Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/633

Rh W I M W I M 595 of Wessex. In 823 Egbert, king of the West Saxons, gained a victory over Beornwulf, king of Mercia, at Ellandune near Wilton. Wilton itself was the scene of Alfred s defeat by the Danes in 871. In 878 the Danes plundered Chippenham, where Alfred had one of his residences, and made the town their headquarters ; but after wards Alfred inflicted on Guthrum such a severe defeat at Ethan- dune (supposed to be Edington near Westbury) that the Danes came to terms with him, the south-western part of Mercia being henceforth held by the Saxons and the north-eastern by the Danes. During the Danish invasions at the close of the 10th and the be ginning of the llth century the district was overrun by Sweyn, who pillaged and burned Wilton, as well as Old Sarum. At the latter town Canute died in 1036. During the conflict between Stephen and Matilda the strongholds of Sarum, Devizes, and Malmesbury were held by Bishop Roger for Matilda, until he was compelled to surrender them. During the Civil War Wiltshire sided chiefly with the Parliament. In 1643 Wardour Castle near Tisbury was bravely defended by Lady Blanche Arundell against Sir Edward Hungerford, and, although she was forced to capitulate, the castle was again taken by her son in 1645. In 1643 Essex was routed by Charles I. and Rupert at Aldbourn, and the same year Waller was defeated by Wilmot at Eoundaway near Devizes. After the storm ing of Devizes Castle by Cromwell in September 1645 the Cavaliers were wholly driven from the county. Ancient The church of St Lawrence, Bradford, converted at one time rnto edifices, cottages, is one of the most perfect specimens of ancient Saxon &c. architecture existing ; and there is also Saxon work in the churches of Britford (north and south door), Burcombe (east end of the chancel), Manningford Bruce, and a few other places. There is a large amount of Roman work in the church of Malmesbury abbey, much of it, however, being Transition ; the church of St John s, Devizes, retains its original Norman tower and exhibits Norman vaulting in the chancel ; the chancel of St Mary s in the same town is also Norman, and its porch has characteristic Norman mouldings ; the churches of Preshute and Corsham contain interesting examples of the same style. Salisbury cathedral is the finest and most per fect example of Early English existing ; and there is much good architecture of the same style in the churches of Amesbury, Bishop s Cannings, Cricklade, Collingbourne-Kingston, Downton, Edington, and Purton. The prevailing architecture is, however, Perpendicular, of which there are numerous fine examples, especially in the districts where good building stone is found ; but in the Chalk districts, where the churches are constructed of flint, the architecture is generally inferior. There are numerous interesting examples of domestic architecture of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The only monastic remains of importance within the county are the abbey church of Malmesbury ; the picturesque ruins of Lacock or Laycock abbey (3 miles south of Chippenham), founded in 1232 by Ella, countess of Salisbury; the walls of Bradenstoke priory (north east of Chippenham), founded in 1142 by Walter d Evreux for Augustinian canons, now converted into a farmhouse ; and slight remains of the Cluniac priory of Monkton-Farleigh, founded in 1125. The fortress of Old Sarum is almost completely demolished, but the outlines of the defences remain ; Devizes retains a few frag ments, &quot;built up again,&quot; according to Freeman, as &quot;meaningless ornaments in the midst of the most fearful piece of modern gim- crack that human eyes ever beheld &quot; ; and the mound of Marl- borough has been made into a &quot;hill of pleasure.&quot; Trowbridge Castle, which was held for Matilda by Humphrey de Bohun, has completely disappeared, its site being occupied by modern build ings ; and only a few small fragments remain of Ludgershall, which Matilda occupied on her escape from Winchester. Hstin- Wilts has an unusually long roll of illustrious persons. Among -uished divines, Hugh Latimer was rector of West Kington ; Richard ersons. Hooker was rector of Boscombe ; George Crabbe was for eighteen years rector of Trowbridge, and was buried in the chancel of the church ; Dr Henry Sacheverell was the son of a Marlborough clergy man ; George Herbert and Archdeacon William Coxe were both rectors of Bemerton (near Salisbury) ; and Dr Joshua Marshman, the Indian missionary, was born at Westbury. Of persons who have distinguished themselves in some form of literature we may mention Thomas Chubb, the Deist, who was a native of Harnham ; Hobbes of Malmesbury ; Philip Massinger, who was born at Salisbury ; Joseph Addison, the son of the rector of Milston ; Bryan Edwards, the historian ; Aubrey and Britton, the antiquaries ; Edmund Lud- low, author of the Memoirs of the Restoration period ; and Sir R. Colt Hoare, the historian of Wilts. Statesmen are represented by &quot;Orator&quot; Hunt, Sir John Davies, Bolingbroke, Hyde first earl of Clarendon, Harris first earl of Malmesbury, Fox first Lord Holland, Protector Somerset, and Henry Fawcett. Other persons of special distinction are Sir Christopher Wren, Sir B. Collins Brodie, and Thomas Willis, one of the founders of the Royal Society. Bee Sir H. C. Hoare s Ancient Wiltshire, 1812-21, and Modern Wiltshire, 1822- 1S44 ; Aubrey ami Jackson s Topographical Collections for Wilts, 1864 ; Button s Beauties, 1S01 ; Kite s Monumental Brasses of Wilts, 1800; Jackson s Ancient Chapels of Wilts, 1807; Jones s Early Annals, 1871; Saint George s Visitation of Wilts W3, 1882; Stratford s Wiltshire and its Worthies, 1882; and A. C. Smith s British and Roman Antiquities in North Wilts, 1884-85. (T. F. H.) WIMBLEDON, a suburb of London, in the county of Surrey, is situated on the London and South Western Kail- way, 7 miles south-west of London. The old village of Wimbledon has been greatly extended of late years, the district being now a favourite residence for the London middle classes. Wimbledon Common, to the north-west of the village, was the meeting-place of the Rifle Association from its foundation in 1860 till 1888. At its south western extremity are the outlines of a British earthwork, called Caesar s camp, having an extreme diameter of 950 feet and a diameter within the vallum of 750 feet. At Coombe s Hill and elsewhere British relics have been found. The parish church of St Mary is supposed to date from Saxon times ; but, after it had undergone various restorations and reconstructions, it was rebuilt in 1833 in the Perpendicular style. There are various other churches and chapels, all modern. A free library was established in 1887. The benevolent institutions include nine alms- houses (1838), a cottage hospital (1867), a convalescent hospital (1867), and a hospital for infectious diseases (1877). The population of the urban sanitary district (area 3220 acres) was 9087 in 1871 and 15,950 in 1881. Wimbledon (Wibbandune) is supposed to have been the scene of a battle in 568 between Ceawlin, king of Wessex, and Ethelbert, king of Kent, in which the latter was defeated. At Domesday it formed part of the manor of Mortlake, held by the archbishops of Canterbury. Afterwards the name was sometimes used inter changeably with Mortlake, and in 1327 it is described as a grange or farm belonging to Mortlake. On the impeachment of Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, in 1398, it was confiscated. In the reign of Henry VIII. Cromwell, earl of Essex, held the manor of Wimbledon, with Bristow Park as an appendage. On the confisca tion of Cromwell s estates in 1540 it again fell to the crown, and by Henry VIII. it was settled on Catherine Parr for life. By Queen Mary it was granted to Cardinal Pole. In 1574 Elizabeth bestowed the manor house, while retaining the manor, on Sir Christopher Hatton, who sold it the same year to Sir Thomas Cecil. In 1586 Elizabeth transferred the manor to his son Sir Edward Cecil, in exchange for an estate in Lincolnshire. At the time of the Civil War the manor was sold to Adam Baynes, who shortly afterwards sold it to General Lambert ; and at the Restora tion it was granted to the queen dowager, Henrietta Maria, who sold it in 1661 to George Digby, earl of Bristol. On his death in 1676 it was sold by his widow to the lord-treasurer Danby. Some years after Danby s death it was purchased by Sarah, duchess of Marlborough, who demised it to her grandson, John Spencer. It was sold by the fifth Earl Spencer in 1877. Wimbledon House, built by Sir Thomas Cecil in 1588, was destroyed by fire in 1785, and a new house, called Wimbledon Park House, was erected about 1801. WIMBORNE MINSTER, a market town of Dorset, England, is situated on a gentle slope above the river Allen, near its confluence with the Stour, and on the Great Western Railway, 6 miles north of Poole ajid 114 west- south-west of London. The feature of the town is the ancient minster. As it now stands, it is a fine cruciform structure of various styles from Early Norman to Perpen dicular, and consists of a central lantern tower, nave and choir with aisles, transepts without aisles, western or bell tower, north and south porches, crypt, and vestry or sacristy, with the library over it. Its maximum length is 182 feet, and its maximum breadth 102. The interior was restored in 1856-57. It contains a large number of interesting monuments, including a brass with the date 873 (supposed to mark the resting-place of Ethelred, third son of Ethelwulf), an orrery of the 14th century, and an octagonal Norman font of Purbeck marble. A new church, dedicated to St John the Evangelist, was built and partly endowed in 1876. The free grammar-school, established in 1497, was refounded by Elizabeth, a portion of the revenues of the monastery being devoted to this purpose. New school buildings in the Elizabethan style were erected in 1851. There are two hospitals, St Margaret s and Courtenay s. Near Wimborne is Canford Hall, the seat of Lord Wimborne, a mansion in the Tudor style, built by