Stoven (St. Margaret)
STOVEN (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Blything, E. division of Suffolk,
2 miles (N. W.) from Wangford; containing 127 inhabitants. It comprises 793a. 3r. 39p., of which 30
acres are common or waste. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £63; patron, incumbent, and impropriator, the Rev. G. O. Leman: the tithes have been
commuted for £200. The church, which is chiefly
early English, contains two Norman arches of great
beauty.
Stow
STOW, a hamlet, in the parish of Threckingham,
union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aveland, parts of
Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 2¼ miles (N. E. by E.)
from Falkingham; containing 34 inhabitants.
Stow (St. Mary)
STOW (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, wapentake of Well, parts of Lindsey, county
of Lincoln, 8 miles (S. E.) from Gainsborough; containing, with the townships of Bransby, Normanby, and
Sturton, 943 inhabitants, of whom 418 are in Stow
township. This place is generally supposed to have been
the Sidnacester of the Romans, and the seat of a Saxon
bishopric from about 678 to 959. The ancient Watlingstreet passes near. A nunnery was founded by Godiva,
wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, who also, with her husband, greatly augmented the revenue of Stow church,
which had been built and endowed for secular priests
by Eadnorth, Bishop of Dorchester. These religious,
after the Conquest, became Benedictine monks, under
the government of an abbot, and Bishop Remigius obtained for them, from William Rufus, the then desolate
abbey of Eynsham, in Oxfordshire, where they soon
settled. King Henry III. passed the night at Stow,
previously to his engagement, under the walls of Lincoln
Castle, with the forces of Louis and the turbulent barons. The parish comprises 4737a. 3r. 11p., and is
intersected by the middle road from Lincoln to Gainsborough. A fair for horses is held on the 10th of
October. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income,
£102, with a house; patron, the Bishop of Lincoln.
The tithes have been commuted for £936. The church
is a spacious and massive structure, principally in the
Norman style, with a central tower; the south and
west sides of the nave have each a highly-ornamented
doorway, and the chancel contains some fine details,
especially in the mouldings of the arches. There is a
meeting-house for Wesleyans. A school is endowed
with £12 per annum.
Stow (St. Michael)
STOW (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of
Knighton, hundred of Purslow, S. division of Salop,
1½ mile (N. E.) from Knighton; containing 185 inhabitants. It comprises 2693 acres, of which 1350 are
common or waste land. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 7. 4., and in
the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £204 payable to the vicar, and £48 to the
warden of Gun hospital.
Stow-Bardolph (Holy Trinity)
STOW-BARDOLPH (Holy Trinity), a parish, in
the union of Downham, hundred of Clackclose, W.
division of Norfolk, 2 miles (N. N. E.) from Downham; containing 1076 inhabitants. This parish, which
is on the road to Lynn, and is intersected by the greater
river Ouse, comprises 6041a. 3r. 1p., whereof 5152 acres
are arable, 778 pasture and meadow, and 111 wood.
The lands are the property of Sir Thomas Hare, Bart.,
whose seat, Stow Hall, is a handsome mansion finely
situated. About two miles from the village is a bridge
over the river, in the immediate neighbourhood of which
a considerable village has recently arisen, where a fair
for horses and cows is held on the eve of the festival of
the Holy Trinity. The living is a discharged vicarage,
with the rectory of Wimbotsham annexed, valued in the
king's books at £6. 6. 8., and in the patronage of Sir T.
Hare, who is impropriator of Stow-Bardolph. The great
tithes of the parish, with some exception, have been
commuted for £350, and the vicarial tithes for £158;
there is a glebe of 20 acres, with a house. The church
is chiefly in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; on the north side of the chancel is the
mausoleum of the Hare family, in which are many
splendid monuments. There are places of worship for
Baptists and Wesleyans; also six almshouses for widows
erected in 1603 by Sir Ralph Hare, who in 1622 endowed them with 80 acres of land now producing £80
per annum. To the south of the church are the remains
of an ancient hermitage of brick and flint, now part of a
farmhouse.
Stow-Bedon (St. Botolph)
STOW-BEDON (St. Botolph), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Wayland, W. division of Norfolk, 5 miles (S. E. by S.) from Watton; containing
300 inhabitants. It comprises about 1700 acres; the
surface is boldly undulated, and the lower grounds are
watered by a small rivulet. Stow-Bedon Hall, a mansion formerly of some importance, is now a farmhouse.
The living is a discharged vicarage, endowed with the
rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at
£4. 19. 4½ net income, £295; patron, the Rev. E.
Goddard: the glebe comprises 10 acres. The church
was anciently appropriated to Marham Abbey, and had
a guild in honour of the Virgin Mary. It is chiefly in
the decorated and later English styles; the tower fell
down in 1797, and has not been rebuilt: the font is
large, and beautifully sculptured. In the churchyard
are three coffin-shaped tombs, with crosses fleuri. At
the inclosure of the parish, 30 acres were allotted to the
poor for fuel.
Stow cum Quy (St. Mary)
STOW cum Quy (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Chesterton, hundred of Staine, county of Cambridge, 5 miles (N. E.) from Cambridge; containing
445 inhabitants. It comprises 1918a. 2r. 29p., of which
1469 acres are arable, 364 pasture, 37 wood, and the
remainder common, roads, &c. An act was passed in
1839, for inclosing certain waste lands, when 4 acres
were appropriated for recreation. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £52; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Ely. The tithes have been commuted
for £530, and the glebe comprises 64½ acres. Jeremy
Collier, the celebrated nonjuring divine, was born here in
1650.
Stow-Langtoft (St. George)
STOW-LANGTOFT (St. George), a parish, in the
union of Stow, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division
of Suffolk, 2 miles (S. E.) from Ixworth; containing
183 inhabitants, and comprising by computation 1304
acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £8. 7. 8½.; net income, £307; patron, H.
Wilson, Esq. There is a glebe of 63 acres, with an
excellent rectory-house built in 1833 by the Rev. Samuel
Rickards, assisted by the patron. The church is in the
decorated and later English styles; the chancel contains
several richly-carved stalls and handsome monuments
to members of the family of D'Ewes. The church and
parsonage-house stand upon the site of a Roman encampment, and numerous coins have been discovered at
different times. Sir Symonds D'Ewes, Bart., the eminent antiquary, lived in the Hall, now the residence of
Mr. Wilson, proprietor of the parish. Tillemans, the
Dutch painter, was buried in the church.
Stow, Long
STOW, LONG, a parish, in the union of Caxton
and Arrington, hundred of Longstow, county of
Cambridge, 2 miles (S. S. E.) from Caxton; containing 276 inhabitants. It is situated on the old north
road, and comprises 1400 acres. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £4. 8. 4.; patron and
incumbent, the Rev. H. A. Bishop. The tithes were
commuted for land and a money payment in 1798; the
glebe-house was rebuilt in 1840, by the incumbent, and
the glebe altogether contains 406 acres. An hospital for
poor sisters was founded here, and dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin, in the reign of Henry III., by Walter,
then vicar. Fossil remains abound in the neighbourhood, consisting principally of ammonites and bones of
large animals.
Stow, Long (St. Botolph)
STOW, LONG (St. Botolph), a parish, in the union
of St. Neot's, hundred of Leightonstone, county of
Huntingdon, 2½ miles (N. by E.) from Kimbolton;
containing, with the chapelry of Little Catworth, 263
inhabitants, of whom 188 are in the hamlet of Long
Stow. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Ely, with a net income of £70.
The tithes, payable to the governors of Queen Anne's
Bounty, have been commuted for £143. 6. 8.; the governors have also 191 acres of glebe.
Stow-Maries (St. Mary and St. Margaret)
STOW-MARIES (St. Mary and St. Margaret), a
parish, in the union of Maldon, hundred of Dengie, S.
division of Essex, 7 miles (S. by W.) from Maldon; containing 257 inhabitants. This parish takes the adjunct
to its name from the family of Marey, to whom the lands
at one time belonged. It is situated on the river Crouch,
and comprises by admeasurement 2466 acres, whereof
1755 are arable, 99 pasture, 155 meadow, and 82 wood.
A fair is held on the 24th of June. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £18. 6. 8., and in the
gift of the Rev. T. H. Storie: the tithes have been commuted for £660; there is a glebe-house, and the glebe
contains 40 acres. The church is ancient.
Stow-Market (St. Peter and St. Mary)
STOW-MARKET (St. Peter and St. Mary), a
market-town and parish, and the head of the union of
Stow, in the hundred of Stow, W. division of Suffolk, 75 miles (N. E.) from London; containing,
with the chapelry of Gipping, 3136 inhabitants. This
place is very ancient, and at the time of the Norman survey was called Thorna or Thorne Market, the
former term being derived from the Saxon divinity Thor,
and ea, water, in allusion to the adjoining river. It
was afterwards named Stow-Market, from its being the
market for the hundred of Stow. Two churches are
mentioned in Domesday book as existing here. The
town is the most central in the county, and is situated
at the confluence of three rivulets which form the river
Gipping, on the road from Ipswich to Bury and Cambridge. It consists of several streets, for the most part
regularly built, and lighted with gas; many of the
houses are handsome, and the inhabitants are supplied
with water from land springs and wells. The commercial interests of the town are essentially promoted by
its locality, and have been much improved by the Gipping being made navigable to Ipswich, under an act
obtained in 1790. From the basin extends a pleasant
walk, about a mile in length, passing through the extensive hop plantations in the neighbourhood. The
trade consists chiefly in the making of malt, for which
there are more than twenty houses, and which is rapidly
increasing; corn, malt, and flour are largely exported to
London, Hull, Liverpool, and other places. A brewery
has been established, and there are small manufactories
for rope, twine, and sacking; a patent saw-mill; and
three iron-foundries, one of which is also used for
making agricultural implements. By means of the navigation to Ipswich, timber, deals, coal, iron, salt, oil-cake,
and slate, are brought for the supply of the central
parts of the county. Here is a station of the Ipswich
and Bury railway, 12 miles from Ipswich, and 15 from
Bury; and an act was passed in 1846 for a branch from
this railway hence, to Diss and Norwich, 31 miles long.
The market is on Thursday, and is for corn, cattle, and
provisions: a building for a corn-exchange and readingroom, which is also used on public occasions, has been
erected at a cost of £3000, raised by shares of £25
each. A fair is held on August. 12th, chiefly for lambs;
and on July 10th is a pleasure-fair. The county meetings are held in the town; and the magistrates hold a
petty-session every alternate Monday. The powers of
the county debt-court of Stow-Market, established in
1847, extend over part of the registration-district of
Stow.
The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of
Stow-Upland annexed, valued in the king's books at
£16. 15.; patron, incumbent, and impropriator, the
Rev. A. G. Harper Hollingsworth. The great tithes of
Stow-Market have been commuted for £89, and the
vicarial for £185; the glebe contains 6 acres, with a
house, in the grounds of which is a fine mulberry-tree
planted by the poet Milton, while on a visit to Dr.
Young, the vicar. The church was rebuilt about the
year 1300 by the monks of St. Osyth, Essex, who then
held the advowson; it was enlarged in 1838, and is a
spacious and handsome structure in the centre of the
town, partly in the decorated and partly in the later
English style. The building consists of a nave, chancel,
and aisles, with a square embattled tower, surmounted
by a slender wooden spire of tasteful appearance, 120
feet in height, which was erected from the proceeds of
a legacy left in the reign of Anne. At the east end of
the south aisle is the Tyrell chapel, separated by a carved
screen, and containing interesting monuments to that
family. There are places of worship for Baptists and
Independents; and several benevolent institutions for
the relief of the poor, who also receive about £260 per
annum from bequests made at different periods. The
union of Stow comprises 34 parishes or places, and
contains a population of 19,675. In a stone-pit near
the entrance to the town, the tusks and bones of a
species of elephant have been found. A spring in the
parish is slightly impregnated with iron. Dr. Young,
tutor to the poet Milton, and master of Jesus College,
Cambridge, was vicar of the parish from 1630 to 1655,
and was interred here.
Stow-On-The-Wold (St. Edward)
STOW-ON-THE-WOLD (St. Edward), a markettown and parish, and the head of a union, in the Upper
division of the hundred of Slaughter, E. division of
the county of Gloucester, 25 miles (E. by N.) from
Gloucester, and 82 (W. N. W.) from London; containing, with the hamlets of Donnington and Mangersbury,
2140 inhabitants, of whom 1465 are in the town. This
place, in old records denominated Stow St. Edward, was
the scene of a battle between the royalists and the parliamentary forces in the great civil war, when the former
were put to flight. The town is situated on the summit
of a steep elevation. The houses in general are of stone,
but low, irregularly built, and of ancient appearance;
and being indifferently supplied with fuel and water,
and having no common field attached, the place is vulgarly remarked to have only one of the four elements,
namely, air. A charter for a market was procured in
the reign of Edward III., by the abbot of Evesham, then
lord of the manor; it is on Thursday, and fairs are
held on May 12th and October 24th, for the sale of hops,
cheese, and sheep, of which last 20,000 are said to have
been sold at one fair. The inhabitants were incorporated
by Henry VI., but at present the town is governed by
two bailiffs, who are appointed annually at the manorial
court leet. The powers of the county debt-court of
Stow, established in 1847, extend over the registrationdistrict of Stow. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £18; net income, £525; patron, the
family of Hippisley: the tithes were commuted for land
and a money payment in 1765. The church is a spacious edifice in the ancient English style, erected at different periods in the 14th and 15th centuries; the tower
is conspicuous at a great distance. There is a place of
worship for Baptists; also a school endowed with £13. 9.
per annum for teaching Latin. An almshouse for nine
persons, on the south side of the churchyard, was
founded in the sixteenth of Edward IV., under the will
of William Chestre; and subsequent endowments have
been given for the maintenance of its inmates. The
poor-law union comprises 28 parishes or places, 25 of
which are in the county of Gloucester, and 3 in that of
Worcester; the whole containing a population of 9522.
A park, house, and garden, named St. Margaret's Chapel, at a place called Merke, in the parish, constituted
part of the estates of Charles I. and his queen. The
Fosse-way intersects the northern part of the parish.
Stow-Upland (St. Mary)
STOW-UPLAND (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Stow, W. division of Suffolk; adjoining Stow-Market, and containing 903 inhabitants.
The living is a discharged vicarage, annexed to that of
Stow-Market. The great tithes have been commuted
for £257, and the vicarial for £175; the impropriate
glebe contains 29 acres. A church has been erected by
subscription: it is dedicated to the Trinity; and the
living is a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Vicar, with
a net income of £100.
Stow, West (St. Mary)
STOW, WEST (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Thingoe, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of
Suffolk, 5 miles (N. N. W.) from Bury St. Edmund's;
containing 279 inhabitants. It is situated on the right
bank of the river Lark, and consists of 2926a. 3r. 36p.
The living is a discharged rectory, with that of Wordwell united, valued in the king's books at £9. 17. 3½.,
and in the gift of R. B. de Beauvoir, Esq.: the tithes
of the parish have been commuted for £191, and the
glebe comprises 29¾ acres. The church contains numerous memorials of the ancient family of Croft. The remains of the Hall convey some idea of its former magnificence; the gateway entrance is a fine specimen of
brick-work of the time of Henry VIII. The Rev. John
Boys, one of the learned divines employed in the translation of the Bible, was rector of West Stow.
Stow-Wood
STOW-WOOD, a parish, in the union of Headington, hundred of Bullingdon, county of Oxford, 4
miles (N. E.) from Oxford; containing 33 inhabitants,
who attend the adjoining parochial church of Beckley.
Stowe (St. Mary)
STOWE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 2½ miles (N. N. W.)
from Buckingham; containing, with the hamlets of
Boycutt, Dadford, and Lamport, 410 inhabitants. This
place is celebrated for the princely mansion of the Duke
of Buckingham, which was visited by Her Majesty and
Prince Albert in January 1845. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11.14.7.; net
income, £95; patron and impropriator, his Grace.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; also a
school, in which 50 children of both sexes are educated
and clothed, at the expense of the Duchess of Buckingham. Hammond, the elegiac poet, died whilst on a
visit here, in 1742.
Stowe (St. John the Baptist)
STOWE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the
union of Stamford, wapentake of Ness, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 5 miles (E. N. E.) from
Stamford; containing 11 inhabitants, and comprising
400 acres. The living is a discharged vicarage, united
in 1772 to that of Barholme, and valued in the king's
books at £4. 3. 9. A school held from time immemorial in the court-house of the manor, is endowed with
£12 per annum, the bequest of Edward Burgh.
Stowe (St. John the Baptist)
STOWE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the
S. division of the hundred of Pirehill, union, and N.
division of the county, of Stafford, 7 miles (N. E. by
E.) from Stafford; containing, with the townships of
Amerton and Grindley, and part of the townships of
Drointon, Great and Little Haywood, and Hixon, 1267
inhabitants, of whom 156 are in Stowe township. The
parish comprises 5008a. 2r. 31p. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £61; patron, Sir John Cave,
Bart.; impropriator, John Fitzgerald, Esq. The church
is an ancient building, the nave of which is separated
from the chancel by a handsome arch, said to be Saxon;
it contains an alabaster monument to Devereux, first
Viscount Hereford, and his two wives, with their effigies
in a recumbent posture. The viscount, who distinguished
himself in the wars against France in the reign of Henry
VIII., resided and was buried here. There is a place of
worship for Independents.
Stowe-Nine-Churches (St. Michael)
STOWE-NINE-CHURCHES (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Daventry, hundred of Fawsley,
S. division of the county of Northampton, 2 miles
(E. by S.) from Weedon 3 containing 392 inhabitants.
This place, which is a short distance to the west of the
road from London to Holyhead, obtained the adjunct to
its name from the circumstance of the manor having
nine advowsons appended to it in the reign of Henry
VII. It was for some time in the possession of Sir
John Danvers, a principal parliamentary leader, and one
of those who signed the warrant for the execution of
Charles I. The parish comprises about 2000 acres,
which, exclusively of 100 of woodland, are about equally
divided between arable and pasture: the Grand Junction canal and the London and Birmingham railway
pass through it, the latter by a tunnel 418 yards in
length. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £18, and in the gift of the Rev. J. L. Crawley:
the tithes of the incumbent have been commuted for
£500, and £133 are paid to the Corporation of the
Sons of the Clergy; the glebe contains 85 acres. The
church is situated on the brow of a steep acclivity; it
is a very ancient edifice, partly in the Norman style, and
contains a sumptuous monument to the memory of
Elizabeth, fourth daughter of John, Lord Latimer. The
Roman Watling-street forms the boundary of the
parish.
Stowell (St. Leonard)
STOWELL (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of
Northleach, hundred of Bradley, E. division of the
county of Gloucester, 2 miles (W. S. W.) from Northleach; containing 42 inhabitants, and comprising 800
acres. The river Colne washes the extremity of the
parish. The living is a discharged rectory, annexed in
1660 to that of Hampnett, and valued in the king's books
at £5. 17. 1. Sir William Scott, late judge of the court
of admiralty, was created Baron Stowell, of Stowell
Park, in 1821; the title is now extinct.
Stowell (St. Mary Magdalene)
STOWELL (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the
union of Wincanton, hundred of Horethorne, E.
division of Somerset, 5 miles (S. S. W.) from Wincanton; containing 117 inhabitants, and consisting of 903
acres by admeasurement. The living is a discharged
rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 15., and in
the gift of W. M. Dodington, Esq.: the tithes have been
commuted for £169, and the glebe comprises 27 acres.
The church was rebuilt in 1834.
Stowell, Wilts.—See Alton-Priors.
STOWELL, Wilts. —See Alton-Priors.
Stower, East (St. Mary)
STOWER, EAST (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Shaftesbury, hundred of Redlane, Shaston division of Dorset, 4¼ miles (W.) from Shaftesbury; containing 554 inhabitants. The living is annexed, with the
livings of Motcomb and West Stower, to the vicarage of
Gillingham: the impropriate tithes have been commuted
for £146, and the vicarial for £273. The church, rebuilt
in 1841, is a cruciform structure in the Norman style, with
a tower at the intersection, and contains accommodation
for 400 persons. Fielding, the novelist, resided for some
time on his estate in the parish.
Stower-Provost (St. Michael)
STOWER-PROVOST (St. Michael), a parish and
liberty, in the union of Shaftesbury, Shaston division
of the county of Dorset, 5 miles (W. by S.) from Shaftesbury; containing 892 inhabitants. It comprises about
2700 acres, 500 of which are arable, 200 woodland, and
the rest pasture. The living is a rectory, with that of
Todbere annexed in 1746, valued in the king's books at
£16. 4. 9½.; net income, £655; patrons, the Provost
and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge. The church
contains 300 sittings. In the reign of William the Conqueror, a cell to the nunnery of St. Leger de Pratellis or
Preaux, in Normandy, was founded here, which at the
suppression was granted to Eton College, and then to
King's College.
Stower, West (St. Mary)
STOWER, WEST (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Shaftesbury, hundred of Redlane, Shaston division
of the county of Dorset, 5¼ miles (W.) from Shaftesbury;
containing 237 inhabitants. The living is annexed to
the vicarage of Gillingham: the impropriate tithes have
been commuted for £92, and those of the incumbent
for £183. William Watson, M.D., author of some theological productions, was a native of this place, where he
practised as a quack, though he had regularly graduated
as a physician, and was distinguished for knowledge of
his profession.
Stowerton
STOWERTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Whichford, union of Shipston-upon-Stour, Brails division
of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county
of Warwick, 4 miles (S. E.) from Shipston; containing
189 inhabitants, and comprising 950 acres.
Stowey (St. Mary)
STOWEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Clutton, hundred of Chew, E. division of Somerset, 3½
miles (S. S. W.) from Pensford; containing 188 inhabitants. Stowey Mead, a cottage residence of the late
Lord Mount-Sandford's, and Stowey House, the property of William Jones Burdett, Esq., to the latter of
whom nearly all the parish belongs, are both very pleasantly situated. The village is much admired, and is
enlivened by a stream of water which is said to be efficacious in lithontriptic complaints. The living is a discharged vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes,
valued in the king's books at £6.12., and in the gift of
the Bishop of Bath and Wells: the tithes have been
commuted for £163.10.; the glebe contains 35½ acres.
Richard Jones, Esq., in 1692 bequeathed £3000 for
charitable uses in different parishes, part of which is
applied to the instruction of children and the relief of
the poor in this parish; and Mrs. Mary Jones, in 1787,
left £1500, the interest of £500 of which she directed
to be distributed among the poor of Stowey. Robert
Parsons, the celebrated Jesuit, was born here, of humble
parents.
Stowey, Nether (St. Mary)
STOWEY, NETHER (St. Mary), a small markettown and a parish, in the union of Bridgwater, hundred of Williton and Freemanners, W. division of
Somerset, 8 miles (W. N. W.) from Bridgwater, and
147 (W. by S.) from London; containing 787 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on a stream tributary
to the river Parret, consists of three streets diverging
obliquely from the market-place, and is neat and well
built. At the western extremity is a hill said to have
been the site of an ancient castle, but nothing more than
a circular earthwork now remains; it commands a fine
view of the Channel, with the Mendip hills, and the surrounding country, which is agreeably diversified. The
manufacture of silk is carried on to a limited extent.
The market is on Saturday, but, from its proximity to
Bridgwater, very little business is transacted; the market-house is a rude building. A fair for cattle takes
place on September 18th; and a court leet and baron is
held at Michaelmas, when constables and other officers
are appointed. The living is a vicarage, endowed with
the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at
£5. 2. 8½,; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and
Canons of Windsor. The tithes have been commuted
for £300; there is a glebe-house, built by the present
incumbent, and the glebe contains 50 acres. The church
is situated at the entrance into the town from Bridgwater. Here is a place of worship for Independents.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the gifted poet and moral philosopher, resided at the close of the last century at
Nether Stowey, where he first became acquainted with
Wordsworth.
Stowey, Over (St. Mary Magdalene)
STOWEY, OVER (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish,
in the union of Bridgwater, hundred of Cannington, W. division of Somerset, 1 mile (S. S. W.) from
Nether Stowey; containing 568 inhabitants. The parish
comprises 3647a. 3r. 35p. Greywacke stone is abundant, and red-sandstone is found, with detached portions
of limestone. The living is a discharged vicarage, endowed with part of the rectorial tithes, valued in the
king's books at £7. 1. 5½., and in the patronage of the
Bishop of Bath and Wells; impropriators, the Corporation of Bristol. The great tithes have been commuted
for £130, and the incumbent's for £165; the rectorial
lands comprehend 65½ acres, and the vicarial 1½ acre.
The church is a neat building, lately beautified.
Stowford
STOWFORD, a parish, in the union of Tavistock,
hundred of Lifton, Lifton and S. divisions of the county
of Devon, 8 miles (E. by N.) from Launceston; containing 647 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £11. 12. 6., and in the gift of the
Rev. John Wollocombe: the tithes have been commuted
for £240, and the glebe comprises 50 acres. The church
contains a monument with marble statues of Christopher
Harris, Esq., in the ancient Roman costume, and his
wife Mary. Margaret Doyle, in 1777, bequeathed the
interest of £200 for teaching children. On the north
side of the road to Exeter are the remains of a circular
encampment. Dr. John Prideaux, a learned divine, was
born here in 1578.
Stowick
STOWICK, a tything, in the parish of Henbury,
union of Clifton, Lower division of the hundred of
Henbury, W. division of the county of Gloucester;
containing 552 inhabitants.