Hamptworth - Hanley

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

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'Hamptworth - Hanley', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 396-401. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp396-401 [accessed 22 April 2024]

In this section

Hamptworth

HAMPTWORTH, a tything, in the parish of Downton, union of Alderbury, hundred of Downton, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of the county of Wilts; containing 202 inhabitants.

Hamsey (St. Peter)

HAMSEY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Chailey, hundred of Barcomb, rape of Lewes, E. division of Sussex, 2 miles (N.) from Lewes; containing 533 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from London to Lewes, by Chailey, and is bounded on the east and south by the river Ouse. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 12. 8½., and in the gift of Sir George Shiffner, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £630, and the glebe comprises 26 acres. The church is of early English architecture, with portions in the later style. On the summit of the downs above Combe Place, broken swords, daggers, spears, and other military relics, with some ancient coins, have been dug up at various times.

Hamstall-Ridware (St. Michael)

HAMSTALL-RIDWARE (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 5½ miles (E. N. E.) from Rugeley; containing 391 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Trent, which separates it from King's-Bromley; and comprises 2959a. 1r. 27p., the soil being generally fertile, partly a rich loam and partly of lighter quality. The surface is mostly flat, with some rising ground, and the low lands are watered by the river Blythe, which flows through the parish into the Trent. The ancient manor-house, formerly a splendid mansion, of which the gateway-tower is still remaining, is now occupied as a farmhouse; adjoining the gateway is an exploratory tower fifty feet high, commanding an extensive view over the surrounding country. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 1. 0½., and in the gift of Lord Leigh: the tithes have been commuted for £268, and the glebe comprises 33 acres. The church, an ancient structure in the decorated English style, has some remains of stained glass, and numerous interesting monuments to the Combermere and Egerton families; a marble tomb erected over the remains of fourteen brothers and sisters of the same family; and a tablet to the memory of the Rev. Thomas Alastree, "who was a minister 54 years, composed 500 sermons, and preached 5000 times." A school was erected in 1809; and there are several benefactions for the poor. In cleansing a ditch near the church, a very ancient silver sacramental cup was found.

Hamsteels, with Burnop.—See Burnop.

HAMSTEELS, with Burnop.—See Burnop.

Hamsterley

HAMSTERLEY, a parochial chapelry, in the parish of St. Andrew Auckland, N. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 6¼ miles (W.) from Bishop-Auckland; containing 490 inhabitants. The township comprises 3516 acres, of which about 100 are woodland and plantations, 1000 waste or common, and the remainder arable, meadow, and pasture: coal is obtained in the neighbourhood. The village, which is neat, is pleasantly situated on the summit of a steep hill. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Donald Maclean, Esq., with a net income of £96; the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £83. The chapel, dedicated to St. James, is an ancient building, formerly prebendal to Auckland College. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans.

Hamworthy

HAMWORTHY, a chapelry, in the parish of Sturminster-Marshall, borough and union of Poole, hundred of Cogdean, Wimborne division of Dorset, 1½ mile (W.) from Poole; containing 351 inhabitants. It comprises 1031 acres, of which 397 are waste land or common, and is divided into Higher and Lower Ham, the latter being the more considerable: from its situation immediately adjoining the harbour of Poole, it possesses every facility for carrying on trade. Charles X., after having been compelled to abdicate the throne of France, landed at this place on his route to Lulworth Castle. The chapel was destroyed during the parliamentary war, but has been rebuilt.

Hanbury (St. James)

HANBURY (St. James), a parish, in the union of Burton-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford; comprising the townships of Coton, Draycott-in-the-Clay, Fauld, Hanbury, Hanbury-Woodend, and Marchington-Woodlands, and the chapelries of Marchington and Newborough; the whole containing 2483 inhabitants, of whom 114 are in the township of Hanbury, 6¾ miles (N. W. by W.) from Burton. This parish is very extensive, being upwards of five miles square. The living is a vicarage not in charge, in the gift of the Bishop of Lichfield: the tithes have been commuted for £862, of which £510 are paid to the bishop, and £352 to the vicar, who has also a glebe of 20 acres. The church, principally in the later English style, with a Norman font, was repewed, and the north aisle rebuilt, in 1824. Marchington and Newborough form separate incumbencies. A school is endowed with about £24 per annum, and there are several bequests for the poor. In the year 680, the Saxon princess, St. Werburgh, became abbess of a nunnery founded here by her brother Ethelred, King of Mercia: she was buried in this convent; but in 876 her remains were removed to Chester, where an elegant shrine was erected to her memory. No vestige of the nunnery is now visible.

Hanbury (St. John the Baptist)

HANBURY (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Droitwich, Middle division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Droitwich and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 4 miles (E. by N.) from Droitwich; containing 1069 inhabitants. The parish comprises 7002 acres, whereof 100 are waste land or common: the surface is diversified with hills, and many of the high grounds command pleasing views; the soil is chiefly stiff clay or marl, producing excellent wheat and beans. The Birmingham and Worcester canal, the Birmingham and Gloucester railway, and the roads from Bromsgrove and Droitwich to Alcester, pass through the parish. Hanbury Hall occupies the summit of a gently rising ground, in a well-wooded park; it was built about 1700, and ornamented by the pencil of Sir James Thornhill. Mere Hall, built in 1333, is a beautiful specimen of half-timbered architecture, presenting a very picturesque appearance. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £29. 16. 8., and in the gift of Thomas Bowater Vernon, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £1115, and the glebe comprises 162 acres. The church, which stands upon a very lofty eminence, is in the early, decorated, and later English styles, and contains some elegant monuments to the Vernons, particularly one by Sir Francis Chantrey to the late Thomas Taylor Vernon, Esq. The Rev. Richard Vernon, in 1627, founded a charity school; and Thomas Vernon, Esq., in 1711, gave land towards its support, besides £200 for apprenticing children, and £1000, which now produce an annual income of £120, to be distributed in clothing among the poor.

Hanbury-Woodend

HANBURY-WOODEND, a township, in the parish of Hanbury, union of Burton-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford; containing 311 inhabitants. It lies at the eastern extremity of the parish, and comprises 247 acres, with scattered houses.

Hanby

HANBY, a hamlet, in the parish of Lavington, union of Grantham, wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 4½ miles (W. S. W.) from Falkingham; containing 44 inhabitants.

Handborough (St. Peter and St. Paul)

HANDBOROUGH (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Witney, hundred of Wootton, county of Oxford, 3½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Woodstock; containing 1009 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 2112 acres, of which 170 are woodland. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 6. 0½.; net income, £353; patrons, the President and Fellows of St. John's College, Oxford: the tithes were commuted for land in 1772. The church is partly in the Norman style, with a spire of graceful proportions; the north entrance is a fine Norman arch, ornamented with an effigy of St. Peter: the font is adorned with emblems of the Crucifixion, and part of the roodloft is remaining, in the decorated style.

Handchurch, or Hanchurch

HANDCHURCH, or Hanchurch, a township, in the parish of Trentham, union of Stone, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 3 miles (S.) from Newcastle-under-Lyme; containing 191 inhabitants. The village lies one mile southwest of Trentham, on the side of an abrupt declivity, on the summit of which is a square plot of ground surrounded by venerable yew-trees, and supposed to be the site of some ancient church or religious house.

Handford, or Hanford

HANDFORD, or Hanford, a parish, in the union of Stone, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 1 mile (N.) of Trentham; containing 733 inhabitants. This place was till lately a chapelry in the parish of Trentham; but is now a distinct parish, under the act 58th of George III., cap. 45. Blue bricks of the hardest quality, and tiles, are made here. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Duke of Sutherland, who is impropriator; net income, £190. The church, a neat structure, was erected in 1828.

Handforth, or Handford, with Bosden

HANDFORTH, or HANDFORD, with Bosden, a township, in the parish of Cheadle, union of Stockport, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester; containing 2394 inhabitants, of whom 681 are in Handforth. The manor, as early as the reign of Henry III., was in the family of Handford, from whom, with the manor of Bosden, it passed to the Breretons, and subsequently to the Booths. Nathaniel Booth, Lord Delamere, in 1766 alienated the manor of Handforth to Mr. Edward Wrench, whose nephew sold it to the Coopers, of Chester. The township comprises 1615 acres, of a clayey soil. The population is mainly engaged in manufactures. The Handforth station of the Manchester and Birmingham railway is 5¼ miles from the Stockport station. A chapel, dedicated to St. Chad, was built in 1837, at a cost of £850; it is in the later English style, and contains 250 sittings.

Handley (All Saints)

HANDLEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester; containing 386 inhabitants, of whom 302 are in the township of Handley, 7½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Chester. The manor, from the period of the Conquest until the reign of Edward III., was in the Boydells, and, having passed with the coheiress of that family to the Holfords, was sold in 1585 to Sir George Calveley, and afterwards came to the Leighs. The parish is situated on the Chester and Whitchurch road, and comprises about 1320 acres, chiefly land for cheese-farming: about 1000 acres belong to Samuel Sandbach, Esq., lord of the manor, whose son has a farm-residence here. The soil is chiefly a strong clay, the surface rather level, and the scenery, which is extensive, includes the Welsh hills: red sandstone is quarried for building. There is a fox-cover of nine acres. Calveley Hall, on Milton green, is now a farmhouse; it has a fine oaken staircase, and wainscoted rooms. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 0. 5., and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Chester; net income, £253. The tithes of Handley township have been commuted for £195, and the glebe consists of 11 acres. The church was built about 300 years ago, and is ornamented with a square tower. A school was lately erected at the expense of the lord of the manor, and is endowed with the interest of £200.

Handley (St. Mary)

HANDLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Wimborne and Cranborne, hundred of SixpennyHandley, Wimborne division of Dorset, 5½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Cranborne; containing, with the tythings of Gussage with Minchington and Woodcutts, and the district of Newton and Deanlane, 1076 inhabitants. It comprises 5928 acres, of which 192 are common or waste land. A market was granted for this place at an early period, and the market-day was changed in the reign of Henry III.; but it has been disused from time immemorial. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The church has been enlarged, and 156 free sittings provided.

Handsacre, or Hansacre

HANDSACRE, or Hansacre, a hamlet, in the parish of Armitage, union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3½ miles (E. S. E.) from Rugeley; containing 967 inhabitants. Hubert de Handsacre was lord of the manor in the reign of Henry I., and it continued with his descendants till 1452, when it passed by marriage to other families. In the civil contentions which led to the deposition of Richard II., Sir William Handsacre espoused the cause of that unfortunate monarch, and Sir Robert Mavesyn, lord of the neighbouring manor of Mavesyn-Ridware, that of the usurper, afterwards Henry IV. Each assembled his vassals, and marched to join the armies then lying in view of each other near Shrewsbury; but meeting in their route, a skirmish ensued in which Sir William was slain. Sir Robert proceeded to the army of Henry, and met a similar fate fighting against the gallant Percy. After the death of these chiefs, Margaret, daughter and coheiress of Sir Robert Mavesyn, gave her hand and fortune to Sir William, son of the knight slain by her father. The hamlet comprises about two-thirds of the parish; and has several malt-kilns, and brick and tile yards. The Uttoxeter road here crosses the Trent by a beautiful iron bridge, 140 feet in span; it was commenced in 1829, and opened in 1832. The old stone bridge is still standing, a few hundred yards below it, and has seven arches, but is very narrow and inconvenient.—See Armitage.

Handsworth (St. Mary the Virgin)

HANDSWORTH (St. Mary the Virgin), a parish, in the union of West Bromwich, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 2½ miles (N. W.) from Birmingham; containing 6138 inhabitants. This place, called in the Domesday survey, and in Dugdale, Hornesworde, Hornesworth, and Hanneworth, formed part of the extensive estates and barony conferred by the Conqueror on his follower, William Fitz Ausculf, whose principal seat was Dudley Castle. The parish comprises 7594 acres, of which about 375 are uninclosed; the soil is in general light and gravelly, the surface pleasingly undulated, and the river Tame flows through the lower lands, separating the townships of Handsworth and Perry-Bar. Hamstead Hall, the present manor-house, is delightfully situated on the south bank of the river; the estate belonged to the Wyrley family from the time of Henry II., and the manor from the middle of the reign of Charles II., till the year 1819, when the proprietor, Wyrley Birch, Esq., transferring his residence to the county of Norfolk, sold his property at Handsworth to the Earl of Dartmouth, to whose seat at Sandwell it is immediately adjacent. On the opposite bank of the Tame, towards the west, is Perry Hall, an ancient moated mansion with a park and extensive lands, which have belonged to the Gough family since the year 1669, together with a moiety of the manor, of which they have now acquired the whole. Between the old Walsall and the Aston roads is Heathfield, the residence of the late James Watt, who purchased and nearly rebuilt it in 1790–1; the house is embosomed in trees, chiefly of his own planting, and formed an appropriate retirement for the declining years of a man whose memory will ever be cherished by the friends of science and the arts. There are also various excellent villas scattered through the parish, belonging to professional men, merchants, and manufacturers engaged in, or who have retired from, the trades of Birmingham and the neighbouring iron-works in this part of the county. The village, and the most populous portions of the parish, are situated on the roads to Wolverhampton and Walsall, and consist of ranges of neat and well-built houses. Petty-sessions for the division are held every Saturday, at the New inn. The Grand Junction canal passes through the township of Perry-Bar.

On entering the parish from Birmingham by the Wolverhampton road, is the demesne of Soho, the seat of M. P. W. Boulton, Esq., whose well-wooded and pleasingly-watered grounds skirt the road on the left; and in a valley to the south, is the celebrated manufactory of the same name. These grounds, previously a barren heath, with a small public-house at the summit, and a feeble mill for laminating metals, worked by a waterwheel, below, were purchased in 1762, by Mr. Matthew Boulton, then of Birmingham, where he had for some years carried on the manufacture of articles in steel. In 1764–5, Mr. Boulton built the present manufactory, at that time unequalled in magnitude, and in architectural taste, by any similar establishment; and entering into partnership with Mr. Fothergill, he devoted his attention to perfecting the processes of making all kinds of articles in steel, and introduced those of or-molu, plated and wrought silver, at the same time rendering his works a seminary for artists in drawing and modelling; while his partner was employed in opening a mercantile correspondence throughout Europe. The manufacture of astronomical clocks for some years was carried on at Soho; and the art of copying pictures in oil colours, called Polygraphic, was invented and pursued here under the direction of Mr. Francis Eginton, to whom it was subsequently resigned, and who became celebrated for his paintings on glass. Mr. Boulton soon after, through the medium of Dr. Small, became acquainted with Mr. Watt, civil engineer, of Glasgow, who in 1764 had invented "a method of saving steam and fuel in fire-engines," for which in 1769 he obtained a patent, the greater share in which he made over to Dr. Roebuck: this latter gentleman, however, in 1773–4 agreed to transfer his interest in the concern to Mr. Boulton, with whose assistance Mr. Watt, in 1775, procured an act of parliament, prolonging the term of the patent for 25 years; and at this time commenced the parnership of Boulton and Watt, and the manufacture of steam-engines at Soho.

In 1776, comparative trials were made between the first steam-engines constructed on Mr. Watt's principle at Soho, and at Bedworth, in Warwickshire, and the best atmospheric engines on Newcomen's plan; from which it appeared that, by the former a saving of three-fourths of the fuel was effected. This result soon became known in Cornwall, where the working of the mines by the old steam-engines was attended with so great an expense as to occasion the discontinuance of many of them, and to endanger the permanent working of the whole; several of the new engines were consequently erected there, which fully realised the expectations held out, and not only restored into operation the mines that had been discontinued, but also prompted to the opening of others. Mr. Watt, by successive inventions, secured by patents in the years 1781–2–4 and 5, rendered the steam-engine applicable to all kinds of millwork, and brought it to a degree of perfection which formed a new era in the history of our manufactures, and led to their vast improvement and subsequent extension, multiplying our national resources at a period when much needed. Greater facilities for the manufacture of steam-engines at Soho, in order to supply the increasing demand, were obtained on the admission of the sons of the proprietors into the firm, by the erection of additional works called the Soho Foundry, on the banks of the Birmingham canal, at Smethwick, in the years 1795–6 and 7. Mr. Watt had, in 1780, invented a process for copying letters; and the manufacture of machines for that purpose was carried on here, in partnership with Mr. Boulton and Mr. Kier, under the firm of James Watt and Co.

Mr. Boulton's attention had long been directed to the improvement of the coin of the realm, for which he erected a mint here in 1788, with superior coiningpresses, partly resembling those of the mint at Paris, but with great additions, striking the coin in collars so as to make it perfectly round, and so constructed as to feed themselves, each producing from 60 to 80 per minute with the attendance only of a boy, and deriving their moving power from a steam-engine. Coinages were undertaken at Soho, for Messrs. Monneron, of Paris, for the East India Company, for Sierra Leone, and Bermuda; and a complete recoinage was made for government, of the copper coin, for the supply of Great Britain, in 1797 and 1798, and again in 1806 and 1807. The execution of these coins was greatly admired at the time, and their intrinsic merit has now been confirmed by their durability. Various fine medals, also, of our most celebrated naval and other officers, and of the leading events of the French war, were engraved and struck here; and on the occasion of the brilliant victory off Trafalgar, on the 21st of October, 1805, Mr. Boulton, with the approval of government, presented every officer and man engaged in that action with a medal of Lord Nelson, having on the reverse a representation of the battle, with the words of that hero's memorable signal, "England expects every man to do his duty." So great, indeed, was the improvement in the coin, and so excellent were the principles upon which the coinage was conducted, that an end was put to the counterfeits for which the neighbourhood of Birmingham had been so notorious, and with them to the frequent capital punishment of the unfortunate artists. In executing the machinery of his mint, Mr. Boulton was assisted by Mr. John Southern, then at the head of the drawing-office of Boulton and Watt, and afterwards a partner with their sons; by Mr. James Lawson, an engineer brought up in their establishment, and who, in 1807, was appointed superintendent of machinery at the British mint; and by Mr. Peter Ewart, previously an apprentice under the late Mr. John Rennie, and for whom, subsequently, the office of chief engineer and inspector of machinery to the admiralty was created. The first earl of Liverpool, sensible of the advantages of Mr. Boulton's improvements of the coinage, instigated the removal of the British mint from the Tower, where it had been carried on from remote ages, in a space too confined for the increasing demands of the country, and the erection of the present mint, on the site of the old victualling-office, Tower-hill; in which measure he was assisted by Sir Joseph Banks. The plan of the new establishment, as far as regarded the distribution of the buildings connected with the mechanical department, was arranged by Mr. Boulton; and the requisite coining machinery and steam-engines were executed at Soho, and erected under his direction. Mints for Russia and Denmark were also planned, and the machinery prepared, at Soho, under Mr. Boulton's superintendence; and at a later period, mints for Calcutta and Bombay, the former, perhaps, the largest mechanical establishment in the world, were planned, detailed drawings made, the coining machinery and moving power executed, and the agents of the East India Company instructed here, under the able direction of his son and successor, Mr. Matthew Robinson Boulton. The application of coal-gas to the purpose of affording an economical light, was the invention of the late Mr. Murdoch, who had been for many years the principal mechanical agent of Boulton and Watt in Cornwall, and who was afterwards connected with their sons in the Soho foundry; the first apparatus was constructed there under his direction, and the first public exhibition of it was made in a splendid illumination of the Soho manufactory, in celebration of the peace in 1802. The Soho Plate Company, established in 1764, employ about 80 hands in the manufacture of silver and plated ware, and parabolic and other reflectors for lamps, lighthouses, &c.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 9. 2., and in the gift of the Rev. John Peel: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £1391. 5.; there is a glebe-house, and the glebe contains 94 acres. The church, an ancient and handsome structure in the decorated and later English styles, was enlarged a few years since by subscription, towards which the Incorporated Society contributed £500 in consideration of securing 500 free sittings. It contains a few old monuments to the Stanfords and Wyrleys, lords of the manor, to the Goughs, and to Mrs. M. A. Sacheverel, and others. In the chancel is a bust of Matthew Boulton, Esq., the founder of Soho, who died in 1809, at the age of 81, and is buried here: it was executed by Flaxman, who studied the rudiments of his art at Soho, and felt gratified in being employed to commemorate his early patron; and the inscription was written by the late Matthew Robinson Boulton, who died in 1842, and whose remains, together with those of his wife and sister, are deposited in the same vault. In an adjoining chapel is a statue of James Watt, who died in 1819, in his 84th year, and is interred in the vault beneath; it is an excellent likeness, full of expressive character, and is considered as the masterpiece of his friend, the late Sir Francis Chantrey. This chapel was erected by the present Mr. Watt, who obtained a faculty for the ground in 1822: the interior is of Roche-Abbey stone, in the early English style, with a painted window exhibiting heraldic mechanical emblems, intermixed with the thistle and other ornaments; and the exterior harmonizes in style with the Wyrley chapel, in the opposite angle of the east end of the church, now belonging to the Earl of Dartmouth. In the chancel is likewise a fine bust, by Chantrey, of Mr. Murdoch, who died here, at an advanced age, in 1839; and in the south wall of the nave are monuments, with busts by Hollins, of Nathaniel Gooding Clarke, Esq., one of his Majesty's justices for Wales, and Mr. Joseph Grice; also mural tablets, by the same artist, to the two late rectors, the Rev. Thomas Lane Freer and the Rev. James Hargreaves. A church, to which a district has been assigned, was erected at Perry-Bar in 1833, at the sole expense of Mr. Gough. See Perry-Bar. Another dedicated to St. James, was erected in 1839, at a cost of £3000, on an elevated site given by Mr. John Crockett, near the Wolverhampton road, in the south-western part of the parish; it is a neat structure in the early English style, with a square embattled tower, and contains 1000 sittings, of which 700 are free. The living is endowed with £40 per annum out of the tithes of the parish, and the whole net income of the incumbent amounts to £150; patron, the Rector. There is a place of worship for Independents in the village. Numerous benefactions have been left to the poor.

Handsworth (St. Mary)

HANDSWORTH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Sheffield, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 4½ miles (E. by S.) from Sheffield; containing 2862 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 3500 acres: the commons were inclosed in 1805, and have been rendered profitable; the substratum abounds in mineral wealth. The village stands on an eminence, upon the road to Worksop, and commands extensive views of the adjacent country, which is richly diversified: the river Rother flows through a valley about a mile and a half distant, and the Midland railway passes within a mile. The stately mansion erected here by George, the sixth earl of Shrewsbury, was nearly destroyed during the war in the reign of Charles I., and is now a farmhouse. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 4. 7., and in the patronage of Trustees, with a net income of £700. The church, an ancient structure, was enlarged in 1832, and 200 additional sittings provided; in the interior are three fine pillars supporting two pointed arches and one circular arch; the chancel window is lancet-shaped, and betokens great antiquity. A chapel has been built at Gleadless, containing 320 sittings, 250 of which are free: the living is in the Rector's gift. A school is endowed with £20 per annum.

Hanford

HANFORD, an extra-parochial liberty, in that part of the hundred of Redlane which is in the Sturminster division of Dorset, 5¼ miles (N. W. by N.) from Blandford-Forum; containing 19 inhabitants, and comprising 760 acres of land. This was once a distinct parish. Here is a chapel, in which service is performed every Sunday; it is the burial-place of the family of Seymer, whose mansion is situated on the south side, and northward are the foundations of an ancient village.

Hangleton (St. Helen)

HANGLETON (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Steyning, hundred of Fishergate, rape of Lewes, E. division of Sussex, 4½ miles (N. W.) from Brighton; containing 71 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1151 acres, whereof 541 are waste land or common; it is elevated ground near the coast, of which it commands an interesting view. There are two ancient mansion-houses, one of which, in the Elizabethan style, contains some curious carving and rich stucco-work. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 14. 2.; net income, £209; patroness, Lady Amherst. The church is in the early English style.

Hanham

HANHAM, a hamlet, in the parish of Bitton, union of Keynsham, Upper division of the hundred of Langley and Swinehead, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 5 miles (E. S. E.) from Bristol; containing 1217 inhabitants. The hamlet is bounded on the southwest by the navigable river Avon, and comprises by computation 1212 acres: a quarry, very extensively wrought, supplies the cities of Bath and Bristol with paving-stone. On Jefferies' Hill is Christ-church, a handsome structure in the later English style, of which the first stone was laid on the 28th of February, 1840; Dr. Warneford gave £400 towards the endowment, and the Incorporated Society £300 to provide 540 free sittings. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the Vicar's gift. Tithe rent-charges have been awarded amounting to £195, of which £90 are payable to the vicar.

Hankelow

HANKELOW, a township, in the parish of Audlem, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 1½ mile (N. N. E.) from Audlem; containing 279 inhabitants. It comprises 636 acres of land, the soil of which is of a sandy nature. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £80. 12. 7., and the impropriate for £53.

Hankerton (Holy Cross)

HANKERTON (Holy Cross), a parish, in the union and hundred of Malmesbury, Malmesbury and Kingswood, and N. divisions of Wilts, 3½ miles (N. E.) from Malmesbury; containing, with the hamlet of Cloatby, 417 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 10., and in the patronage of the Rector of Crudwell: the tithes have been commuted for £295, of which £15 are paid to the Lady de Grey, and £280 to the vicar, who has 16½ acres of glebe.

Hanley

HANLEY, a township, in the parish, borough, and union of Stoke-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 2½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Newcastle-under-Lyme, and 150 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 10,185 inhabitants. This township, and the township of Shelton, which adjoins it, form together a large market-town in the centre of the populous district of the Potteries; they are of comparatively recent origin, and chiefly inhabited by persons employed in potteries, the proprietors of which have handsome mansions in the neighbourhood. The streets are paved with brick, and lighted with gas under the superintendence of commissioners appointed by act of parliament in 1825. In 1820, John Smith, Esq., at a great expense established water-works for the supply of Hanley, Shelton, Cobridge, and Burslem. The principal articles of manufacture are china and earthenware; and the trade is greatly facilitated by the Trent and Mersey canal, which passes through Shelton, forming a channel of conveyance for the various articles manufactured, and for an abundant supply of coal and other things requisite for their production. The market-days are Wednesday and Saturday. The market-house or shambles, erected in 1819, forms a commodious building, with stalls for about 130 butchers, and three spacious entrances; one of the fronts is handsomely faced with stone, and surmounted by a cupola. The police of the two townships is under the control of the local commissioners; and a chief bailiff is annually elected from among the most respectable inhabitants, whose business it is to convene and preside at public meetings. The powers of the county debt-court of Hanley, established in 1847, extend over part of the four registration districts of Stoke, Stone, Wolstanton and Burslem, and Leek and Longnor. The town-hall is a noble building, erected in 1843.

A chapel was erected at Hanley in 1788, on the site of an ancient chapel; it stands in a spacious cemetery, and is a large brick edifice, with a tower 100 feet in height. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £220, partly arising from 60 acres of land given by Mr. Bourne, in 1737; patrons, Trustees. By the Stoke Rectory act, passed in 1827, provision is made for the further endowment of the living, and for its conversion into a distinct rectory, and the chapelry into a separate parish; but this measure has not yet been carried into effect. Two districts, respectively named Northwood and Wellington, were formed in 1845, and endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, under the 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37: each of the livings is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Lichfield, alternately. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyaus, and other Methodists; and national schools are supported by subscription, aided by part of the late Dr. Woodhouse's gift in support of the various schools within the parish of Stoke.