Compton-Dundon (St. Andrew)
COMPTON-DUNDON (St. Andrew), a parish, in
the union of Langport, hundred of Whitley, W. division of Somerset, 2½ miles (N.) from Somerton; containing, with the tythings of Compton and Dundon, and
the hamlet of Littleton, 679 inhabitants, of whom 355
are in Compton tything. It comprises 2568 acres, of
which 1146 are arable, 1289 pasture, and 133 woodland.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £9. 6. 10.; net income, £201; patron, the
Bishop of Bath and Wells. The church stands in the
village of Dundon. The ruins of a mansion that formerly belonged to the family of Beauchamp adjoin the
churchyard. An adjacent hill is called Dundon Beacon,
from a beacon having anciently stood on it.
Compton-Durville
COMPTON-DURVILLE, a tything, in the parish
and hundred of South Petherton, union of Yeovil,
W. division of Somerset, 1½ mile (W. N. W.) from
South Petherton; containing 136 inhabitants.
Compton, Fenny (St. Peter)
COMPTON, FENNY (St. Peter), a parish, in the
union of Southam, Burton-Dassett division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, 8 miles (N. by W.) from Banbury; containing
615 inhabitants. By measurement made in 1836, this
parish comprises 2077 acres, which are chiefly pasture:
the Oxford canal passes through it, and there is a wharf
for coal. Within the limits of the parish are some
quarries of good building-stone. The village lies at the
northern base of the Dassett hills, part of which range
is included in the parish: to the east of the village were
formerly two windmills; one was burnt down about
eighteen years since, the other still remains. The living
is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 8. 4.,
and in the patronage of the President and Fellows of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford, who purchased the advowson in 1733. The tithes were commuted for land
in 1778; the glebe comprises altogether 412 acres, and
there is a glebe-house, built in 1842. The church is a
very ancient structure, and is mentioned by Dugdale as
having been given in the time of Henry I. to the canons
of Kenilworth: in the chancel were formerly three inscriptions in brass to the memory of the family of
Willis; one only of these now exists. The Wesleyans
have a place of worship; and a national school is supported by subscription. On the summit of Gredenton
Hill, in the parish, are vestiges of a British camp in the
form of a horse-shoe, 228 yards in length, and defended
with six lines of ramparts, between which were fosses
round the steep declivity of the hill. Sir Henry Bate
Dudley, a comic writer of some note, was born here
in 1745.
Compton-Gifford
COMPTON-GIFFORD, a tything, in the parish of
Charles the Martyr, Plymouth, union of Plympton
St. Mary, hundred of Roborough, Roborough and S.
divisions of Devon, 1½ mile (N. N. E.) from Plymouth;
containing 271 inhabitants. Here is a chapel connected
with the Establishment. The vicarial tithes have been
commuted for £225, of which £160 are payable to the
vicar of St. Charles the Martyr's, and £65 to the vicar
of St. Andrew's.
Compton-Greenfield
COMPTON-GREENFIELD, a parish, in the union
of Clifton, Upper division of the hundred of Henbury, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 6¼
miles (N. by W.) from Bristol; containing 65 inhabitants. It comprises 650a. 2r. 37p., of which 39½ acres
are arable, and 610 pasture: the navigable river Severn
flows on the western side. The living is a discharged
rectory, valued in the king's books at £7, and in the
gift of Caius Lippencot, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £140, and the glebe contains 50 acres, with a
glebe-house.
Compton, Little (St. Denis)
COMPTON, LITTLE (St. Denis), a parish, in the
union of Chipping-Norton, hundred of Kington, S.
division of Warwickshire, 4½ miles (N. W. by W.) from
Chipping-Norton; containing 301 inhabitants. The
parish adjoins that of Long Compton, and within its
limits is a spot of land which marks the junction of the
shires of Gloucester, Oxford, and Warwick. It comprises by computation 1600 acres; the soil is chiefly
clay, and rocky. The living is a perpetual curacy; net
income, £66; patrons, the Dean and Canons of ChristChurch, Oxford. The tithes were commuted for land
and a money payment, under an inclosure act, in 1794.
Here is a mansion which was the residence of Bishop
Juxon, chaplain to Charles I.
Compton, Long (St. Peter and St. Paul)
COMPTON, LONG (St. Peter and St. Paul), a
parish, in the union of Chipping-Norton, Brailes division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the
county of Warwick, 4¼ miles (N. N. W.) from Chipping-Norton; containing, with the hamlet of Weston,
829 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road
from London to Birmingham through Oxford, and comprises 3750a. 2r. 11p. It had a weekly market and an
annual fair, granted by Henry III. in the 15th of his
reign, both of which are now disused: the village is a
polling-place for the southern division of the county.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £12. 15. 7½.; net income, £191; patrons and
impropriators, the Provost and Fellows of Eton College.
The tithes were commuted for land in 1811; the glebe
contains 125 acres, with a glebe-house. There are places
of worship for Wesleyans and Independents. About a
mile southward is that remarkable monument of antiquity called Rollerich, or Rowlright, stones.
Compton-Martin (St. Michael)
COMPTON-MARTIN (St. Michael), a parish, in
the union of Clutton, hundred of Chewton, E. division of Somerset, 8 miles (N.) from Wells; containing
601 inhabitants. This parish, anciently Coomb-Martin,
is situated on the north side of the Mendip hills, and
comprises by computation 2200 acres. The scenery is
remarkable for its richness, variety, and beauty; and at
Highfield, near the entrance of the village, is a view
commanding a romantic vale, extending to the Bristol
Channel, with the mountains of Monmouthshire and
Glamorganshire in the distance. The river Yeo has its
source here, issuing from a pond in the centre of the
village; and the road from Bristol to Wells passes
through the parish. The living is a rectory, with that
of Nempnett-Thrubwell annexed, valued in the king's
books at £10. 6. 8.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. W.
H. Cartwright: the tithes have been commuted for
rent-charges of £265 each for Compton and Nempnett,
and the glebe comprises 27 acres. The church is an
ancient structure; the chancel is Norman, and the nave,
aisles, and a private chapel, are of the later English
style.
Compton, Nether (St. Nicholas)
COMPTON, NETHER (St. Nicholas), a parish, in
the union and hundred of Sherborne, Sherborne division of Dorset, 2¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Sherborne;
containing 456 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
rectory, with that of Over Compton annexed, valued in
the king's books at £7. 18., and in the gift of John
Goodden, Esq.: the tithes of the parish produce
£243. 16. 3., and the glebe comprises 22 acres.
Compton, Over (St. Michael)
COMPTON, OVER (St. Michael), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Sherborne, Sherborne division
of Dorset, 3½ miles (W. by N.) from Sherborne; containing 151 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, annexed
to that of Nether Compton, and valued in the king's
books at £11. 9. 4½.: the tithes have been commuted
for £87. 3., and the glebe comprises 52¼ acres.
Compton-Pauncefoot (St. Mary)
COMPTON-PAUNCEFOOT (St. Mary), a parish,
in the union of Wincanton, hundred of Catsash, E.
division of Somerset, 5 miles (W. S. W.) from Wincanton; containing 256 inhabitants. This parish, which
is situated on the road to Exeter, comprises 670a. 1r.
32p.: stone of good quality is quarried for building and
other purposes. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £8. 10. 10., and in the gift of the Heirs
of John H. Hunt, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted
for £175, and the glebe comprises about 35 acres of
land. The church is a neat small edifice, with a tower
surmounted by a neat spire.
Compton-Vallence (St. Thomas à Becket)
COMPTON-VALLENCE (St. Thomas à Becket),
a parish, in the union of Dorchester, liberty of Frampton, Dorchester division of Dorset, 7¼ miles (W. N. W.)
from Dorchester; containing 116 inhabitants. The
parish comprises by computation 1500 acres: the village, which is situated on the banks of a small stream,
appears to have been formerly more extensive than it is
at present. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £12. 5. 2½., and in the gift of Robert Williams,
Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £237, and
the glebe comprises 100 acres. The church, rebuilt in
1839, at the cost of the patron, is a handsome edifice
in the later English style, with a square embattled
tower; the windows are embellished with stained glass.
The rectory-house has been rebuilt in a corresponding
style.
Compton-Verney
COMPTON-VERNEY, an extra-parochial liberty,
in the union of Stratford-on-Avon, Kington division
of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of
Warwick, 2 miles (N. W.) from Kington; containing
34 inhabitants, and comprising 1658 acres. It lies near
the road from Kington to Stratford.
Compton-Wyniates
COMPTON-WYNIATES, a parish, in the union of
Shipston-Upon-Stour, Brailes division of the hundred
of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick,
5¼ miles (E. by N.) from Shipston; containing 46 inhabitants, and comprising 988 acres. The parish is situated on the border of Oxfordshire, which bounds it on
the east. The living is a rectory, united to the vicarage
of Tysoe, and valued in the king's books at £10. Of
the manor-house, built by Sir William Compton in
the reign of Henry VIII., and visited by that monarch,
there are still some curious remains. Spencer Compton,
the second earl of Northampton, and one of the most
zealous adherents to Charles I., resided in this house,
which was garrisoned by some parliamentary troops in
1646, in which year the church was destroyed.
Conderton
CONDERTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Overbury, union of Tewkesbury, Middle division of the
hundred of Oswaldslow, Pershore and E. divisions of
the county of Worcester; containing 131 inhabitants,
and comprising 878a. 30p. It is a short distance southeast of the village of Overbury, and is nearly surrounded
by a portion of the county of Gloucester.
Condicote (St. Nicholas)
CONDICOTE (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union
of Stow-on-the-Wold, partly in the Upper division of
the hundred of Kiftsgate, and partly in the Upper
division of the hundred of Slaughter, E. division of
the county of Gloucester, 3½ miles (N. W. by W.) from
Stow; containing 165 inhabitants. It comprises by
computation 1237 acres: there are quarries of flagstone
of good quality. The living is a discharged rectory,
valued in the king's books at £7. 1. 0½.; net income,
£158; patrons, the Rev. W. Bishop, and others: the
tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in
1777. The church is a very ancient structure.
Condover (St. Andrew)
CONDOVER (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union
of Atcham, hundred of Condover, S. division of
Salop, 4½ miles (S.) from Shrewsbury; containing 1550
inhabitants. The parish comprises by measurement 7545
acres, about two-thirds of which are arable, and 790
acres are tithe-free; the soil is in some parts light and
gravelly, in others a stiff clay, and in others good meadow-land. The surface is undulated, and rather hilly;
the lands are watered by a copious stream called Condover brook, and there is a small lake named Bosmere,
in and near which have been found several botanical
plants not known elsewhere in England. Coal exists
near the boundary of the parish, and a mine has been
opened. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £4. 14.; patron and impropriator,
E. W. Smythe Owen, Esq., of Condover Hall. The great
tithes have been commuted for £1092, and the vicarial
for £210; the glebe contains nearly 7 acres.
Coneysthorpe
CONEYSTHORPE, a township, in the parish of
Barton-in-the-Street, union of Malton, wapentake
of Bulmer, N. riding of York, 4 miles (N. by W.) from
Whitwell; containing 170 inhabitants. The township
comprises about 1150 acres, the soil of which is chiefly
light, and on a substratum of limestone; the surface is
generally undulated, and the scenery in many situations
very beautiful. A church built here in 1837, by the Earl
of Carlisle, is a neat edifice with a campanile tower.
Coneythorpe
CONEYTHORPE, a township, in the parish of
Goldsborough, Upper division of the wapentake of
Claro, W. riding of York, 4¼ miles (E. N. E.) from
Knaresborough; containing 118 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 800 acres of land, mostly the
property of Lord Stourton. At this place is a large
tumulus called Claro Hill, which either gives its name
to, or receives it from, the wapentake of Claro, and on
which, it is said, the councils of the wapentake were of
old wont to be held.
Coney-Weston.—See Weston, Coney.
CONEY-WESTON.—See Weston, Coney.
Congerston (St. Mary)
CONGERSTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Market-Bosworth, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S.
division of the county of Leicester, 3¾ miles (N. W.
by W.) from Market-Bosworth; containing 267 inhabitants. The parish comprises 587a. 2r. 17p., and is
rather more than half of the lordship of Congerston.
The surface is varied, and the soil, which is generally
good, is well adapted in some parts for corn; a considerable portion of land is meadow and pasture. The
Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal flows through the parish. The
living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£5. 3. 6½., and in the gift of Earl Howe, with a net income of £218: the tithes were commuted for land and
a money payment in 1822. Charles Jennings, in 1773,
left £333 for teaching children; the school is in union
with the National Society, and is assisted by Earl and
Countess Howe.
Congham (St. Andrew)
CONGHAM (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Freebridge-Lynn, W. division of
Norfolk, 7 miles (E. N. E.) from Lynn; containing 326
inhabitants. It comprises 2850a. 2r. 22p., of which
about 1887 acres are arable, 487 pasture, and 358 wood
and plantations, the last chiefly in the vicinity of Congham Lodge; there is a sheep-walk of 97 acres: the common was inclosed in 1812. The living is a rectory, with
that of Congham St. Mary consolidated in 1684, valued
together in the king's books at £12. 10.; patron and
incumbent, the Rev. J. Wright. The tithes have been
commuted for £565, out of which £25 are payable to
the rector of Roydon; the glebe comprises 35 acres,
with a glebe-house. The living was endowed in 1718,
by Ellen Spelman, with lands then worth £53. 18. per
annum. The church of St. Mary has been demolished;
that of St. Andrew is chiefly in the early style, and has
a chapel on the north side. The learned antiquary and
historian, Sir Henry Spelman, was born at this place, in
1561, and served as high sheriff of the county in the
year 1604; he died in London in 1641, and was buried
in the south transept of Westminster Abbey.
Congleton
CONGLETON, an incorporated market-town,
a chapelry, and the head of
a union, in the parish of
Astbury, having separate
jurisdiction, locally in the
hundred of Northwich,
S. division of the county of
Chester, 31 miles (E. by
S.) from Chester, and 161
(N. W. by W.) from London; containing 9222 inhabitants. Some writers
have considered this the site of Condate, an aboriginal
settlement of the Cornavii; but Whitaker, in his History
of Manchester, has convincingly refuted this opinion,
and fixed that station at Kinderton. The place is noticed
in the Domesday survey, under the designation of Cogletone; but its origin has not been satisfactorily ascertained. In the beginning of the fourteenth century, a
free charter was bestowed upon it by Henry de Lacy,
Earl of Lincoln, who in 1282 had procured the grant of
a weekly market. In the reign of Henry VI., an inundation having done considerable damage to the town,
the inhabitants obtained permission to divert the course
of the river; and subsequently they had a grant of the
king's mills, which stood on its banks. The town is
situated in a valley embosomed in richly-wooded hills,
on the south bank of the river Daven or Dane, over
which a bridge was built in 1782, and, notwithstanding
some recent improvements, consists of narrow and irregularly formed streets. The houses in the eastern part
are old, and chiefly of timber and brick-work; those in
the western part are in general modern and of handsome
appearance. The inhabitants are supplied with water
from springs, and from the rivulet Howtey or Howey,
which intersects the town; in 1833, an act was obtained
for lighting the streets with gas. The environs abound
with scenery beautifully diversified by the windings of
the river, on the banks of which are numerous elegant
mansions and villas.
Corporation Seal.
The manufacture of gloves, and of leather laces called
Congleton Points, for which the town was celebrated,
has given place to the throwing of silk, the spinning of
waste silk and of cotton, and the manufacture of ribbons,
handkerchiefs, and other silk goods. Forty mills for
silk have been erected since 1753, when that branch of
manufacture was introduced by Mr. Pattison, of London,
who built the first mill here, an edifice now comprising
five stories, 480 feet in length, and of proportionate
width, and which is considered in point of extent the
second in the kingdom. In this mill, ribbons and handkerchiefs are made to a great extent by the power-loom,
a thousand hands being employed; it is the property of
Samuel Pearson and Son, and is the second mill built in
England, one having been built previously at Derby. A
canal from Marple to join the Grand Trunk canal at
Lawton, has been constructed, which, passing within a
quarter of a mile of the town, materially facilitates its
trade; and an act was passed in 1846 for a railway from
Macclesfield, by Congleton, to the Potteries. The market is on Saturday; the fairs, chiefly for cattle, are on
the Thursday before Shrovetide, May 12th, July 12th,
and Nov. 22nd. The market-house, in High-street, a
neat and commodious structure containing a handsome
assembly-room, was built in 1822, at the expense of Sir
Edmund Antrobus, Bart.; the market-place has recently
been enlarged by the corporation, and is one of the best
in the county.
The government, by charter of incorporation granted
by James I., in 1625, was vested in a mayor, 8 aldermen, 16 capital burgesses, a high steward, town-clerk,
and subordinate officers. By the act of the 5th and 6th
of William IV., cap. 76, the corporation now consists of
a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors; the borough
is divided into three wards, being co-extensive with the
township of Congleton; and the number of magistrates
is nine. The corporation formerly held quarterly courts
of sessions for trying prisoners charged with misdemeanors and felonies not capital; and courts of record
are still held for the recovery of debts to any amount,
by the high steward, an officer appointed by the corporation. A court leet, also, is held in August, at which
the high steward, or his deputy, presides. The county
debt-court of Congleton, established in 1847, has jurisdiction over the registration-district of Congleton. The
guildhall, a neat brick building, was built in 1805.
The township comprises 2380 acres, the soil of which
is loam and sand. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £147; patrons and impropriators, the
Mayor and Corporation. The chapel, dedicated to St.
Peter, was rebuilt of brick, in 1740; a square tower of
stone was added to it in 1786, and it was enlarged by
the addition of two galleries in 1840, when the churchyard was also extended: the chapel stands on elevated
ground, and commands a fine prospect. There was formerly another chapel at the end of the bridge, on the
opposite side of the river Dane, which, having long since
become desecrated, was appropriated to the reception of
the poor; it was pulled down in 1810. At Congleton
Moss, a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity was erected
in 1845, at a cost of £1500, raised by public grants and
by subscription, on a site given by the Rev. James
Brierley, M.A.: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the
patronage of the Rector of Astbury; income, £100.
Two districts or ecclesiastical parishes have been formed
under Sir Robert Peel's act: in the one, St. Stephen's
district, a chapel has been purchased from the dissenters,
and licensed by the bishop; in the other, St. James', a
church has been erected on a site given by Edward
Lowndes Mallabar, Esq. The first stone of the church
was laid on the 29th of May, 1847: the building is in
the style which prevailed in the latter part of the 13th
century, and cost about £3500, exclusively of the tower,
which it is proposed to add hereafter at an expense of
£2000. St. James' district was the first formed in the
kingdom under the act. The livings of both the districts
are perpetual curacies, in the gift of the Crown and the
Bishop of Chester, alternately. The tithes of the township have been commuted for £252. There are places
of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists,
Wesleyans, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics. The
grammar school is of uncertain foundation, but it existed
prior to 1590, and was endowed with a house and garden and an acre and a half of land; a new schoolroom
was erected in 1834. Five schools in connexion with
the Church have been established within the last seven
years: attached to the church of the Holy Trinity are
excellent schools; and in St. James' district is also a
large school. The poor law union of Congleton comprises 32 parishes or places, of which 31 are in the
county of Chester, and one in that of Stafford; and contains a population, according to the census of 1841, of
29,040. John Bradshaw, chief justice of Chester, and
president of the tribunal that passed sentence of death
on Charles I., was articled to an attorney in this town, of
which he became mayor in 1637, and was subsequently
appointed high steward. John Whitehurst, a celebrated
mechanic, and author of a treatise on the Theory of the
Earth, was born here in 1713. The place conferred the
title of Baron on Sir Henry Parnell, who was created
Baron Congleton in 1841, and whose son is the present
peer.
Congresbury (St. Andrew)
CONGRESBURY (St. Andrew), a parish, in the
union of Axbridge, hundred of Winterstoke, E. division of Somerset, 12 miles (S. W. by W.) from Bristol;
containing 1380 inhabitants. This place is supposed to
have derived its name from St. Congar, son of an eastern
monarch, who in 711 fled from his father's court, to
avoid a marriage to which he was disinclined, and ultimately settled here, where he built an oratory, and, receiving a grant of land from Ina, King of the West
Saxons, founded an establishment for twelve canons:
he afterwards proceeded on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
where he died, and his remains were brought for interment in the monastery that he had founded. The parish
is situated on the road from Bristol to Weston-SuperMare, and bounded on the west by extensive marshes,
connected with the river Yeo, and stretching to the
Bristol Channel; it comprises an area of 4400 acres by
measurement. Iron-ore of an excellent kind abounds
in the higher parts adjoining Wrington Hill, and is extensively wrought by the trustees of Queen Elizabeth's
Hospital at Bristol, to whom the land belongs. Limestone of good quality is also abundant. The village is a
polling-place for the eastern division of the county; in
the centre of it is an ancient lofty cross. A grant was
obtained from Henry III., by Jocelyn, Bishop of Bath,
for a market and a fair, of which the former has been
long discontinued, but the latter is still held on the 14th
of September. The living is a vicarage, with that of
Wick St. Lawrence annexed, valued in the king's books
at £42. 1. 8., and in the patronage of R. Hunt, Esq.;
appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Wells. The
vicarial tithes of Congresbury have been commuted for
£530, and those of Wick for £250; the rectorial tithes
have been commuted for £190: the rectorial glebe
comprises 10 acres, and the vicarial 10. The church is
a handsome structure, with a tower and lofty spire, and
contains details of various styles.