Henstridge - Herringby

Henstridge (St. Nicholas)

HENSTRIDGE (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Wincanton, hundred of Horethorne, E. division of Somerset, 10 miles (W. by S.) from Shaftesbury; containing 1146 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 4204 acres, of which about one-third part is arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture, with the exception of 32 acres of common or waste land. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 0. 2½.; patron, the Prebendary of Henstridge in the Cathedral of Wells. The great tithes have been commuted for £350, and the vicarial for £550; the impropriate glebe comprises 74 acres. Here was an alien priory, a cell to the Benedictine monastery of St. Sever, in Normandy: it was founded in the eleventh century, by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester.

Hentland (St. Dubritius)

HENTLAND (St. Dubritius), a parish, in the union of Ross, Lower division of the hundred of Wormelow, county of Hereford, 4½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Ross; containing 612 inhabitants. It is situated on the Wye, and comprises by measurement 2905 acres, of which 2070 are arable, 710 pasture, and 50 woodland; the surface is finely varied, and the surrounding scenery abounds with romantic features. The river is navigable for coal-barges. There are quarries of stone for building, and for mending the roads. The living is annexed, with the livings of Little Dewchurch, Llangarran, and St. Weonard's, to the vicarage of Lugwardine. A chapel has been erected in the village of Hoarwithy, by subscription, aided by a grant of £100 from the Incorporated Society. There is a place of worship for a congregation of Wesleyans.

Henton

HENTON, a liberty, in the parish of Chinnor, union of Wycombe, hundred of Lewknor, county of Oxford, 4¼ miles (S. E. by E.) from the town of Thame; containing 253 inhabitants.

Henwood

HENWOOD, a tything, in the parish of Cumner, union of Abingdon, hundred of Hormer, county of Berks; containing 42 inhabitants.

Hepple

HEPPLE, a township, in the parish and union of Rothbury, W. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 5½ miles (W. by S.) from the town of Rothbury; containing 61 inhabitants. This place, which lies on the north side of the river Coquet, near the boundary of the parish, was formerly of more consideration than it is at present; in the middle of the last century, the village consisted of fifteen detached farmsteads, besides several strong, ancient houses, and a long row of cottages then crumbling into decay. About 70 years since, the exterior walls of a very strong tower, also, were still standing, tolerably entire, which are said to have been part of the old manor-house, ruined by the Scots. Upon a fine summit called the Kirk Hill, about half a mile west of Hepple, stood a chapel, the remains of which were removed about the year 1760; and at a short distance to the north-west, is a British intrenched stronghold, which was afterwards occupied by the Romans, and called Hetchester. The tithes of the township have been commuted for a rentcharge of £31.

Hepple-Demesne

HEPPLE-DEMESNE, a township, in the parish and union of Rothbury, W. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland; containing, with Whitefield House, 23 inhabitants. It was anciently held by the Tailbois family, from whom it passed to the Ogles: the barony was sold by the Duke of Portland, in 1803, to Sir John Buchanan Riddell. The tithes have been commuted for £19.

Hepscot

HEPSCOT, a township, in the parish, parliamentary borough, and union of Morpeth, E. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland, 2¼ miles (S. E.) from Morpeth; containing 183 inhabitants. This township, anciently Heppescotes, and situated on the east border of the parish, comprises 1594 acres, mostly arable land; it formerly belonged to the Merlays, and is now the property of the Earl of Carlisle. The village stands on the Sleck burn, and consists of two clusters of cottages set in gardens and orchards, a farmhouse, and an old hall, which is a tower with additions.

Heptonstall

HEPTONSTALL, a chapelry, in the parish of Halifax, union of Todmorden, wapentake of Morley, W. riding of York; consisting of the townships of Erringden, Heptonstall, Langfield, Stansfield, and Wadsworth; and containing 24,345 inhabitants, of whom 4791 are in the township of Heptonstall, 4 miles (N. E.) from Todmorden, and 8¼ (W. by N.) from Halifax. The township comprises about 5320 acres, of which a very considerable portion is uncultivated. It is bounded on the south by the river Calder, which passes through the chapelry, along a valley, for the space of about six miles, separating several of the townships from each other; the road from Halifax to Burnley also runs along this valley, as do the Rochdale canal and the Leeds and Manchester railway. The lands are chiefly meadow and pasture. The surface is extremely uneven, rising in some parts into hills precipitously steep, and in others being intersected with narrow rocky dells; and the higher grounds, especially Whitehill Nook and the Eaves, both of lofty elevation, command extensive views. Large stones of the sandstone kind are obtained in different places.

The village, a portion of which was burnt by the parliamentary forces in the reign of Charles I., whose cause the inhabitants had warmly embraced, is situated on the bleak and lofty summit of a precipitous hill, and is accessible by a road that traverses the steep ascent obliquely. It contains several houses of very ancient appearance; and is principally inhabited by persons employed in the numerous cotton-mills scattered throughout the neighbourhood, some of which are placed near waterfalls, and in situations of the most wildly romantic character. Fairs are held in Easter-week and in July. The chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket, was founded in the thirteenth century, and rebuilt in 1500: it is a substantial structure with a massive tower, and well adapted for the exposed situation in which it is built; it was thoroughly repaired in 1822, and contains 1000 sittings, whereof 700 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Halifax: the income, previously £120, was augmented with £30 per annum by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in 1841. In Erringden is a second incumbency. There are places of worship for Baptists, Wesleyans, and others. The free grammar school was founded in 1642, by the Rev. Charles Greenwood, who built the school-house, and assigned property which now yields for its support, after the payment of repairs of buildings and other contingent expenses, about £60 per annum. John Greenwood, Esq., in 1823 bequeathed a rent-charge of £18. 3. 6. for the support of a Sunday school, and of a choir in the chapel. There is a mineral spring, called the Widdup Ochre Spring.

Hepworth (St. Peter)

HEPWORTH (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Thetford, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of Suffolk, 5 miles (E. N. E.) from Ixworth; containing 582 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Bury St. Edmund's to Norwich, and comprises 1650a. 3r. 34p. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 17. 3½.; net income, £498; patrons, the Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge. The church is a handsome edifice in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; the cover of the font is of pyramidal form, 12 feet in height, and richly carved. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists. Forty-five acres were allotted to the poor for fuel, at the inclosure of the parish.

Hepworth

HEPWORTH, a township, in the parish of KirkBurton, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 7¾ miles (S. by E.) from Huddersfield; containing 1436 inhabitants. The township comprises by computation 3370 acres of land, of various quality; the surface is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and on the west are bleak moors, in which the rivers Holme and Don have their source. There are some small collieries. The village is situated on an abrupt acclivity; the inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of woollencloth and fancy goods. There are places of worship in the township for congregations of Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists.

Hereford

HEREFORD, an ancient city, having separate jurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the hundred of Grimsworth, county of Hereford, of which it is the chief town, 135 miles (W. N. W.) from London; containing, exclusively of the townships of Lower Bullingham and Grafton, in the parish of St. Martin, hundred of Webtree, 10,921 inhabitants. This place probably derived its name of Her-ford, or Here-ford, which is pure Saxon, importing "a military ford," from its having been, previously to the erection of the bridge, a pass over the river Wye. It is said to have become the head of a see before the invasion of Britain by the Saxons; but in 655, Oswy, King of Mercia, made it part of the diocese of Lichfield, which then included the whole Mercian kingdom. At a synod held here by Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 673, the division of the diocese of Lichfield was decreed. Wilford, bishop of that see, refused assent to the decree, and was subsequently deprived of part of his diocese for contumacy; but with the consent of Sexulph, his successor, Hereford was disunited from Lichfield, and restored to its original independence as a distinct diocese, and Putta, who previously held the see of Rochester, was made bishop in 680. It was the capital of the kingdom of Mercia, and possessed a large church in the reign of Offa, who, it is stated, founded the cathedral in expiation of the murder of Ethelbert, King of the East Angles, whose body was removed hither from its original place of sepulture, in 782. In the reign of Athelstan the city occupied an area 1800 yards in circuit, and, with the exception of an extent of 550 yards guarded by the river, which formed a natural barrier, was surrounded with walls sixteen feet in height, having six gates, and fifteen embattled towers thirty-four feet high: to these fortifications, which were nearly perfect in Leland's time, a castle was added by Edward the Elder. About 1055, a battle was fought two miles from this place, between Ralph, Earl of Hereford, and Grufydd, Prince of Wales, the former of whom was defeated; and the Welsh, having taken the city, massacred the inhabitants, and reduced it to a heap of ruins. Harold, afterwards king, marched against the Welsh, whom he attacked and defeated with great slaughter: he then repaired the fortifications and enlarged the castle, to secure the city against future inroads of the invaders.

From the earliest period the citizens have enjoyed a high reputation for loyalty, and Hereford has in consequence been the scene of many sanguinary conflicts and sieges. It held out successfully against the first attack of Stephen, who was opposed by Milo, son of Walter, constable of England. For this service, Milo was made Earl of Hereford, by the Empress Maud, in 1141; the patent, which is still extant, being the first ever granted for the creation of an earl; but in the same year Stephen, having again laid siege to the city, reduced it, and divested Milo of his recent honours. King John, when the French Dauphin had landed with his army in England, retired to this city in the vain hope of procuring succour. During the war between Henry III. and the barons, Hereford was made the place of rendezvous by the latter; and in the same reign Prince Edward, after his capture at the battle of Lewes, was kept a prisoner by Bohun, Earl of Hereford, in the castle of this place, whence he made his escape previously to the battle of Evesham. The great council of the realm assembled here to decide on the deposition of Edward II.; and here likewise Hugh le Despencer, the Earl of Arundel, and three others, were executed. At the commencement of the parliamentary war, Hereford was garrisoned for the king, but on the approach of an army under Sir William Waller, in April, 1643, was surrendered without opposition: on the retreat of Waller it was again occupied by a party of royalists, who, under the governorship of Barnabas Scudamore, made a gallant defence against the Scots, commanded by the Earl of Leven, who was forced to raise the siege. The city was subsequently the scene of some minor transactions during the war, and was ultimately taken by stratagem, when the castle was dismantled, and the fortifications levelled, by order of the parliament. At the Restoration the inhabitants received from Charles II. a new charter, with extended privileges; also new heraldic bearings, emblematical of fidelity to the royal cause.

The city occupies a gentle eminence on the northern bank of the Wye, and is surrounded by a fertile tract of country, consisting of orchards, with rich arable and pasture land; the environs, especially along the banks of the river, are celebrated for their beauty. The principal streets are wide and airy, and, together with the lanes and passages, are well lighted with gas, and paved under the provisions of an act of parliament; the town is also abundantly supplied with water. The houses in general are good, and during the last 50 years, considerable improvements have been made in the appearance of the place. A bridge of six arches was erected over the river, about the end of the fifteenth century, replacing a wooden bridge built in the reign of Henry I. The Hereford Reading Society was established in 1796; and in 1815, a permanent library, containing a valuable collection of ancient and modern works, was instituted by the late Benjamin Fallows, Esq. An agricultural society was founded in 1797, and a horticultural society in 1826. A philosophical institution was lately established, under the auspices of the Dean of Hereford and Henry Lawson, Esq.; lectures are delivered monthly during the winter season, and it possesses a museum of fossil and mineral productions, principally found in the county. The theatre, a commodious edifice in Broad-street, was erected about 1789. Races are held in August, when a gold cup, three plates of £50 each, and sweepstakes are run for; the course has been greatly improved, and a grand stand, of elegant design, has been erected under the superintendence of Mr. Adams, architect. Assemblies commence in December, and are held generally once a month during the winter season. The triennial music meetings of the choirs of Hereford, Worcester, and Gloucester, established in 1724, take place here during three days in September; oratorios are performed in the morning at the cathedral, and in the evening miscellaneous concerts and balls are held at the county hall: the receipts, after payment of the expenses, are appropriated to the benefit of widows and orphans of the clergy. A neat and commodious building has been erected in the Castle green, on the bank of the Wye, in which are warm baths, and above these a handsome room used as a reading-room. The walks in the Castle green form an agreeable resort for the inhabitants, and are, for beauty of scenery, superior to most places of this description in the kingdom.

From the want of greater facility of communication, Hereford has never attained eminence in trade or manufactures. The principal articles of trade are, gloves, which, however, are made in less quantities than formerly; cider and hops, the latter of which are extensively cultivated in the vicinity; and oak and oak-bark. A considerable quantity of timber and bark is sent to Chepstow, and shipped thence for Ireland, and the different ports and yards for ship-building in England. There are also a distillery, a brewery, and an iron-foundry. Salmon of excellent quality are caught in the Wye, but not in so great abundance as formerly. To remedy the inconvenience arising from the difficulty of navigation in the river, an act of parliament was obtained in 1791, for cutting a canal from the Severn at Gloucester, which was completed to Ledbury, and, under the provisions of a recent act of parliament, has been extended to this city. Coal is principally supplied from the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, by conveyance up the Wye, which is navigable for barges of from 18 to 30 tons (for towing which a path was made by act of parliament in 1809); and from the neighbourhood of Abergavenny, along a railroad to Monmouth Cap, thirteen miles hence. In 1826, an act was procured to extend the railroad to Hereford, which design having been completed, the supply of coal has been materially increased, and the price diminished; it is under the direction of three different companies, and is called the Llanvihangel, Grosmont, and Hereford tramroad. In 1845 an act was passed for a railway from Hereford to Monmouth, 22 miles in length; and in 1846 two acts were obtained, one for a railway to Shrewsbury, the other for a railway to Pont-ypool. In 1668, Lord Scudamore left £400 to be lent without interest, in order to establish a woollen manufactory; but not being applied for, the sum was put out to interest, and in 1772, £500 were expended in an attempt to instruct the poorer class in spinning wool, which, however, failed: the remainder of the bequest has increased to £3000 three per cents. In 1840 an act of parliament was passed for amending a former act, to regulate the charity, and for the improvement of the city; under which new trustees have been appointed, and powers granted, to employ the funds in various ways for the benefit of the poor, in providing schools for their instruction, and in other modes of relief. A portion of the trust money is occasionally lent to manufacturers of woollen-cloths, flannel goods, &c., for a limited time, without interest, to afford employment to the poor inhabitants, especially women and children.

The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday. Fairs are held on the Tuesday after Candlemas-day; on the Wednesday in Easter-week, for cattle and sheep; May 19th; July 1st, for cattle and wool; and October 20th, a great fair for cattle and hops. At the May fair, granted by Henry I. to Bishop Richard, soon after 1120, and commonly known as the "nine days' fair," the bishop's bailiff, or bailiff of the manor called the Barton or the Bishop's fee, had once considerable power, but not extending to the exercise of magisterial authority. As lords of this fee, the bishops also formerly exercised much authority in the city. The fair has now been reduced by act of parliament to two days, and the tolls have been ceded to the town-council for the benefit of the city, a corn rent of £5 being paid to the bishop in lieu thereof. In 1810, an act was passed for forming a market-place, and effecting other improvements, which contained a clause providing accommodation for slaughtering cattle; and in 1822, fourteen slaughter-houses were erected, on the site of part of the old city wall, northward of the market-place. The fish-market is well supplied with sea fish from Wales, Bristol, and London.

Hereford was first incorporated by charter of Richard I., dated at Westminster, Oct. 9th, 1189, and subsequently received numerous other charters from successive monarchs, under the last of which the government was vested in a chief and a deputy steward (the former directed by the charter to be an "illustrious and discreet man"), and 31 chief citizens, forming the common-council and governing body, from which a mayor, six aldermen, a custumar, coroner, two chamberlains, and town-clerk, were chosen. By the act of 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, the corporation now consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors; the city is divided into three wards, and the number of magistrates is eleven. The freedom is inherited by the eldest sons of freemen, and is acquired by servitude to a freeman within the city, or by marriage with a freeman's widow, or with the eldest daughter of a freeman, provided he has no male issue; but in the two latter instances the elective franchise is withheld. The franchise was conferred in the 23rd of Edward I., since which time the city has regularly returned two members to parliament. The right of election, by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, is vested in the freemen resident within seven miles, and the £10 householders living within the liberties; the ancient boundaries are retained, including an area of 4345 acres. The mayor is returning officer. Quarterly courts of sessions are held, at which the recorder presides; and there are meetings daily at the guildhall, for determining on affairs of police, by the city justices; also a court of record on Monday and Thursday, for the recovery of debts to any amount, under the charter of James I., confirmed by William III. The county assizes, and the election for knights of the shire, are held here; likewise the petty-sessions for the hundred of Grimsworth, every Saturday; and, under certain restrictions, those of Oyer and Terminer for the whole of South Wales. The powers of the county debt-court of Hereford, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Hereford and part of that of Weobley.

The old town and shire hall, built in the reign of James I., is a large edifice of timber and brick, supported on 27 pillars of solid oak, and has been partially restored, and much improved in its appearance. The new shire-hall was erected by act of parliament passed in the 55th of George III., authorising a sum not exceeding £30,000 to be raised, for the purpose of building courts of justice, a county hall, &c., together with a depôt for arms and military clothing, including the purchase of an appropriate site; also a sum of £3150, to purchase a house for the accommodation of the judges. The edifice has been completed from a design by Mr. Smirke; the portico in front is a fine specimen of Doric architecture, copied from the Temple of Theseus at Athens. The hall is decorated with portraits of George III., the late Duke of Norfolk, and Sir John Geers Cotterell, Bart., who represented the county in parliament for nearly thirty years. The city gaol is an ancient building. The county gaol was erected in 1798, upon Mr. Howard's plan, and occupies the site of St. Guthlac's Priory, at the foot of Aylestone Hill; the entrance, over which is the place of execution, is ornamented with Tuscan pillars. The total expense was £22,461.

The present diocese of Hereford includes nearly the whole of the county, with part of Shropshire, six parishes in Montgomeryshire, six in Radnorshire, and twenty-one in Worcestershire. By the recent arrangements, under the act of the 6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77, it is proposed to add the deanery of Bridgnorth, and to take away the parts of the counties of Worcester and Montgomery. The ecclesiastical establishment consists of a bishop, dean, two archdeacons, four canons or prebendaries residentiary, a precentor, chancellor, treasurer, twenty-four prebendaries, nine (to be reduced to six) minor canons, one of whom is custos, four lay clerks, eight choristers, a head and under master of the grammar school, and an organist. The bishop has the patronage of the archdeaconries, the chancellorship of the diocese, and that of the church, the twenty-four prebends, and the treasurership. The dean and chapter possess the patronage of the minor canonries.

The cathedral, originally founded in expiation of the murder of Ethelbert, and dedicated to St. Mary and St. Ethelbert, was built by Melfrid, a viceroy under Egbert, about 825, principally by means of the propitiatory gifts of Offa. Having fallen into decay in less than two centuries, it was rebuilt during the prelacy of Bishop Athelstan, or Ethelstan, between 1012 and 1015. It was subsequently destroyed by fire, and lay in ruins till 1079, when Bishop Robert de Lesinga, appointed to the see by William the Conqueror, commenced a new edifice, on the model of the church of Aken, now Aix la Chapelle, which was completed by Bishop Raynelm in 1107; the tower was built by Bishop Giles de Braos in the following century. The cathedral is a noble cruciform structure, with a lofty tower rising from the intersection, formerly surmounted by a spire. The tower at the west end fell down in 1786, at which time the west front was rebuilt in a style different from the original; and the north porch built by Bishop Booth in the 16th century, and various additions made by his predecessors, have given to the exterior of the edifice a great variety of style. The Rev. Thomas Russell, one of the canons, in 1831 bequeathed funds for erecting four pinnacles at the angles of the central tower; a want of proportion, however, appears in the elevation, which, when seen from a distance, offends the eye. The nave, which is of Norman architecture, is separated from the aisles by massive circular columns and arches, above which are the triforium and clerestory. The north transept is a rich specimen of the early English, with large windows in the decorated style, having a triforium of exquisite beauty, and trefoiled circular clerestory windows. The choir, which is handsome and well proportioned, is of Norman character, intermixed with the early English style: the bishop's throne and the stalls are surmounted by ornamented canopies of tabernacle work; and a very rich altar-piece was put up in 1816, the subject of which is Christ bearing the Cross, a copy, by Leeming, from the original picture over the altar in the chapel of Magdalen College, Oxford. The east window, 40 feet high and 20 feet wide, representing the Lord's Supper, is considered the largest in this branch of the art since its revival in England; the figures are 15 feet high, and beautifully painted by Mr. Backler, from West's picture of the Lord's Supper, at an expense of £2000, towards defraying which Dr. Cope, canon residentiary, bequeathed £500. Near the choir was the shrine of St. Ethelbert, which was destroyed during the usurpation of Cromwell. The arched roof of the upper transverse aisle is supported by a single column. Eastward of the choir is the Lady chapel, in the early English style, but of a character different from that of the transept; it is now used as a library. Beneath this chapel is a crypt, called Golgotha, from the mass of human bones which it contained; it is supposed to have been originally the parochial church of St. John the Baptist. In digging round this part of the cathedral, a few years since, for the purpose of partially removing the soil that had for years been accumulating, a very fine chapel, which had long been hidden, was brought to light, and several coins and other antiquities were found, many of which are in the possession of Dr. Merewether, Dean of Hereford. Some beautiful chapels in the later English style were built by Bishop Audley and other prelates.

There are monuments in the cathedral to the memory of 34 bishops of the see, of which the most ancient is that of Bishop Walter, who was consecrated by the pope in the year 1060; likewise a splendid monument to Dr. Tyler, Bishop of Llandaff, and Dean of Hereford, and another of Sir Richard Pembridge, Knight of the Garter in the reign of Edward III. On the east side of the north transept is a monument to Bishop Cantelupe, who died in 1282; his heart was brought to Hereford, and buried in the cathedral, and he was canonized in 1310. The monument is curiously adorned with a number of effigies, but is now somewhat mutilated: it was a place of resort, from its reputed miraculous efficacy, for pilgrims from all parts of Europe. In the same transept is a plain marble tablet to the memory of John Phillips, the well-known author of The Splendid Shilling. The Consistory Court is held in the south transept of the cathedral: here are monuments in memory of Velters Cornewall, Esq., representative of the county in parliament for 46 years; of Lord James Beauclerk, who died in 1787, having been for more than 40 years bishop of the diocese; and of John Matthews, Esq., M.D., for many years chairman of the quarter-sessions, and representative of the county. In this transept are also monuments to several dignitaries of the church.

The cathedral is now undergoing a complete restoration. A few years ago, the ancient Norman piers and arches upon which the structure is built were found to be in such a state of dilapidation and decay as to threaten the fall of the great central tower, and the consequent and inevitable ruin of the whole pile. A subscription was commenced, headed with the names of the bishop, dean, and other clergy of the ecclesiastical establishment, with a view to the adequate repair of the cathedral; the contract for the tower was commenced in March 1843, and completed in February 1847. In the autumn of the latter year, by which time about £15,000 had been expended, a county meeting was held, to devise means for raising funds for the prosecution of the works, when a second subscription was opened, and an estimate of costs laid before the public. From this estimate, it appears, that a further sum of £24,000 will be required to complete the restoration of this noble structure; namely, £3168 for the choir fabric (now in hand), and £5625 for refitting and furnishing the choir, and raising three painted windows in that part of the edifice; £1650 for the Lady chapel, &c.; £750 for the Audley chapel; and other sums for the transepts, aisles, and general works.

The bishop's palace is an ancient structure southward of the cathedral, containing several elegant apartments, with a fine garden and grounds attached; it has also a handsome chapel, built by Bishop Butler, and completed in 1798. Of the chapter-house only a very small portion remains: the chapter meetings are now held in a building attached to the south aisle of the cathedral. The deanery is near the church; and four houses adjacent, in the gift of the bishop, are usually appropriated as residences for the canons. There is also a good house of stone, with a spacious garden, in St. John's street, for the chancellor of the choir; and attached to the bishop's prebend is a house in Broad-street. The college is a stone building with cloisters of the time of Edward IV., forming a quadrangle, 90 feet square, south of the cathedral, with which it communicates by other cloisters 100 feet in length: the roof is of carved oak, curiously wrought in hieroglyphics; the college contains a chapel, library, hall, common room, and chambers for the unmarried members of the society. In 1820, several attempts were made by some incendiary to destroy this building; and in 1828 an accidental fire occurred which totally consumed the south side: in the restoration and repairs consequent on this calamity, the custos and vicars expended more than £2060.

The city comprises the parishes of All Saints, containing 3091; St. Martin, 1069; St. John the Baptist, 1303; St. Nicholas, 1182; St. Owen, 1755; and St. Peter, 2521 inhabitants. The living of All Saints' is a discharged vicarage, with that of St. Martin's consolidated, valued in the king's books at £8. 10.; net income, £380; patrons, the Dean and Canons of Windsor, who, together with the Dean and Chapter of Hereford, are appropriators. The church is an ancient structure, partly in the Norman style, with a tower strengthened with buttresses, and surmounted by a lofty spire; the aisles are separated from the nave by circular columns and pointed arches, and there are a fine altar-piece, and some stalls supposed to have been appropriated to the brethren of St. Anthony. The building was lately enlarged, and 400 free sittings provided; and a very handsome organ was erected in 1826. St. Martin's church, which was situated on the south bank of the river, near the bridge, was destroyed during the parliamentary war. The present church was consecrated in October 1845; the interior is well arranged, and fitted up with open seats. The living of St. John the Baptist's is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 1.; net income, £150; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Hereford. The west nave of the cathedral was appropriated as a church for this parish till the accidental fall of its tower, in 1786. At present the north transept is used for the purpose. The living of St. Nicholas is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £185, of which £128 are payable to the rector. The church, previous to the Dissolution, had two chantries in honour of the Virgin. The living of St. Owen's is a rectory, united to the vicarage of St. Peter's, the former valued in the king's books at £4. 10. 10., and the latter at £10. 0. 2.; net income, £366; patrons, the Trustees of the late Rev. Henry Gipps; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter. The vicarial tithes of St. Owen's have been commuted for £75. The church, which was situated without the walls of the city, was destroyed during the parliamentary war. On its site, a neat school-house, which is also used as a chapel of ease, was recently erected. The church of St. Peter, founded in 1070, is in the Norman style, with a tower surmounted by a neat spire, and was repaired and partly rebuilt in 1793: the nave is separated from the south aisle by octagonal pillars, and from the north aisle by clustered columns; the chancel contains stalls which were appropriated to the brethren of St. Guthlac's Priory, and previously to the Dissolution four chantries were maintained in the church. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents, the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics.

The College Grammar school is of ancient foundation: the earliest authentic document extant is the appointment of Ricardus de Cornwaille as master, by Bishop Gilbert, in 1385, owing to the refusal of the chancellor, with whom the appointment then rested. The school was placed under the control of the Dean and Chapter, and a head and under master were appointed, by statute of Queen Elizabeth, in the first year of her reign, which received confirmation from Charles I., when he gave to the cathedral the "Caroline Statutes," by which £4 per annum are payable to a scholar in the University of Oxford. The scholarships attached to the school comprise four founded by Dean Langford, two of which are at Brasenose College, Oxford, of the value of £40 per annum each; and five in St. John's College, Cambridge, founded by deed enrolled in the exchequer in 1682, by Sarah, Duchess of Somerset, the scholars to be chosen within forty days after each vacancy, by that college, preference being given to natives of Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Herefordshire. Her Grace likewise bequeathed her manor of Thornhill, in Wiltshire, to Brasenose College, and that of Wootton-Rivers, in the same county, to St. John's College, by will dated May 17th, 1686, for founding scholarships; the candidates to be elected in turn from the schools of Marlborough, Hereford, and Manchester: the value of each is computed at £52 per annum, the number varying according to the revenue. Provision was made by the same lady for twelve other scholars, natives of Cheshire, Herefordshire, or Lancashire, who receive £1. 4. per week, and are elected in a similar manner; and she also left the valuable living of Wootton-Rivers, in the alternate presentation of the two colleges, to one of her scholars. The school-house erected by the Dean and Chapter, under the statutes of Edward VI. and Elizabeth, has been taken down, the cloisters restored, and a new school erected behind the master's dwelling-house. Miles Smith, Bishop of Gloucester, the translator of the Bible; Gwillim, author of a system of Heraldry; John Davis, an eminent writing-master; and his pupil, Gethin, or Gerthinge, were educated in the school. The Blue-coat charity schools were established in 1710.

The general infirmary originated in a benefaction of £500 by the late Rev. Dr. Talbot, rector of Ullingswick, in this county, which was followed by ample subscriptions from the nobility, clergy, and gentry, with various legacies. The ground whereon the building stands was the gift of the late Earl of Oxford. Dr. Harris, chancellor of the diocese, bequeathed £5000; John Morris, Esq., of Kington, £10,000 stock; and Thomas Russell, Esq., town-clerk, £500, towards the support of the institution; and two additional wings have been erected. The lunatic asylum, occupying part of the ground given for the infirmary, was erected in 1801. A charity for assisting necessitous widows and orphans of clergymen, and likewise clergymen themselves, disabled by age or infirmity, with narrow incomes, is supported by subscription. St. Ethelbert's hospital was built and endowed in the reign of Henry III., for the maintenance of ten poor persons, to be nominated and governed by a master. St. Giles' hospital was rebuilt in 1770, and contains apartments for five poor men. Williams' hospital was founded about 1601, for six men. Lazarus' or Sick Man's, hospital, originally a religious foundation for lazars, is now appropriated to the reception of six widows. Price's hospital was founded in 1636, by W. Price, merchant of London, for twelve men and a chaplain. Trinity hospital was founded by Thomas Kerry, in 1600, for three unmarried men, and twelve widows; the hospital was rebuilt by subscription in 1825, and contains sixteen dwellings. Coningsby's hospital, for old men who have served in the army, and a chaplain, was founded by Sir Thomas Coningsby, Knt., in 1614; it stands on the site of a small building and chapel that belonged to the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, and contains twelve apartments. Symond's almshouse was founded in 1695, for four decayed housekeepers; and in addition to these, are Weaver's hospital for five persons, and Shelley's hospital for six widows. The union of Hereford includes 47 parishes or places, under the superintendence of 53 guardians.

Hereford contained several monastic establishments. A college of Grey friars was founded in the reign of Edward I., by Sir William Pembridge, Knt.: amongst the many distinguished persons buried in it was Owen Tudor, otherwise Meredith, father of Edmund, Earl of Richmond, and grandfather of Henry VII. St. Guthlac's Priory, originally a college of prebendaries, afterwards became a cell to the Benedictine abbey of St. Peter, at Gloucester; the revenue, at the Dissolution, was £121. 3. 3.: the county gaol and house of correction now occupies the site. The monastery of Blackfriars, the largest and most celebrated of all the religious houses here, was originally established under the auspices of William, brother of Bishop Cantelupe, and situated in the Portfield, in Bye-street suburb, but was afterwards removed to Widemarsh suburb, where a new priory was commenced in the reign of Edward II., and completed in that of Edward III., who, with his son the Black Prince, two archbishops, and several bishops and nobles, were present at the dedication. It became a flourishing institution, and many persons of distinction were interred in the church. The only remaining vestiges of the buildings are the south side of the prior's lodgings, some decayed offices, and a curious stone pulpit, which has been much admired. About a mile westward from the city is the White Cross, built by Dr. Lewis Charleton, afterwards Bishop of Hereford, about 1361, as a market-place for the country people, during the ravages of an infectious disorder with which the city was at that time visited. According to tradition, reservoirs of vinegar were placed on each side of the cross, for the purification of articles brought from the city, and suspected to be infectious. Hereford has given birth to several eminent persons, amongst whom are, John Breton, LL.D., bishop of the diocese in the thirteenth century, who wrote a celebrated work, called The Laws of England; and, in modern times, Garrick, the tragedian, who was born at the Angel inn, Widemarsh-street, in 1716, his father bearing at that time a lieutenant's commission in a regiment of horse quartered here. Eleanor Gwynn, favourite of Charles II., was born in an humble dwelling in Pipe-lane. Hereford gives the premier title of Viscount to the family of Devereux, created February 2nd, 1549–50.

Hereford, Little (St. Mary Magdalene)

HEREFORD, LITTLE (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Tenbury, hundred of Wolphy, county of Hereford, 3 miles (W.) from Tenbury; containing, with the township of Upton, 462 inhabitants, of whom 347 are in the township of Little Hereford. The parish is situated on the borders of Salop and Worcestershire, by which it is nearly surrounded, the former county bounding it on the west, north, and east, and the latter partly on the south. It comprises 3365 acres, whereof 1224 are arable, 1896 pasture, and 245 woodland, &c.; and is intersected by the river Teme, and the road between Tenbury and Ludlow. The Leominster canal also passes through. The living is a vicarage, with the living of Ashford-Carbonell annexed, in the patronage of the Chancellor of the Choir in the Cathedral of Hereford, and valued in the king's books at £6. 14. The rectorial tithes have been commuted for £325, and the vicarial for £170. The church is in the Norman style.

Herefordshire

HEREFORDSHIRE, an inland county, bounded on the north by the county of Salop, on the north-east and east by that of Worcester, on the south-east by that of Gloucester, on the south-west by that of Monmouth, on the west by that of Brecknock, and on the north-west by that of Radnor. It extends from 51° 53' 7" to 52° 29' 43" (N. Lat.), and from 2° 28' 30" to 3° 19' 32" (W. Lon.); and contains about 860 square miles, or 550,400 statute acres. Within the limits of the county are 23,381 houses inhabited, 1439 uninhabited, and 111 in the progress of erection; and the population, according to the census of 1841, amounts to 114,438, of whom 56,978 are males.

When the Romans, under Claudius, penetrated into this district of Britain, the present county of Hereford, or the greater portion of it, formed the most eastern part of the territory inhabited by that warlike tribe the Silures, whose valour, combined with the natural obstacles of a mountainous country, formed such a powerful impediment to the Roman conquests. About 20 years after the defeat of Caractacus (which is thought to have occurred in the vicinity of an eminence called Coxwall Knoll, situated near Brampton-Bryan, and on the line of boundary between Herefordshire and Shropshire), and almost 120 years after the first Roman invasion, the county was finally subjugated by Julius Frontinus, and was subsequently included in the Roman province Britannia Secunda. For some time after the establishment of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia, Herefordshire, being situated nearly on the frontier between that kingdom and the territory still possessed by the descendants of the ancient Britons, was frequently the scene of war and devastation, and appears to have been alternately in the possession of the contending parties. At length Offa, King of Mercia, having repulsed the Britons in one of their invasions, crossed the river Severn, which had previously been the boundary between the Britons and the Saxons, and formed a new line of demarcation by his famous dyke, called in the British language Clawdd Offa; by which part of the present county of Monmouth, nearly the whole of that of Hereford, and parts of Radnor and Salop, were wrested from the Britons, and annexed to Mercia.

The incorporation of the Welsh marches with the adjoining counties, by act of parliament passed in the 27th of Henry VIII., added, or rather restored, a considerable extent of territory to Herefordshire. Wigmore, Stapleton, and Lugharness, on the northern side of the county, were appointed to constitute the hundred of Wigmore; and on the western side, Ewyas-Lacy was formed into the hundred of that name; Huntington, Clifford, Winforton, Eardisley, and Whitney, into the hundred of Huntington; and Ewyas-Harold was added to that of Webtree. The whole of the county, excepting the parishes of Clodock, Dulas, Ewyas-Harrold, Llancillo, Michael-Church-Eskley, Rowlstone, St. Margaret's, and Walterstone (which are in the diocese of St. David's), is included in the diocese of Hereford; it is in the province of Canterbury, and forms an archdeaconry, comprising the deaneries of Froome, Hereford, Irchenfield, Leominster, Ross, Weobley, and Weston. For civil purposes it is divided into the hundreds of Broxash, Ewyas-Lacy, Greytree, Grimsworth, Huntington, Radlow, Stretford, Webtree, Wigmore, Wolphy, and Wormelow Lower and Upper. It contains the city of Hereford, the borough and market-town of Leominster, and the market-towns of Bromyard, Kington, Ledbury, Pembridge, Ross, and Weobley, the last of which formerly sent members to parliament, but was disfranchised by the act of the 2nd of William IV. Three knights are now returned for the shire, and two representatives each for the city of Hereford and the borough of Leominster. The county members are elected at Hereford; the polling-places are Hereford, Leominster, Bromyard, Ledbury, Peterchurch, Ross and Kington. Herefordshire is included in the Oxford circuit; and the assizes and general quarter-sessions are held at Hereford, where stands the county gaol.

The Malvern hills, which form a kind of boundary on the eastern side of the county, and the Hatterill or Black mountains, rising to an equal elevation on its western border, command over its surface a scene of beauty and richness not surpassed by any other county in England. The river Wye, in particular, enriches and adorns a tract between 40 and 50 miles in length: the general character of this river, from its entrance into the county down to Hereford, is mild and pleasing, consisting of delightful reaches, bordered by the most luxuriant landscapes; the bolder and more romantic features occur in its course below Hereford. The prevalent kind of soil is a mixture of marl and clay of great fertility, containing also a certain proportion of calcareous earth. Below the surface are strata of limestone, often beautifully intersected by red and white veins, somewhat resembling calcareous spar; near Snodhill Castle, in the hundred of Webtree, it becomes a kind of marble. Towards the western border of the county the soil is often cold and sterile, but still argillaceous, and resting on nodules of impure limestone, or on a base of soft crumbling stone, which perishes by exposure to air and frost; in many places in the eastern part it is loose and shallow, covering stone of inferior value, provincially called "Dunstone." Deep beds of fine gravel are more especially met with in the centre of the county, in the vicinity of the city of Hereford. The soil of a large portion of the hundred of Wormelow, on the south, consists of a light sand, which has been much improved by the use of lime. A clayey tract extends from Hereford towards Ledbury, producing more abundant crops of wheat than any other district in the county.

About 520,000 acres of land are in cultivation. On the stiff clays, with which Herefordshire abounds, wheat is the principal crop: the greatest quantity of oats sown is in those parts approaching the Welsh border, and on portions of the eastern border of the county. Plantations of hops exist in all parts, but more especially on the Worcestershire side, occupying at present 11,010 acres. The most fertile meadow lands are on the banks of the Wye, the Frome, and the Lug, where the herbage is of the best quality: there is very little dairy-land within the county; so that a considerable quantity of butter is supplied from Wales, and of cheese from Shropshire and Gloucestershire. Plantations of fruit-trees are found in every aspect and on every soil: these orchards, which form so important a part of the produce of Herefordshire, seem to have first acquired celebrity in the reign of Charles I., and the county has long been noted for its cider, a large quantity of which is sent to London and the other principal towns in the kingdom. Of the entire area of the county only a very inconsiderable portion is waste land; the largest tract is on the east side of the Hatterill mountains, where the steepness of the hills and the sterility of the soil oppose powerful obstacles to improvement. Almost every part of Herefordshire abounds with woods and plantations, containing fine oak and elm trees; in the northern part of it, including the forests of Mocktree and Prestwood, there is a greater abundance of fine oak than in the southern, although the latter produces large and valuable supplies of timber. Some of the most extensive coppices are situated in the parishes of Fownhope, Woolhope, and Little Birch, and in the vicinity of Ledbury; they consist chiefly of oak, ash, and willow, and are generally cut down once in thirteen years: the ash is principally converted into hoops for cider casks, and the oak and the willow furnish hop-poles. The discovery of ironore is of remote antiquity in the hundred of Wormelow, where many of the hand-blomeries used by the Romans, and considerable quantities of ore imperfectly smelted, have been found on Peterstow Common; of late years, however, no iron has been manufactured in the county. Red and yellow ochre, fullers'-earth, and pipe-clay, have been found.

The principal Rivers are the Wye, the Lug, the Munnow, the Arrow, the Frome, the Teme, and the Leddon. The Wye is navigable up to Hereford for barges of from 18 to 30 tons' burthen, but the navigation is frequently interrupted by either a scarcity of water, or by the violence of the stream when swelled by the mountain torrents, which often make great alterations in the bed of the river, sometimes causing it to form new channels. In consequence of the precariousness of this navigation, an act was procured in 1791 for making a canal from the city of Hereford, by the town of Ledbury, to the Severn at Gloucester, with a lateral cut to the collieries at Newent. The expense of constructing this canal, commonly called the Hereford and Gloucester canal, was found so much to exceed the original estimate of £69,000, that in 1807, when £105,000 had been expended, the work, though completed on the Gloucestershire side, had made little progress in Herefordshire: an act, however, was lately passed to enable the proprietors to complete the line. Soon after the former of 1791, an act was obtained for constructing a canal from Kington to Leominster and Stourport: a part of the line, from Leominster to Stourport, was completed in 1796, but the cost of this undertaking, like that of the other, so much exceeded the estimate as to prevent the further progress of the work.

The only remarkable Druidical relic is Arthur's stone, in the parish of Dorstone; British intrenchments are numerous. Two Roman towns are supposed by the most respectable authorities to have been situated within the limits of modern Herefordshire, namely Ariconium and Magna. With respect to their situations, the most probable opinion is that of Horsley, that Magna was at Kenchester, where the circumvallation may still be traced, and Ariconium near Ross, in the parish of Weston-sub-Penyard, where the extent and limits are discernible by the dark appearance of the soil, which is strikingly different from all around it, and where Roman coins have been occasionally found. Of the four Roman military roads in Britain, only that called Watling-street intersects this county. It enters from Worcestershire, across the river Teme, at Leintwardine, and passing by Wigmore, Mortimer's Cross, Stretford, Kenchester, Kingstone, Dore-Abbey, and Longtown, quits for Monmouthshire at a short distance beyond the latter place; the most perfect remains are on Four-ways common, near Madley, where it crosses the turnpikeroad from Hereford. A vicinal way may also be traced in a great part of its course, entering from Worcester, and passing by Frome-hill, Stretton-Grandsome, Luggbridge, Holmer, and Stretton-Sugwas, to Kenchester. There were 21 religious houses in the county, the principal remains of which are at Dore and Wigmore. The castles were numerous: the chief remains are those of Brampton-Bryan, Clifford, Huntington, Goodrich, Kilpec, Longtown, Lyonshall, Wigmore, and Wilton Castles. Several petrifying or encrusting springs exist in such hilly parts as consist of argillaceous marl upon limestone.

Hergests, Both

HERGESTS, BOTH, a township, in the parish and union of Kington, hundred of Huntington, county of Hereford, 1½ mile (S. W. by W.) from Kington; containing 244 inhabitants. It is on the borders of Wales, and comprises 1492 acres.

Herm

HERM, one of the smaller Norman Islands, 3 miles (N. E.) from Guernsey, in the jurisdiction of which it is included; containing 38 inhabitants. It is supposed that this place is mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus under the name of Armia. Its appearance is diversified with hills and dales, and though smaller than other islands of the group, it is little inferior to them in beauty of scenery. The northern beach, from which it rises to a considerable elevation, is extensive, and equal in the smoothness and firmness of its sands to the coast of Worthing or Weymouth. The bay of Belvoir, on the eastern side of the island, is situated at the base of a winding and sequestered vale, embosomed in hills of gradual ascent and pleasing undulation; and is the favourite retreat, during the summer, of the ladies of Guernsey, who resort to this romantic spot to collect the curious and beautiful shells which are peculiar to it. The air is mild and salubrious, and the soil is fertile, and of an average depth of three feet in that part of the island which is devoted to agriculture. The artificial grasses so much esteemed in England are indigenous to the soil, which yields in abundance wheat, barley, oats, lucerne, turnips, and every variety of agricultural produce. There are not less than 33 springs of pure water, which afford abundant facilities of irrigating the land in dry seasons. The principal feature, however, in the island is its inexhaustible quarries of granite, which have been found by experiment to be superior to any hitherto discovered. Twelve cubic feet of Herm granite are equal in weight to thirteen of that of Aberdeen, a proof of its greater solidity; but its chief excellence consists in its wearing down rough and uniform in surface, when laid down in carriage roads, and thus affording a safer footing for horses. It can be raised in blocks of any size and form; some blocks have exceeded 100 tons in weight. This source of wealth was entirely neglected till the island passed into the possession of the Hon. John Lindsey, whose plans, after his death, were carried into full execution by Jonathan Duncan, Esq., who became proprietor by marriage with the daughter of Mr. Lindsey. Mr. Duncan, at a vast expense, constructed a harbour, in which vessels of 250 tons' burthen might load under the protection of an excellent pier, during the most boisterous weather, in perfect safety; also an iron railway from the quarries to the pier, from which 600 tons per day may be shipped with great ease. He built houses for 400 workmen, an inn, a brewery, a bakehouse, and several forges for making the various implements used in the quarries. In the northern extremity of Herm are some masses of stone which are supposed, but upon no authority, to be Druidical remains; and there are portions of an ancient building in the isle, thought to have been a chapel belonging to a hermitage existing here in the sixth century. In forming the gardens of the mansion-house, some coffins and skeletons were discovered, which were probably the remains of some refugees, who, during the religious persecutions of Charles IX. of France, are imagined to have found an asylum in the island.

Hermitage

HERMITAGE, a district chapelry, in the parish of Hampstead-Norris, union of Wantage, hundred of Faircross, county of Berks, 4 miles (N. E. by N.) from Newbury; containing 81 inhabitants. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was erected by voluntary contributions, at a cost of £430, and consecrated on the 31st of May, 1839; patron, the Marquess of Downshire. The Dowager Queen Adelaide gave the communion-plate, valued at fifty guineas.

Hermitage (St. Mary)

HERMITAGE (St. Mary), a parish, and a detached portion of the liberty of Fordington, in the union of Cerne, Cerne division of Dorset, 7 miles (S. by E.) from Sherborne; containing 132 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage not in charge, in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £85.

Hermitage

HERMITAGE, a tything, in the parish and union of West Bourne, hundred of Westbourne and Singleton, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex; containing 336 inhabitants.

Herne (St. Martin)

HERNE (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of Blean, hundred of Bleangate, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 5¾ miles (N. E. by N.) from Canterbury; containing 3041 inhabitants, of whom 1572 are in the town of Herne-Bay. Herne-Bay, in consequence of the pleasantness of its situation on the shore of a small but beautiful bay, and the erection of a long wooden pier, has become a place of resort for sea-bathing. Several ranges of houses, with some good inns, have been built fronting the bay; and baths have been erected. In 1833, an act was obtained for paving, lighting, and improving the town. The pier is in the form of the letter T, and extends 3000 feet into the sea, having an inclined plane, 20 feet in width, for the convenience of landing passengers at all times of the tide; on a site adjoining the pier, a clock-tower was erected in 1837, by Mrs. Anne Thwaites. The parade, which extends for nearly a mile in front of the town, is 50 feet wide. There are assembly and billiard rooms, and a library. Steam-boats of a superior class run daily to and from London.

The parish comprises by admeasurement 4829 acres, of which 211 are in wood, and 165 common. The surface is undulated: the soil is chiefly clay, resting on gravel, and, under proper management, very productive; the prevailing trees are oak and elm, with ash, maple, and hazel. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20. 16. 3., and in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the appropriator: the great tithes have been commuted for £1474. 19.; and the vicarial for £557. 19., with a glebe of 3 acres, and a glebehouse. The church is a handsome structure, having a tower in the early English style, and large portions in the decorated and later styles; the walls of the aisles are embattled: the west window is a beautiful composition of five lights in the later, and the other windows are chiefly in the decorated, style; the font is elegant, and there is a good monument to Sir William Thornhurst. Christ-church, Herne-Bay, containing 700 sittings, of which 150 are free, was consecrated in 1840; it was endowed by the Rev. Henry Geary. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans, the former in the town, the latter in the village of Herne. In the channel near the bay, numerous fragments of Roman earthenware have been found, supposed to be the vestiges of a cargo of pottery wrecked whilst the Romans were in Britain. On the confines of the parish are the remains of a palace in which Archbishop Cranmer resided; Bishop Ridley was vicar here from 1538 till 1550, when he was promoted to the see of London.

Hernhill (St. Michael)

HERNHILL (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Faversham, hundred of Boughton-under-Blean, Upper division of the lathe of Scray, E. division of Kent, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Faversham; containing 603 inhabitants. It comprises 2557a. 10p., of which 1050 acres are arable, 1130 pasture, 280 woodland, and 47 in hop plantations; the soil varies from the strongest clay to the lightest sand. The surface is pleasing, and the scenery enriched with wood; the prevailing timber is elm, and in the parts adjoining the Blean Woods is some fine oak. The living, formerly a chapelry to Boughton, and constituted a vicarage by Archbishop Stratford, is in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the appropriator, and is valued in the king's books at £15; net income, £280. The church is situated on an eminence, and is a handsome edifice, principally in the later English style, having three aisles separated by clustered columns of Bethersden marble, of peculiar elegance, and a tower at the west end with a beacon turret at its southern angle.

Herriard (St. Mary)

HERRIARD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Basingstoke, hundred of Bermondspit, Basingstoke and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 4¾ miles (S. S. E.) from Basingstoke; containing, with the tything of Southrope, 427 inhabitants. This parish comprises 2765a. 1r. 9p., of which 256 acres are waste land or common; the surface is varied. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 6. 5½.; patron and impropriator, Lord Bolton: the great tithes have been commuted for £288. 15., and the vicarial for £200. The church is an ancient edifice, the tower of which fell down more than 200 years since; there is a fine arch on the side, formerly a doorway.

Herringby (St. Ethelbert)

HERRINGBY (St. Ethelbert), an ancient parish, in the hundred of East Flegg, E. division of Norfolk, 3¼ miles (E. by S.) from Acle, by the ferry across the river Bure. The district comprises about 600 acres, 300 of which are marsh. The living is a rectory, united to that of Stokesby, and valued in the king's books at £5. A college or hospital, under the title of God's Poor almshouse, was founded here soon after 1475, pursuant to the will of Hugh Attefenne; the site is now occupied by a farmhouse.