Barton, St Michael - Basing

A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848.

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'Barton, St Michael - Basing', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 164-168. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp164-168 [accessed 18 March 2024]

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Barton, St. Michael

BARTON, ST. MICHAEL, a hamlet, in the parish of St. Michael, Gloucester, union of Gloucester, Middle division of the hundred of Dudstone and King's Barton, E. division of the county of Gloucester; containing 1116 inhabitants. A church has been built and endowed by subscription, the living of which is in the gift of the Bishop of the diocese.

Barton-Mills, Little Barton, or Barton Two-grind (St. Mary)

BARTON-MILLS, Little Barton, or Barton Two-grind (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Mildenhall, hundred of Lackford, W. division of Suffolk, 1 mile (S. E.) from Mildenhall; containing 640 inhabitants, and comprising by measurement 2000 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 15. 10.; net income, £550; patron, the Crown. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1796. There is a place of worship for Particular Baptists. The sum of about £13 per annum, the rental of fourteen acres of fen land, devised by the Rev. James Davies in 1692, is distributed amongst the poor.

Barton-On-The-Heath (St. Lawrence)

BARTON-ON-THE-HEATH (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Chipping-Norton, Brails division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, 3½ miles (E.) from Moreton-in-Marsh; containing 212 inhabitants. The parish is situated at the southern extremity of the county, and comprises 1145a. 3r. 34p., of which about one-third is arable, and 85 acres woodland; at its south-western point is a pillar, called the "Four-Shire stone," where the counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick, and Oxford meet. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 17. 11.; net income, £364; patrons, the President and Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford.

Barton-Seagrave (St. Botolph)

BARTON-SEAGRAVE (St. Botolph), a parish, in the union of Kettering, hundred of Huxloe, N. division of the county of Northampton, 1¾ mile (S. E. by E.) from Kettering; containing 219 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road between Kettering and Higham-Ferrers, and comprises 1759 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 17. 1.; net income, £492, with a house; patron, the Duke of Buccleuch. The glebe consists of 60 acres. The church exhibits specimens of very ancient architecture. An infant school is supported by Lady Hood. John Bridges, an industrious collector of materials for the history of Northamptonshire, was a native of the parish.

Barton-Stacey (All Saints)

BARTON-STACEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Andover, hundred of Barton-Stacey, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 5 miles (S. S. W.) from Whitchurch; consisting of the tythings of Barton-Stacey, Bransbury, Drayton, and Newton-Stacey, and containing 561 inhabitants. It comprises 4728 acres, of which 181 are common or waste. A fair is held on the 31st of July. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 2. 1.; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Winchester. The great tithes have been commuted for £968, and the vicarial for £260; there are 55 acres of glebe. The church is an ancient structure of the early and decorated English styles, with a square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles and surmounted by an angular turret. A school is endowed with £10. 10. per annum, being part of the rental of land left by Dorothy and Elizabeth Wright. A Roman road passed through the parish, and there are vestiges of a strong intrenchment at Bransbury.

Barton, Steeple (St. Mary)

BARTON, STEEPLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 4¾ miles (S. S. W.) from Deddington; containing 640 inhabitants, of whom 60 are in the township of Steeple-Barton, and 49 in that of Sesswells-Barton. The parish comprises 1032a. 3r. 17p., chiefly arable land, with about 70 acres of wood and coverts. The Heyford and Enstone road runs through the parish, and the Dorn brook here turns a corn-mill. Many of the females find employment in stitching gloves for the Woodstock manufacturers. A house at Sesswells-Barton, now a farmhouse, belonging to Henry Hall, Esq., is a fine specimen of Tudor architecture; it was built about 1524, and was repaired in 1679, and again in 1840. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 9. 4½.; net income, £78; vicar, the Rev. Robert Wright; impropriator, the Duke of Marlborough. The tithes were commuted for land and an annual money payment in 1795. The church, an ancient and spacious structure now in much want of repair, was granted about 1260 to the canons of Osney, who, in 1536, had a revenue of £28. 10. 5. accruing here: in the chancel are some monuments of the Dormer family. There is a place of worship for the Society of Friends, but it is almost disused. A school is supported by the Rev. William Wilson. At Sesswells are the remains of a cromlech, and of a British earthwork.

Barton-Turf (St. Michael)

BARTON-TURF (St. Michael), a parish, in the Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of Tunstead, E. division of Norfolk, 11 miles (N. N. E.) from Norwich; containing 408 inhabitants. It comprises 1599a. 14p., of which 1005 acres are arable, 309 pasture and meadow, 35 woodland, and 167 water; and is situated on the navigable river Ant, which opens out into a large lake or broad on the east side of the parish. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the rectory of Irstead united, valued in the king's books at £3. 13. 4.; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Norwich. The great tithes of Barton-Turf have been commuted for £290, and the vicarial for £168, per annum; there is half an acre of glebe belonging to the bishop, and the vicar's glebe comprises 27½ acres, besides 7½ in Neatshead parish. The church contains handsome monuments to the Norris family. Under the inclosure act, about thirty acres of land were allotted to the poor for fuel.

Barton-Under-Needwood

BARTON-UNDER-NEEDWOOD, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of Tatenhill, union of Burtonupon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 6 miles (S. W. by W.) from Burton; containing 1459 inhabitants. This place, in Domesday book called Bertune, gave name to one of the five wards into which the ancient royal forest of Needwood was divided. Edward the Confessor granted it to Henry de Ferrers, from whom it passed to the Somervilles, and afterwards to the earls of Derby, one of whom forfeited the property by rebellion in 1263, when Henry III. gave it to his youngest son, Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. It subsequently reverted to the crown as a part of the duchy of Lancaster, and was sold by Charles I. in 1629 to the citizens of London, of whom it was purchased by Sir Edward Bromfield. The township comprises 3798a. 24p., in about equal portions of arable and pasture; the surface is elevated and undulating, and the scenery picturesque. About a mile east of the village, is the hamlet of Barton-Turning; and further eastward is a handsome bridge, of stone and iron, lately erected across the Trent to Walton, at a cost of £7000. The Grand Trunk canal passes through the chapelry; and there is a station on the Birmingham and Derby railway. Courts leet and baron are held annually in October; and fairs on May 3rd and November 28th. Among the seats are, Barton Hall, Yewtree House, Newbold Manor, and Silverhill; the last, which is the seat of C. W. Lyon, Esq., is built in the Elizabethan style, and the views from it are extensive and beautiful. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £135; patron, the Dean of Lichfield. The chapel, dedicated to St. James, is a handsome building in the later style, with a square tower and pinnacles; it was erected in the reign of Henry VIII. by the Rev. John Taylor, D.D., a native of the place. The free grammar school was founded in 1593 by Thomas Russell, who, by will, left money for its erection, and endowed it with an annuity of £21. 10., to be paid out of property in the parish of Shoreditch, London, held in trust by the Drapers' Company, who have increased the annuity; besides which, the master has a house and three acres of land: the boys are instructed on Dr. Bell's system. A school for girls is partly supported by an endowment of £20 per annum by the late Thomas Webb, Esq.; and numerous small sums are appropriated to the relief of the poor. There are several saline springs.

Barton-Upon-Humber (St. Peter)

BARTON-UPON-HUMBER (St. Peter), a markettown and parish, in the union of Glandford-Brigg, N. division of the wapentake of Yarborough, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 34 miles (N.) from Lincoln, and 167 (N.) from London; containing 3495 inhabitants. This place, called in the Norman survey Berton super Humber, is of great antiquity, and is thought to have been a Roman station; which opinion is in some degree confirmed by the direction of the streets, which intersect each other at right angles. During the Saxon and Danish contests it was of considerable importance, and is said to have been surrounded by a rampart and fosse, some remains of which, called the Castle Dykes, are still perceptible. On the invasion of Anlaff and his confederates in the reign of Athelstan, he is supposed to have landed part of his forces and posted them here to act in concert with the main body of his army, which was stationed at Barrow, previous to the great battle of Brunnam, which took place in the adjoining township, now Burnham. At the time of the Conquest, Barton was noted for its commerce, and was one of the manors bestowed by William the Conqueror on his nephew, Gilbert de Gaunt, who had a castle here. It continued to flourish as a commercial town till Edward I. gave to Wyke-upon-Hull the appellation of "King's town upon Hull," and made it a free borough, at which time the trade of Barton began to decline.

The town is pleasantly situated on the south bank of the river Humber, at the foot of the northern termination of the range of chalk hills called the Lincolnshire Wolds; and is of considerable extent, consisting of several streets, in which are numerous good dwelling-houses with gardens and orchards attached, and combining with the advantages of a market-town the pleasing appearance of a rural village. The trade is principally in corn, flour, malt, coal, and bones for manure. There are a large ropery and sacking manufactory; two tanneries, in one of which the larch bark is used for the finer kinds of leather; an extensive foundry for church bells, carried on by Mr. James Harrison, whose grandfather obtained a premium for the best time-piece for finding the longitude at sea; and large manufactories for starch and malt. In the vicinity is a chalkstone-quarry, producing great quantities of stone, the larger pieces of which are used for repairing the banks of the Humber and other rivers, and for the construction and repair of jetties, and the smaller for mending roads; the finest quality is sold for making plaster of Paris, and shipped for foreign markets. The market, under an ancient grant, is on Monday, and is well supplied with corn and with provisions of every kind; a market is also held every alternate Monday for fat-cattle, and a fair, chiefly for toys, on Trinity-Thursday and the following day. The ancient ferry to Hessle, across the Humber, which is here about a mile broad, is appurtenant to the manor, which is vested in the crown: it has been for a long time granted to different lessees, and is now combined with the Hull ferry, under lease to the corporation of that town, who have established a steam-packet. There is a station on the Hull and Selby railway at Hessle, just mentioned; and an act was passed in 1846 for extending the New Holland branch of the Gainsborough and Grimsby railway, to Barton: the extension is four miles long. The town is under the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold a petty-session every fortnight; and constables and other officers are appointed at the court leet of the manor, which is held annually under the crown. The powers of the county debt-court of Barton, established 1847, extend over the Barton sub-registration-district.

The parish comprises 6240 acres, of which about 700 are arable, and 100 plantation; the land adjoining the Humber is of a clayey quality, but the greater part is a fine soil resting upon chalk. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £19. 4. 8.; net income, £261; patrons and impropriators, the Uppleby family. The great tithes were granted by Gilbert de Gaunt to the abbey of Bardney; and, at the inclosure of the waste lands, the tithe allotment and glebe of the rectory amounted to more than 1000 acres. The church is a spacious structure, principally in the decorated English style, with a tower, of which the upper part is evidently early Norman, and the lower of a much more remote date, being probably one of the very few specimens of Saxon architecture remaining in the kingdom. There is also a church dedicated to St. Mary, formerly called the chapel of All Saints, which, having no endowment, is supposed to have been built as a chapel of ease to St. Peter's, and which, according to tradition, was rebuilt by the merchants of Barton; it is partly Norman, but chiefly in the early English style, of which the tower is a very elegant specimen. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Independents, and Primitive Methodists, and a Roman Catholic chapel lately erected. In the south part of the parish is a small encampment, supposed to have been an outpost to the larger station at Burnham, and which has long been planted with trees, and is now styled Beaumont Cote. In November, 1828, a Roman urn of unburnt clay, and of excellent workmanship, was dug up in the West Field of Barton, near the line of the ancient road to Ferriby: it contained human bones unconsumed; and near the spot where it had been deposited was a human skeleton, the bones of which mouldered into dust on exposure to the air.

Barton-Upon-Irwell

BARTON-UPON-IRWELL, a township, in the parish of Eccles, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 5½ miles (W. by S.) from Manchester; containing 10,865 inhabitants. The township lies on both banks of the Irwell from Trafford Park to Davyhulme, where the river becomes the boundary line till it falls into the Mersey: the Mersey and the Glazebrook also form boundaries. The manufacture of calico and nankeen goods is carried on. The Duke of Bridgewater's canal crosses the Irwell here, by means of a stone aqueduct of three arches, which was the first constructed in England over a navigable river; and the Liverpool and Manchester railway also passes through the township. Barton Old Hall, a brick edifice, now a farmhouse, was the seat successively of the Barton, Booth, and Leigh families. A church dedicated to St. Catherine, a neat stone building with an elegant octagonal spire rising to a height of about 100 feet from the ground, was consecrated on the 25th of October, 1843; the site is elevated, and commands extensive prospects. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Chester, Vicar of Eccles, and others. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Independents, Independent Methodists, the New Connexion, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics. The Eccles parochial school, in the township, is endowed with pew-rents, amounting to £8 per annum; and in another school, twenty children are partly paid for by the trustees under the will of Mr. James Bradshaw. There is also a national school capable of accommodating 240 children, with a residence for the master.—See Patricroft.

Barton's-Village

BARTON'S-VILLAGE, a parochial district, in the parish of Whippingham, liberty of East Medina, Isle of Wight division of the county of Southampton, ¼ of a mile (E.) from Newport; containing about 700 inhabitants. The district was lately formed; and a church after the Norman style, of which the first stone was laid by Lady Worsley Holmes in April 1840, and which contains 400 sittings, has been completed at an expense of £1300. The living is a curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of Whippingham.

Barton-Westcott (St. Edward)

BARTON-WESTCOTT (St. Edward), a parish, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 8 miles (N. by W.) from Woodstock; containing 290 inhabitants. It comprises 921a. 3r. 12p., chiefly arable land: good limestone, used for building, is obtained. The Dorn brook, a feeder of the Evenlode, flows through the parish; and the Heyford and Enstone turnpike-road passes through the village. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7; net income, £179; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Samuel Young Seagrave. The church is a small neat edifice, principally in the early English style. The Wesleyans have a place of worship, erected in 1832. The poor are entitled to fuel, from the rent of a piece of land which is occupied by them in spade husbandry.

Barugh

BARUGH, a township, in the parish of Darton, wapentake of Staincross, W. riding of York, 2½ miles (W. N. W.) from Barnsley; containing 1266 inhabitants. It includes the villages of Barugh, Gawber, and Higham, and comprises 1693a. 2r. 21p., of which 1044 acres are arable, about 600 pasture, and 48 woodland; the soil is generally fertile, and the population is employed in weaving, bleaching, in the collieries of Gawber, and in agriculture. Gawber Hall, an ancient mansion, is now a farmhouse. The village of Barugh, though small, is neatly built, and advantageously situated near the Barnsley canal.

Barugh-Ambo

BARUGH-AMBO, a township, in the parish of Kirkby-Misperton, Pickering lythe and union, N. riding of York, 5¼ miles (S. W.) from Pickering; containing 304 inhabitants, of whom 186 are in Great, and 118 in Little, Barugh. The township is situated on the east side of the small river Seven, and comprises by computation 2150 acres. The-hamlets are distant from each other about a mile. Bricks and tiles are manufactured.

Barwell (St. Mary)

BARWELL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Hinckley, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 2 miles (N. E. by N.) from Hinckley; containing 1607 inhabitants. It is situated near the road from Leicester to Hinckley, and near the Hinckley and Coventry canal; and comprises 2345a. 2r. 9p., in equal portions of arable and pasture. The population is partly employed in the manufacture of cotton-stockings, which is carried on to a great extent. The living is a rectory, with that of Elmsthorpe united, valued in the king's books at £20. 10. 7½.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. George Mettam: the tithes of Barwell have been commuted for £530, and there are more than 115 acres of glebe. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style. There are chapels of ease at Potters-Marston and Stapleton, in the parish; and a place of worship for Wesleyans. A school is endowed with about £20 per annum, the bequest of Gabriel Newton in 1760.

Barwick

BARWICK, a hamlet, in the parish of Abbot's Roothing, hundred of Ongar, N. division of Essex; containing 126 inhabitants.

Barwick (St. Mary)

BARWICK (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Docking, hundred of Smithdon, W. division of Norfolk, 11 miles (N.) from Rougham; containing 32 inhabitants. It comprises 1233a. 3r. 19p., and contains Barwick House, a neat brick mansion. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6; patron and impropriator, Mr. Hoste: the great tithes have been commuted for £132, and the vicarial for one of £100; there are 45 acres of glebe.

Barwick (St. Mary Magdalene)

BARWICK (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Yeovil, hundred of Houndsborough, Berwick, and Coker, W. division of Somerset, 1¾ mile (S. by E.) from Yeovil; containing, with the hamlet of Stoford, 446 inhabitants. It is situated near the road between Yeovil and Dorchester, and comprises by measurement 784 acres. Flax-spinning is carried on to some extent; and sheep and cattle fairs are held on June 11th and Sept. 28th. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 14. 7., and in the gift of John Newman, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £245, and there are 46 acres of glebe.

Barwick-In-Elmet (All Saints)

BARWICK-IN-ELMET (All Saints), a parish, in the Lower division of the wapentake of Skyrack, W. riding of York, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Leeds; containing 2275 inhabitants, of whom 1836 are in Barwick township. This place was the seat of Edwin, King of Northumbria, and had its name from a castle of great magnitude and strength, founded by that monarch on an eminence called Hall-Tower Hill, and the walls of which inclosed an area of upwards of thirteen acres. On the banks of Grimsdike rivulet, which flows on the west, was fought in 655 the great battle between the Northumbrians and Mercians, when Penda and many of his vassal princes were slain. The parish comprises by measurement 8325 acres, whereof 1440 are in the township of Roundhay, and the remainder in Barwick township, which includes Barnbow, Kiddal-with-Potterton, and Morwick-with-Scholes: the substratum consists for a great part of coal and limestone. The Leeds and Selby railway passes through. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £33. 12. 6., and in the patronage of the Duchy of Lancaster, with a net income of £1200: the church is a handsome structure, in the later English style. At Roundhay is a district church. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A school, endowed with £14 per annum, is conducted at Barwick; and at Stanks is a school supported by the rector, the schoolroom of which, built in 1839, is licensed for public worship.

Baschurch (All Saints)

BASCHURCH (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Ellesmere, hundred of Pimhill, N. division of Salop, 8 miles (N. W. by N.) from Shrewsbury; containing 1491 inhabitants. It is intersected by the Ellesmere canal; and comprises 8213a. 1r. 10p., exclusively of the chapelry of Little Ness, which by computation contains 1300 acres: red sandstone for building is quarried. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 16., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £203; impropriators, certain Landowners in the parish: the glebe comprises 40 acres. At Little Ness is a chapel of ease. Vestiges of a Roman camp may be traced in the neighbourhood.

Basford

BASFORD, a township, in the parish of Wybunbury, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 4¾ miles (E.) from Nantwich; containing 85 inhabitants. It comprises 642a. 3r. 29p., of a clayey, loamy, and sandy soil. The Liverpool and Birmingham railway passes through the township, and has a station on Basford Heath. The tithes have been commuted for £58 payable to the Bishop of Lichfield, and £6. 6. to the vicar of Wybunbury.

Basford (St. Leodgarius)

BASFORD (St. Leodgarius), a parish, and the head of a union, in the N. division of the wapentake of Broxtow and of the county of Nottingham, 2½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Nottingham; containing 8688 inhabitants. This parish, which is pleasantly situated in the vale of the river Leen, has a rich sandy soil, and is ornamented around the extensive village of Old Basford with well-wooded scenery, thickly studded with modern mansions. Newly-rising and populous villages, the houses of which are chiefly built of brick and covered with blue slate, have lately sprung up in several parts, the principal of them being New Basford, Carrington on the Mansfield road, Mapperley-place, and Sherwood. New Basford is situated at the southern extremity of the old village, and consists of several good streets which cross each other at right angles, and the principal occupants of which are persons employed in the manufacture of bobbin-net. The parish abounds with numerous springs of soft water; it has been selected as a place well adapted for the bleaching of cotton-hose and lace, and several large factories have been established for the manufacture of those articles. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 17. 7., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £260; impropriator, the Duke of Newcastle: the tithes were commuted for land in 1792. The church, which is situated at the southern extremity of the village, was repaired in 1819, when it received an addition of 212 free sittings. A church district named New Basford was formed in 1847 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; patrons, the Crown and the Bishop alternately. At Carrington is a church dedicated to St. John. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Methodists of the New Connexion, and Baptists. The poor law union of Basford comprises 43 parishes, of which 38 are in the county of Nottingham, and 5 in the county of Derby, and contains a population of 59,634; the workhouse was formerly the house of industry for 32 parishes in the county, and is a modern stone building.

Basford

BASFORD, a township, in the parish of Cheddleton, union of Cheadle, N. division of the hundred of Totmonslow and of the county of Stafford, 3 miles (S. by E.) from Leek; containing 349 inhabitants. The river Churnet and the Uttoxeter canal pass on the west.

Bashall-Eaves

BASHALL-EAVES, a township, in the parish of Mitton, union of Clitheroe, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Clitheroe; containing 279 inhabitants. This place, long distinguished as the residence of the Talbots, has been variously designated Beckshalgh, Batsalve, Bakesholf, and Bashall; but the first orthography is the true one, viz., Beckshalgh, or "the hill by the brooks," which agrees precisely with its situation: in Domesday book it is styled Baschelf. The township comprises about 3640 acres, and includes the small hamlets of Exa and Pagefold: the river Ribble passes on the east. John Taylor, Esq., of Moreton, is lord of the manor. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Basildon (St. Bartholomew)

BASILDON (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Bradfield, hundred of Moreton, county of Berks, 8 miles (N. W. by W.) from Reading; containing 812 inhabitants. This place appears to have been anciently a place of much greater importance than it is at present, being noticed in Domesday book as having two churches; and in the reign of Edward II. the inhabitants obtained the grant of a weekly market, and a fair on St. Barnabas' day. The parish comprises 3083a. 6p., of which 52 acres are roads and waste; the soil varies, but is principally flinty; the ground is hilly, and the vicinity abounds with picturesque scenery. The river Thames here separates the counties of Oxford and Berks, and is crossed by a viaduct of four arches on the line of the Great Western railway, erected at a cost of £25,000. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the living of Ashampstead annexed, valued in the king's books at £7. 14. 4½.; patrons, alternately, the family of Sykes and the Trustees of the late Rev. C. Simeon. The great tithes have been commuted for £770, and the vicarial for £215 per annum; the glebe comprises 19 acres. The church contains some hatchments of the family of Fane, formerly proprietors of the estate; also some chaste monuments belonging to the family of Sir Francis Sykes, Bart. In excavating for the railway, a beautiful tessellated pavement was discovered a few inches below the surface of an elevated spot, not far from the Thames; and coins of Vespasian in a high state of preservation, domestic utensils, and several skeletons, with a Roman sword lying near them, were also found in the immediate neighbourhood.

Basildon

BASILDON, a chapelry, in the parish of Laindon, union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S. division of Essex, 4½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Billericay; containing 157 inhabitants. This is a place of considerable antiquity, and contains three manors. The mansion of the manor of Barstable was about half a mile from the chapel of Basildon, and is said to have been surrounded by a town that gave name to the hundred; which is rendered probable by the fact, that foundations of houses have been ploughed up in the vicinity, as well as considerable quantities of human bones. The record of Domesday informs us that the estate of Barstable had been taken from a Saxon freeman, and given to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux; in the reign of Edward III., it was generally holden, with the hundred, of the king. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is a neat and substantial edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel, with an embattled tower surmounted by a spire. The tithes have been commuted for £280, and there is a glebe of 23 acres.

Basing (St. Mary)

BASING (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Basingstoke, Basingstoke and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 2 miles (E. N. E.) from Basingstoke; containing 1172 inhabitants. This place is remarkable for having been the scene of the defeat of King Ethelred I. by the Danes, in 871. At the period of the Norman survey, Hugh de Port held fifty-five lordships in the county, of which Basing was the head. The castle was rebuilt, in a sumptuous manner, by Sir William Paulet, Knt., a lineal descendant from Hugh de Port, created Marquess of Winchester by Edward VI., and one of the most polite noblemen of the age: here, in 1560, he entertained Queen Elizabeth, who honoured his great-grandson William, the fourth marquess, with a visit, in 1601. John, the fifth marquess, distinguished himself for his gallant defence of his house at Basing, in the cause of Charles I., through a series of sieges that lasted for two years, at the end of which, in Oct. 1645, it was stormed and taken by Cromwell, who ordered it to be burned to the ground. The fortress and its outworks occupied an area of about fourteen acres and a half, through which the Basingstoke canal now passes; the remains consist principally of the north gateway and part of the outer wall. The river Loddon and the London and Southampton railway run through the parish, which comprises about 4000 acres; the surface is undulated, and the soil chalk, clay, and gravel. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Basingstoke: the great tithes, payable to Magdalen College, Oxford, have been commuted for £705, with a glebe of 19 acres, and those of the incumbent for £475. The church is a large ancient structure, with a central tower, and contains the family vault of the Paulets, in which all the dukes of Bolton of that family have been interred.