, W. division of Surrey, 6 miles (E. by S.) from
Guildford; containing 1347 inhabitants. It is situated
on the road from Guildford to Dorking, and comprises
about 6300 acres, of which 3900 are under cultivation,
and 2400 waste; the soil of the inclosed land is fertile,
and the scenery is pleasing. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £26. 1. 5½., and in the
gift of the Rev. D. C. Delafosse: the tithes have been
commuted for £940, and there is a glebe of 5 acres.
The church is principally in the early English style, with
a tower and spire rising from the centre; it has some
fine remains of stained glass, and several brasses. There
are two places of worship for Independents. Thomas
Gatton, Esq., in 1758, bequeathed £400 for teaching
children, who are sent to the school at Albury: Edward Woods, Esq., in 1837 left £500 for poor widows.
William Bray, Esq., the antiquary, and county historian,
was born and is buried here.