Ditton - Doddinghurst

Ditton

DITTON, a chapelry, in the parish of Stoke-Poges, union of Eton, hundred of Stoke, county of Buckingham, 1½ mile (W. N. W.) from Colnbrook; containing 100 inhabitants. The chapel is dedicated to St. Mary.

Ditton (St. Peter)

DITTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Malling, hundred of Larkfield, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 3½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Maidstone; containing 244 inhabitants. It comprises 1014a. 3r. 19p., of which 425 acres are arable, 107 meadow and pasture, 38 orchard, 92 acres hops, 341 wood, and 25 common. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 15.; present net income, £298; patron, the Earl of Aylesford: the glebe contains about 9 acres. The church is a small building, with a tower.

Ditton

DITTON, a township, in the parish and union of Prescot, hundred of West Derby, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 8 miles (W. by S.) from Warrington; containing 513 inhabitants. The manor was held, in the reign of Edward III., by various families, of whom Thomas de Ditton performed suit and service to the county and wapentake for a fourth part. The Ditchfields resided, in 1567, at the Hall of that name. The township lies near the river Mersey, and comprises 1798 acres; there are fine views of the Cheshire hills. The places called Ditchfield Hall, Gutacre, and ThreeAshes, consisting altogether of 342 acres, belong to Thomas Shaw, Esq., of Everton, near Liverpool, in whose family they have been for upwards of a century; the other owners in the township are, William Blundell, Esq., of Crosby Hall, and Mr. Bretherton.

Ditton, Fen (St. Mary)

DITTON, FEN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Chesterton, hundred of Flendish, county of Cambridge, 2¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Cambridge; containing 537 inhabitants. A market, now disused, was granted in 1270 to one of the bishops of Ely, who resided at Bigging, in the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26. 12. 1.; net income, £404; patron, the Bishop. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1803. A school was founded in 1729, by Elizabeth March, and endowed with the fifth part of an estate now producing £190 per annum. An almshouse for six widows was built by the Willys family, in 1665.

Ditton, Long (St. Mary)

DITTON, LONG (St. Mary), a parish, in the union, and Second division of the hundred, of Kingston, E. division of Surrey, 2¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Kingston; containing, with the hamlet of Talworth, 827 inhabitants. The manors of Ditton and Talworth are noticed in the Domesday survey under the appellations of Ditone and Taleorde; and in the reign of John, some property here appears to have been given by Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, to the convent of St. Mary without Bishopsgate, London. The parish consists of 1865 acres, whereof 40 are common or waste; it is bounded on the north by the river Thames, and is intersected in its western part by the London and South-Western railway. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 0. 5., and in the gift of New College, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £535. The church is a modern edifice of brick.

Ditton, Priors (St. John the Baptist)

DITTON, PRIORS (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Bridgnorth, partly in the hundred of Munslow, but chiefly in the liberty of the borough of Wenlock, S. division of Salop, 7¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Bridgnorth; containing 660 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 15. 8.; net income, £147; patron and impropriator, R. Canning, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land in 1813.

Ditton, Thames (St. Nicholas)

DITTON, THAMES (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Kingston, partly in the Second division of the hundred of Kingston, E. division, and partly in the Second division of the hundred of Elmbridge, W. division, of Surrey, 2¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Kingston; containing, with the hamlet of Ember with Weston, and the manor of Cleygate, 2196 inhabitants. This place is much resorted to by anglers, from its proximity to the Thames, on the south bank of which it is very agreeably situated: the London and Guildford road, and the South-Western railway, on which there is a station at Ditton-Marsh, pass through it. The parish comprises about 3000 acres: the surface is partly hilly and partly level; the soil is chiefly a strong clay, producing good corn, and the pastures are luxuriant. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of King's College, Cambridge: the great tithes have been commuted for £192, and those of the incumbent for £246. The church was formerly a chapel of ease to Kingston, and was made parochial, by act of parliament, in 1769; it is near the bank of the Thames, with a low tower and wooden spire, covered with lead, at the west end, and contains many ancient monuments and sepulchral brasses. There is a place of worship for Independents. A national school is endowed with £50 per annum and a house, the bequest of Robert Taylor, Esq. An almshouse for four widows, with a small endowment, was founded about 1630, by Elizabeth Hill; and in 1720, Henry Bridges bequeathed a rent-charge of £30 to endow an almshouse containing tenements for six men or women.

Ditton, Wood (St. Mary)

DITTON, WOOD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Newmarket, hundred of Cheveley, county of Cambridge, 2¾ miles (S. S. E.) from Newmarket; containing 1016 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, consolidated with the rectory of St. Mary, Newmarket, and valued in the king's books at £12. 16. 5½.: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1813.

Dixton, or Dickleston

DIXTON, or Dickleston, a hamlet, in the parish of Alderton, union of Winchcomb, Upper division of the hundred of Tewkesbury, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 4¼ miles (W. N. W.) from Winchcomb; containing 23 inhabitants. This place, in the reign of Edward III., was the seat of the Dicklestons: near the mansion was a chapel, dedicated to All Saints, but it has been long desecrated. Vestiges of an intrenchment are discernible in the neighbourhood.

Dixton (St. Peter)

DIXTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the hundred of Skenfreth, union, division, and county of Monmouth, 1 mile (N. E.) from Monmouth; containing, with the hamlet of Wyesham, 751 inhabitants, of whom 239 are in the hamlet of Newton-Dixton, and 82 in that of Hadnock-Dixton. This parish, of which the greater portion is within the borough of Monmouth, comprises about 3300 acres, whereof 1400 are wood; the soil in the low lands is a loamy clay, in the high lands a light loam, and the substratum is a red sandstone, which is got in abundance. The surface is a good deal undulated, the scenery exceedingly picturesque, and the views are very extensive and beautiful, especially from the summit of the Kymin Hill, whence may be seen thirteen counties. The road from Monmouth to Ross and to Chepstow runs through the parish, which is also intersected by the Wye, that portion on the north-west side of the river being Newton-Dixton, and on the south-east side Hadnock-Dixton: a tramroad from Coleford passes on the south-east. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 3. 1½.; net income, £223; patron, Edward Machen, Esq.; impropriators, the Duke of Beaufort, Miss Griffin, and others. There is a glebe of 12 acres, with a handsome vicarage-house in the Tudor style, erected in 1835 by the vicar, the Rev. J. L. Dighton. The church, chiefly in the early style, consists of a nave and chancel, with a low tower surmounted by a spire: in the chancel are memorials to the Griffin family. There was formerly a chapel at Wyesham, where are some slight remains called the "Friars' stump."

Dobcross

DOBCROSS, an ecclesiastical district, in the chapelry of Saddleworth, parish of Rochdale, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 11 miles (N. E.) from Manchester. It is situated on one of the roads from Oldham to Huddersfield, and in the vicinity of several other main lines of road; and comprises by computation 1600 acres, of which between 70 and 80 are woodland, and the remainder pasture and meadow. The soil is clay and sand, with a considerable portion of black earth; the surface is hilly, with some rich vales, and the scenery varied. Several stone-quarries are wrought for local purposes. The Huddersfield and Ashton canal runs through the eastern part of the district, having a wharf about a mile and a half distant; and the Huddersfield and Manchester railway passes the village on a large and handsome viaduct. The village, which is one of the largest in the chapelry, is seated on a gentle eminence on the banks of the river Tame, whose source is about four miles from it in a north-eastern direction; the approach from the west is over a stone bridge. Between six and seven hundred persons are employed in mills for the manufacture of woollen-cloth. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Rochdale, with a net income of £150; impropriator, the Archbishop of York. The church is a neat structure in the Grecian style, erected in 1787, at an expense of £1800, raised by subscription of the inhabitants and landed proprietors: the edifice was repaired, and a tower added, in 1843.

Docker

DOCKER, a township, in the parish and union of Kendal, Kendal ward, county of Westmorland, 4¼ miles (N. E. by E.) from Kendal; containing 82 inhabitants. At Docker Garths the Lancaster and Carlisle railway crosses Fiddler's Ghill, by a viaduct of six arches, each of fifty feet span; the extreme height of the erection being eighty feet. This viaduct, from its magnitude, and the difficulties attending its construction, occupied more than a year in building; it was commenced 14th May 1845, and completed 29th June 1846: more fatal accidents occurred in the formation of it than in any other part of the line.

Docking (St. Mary)

DOCKING (St. Mary), a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Smithdon, W. division of Norfolk, 11 miles (N. N. W.) from Rougham; containing 1537 inhabitants. In the charter of endowment of Eton College, mention is made of the alien priory of Dokkyng, the monks whereof are supposed by Tanner to have belonged to the Abbey de Ibreio, in Normandy, to which this church was formerly appropriated. Summerfield, about two miles north-westward, is a corruption of Suthmere, which, at the period of the Norman survey, and later, was a town of some importance, with a church dedicated to All Saints, which was standing in 1378, but of which no vestiges now remain, though the benefice is still continued as a sinecure rectory, in the gift of Eton College. The parish, exclusively of Summerfield, comprises 5077a. 1r. 4p., of which 107 acres are common or waste; the manor of Summerfield contains 1192a. 1r. 25p., whereof 1000 acres are arable, 50 pasture and meadow, and 100 woodland. In the village is a well of unusual depth, from which the inhabitants are supplied with water. Petty-sessions are held on the last Monday in the month. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; patrons and impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of Eton College; net income, £459. The tithes of All Saints' have been commuted for £250. The church is chiefly in the early and decorated styles, and has a lofty embattled tower; the font is handsome, and elaborately sculptured: the edifice was repewed and thoroughly repaired in 1837, chiefly at the expense of the Rev. Mr. Hare. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists. The poor law union comprises thirty-six parishes or places.

Dockingfield

DOCKINGFIELD, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Farnham, hundred of Alton, Alton and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 4¾ miles (S. by W.) from Farnham; containing 171 inhabitants. It lies on the borders of the county of Surrey, and comprises 610 acres of land.

Docklow (St. Bartholomew)

DOCKLOW (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Leominster, hundred of Wolphy, county of Hereford, 5½ miles (E. by S.) from Leominster; containing, with the township of Fencott, 215 inhabitants. It is intersected by the road from Worcester to Leominster, and consists of 1711 acres: there are several quarries of stone of good quality both for building and for repairing the roads. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to that of Stoke-Prior; the glebe comprises about 60 acres. The church is ancient.

Dockray

DOCKRAY, a division, in the parish and union of Penrith, Leath ward, E. division of Cumberland; containing 728 inhabitants.

Dodbrooke (St. Thomas à Becket)

DODBROOKE (St. Thomas à Becket), a parish, in the union of Kingsbridge, hundred of Coleridge, Stanborough and Coleridge, and S. divisions of Devon, ½ a mile (E.) from Kingsbridge; containing 1229 inhabitants. This place derives its name from the Dod, a small stream by which the parish is separated from that of Kingsbridge: it is of some antiquity, and in the time of Edward the Confessor was the property of Brietric, sheriff for the county. The inhabitants obtained, in the reign of Henry III., the grant of a weekly market, and a fair for two days on the festival of St. Mary Magdalene. The town or village, situated on the declivity of a hill, is indifferently built, but well supplied with water; and is noted for its white ale, a beverage peculiar to this part of Devonshire, which is ready for use on the day after it is brewed. The market was formerly regular, but is now held only on the third Wednesday in every month, and exclusively for cattle: there is a cattle-fair on the Wednesday before Palm-Sunday. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 11. 4.; net income, £183; patron, the Rev. C. G. Owen. The church, built on rising ground at the extremity of the town, is an old structure, strengthened with buttresses, and anciently embattled; it contains a stone font in the early English style, and a wooden screen finely carved, Dr. Wolcot, the satirical poet, more generally known by the assumed name of Peter Pindar, was a native of the place.

Dodcot, with Wilkesley

DODCOT, with Wilkesley, a township, partly in the parish of Wrenbury, but chiefly in that of Audlem, union and hundred of Nantwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 4 miles (W. S. W.) from Audlem; containing 589 inhabitants. It comprises 5462 acres, of which the prevailing soil is clay, with sand. In that part of the township in the parish of Wrenbury, Hugh de Malbanc, in 1133, founded the Cistercian monastery of Combermere, and dedicated it to St. Mary and St. Michael. The revenue, at the Dissolution, was valued at £258. 6. 6.; and the site and buildings were granted in the 32nd of Henry VIII. to William Cotton, ancestor of Lord Combermere, whose family seat, occupying the spot, is agreeably situated on the margin of the beautiful lake of Combermere. Lord Combermere takes his title of Baron from the place. The chapel of Burley Dam, in the parish of Wrenbury, stands in the township, and is a neat structure, founded by Sir Lynch Salusbury Cotton, Bart. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £350, of which £325 are payable to the vicar of Audlem, and £25 to the vicar of Acton; and the impropriate tithes for £368. 1.

Doddenham (St. Andrew)

DODDENHAM (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Martley, Lower division of the hundred of Doddingtree, Worcester and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 7¼ miles (W. by N.) from Worcester; containing 260 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the south and west by the river Teme, and comprises 916a. 24p., whereof 336 acres are arable, 306 meadow and pasture, 127 woodland, 34 in hop-yards, 30 in houses and gardens, 21 common, 11 river, and 18 road and waste. The greater portion of the land is a strong red marl of average quality, and the whole is undulated and highly picturesque. Ankerden Hill rises from the valley of the Teme to a considerable height, and affords a very beautiful prospect of the surrounding country. Apple and pear trees grow here to a large size. There are quarries of red sandstone, and of a strong grey gritstone, very durable in buildings; coal, also, was found some years since on the side of Ankerden Hill, but not being deemed of sufficient value, the pit was filled up. Some of the cottagers' wives and daughters are employed in sewing gloves at their own homes, for the Worcester manufacturers. The road from Worcester to Bromyard passes through the parish for about two miles. The living is consolidated with that of Knightwick: the church is a plain building with a wooden spire, is very small, and in a bad state of repair. Fossil shells are found on Ankerden hill; and there is a natural Artesian well of fine water, springing through an opening in the sandstone rock; it rises in a small basin, and discharges a considerable volume both in summer and winter, at a temperature of about 50 degrees.

Dodderhill (St. Augustine)

DODDERHILL (St. Augustine), a parish, in the union and parliamentary borough of Droitwich, Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire, E. division of the county of Worcester, ½ a mile (N.) from the town of Droitwich; containing, with the township of Elmbridge, 2130 inhabitants. It is intersected by the river Salwarp and the road from Droitwich to Bromsgrove, and comprises 3437 acres of a rich and highly productive soil, and about 100 acres of common or waste; the produce is principally wheat and beans: the surface of the land is rather hilly. Two miles from Droitwich, on the Bromsgrove road, is the pleasant village of Wichbold. The Birmingham canal, and the Birmingham and Gloucester railway, pass through the eastern part of the parish. The living is a vicarage, endowed with part of the rectorial tithes, and valued in the king's books at £12. 12. 3½.; net income, £500; patron, the Rev. John Jackson, M.A., the present vicar: several individuals have the impropriation of the remainder of the rectorial tithes. The church is a curious edifice, originally built in the year 1175; it was partly destroyed in the parliamentary war, but was rebuilt, and now consists of the north transept of a Norman church, with a chancel of later date, and a south transept, upon which the tower stands; the nave has been entirely destroyed. From the hill on the summit of which the church is seated, the parish derives its name; it commands a pleasing view of the town and neighbourhood of Droitwich. At Elmbridge is a chapel of ease; also a school, with an endowment; and several small benefactions are distributed among the poor. A free chapel, or hospital, was founded in the 13th of Edward I., and dedicated to St. Mary, by William de Dovere, for a master and poor brethren, who were under the government of the prior of Worcester, and whose lands, at the suppression of free chapels in the reign of Edward VI., were valued at £21. 11. 8. The remains are the property of Charles Pumfrey, Esq., solicitor, of Droitwich, but are about to be removed, to make way for the Stoke branch of the Oxford and Wolverhampton railway.

Doddershall

DODDERSHALL, a hamlet, in the parish of Quainton, union of Aylesbury, hundred of Ashendon, county of Buckingham, 7½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Aylesbury; containing 37 inhabitants.

Doddinghurst (All Saints)

DODDINGHURST (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Ongar, hundred of Barstable, S. division of Essex, 5 miles (W.) from Ingatestone; containing 419 inhabitants. The lands consist of 1800 acres by computation, and are generally fertile; 120 acres are wood, and of the remainder one-third is grass and the rest arable: the greater portion of the soil is a deep rich loam. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 3. 9.; net income, £539; patron, W. Manbey, Esq. The church is a small ancient edifice.