A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848.
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'Saredon - Savernake-Park', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis( London, 1848), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp20-23a [accessed 11 October 2024].
'Saredon - Savernake-Park', in A Topographical Dictionary of England. Edited by Samuel Lewis( London, 1848), British History Online, accessed October 11, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp20-23a.
"Saredon - Savernake-Park". A Topographical Dictionary of England. Ed. Samuel Lewis(London, 1848), , British History Online. Web. 11 October 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp20-23a.
In this section
Saredon, Great and Little
SAREDON, GREAT and LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Shareshill, union of Penkridge, E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford, 7 miles (N. N. E.) from Wolverhampton; containing 289 inhabitants. The township comprises about 1113 acres, of which two-thirds are arable land, of a gravelly soil.
Sarisbury
SARISBURY, a district chapelry, in the parish of Titchfield, union of Fareham, hundred of Titchfield, Fareham and S. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 1063 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Titchfield, with a net income of £120, and a good house: the chapel was built in 1836, is dedicated to St. Paul, and contains 440 sittings.
Sark, or Serk
SARK, or Serk, a small island about 6 miles eastward of Guernsey, within whose jurisdiction it is included; containing 785 inhabitants. This district, which is supposed to be that mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus under the name Sarnica, was early noted for the convent of St. Maglorius, a British Christian who, fleeing with many others from the persecutions of the Pagan Saxons into Armorica, was made Bishop of Dol, and first planted Christianity in these parts, about the year 565. Few other events of interest are recorded in connexion with the island: in 1565, Queen Elizabeth granted it in fee-farm, by letters-patent under the great seal, to Hilary de Carteret, Esq., by the twentieth part of a knight's fee. The surface of Sark is a high table-land, rising a little towards the west, and no where having a declivity to the sea, except a trifling descent at the northern extremity. At one part called the Coupée, it is nearly divided into two portions, being connected only by a high and narrow ridge not many yards wide. The cliffs, which are from 200 to 300 feet in height, are so abrupt on the western side, that the largest ship may approach very near them without danger; but the eastern shore is beset with rocks running far out into the sea. The scenery is striking; that of the Port du Moulin, the descent to which is through a narrow pass, is uncommonly romantic. Such is the natural strength of the island, that although there are five landing-places, yet, except at what is called the Creux, where a tunnel was cut through the rock in 1588 by one of the De Carterets, scarcely any entrance is to be found without the difficulty of climbing. The high ridge, or isthmus, already mentioned, which joins the main island to the smaller portion of it called Petit Sark, is about 100 yards long, with a precipice immediately overhanging the sea on the eastern side; the passage on the western being in some places only three or four feet wide, and over broken rocks of terrific aspect. To the south of Petit Sark is an isolated rock called Etat, much resembling in shape the Mew-stone at Plymouth. On the coast is a funnel, 200 feet deep, and 100 feet in diameter at the surface, named Creux Terrible, similar in appearance to the Buller of Buchan, or Tol Pedn in Penwith, and near which is a spring of water, whose specific gravity is one-eighth less than that of any other water found in the island. There are also numerous picturesque caverns in the cliffs along the sea-shore.
The air is remarkably salubrious; and the soil, which is extremely fertile, affords every necessary article of produce for the inhabitants, particularly apples, from which excellent cider is made; also turnips, parsnips, potatoes, and other vegetables. Stockings, gloves, and waistcoats called Guernsey jackets, are exported to Bristol and some other western ports of England, various articles of domestic consumption being brought back in return. In 1835 a mine was opened containing copper, lead, and silver ore, which has been wrought at a cost of more than £30,000, but the returns are small, and scarcely remunerate the trouble and expense of the adventurers. A feudal court is held three times in the year, for the purpose of enacting by-laws for the island, which are in force when carried by a majority of the 40 tenants, and confirmed by the seignor. The chapel, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected in 1820, and consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester in 1829. The monastery founded by St. Maglorius, was still existing in the reign of Edward III. In 1719, an earthen pot, bound with an iron hoop, was discovered, containing eighteen Gallic coins of silver gilt.
Sarnesfield (All Saints)
SARNESFIELD (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Weobley, hundred of Wolphy, county of Hereford, 2½ miles (W. by S.) from Weobley; containing 108 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1186 acres. Stone is quarried for the roads. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8.; net income, £203; patron, Thomas Monnington, Esq.: the glebe comprises 46 acres, with a house. The church is a small ancient structure.
Sarr
SARR, a ville, in the union of the Isle of Thanet, cinque-port liberty of Sandwich, locally in the hundred of Ringslow, or Isle of Thanet, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 8¾ miles (N. E.) from Canterbury; containing 215 inhabitants. This place derives its name from an ancient ford at low water, leading from the Isle of Thanet to the main land, and, previously to the arrival of the Saxons, forming a communication with Chislet on the opposite bank. It was anciently a separate parish, in old documents designated St. Giles at Serre, but is now united with St. Nicholas', Sandwich. The road from Canterbury to Ramsgate and Margate passes through it, and the place once carried on a considerable trade; but on the failure of the river Wantsune, the business declined, and the inhabitants removing to other places, the church fell into decay. In Archbishop Parker's visitation, in 1561, the living is returned as "Vicaria Sarre Dissoluta." The ville comprises 653 acres, of which 138 are marsh land.
Sarratt (Holy Cross)
SARRATT (Holy Cross), a parish, in the union of Watford, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford, 3½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Rickmansworth; containing 542 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1250 acres, of which 50 are common or waste land; the surface is hilly, and the soil chiefly gravelly. The village is situated on a ridge of land forming the western boundary of a vale watered by a small river, commonly called the Sarratt stream. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, valued in the king's books at £9, and in the gift of J. A. Gordon, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £300, and the glebe comprises 50 acres. The church is a cruciform structure having a square tower, and is built with a mixture of brick, stone, and flints; it contains a piscina.
Sarsden
SARSDEN, a parish, in the union of ChippingNorton, hundred of Chadlington, county of Oxford, 3¾ miles (S. W. by S.) from Chipping-Norton; containing 179 inhabitants. It is said to have been the scene of a battle in 1016, in which Canute was defeated by Edmund Ironside. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 18. 1½.; net income, £262; patron, J. H. Langston, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1787. Ann Walker, in 1705, gave the sum of £600, now producing an income of £52. 10., for which twenty-four girls are educated.
Sarson
SARSON, a tything, in the parish of Amport, union and hundred of Andover, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton; with 118 inhabitants.
Sarum, Old
SARUM, OLD, formerly a representative borough, in the parish of Stratford-under-the-Castle, union of Alderbury, hundred of Underditch, S. division of Wilts, 1½ mile (N.) from Salisbury; containing 7 inhabitants. This place was a British settlement of some importance prior to the time of the Romans, who, on their establishment in the island, fixed here their station Sorbiodunum, situated on the Via Iceniana, or Ikeneldstreet. By the Saxons, who under their leader Kenric, son of Cerdic, second king of Wessex, took the town from the Britons in 552, it was called Searesbyrig, from the dryness of its situation. It was a residence of the West Saxon kings till the union of the heptarchal provinces under Egbert, after which time it still continued to be a royal castle. Alfred issued an order to the sheriff of Wiltshire to strengthen the place with a trench and palisades; and the present remains of the fortifications are evidently of Saxon character. In 960, Edgar convoked here a wittenagemot, or great council of the state, the especial object of which was to deliberate upon the best mode of defending the northern counties against the incursions of the Danes, by whom that part of the kingdom was particularly infested. In 1003, Sweyn, King of Denmark, having landed on the western coast, to retaliate for the massacre of his countrymen in the reign of Ethelred, pillaged the town and burnt the castle. Soon after the Norman Conquest, pursuant to a decree of a synod held in St. Paul's Cathedral in 1076, for removing sees from obscure villages into fortified cities, the seat of the bishopric of Wiltshire was transferred by Bishop Herman to this place, where he laid the foundation of a cathedral, which was finished by his successor, Bishop Osmund, in 1092.
On the completion of the Norman survey, in 1086, William summoned all the bishops, abbots, barons, and knights of the kingdom, to attend him at Sarum, and do homage for the lands which they held by feudal tenure. In 1095, or 1096, William Rufus assembled a great council here, in which William, Count of Eu, was impeached of high treason against the king, in conspiring to raise Stephen, Earl of Albemarle, to the throne. Henry I. held his court at Sarum for several months during the year 1100, and here received Archbishop Anselm on his arrival in England, requiring that prelate to do homage and swear fealty to him, and to accept from his hands the investiture of his see. This demand gave rise to a dispute between the king and the pope, which was at length compromised, the pope allowing the prelates to do homage to the king, and reserving to himself the right of investiture, which was the first attempt to establish papal supremacy in the island. Henry I. again fixed his residence here in 1106, and in 1116 assembled the prelates and barons of the realm, to swear allegiance to his son as his successor on the English throne, previously to the prince's embarkation for Normandy, on his return from which country he was unfortunately drowned. In the reign of Stephen, Bishop Roger held the castle for the king; and soon after the instalment of that prelate's successor, Joceline, in 1142, the partisans of the Empress Matilda took possession of the town, which in the course of the contest was alternately occupied by both parties. On the accession of Henry II., in 1154, the castle was found to be in a dismantled state, and a considerable sum was expended in putting it into repair.
From the time of Stephen, disputes had arisen between the castellans and the clergy, which became so violent that, in the reign of Richard I., Bishop Herbert, induced by these annoyances, and other inconveniences attending the situation of his church, among which was the dependence on the governor for a supply of water, procured licence from the king to remove the see, and to erect a new church in the valley, at the distance of nearly two miles from the castle. This design was carried into execution by his successor, who, having received a special indulgence from the pope, laid the foundation of the present cathedral of Salisbury. From that period the town of Old Sarum began to decay, and was gradually deserted by its inhabitants, who established themselves in the vicinity of the new church. A few fragments of the foundation walls of some of the houses occupy the declivity of an eminence rising from the western side of a valley, and forming the extremity of a ridge which extends towards the east: the vast ditches and ramparts of the city, and the site of the castle, may still be traced, and form interesting objects of antiquarian research. There were houses remaining in the time of Henry VIII., and service was performed in the old chapel of the cathedral until nearly the same period; but the place is now deemed extra-parochial, and contains only one house. It was a borough by prescription, and first exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of Edward I., but made no other return till the 34th of Edward III., from which time it continued to send two members to parliament until the 2nd of William IV., when it was disfranchised. John of Salisbury, one of the most eminent scholars of his time, and celebrated as an historian and biographer, was born at Old Sarum, in the early part of the twelfth century.
Satchell, with Hound.—See Hound.
SATCHELL, with Hound.—See Hound.
Satley
SATLEY, a township and chapelry, in the parish and union of Lanchester, W. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 5 miles (N. E. by N.) from Wolsingham; the township containing 132 inhabitants. In 1221, Philip de St. Helena, rector of Lanchester, granted to this place, as a separate chapelry, a general release from all tithes and oblations, on the condition of its supporting a curate, in lieu of which the proprietors of land have paid from time immemorial £1. 10. per annum. The chapel afterwards fell from its slender endowment, into a mere chapel of ease to the parochial church; but it was again severed about 1731, on receiving an augmentation from Queen Anne's Bounty, which was expended in the purchase of Hunter's field, in the parish of Wolsingham; and a further augmentation was made from the same fund in 1768. In 1834 the Bishop of Durham annexed to it the townships of Butsfield, Cornsay, and Hedley Hope, together with some out-allotments lying within the district and belonging to other places. The township is situated on the road from Wolsingham to Lanchester, and comprises 902 acres of land: the village, which is small and straggling, stretches along a narrow vale. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop, with an income of £210, and a commodious glebe-house, built in 1834 by the Rev. Joseph Thompson, incumbent. The chapel, seated on a hill to the north of the village, was rebuilt about 50 years since, and a square tower and a gallery were added in 1829.
Satterleigh (St. Peter)
SATTERLEIGH (St. Peter), a parish, in the union and hundred of South Molton, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon, 3¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from South Molton; containing 61 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 0. 7½., and in the gift of James Gould, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £67, and the glebe comprises 28 acres.
Satterthwaite
SATTERTHWAITE, a chapelry, in the parish of Hawkshead, union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 4 miles (S. by W.) from Hawkshead; containing 420 inhabitants. It is overspread with coppicewood, from the abundance of which the smelting of iron-ore was formerly carried on to a considerable extent: at present, the manufacture of bobbin is carried on at a large mill at Cunsey. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Incumbent of Hawkshead, with a net income of £100. The chapel was repaired and enlarged in 1837.
Saughall, Great
SAUGHALL, GREAT, a township, in the parish of Shotwick, union of Great Boughton, Higher division of the hundred of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Chester; containing 480 inhabitants, and 1122 acres of land, of a clay soil. A rent-charge of £130 is paid in lieu of the tithes.
Saughall, Little
SAUGHALL, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Shotwick, union of Great Boughton, Higher division of the hundred of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 3¼ miles (N. W. by W.) from Chester; containing 47 inhabitants, and comprising an area of 442 acres, of which the soil is clay. A rent-charge of £55 is paid in lieu of the tithes of the township.
Saughall-Massey
SAUGHALL-MASSEY, a township, in the parish of Bidstone, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 9 miles (N. N. W.) from Great Neston; containing 152 inhabitants, and 860 acres of land, partly a clay soil.
Saul (St. James)
SAUL (St. James), a parish, in the union of Wheatenhurst, Upper division of the hundred of Whitstone, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 8 miles (N.) from Dursley; containing 477 inhabitants. It comprises 500 acres, including 25 common or waste; and is bounded by the river Severn, into which the Frome here discharges itself. The Gloucester and Berkeley canal, and the Severn and Thames canal, both pass through the parish. An inclosure act was obtained in 1839. On the banks of the Frome were formerly some tin-plate works. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £125; patron, the Vicar of Standish; appropriator, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol: the great tithes have been commuted for £115, and the incumbent's for £42; the glebe comprises 3 acres. The church has been enlarged. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a parochial school is supported by subscription. An ancient house here, still surrounded by a moat, belonged to the Earl of Leicester.
Saundby (St. Martin)
SAUNDBY (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, North-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 2½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Gainsborough; containing 107 inhabitants. It comprises 1345a. 3r. 2p., and forms elevated ground, overlooking the river Trent; the soil is rich, and in good cultivation. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 8. 6½., and in the gift of Viscount Middleton: the tithes have been commuted for £325. 15., and the glebe comprises two acres, with an excellent house. The church is in the later English style, with portions of an earlier date, and a very handsome tower built, according to an inscription on one of the stones, in 1500.
Saunderton (St. Mary)
SAUNDERTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Wycombe, hundred of Desborough, county of Buckingham, 1½ mile (S. W.) from Prince's-Risborough; containing 232 inhabitants. It comprises 1820a. 26p. of land, the greater portion of which is arable; the soil is a rich loam, alternated with clay, and the surface is partly hilly and partly level. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 19. 7.; net income, £377; patrons, the President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford. The tithes were commuted for land in 1806; the glebe altogether comprises 406 acres. Saunderton formerly constituted two parishes, but coming into the possession of one individual, they were united in the year 1457, and a church dedicated to St. Nicholas was suffered to go to ruin.
Sausthorpe (St. Andrew)
SAUSTHORPE (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Spilsby, hundred of Hill, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 3 miles (N. N. W.) from Spilsby; containing 259 inhabitants. It comprises about 750 acres of land, and is chiefly the property of the Rev. F. Swan, lord of the manor, and patron and incumbent of the benefice. New Hall, the residence of that gentleman, is a handsome mansion with an embattled parapet. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 3. 6½.: the tithes have been commuted for £212. 14. 6., and the glebe consists of 9½ acres. The church is a neat edifice.
Savernake-Forest, or South Side
SAVERNAKE-FOREST, or South Side, an extraparochial district, in the hundred of Kinwardstone, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and N. divisions of the county of Wilts, 2 miles (S.) from Marlborough; containing, with Brimslade and Cadley, 187 inhabitants.
Savernake-Park, or North Side
SAVERNAKE-PARK, or North Side, an extraparochial district, in the hundred of Selkley, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and N. divisions of the county of Wilts, 1½ mile (S. E. by S.) from Marlborough; containing 112 inhabitants.