Watford (St. Mary)

WATFORD (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford; containing, with the hamlets of Cashio, Leavesden, and Oxhey, 5989 inhabitants, of whom 3697 are in the town, 20 miles (W. S. W.) from Hertford, and 15 (N. W.) from London. This place derives its name from the Watlingstreet, which passes in the vicinity, and from a ford here over the river Colne, to which latter its origin also is attributed. It consists of one street about a mile in length, irregularly built, and is supplied with water by a forcing pump, erected by subscription. The manufacture of straw-plat, and three mills for throwing silk, employ a considerable number of persons; there are eight malt-kilns, and two extensive breweries. By means of the Grand Junction canal, which runs a mile to the westward, a communication is maintained with the metropolis and other parts. The London and Birmingham railway, also, intersects the southern part of the parish, and at a short distance from the town has a station; here the line crosses the valley of the Colne, on a viaduct 312 feet in length and 30 in breadth. The market, granted by Henry I., is held on Tuesday: the market-house is an indifferent building, supported on wooden pillars, with granaries over it. Fairs are held on the Tuesday after Whit-Tuesday, and on August 29th and 30th, for cattle and pedlery; and a statute for hiring servants in September. The powers of the county debt-court of Watford, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Watford, and part of the districts of Hendon and Hemel-Hempstead. A meeting of the magistrates takes place every Tuesday.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £21. 12. 1.; net income, £730; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Essex. The church, situated in the centre of the street, on the south side of the town, has two chapels annexed, with a tower; a monument has been erected in the private chapel belonging to the Capel family, in memory of the late Earl of Essex, who died in 1839. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Connexion of the Countess of Huntingdon, and Wesleyans. The free school was founded in 1708, by Elizabeth Fuller, who endowed it with a rent-charge of £52, which has been augmented by bequests, the whole producing a revenue of £178: the school-house is a handsome structure, at the south-west corner of the churchyard. A parochial free school was founded in 1641, and endowed with a rent-charge of £10, by Francis Coombe; who also left an estate, the rent of which, with the produce of bequests from others, amounting altogether to about £100 per annum, is distributed among the poor. Some almshouses for eight widows were founded by Francis, Earl of Bedford, and his countess, in 1580, and were endowed by Charles Morrison in 1583, Lady Mary Morrison in 1629, and Mary Newman in 1789, with property now yielding an income of £72. In 1824 some almshouses were erected in Lote's-lane, in lieu of a building given by Lady Dorothy Morrison, in 1614, as a free residence for a lecturer and four widows; the present income is £55. 10., and the lecturer receives about £100 a year, arising from a corn-mill given by Lady Elizabeth Russell, in 1610. The annual rent of the church lands is £151; and there are £70 per annum for apprenticing children. The poorlaw union of Watford comprises 6 parishes or places, containing a population of 18,009.

Watford (St. Peter and St. Paul)

WATFORD (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Daventry, hundred of Guilsborotjgh, S. division of the county of Northampton, 4¾ miles (N. N. E.) from Daventry; containing 415 inhabitants. It comprises 336la. 2r. 20p., of which two-thirds are pasture, and the remainder arable; the soil is a strong loam, and the surface in general hilly. The Union canal passes through the parish; on the west is the ancient Watling-street; and the Crick station on the London and Birmingham railway is within a quarter of a mile from the village. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 7. 8½., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £296, with a glebe-house, built in 1841; impropriator, Lord Henley. The tithes were commuted for land in 1771. The church is a very handsome edifice, with a tower; it was repewed in 1836: there are monuments to the Clarke and Henley families. Sarah Clarke in 1702 gave £400, now producing £35 a year in aid of a national school. In the parish are some springs strongly impregnated with iron.

Wath (St. Mary)

WATH (St. Mary), a parish, partly in the wapentake of Allertonshire, and partly in that of Hallikeld, N. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Melmerby, Middleton-Quernhow, and NortonConyers, 709 inhabitants, of whom 208 are in Wath township, 4¼ miles (N. by E.) from Ripon. The parish comprises 3563a. 3r. 3p., of which 134 acres are woodland, and the rest pasture and meadow, and arable, in nearly equal portions. About 737 acres are in the township of Wath: the village is distant from the river Ure a mile and a half. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17. 17. 1., and in the gift of the Marquess of Ailesbury: the tithes have been commuted for £918. 10., and the glebe comprises 74a. 3r. 15p. The Rev. Peter Samwaise, in 1690, founded a free school, and endowed it with lands and houses now producing about £75 a year.

Wath

WATH, a township, in the parish of Hovingham, union of Malton, wapentake of Ryedale, N. riding of York, 8 miles (W. by N.) from Malton; containing 28 inhabitants. It comprises about 300 acres of land: the village lies south of the river Rye, at a short distance south-east of Hovingham.

Wath-Upon-Dearne (All Saints)

WATH-UPON-DEARNE (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Rotherham, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York; containing, with the township of Brampton-Bierlow, and the chapelries of Nether Hoyland, Swinton, and Wentworth, 8911 inhabitants, of whom 1453 are in Wath township, 5¾ miles (N.) from Rotherham. This parish is bounded by the rivers Dearne and Don. It is six miles in length, and four in average breadth, and comprises 10,536a. 1r. 31p., of which 1522a. 2r. 36p. are in the township; of the latter, 832 acres are arable, 578 grass-land, 47 wood, 41 in homesteads and orchards, and 23 canal. The parish is principally the property of Earl Fitzwilliam, who is lord of the several manors, and whose princely seat is within its limits, at Wentworth. The soil is generally fertile, and in a high state of cultivation; the substratum is rich in mineral wealth, and considerable numbers of the population are employed in the iron-works, coal-mines, stone-quarries, and various manufacturing establishments, with which the district abounds, and for which it has long been celebrated. The village is pleasantly situated on an acclivity near the Dearne and Dove canal, and consists of numerous well-built houses and handsome shops. An act was passed in 1846, for paving, lighting, and otherwise improving the place. For some years a periodical work, called the Village Magazine, was published monthly, under the auspices of some literary gentlemen of the vicinity. The Midland railway has a station here. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the perpetual curacy of Adwick-upon-Dearne annexed, valued in the king's books at £15. 10. 2½.; net income, £315; patrons and chief impropriators, the Dean and Canons of ChristChurch, Oxford. The tithes of Wath have been commuted for £1966 payable to the Dean and Canons, £100 to another impropriator, and £249 to the vicar, who has a glebe of 30 acres. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with an embattled tower surmounted by a spire. At Swinton, Wentworth, Hoyland, and in the hamlets of Elsecar and ThorpeHesley, are separate incumbencies. The Roman Ikeneldstreet passed through the parish.

Watlesborough

WATLESBOROUGH, a township, in the parishes of Alberbury and Cardeston, union of Atcham, hundred of Ford, S. division of Salop, 6 miles (W.) from Shrewsbury; containing 301 inhabitants.

Watlington (St. Peter and St. Paul)

WATLINGTON (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Downham, hundred of Clackclose, W. division of Norfolk, 5½ miles (N.) from Downham; containing 502 inhabitants. It is bounded on the west by the Great Ouse, over which is a bridge of wood; and comprises 1709a. 32p., of which 823 acres are arable, 746 pasture, 38 wood, and 73 road and river. The Lynn and Ely railway has a station here, about midway between the stations of Lynn and Downham. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 16. 8., and in the gift of C. B. Plestow, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £488. 11., and the glebe contains 24 acres. The church is in the early and decorated English styles, with a square embattled tower surmounted by a small spire: on the south side of the chancel are a piscina and three sedilia; and the font is elaborately embellished with sculpture. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Watlington (St. Leonard)

WATLINGTON (St. Leonard), a market-town and parish, in the union of Henley, hundred of Pirton, county of Oxford, 15 miles (E. S. E.) from Oxford, and 43 (W. by N.) from London; containing 1855 inhabitants. The name is supposed to have been derived from the Saxon Watelar, "hurdles" or " wattles," alluding to the way in which the Britons are described to have built their towns, " as groves fenced in with hewn trees." It is traditionally said that a military chest of money was left at the house of Robert Parslow, in the town, and never afterwards claimed, in consequence of which he bequeathed a liberal donation to the poor of the parish. The town is situated between the two high roads leading from London to Oxford, about half a mile from the line of the Ikeneld-street; it is irregularly built, and consists of narrow streets, the houses, with a few exceptions, being of mean appearance. Water is supplied from an adjacent brook that rises in one of the Chiltern hills. On the hill immediately above the town is an obelisk, from the summit of which is obtained a view over nine counties. The market, granted in the reign of Richard I., is on Saturday: a substantial market-house was built in 1666, by Thomas Stonor, Esq., and over it is a room where public business is transacted. A fair is held on April 5th, and on the Saturday before and after Old Michaelmas is a statute-fair; two courts leet take place annually, and petty-sessions for the hundred occur once a fortnight.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12, and has a net income of £175: the tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1808; the patronage and impropriation belong to Miss Tilson. The church stands on the north-western side of the town; in the chancel is the burial-place of the Horne family, with some interesting monuments. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The free grammar school, once a noted classical institution, but now confined to English instruction, was founded in 1664, and endowed with a rent-charge of £10, by Thomas Stonor, Esq.; the master now receives a salary of £20 per annum. Twenty men are provided with coats from Parslow's bequest, and there are several gifts for the repair of the church, and for distribution among the poor. On Bretwell Hill are remains of trenches, indicating the site of an encampment. Of Watlington Castle, which stood south-east of the church, no part is now standing; some traces only of the moat are visible.

Watnall-Cantelupe and Watnall-Cha-Worth

WATNALL-CANTELUPE and WATNALL-CHAWORTH, hamlets, in the parish of Greasley, union of Basford, S. division of the wapentake of Broxtow, N. division of the county of Nottingham; containing, respectively, 192 and 200 inhabitants. The great tithes of the former hamlet have been commuted for £20. 12., and of the latter for £181.

Wattisfield (St. Margaret)

WATTISFIELD (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Stow, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of Suffolk, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Botesdale; containing 601 inhabitants. It is on the road from Bury to Norwich. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 11. 8., and in the patronage of Mrs. Morgan; net income, £336. The church is in the decorated style, with a square tower. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. A rental of £71. 17., derived from town lands, is appropriated to general parochial purposes. The Rev. Thomas Harmer, author of Observations on Divers Passages of Scripture, and other works, resided in the parish, as minister of the Independent meeting-house, for more than 50 years.

Wattisham (St. Nicholas)

WATTISHAM (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union and hundred of Cosford, W. division of Suffolk, 2 miles (N. E.) from Bildeston; containing 240 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1298 acres, of which about 15 are roads and waste. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £100; patrons and impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge. In the church is a tablet recording a singular calamity that happened to a poor family, six persons losing their feet through mortification. There is a place of worship for Baptists.

Wattlefield

WATTLEFIELD, a division, in the parish of Wymondham, incorporation and hundred of Forehoe, E. division of Norfolk, 2¾ miles (S. by W.) from the town of Wymondham; containing 500 inhabitants.

Watton (St. Mary and St. Andrew)

WATTON (St. Mary and St. Andrew), a parish, in the hundred of Broadwater, union and county of Hertford, 4¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Hertford; containing 920 inhabitants. It is situated on the old north road, and comprises 3499 acres, of which 378 are wood, and the remainder arable and pasture; the surface is hilly, and the scenery picturesque and beautiful. The river Beane runs through the parish. A pleasure-fair is held at Michaelmas. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £19. 8. 6½., and in the gift of Abel Smith, Esq.; the tithes have been commuted for £700; there is a parsonage-house, and the glebe comprises 68 acres. The church has a square embattled tower, and a chapel is attached to the north side of the chancel. Sir William and Maurice Thompson, in 1662, founded a school, and endowed it with property now producing a rental of about £25 per annum: in 1818 a schoolroom was erected at the expense of Samuel and Abel Smith, Esqrs. A battle between the British and the Danes is said to have been fought near Broom Hall; and on the supposed line of a Roman vicinal way is a large stone, apparently of great antiquity.

Watton (St. Mary)

WATTON (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, in the union and hundred of Wayland, W. division of Norfolk, 21 miles (W. by S.) from Norwich, and 94 (N. N. E.) from London; containing 1188 inhabitants. This place is of considerable antiquity, and prior to 1204 appears to have had the grant of a market, which during that year was suspended by writ of inquiry, but was soon after restored to Oliver de Vaux, lord of the manor. In 1673 an accidental fire destroyed a great portion of the town, with property to the amount of £10,000. Watton is situated nearly in the centre of the hundred, on the verge of that part of Norfolk called Filand, or the "open country," and consists principally of one spacious street at the junction of several cross roads; it is lighted with oil, and the inhabitants are supplied with water from springs. There is a brewery, also a malting establishment; but the chief trade of the town arises from its situation on a great public thoroughfare. The market, which is on Wednesday, and chiefly for corn, was formerly celebrated as a mart for butter, of which large quantities were sent weekly to London. The ancient fairs are on the 10th of July, 11th of October, and 8th of November, for cattle; and those of more modern origin, on the second Wednesday in July, and the first Wednesday after Old Michaelmas-day for sheep. A neat obelisk was erected in 1820, on the site of the ancient market-cross, which was then taken down; and a curious sculptured device, containing a rebus on the name of the town, with which the cross was ornamented, was placed in the front of a small square building erected soon after the fire, containing a clock and one bell, which is rung on Sundays before divine service. A manorial court is held annually, and a court of petty-sessions for the hundred on the first Wednesday in the month. The parish comprises 1807a. 3r. 34p., of which 1169 acres are arable, 503 meadow and pasture, and 85 woodland.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 0. 4., and in the gift of the Hicks family: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £290, and the vicarial for £188. 4.; the glebe comprises 12 acres, with a good house. The church appears to have been originally erected in the reign of Henry I. The present structure is chiefly in the early and decorated English styles, with a circular tower, octagonal in the upper stage, and surmounted by a spire; it was enlarged by widening the aisles in 1840, and an ancient stone crucifix was removed from the north porch, and placed at the east end of the nave. There are places of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans. On the inclosure of the common, 48 acres of land were allotted to the poor for fuel. In Wayland Wood, situated near the town, and which gives name to the hundred, the sheriff's court was anciently held.

Watton (St. Mary)

WATTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Driffield, Bainton-Beacon division of the wapentake of Harthill, E. riding of York, 5½ miles (S.) from Great Driffield; containing 329 inhabitants. A nunnery of the Sempringham order, in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded here in 1150, upon the site of a more ancient priory, which existed in the year 686: at the Dissolution, its revenue was valued at £453. 7. 8., and its buildings, which are still considerable, were granted to the Earl of Warwick. The parish lies west of the river Hull, and comprises 4277 acres of fertile land, of which 3190 are arable, 1069 pasture, and 18 woodland, all tithe-free. A considerable portion of the parish, known as Watton Carr, was formerly a morass, with a decoy in the centre; it was reclaimed by drainage, and is now sound and useful land. A great part of the soil belongs to Richard Bethell, Esq., whose family were long seated at Walton Abbey, a brick mansion in the Tudor style, with octagonal turrets, stone dressings and buttresses, and fine gardens attached; it is now, by permission of Mr. Bethell, the residence of the incumbent. The village is situated on the banks of a rivulet, and on the road between Driffield and Beverley. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £60; patron, Mr. Bethell. The church is a neat edifice, with a tower at the west end, and contains some mural tablets to the Bethell and Dickinson families.

Wauldby

WAULDBY, a township, in the parish of Elloughton with Brough, union of Sculcoates, Hunsley-Beacon division of the wapentake of Harthill, E. riding of York, 4¼ miles (E. by S.) from South Cave; containing 48 inhabitants. It is situated south of the road from South Cave to Kirk-Ella. There are some remains of an ancient chapel, in which is a mural tablet in memory of John Parkinson, "lord of Wauldby," who died in 1676.

Wavendon (St. Mary)

WAVENDON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newport-Pagnell, hundred of Newport, county of Buckingham, 3½ miles (N. W.) from Woburn; containing 846 inhabitants. The parish is on the road from Woburn to Newport-Pagnell and Northampton, and comprises 2600 acres by admeasurement. There are pits for obtaining fullers'-earth. The manufacture of bone-lace is carried on by the women and children, and a few are engaged in making straw-plat. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26. 6. 10½., and in the gift of the Hoare family: the tithes have been commuted for £702; the glebe contains 82 acres. Here are places of worship for Wesleyans and the Society of Friends. George Wells in 1714 bequeathed £800, and his niece Beatrice Miller added £200, for founding and endowing a free school: these sums were invested in land now producing a clear rental of £84. 18. The Duke of Bedford annually supplies coal for the poor to the amount of £150, in lieu of some waste land awarded under an inclosure act in 1791; and the parish is in possession of town lands, the rents of which, amounting to about £20, together with some minor charities, are distributed among the poor. Almshouses for four widows were lately built by Sir H. Hugh Hoare.

Waverley

WAVERLEY, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union and hundred of Farnham, W. division of Surrey, 2 miles (S. E. by E.) from Farnham; containing 69 inhabitants, and comprising 524 acres of land.—See Farnham.

Waverton (St. Peter)

WAVERTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, Lower division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester; containing, with the townships of Hatton and Huxley, 776 inhabitants, of whom 341 are in Waverton township, 4 miles (E. S. E.) from Chester. This parish comprises 3946 acres, whereof 1100 are in Waverton township. The road from Chester to Whitchurch and Shrewsbury, the Chester and Crewe railway, and the Chester and Nantwich canal, all pass through. There is a large quarry of excellent red stone, with which Chester cathedral was repaired a few years since. The village presents a remarkably neat and interesting appearance, great attention having been paid to, and taste displayed in, the restoration of the houses and cottages belonging to the Marquess of Westminster. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop of Chester. The rectory is valued in the king's books at £23. 6. 8., and is annexed to the bishopric: the tithes have been commuted for £435, and the glebe comprises 21 acres. The church has a very fine tower: the edifice was restored in 1841, when stained-glass windows were inserted, the pews re-arranged, and a clock added. A school was built by the Marquess of Westminster, in 1841.

Waverton

WAVERTON, a township, in the parish and union of Wigton, ward and E. division of Cumberland, 2½ miles (W. S. W.) from Wigton; containing 543 inhabitants. The river Waver intersects the township, dividing it into High and Low. The tithes were commuted for land in 1811.

Wavertree

WAVERTREE, a township, in the parish of Childwall, union and hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 2½ miles (E. by S.) from Liverpool; containing 2669 inhabitants. The orthography of the name in ancient records has the remarkable variations of Waudter, Wavre, Wastpull, Wastyete, and Wartre. In the 36th of Henry III. the manor was granted to William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, from whom it reverted to the crown. The royalty of the lands was generally held with the neighbouring township of West Derby, and continued in the line of Lancaster so late as Queen Elizabeth, whose manor Wavertree was. The manor was sold, 14th Charles I., to Edward Ditchfield and others, citizens of London, who immediately afterwards conveyed it to James, Lord Stanley and Strange. From the Stanleys it passed successively to the Legays, Greens, and Gascoynes; and was brought by the heiress of the last named family to the Marquess of Salisbury, the present lord. The township of Wavertree comprises 1390 acres. Its proximity to Liverpool, and the salubrity of the air, have made it the residence of numerous wealthy families, and the land is fast increasing in value. The high grounds on the east form a fine shelter to the lower parts, which include the Wellington road; and a new road is projected, from Gateacre, past Wavertree, through Spekelands, to the end of Myrtle-street, Liverpool; the houses are to be of the first class, and the road will form one of the principal entrances into the town. The Manchester railway passes here, through a deep cutting of solid red-sandstone rock. In the township is an extensive brewery, established in 1836, and subsequently much enlarged by the proprietor, Mr. John Anderton.

The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £125, and in the patronage of Trustees. The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was built in 1793, and is a plain structure with a tower and cupola: the late John Ewart, Esq., a member of the present respectable family of that name, is interred here. Another church, dedicated to St. Mary, was erected in Sandown-park in 1848-9, at a cost of £2400; it is in the middle-pointed style of architecture, from the designs of John Hay, Esq., and is surmounted with a tower and spire. The living is in the gift of the Bishop of Chester. There are excellent Church schools. A well here, at which contributions were anciently received by monks, bears a curious inscription in Latin, and the date 1414. Mrs. Hemans, the poetess, resided at Wavertree.

Waxham (St. John and St. Margaret)

WAXHAM (St. John and St. Margaret), a parish, in the Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of Happing, E. division of Norfolk, 5 miles (E.) from Stalham; containing 90 inhabitants. It comprises 1955a. 2r., of which 718 acres are arable, 1007 pasture, 29 wood, and about 200 marsh land. The marsh land, by prescription tithe-free, is the property of Lord Braybrooke, and the only remaining part of the parish of Little Waxham, the rest having been swallowed up by the sea. Hickling Hall, a respectable farmhouse, was the ballroom of the ancient mansion, and the principal entrance still remains, exhibiting specimens of well-executed sculpture. The living is a discharged rectory, with the vicarage of Palling annexed, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4., and in the gift of H. J. Conyers, Esq.: the tithes of Waxham have been commuted for £343; the glebe comprises 1½ acre.

Waxholme

WAXHOLME, a township, in the parish of Owthorne, union of Patrington, Middle division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 15½ miles (E.) from Hull; containing 99 inhabitants. The township has been much wasted by the incursions of the sea, and now comprises about 502 acres of land. The coast here and at Tunstall is called Sand la Mare, from the knightly family of la Mare, who were anciently seated in the neighbourhood. A coast-guard station was established in 1826.

Waybourne (All Saints)

WAYBOURNE (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Erpingham, hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 3 miles (N. E.) from Holt; containing 311 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the sea, and comprises 1625a. 2r. 9p., of which 1168 acres are arable, 30 pasture and meadow, 274 heath or sheepwalks, and 152 woodland. The village is picturesquely situated on the coast, in a deep romantic bay, sheltered by a semicircular range of lofty hills extending on each side of the beach; the sea is so deep that ships are able to ride almost close to the shore. There are a brewery and malting establishment, and a house for curing fish; and several boats are employed in crab and lobster fishing. The living is a perpetual curacy and donative, in the patronage of the Earl of Orford, the impropriator, whose tithes have been commuted for £300. The church is in the decorated style, with a square embattled tower: near it are the remains of a church that belonged to a priory of Augustine canons founded in the reign of Henry II.

Wayford

WAYFORD, a parish, in the union of Chard, hundred of Crewkerne, W. division of Somerset, 2½ miles (S. W.) from Crewkerne; containing, with the tything of Oathill, 223 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1460 acres, of which 20 are common or waste. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 1. 5½.; net income, £132; patron, John Pinney, Esq.