[C] ASTLEY. This manor was held, in the reign of Henry II., _Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set.

Estley, of the Earl of Warwick, by the service of holding the Earl's

stirrup when he mounted or alighted from his horse. From this person are

descended two families, seated at Hill Morton, in this county, and at

Patshull, in Staffordshire. In the reign of Henry V. the estate passed

by marriage to the Greys of Ruthin, from whom it descended to Henry

Grey, Marquis of Dorset, and Duke of Suffolk, beheaded in the reign of

Queen Mary, for an attempt to make Lady Jane Grey queen. The manor

belongs at present to F.P. Newdigate, Esq. Astley Castle is surrounded

by a moat, along the inner edge of which lie the remains of massive

walls. The habitable part of the mansion is probably not older than the

time of Mary; but it is clad in a garb of ivy, and other evergreens,

which renders it singularly picturesque. In one room is preserved a

portrait of the factious Suffolk, respecting whose capture the following

particulars are related:--"Finding that he was forsaken, he put himself

under the trust of one Underwood, as it is said, a keeper of his park

here at Astley, who hid him for some few days in a large hollow tree,

standing about two bow-shots from the church; but, being promised a

reward, he betrayed him." The church of Astley having been made

collegiate, by Lord Thomas de Astley, was by him rebuilt, and adorned

with a spire, so lofty that it served as a land-mark in the deep

wood-lands of the district, and was popularly termed "The lanthorn of

Arden."--The interior is curious and interesting, although many

monuments and decorations have been removed or destroyed at various

times. On an altar-tomb at the west-end are the effigies, in alabaster,

of a warrior and a lady; and on another, is the mutilated figure of a

female in a recumbent posture: both are without inscription.

[Sidenote: Singular tenure.]

[Sidenote: Lord Suffolk betrayed by his keeper.]

[D] ASTLEY. This village is situated on the Severn, it was noted before

the dissolution, for its priory of Benedictines, and is now remarkable

chiefly for a hermitage formed in the living rock, and recently

converted into an ale-house. The church, built in the Saxon style of

architecture, contains some monuments and a few fragments of stained

glass. Here is the ancient seat called Glasshampton.

[Sidenote: Hermitage.]

Map|Names of Places.| County. | Number of Miles From

+--+-----------------+----------+---------------+-------------+

+--+-----------------+----------+---------------+-------------+

|Dist.|

Map|Names of Places.| Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.

+--+-----------------+--------------------------+-----+-------+

33|Astley Abbots pa|Madeley 6| 142| 666|

5|Aston ham|Leighton 5| 34| 406|

7|Aston to|Frodsham 9| 176| 409|

7|Aston to & chap|Warrington 8| 181| 197|

10|Aston ham|Derwent 3| 164| 104|

53|Aston to|Chester 6| 197| 237|

17|Aston pa|Wigmore 4| 143| 56|

18|Aston[A] pa|Welwyn 6| 30| 494|

56|Aston to|Bishop's Cas. 2| 161| 84|

31|Aston ham|Ensham 7| 69| 699|

35|Aston to|Eccleshall 8| 154| 277|

39|Aston[B] pa|Coleshill 9| 111| 32118|

46|Aston[C] to & pa|Maltby 6| 156| 564|

+--+-----------------+--------------------------+-----+-------+

[A] ASTON. The village and manor of Aston was an ancient demesne of the

Saxon kings. Henry VIII. granted the manor to Sir John Boteler, of

Walton Wood Hall; but the house now standing at Aston Place, indicates

earlier antiquity than the time of that sovereign. Westward of the

village, on the eastern side of the great North road, are six large

barrows, thought to be of Danish origin; from their immediate proximity

to the road-side they excite the curiosity and attention of most persons

travelling northward: two of them have been opened, but were not found

to contain any thing of sufficient interest to be here recorded.

[Sidenote: The six hills.]

[B] ASTON is in the Birmingham division of the Hundred of Hemlingford.

It may be deemed a part of Birmingham, being inhabited chiefly by

artisans in the various branches of manufacture for which that town is

distinguished. Aston Hall, the seat of Heneage Legge, Esq., was first

erected by Sir Thomas Holt, Bart. in the reign of James I. It was

several times plundered during the troubles of his successor, who was

entertained here for two nights a short time before the battle of

Edgehill, which occurred on October 23, 1642, between the Royalists and

the Parliamentary forces. Sir T. Holt endowed an alms-house for five

poor men and women in this parish.

[Sidenote: Part of Birmingham.]

[C] ASTON, is a parish and township with Aughton, in the wapentake of

Strafforth and Tickhill. In the church, which is dedicated to All

Saints, is an ancient monument, under which lie buried Lord D'Arcy and

his three wives. There is also a marble slab to the memory of the poet

Mason, who was rector of this parish. This distinguished poet was the

son of a clergyman in Yorkshire, in which county he was born in the year

1725. He became a student of St. John's College, Cambridge, and

subsequently a fellow of Pembroke Hall, in the same university. His

debut in the literary world was made by the publication of "Isis," a

poem, in which he satirized the Jacobitish and High Church principles of

the University of Oxford. A reply was written by Thomas Warton, entitled

"The Triumph of Isis." In 1752 he published a tragedy with choral odes

on the ancient Greek model, called "Elfrida." Having taken orders in the

church, he was presented with the living of Aston, and appointed one of

the royal chaplains. In 1759 appeared his "Caractacus," a drama on a

kindred plan with the former. Both of these pieces were afterwards

introduced on the stage, they however met with very little success. In

1762, Mr. Mason was made precentor of York, to which preferment a

canonry was annexed. One of his principal works, entitled "The English

Garden," a poem, in four books, appeared in the years 1772, 1777, 1779,

and 1781. 4to.; this was translated into French and German. In 1775 he

published the exquisite poems of his friend Gray, with a Memoir of his

Life. At the beginning of the American War, Mr. Mason became so active

an advocate for freedom, as to give offence at court, and he was in

consequence dismissed from his chaplainship. It is said he felt alarmed

at the frightful consequences of the French Revolution, and his zeal

cooled towards the latter end of his life. He died April 7, 1797.

[Sidenote: The poet Mason's monument.]

[Sidenote: An advocate for freedom dismissed from his chaplainship.]

Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From

+--+---------------------------+----------+-------------+-------------+

+--+---------------------------+----------+-------------+-------------+

|Dist.|Popul

Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|-ation.

+--+---------------------------+------------------------+-----+-------+

5|Aston-Abbots pa|Leighton 6| 40| 303|

15|Aston-Blank pa|Winchcomb 11| 86| 295|

33|Aston-Botterill pa|Ludlow 9| 143| 260|

39|Aston-Cantlow pa|Stratford 6| 99| 940|

5|Aston-Clinton[A] to & pa|Aylesbury 4| 35| 1001|

33|Aston-Eyre to|Madeley 7| 143| 63|

23|Aston-Flamville to & p|Leicester 13| 97| 1703|

7|Aston-Grange to|Warrington 8| 181| 36|

17|Aston-Ingham pa|Newent 3| 120| 591|

28|Aston on the Walls, to & pa|Towcester 11| 71| 240|

42|Aston-Magna ham|Broadway 4| 89| 254|

31|Aston-Middle to & pa|Bicester 9| 64| 121|

7|Aston-Mondrum to|Middlewich 7| 168| 159|

31|Aston-North pa|Woodstock 9| 64| 305|

31|Aston-Rowant pa|Watlington 4| 39| 946|

5|Aston-Sandford pa|P. Risboro' 5| 42| 82|

15|Aston-Somerville pa|Winchcombe 7| 98| 103|

31|Aston-Steeple[B] to & pa|Bicester 9| 64| 562|

15|Aston-Subege pa|Broadway 4| 92| 103|

4|Aston-Tirrold pa|Streatley 5| 50| 343|

15|Aston-upon-Carron pa and ti|Evesham 10| 104| 166|

10|Aston-upon-Trent pa|Loughboro 11| 121| 620|

4|Aston-Upthorpe ham|Abingdon 8| 52| 172|

28|Astrope, or Asthorpe[C] ham|Deddington 5| 69| |

28|Astwell[D] ham|Daventry 13| 64| 118|

+--+---------------------------+------------------------+-----+-------+

[A] ASTON CLINTON is in the first division of Aylesbury hundred. The

manor was the property of the late Lord Lake, who died in 1808, during

the trial of General Whitelock, who was cashiered for his misconduct at

Buenos Ayres at the commencement of that year. At St. Leonard's, a

hamlet of this parish, about four miles from Aston church, is an ancient

chapel, said to have been a chantry chapel to the Abbey of Missenden. It

contains, among other monuments, that of General Cornelius Wood, an

officer who distinguished himself in the reign of Queen Anne, and who

died in 1712. It is ornamented with a bust of the general in white

marble, surrounded with military trophies. This chapel is endowed with

an estate, vested in ten trustees, who have the appointment of the

minister.

[Sidenote: Monument of one of Queen Anne's officers.]

[B] STEEPLE ASTON. At this village, Dr. Samuel Radcliffe, principal of

Brazennose College, Oxford, and rector of this church, founded a free

school in 1640, and endowed it with ten pounds per annum; he died in the

year 1648, and is buried in the church. He also endowed an alms-house

for poor women in this parish. A tessalated pavement was ploughed up

here in the 17th century.

[Sidenote: Dr. Samuel Radcliffe.]

[C] ASTROPE. This hamlet is in the parish of King's Sutton. The village

is worthy of remark, from the church having a tower crowned with a

handsome and lofty spire, decorated with crocketed pinnacles. Here is a

remarkably fine mineral spring, called St. Rumbald's Well, which was

formerly in considerable repute. When drank at the fountain head, the

water is considered a specific in cases of female obstructions, and in

the first and second stages of consumptions. In the jaundice it seldom

fails; and in dropsical cases is frequently administered with success.

Persons whose constitutions have been weakened by free living, find

themselves renovated by its virtues. The water has a brisk pleasant

taste, and is very clear and spirituous. Astrope Hall was formerly the

residence of the Lord Chief Justice Willes.

[Sidenote: A mineral spring famous for curing consumption, jaundice,

&c.]

[D] ASTWELL. In this hamlet is an ancient mansion, formerly the seat of

the Earl of Ferrers. Several of the rooms exhibit in the wainscot and

chimney pieces, armorial bearings and other carved decorations. A

dilapidated room at the east end was formerly a chapel.

[Sidenote: Seat of Earl Ferrers]

Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From

+--+----------------------------+---------+-------------+-------------+

+--+----------------------------+---------+-------------+-------------+

|Dist.|Popul

Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|-ation.

+--+----------------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+

3|Astwick pa|Baldock 3| 40| 97|

5|Astwood pa|Olney 6| 51| 268|

24|Aswarby pa|Grantham 12| 110| 113|

24|Aswardby pa|Horncastle 8| 136| 80|

33|Atcham pa|Shiffnal 14| 149| 463|

39|Atch-Lench ham|Pershore 7| 104| 82|

54|Athan, St.[A] pa|Bridgend 10| 174| 312|

12|Athelampton pa|Blandford 13| 116| 79|

36|Athelington, or Allington pa|Debenham 6| 88| 129|

34|Athelney, Isle of | | | |

11|Atherington pa|S. Molton 9| 204| 592|

39|Atherstone[B] m.t. & pa|Tamworth 8| 105| 3870|

+--+----------------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+

[A] ST. ATHAN. In this village is a castle, called East Orchard, built

in the year 1691, by Roger Berkrols; it stands on the edge of an

extensive flat: a luxuriant wild fig tree grows out of the cement of the

chapel walls. Perhaps the Turkey fig tree might be propagated with more

success, grafted upon this wildling, which probably originated in the

cultivated fig planted in the gardens of the Norman lords. In St.

Athan's church there are two uncommonly fine gothic monuments of the

Berkrol's family: there are likewise in this parish the remains of two

castles--West Orchard and Castleton; but these are not of such great

antiquity. From this spot there is a good view of Fonmore, or Fronmon

Castle, which is the most extensive and august of the Welch inhabited

castles. The kitchen is said to be the largest in the kingdom. In

Fronmon castle is an excellent portrait of Oliver Cromwell. The flat and

steep-holms are seen from this neighbourhood: the former has its

light-house. It is situated nearly ten miles from the sea lock of the

canal, and three miles from the adjacent steep-holms, which is a smaller

island than the former, though more conspicuous from its great height

above the water; it is quite barren and uninhabited. The flat holms at

low tide is an extensive sheet of mud, excepting one deep channel. The

landing place is near the castle rock, a dangerous, but romantic beach,

so called from its similarity to a castle, it is very large, and is said

to resemble Abergavenny castle. In the centre is a bold arch, which at

high water is covered. The hollow sound of the sea roaring through the

arch, and the waves occasionally retreating, and then forcing their way

back with redoubled fury, has an uncommonly fine effect. At low tide the

shore all around the base is dry. The island is four or five miles in

circumference; the soil is good, and would, if well cultivated, be very

productive. From the light-house, which is 80 feet in height, is a

delightful prospect of the Bristol Channel and the shores of Somerset

and Glamorgan. It is the resort of many visitors in the summer season.

[Sidenote: The largest inhabited castle in Wales.]

[Sidenote: Account of the dangerous beach.]

[B] ATHERSTONE. This market town is supposed to have derived its name

from "a stone" under which an "adder" of enormous size was found; it is

situated on the Watling Street, and divided from Leicestershire by the

river Anker, and was a place of some importance at the Conquest: at

which time the town was given to the monks of Bee in Normandy, who

obtained for it a market day and an annual fair, which brought it into

consequence. A monastery of friars, (Hermits of Saint Augustine,) was

founded at Atherstone in the year 1375. The church belonging to the

friary was completed in the reign of Richard II. A free grammar school

was founded here by Sir William Devereux and two other benevolent

persons in the year 1573. The chancel of the friary church was

appropriated to the use of this seminary, and is still dedicated to the

same purpose. The mansion, or hall house was sometime after separated

from the chapel, and rebuilt at a short distance upon a pleasant bank,

commanding an extensive view over the adjacent counties of Leicester,

Derby, and Stafford. Two nights before the battle of Bosworth Field

(which is but nine miles distant), the Duke of Richmond lay at

Atherstone, where he had his interview with the two Stanley's, in which

such measures of co-operation were concerted as occasioned the overthrow

of King Richard III., and it is said, that many persons from the

subsequent battle were buried below this old mansion, from which the

spot has retained the name of the bloody bank. It appears, however, to

have been so called from being the place where contests of less serious

results were usually decided by the young champions of the ancient

foundation school, which is still supported by a respectable endowment.

Atherstone Hall has recently been much improved by extended buildings

and ornamental plantations. It is situated near Merevale Hall, the seat

of D.S. Dugdale, Esq., and Grendon Hall, that of Sir G. Chetwynd, Bart.

Here are manufactories of hats, ribbons, and shalloons, and considerable

business is done at the four annual fairs; that in September being the

most considerable in England for the sale of cheese. The passage of the

Coventry canal, uniting with that of the Trent and Mersey, within a

hundred yards of the town, adds very considerably to its facilities of

trading. The poet Drayton, author of the "Polyolbion," was a native of

Atherstone.

_Market_, Tuesday.--_Fairs_, April 7, for horses, cows, and sheep;

July 18, holyday; September 19, for horses, cows, and cheese;

December 4, for horses and fat cattle.--_Mail_ arrives 8.41 A.M.;

departs 5.36 P.M.--_Inns_, Red Lion, and Three Tuns.--_Bankers_, W.

and J.H. Chapman; draw upon Spooner and Co.

[Sidenote: Some foreign monks obtained this market.]

[Sidenote: Atherstone Hall.]

Map| Names of Places. | County. | Number of Miles From

+--+------------------------+----------+-------------+------------+

22|Atherton, or } |Lancaster |Newton 7|Bolton 5|

|Chowbents to & chap } | | | |

+--+------------------------+----------+-------------+------------+

|Dist.|

Map| Names of Places. | Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.

+--+------------------------+------------------------+-----+------+

39|Atherstone-upon-Stour pa|Campden 9| 92| 87|

22|Atherton, or } |Wigan 7| 198| 4181|

|Chowbents to & chap } | | | |

10|Atlow chap|Derby 13| 139| 517|

51|Atpar m.t.|Carmarthen 21| 230| |

30|Attenborough[A] pa|Loughboro' 10| 119| 1094|

24|Atterly to|Gainsboro' 12| 148| 110|

45|Attercliffe to|Barnsley 13| 162| 3741|

23|Atterton ham|Nuneaton 5| 105| 76|

31|Attington ex. p. ham|Watlington 6| 42| 7|

27|Attleborough[B] m.t. & p|Watton 10| 94| 1939|

+--+------------------------+------------------------+-----+------+

[A] ATTENBOROUGH. This village, supposed to be the ancient Attenton,

lies nearly on the banks of the river Trent. Its church is large, and

also well filled: it serves for Chilwell, Toueton, and part of Bramcote.

This place is remarkable, for having given birth to Henry Ireton, the

regicide, son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He was the eldest son of

Gervase Ireton, Esq., and brother to Sir John Ireton, Lord Mayor of

London in 1658. He was a gentleman commoner of Trinity College, Oxford,

in 1629, and at the age of 19 he took one degree in Arts. Wood tells us,

that he had the character in that college of a stubborn and saucy fellow

towards the seniors. Afterwards he went to the Middle Temple, where he

became grounded in the common law. When the rebellion broke out he took

up arms against the king, was a recruiter in the long parliament, and

about that time married Bridget, one of the daughters of Cromwell, then

only colonel of a regiment. He became first a captain, afterwards

colonel, and at length commissary-general, in 1645. He is said to have

been the best prayer-maker and preacher in the whole army. He drew up

the famous remonstrance requiring justice to be done on their sovereign.

He sat as judge on the king's trial, and was one of the committee that

appointed the time and place of execution. In Cromwell's expedition to

Ireland, he was appointed second in command, with the rank of

major-general, and was afterwards made president of Munster; being left

as deputy by Cromwell, in 1649, he died the next year of a sudden

disorder at Limerick. On his death, the parliament settled a pension of

L2000. per annum on his widow and children, out of the estates of the

Duke of Buckingham.

[Sidenote: Birth-place of the regicide, son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.]

[B] ATTLEBOROUGH, or ATTLEBURGH. This small market town was formerly a

place of considerable consequence. During the Saxon era it was a post of

strength and served as a check to the Danes in their predatory

incursions. Its fortifications are said to have been conspicuous in the

time of Henry II. Attleborough formerly belonged to the Mortimers; from

them it passed to the Ratcliffe family, of whom it was purchased by Sir

Francis Blickley, Bart., whence it came into possession of the family of

Ash. A college, dedicated to the Holy Cross, was founded here in the

reign of Richard II., by Sir Robert de Mortimer, for a custos and four

fellows. The church, with the east end is entire; it is in the

collegiate form, and consists of a large nave with aisles and a north

and south transept; it contains the monuments of many persons of

distinction. On a flat stone in the nave is an inscription to the memory

of Captain John Gibbs, a celebrated horse racer and gamester, in the

reign of Charles I. This person having laid a wager that he would drive

his carriage and four horses up and down the steepest place of the

Devil's Ditch, on Newmarket Heath, succeeded in winning the bet, by

making a very light chaise, with a jointed perch, and without any pole.

It is worthy of remark, that the first turnpike road in the kingdom, was

made at Attleborough, by an Act passed for that purpose in 1707.

_Market_, Thursday.--_Fairs_, Thursday before Easter; Thursday after

Holy Trinity; August 15, for cattle and Toys.--_Mail_ arrives 7.27

A.M.; departs 6.38 P.M.

[Sidenote: Anecdote of Captain J. Gibbs.]

Map| Names of Places. | County.| Number of Miles From |

+--+----------------------+--------+--------------+--------------+

13|Auckland, St.} | | | |

| Andrew[A]} to & pa|Durham |Bp. Auckland 1|Darlington 11|

13|Auckland, St. Helen ch|Durham | ... 3| ... 10|

13|Auckland, West to|Durham | ... 3| ... 10|

+--+----------------------+--------+--------------+--------------+

|Dist.|

Map| Names of Places. |Number of Miles From |Lond.|Population.

+--+----------------------+-----------------------+--------------+

39|Attleborough ham|Hinckley 5| 100| |

27|Attlebridge pa|Norwich 9| 112| 117|

46|Atwicke to & pa|Beverley 13| 189| 285|

24|Auborn to & pa|Navenby 6| 127| 356|

13|Auckland, St.} | | | |

| Andrew[A]} to & pa|Durham 11| 248| 11137|

13|Auckland, St. Helen ch| ... 13| 246| 410|

13|Auckland, West to| ... 13| 246| 1106|

14|Audley End[B] ham|Chesterford 4| 42| |

7|Audlem to & pa|Woore 5| 163| 2978|

+--+----------------------+-----------------------+----+---------+

Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set. · 第 11 / 31 段

[C] ASTLEY. This manor was held, in the reign of Henry II., by Philip de