Bowesden

BOWESDEN, a hamlet, in the parish of Lowick, union of Glendale, E. division of Glendale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 9¼ miles (N.) from Wooler. The ancient family of Carr sold their paternal estate here to the late Sir Francis Blake, Bart. The village is long and scattered. A sepulchral urn was turned up by the plough, several years since, at Bowesden-Hollins; and in the year 1800, some workmen, in levelling a barrow in the neighbourhood, discovered two inverted urns, containing calcined human bones.

Bowland-Forest, Higher division

BOWLAND-FOREST, Higher division, a township, in the parish of Slaidburn, union of Clitheroe, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York; containing 181 inhabitants. In the time of our Saxon ancestors, as at a much later period, the forest here was distinguished for archery; and hence the name of Bow-land. The township, which lies north-west of Slaidburn, and is high moorland, with scattered houses, includes the hamlets of Dunslop, Batterax, and Burnend; and comprises, with the Lower division of Bowland-Forest (the two forming the district called Bolland Liberty), 17,800 acres. The forest was granted by Charles II. to General Monk, from whom it descended to the dukes of Buccleuch; and is now the property of P. E. Towneley, Esq. The herds of wild deer in it were destroyed about forty years ago. The tithes have been commuted for £180.

Bowland-Forest, Lower division

BOWLAND-FOREST, Lower division, a township, in the chapelry of Whitewell, parish of Whalley, union of Clitheroe, wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York; containing 330 inhabitants. It lies west and south-west of Slaidburn, includes the hamlets of Browsholme and Harrop (which see), and comprises 5170a. 2r. 39p., whereof 600 acres are wood, 200 moorland, 50 arable, and the rest pasture. The surface is undulated, the soil various; and from the elevation of the township, it commands most extensive views. There is abundance of limestone, and some calamine. The Roman Watling-street enters at Dawford bridge, and, taking a northern course, passes into Newton township. The chapel of Whitewell stands in this division; and the widows residing here are first presented to Waddington hospital. There is a chalybeate spring.—See Waddington and Whitewell.

Bowland, Little, with Leagram

BOWLAND, LITTLE, with Leagram, a township, in the parish of Whalley, union of Clitheroe, Lower division of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division of Lancashire, 15 miles (N. N. E.) from Preston; containing 273 inhabitants, of whom 133 are in Little Bowland. This district is three miles in length from north to south, and two miles and a half in breadth from east to west. In Little Bowland are 1768a. 3r. 4p., and in Leagram 1424a. 1r. 39p., mostly grazing-land; the surface is very undulated. On the limestone here, is a brown soil; in other places the soil is peaty: there is an excellent limestone-quarry, in which fossils are found. The river Hodder divides the counties of York and Lancaster in this part. Fair-Oak House, a very ancient mansion in which is much carved oak, is, with 483 acres of land, the property of John Clince Parker, Esq.: the lordship of Leagram, long a possession of the Sherburnes, became latterly the property of the Weld family, of Leagram House. There are some remains of a Roman camp. A strong petrifying spring adjoins the Hodder.

Bowld

BOWLD, a hamlet, in the parish of Idbury, union of Chipping - Norton, hundred of Chadlington, county of Oxford; containing 59 inhabitants.

Bowley

BOWLEY, a township, in the parish of Bodenham, union of Leominster, hundred of Broxash, county of Hereford; containing 206 inhabitants.

Bowling

BOWLING, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Bradford, wapentake of Morley, W. riding of York, 1 mile (S. E.) from Bradford; containing 8918 inhabitants. The township is situated on the slope of a hill on the east side of Low Moor, and comprises by computation 1438 acres, of which by far the greater portion is pasture; the surface is varied, and the surrounding scenery in some parts enlivened with plantations. Boiling or Bowling Hall is a stately and spacious mansion of venerable aspect. The substratum abounds with coal and iron-ore, which have been wrought for more than half a century by the Bowling Iron Company, whose works here are among the most extensive in England: the accumulated heaps of refuse from the mines, forming huge mounds surrounding the excavations, have been planted with trees. The village consists chiefly of one long street, rising by a gradual ascent from the town of Bradford to Dudley Hill, on the Wakefield road; the houses are of stone and well built, and there are numerous clusters of modern cottages inhabited chiefly by persons employed in the iron-works. The chapel, dedicated to St. John, and consecrated in Feb. 1842, was erected at the sole expense of the Iron Company, at a cost of £4000; it is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower and wellproportioned spire, and contains 1000 sittings, of which 300 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patron, the Vicar of Bradford. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans.

Bowness (St. Michael)

BOWNESS (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Wigton, Cumberland ward, and E. division of the county of Cumberland; comprising the townships of Anthorn, Bowness, Drumburgh, and Finland; and containing 1488 inhabitants, of whom 624 are in the township of Bowness, 14 miles (W. N. W.) from Carlisle. The parish comprises by measurement 9294 acres, of which 4953 are arable, 1088 meadow, 3152 common, moss land, or peat, and 42 wood. The village stands on a rocky promontory, commanding a fine view of the Solway Firth, on the coast of which it is situated; and occupies the site of the Roman station Tunnocellum, where, according to the Notitia, a marine cohort (cohors prima Ælia Classica) was placed. At the distance of about a mile was the western extremity of the Picts' wall, vestiges of which are conspicuous in various parts of the parish, as well as vestiges of Gabrosentum, another Roman station. Coins and other relics of the Romans, among which was an image of the god Terminus, have been discovered; and from the foundations of houses and streets, which cultivation has exposed to view, this place has evidently been of greater extent than it is at present. The ship-canal from Carlisle terminates near the village. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £21. 13. 11½.; net income, £393; patron, the Earl of Lonsdale: there are 57 acres of good glebe, and 272 acres of common land, the latter only partly cultivated, and very inferior.

Bowness

BOWNESS, a post-town, in the parish of Windermere, Kendal ward and union, county of Westmorland, 9 miles (W. N. W.) from Kendal. This town or village, which contains the parish church, is beautifully situated on the eastern shore of Windermere Lake; and, from the many objects of deep interest in its immediate vicinity, has been steadily advancing in extent and importance, as a place of favourite resort for visiters, who, in their excursions to the lakes, take up their abode here during the summer months. Two excellent hotels, the Royal (so called in commemoration of Her Majesty Queen Adelaide's visit in 1840) and the Crown, and some lodging-houses, have been built in the village for their accommodation; and in the neighbourhood are several handsome villas erected by persons whom the beauty of the situation has induced to fix their permanent residence here. Pleasure-boats, with fishing-tackle, for parties visiting the lake, are always to be had, and also conveyances for excursions in the environs, which afford a rich display of romantic scenery, and in many points command extensive views of highly varied and strikingly impressive beauty. Two steamers ply during the summer up and down the lake, touching at Ambleside, Waterhead, Low Wood, Bowness, the Ferry inn, and NewbyBridge; and the Kendal and Windermere railway, opened in 1847, brings the traveller from the south to a point (Orrest head) where a spacious hotel has been built, about a mile and a half distant from Bowness. The char of the lake is in high repute, and is potted in great quantities, and sent to all parts of the country. A free grammar school established in 1600 has an endowment of about £60 per annum; a new school-house was lately erected, at an expense of £1500, by Mr. Bolton, of Storr's Hall, in the parish. The building is situated on a hill overlooking the village, and contains two large schoolrooms; the first stone was laid by William Wordsworth, the eminent poet, in 1836.—See Windermere.

Bowood

BOWOOD, a tything, in the parish of Netherbury, union and hundred of Beaminster, Bridport division of Dorset, 2¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Beaminster. A chapel of ease, capable of accommodating upwards of 500 persons, was erected by subscription a few years since.

Bowood

BOWOOD, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union and hundred of Calne, Chippenham and Calne, and N. divisions of Wilts, 3½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Chippenham; containing 68 inhabitants. It comprises 1320 acres of land. Here is the magnificent seat of the Marquess of Lansdowne, occupying elevated ground, and consisting of three distinct parts, erected at different periods, and consequently exhibiting various styles of architecture: the main front is adorned with a portico of the Doric order, and commands a splendid view of the park and pleasure-grounds, the natural beauties of which have been heightened by the skilful and judicious application of art. The apartments are fitted up in the most sumptuous style, and are embellished with many valuable pictures.

Bowscale

BOWSCALE, a township, in the parish of Greystock, union of Penrith, Leith ward, county of Cumberland, 10 miles (W. N. W.) from Penrith; containing 31 inhabitants.

Bowthorp, with Menthorp.—See Menthorp.

BOWTHORP, with Menthorp.—See Menthorp.

Bowthorpe (St. Michael)

BOWTHORPE (St. Michael), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Forehoe, E. division of Norfolk, 3½ miles (W. by N.) from Norwich; containing 34 inhabitants. It comprises 750 acres, in one farm. The church was used, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, as a storehouse for grain, but, by a decree in chancery obtained in 1635, was restored to its original purpose; in 1792 it was unroofed, and only a portion of the walls now remains. The living was formerly a rectory, in the patronage of the Dean and Canons of the College of St. Mary-in-the-Fields, at Norwich, who, in 1522, petitioned the bishop for its reduction to a curacy: since 1635 the living has been a donative.

Box (St. Thomas à Becket)

BOX (St. Thomas à Becket), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chippenham, Chippenham and Calne, and N. divisions of Wilts, 7 miles (S. W. by W.) from Chippenham; containing 2274 inhabitants. The parish comprises 4135 acres, of which 217 are common or waste. An extensive bed of freestone of a peculiar quality exists here, called Bath stone, from the circumstance of the greater part of that city having been built with it: it forms a considerable article of exportation to almost every part of the empire. At a short distance north-west of the village, which is beautifully situated in a rich valley, and on the road from London to Bath, is a mineral spring, containing a very large proportion of sulphur and carbonic acid. The Great Western railway, which passes through the parish, here enters a tunnel, 1¾ mile in length, 30 feet wide, 25 feet high above the rails, and having 11 shafts for affording air and light, each 25 feet in diameter, and some of them nearly 300 feet in depth from the surface of the ground. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15. 8. 9.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. H. D. C. S. Horlock; impropriator, W. Northey, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £490. 6. 4., and the vicarial for £408. 3. 8.; there is an acre of glebe. A charity school has an income of nearly £30 a year, arising from lands. On Cheney-Court farm, north of the spa, and about five miles from Bath, a variety of coins was dug up in 1813, indicating that a large Roman villa once existed on the spot; and several Roman pavements are in the premises near the church.

Boxden, with Handforth.—See Handforth.

BOXDEN, with Handforth.—See Handforth.

Boxford (St. Andrew)

BOXFORD (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Newbury, hundred of Faircross, county of Berks, 4½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Newbury; containing, with the tything of Westbrook, 612 inhabitants; and comprising 2769a. 2r. 23p., according to a survey in 1839. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20; patron and incumbent, the Rev. G. Wells, whose tithes have been commuted for £880, and who has a glebe of 10½ acres. In the church is a monument to James Anderton. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Boxford (St. Mary)

BOXFORD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union, and partly in the hundred, of Cosford, but chiefly in that of Babergh, W. division of Suffolk, 16 miles (W. by S.) from Ipswich; containing, with the hamlet of Hadleigh, 1121 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises about 1840 acres, was formerly a place of considerable trade. Fairs are held on Easter-Monday and the 21st of December. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £650, and the glebe consists of 38½ acres. A free grammar school was established by Queen Elizabeth, in the 38th of her reign; but only a few poor boys are now taught in it.

Boxgrove (St. Mary and St. Blase)

BOXGROVE (St. Mary and St. Blase), a parish, in the union of West Hampnett, hundred of Box and Stockbridge, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 3½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Chichester; containing, with the hamlets of Crocker-Hill, East Hampnett, and part of Seabeach, and the tythings of Halnaker and Strellington, 736 inhabitants. It comprises about 2974 acres of land, the soil of which consists of chalk, gravel, and loam. The splendid mansion of Goodwood is beautifully situated on the south side of the Downs here, surrounded by a park of 1200 acres, planted with timber of stately growth; the interior contains numerous lofty and spacious apartments, superbly fitted up, and embellished with paintings and statuary by the first artists. The celebrated Goodwood races are held on the Harroway, and a stand has been erected which will accommodate 3000 persons. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the great tithes, excepting those of Halnaker Park; it is valued in the king's books at £9. 5. 5., and the Duke of Richmond is patron and impropriator: the tithes have been commuted for £900, and there are 7 acres of glebe. The church was the conventual church of an alien priory founded by Robert de Haia, in the reign of Henry I., and made subordinate to the abbey de l'Essay in Normandy. It is a handsome cruciform structure in the Norman style, with a central tower; the nave has been nearly destroyed, but the remainder of the interior is a beautiful specimen of the later Norman, and has an imposing grandeur of effect. There are numerous monuments, several of which are altar-tombs of Sussex marble, under arched recesses, pierced in quatrefoil, and surmounted with crocketed canopies. The priory was originally for three brethren of the Benedictine order; others were added by Roger St. John, son-in-law of the founder, and the number in 1149 was augmented to fifteen by his sons William and Thomas. On the dissolution of alien priories the establishment was made denizen; and the gross revenue, in the 26th of Henry VIII., was £145. 10. 2.

Boxley (All Saints)

BOXLEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Hollingbourne, hundred of Maidstone, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 2¼ miles (N. E. by N.) from Maidstone; containing 1398 inhabitants. An abbey for Cistercian monks was founded here in 1146, by William d'Ipres, Earl of Kent, who subsequently assumed the cowl at Laon, in France. Henry III. granted to the society the privilege of holding a weekly market, and the abbot was summoned to parliament in the reign of Edward I.: Edward II. resided at the abbey during the siege of Leeds Castle, at which time he signed a charter for the citizens of London. At the Dissolution the revenue was estimated at £218. 19. 10.; and the site, with a portion of the estates, was granted to Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet. The abbey contained a celebrated rood, which, together with the image of St. Rumbald, was taken away, and publicly destroyed at St. Paul's Cross, in 1538: there are still some remains of the buildings. The parish comprises 5745 acres, of which 1100 are in wood. It is noted for the manufacture of paper of a superior quality. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12. 19. 2.; net income, £834; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is a neat small edifice, with a handsome square tower. An extensive rabbit-warren, part of the possessions of the abbey, lies beneath the chalk hill here; and there was another near Penenden Heath (about half of which is in this parish), but it has been brought into cultivation. A small stream that rises just below the church, and runs through the village, is said to petrify wood with an incrustation resembling brown unpolished marble.

Boxmoor.—See Hemel-Hempstead.

BOXMOOR.—See Hemel-Hempstead.

Boxted (St. Mary)

BOXTED (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Lexden and Winstree, Colchester division of the hundred of Lexden, N. division of Essex, 5 miles (N.) from Colchester; containing 856 inhabitants. It comprises 3082 acres, of which 2432 are arable, 576 meadow, and 74 woodland; and is bordered on the north by the navigable river Stour. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 13. 9.; patron, the Bishop of London; impropriator, J. Josselyn, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £520, and the vicarial for £220: the glebe belonging to the impropriator comprises more than 61 acres; the vicar's, not quite four. The church is an ancient edifice with a tower, and has been repewed within the last few years; it contains an elegant monument to Sir Richard Blackmore, physician to William III., and author of several medical and other works.

Boxted

BOXTED, a parish, in the union of Sudbury, hundred of Babergh, W. division of Suffolk, 5¾ miles (N. E.) from Clare; containing 200 inhabitants. This place has long been the residence of the Poley family; the mansion is a spacious and ancient edifice. The living is a rectory not in charge, consolidated with that of Hartest: the tithes have been commuted for £375. 10. The church is a small edifice, adjoining the chancel of which is a family vault of the Poleys, containing some monuments of very delicate sculpture in marble.

Boxwell (St. Andrew)

BOXWELL (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Tetbury, Upper division of the hundred of Grumbald's Ash, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 5 miles (E. by S.) from Wotton-under-Edge, and 6 (W.) from Tetbury; containing 334 inhabitants. This place derives its name from a plantation of box-trees, one of the most considerable in the kingdom, and from a copious spring of water that issues from it. A nunnery was established at a very early period, which is said to have been destroyed by the Danes, and of which the possessions were subsequently annexed to the abbey of Gloucester. Charles II. rested at the ancient manorhouse on his route from Boscobel to Bristol; and Prince Rupert, when governor of that city, made it a place of frequent resort. The parish comprises 2243 acres, of which 30 are box-wood, 100 woodland, about 300 pasture, and the remainder arable; it is situated on the road from Cheltenham to Bath. The soil is fertile, and there are some good quarries of oolite freestone. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £23. 4. 9½.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. R. W. Huntley: the tithes have been commuted for £375, and there are 68 acres of glebe. The church is a very ancient structure, with a tower. At Leighterton is a chapel of ease. In a field at the same place is a large barrow.