Wombleton

WOMBLETON, a township, in the parish of Kirkdale, union of Helmsley, wapentake of Ryedale, N. riding of York, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Helmsley; containing 337 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1040 acres, chiefly the property of Lord Feversham: the village stands south of the road from Helmsley to Kirkby-Moorside. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. John Stockton, in 1839, left £10 per annum for the instruction of children.

Wombourn (St. Benedict)

WOMBOURN (St. Benedict), a parish, in the union, and S. division of the hundred, of Seisdon, S. division of the county of Stafford, 4 miles (S. W. by S.) from Wolverhampton; containing, with the liberties of Orton and Swindon, 1808 inhabitants, of whom 1220 are in the township. The parish comprises about 4000 acres, of a light loamy soil, generally good, and remarkable for the production of corn and vegetables; the scenery, interspersed with extensive garden and nursery grounds, is very picturesque, and well wooded. The common was inclosed in 1816, and brought into tolerable cultivation. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal passes for four miles and a half through the parish. The Wood House, a noble mansion in the Elizabethan style, situated in a beautiful vale, is the property of Thomas Shaw Hellier, Esq., and occupied by William Chinner, Esq. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Trysull annexed, valued in the king's books at £12. 12. 8½., and in the patronage of certain Trustees. The impropriate tithes of Wombourn have been commuted for £194, and the vicarial for £93. 13.; there is a parsonage-house, and a glebe of 36¼ acres. The church is a fine structure in the early English style, with a square tower surmounted by a graceful spire; it was enlarged and thoroughly repaired in 1841, at a cost of £1500, and now contains 600 sittings, of which 193 are free. In the interior is an elegant monument by Chantrey, in memory of R. B. Marsh, Esq.

Wombridge (St. Mary and St. Leonard)

WOMBRIDGE (St. Mary and St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Wellington, Wellington division of the hundred of South Bradford, N. division of Salop, 3 miles (E.) from Wellington; containing 2057 inhabitants. It is situated on the Roman Watlingstreet, and comprises 677 acres of arable and pasture land; the soil is dry and sandy, and the surface hilly. The Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and Marquess of Stafford's, canals form a junction in the parish, which is also intersected by several tramways communicating with the extensive coal and iron mines at Ketley and in the neighbourhood, which have been worked for centuries. Very considerable iron-works were established here in 1818. At Oaken-Gates a small customary market is held. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of William Charlton, Esq., as lord of the manor; net income, £82. The church is a brick edifice, built on the site of a structure which fell into ruins in 1760. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. Near the church are some slight remains of a priory of Black canons, founded in the reign of Henry I. by William Fitz-Alan, and which at the Dissolution had a revenue of £72. 15. 8.

Wombwell

WOMBWELL, a chapelry, in the parish of Darfield, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 4 miles (S. E. by E.) from Barusley; containing 1169 inhabitants. This chapelry, which is situated on the road from Barnsley to Wath-upon-Dearne, and on the Dearne and Dove canal, comprises about 410 acres of woodland; the prevailing scenery is pleasing, and the soil fertile. The chapel, an ancient structure with a tower, and having lancet windows, was enlarged a short time since by the erection of a south aisle and a gallery, at a cost of £500. The tithes have been commuted for £740, payable to the rector, and Trinity College, Cambridge. A school at Hemingfield is supported by a grant of £15 per annum from the trustees of Mr. George Ellis's charity, who also pay £5 for instruction in a school at Wombwell. The town lands, comprising 15 acres, produce £22 per annum, appropriated partly to the poor rate and partly to the distribution of coal.

Womenswould (St. Margaret)

WOMENSWOULD (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Bridge, hundred of Wingham, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 6½ miles (S. E.) from Canterbury; containing 275 inhabitants. It comprises 1413a. 1r. 32p., of which 897 acres are arable. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to that of Nonington. In the church are several handsome monuments, some of which, to the Montressor family, are by Chantrey.

Womersley (St. Martin)

WOMERSLEY (St. Martin), a parish, in the Lower division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Cridling-Stubbs, Little Smeaton, and Walden-Stubbs, 921 inhabitants, of whom 392 are in Womersley township, 5 miles (E. S. E.) from Pontefract. This parish comprises between 5000 and 6000 acres, the soil of which embraces sand, loam, and clay. On the southern bank of the river Went, are some quarries of fine limestone, whence a tramroad formerly passed over the stream, ran through the township of Little Smeaton, and met the new line of navigation made by the Aire and Calder Company. The road from Doncaster, by Askerne, to Pontefract, passes through the village. Womersley Park is the seat of Lord Hawke, who is lord of the manor. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 11. 5½.; net income, £258; patron and impropriator, Lord Hawke: the glebe contains 188 acres. The church is a handsome structure with a lofty spire, situated on an eminence in the centre of the parish. At Walden-Stubbs is an ancient Hall, once the seat of a family named Shuttleworth, now occupied as a farmhouse.

Wonastow, or Weonastow (St. Wonnow)

WONASTOW, or Weonastow (St. Wonnow), a parish, in the hundred of Skenfreth, union, division, and county of Monmouth, 2 miles (W. S. W.) from Monmouth, on the road to Abergavenny; containing 165 inhabitants. It is bounded on the south and west by the river Trothey, and consists of about 1650 acres. The surface is boldly undulated, and the higher grounds present some fine views; the soil is a loamy clay. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 15. 5.; net income, £95; patron and impropriator, Sir W. Pilkington, Bart. The church, consisting of a nave and chancel, is in the early English style, and most picturesquely situated in the grounds of Wonastow House, a portion of which was erected in the reign of Henry VIII.

Wonersh (St. John the Baptist)

WONERSH (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Hambledon, First division of the hundred of Blackheath, W. division of Surrey, 3 miles (S. S. E.) from Guildford; containing 1213 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the road from Guildford to Brighton, and comprises 4388 acres, of which 2495 are arable, 585 meadow, 507 wood, and the rest common. The surface is hilly towards the eastern boundary, and flat in the opposite direction; the soil is partly clay, but the larger portion of it sand: ironstone abounds. The Wey and Arun canal passes through the parish. In the village is a mill for dressing leather, which affords employment to forty persons. Charles II. granted a market and fair to be kept at Shimley-Green, in the parish; the former has fallen into disuse, and the latter dwindled to a small pleasure-fair held on the 11th of June. The manor-house of Tangley, originally a hunting-box of King John's, was in 1585 converted into a residence for the family of Sir Francis Duncombe. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15. 1. 3., and in the patronage of Lord Grantley, the impropriator: the great tithes have been commuted for £700, and those of the vicar for £176. 13. The church, with the exception of the tower and north wall, was rebuilt in 1795, and is picturesquely situated in Wonersh Park, his lordship's seat: at the east end of the north aisle is the family vault, in which is interred Judge Chappie, whose daughter married Sir Fletcher Norton, speaker of the house of commons for 12 years, and raised to the peerage in 1782, by the title of Lord Grantley, Baron of Markenfield. There are two places of worship for Independents.

Wonston, or Wonsington (Holy Trinity)

WONSTON, or Wonsington (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Winchester, hundred of Buddlesgate, Winchester and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 5 miles (S.) from Whitchurch; containing, with the chapelry of Sutton-Scotney, 786 inhabitants. The parish comprises 5229a. 3r. 32p., of which 4835 acres are arable, 186 meadow, 93 woodland, and the remainder waste; the surface is varied, and the soil rests on chalk. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £46. 15. 7½.; and in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester: the tithes have been commuted for £1150, and the glebe comprises 20 acres. The church, burnt down in 1714, and rebuilt, was repewed and beautified in 1829, at an expense of £750, by the Rev. Mr. Dallas, the present incumbent; it has a fine window of painted glass, presented by the Hon. and Rev. Augustus Legge, 31 years rector of the parish. A national and an infants' school are supported by the rector, who has a printing-press from which religious publications are issued for the poor. Another school is endowed with £7. 16. per annum.

Wooburn (St. Paul)

WOOBURN (St. Paul), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Wycombe, hundred of Desborough, county of Buckingham, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Beaconsfield; containing 1830 inhabitants. A rivulet rising at West Wycombe, flows through the parish, turning in its course several paper, mill-board, and flour mills; and many of the females are employed in the manufacture of bone-lace. The market, which was held on Friday, and a fair on the festival of the translation of St. Edward, were granted by Henry VI.; they have been long disused, and fairs now take place for horses, cattle, and sheep, on May 4th and November 12th. Wooburn House occupies the site of a noble palace that belonged to the bishops of Lincoln. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12; net income, £138; patron and impropriator, James Dupré, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1802. The church is a stately edifice in the later English style, with a very handsome tower; it contains a curiously-carved font, and some monuments to the Bertie and Wharton families. Philip, Lord Wharton, in 1694 gave a rent-charge of £22. 10., to be paid to the vicar for an evening lecture every Sunday. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The sum of £27. 10., the rental of 28 acres of land allotted under an inclosure act, and of a piece of meadow called the Church estate, is principally distributed among the poor.

Wood, or Woodchurch

WOOD, or Woodchurch, a ville, and member of the cinque-port liberty of Dovor, in the union of the Isle of Thanet, locally in the hundred of Ringslow, or the Isle of Thanet, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 3 miles (S. W. by W.) from Margate; containing 233 inhabitants. The ville comprises 1421 acres, of which 23 are in wood. Here are the ruins of a chapel of ease to the vicarage of Monkton; it was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene.

Woodbank, or Rough-Shotwick

WOODBANK, or Rough-Shotwick, a township, in the parish of Shotwick, union of Great Boughton, Higher division of the hundred of Wirrall, S. division of Cheshire, 5½ miles (N. W.) from Chester; containing 75 inhabitants. It comprises 190 acres. The appropriate tithes have been commuted for £23.

Woodbastwick (St. Fabian and St. Sebastian)

WOODBASTWICK (St. Fabian and St. Sebastian), a parish, in the union of Blofield, hundred of Walsham, E. division of Norfolk, 8 miles (N. E. by E.) from Norwich; containing 283 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the navigable river Bure, over which is a ferry. It comprises, exclusively of roads, 2163a. 27p.: 1389 acres are arable, with a small portion of grass-land; 391 are rough marsh, turf-grounds, &c., 115 wood and plantations, 72 heath, and 151 water, the last comprehending several lakes. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the rectory of Panxworth annexed, valued in the king's books at £6; patron and impropriator, J. Cator, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £292. 3., and the vicarial for £143. 6.; there is a parsonage-house, and the glebe comprises 26 acres. The church is partly in the early and partly in the decorated English style, with a square embattled tower, which was heightened in 1840, when the edifice was thoroughly repaired and newly pewed at the expense of the patron.

Woodborough (St. Swithin)

WOODBOROUGH (St. Swithin), a parish, in the union of Basford, S. division of the wapentake of Thurgarton and of the county of Nottingham, 7 miles (N. E. by N.) from Nottingham; containing 801 inhabitants. It comprises 1800 acres by computation; the surface is undulated, the soil in some parts loamy, and in others a wet heavy clay. The Doverbeck, a considerable stream turning several mills, runs through the parish. The stocking-frame was invented here by William Lee, in 1528: about 150 frames are usually at work in the village. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Collegiate Church of Southwell, valued in the king's books at £4; net income, £93. The tithes were commuted for 252 acres of land in 1798, and the glebe contains 52 acres, of which 37 are in the parish of Lambley. The church has a fine Norman doorway, and the east window exhibits some remains of ancient stained glass. The Wesleyans and the Baptists have each a place of worship. A free school was built and endowed with about 66 acres of land, in 1739, by Mr. Wood.

Woodborough

WOODBOROUGH, a hamlet, in the parish of Winscombe, union of Axbridge, hundred of Winterstoke, Eastern division of Somerset; containing 275 inhabitants.

Woodborough (St. Mary Magdalene)

WOODBOROUGH (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Pewsey, hundred of Swanborough, Everley and Pewsey, and N. divisions of Wilts, 4 miles (W.) from Pewsey; containing 426 inhabitants. It is situated in a valley, near the Kennet and Amesbury road, and comprises 1015a. 3r. 13p.; the surface is flat, the soil chiefly sand and clay. The Kennet and Avon canal passes through the parish, and on its banks is Honey-street wharf: a considerable trade in timber and coal is carried on, and a great number of canal boats and barges are built. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the gift of G. H. W. Heneage, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £294. 12.; the glebe comprises 70 acres. The church was erected about the year 1670, and contains 200 sittings. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Woodbridge (St. Mary)

WOODBRIDGE (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Loes, E. division of Suffolk, 7½ miles (E. N. E.) from Ipswich, and 76½ (N. E. by E.) from London; containing 4954 inhabitants. This town is of considerable antiquity, for, in the time of Edward the Confessor, the prior and convent of Ely had possession here, and their successors still hold the manor of Kingston: the name is thought to be a corruption of Wodenbryge, from the Saxon god Woden. Towards the termination of the 12th century, a priory of Augustine canons was founded here by Ernaldus Rufus and others, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was valued at £50. 3. 5.: a house built on the site by one of the Seckfords, now in the possession of the Carthew family, still retains the name of the Abbey. In 1666, upwards of 327 inhabitants died of the plague, and were buried, according to tradition, at Bearman's Hill, in the vicinity. The town is pleasantly situated on the north side of the river Deben, on the direct road from London to Yarmouth, and occupies the slope of a hill surrounded by beautiful walks. It consists of two principal streets, a spacious square called Market Hill, and several narrow streets and lanes, and is paved, lighted, and amply supplied with water; the atmosphere is highly salubrious, and the general appearance of the place neat and respectable. From the summit of the hill is a commanding view of the river to its influx into the sea. A small theatre was built in 1813; and concerts are held occasionally. During the war, barracks were erected on the high ground about half a mile north-west of the town, adapted for 750 cavalry and 4165 infantry; but they were pulled down on the restoration of peace.

The trade mainly consists in the exportation of corn, flour, and malt, and in the importation of coal, timber, foreign wine, spirits, porter, grocery, drapery, and ironmongery. The shipping of late years has greatly increased; the number of vessels of above fifty tons now registered at the port is twenty-seven, and their aggregate burthen 4030 tons. Vessels sail weekly to London, and many others are employed in trading with Newcastle, Hull, and the Continent; one or two sail direct to Liverpool, from which place they bring back salt, and there is a small trade to the Baltic for timber. A manufacture of salt of peculiarly fine quality, was formerly carried on, and there was a brisk business in shipbuilding; but both have declined. The Deben, near its mouth, forms the haven of Woodbridge, from which it is navigable for vessels of 120 tons to the town: on its bank are two excellent quays. The market is on Wednesday, for corn, cattle, and provisions; and fairs occur on April 5th and October 23rd. The quarter-sessions for the liberty of St. Ethelred, and the hundreds of Colneis, Carlford, Loes, Plomesgate, Wilford, and Thredling, are held here; and petty-sessions take place every Wednesday. The powers of the county debt-court of Woodbridge, established in 1847, extend over the registration district of Woodbridge, and part of that of Plomesgate. The sessions-hall, under which is the cornmarket, in the centre of the Market Hill, erected in 1587 by Thomas Seckford, master of the court of requests, has undergone some extensive repairs, and is a handsome and lofty edifice of brick. On an adjacent eminence is the bridewell, rebuilt in 1804. The parish comprises upwards of 1200 acres.

The living is a perpetual curacy, to which the impropriate rectory was annexed in 1667, by Dorothy Seckford; patrons, the Meller family: the tithes have been commuted for £329. The body of the church was built by John, Lord Seagrave, in the reign of Edward III., and the tower and north portico in that of Henry VI.: on the north side of the chancel is an elegant private chapel, erected in the time of Elizabeth by Thomas Seckford, and in which, over the family vault, is a tomb probably to his memory. The north portico is adorned with sculpture, in relief, representing the conflict of St. Michael and the Dragon. The tower is stately and magnificent, constructed, like the church, of dark flint intermixed with freestone, and, towards the upper part, formed into elegant devices; it is crowned with battlements, having finials at the angles, which are surmounted by vanes, and decorated in the interval with badges of the Four Evangelists. St. John's church, forming a separate incumbency, was consecrated in September, 1846. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyans. The free grammar school, in Well-street, was founded in 1663, by Dorothy Seckford and others, and is endowed with property producing about £37 per annum. Some almshouses were erected in 1587, by Thomas Seckford, for the residence of thirteen unmarried men, with another house for three women to attend them as nurses; they were endowed with an estate in the parish of Clerk enwell, London, which, in 1767, produced an income of £568 per annum, and now yields about £3000: new and handsome houses have been erected. There are, besides, different benefactions amounting to about £150 a year, for the benefit of the poor generally. The union of Woodbridee comprises forty-six parishes or places, and contains a population of 23,015. Various relics of antiquity, especially fragments of warlike instruments, have been occasionally found in the vicinity. Christopher Saxton, publisher of the first county maps, was a native of this place, and servant to Thomas Seckford, Esq., mentioned above, who resided in a mansion at Great Bealings, about a mile and a half distant, and under whose patronage the plans were published, in 1579, and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth.

Woodbury

WOODBURY, a hamlet, in the parish of Gamlingay, poor-law union of Caxton and Arrington, hundred of Longstow, county of Cambridge; containing 34 inhabitants.

Woodbury (St. Swithin)

WOODBURY (St. Swithin), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of St. Thomas, hundred of East Budleigh, Woodbury and S. divisions of Devon, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Topsham; containing 1933 inhabitants. The parish comprises 7304 acres, of which 734 are common or waste: the navigable river Exe bounds it on the west. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patrons, the Custos and College of Vicars Choral in the Cathedral of Exeter. The church contains some ancient monuments, among which is one to Chief Justice Sir Edmund Pollexfen. At Salterton, in the parish, to the north of the village of Woodbury, is a district church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, built and endowed by Miss Marianne Pidsley, who holds the patronage. A school, in connexion with the National Society, is endowed with £37 per annum. On the edge of a lofty hill commanding a beautiful prospect, is an ancient earthwork called Woodbury Castle, an inclosure of irregular form, deeply intrenched.

Woodbury

WOODBURY, a tything, in the parish of RomseyExtra, union of Romsey, hundred of King's-Sombourn, Romsey and S. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 293 inhabitants.