Charlbury - Charlwood

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

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'Charlbury - Charlwood', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 549-554. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp549-554 [accessed 17 March 2024]

In this section

Charlbury (St. Mary)

CHARLBURY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Chipping-Norton, partly in the hundred of Chadlington, and partly in that of Banbury, county of Oxford, 6¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Woodstock; containing 2982 inhabitants, and comprising the ancient chapelries of East Chadlington and Shorthampton, the tything of West Chadlington, and the hamlets of Fawler, Finstock, and Walcott. This parish, in old records called Ceorlebury, signifying in the Saxon language "the settlement of free labourers," belonged to the bishops of Lincoln, whose seat was at Dorchester, in this county; and was afterwards given in exchange for other lands, to the monastery of Eynsham, founded by King Ethelred. It continued to form part of the endowment of Eynsham till the Dissolution, when the manor, and subsequently the vicarage, were purchased by St. John's College, Oxford. Canbury Park, adjoining Charlbury, was once part of the demesne forest of the king, and extended for nine miles, both in length and breadth; it afterwards became the property of Jasper, Duke of Bedford, from whom it passed to the Duke of Northumberland, and subsequently to Henry, Lord Danvers, who built the present mansion, a spacious and handsome edifice, with a chapel in which are some elegant specimens of carved oak. The estate, after the Restoration, came to the Earl of Clarendon, who took his title of viscount from the place; it was subsequently sold to the trustees of John, Duke of Marlborough.

The village was formerly a market-town of note, but the market has been for some time discontinued; fairs are still held on the 1st of January, the second Friday in Lent, and the second Friday after the 12th of May, for livestock, and on the 10th of October for cattle and cheese. The living is a vicarage, with the chapels of Chadlington, Finstock, and Shorthampton annexed, valued in the king's books at £25. 5. 10.; net income, £800; patrons, the President and Fellows of St. John's College, who are also impropriators of Chadlington. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1811. The church is an ancient and venerable structure, with a square embattled tower; it is partly in the Norman and partly in the early English style, and contains some memorials of the Jenkinsons, ancestors of the Earl of Liverpool, and a mural monument to Elizabeth, Viscountess Dowager of Hereford, and her grandson, Lord George Henry Somerset. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A free grammar school was endowed by Mrs. Ann Walker with £40 per annum, payable out of an estate that produces £200 per annum, from which also are paid two exhibitions of £5 each for scholars from this school, which is under the visitation of Brasenose College, Oxford; a school-house has been erected at an expense of £600.

Charlcombe (St. Mary)

CHARLCOMBE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bath, hundred of Hampton and Claverton, locally in that of Bath-Forum, E. division of Somerset, 1 mile (N.) from Bath; containing 84 inhabitants, and comprising by measurement 523 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 15. 10., and annexed to the mastership of the free grammar school at Bath: the tithes have been commuted for £134, and the glebe consists of 14 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is a very small ancient edifice: according to tradition it was formerly the mother church of Bath, and received an annual acknowledgment of a pound of pepper from the abbey there.

Charlcote (St. Leonard)

CHARLCOTE (St. Leonard), a parish, in the union of Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, 4½ miles (E. by N.) from Stratford; containing 267 inhabitants. The name is in Domesday book written Cerlecote, and is supposed to be derived from a possessor in the Saxon times. William, the son of Walter de Cerlecote, assumed the surname of Lucy about the close of the 12th century, and ever since that period the Lucy family have been the lords. The parish is bounded on the west by the river Avon, which on the south receives the waters of a stream called the Huile: it comprises 1949 acres, of which 1495 are arable, and 450 pasture; the surface is in general level, and the soil a sandy loam. The grounds of Charlcote Park, the seat of the family of Lucy, abounding with elms of stately growth, and well stocked with deer, add greatly to the beauty of the scenery. The mansion-house, a noble structure of brick and stone, was built by Sir Thomas Lucy, Knt., in the reign of Elizabeth, and forms an interesting specimen of Domestic architecture; the hall, library, and dining-room are fine apartments of large proportions, and there are some pictures of the Italian and Flemish schools. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6; net income, £183; patron and impropriator, George Lucy, Esq. A few acres of glebe are in this parish, and a small portion in that of Willington. The church contains some monuments of the Lucy family, of which one, of statuary marble, to the memory of Sir Thomas and Lady Lucy, is a celebrated work of art by Bernini of Rome. At Thelesford, in the parish, a small priory for monks of the order of the Holy Trinity was founded in the reign of John, by Sir William Lucy, Knt., for the redemption of captives.

Charlcott

CHARLCOTT, a tything, in the parish and union of Whitchurch, hundred of Evingar, Kingsclere, and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, ½ a mile (S. by E.) from Whitchurch; containing 22 inhabitants.

Charles (St. John the Baptist)

CHARLES (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of South Molton, hundred of Sherwill, Braunton and N. divisions of Devon, 9 miles (E.) from Barnstaple; containing 362 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 10.; net income, £160; patron, the Rev. Richard Blackmore. There are meeting-houses for Baptists and Wesleyans.

Charlestown

CHARLESTOWN, a church district, and a sea-port, in the parish and union of St. Austell, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 1 mile (E. S. E.) from St. Austell. This district was formed in August, 1846, under the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37; and comprises from 1600 to 1800 acres, in which are copper, tin, and iron mines. The road from St. Austell to Lostwithiel, and the Cornwall railway, pass through. The village is situated on the western side of St. Austell bay: in 1790, when known by the name of Porthmear, it contained only nine inhabitants; but owing to the spirited exertions of Charles Rashleigh, Esq., from whom it derives its modern appellation, it has become a thriving port, and is still increasing in extent and importance. The harbour is secured by a commodious pier, and defended by a battery of heavy ordnance on Crinnis Cliff; it contains an outer and an inner basin, the latter being capacious enough to admit vessels of 500 tons' burthen. Here are yards and dry-docks for building and repairing large ships, an iron-foundry for making engines for mines, a naphtha manufactory, and a rope and twine factory; and a great quantity of lime is burnt; but the chief trade of the place consists in its extensive pilchard-fishery, for which several seans have been put on, and receivinghouses erected. Most of the china-clay brought from St. Stephen's is shipped at this port. The living is in the patronage of the Crown and the Bishop of Exeter alternately. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Charlestown.—See Ashton-under-Lyne.

CHARLESTOWN.—See Ashton-under-Lyne.

Charlesworth

CHARLESWORTH, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish and union of Glossop, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the county of Derby; containing 2856 inhabitants, of whom 1732 are in the township of Charlesworth, 3½ miles (S. W.) from Glossop. This district, which comprises, the townships of Charlesworth, Chisworth, and Simmondley, is about 3½ miles in length and a mile and three-quarters in breadth. The soil is chiefly light; the land pleasingly wooded; and there is much hill and dale, intersected with many rivulets, by which seven mills of various kinds are worked. The river Etherow separates the district from the parish of Mottram, in the county of Chester; and the Etherow viaduct on the Manchester and Sheffield railway, unites it with that parish. Several cotton-mills are in operation, and an extensive coal-trade is carried on. The houses of the upper town of Charlesworth are very old, many of them having been built in the 16th and 17th centuries; but the new town, or rather village, is quite modern. The district was constituted in June, 1845, under the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37; and a room has been licensed for divine service. The oldest place of worship here, is one for Independents; it was once a chapel of ease under Glossop church, but in some way, now unknown, fell into the hands of the Independents, who still retain it: the churchyard, however, is the burial-place of the inhabitants. There are, also, another place of worship for Independents, one for Baptists, and three for Methodists.

Charleton (St. Mary)

CHARLETON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Kingsbridge, hundred of Coleridge, Stanborough and Coleridge, and S. divisions of Devon, 2½ miles (S. E.) from Kingsbridge; containing 703 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £31. 8. 4., and in the patronage of Lord Ashburton: the tithes have been commuted for £550, and the glebe comprises 30 acres, with a glebe-house. The church contains, over the altar, a good painting of Our Saviour and the Twelve Apostles, by Mr. Lethbridge, a native of the parish.

Charleton, Queen (St. Margaret)

CHARLETON, QUEEN (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union and hundred of Keynsham, E. division of Somerset, 2¾ miles (N. N. E.) from Pensford; containing 190 inhabitants. This parish obtained its distinguishing appellation from having been settled on Catherine Parr, Queen of Henry VIII. The salubrity of the air made it a place of considerable resort, particularly in 1574, when the plague swept away 2000 persons at Bristol. The parish comprises 952 acres: the road to Bath formerly intersected the village. A fair, granted by Elizabeth, on her progress through the place, in 1573, is held on the 20th of July. The living is a vicarage not in charge, in the patronage of Miss Dickenson, to whom also the impropriation belongs; net income, £48. In 1760, Mary Freeman left £500, producing £25 per annum, for clothing and teaching twenty boys.

Charley, or Chorley

CHARLEY, or Chorley, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Loughborough, hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 4¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from Loughborough; containing 53 inhabitants. The ancient forest of Charley, or Charnwood, twenty miles in circuit, was disafforested soon after the Conquest; its privileges were restored by Henry II., but finally abolished by Henry III. The liberty lies in the heart of the forest, and chiefly in the romantic vale of a rivulet: the area is about 500 acres; the soil on the south side is light, in the middle rather stiff, but, all considered, good useful land. The Hall is a plain brick building, with pleasant grounds. A society of eremites, of the order of St. Augustine, settled here in the reign of Henry II., by the favour of Robert Blanchmains, Earl of Leicester; but in the time of Edward II. it was united to one at Ulverscroft, where a priory of Regular canons, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, continued until the Dissolution, when its revenue was estimated at £101. 3. 10.

Charley

CHARLEY, a hamlet, in the parish of Farewell, union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Lichfield; containing 158 inhabitants. It lies on the eastern side of Cannock Chase, and west of the village of Farewell. Charley Hall is an ancient mansion.

Charlinch (St. Mary)

CHARLINCH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bridgwater, hundred of Cannington, W. division of Somerset, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Bridgwater; containing 215 inhabitants. This parish stands partly on a high ridge of land, and partly in a valley, and comprises 1432a. 2r. 7p., of which about 844 acres are arable, 491 meadow and pasture, 45 woodland, and 18 common; the soil in the lower part is chiefly clay, and in the upper the earth rests upon greywacke and sandstone. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 15. 5., and in the patronage of the family of Starky: the tithes have been commuted for £268. 3. 8., and the glebe comprises 82 acres. Gothelney House, a building of the fifteenth or sixteenth century, is now occupied as a farmhouse.

Charlton

CHARLTON, a hamlet, in the parish, union, and hundred of Wantage, county of Berks, ¾ of a mile (N. E.) from Wantage; containing 329 inhabitants, and comprising 1368a. 8p.

Charlton

CHARLTON, a tything, in the parish, and Upper division of the hundred, of Henbury, union of Clifton, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 5½ miles (N.) from Bristol; containing 319 inhabitants.

Charlton (St. Peter and St. Paul)

CHARLTON (St. Peter And St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Dovor, partly in the hundred of Bewsborough, but chiefly within the liberty of the cinqueport of Dovor (of which it is a member), lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 1 mile (N. N. E.) from Dovor; containing 2513 inhabitants. This place, it is conjectured, was the Portus Dubris of the Romans, several anchors and fragments of wreck having been discovered at various times. The parish consists of 381 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £32; net income, £99; patron, the Rev. John Monins. The church has been enlarged by the addition of 258 free sittings.

Charlton (St. Luke)

CHARLTON (St. Luke), a parish, in the union of Lewisham, hundred of Blackheath, lathe of Suttonat-Hone, W. division of Kent, 6½ miles (E.) from London; containing 2655 inhabitants. This place, in ancient records called Cerletone and Ceorletone, is supposed to have derived that name from Ceorle, the Saxon term for husbandman. The manor appears to have belonged, from the close of the eleventh century till the Dissolution, to the monks of Bermondsey, to whom Henry III. granted a charter for a weekly market, and an annual fair on the eve of the Holy Trinity, to be held here. In 1665, the town, which at that time was of considerable importance, suffered severely from the ravages of the plague, and, together with the neighbourhood, sustained much injury from a violent tempest. The parish comprises by admeasurement 1400 acres, of which 528 are arable, 460 pasture, 165 marsh, and 30 woodland; and is delightfully situated in the heart of a fertile district, abounding with picturesque scenery, interspersed with elegant villas, and commanding from the higher parts extensive prospects. The village, which is on rising ground, retains much of its rural character; nearly opposite to the church is the manor-house, erected in 1612, a spacious and stately building, in front of which is a row of cypress-trees, said to have been the first planted in England. The market has long been discontinued; the fair, now held on St. Luke's day, is called Horn fair, from the numerous articles of that material brought for sale.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 7. 8½., and in the gift of Sir T. M. Wilson, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £600, and the glebe comprises 13 acres. The church, rebuilt of brick in 1640, and enlarged in 1839, is a neat edifice with an embattled tower: the windows are embellished with armorial bearings in stained glass, and the building contains various pieces of ancient armour, and numerous handsome monuments, among which are one to Lady Catherine Puckeringe; one to Brigadier-General Richards, surveyor of the ordnance in the reign of George II.; and one to the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval, who was interred in the church. The church of St. Peter in Blackheath Park, and Morden College, are both in the parish; and the district of St. Thomas', Woolwich, endowed in 1845 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, includes part of Charlton. A parochial school was built by Sir William Langhorne, who in 1714 endowed it with £300, now producing £8 per annum; it is conducted on the national plan. Sir William also bequeathed £1000 to augment the rector's income.—See Blackheath.

Charlton

CHARLTON, a hamlet, partly in the parish of Newbottle, and partly in that of King's-Sutton, union of Brackley, hundred of King's-Sutton, S. division of the county of Northampton, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Brackley; containing 446 inhabitants. On a neighbouring hill, called Rainsborough, is an oval camp with a double intrenchment, about half a mile in circumference, having two entrances on the north, and two on the south: urns, glass vessels, and other relics, have been discovered; and a little eastward, near a smaller intrenchment, a gold coin of Vespasian and several coins of Constantine have been found.

Charlton

CHARLTON, a hamlet, in the parish, union, and hundred of Andover, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 323 inhabitants. It lies north-west of the town of Andover.

Charlton

CHARLTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Singleton, union of Westhampnett, hundred of Westbourn and Singleton, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex; containing 223 inhabitants.

Charlton

CHARLTON, a tything, in the parish and hundred of Downton, union of Alderbury, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts; containing 300 inhabitants.

Charlton (St. John the Baptist)

CHARLTON (St. John The Baptist), a parish, in the union and hundred of Malmesbury, Malmesbury and Kingswood, and N. divisions of Wilts, 2¼ miles (N. E. by E.) from Malmesbury; containing 683 inhabitants. It comprises about 5000 acres, of which the surface is in general flat, and the soil mostly clayey, and in some parts stony; there is a lake of 60 acres at Braden. Charlton Park, the seat of the Earl of Suffolk, is an elegant mansion of freestone, of an oblong form, with four handsome fronts; it contains some splendid apartments, a noble saloon, and a gallery in which are many fine paintings. The living is annexed, with that of Brokenborough, to the vicarage of Westport St. Mary.

Charlton (St. Peter)

CHARLTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Pewsey, hundred of Swanborough, Devizes and N. division of Wilts, 4 miles (S. W.) from Pewsey; containing 201 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Pewsey to Devizes, and comprises by measurement 1700 acres. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 15. 6., and in the patronage of the Dean and Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £132, and £10 per annum are paid to the vicar under the will of Dr. Robert South, of Christ-Church, Oxford. The church is a very ancient structure, with a tower on the north side. Here was an alien priory, founded in 1187, as a cell to the abbey of L'Isle Dieu, and granted at the suppression of alien houses to St. Katherine's Hospital, London. About a mile to the west are the remains of an intrenched camp with a spacious prætorium, called Casterley, the area of which, comprising 60 acres, is intersected by a broad fosse.

Charlton

CHARLTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Cropthorn, union of Pershore, Middle division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Pershore and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 5¼ miles (E. by S.) from Pershore; containing 312 inhabitants, and comprising 1549a. 2r. 29p. of rich land. It is surrounded on all sides, except the south, by a winding of the river Avon; and is distant from the village of Cropthorn north-eastward about half a mile.

Charlton-Abbotts

CHARLTON-ABBOTTS, a parish, in the union of Winchcomb, Lower division of the hundred of Kiftsgate, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 2¾ miles (S. by E.) from Winchcomb; containing 101 inhabitants, and comprising 1374a. 2r. 25p. Stone of inferior quality is raised for the repair of the roads. In a farmhouse is an apartment called Queen Elizabeth's Room, with a beautifully carved mantel-piece, above which are the initials E. R. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £38; patron, W. L. Lawrence, Esq. The church, a neat edifice, has been repewed.

Charlton-Adam (St. Peter and St. Paul)

CHARLTON-ADAM (St. Peter And St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Langport, hundred of Somerton, W. division of Somerset, 3 miles (E.) from Somerton; containing 472 inhabitants, and consisting of 1476a. 2r. 32p. Stone of good quality for building and for paving is quarried to a considerable extent. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 14. 7.; net income, £137; patron, John Barney, Esq.: the impropriation belongs to Mrs. Gapper. The tithes were commuted for corn-rents, under an inclosure act, in 1803; the glebe comprises 19 acres. A chantry, or free chapel, dedicated to St. Stephen, was founded here by Lord Henry Fitz-Richard, by permission of the prior of Brewton, under whom he held the manor. The Roman Fosse-way from Bath to Ilchester proceeds through the parish.

Charlton-Cross

CHARLTON-CROSS, an extra-parochial liberty, in the hundred of Kilmersdon, E. division of Somerset, 5 miles (N.) from the town of Frome; containing 30 inhabitants.

Charlton, East-Quarter

CHARLTON, EAST-QUARTER, a township, in the parish and union of Bellingham, N. W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 1¾ mile (N. W. by W.) from Bellingham; containing 173 inhabitants. The village is pleasantly situated on the north side of the North Tyne. A small stream tributary to that river flows here.

Charlton-Horethorne, or Canfield (St. Peter And St. Paul)

CHARLTON-HORETHORNE, or Canfield (St. Peter And St. Paul), a parish, and formerly a markettown, in the union of Wincanton, hundred of Horethorne, E. division of Somerset, 5½ miles (S. W.) from Wincanton; containing 569 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the road from Bath to Weymouth, comprises about 2500 acres. Stone of good quality is extensively quarried for building, and repairing the roads; and a considerable number of the inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of dowlas. The market was obtained in the 22nd of Edward I., by Henry de Lacy, who had by the same charter a grant for a fair on the eve and morrow of St. Thomas the Martyr; the fair is still held. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 10. 5.; net income, £384; patron and impropriator, the Marquess of Anglesey: the glebe comprises 40 acres. The church is a handsome edifice in the early English style, but has been greatly disfigured by the insertion of windows of modern character. There was anciently within the manor a chantry chapel, dependent on Kenilworth priory.

Charlton, Kings (St. Mary)

CHARLTON, KINGS (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Cheltenham, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 2 miles (S. S. E.) from Cheltenham; containing 3232 inhabitants. This place participated in the hostilities of the parliamentary war during the reign of Charles I.; and a hill since called Battledowns, was the scene of a sanguinary conflict in which many of the inhabitants, who adhered to the royal cause, were slain. The parish is situated on the road from London to Gloucester, at the base of the Cotswold hills, and comprises 3214a. 2r. 4p.: the soil is chiefly a sandy loam, with a little yellowish clay; the lands are watered by the Chelt, which flows hence into the parish of Cheltenham. A small part of the population is employed in the making of gloves. Stone of the oolite formation is quarried for rough building, and for roads. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £177, with an excellent glebe-house of recent erection; patrons, the Principal and Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford; impropriator, C. W. Lovesy, Esq. The church is a handsome structure, in the later English style. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The sum of £6 is paid for instruction out of the rental of land producing £30 per annum, given by Samuel Cooper about the year 1743; the remainder is applied to the relief of the poor. Almshouses have been built; and there is a fund arising from several benefactions, of £100 a year, which is distributed among the deserving poor. A mineral spring, similar in its properties to the Cheltenham water, was lately discovered.

Charlton-Mackrel (St. Martin)

CHARLTON-MACKREL (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of Langport, hundred of Somerton, W. division of Somerset, 3 miles (E.) from Somerton; containing 405 inhabitants. It is bounded on the south by the river Cary, across which is a bridge of two arches, on the line of a modern road that passes along the course of the Roman fosse-way. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 0. 2½.; net income, £499; patron and incumbent, the Rev. W. T. P. Brymer. The church is a handsome edifice, in the ancient style of English architecture, repaired and embellished at the expense of the present incumbent.

Charlton-Marshall

CHARLTON-MARSHALL, a parish, in the union of Blandford, hundred of Cogdean, Blandford division of Dorset, 1¾ mile (S. S. E.) from Blandford; containing 395 inhabitants. The living is annexed to the rectory of Spetisbury: the tithes were commuted for land in 1799. The church contains some monuments to the family of Bastard, and one to the memory of Dr. Sloper. Some fossils, and Roman and Grecian coins, were found in 1831.

Charlton-Musgrave (St. Stephen)

CHARLTON-MUSGRAVE (St. Stephen), a parish, in the union of Wincanton, hundred of NortonFerris, E. division of Somerset, 1 mile (N. N. E.) from Wincanton; containing 409 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 10., and in the gift of the family of Lier: the tithes have been commuted for £450, and the glebe comprises 52 acres, with a glebe-house. Dr. William Musgrave, physician and antiquary, was born here in 1657.

Charlton, North

CHARLTON, NORTH, a township, in the parish of Ellingham, union of Alnwick, S. division of Bambrough ward, N. division of Northumberland, 6½ miles (N. by W.) from Alnwick; containing 238 inhabitants. The village is situated on the road from Alnwick to Belford. Charlton Hall stands near a stream which, after a short course, falls into the North Sea. There are some curious barrows.

Charlton, South

CHARLTON, SOUTH, a township, in the parish of Ellingham, union of Alnwick, S. division of Bambrough ward, N. division of Northumberland, 5½ miles (N. by W.) from Alnwick; containing 188 inhabitants. This place is on the great north road, and comprises 1823 acres, of which 941 are common or waste: the soil is light, and rests generally upon a limestone substratum; the surface is undulated and pleasing. Here was formerly a chapel, of which there are no remains. A great portion of North and South Charlton is covered with ancient roads and earthworks; and graves of rude workmanship are frequently discovered, containing bones, urns, and armour.

Charlton-upon-Otmore (St. Mary)

CHARLTON-upon-Otmore (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bicester, hundred of Ploughley, county of Oxford, 6 miles (S. S. W.) from Bicester; containing, with the hamlets of Fencot and Murcot, 658 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1840 acres, of which 1291 are arable, and nearly all the rest pasture. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £21. 9. 4½.; patrons, the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, Oxford. The church is partly in the early and partly in the decorated English style: a portion of the ancient rood-loft, of exquisite beauty, is remaining; and in the chancel, which is lighted by elegant windows with flowing tracery, are some stone stalls highly enriched.

Charlton, West-Quarter

CHARLTON, WEST-QUARTER, a township, in the parish and union of Bellingham, N. W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 3 miles (W. N. W.) from Bellingham; containing 176 inhabitants. This place, which comprises about 400 acres, is situated at the confluence of the Tarset burn and the North Tyne river. Here anciently stood a castle, the walls of which were of ashlar stones four feet thick; its magnitude and strength are said to have impressed the popular mind with the notion of its having been the abode of some giant, and it is believed that there still exists a subterraneous passage beneath the bed of the Tyne, from this castle to another known as Dally Castle, distant from it southwards about a mile.

Charlton-Woodlands

CHARLTON-WOODLANDS, a hamlet, in the parish and union of Shepton-Mallet, hundred of Whitstone, E. division of the county of Somerset; containing 86 inhabitants.

Charlwood (St. Nicholas)

CHARLWOOD (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union, and First division of the hundred, of Reigate, E. division of Surrey, 7 miles (S. S. W.) from Reigate, and on the borders of the county of Sussex; containing 1291 inhabitants. This place was the scene of a sanguinary battle between the Danes and the men of Surrey and Sussex, that occurred near a bridge since called Kilman Bridge, and in which the Danes were defeated with great slaughter. It comprises about 7000 acres. The London and Brighton railway intersects the southeastern part of the parish, as does also the road from London to Brighton by way of Crawley; and the river Mole winds through and bounds some parts of it. An act for inclosing lands was passed in 1843. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £19. 16. 8.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. H. Wise: the tithes have been commuted for £900, and the glebe consists of 22 acres, with a glebe-house. The church contains several ancient monuments of the family of Sanders and others, and is in the Norman and early English styles; the south aisle is separated from the chancel by the remains of a very handsome and elaborately carved screen. There is a place of worship for Independents.