Wainfleet
WAINFLEET, a market-town, in the union of
Spilsby, Marsh division of the wapentake of Candleshoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 39½ miles
(E. S. E.) from Lincoln, and 128 (N. by E.) from London; containing 2257 inhabitants. In the time of the
Romans, the whole province is said to have been supplied from this place with salt made from sea-water;
and a road across the fens, still called the Salters' road,
is supposed to have been the Roman way between Bannovallium and Lindum. Wainfleet returned one burgess
to the grand council in the 11th of Edward III.; and,
in 1359, supplied two ships of war for the armament
prepared for invading Brittany. The town is situated
on a creek, in a marshy district; but in consequence of
the inclosure of the East fen, the waters have been
carried off by a wide drain to Boston Scalf, which has
so reduced the creek as to preclude the entrance of any
but small craft. It is believed that the town was formerly higher up the river, chiefly because the old church
of All Saints, taken down in 1820, stood at High Wainfleet, about a mile and a half distant. The river is here
called the Haven, and further up the Limb; it is navigable for three miles, and might easily be improved and
extended. The market is on Saturday; and fairs are
held on the third Saturday in May for cattle, and on
October 24th for sheep, and for pleasure.
The town comprises the parishes of All Saints, St.
Mary, and St. Thomas, containing respectively 731, 140,
and 1386 inhabitants. All Saints' parish contains by
admeasurement 1590 acres, of which 530 are arable, and
1060 meadow and pasture; the soil is partly heavy, and
partly of lighter quality. The living is a rectory, valued
in the king's books at £16. 3. 6½., and in the patronage
of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for
£406. 9., and the glebe comprises 23 acres. The present church was built at an expense of £3000. St.
Mary's parish contains 5874a. 1r. 19p. of arable and
pasture land, in nearly equal portions. The living is a
perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £8. 13. 4.;
net income, £201; patrons and impropriators, the Governors of Bethlehem Hospital, London, whose tithes
have been commuted for £620. St. Thomas' parish
comprises 24a. 26p. The living is a perpetual curacy,
in the patronage of the Barnes family; there is a burialground, but no remains of the church. The Society of
Friends and the Wesleyans have places of worship. A
free grammar school was founded in 1424, by William
Patten, generally known as William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, lord high chancellor of England in
the reign of Henry VI., and founder of Magdalen College, Oxford; the master receives a stipend of £11. 6. 8.
per annum, and has, in addition, 17 acres of land and a
rent-free residence. Another school is supported by the
governors of Bethlehem Hospital; and some lands producing £23 per annum, and about £13 from various
bequests, are appropriated to the poor.
Waitby
WAITBY, a township, in the parish of KirkbyStephen, East ward and union, county of Westmorland, 1¾ mile (W.) from Kirkby-Stephen; containing
54 inhabitants. It comprises 972 acres, of which 450
are common or waste land. A school was erected in
1680, by James Highmore, citizen of London, who endowed it with £400, now producing £40 per annum,
and who also left £5. 5. per annum to the poor.
Waith (St. Martin)
WAITH (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of
Louth, wapentake of Bradley-Haverstoe, parts of
Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 6¾ miles (S. by E.) from
Grimsby; containing 49 inhabitants. The living is a
discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£2. 14. 2.; net income, £86; patrons and impropriators,
the Haigh family. The tithes were commuted for land
and corn-rents in 1807.
Waitham-Hill
WAITHAM-HILL, with Mosshouses, Marshfield, and Herdhouse, an extra-parochial district, adjacent to the chapelry of Broughton-in-Furness, in the
union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of
the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster;
containing 36 inhabitants.
Wakefield (All Saints)
WAKEFIELD (All
Saints), a borough, markettown, and parish, and the
head of a union, in the Lower
division of the wapentake of
Agbrigg, W. riding of York;
containing, with the townships of Alverthorpe with
Thornes, and Stanley with
Wrenthorpe, and the chapelry of Horbury, 29,992 inhabitants, of whom 14,754
are in the town, 30 miles (S.
W. by W.) from York, and 184 (N. N. W.) from London.
This place, from the discovery of Roman coins, and from
some slight traces of a military road intersecting the
parish, about two miles from the town, has by certain
writers been regarded as the site of a Roman station
connecting Cambodunum with Legeolium. Its name, in
the Domesday survey Wachefeld, is of Saxon origin. In
the reign of Edward the Confessor, it formed part of the
royal demesnes; and, after the Conquest, was granted
by Henry I. to William, Earl Warren, with whose descendants it remained till the reign of Edward III.,
when, in default of issue male, it escheated to the crown,
and was given by that monarch to his fifth son, Edmund
de Langley, upon whom he conferred the title of Earl
of Cambridge, and who, in the reign of Richard II., was
for his important services created Duke of York. On
his decease, the manor came into the possession of his
son Edward, Earl of Rutland, from whom, in failure of
heirs, it passed to Richard de Coningsberg (second son
of Edmund de Langley), who had married Anne, daughter
of Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, and whose son
Richard, aspiring to the crown in the reign of Henry VI.,
was killed at the battle of Wakefield. From this time,
the manor remained in the crown, till the reign of
Charles I., who granted it to Henry, Earl of Holland,
by marriage with whose daughter it was conveyed to
Sir Gervase Clifton, of Clifton, in the county of Nottingham. After passing into the hands of other families, it
was purchased in 1700, by the first Duke of Leeds, of
the heirs of Sir Christopher Clapham; and is now the
property of Sackville Walter Lane Fox, Esq., who married
the daughter of the late Duke of Leeds.
Arms.
In 1460, after the battle of Northampton, in which the
Lancastrians had sustained a signal defeat, and Henry VI.
had been taken prisoner, his queen, Margaret, raised an
army of 20,000 men in this part of the country. The
Duke of York advanced to oppose her with a body of 5000
men, but on his arrival near Wakefield, learning the
great superiority of her numbers, retired to Sandal
Castle, his baronial residence, and resolved to wait the
arrival of his son, the Earl of March, with the remainder of his forces. The queen, however, appearing before
the castle with the main body of her army, commanded
by the Dukes of Somerset and Exeter, York suffered
himself to be provoked to battle, and drawing up his
forces on Wakefield Green, the rear of his army was
attacked by some troops which the queen had placed in
ambush, while his front was engaged with the main
body of the queen's army. The battle soon terminated
in the total defeat of the Yorkists, and the duke and
3000 of his men were left dead on the field; the duke's
body being recognised among the slain, the head was
taken off by Margaret's order, and affixed to the gates of
York. The spot where the duke fell, about a mile from
the town, was formerly inclosed with a fence; and a
gold ring was found in that vicinity some few years
since, which is supposed to have been worn by him.
During the parliamentary war, the town suffered materially from the hostilities of the contending parties, by
which it was alternately occupied. On one occasion,
General Fairfax was despatched from Leeds to dislodge
the royalists, who, having taken possession of the town,
had drawn themselves up in battle array, and who
maintained their position against all his efforts, till he
brought two pieces of cannon to bear upon them from
the churchyard.
The town is principally situated on the gentle acclivities of an eminence rising from the banks of the Calder,
over which is a handsome bridge of eight arches, affording a commodious approach from the south. It contains
some spacious and regular streets of well-built houses of
brick, is paved and flagged, lighted with gas, and supplied with water under acts of parliament. Great improvements have been made within the last few years,
more especially on the north side, where some handsome
ranges of houses have been erected, with numerous
detached mansions surrounded with shrubberies and
plantations, forming a pleasing appendage to the town,
called St. John's, or St. John's Place. A public library
and newsroom is supported by subscription, for which a
building has been erected in Wood-street, containing
an assembly-room, in which concerts and other public
amusements take place; also rooms for a mechanics' institution, consisting of upwards of 500 members, and
having a library of 1300 volumes. The building, which
is in the Grecian style, and of the Ionic order, is highly
ornamental to the neighbourhood in which it is situated.
A literary society was established in 1827; and a geological society, of which Earl Fitzwilliam is president, has
a valuable and well-assorted museum. The theatre, in
Westgate, was erected by James Banks, Esq., by whom
it was leased to Tate Wilkinson and his trustees; in
1836 Mr. Banks' heirs sold it to Mr. Joseph Smedley:
it is usually opened in September, by the York, Hull,
and Leeds company. Under the newsroom and library
in Wood-street are some public baths. The works for
lighting the town were erected at an expense of £12,500,
raised in £25 shares, by a company incorporated by act
of parliament in 1822; they contain four gasometers,
one of which will hold 24,000 cubic feet of gas. An act
for a better supply of gas was passed in 1847.
The manufacture of woollen-cloths, and the spinning
of worsted-yarn, were formerly carried on to a very
great extent, affording employment to nearly the whole
population: Leland, describing the town, says, " it
standeth now al by clothyng." But these manufactures
have been principally transferred to other towns in the
West riding, chiefly to Leeds, and the trade is now
mainly in corn, cattle, and wool. The shares of the
original proprietors of the Tammy Hall, a spacious
building erected for the sale of the lighter kinds of
woollen-stuffs, have all been purchased; and the building has been converted into a power-loom factory. A
small portion of the inhabitants, are still employed in
making woollen and worsted goods. There are also
some large dyeing establishments, works for the manufacture of starch, several breweries and malting establishments, roperies, copperas-works, iron-foundries, and
some yards for building boats and sloops. The trade in
corn is very extensive; according to the official returns,
more wheat is sold here than at any other market in the
north, and warehouses for storing corn have been erected
on so large a scale that 200,000 quarters may be deposited in them at once. Near the bridge is the Soke
mill, in which, with the exception of the inhabitants of
Ossett, who have purchased their exemption, all persons
within the jurisdiction of the soke are compelled to grind
their corn. Great quantities of barley are grown in the
neighbourhood, and more malt is made here than in any
district of equal extent in the kingdom. The trade in
wool is also very considerable; large quantities, the
produce of the vicinity, are sold to the manufacturers in
the adjacent towns. Coal, with which the surrounding
districts abound, is brought to the town by tramroads
from the several collieries, and is sent in sloops to
various places. The river Calder was made navigable
in 1698, and the Aire and Calder Navigation Company
have their principal station near the bridge, with extensive wharfs and warehouses on the north side of the
river, whence fly-boats start daily to Goole and Selby, and
also to Dewsbury, Halifax, Todmorden, and Manchester.
The navigation opens a direct communication with Hull,
the East riding of York, Lincolnshire, and the whole of
the eastern coast; the Barnsley canal with Barnsley
and Sheffield; and the Calder and Hebble navigation,
and the Huddersfield canal, with the southern part of
Lancashire. The Midland line of railway passes about
two miles to the south-east of Wakefield, where is the
Oakenshaw station; and the Manchester and Leeds railway runs through the town, being conveyed by a viaduct
of several arches over Kirkgate. An act was obtained
in 1845 for a railway to Pontefract, Snaith, and Goole,
27 miles long.
The market, which is on Friday, is abundantly supplied with corn and provisions of all kinds; and a large
market on alternate Wednesdays, for fat-cattle and sheep,
is numerously attended from distant parts of the country.
The market-cross, built by subscription about the year
1720, is a handsome structure of the Doric order, consisting of a circular colonnade, with entablature and
cornice, and crowned by a lofty dome: a spiral staircase
within affords an ascent to a large room lighted by a
lantern, in which the commissioners for paving, lighting,
and watching, hold their meetings. From the confined
area of the market-place, the corn-market was many years
since removed to the top of Westgate, where a spacious
corn-exchange, of the Corinthian order, was erected at
an expense of £10,000, under the superintendence of
Mr. Moffat, of Doncaster; the great room is 99 feet in
length, 46 in width, and 36 high. The cattle-market is
held in an area on the south side of the town, comprising about 3½ acres, fitted up with pens and the
various accommodations. An act for establishing a new
general market-place was passed in 1847. Fairs for
horses, horned-cattle, and pedlery, are held on the 4th
and 5th of July, and on the 11th and 12th of November,
the latter being also a statute-fair for hiring servants.
The town was formerly under the superintendence of
a constable, appointed and sworn into office by the
steward of the manor, at the court leet, which takes
place half-yearly at the Moot-hall in Kirkgate. At
present it is governed by a corporation, for which a
charter was granted by Her Majesty in privy council, in
November 1847. A petty-session for the district is held
on Monday, by the county magistrates; and the Christmas quarter-sessions for the West riding are held by
adjournment from Knaresborough, in the court-house in
Wood-street, a handsome and appropriate building, first
opened for the Christmas session of 1809. The powers
of the county debt-court of Wakefield, established in
1847, extend over the registration-district of Wakefield.
In the town are, the West riding register-office, a substantial stone building, enlarged by the erection of a fireproof wing in 1829; and the office of the clerk of the
peace. The house of correction for the riding, near the
bottom of Westgate, is an extensive pile of building constructed on the improved plan, the whole well adapted
for classification; the prisoners are employed in weaving
coarse cloths, calico, and linsey, and in other work.
The town was constituted a parliamentary borough, with
authority to send one member to parliament, by the act
2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the right of election, as in
all the new boroughs, being vested in the householders
registered to the annual value of £10 and upwards: the
borough contains an area of 1036 acres. The parish
comprises about 9000 acres; the soil, though various, is
generally fertile, and the substratum abounds with different kinds of mineral produce.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £29. 19. 2.; net income, £537; patron, the Crown;
impropriators, the Ramsden family, and others: the
vicarial tithes were commuted for land and a money
payment in 1793. The parochial church, situated on an
eminence in the centre of the town, was erected in 1329,
on the site of a Norman structure, and, with the exception of the tower and spire, was rebuilt on a large scale
in 1469. It was subsequently partially reconstructed at
various times; and the upper portion of the spire, which
had been blown down by a violent gale, and never
properly restored, was renewed in 1823. The lofty
square embattled tower and the handsome spire are
together 237 feet high. The interior abounds with elegant detail; the chancel is separated from the nave by
an elaborately-carved screen of oak, and contains some
rich tabernacle-work. An afternoon lectureship was
founded in 1652, by Lady Camden, who endowed it
with £100 per annum, in the gift of the Mercers' Company; and an evening lectureship was established by
subscription in 1801, which is in the patronage of seven
trustees, including the vicar. The district church dedicated to St. John, erected under a special act of parliament, at an expense of £10,000, in 1795, is finely situated in a spacious cemetery. It is a handsome structure in the modern style, with a tower surmounted by a
cupola and dome, and contains more than 1000 sittings.
The east window is embellished with scriptural subjects
in stained glass: the altar-piece is ornamented with representations of the Crucifixion, the Agony, and the
Resurrection of the Saviour; and in niches above are
two figures representing the Law and the Gospel, painted
to resemble sculpture. The living is a perpetual curacy,
in the patronage of the Vicar; net income, £118. Holy
Trinity church was built at an expense of £4000, wholly
by subscription; it is in the early English style, with a
steeple, and contains 1000 sittings, of which one-third
are let at a nominal rent, and the remainder are wholly
free. This church was consecrated by the Bishop of
Ripon, September 30th, 1843, and the living is in the
patronage of Trustees. Two districts, named respectively
St. Andrew's and St. Mary's, were endowed in 1844 by
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the living of each is
in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop alternately.
The church for St. Andrew's district, built in 1845, is in
the early English style, containing 700 sittings. On the
bridge over the Calder is a chapel, supposed to have
been erected by Edward III., and which was rebuilt by
Edward IV. in memory of his father the Duke of York,
who fell in the battle of Wakefield. It is a beautiful
structure in the decorated English style, about ten yards
in length and eight in width; the west front is extremely rich in detail, is divided into compartments by
buttresses with canopied niches, and adorned with delicate tracery and every embellishment for which that
graceful style is distinguished. The chapel was restored
in 1847-8, at a cost of £2000. Churches have been
erected at Alverthorpe, Horbury, Stanley, and Thornes,
which are noticed under their several heads. There are
also places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends,
Independents, Primitive Methodists, Wesleyans, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics.
The Free grammar school was established in 1595, by
charter of Queen Elizabeth, and is endowed with property given by the Saville family, and various subsequent
donations, producing an income of about £360. It is
under the direction of fourteen governors, who are a
body corporate, and appoint a head master with a salary
of £160, and an usher with a salary of £80. Belonging
to the foundation are six exhibitions of £80 each per
annum, of which two to Clare Hall, Cambridge, were
instituted by Thomas Cave; one to Queen's College,
Oxford, by Lady Elizabeth Hastings; and three to
either of the universities, by John Storie. The building
is handsome and commodious, and contains a good
library. Among the eminent persons educated here,
were, Richard Bentley, D.D.; Dr. John Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury; and Dr. John Radcliffe, the
munificent founder of the Radcliffe library at Oxford;
all three of them natives of the town. The West Riding
proprietary school, for which a spacious building, capable of receiving 250 scholars, was erected in 1833, after
a design by Richard Lane, Esq., of Manchester, was
established by a company of proprietors with a capital
of £15,000. The Green-coat charity school was founded
in 1707, by the trustees of the charity estates, and is
endowed with lands given by various benefactors, including a gift of land appropriated by John Storie, in
1674, to the instruction of poor children. The whole
produces an income of nearly £600 per annum, of which
£73. 10. are paid to the master and £30 to the mistress
of the school, and the remainder chiefly expended in
clothing.
The almshouses in Almshouse-lane were founded in
1646, by Cotton Home, who endowed them with tenements and land now worth £161 per annum, augmented
in 1669 with a similar bequest, producing £121; the
funds altogether amount to £300 a year, of which five
shillings per week are paid to ten women and £9 per
annum to a nurse, and the remainder distributed among
the inmates in coal and provisions. Almshouses for
ten men, adjoining the former, were established in 1669,
by William Horne, who assigned to them property now
yielding £150 per annum, from which each of the almsmen receives £11. 14., with coal and some provisions.
The whole of the almshouses were rebuilt in 1793.
There are houses also at Brooksbank for five persons,
founded in 1580, by Leonard Bate, who endowed them
with property now valued at £46 a year. The management of all these almshouses is vested in the governors
of the grammar school, who have likewise the distribution of a bequest by John Bromley, producing more than
£700 per annum, for clothing and apprenticing boys,
with whom £5 are given as a fee, £3 per annum to the
master to provide clothing, and on the expiration of the
youth's indentures, £5 to the master and £15 to himself
if he has conducted himself well: £40 are distributed
yearly from the fund among poor housekeepers. The
town has also a bequest by Lady Bolles, in 1662, for
apprenticing children, producing £56 per annum. The
Dispensary, in Silver-street, was established by subscription, in 1824; its annual expenditure averages £400
per annum, and the number of patients 700. The
House of Recovery for patients under contagious fever, on
Westgate Common, was instituted in 1826, and has
accommodation for ten patients. The West Riding pauper lunatic asylum, established under an act of parliament in 1808, was opened in 1818, and has since been
considerably enlarged: the building cost £50,000.
There are numerous provident institutions; benefit and
friendly societies; and a savings' bank, in which the
deposits amount to £50,000 and the number of depositors is about 1200. The poor-law union of Wakefield
comprises 17 townships or places, containing a population of 45,648. Besides those already noticed, Dr.
Thomas Zouch, Joseph Bingham, M.A., author of Origines Ecclesiasticæ, and Dr. John Burton, author of the
Monasticon Eboracense, were natives of the town.
Wakeley
WAKELEY, an extra-parochial liberty, formerly a
distinct parish, in the union of Buntingford, hundred
of Edwinstree, county of Hertford, 2 miles (S. W.)
from Buntingford; containing 7 inhabitants, and comprising 437 acres of land.
Wakering, Great (St. Nicholas)
WAKERING, GREAT (St. Nicholas), a parish, in
the union and hundred of Rochford, S. division of the
county of Essex, 4½ miles (E. N. E.) from Southend;
containing 860 inhabitants. It lies near the mouth of
the Thames, where is a small convenient haven; and is
traversed by the road to Foulness Island. The living
is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20. 13. 4.;
patron, the Bishop of London; impropriator, T. Clough,
Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £640,
and the vicarial for £290; the impropriate glebe comprises 60, and the vicarial 2, acres. The church is a
neat substantial structure, with a tower and spire.
There is a place of worship for Independents.
Wakering, Little (St. Mary)
WAKERING, LITTLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Rochford, S. division of Essex,
4½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Southend; containing 301
inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the south by
the parish of Great Wakering, and includes Potten
Island, which is formed by the river Bromhill and the
haven of Wakering. It comprises 2694 acres, whereof
439 are common or waste. The living is a vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £12, and in the gift of
St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London: the great tithes
have been commuted for £390, with a glebe of 18 acres;
and the vicarial for £235, with 2 acres and a house.
The church is a small ancient edifice, with a tower, on
which are the armorial bearings of Bishop Wakering.
Wakerley (St. Mary)
WAKERLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Uppingham, hundred of Corby, N. division of the
county of Northampton, 6¾ miles (E.) from Uppingham; containing 216 inhabitants. It is bounded on
the east and north by the river Welland, separating it
from the county of Rutland; and consists of 1804 acres.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£11. 12. 6.; net income, £100; patron, the Marquess
of Exeter.
Walberswick (St. Andrew)
WALBERSWICK (St. Andrew), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Blything, E. division of Suffolk, 1¾ mile (S. W. by S.) from Southwold; containing 339 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement
1672 acres, and is intersected by the navigable river
Blyth, which falls into the sea at its northern extremity.
The living is a perpetual curacy, held with that of Blythburgh; net income, £41; patron, Sir C. Blois, Bart.:
the tithes have been commuted for £193. The church
is in ruins, but a part of the south aisle has been fitted
up for divine service: from the extent of the remains,
it is probable that the place was formerly of much
greater importance than it is at present.
Walberton (St. Mary)
WALBERTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of West Hampnett, hundred of Avisford, rape of
Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 3½ miles (W. S. W.)
from Arundel; containing 561 inhabitants. The parish
is situated on the road from Arundel to Bognor, and
comprises about 1500 acres, of which 100 are pasture,
and the remainder arable land. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Yapton united, valued in
the king's books at £10. 19. 2.; net income, £468;
patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Chichester. The
church is principally in the early English style. John
Nash, in 1732, bequeathed a house and some land, with
a rent-charge of £12, for teaching children. In a field
near Airsford House was found, in the year 1817, a coffer
of gritstone, resembling that of Petworth, containing numerous vessels of glass and Roman pottery of rude construction.
Walburn
WALBURN, a township, in the parish of Downholme, union of Richmond, wapentake of Hang-West,
N. riding of York, 5 miles (S. W.) from Richmond;
containing 24 inhabitants. It comprises about 1600
acres of high moorland, set out. in farms.
Walby
WALBY, a township, in the parish of Crosbyupon-Eden, union of Carlisle, Eskdale ward, E.
division of Cumberland, 4 miles (N. E. by N.) from
Carlisle; containing 49 inhabitants. The village appears
to have derived its name from its situation near the
great Roman wall.
Walcombe
WALCOMBE, a tything, in the parish of St. Cuthbert, without the limits of the city of Wells, in the
union of Wells, hundred of Wells-Forum, E. division
of Somerset; containing 31 inhabitants.
Walcot (St. Nicholas)
WALCOT (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of
Sleaford, wapentake of Aveland, parts of Kesteven,
county of Lincoln, 1½ mile (N. W.) from Folkingham;
containing 173 inhabitants. This place appears to have
formed part of the possessions of Sempringham Priory,
and two pieces of land in which the monks of that convent had a prison are still called the Granges. The
parish comprises by measurement 1750 acres, of which
754 are arable, 958 meadow and pasture, and 3 woodland: the soil is fertile, and easily convertible; the surface is undulated, and in parts hilly. There are some
quarries of stone used chiefly for the roads. The living
is a vicarage; net income, £159; patron and impropriator, Sir G. Heathcote, Bart., whose tithes have been
commuted for £165. The church is principally in the
decorated English style, with a tower surmounted by a
fine crocketed spire: in the south aisle is a beautiful
canopied niche with buttresses terminating in pinnacles;
the east window is of very elegant design, and the church
has some remains of ancient stained glass. On the edge
of the fens is a powerful mineral spring.
Walcot (St. Swithin)
WALCOT (St. Swithin), a parish, in the union of
Bath, partly within the city of Bath, and partly in the
hundred of Bath-Forum, E. division of Somerset;
containing 26,210 inhabitants. The parish includes
those parts of the city lying on the north, north-east,
and north-west sides of the parish of St. Michael; also
some handsome ranges of buildings on the declivities of
Lansdown and Beacon hills.—See Bath.
Walcote
WALCOTE, a hamlet, in the parish of Misterton,
union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton, S.
division of the county of Leicester, 1¾ mile (E. by S.)
from Lutterworth; containing 521 inhabitants. This is
a large irregularly-built village, situated about half a mile
east of the parish church. The soil in the vicinity is a
dark rich mould, resting upon sand, with some gravel.
At the inclosure of the commons in 1797, an allotment
of eleven acres was awarded to the poor; of this, about
three acres are let for £5. 10. a year, and the remainder
is divided into garden-plots, and let to poor families at
the rate of 9d. per hundred yards. The proceeds, £19,
are distributed in the winter season among all the poor
of the village. Walcote chapel, dedicated to St. Martin,
has been destroyed. Land was assigned in lieu of tithes,
in 1797.
Walcott
WALCOTT, a chapelry, in the parish of Billinghay, union of Sleaford, First division of the wapentake of Langoe, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 8¾ miles (N. E. by N.) from Sleaford; containing
633 inhabitants, and comprising 3138a. 2r. 34p. The
chapel is dedicated to St. Oswald. There is a place of
worship for Wesleyan Methodists.
Walcott (All Saints)
WALCOTT (All Saints), a parish, in the Tunstead
and Happing incorporation, hundred of Happing, E.
division of Norfolk, 5¼ miles (E. by N.) from North
Walsham; containing 172 inhabitants. It is situated
on the eastern coast, and comprises 696a. 1r. 35p., of
which 674 acres are arable. The living is a perpetual
curacy, valued in the king's books at £30; net income,
£80; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Norwich,
whose tithes have been commuted for £321. The church
is a handsome structure in the decorated and later English styles, with a lofty square embattled tower; on the
south side of the chancel are three sedilia of stone, and
a piscina of elegant design. About thirty years since, a
portion of waste land, containing nearly five acres, was
awarded as a compensation to the poor for the loss they
were sustaining by the inclosure; the proceeds are laid
out in the purchase of coal.
Walcott
WALCOTT cum membris, a hamlet, in the parish of
Holy Cross, Pershore, union, and Upper division of
the hundred, of Pershore, Pershore and E. divisions of
the county of Worcester, 2 miles (N. by W.) from Pershore; containing 383 inhabitants.