Clackheaton - Clare

Clackheaton.—See Cleckheaton.

CLACKHEATON.—See Cleckheaton.

Clacton, Great (St. John the Baptist)

CLACTON, GREAT (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union and hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex, 14½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Colchester; containing 1296 inhabitants. This parish, which was formerly the residence of the bishops of London, is bounded on the south by the North Sea, and comprises an area about fifteen miles in circumference. The soil in some parts is light and of inferior quality, and in others, especially towards the coast, a fine strong loam, producing abundant crops. A fair is held on the 29th of June. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the donative of Little Holland annexed, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the patronage of F. Nassau, Esq.; impropriators, Col. Harding and others. The great tithes have been commuted for £1146. 7., the vicarial for £250, and a rent-charge of £66 is paid to Travers' Knights of Windsor; the glebe contains 4½ acres, with a glebe-house. The church is a plain edifice, with a tower surmounted by a shingled spire. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Some horns and bones of enormous size were lately found in the clay which forms the cliffs on this part of the coast; among them were the grinding-tooth of an elephant, some colossal horns of the wild bull, and part of the skull of a rhinoceros.

Clacton, Little (St. James)

CLACTON, LITTLE (St. James), a parish, in the union and hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex, 12½ miles (E. S. E.) from Colchester; containing 547 inhabitants. It forms part of a small district mentioned in the Norman survey under the name Clackintuna; the lands are low, and of a great portion of them the soil is strong and heavy. The village is pleasantly situated round a small green, on which a fair is held on the 25th of July. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.; patron and impropriator, F. Nassau, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £612. 10., and the vicarial for £156; the glebe comprises nearly 3 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is a small edifice, with a turret of wood.

Claife

CLAIFE, a township, in the parish of Hawkshead, union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 2 miles (S. S. E.) from Hawkshead; containing 541 inhabitants. This truly picturesque district consists of a ridge of hills extending throughout its whole length from north to south, between the lakes of Windermere and Esthwaite. The scenery is exquisitely beautiful and strikingly diversified; and from one point of view, on the western bank of Windermere, where is a small house belonging to H. Curwen, Esq., called the Station, the surrounding objects appear in all their grandeur and variety. About the centre of the township, on the shore of Windermere, a small peninsula stretches into the lake, at the extremity of which is an inn much frequented by tourists, whence there is a ferry to a similar peninsula projecting from the opposite shore, for the transport of passengers, luggage, and horses; at this passage, which is little more than 500 yards across, forty-seven persons were drowned, from the effects of a storm, in 1635. In the northern part of the township is a small sheet of water, called Blellam Tarn, well stored with various kinds of fish. At Colthouse is a place of worship for the Society of Friends; and in the village of FartherSawrey is a school of ancient foundation, to which three members of the family of Braithwaite contributed, at various times, sums amounting to £465, the interest whereof is paid to the master. The school-house was rebuilt in 1835.

Claines (St. John the Baptist)

CLAINES (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Droitwich, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Worcester and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 2½ miles (N.) from Worcester; containing, with Whistones tything, 6395 inhabitants. This parish, a considerable part of which lies within the borough of Worcester, is situated on the river Severn; the Worcester and Birmingham canal passes through it, and the Droitwich canal near its northern boundary. It is intersected by the Worcester and Shrewsbury and the Worcester and Birmingham roads, and comprises by measurement 4532 acres, of which 2000 are arable, and nearly all the rest pasture. The soil is fertile, the land well wooded, and there are many handsome seats and villas. In the parish is the island of Bevere, formed by the rivulet Beverhern, and memorable as having twice afforded refuge to the inhabitants of Worcester; first in 1041, from the fury of King Hardicanute on account of their refusing to pay the Danegelt, and next in 1637, from a dreadful pestilence then raging in the city. Owing to the improvement of the Severn, an iron suspension-bridge has been erected over this rivulet, which has now become a wide stream. The Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton railway runs through the parish.

The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £175; patron and impropriator, Sir Offley Penbury Wakeman, Bart.: the glebe consists of 21 acres in the parish of Hanbury, purchased by a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty. The tithes have been commuted for about £1000 per annum. The church has been recently renovated and repaired, the galleries enlarged, and the porch rebuilt. A chapel, dedicated to St. George, was erected in 1830, at a cost of £3345, in the early English style, with a tower; and from the want of sufficient accommodation for the increasing population, it is expected that another chapel will be shortly built at Fernall Heath. Some schools are supported; and a fund of about £35 per annum, arising from bequests, is applied to the purchase of clothing, bread, &c., for the poor. On Elbury Hill is the site of a Roman camp, which completely overlooked and would defend the city of Worcester: this camp appears to have been first described by Mr. Allies in his Antiquities of Worcester. A remarkable relic of Roman-British antiquity, supposed to have been used as a torque or ornament worn round the neck, was lately found at Perdiswell, the seat of Sir O. P. Wakeman; and other relics have been discovered in the parish.

Clanaborough (St. Petrock)

CLANABOROUGH (St. Petrock), a parish, in the union of Crediton, hundred of North Tawton, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon, 5½ miles (W. by N.) from Crediton; containing 69 inhabitants, and consisting of 740 acres, of which 104 are common or waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 17. 3½., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £95, and the glebe comprises about 45 acres, with a glebe-house.

Clandon, East

CLANDON, EAST, a parish, in the union of Guildford, Second division of the hundred of Woking, W. division of Surrey, 4 miles (E. N. E.) from Guildford; containing 293 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1430 acres, of which between 400 and 500 are uncultivated. On the north side the soil is chiefly clay, and there is a common where the oak grows freely; the southern part consists of arable land and downs, and has a chalky soil. Within the parish is the elegant residence of Hatchlands; the park is extensive, and the gardens finely laid out. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 6. 10½.; net income, £152; patron, the Earl of Lovelace. The church is a small edifice, with a low wooden tower and shingled spire.

Clandon, West

CLANDON, WEST, a parish, in the union of Guildford, Second division of the hundred of Woking, W. division of Surrey, 3 miles (N. E. by E.) from Guildford; containing 407 inhabitants. It comprises 987 acres, of which 384 are arable, 338 meadow and pasture, 80 woodland, and 117 common. Clandon House, the principal seat of the Earl of Onslow, was erected about 1730, and is one of the finest mansions in the county; it is of red brick with stone dressings, and the apartments are in general stately and commodious. His lordship resides, however, at a smaller seat in the adjacent village of West Clandon. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 10., and in the patronage of the Earl of Onslow: the tithes have been commuted for £160, and the glebe contains 20 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is in the early English style, with a low tower on the north side.

Clanfield (St. Stephen)

CLANFIELD (St. Stephen), a parish, in the union of Witney, hundred of Bampton, county of Oxford, 4 miles (N.) from Farringdon; containing 584 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 6. 5½.; patrons, H. Elliott and William Aldworth, Esqrs.; impropriators, G. H. Elliott and H. Collett, Esqrs. The great tithes have been commuted for £300, the vicarial for £50, and tithes payable to the vicar of Bampton for £100; the glebe comprises seven acres. The church is in the early English style, and has, in the chancel, a brass recording the death of Leonard Wilmot at Clanfield, in 1608.

Clanfield (St. James)

CLANFIELD (St. James), a parish, in the union of Catherington, hundred of Finch-Dean, Petersfield and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 5¾ miles (S. W.) from Petersfield; containing 239 inhabitants. This parish, which is about three miles to the south-west of Butser Hill, comprises 1363 acres, whereof 386 are common or waste. It consists of various qualities of soil; much of the surface is open, and in the lower grounds the land is rich and fertile. The village is pleasantly situated within a mile of the road to Petersfield. The living is a rectory, united to that of Chalton, and valued in the king's books at £11: the tithes have been commuted for £178, and the glebe contains nearly 63 acres.

Clanville, Somerset.—See Castle-Cary.

CLANVILLE, Somerset.—See Castle-Cary.

Clapcot

CLAPCOT, a liberty, in the parish of Allhallows, Wallingford, union of Wallingford, hundred of Moreton, county Berks; containing 43 inhabitants.

Clapham (St. Thomas à Becket)

CLAPHAM (St. Thomas à Becket), a parish, in the hundred of Stodden, union and county of Bedford, 2½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Bedford; and containing 370 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 13. 4.; net income, £270; patron, Lord Carteret. The church is a very ancient structure, with a tower remarkable for the simplicity of its architecture; it is mostly of rude Saxon, and has a Norman belfry. Clapham was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Oakley. J. Thomas Dawson, Esq., of Woodlands, in the parish, has given a piece of ground for a school. Ursula Taylor, in 1722, bequeathed property for apprenticing poor boys, directing the ministers of St. Paul's and St. John's, Bedford, to be trustees; it consists of 41 acres of land, producing about £50 per annum.

Clapham (Holy Trinity)

CLAPHAM (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Wandsworth and Clapham, E. division of the hundred of Brixton and of the county of Surrey, 4 miles (S.) from London; containing 12,106 inhabitants. This village has, for many years, been one of the most respectable in the environs of the metropolis. The road from London, particularly that part of it called Clapham Rise, has on each side large and elegant houses with gardens and lawns in front, forming a continuous line leading to the common, which occupies a space of 190 acres, surrounded by noble mansions and villas, and which, from the improvements that have been made by the formation of carriage-drives, and the plantation of trees and shrubs, assumes the appearance of a park. On the east of the common a handsome crescent has been formed, opposite to which is a range of houses named the Grove; the area is tastefully laid out, and the approach from the common is formed by a wellconstructed iron palisade, on each side of which is a stately mansion. In that part of the parish formerly called Bleakhall Farm, considerable alterations have also taken place: new roads have been made; a church and several villas have been erected, and the spot is now designated Clapham New Park. Great improvements have likewise been made towards the north-east, by the erection of numerous neat houses and cottages.

The parish is within the limits of the metropolitan police establishment; and is lighted with gas, main pipes having been laid down by the Phœnix Gas Company, from which a sufficient quantity is distributed to every part of the village and its vicinity. The inhabitants are supplied with water from the South Lambeth water-works, and from an excellent spring on that side of the common leading to Wandsworth, opened in 1825, near another which had supplied the village for more than a century: this spring, the water of which is peculiarly soft, provides upwards of 600 hogsheads per day, and nearly twenty families derive employment by conveying it to the houses of the inhabitants at a moderate expense. The subscription library, to which a commodious reading-room has been added, contains a wellassorted and extensive collection; it has been established for nearly half a century, and is liberally supported. Clapham is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold a petty-session at the office of their clerk, every Saturday. The acting coroner for the district is appointed at the court of the duchy of Lancaster, within the jurisdiction of which a part of the parish is comprehended: the parochial affairs are under the direction of a select vestry.

The parish comprises 1233 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 0. 10., and in the patronage of the family of Atkins: the tithes have been commuted for £488. 14., and the glebe comprises 11 acres. The church, which belonged to the priory at Merton, was, with the exception of the north aisle, which was left standing for the performance of the burial service, taken down under an act of parliament in 1774, and a new church erected in the following year, at an expense of £11,000, on the north side of the common. It is a neat structure of brick relieved with stone, with a dome turret, and having a handsome portico of stone, extending the whole width of the western front, which was added in 1812: the interior is characterised by a chaste simplicity of style; the east end is ornamented with a well-executed painting on glass, and there are some monumental tablets. The remaining aisle of the old church, which was situated in that part of the village leading to Wandsworth, near the old manor-house, was taken down in 1815, and a neat chapel, in some respects dependent on the mother church, was erected, under an act of parliament, at a cost of £5000, and dedicated to St. Paul. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £200; patron, the Rector. The burial-ground, which is spacious, contains many ancient tombs and monuments. St. James's church, in the Park, was built in 1829, and is an elegant structure in the decorated English style, with a graceful and richly-crocketed campanile turret; the western front is ornamented with panelled buttresses relieved by tracery, dividing it into three doorways under richly moulded arches. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Trustees; net income, £500. On the west side of the Clapham road is a fourth church, dedicated to St. John, and opened in May, 1842; it is of white brick with stone dressings, and has a stone portico formed by Ionic columns supporting a pediment. The living is in the gift of the Rector. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Baptists.

Clapham

CLAPHAM, a parish, in the union of Sutton, hundred of Brightford, rape of Bramber, W. division of Sussex, 5 miles (N. W.) from Worthing; containing 262 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Portsmouth, by way of Arundel, to Brighton; and comprises about 1735 acres, of which 550 are arable, 300 pasture, 505 down, and 380 wood. Michelgrove, the principal estate, was for centuries the property and residence of the Shelley family, of whom Judge Shelley entertained Henry VIII. at his magnificent house here; it subsequently became the property of R. W. Walker, Esq., who in 1828 sold it to the Duke of Norfolk, by whom the mansion, erected by the Shelleys, was taken down. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £14; net income, £120; patron, his Grace; impropriators, for a moiety of the tithes, amounting to £120, Merton College, Oxford. The church is in the early English style, with later additions, and was repewed in 1819, at the expense of Mr. Walker; in the chancel are several interesting monuments to the Shelley family.

Clapham

CLAPHAM, a parish, in the union of Settle, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York, 6 miles (N. W. by W.) from Settle; containing, with the townships of Austwick and Lawkland, 1853 inhabitants, of whom 890 are in the township of Clapham with Newby. This parish comprises by computation 24,340 acres, of which a very small portion is arable, about 1000 woodland, and the remainder one vast tract of moor of mountainous elevation; within the parish is the base of Ingleborough mountain, and the prevailing scenery is of bold and romantic character. The manor of Clapham, which extends only over part of the township, was the property of the De Clapham family, from whom it was purchased in the reign of Charles I., by the Morleys, whose descendant is the present lord. The substratum abounds with limestone; and near Ingleborough Hall is one of those remarkable caverns that frequently occur in limestone districts, though seldom of such extent, or possessing features so strikingly interesting. The cavern was many years since explored for 50 yards, and found to contain several chambers, connected by passages, through which a stream of pure water, rising in the mountain, pursued its course. In 1837, a sudden and very considerable increase in the stream issuing from what was supposed to be the extremity of the cavern, led to further search; and on an opening being made, a spacious and lofty region was discovered at least 880 yards in length, to which the chambers previously known were but a vestibule. This magnificent cavern, though in some parts so contracted in height as to render it necessary for the visiter to stoop, is generally, both in width and elevation, of ample and stately dimensions, resembling the interior of a stupendous baronial mansion; the roof is richly adorned with stalactites and other beautiful concretions, and the general effect exceeds in splendour any thing of the kind in the kingdom. The village is situated on the stream above noticed; fairs for cattle are held on Sept. 27th and Oct. 2nd. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 17. 1.; net income, £150; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Chester, with a reversion at his death to the Bishop of Ripon. The church is an ancient structure. A chapel was erected in the village of Austwick in 1840.

Clapton, Cambridge.—See Croydon.

CLAPTON, Cambridge.—See Croydon.

Clapton (St. James)

CLAPTON (St. James), a parish, in the union of Stow-on-the-Wold, Lower division of the hundred of Slaughter, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 4¾ miles (N. E.) from Northleach; containing 117 inhabitants. The living is annexed to the rectory of Bourton-on-the-Water.

Clapton

CLAPTON, a hamlet, in the parish of St. John, Hackney, union of Hackney, Tower division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex, 3 miles (N. by E.) from London; containing 5475 inhabitants. This place is divided into Upper and Lower Clapton. The latter consists of various ranges of handsome buildings, with several large detached mansions and villas on both sides of the road, extending from Hackney church for about a mile, and occasionally interspersed with ranges of smaller houses and shops. The former, from Lower Clapton to Stamford Hill, consists of numerous well-built and spacious houses of modern erection, with grounds tastefully laid out, besides the Old and New Terraces, the latter of which forms a lofty and extensive pile. The houses are supplied with water from a reservoir at Lower Clapton belonging to the East London WaterWorks Company, into which it is conveyed from the river Lea by a steam-engine. There is no trade, except what is requisite for the supply of the immediate neighbourhood; the nursery-grounds are extensive, and the adjacent country is richly wooded, and comprises much pleasing scenery. A proprietary chapel was built at Upper Clapton in 1777, which has lately been enlarged; and in 1841, a church was built upon a piece of ground given by the Rev. T. B. Powell, at a cost of £6300, in addition to which, a considerable sum derived from private sources was expended on embellishments: it is dedicated to St. James, and the living is in the Rector's gift. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The London Orphan Asylum at Lower Clapton, founded in 1813, for the maintenance and education of destitute orphans, of whom about 400 are now in the institution, is a handsome building of lightcoloured brick, the centre of which, forming a chapel, has an elegant portico of four lofty fluted columns of the Grecian-Doric order, supporting a triangular pediment.

Clapton (St. Peter)

CLAPTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Thrapston, hundred of Navisford, N. division of the county of Northampton, 5¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Thrapston; containing 119 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the borders of the county of Huntingdon, consists of 1850 acres, and is intersected by the road between Oundle and Huntingdon. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17. 3. 9., and in the gift of the Shedden family: the tithes have been commuted for a yearly rent-charge of £295. 16., and there are 46 acres of glebe.

Clapton

CLAPTON, a tything, in the parish and hundred of Crewkerne, union of Chard, W. division of Somerset; containing 90 inhabitants.

Clapton

CLAPTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Maperton, union of Wincanton, hundred of Catsash, E. division of Somerset; containing 38 inhabitants.

Clapton

CLAPTON, a tything, in the parish of MidsomerNorton, union of Clutton, hundred of Chewton, E. division of Somerset, 6¾ miles (N. by E.) from SheptonMallet; containing 147 inhabitants.

Clapton-in-Gordano (St. Michael)

CLAPTON-in-Gordano (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Bedminster, hundred of Portbury, E. division of Somerset, 9¼ miles (W.) from Bristol; containing 138 inhabitants. In this parish are 1066 acres, whereof 169 are common or waste: within its limits is the tything of Clapton-Wick, which belongs to the parish of Portbury, and has a population of 45. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 9. 2., and in the patronage of James Adam Gordon, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £200, and the glebe comprises 43 acres.

Clare (St. Peter and St. Paul)

CLARE (St. Peter and St. Paul), a market-town and parish, in the union and hundred of Risbridge, W. division of Suffolk, 15 miles (S. S. W.) from Bury St. Edmund's, and 55½ (N. E. by N.) from London; containing, with the hamlet of Chilton, 1700 inhabitants. This place, which is of great antiquity, derived considerable importance during the Saxon heptarchy from being on the frontier of the kingdom of East Anglia; and after the Conquest it was distinguished as giving the title of Earl to the family of De Clare, and that of Duke to Lionel, third son of Edward III., who was created Duke of Clarence. George III. revived the title in the person of his third son, Prince William Henry, who, in 1789, was created a peer of the realm as Duke of Clarence. To the south of the town are the ruins of a castle, formerly the baronial residence of the earls of Clare, and equal to any of such structures in feudal grandeur and magnificence: the site of the fortifications, which may be distinctly traced, comprehended an area of 30 acres. On the summit of a high mount evidently of artificial construction, are the remains of the keep, a circular building of flints strongly cemented with mortar, strengthened with buttresses; it is supposed to have been erected either prior to or during the heptarchy. The honour of Clare is now annexed to the duchy of Lancaster.

The town is situated on the river Stour, which separates this county from Essex, on the south; the houses are in general old, but many new ones have been erected. The ancient market-place was lately considerably enlarged, by pulling down many unsightly buildings; and a handsome corn-exchange was erected in 1838. The streets are spacious; the inhabitants are amply supplied with water; and the approaches to the town are gradually improving. The market is on Monday; fairs are held on Easter-Tuesday and July 26th, chiefly for toys and pedlery. The county magistrates hold monthly and petty sessions for the division here; and the courts baron of Erbury, and Stoke with Chilton, and a court for the duchy of Lancaster, are also held at this place. The parish comprises by computation 2178 acres. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 18. 9., and in the patronage of the Queen, in right of the duchy of Lancaster; net income, about £200. The church is a large, handsome, and ancient structure, chiefly in the decorated English style, with a tower strengthened by buttresses, and of an earlier date than the body. The interior, which has been improved by heightening the nave, and the addition of aisles, is richly ornamented, and contains an elegantly-designed font in the later English style, and a brass eagle on a pedestal, with wings displayed, forming the readingdesk. In the chancel are said to have been interred the remains of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, who died in 1368, at Piedmont, and who is supposed to have been born here. There are places of worship for Baptists and Independents. William Cadge, in 1669, bequeathed a farm now let for £74, appropriating £10 per annum to a master for teaching boys, and £15 per annum to the clothing of widows; and there are several other charitable bequests for distribution among the poor, who have also the privilege of depasturing 40 milch-cows on a common, comprising 62 acres of land.

To the south-west of the town are the remains of Clare Priory, founded by Eluric or Alfric, Earl of Clare, for Secular canons, and which Gilbert de Clare, in 1090, gave to the Benedictine abbey of Bec, in Normandy, to which it was a cell till 1124, when his son Richard removed the monks to the village of Stoke. Joan d'Acre, daughter of Edward I., and wife of Gilbert de Clare, who was a great benefactress to this establishment, is traditionally said to have been interred in the chapel, which has been converted into a barn: the priory building, now a private residence, though it has undergone considerable repairs and alterations, still retains much of its original character. A monastery for Augustine monks is said to have been founded here in 1248, but by whom is not known; and according to Robert Aske, who wrote in the reign of Henry VIII., the following persons were, among others of less distinction, buried in it, namely, Richard, Earl of Clare; Lionel, Duke of Clarence; Joan d'Acre, and her son, Sir Edward Montheimer; Dame Alice Spencer; Sir John Beauchamp, Knt.; William Capel, and Eleanor, his wife; the Lady Margaret Scroope; Sir Edmund, last of the Mortimers, earls of March; Sir Thomas Grey, and his first wife; and Sir Thomas Clopton, and his wife. To the northwest of the town are evident marks of a Roman camp.