Earnshill

EARNSHILL, a parish, in the union of Langport, hundred of Abdick and Bulstone, W. division of Somerset, 5 miles (S. W. by S.) from Langport; containing 12 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 375 acres; the Parret navigation passes within the distance of a mile. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £2. 1. 0½., and in the gift of R. T. Combe, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £36. The church is in ruins.

Earsdon (St. Alban)

EARSDON (St. Alban), a parish, in the union of Tynemouth, E. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland; containing 9429 inhabitants, of whom 683 are in the township of Earsdon, 8 miles (N. E.) from Newcastle-on-Tyne. This parish, which is situated in a district abounding with excellent coal and freestone, consists of the townships of Backworth, South Blyth with Newsham, Burradon, Earsdon, Hartley, Holywell, Seaton-Delaval, and Sighill; and comprises about 9540 acres of good arable and pasture land. The village, seated upon a rocky eminence affording fine sea views, is pleasant and well built. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Proprietors of land; net income, £119; impropriators, the Duke of Northumberland and others. The tithes of the township of Earsdon have been commuted for £183. The church, rebuilt in 1836 at a cost of £2000, is a neat structure in the English style, with a tower surmounted by pinnacles, and contains 600 sittings, of which 200 are free; the site and a handsome donation were given by the late Duke of Northumberland. There are chapels at South Blyth and Seaton-Delaval, and a church district formed by the Ecclesiastical Commission at Sighill.

Earsdon

EARSDON, a township, in the parochial chapelry of Hebburn, union of Morpeth, W. division of Morpeth ward, N. division of Northumberland, 5½ miles (N.) from Morpeth; containing 86 inhabitants. This place has been the property of the families of Bertram, Erdiston, Thornton, and Ogle, of the first of whom was Sir John Bertram, Knt., who died in 1449, possessed of 16 messuages, 14 cottages, 8 acres of meadow, 494 of arable land, 400 of wood, and 300 of moor, in "Eresdon." The Duke of Portland is now the principal owner. The township comprises 913 acres, of which 760 are under the plough, 143 are grass-land, and 10 wood; it is about a mile east of the great north road, and in a very exposed situation, on the brow of a dry hill: on the west side of the road are Earsdon moor and windmill. The tithes have been commuted for £152. 9.

Earsdon-Forest

EARSDON-FOREST, a township, in the parochial chapelry of Hebburn, union of Morpeth, W. division of Morpeth ward, N. division of Northumberland, 6 miles (N. by W.) from Morpeth; containing 31 inhabitants. This place was a possession of Cuthbert, Lord Ogle, in the 16th century, and is now chiefly the property of the Duke of Portland. It lies north of Earsdon, on the boundary of the Eshot and Chelvington lands, and consists of three farms, comprising 1727 acres.

Earsham (All Saints)

EARSHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Depwade, hundred of Earsham, E. division of Norfolk, 1 mile (S. W. by W.) from Bungay; containing 731 inhabitants. It is bounded on the south by the river Waveney, which separates it from the county of Suffolk; and comprises by computation 3150 acres, whereof about 55 are woodland, and the remainder arable and pasture, in nearly equal portions. The surface is varied, and the surrounding scenery in several parts pleasing. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15, and in the gift of Sir W. W. Dalling, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £486, and the glebe comprises 46a. 3r. 4p. The church, situated within the lines of an ancient intrenchment, is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower surmounted by a spire, and contains some handsome monuments to the Wyndham family, by one of whom the windows were embellished with stained glass; the font, of Caen stone, is elaborately sculptured. Colonel Wyndham, in 1789, bequeathed a rent-charge of £20 to be distributed among the poor: the old poor's land, consisting of 19 acres, with a house, producing £35 per annum, is applied to the diminution of the poor rates.

Earswick

EARSWICK, a township, in the union of York, partly in the parish of Strensall, but chiefly in that of Huntington, wapentake of Bulmer, N. riding of York, 3¾ miles (N. N. E.) from York; containing 95 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1020 acres, and is situated on the river Foss, at some distance east of the road from York to Sutton. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1770.

Eartham

EARTHAM, a parish, in the union of West Hampnett, hundred of Box and Stockbridge, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 5¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Chichester; containing, with part of the hamlet of Seabeach, 117 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1484 acres, of which 310 are waste; the surface is very uneven, rising in several parts into hills of considerable elevation, and the soil is chiefly a shallow mould resting on chalk. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, valued in the king's books at £7. 5. 2½., and in the gift of the Prebendary of Eartham in the Cathedral of Chichester: the tithes have been commuted for £185, and the glebe comprises 19a. 33p. The church is in the early English style, and contains inscriptions in memory of Thomas, son of Hayley, the poet, and of the Right Hon. W. Huskisson. Hayley passed many years of his life at Eartham House, where he was frequently visited by Cowper.

Easby

EASBY, a township, in the parish and union of Brampton, Eskdale ward, E. division of Cumberland, 1½ mile (N. N. E.) from Brampton; containing 84 inhabitants. At Coathill, in the neighbourhood, is a chalybeate spring.

Easby (St. Agatha)

EASBY (St. Agatha), a parish, in the union of Richmond, partly in the wapentake of Gilling-West, and partly in that of Gilling-East, N. riding of York; Swale, Easby, and Skeeby; and containing 771 inhabitants, of whom 105 are in the township of Easby, 1 mile (E. S. E.) from Richmond. This place was the site of an abbey for Præmonstratensian canons, founded by Roaldus, constable of Richmond Castle, about 1152, and valued at the Dissolution at £111 per annum. Its ruins, which are extensive, and rich in architectural decoration, stand near the river Swale, surrounded by delightful scenery; many of the arches and columns of the finely pointed windows and doors are in good preservation. The parish comprises 5090 acres, tithe-free; the village is pleasantly situated on the Swale. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £2. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £92. The church, which is a plain but venerable structure, at a considerable distance from the village, existed prior to 1152. A chapel was erected at Brompton in 1841, on a site given from the glebe-land; it was endowed by the Ripon Diocesan Building Society. There is also a chapel at Skeeby.

Easby-in-Cleveland

EASBY-in-Cleveland, a township, in the parish and union of Stokesley, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 3 miles (E. by N.) from Stokesley; containing 144 inhabitants. At the time of the Domesday survey this place was a demesne of the crown; it was shortly afterwards granted to the Balliols, and from them came to the Eures, who continued lords for several generations, and from whom the estate passed to the family of Kay, &c. The township is situated in the eastern part of the parish, upon a branch of the river Leven, and on the road from Whitby, through Kildale, to Stokesley; and comprises 1241 acres, of which 200 are waste: the vale in which it stands is pleasingly wooded. The tithes have been commuted for £177. At the south end of the village was once a chapel, of which mention occurs in 1349.

Easebourne (St. Margaret)

EASEBOURNE (St. Margaret), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Midhurst, hundred of Easebourne, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 1 mile (N. E.) from Midhurst; containing 1074 inhabitants. The village is situated near the Rother or Arundel navigation, and on the road from London to Chichester, viâ Midhurst. The living is a lay vicarage and perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £6. 6. 8.; the patronage and impropriation belong to the Earl of Egmont: net income of the minister, £118. The church is in the early and later English styles, and consists of a nave, chancel, and south aisle, with a tower surmounted by a spire; in the chancel is an altar-tomb, on which is a recumbent figure of a man in armour. There is a small Roman Catholic chapel. The workhouse for the union is situated in the parish. In the latter part of the reign of Henry III., John Bohun, of Midhurst, founded here a small Benedictine nunnery, the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £29 per annum: the remains were in 1839 converted into a good house and out-offices; and on part of the site is a beautiful sepulchral chapel in the early Norman style, in which are monuments to several members of the families of Montague and Poyntz. Queen Elizabeth, who was entertained at Cowdray, in the vicinity, in 1590, dined at the nunnery.

Easenhall

EASENHALL, a hamlet, in the parish of MonksKirby, Kirby division of the hundred of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick, 4 miles (N. W.) from Rugby; containing 214 inhabitants, and comprising 1025 acres. The Oxford canal intersects the hamlet, and the rateable annual value of that species of property in it is returned at £600.

Eashing

EASHING, a tything, in the parish, and First division of the hundred, of Godalming, union of Guildford, W. division of Surrey, 1½ mile (W.) from Godalming. This is probably the Esc-ing mentioned in King Alfred's will, which he gave, with other estates, to his nephew Æthelm. Eashing House is situated on a commanding brow overlooking the beautiful valley of Eashing, and the grounds are of considerable extent. Here, also, is the sweetly-situated residence of Busbridge. The river Wey runs through the tything.

Easington

EASINGTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Chilton, union of Thame, hundred of Ashendon, county of Buckingham, 3½ miles (N. N. W.) from the town of Thame; containing 79 inhabitants.

Easington (St. Mary)

EASINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, and the head of a union, in the S. division of Easington ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 9½ miles (E.) from Durham; comprising the townships of Easington, Haswell, Hawthorn, and Shotton; and containing above 7000 inhabitants, of whom 812 are in Easington township. This parish, which is bounded on the east by the North Sea, and intersected by the road from Stockton to Sunderland, is diversified by several beautiful and richly wooded denes abounding with romantic scenery, which, after winding for some miles, suddenly open upon the beach. Coal of excellent quality is found in abundance, and is very extensively wrought in the collieries of South Hetton, Haswell, and Shotton-Grange, giving constant employment to a great majority of the population; magnesian limestone is also plentiful, and is quarried for building and for agricultural purposes. Facility of conveyance is afforded by the Hartlepool and Sunderland railroad, which passes through the villages of Haswell and South Hetton, and joins the Durham and Sunderland railway at Murton. The village, which is situated on a declivity, is of considerable extent, and the head of the ward, deanery, and parish to which it gives name. The living is a rectory not in charge; patron, the Bishop of Durham: the tithes have been commuted for £915, and the glebe consists of 560 acres. The church, erected about the year 1222, is a handsome structure in the early and decorated English styles, with a lofty embattled tower of the Norman style, forming a conspicuous landmark for mariners: the windows of the nave are of elegant design, enriched with flowing tracery, and surmounted with square-headed dripstones; those of the chancel are decorated, and contain very beautiful flamboyant tracery. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Some schools for boys and girls, in connexion with the National Society, are endowed with the interest of £1000 bequeathed by the late Dr. Prosser, archdeacon of Durham and rector of Easington. The union comprises 19 parishes or townships, containing a population of 19,500 persons.

Easington

EASINGTON, a township, in the parish and union of Belford, N. division of Bambrough ward and of Northumberland, 1¼ mile (N. E. by E.) from Belford; containing 180 inhabitants. It is situated on the coast of the North Sea. Schools are supported.

Easington (St. Peter)

EASINGTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Thame, hundred of Ewelme, county of Oxford, 4 miles (S. W. by S.) from Tetsworth; containing 24 inhabitants. It comprises 200 acres; the soil is a kind of chalky loam, and the surface is elevated. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 12. 6., and in the gift of the Bishop of Lincoln: the tithes have been commuted for £73. 14., and the glebe contains nearly 6 acres.

Easington (All Saints)

EASINGTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Patrington, S. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 6½ miles (E. S. E.) from Patrington; containing, with the township of OutNewton, 546 inhabitants, of whom 492 are in the township of Easington. The parish comprises 2106 acres, which, with the exception of a few pastures about the village, are arable; the soil is of a good, strong, productive quality: the surface is flat and uninteresting, and altogether destitute of wood. The village is situated between the sea and the Humber, a mile distant from both. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the patronage of the Archbishop of York, with a net income of £51; impropriator, C. Taylor, Esq.: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment, under an inclosure act, in 1770. The church is a very ancient structure, in the early English style. There is a place of worship for dissenters.

Easington

EASINGTON, a township, in the parish of Slaidburn, union of Clitheroe, W. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross, W. riding of York, 7½ miles (N. N. W.) from Clitheroe; containing 409 inhabitants. The township includes the hamlets of DaleHead and Stephen Park, and comprises 8019 acres, of which 2000 are waste; it is a hilly moorland district, affording tolerable pasturage for sheep and cattle. Easington belongs to various owners: the farms called Dale House and Higher and Lower Halsteads, with the large commons adjoining, are the property of William Marshall, Esq., of Wray, in the county of Lancaster, and contain some valuable veins of black marble, and excellent limestone. The scenery is extremely romantic and beautiful. The noted spring called "Nataranam Well," is in the centre of the Halstead common, and is a place of much resort. The tithes have been commuted for £130, and the glebe land here consists of two acres. A school was founded at Dale-Head in 1732, and endowed with £350, now vested in the funds.

Easington-Grange

EASINGTON-GRANGE, a township, in the parish and union of Belford, N. division of Bambrough ward and of Northumberland, 1½ mile (N. E.) from Belford; containing 64 inhabitants. It is situated to the south of a stream flowing into Waren bay, which is on the east of the township.

Easington-in-Cleveland (All Saints)

EASINGTON-in-Cleveland (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Guisborough, E. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 10 miles (E. by N.) from Guisborough; containing, with the chapelry of Liverton, 791 inhabitants, of whom 588 are in the township of Easington. This parish, which includes the hamlets of Boulby and Scaling-Dam, is situated on the road from Guisborough to Whitby, and bounded on the north by the German Ocean; it comprises, exclusively of Liverton, 3609 acres, of which 399 are waste. Two-thirds of the land are arable, and onethird is pasture; the soil is various, but generally a strong clay, producing good wheat, and the scenery is strikingly beautiful: along the coast are stupendous cliffs, and finely-wooded dells run down to the sea. In the hamlet of Boulby are extensive alum-works on the verge of a precipitous cliff, where excavations of amazing magnitude have been formed in the prosecution of the works, which were originally established in 1615, and have been since continued with unabated perseverance. The living is a rectory, with the chapelry of Liverton annexed, valued in the king's books at £14. 8. 6., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes of Easington have been commuted for £400, and those of Liverton for £200; the glebe of the former comprises 73 acres, and that of the latter 30. The church, which stands on an eminence, and was rebuilt in 1772, is a neat plain edifice with a tower.

Easingwould (All Saints)

EASINGWOULD (All Saints), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the wapentake of Bulmer, N. riding of York; containing, with the chapelry of Raskelf, 2719 inhabitants, of whom 2171 are in the town, 13 miles (N. N. W.) from York, and 208 (N. N. W.) from London. The town is pleasantly situated on the south-western side of the Howardian hills; it is irregularly built, and from its inland situation, and the want of navigable conveyance, has been precluded from the advantages of trade. Considerable quantities of bacon and butter are, however, sent to York, whence the articles are forwarded to London. The York and Newcastle railway passes through a portion of the parish, and at Raskelf and Alne are stations on its line, the latter about 3 miles distant. The market is on Friday; fairs are held on July 6th and Sept. 26th, for cattle and sheep. The powers of the county debt-court of Easingwould, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Easingwould. The parish comprises by measurement, exclusively of Raskelf, 6528 acres, of which 4437 are arable, 1526 meadow and pasture, 155 woodland, and 410 common recently inclosed. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12. 11. 0½.; net income, £205; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Chester. The church, supposed to have been built in the 15th century, is situated on an eminence above the town, and commands an extensive view of the ancient forest of Galtres, and the vale of Mowbray. At Raskelf is a chapel; and there are places of worship in the parish for Independents, and Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists; also a Roman Catholic chapel. A free school was founded in 1781, by Mrs. Eleanor Westerman, who endowed it with £2500 reduced annuities; and another school has a small endowment. There are several almshouses for poor women, and various sums for distribution to the poor in bread, for apprenticing children, and the encouragement of deserving housekeepers. The union of Easingwould comprises 29 parishes or places, of which 28 are in the county of York, and one in the county of Durham; and contains a population of 11,323. In the neighbourhood of the town are some small chalybeate springs issuing from the high grounds.

East Allington

EAST ALLINGTON.—See Allington, East.—And other places having a similar distinguishing prefix will be found under the proper name.

Eastbourne (St. Mary)

EASTBOURNE (St. Mary), a post-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Eastbourne, rape of Pevensey, E. division of Sussex, 7 miles (S.) ing 3015 inhabitants. The parish comprises 4393a. 1r. 38p., whereof 2186 acres are waste or common. It is situated on the coast of the English Channel, which at this place was formerly remarkable for the loss of vessels; and is bounded on the south-west by the bold promontory of Beachy Head, the sides of which are worn into numerous hollows and caverns by the incessant violence of the sea. It is divided into four parts, called Eastbourne, Southbourne, Meads, and Sea-Houses. Eastbourne is pleasantly situated beneath the brow of a lofty hill, and consists chiefly of four streets; the bathing is excellent, the water clear and pellucid, the sands dry, and the cliffs lofty and picturesque. Assemblies are held occasionally in a suite of rooms at the Lamb inn. A strong circular fortification called the Redoubt, comprising barracks, storehouses, and a magazine surrounded by a deep intrenchment, has been erected on the beach, in connexion with a line of martello towers on the coast; and there are several coast-guard stations. In 1846 an act was passed for a branch, nearly 4½ miles long, from the Brighton and Hastings railway, to this place: the line was opened early in 1848. The market, on Saturday, is discontinued; but fairs are held on March 12th for pedlery, and October 11th for sheep. Very fine shell-fish are caught in great abundance.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £26. 1. 8.; patron, the Treasurer in the Cathedral of Chichester. The great tithes have been commuted for £879 to the impropriate rector, £33. 10. to other impropriators, and £36. 17. to the rector of Folkington: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £550; the glebe contains 3 acres. The church is a handsome edifice, chiefly in the early English style, with a fine tower at the west end. A chapel of ease, now a district church, was erected in 1838, on the road between Southbourne and Sea-Houses, in the lancet style, with a square embattled tower, surmounted by small pinnacles; it is dedicated to the Trinity, and contains 528 sittings, of which 260 are free. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The poor law union of Eastbourne comprises 14 parishes or places, and contains a population of 7950: the workhouse was originally cavalry barracks, which, on the formation of the union, were converted to their present purpose. Coins and other Roman relics have been found at various times, and in 1717 a tessellated pavement and a bath were discovered; from which and other circumstances the town has strong claims to the disputed site of the Roman settlement Anderida Civitas. On the downs are several barrows; and on the road to the cliffs, contiguous to some chalk-pits, is the site of a chapel dedicated to St. Gregory. At Holywell, a mile west from the town, is a chalybeate spring, the water of which is similar to that of Clifton Wells. Eastbourne was the birthplace of Mortimer, the celebrated historical painter; and Davies Gilbert, LL.D., late president of the Royal Society, and author of several works, is buried here.