Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/131

Rh ATHEA. 121 ATHERINGTON. five guineas per annum. Remains are to be seen of the jld church of a Carmelite monastery, which was esta- blished here soon after 1300. At Frayne two castles fnr- jierly stood, of which there are extensive ruins. Remains
 * >f another castle are at Causetown. The principal resi-

lonces are Athboy Lodge, the seat of Sir F. Hopkins, !!urt., Frayne, Ballyfallon, Mitchelstown, &c. The narket day is Thursday. Fairs are held on the 28th January, the 4th May, the 4th August, and the 7th No- .ember. ATHEA, a vil. in the par. of Rathronan, and bar. of jhanid, in the co. of Limerick, prov. of Munster, Ire- and, 10 miles to the "W. of Newcastle. It is situated on he river Geale. ATIIELAMPSTONE, or ATHELAMPTON, Dor- setshire. See ADMISTOX. ATHELINGTON, or ALLINGTON, a par. in the urnd. of Hoxne, in the co. of Suffolk, 5 miles to the >.E. of Eye. Voodbridgeis its post town. The living
 * i a discharged rect. * in the dioc. of Norwich, of the

i'early val. of 155, in the patron, of the lord chancel- or. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small 'uilding with square tower. It is supposed to have >een biu'lt in the time of the Saxon Edgar Atheling, vhuse bust and that of his wife are still preserved in (he eastern wall. The present register dates from 1694, ihe more ancient one having been lost. In the church- rard is a tomb of one of the Brook family, above 300 rears old, whose descendant, F. Capper Brook, Esq., f Ufford, is the sole surviving heir of that ancient louse. ATHELNEY, ISLE OF, a small district in the par. if Ling, or East Ling, hund. of Andersfield, in the co. of Somerset, 3 miles to the N.W. of Langport. It is a light eminence in the marshy tract at the junction of he river Tone with the Parret, between Boroughbridge .nd the parish church. Here is a station on the Durs- on and Yeovil branch railway. Athelney is interesting s the place of temporary refuge and concealment of lfred, and the spot on which he subsequently erected m abbey of the Benedictine order, which was dedicated i) the Saviour and tho apostle St. Peter. No vestiges xist of it, although the buildings are believed to have een of considerable extent. Various relics of antiquity ave been discovered here, one of which, possessing a re interest, is preserved in the Ashmolean museum, 'xford. It is a curious ornament of gold, enamelled, ad formed like an amulet for hanging about the neck. )n one side is the figure of a female holding flowers in uchhand, and an inscription round the figure, " Aelfred net me gewercan," i.e., "Alfred had me wrought." On the ther side is a flower. This "jewel " was found in 1693. 'he isle of Athelney has an area of about 100 acres, and
 * >ntains one farmhouse. The name Atlielney signifies

noble island." ATHELSTANEFORD, a par. in the co. of Hadding- m, Scotland, 5 miles to the S. of North Berwick. The ar. lies in a low district, formerly a marsh, but now iHivated, to the S. of the river Pefl'or, and contains the ostal vila. of Athelstaneford and Drem. The North tritish railway passes through the parish. Athelstane- n-d is said to have taken its name from Athelstan, a anish chief who fell in battle near the ford in 815, and MS here interred. Probably, however, it is derived from 'fi-ail, the Gaelic for " stone ford," a ford of this nature lied " Lug Burn " existing at the spot where tho battle u fought. Remains of a Pictish town exist, and traces f an entrenchment, near which some 'Roman relics have hen found. It is said that here was formerly a chapel ? the Knights Templars. The living, which is of the ,-irly val. of 290, is in the prosb. of Haddington, and lie ancient church, which was founded about 1150 by 'da, daughter of the Earl of Warrennc and Surrey, hav- .; fallen into decay, the present more convenient one .s erected in 1780. In the churchyard is the grave and ' tfiument of Robert Blair, author of the once popular am, " The Grave," who was minister of Athelstaneford, d resided in the manse fifteen years. An obelisk VOL. I. has been, erected to perpetuate his memory, and stands on the village green. The living was also held for ten years by John Home, author of tho tragedy of "Douglas." He never occupied the manse, and at last quitted the living on account of the ill-will excited against him by his publication of the play. This village was the birth- place of Archibald Skirving, who distinguished himself as a portrait-painter, and whoso remains rest in the churchyard here beneath a marble monument. ATHENRY BARONY, one of the eighteen bars, or subdivisions of the co. of Galway, prov. of Connaugbt, Ireland, bounded on the N. by Tyaquin bar., on the E. by Kilconnel and Loughreabars., on theS. by Louglirea bar., and on the V. by Dunkellin and Clare bars. It comprises parts of the following pars. : Athenry, Kil- conickny, Kilcomcrin, Killimordaly, Killulagh, and Lickerrig, and extends over an area of 25,782 acres. ATHENRY, a par. and market town in the bar. of Athenry, and the co. of Galway, prov. of Connaught, Ireland, 13 miles to the E. of Galway, and 120 miles from Dublin by road, or 113 miles by the Dublin and Galway railway, on which it is a station. There is a branch rail- way to Tuam from Athenry, and a bill has passed (1862) for a line to Ennis, connecting this part of Ireland with Limerick, Cork, and Waterford. Athenrj was a fortified town at a very remote period, and owed its origin to the De Burgos and Berminghams, Anglo-Norman adventurers. A Dominican monastery was founded here in the reign of King Jolm, the site for which was given by Meyler de Bermingham. It was completed in 1261, and grew rapidly in wealth and importance. The earls of Ulster, who were among its principal benefactors, and other leading persons of the country, selected it for their place of interment. The town was sacked, and part of it burnt, by the sons of the Earl of Clanricarde, in 1577. Some attempt at restoration was made afterwards, but in 1596 the Irish, under Hugh O'Donnell, attacked and totally destroyed the town, leaving only the castle, the church, and the abbey. Athenry appears to have been a borough before the reign of Edward II., and returned two mem- bers to parliament in the reign of Richard II. It ceased to be a parliamentary borough at the Union, and a municipal borough at the passing of the Corporation Reform Act ; before which time it included a portion of the adjoining bars, of Clare, Dunkellin, Kilconnel, and Tyaquin, and was governed under a charter of Charles II. The original charter, with the seal attached to it, is now in the possession of Robert French, Esq., of Monioca Castle. The public buildings are, the church, the Roman Catholic chapel, and a National school. Here is a police- station, and petty sessions are held once a fortnight by the county magistrates. The living is a rect. in the dioe. of Tuam, Killala, and Achonry, of the val. of 803, in the patron, of the crown and the bishop alternately. The principal residences are Athenry House, within the precincts of the town, and Castle Ellere, Belleville, Moor Park, Castle Lambert, Moyvilla, Castle Turvin, Willmount, Rockmore, Graig- Abbey, Mhairwan-a, Prospect, Raheen, and Mulpit, all within a circle of three miles of Athenry. The market is on Friday, and fairs are held on the 5th May, the 2nd July, and the 20th October. The Berminghams took from Athenry the title of baron, which was the premier barony of Ireland. ATHERFIELD, a tythg. in the par. of Shorwell, Isle of Wight, in the co. of Southampton, 6 miles to the S. of Newport. Here is a coastguard station. ATHERINGTON, a par. in the northern div. of the hund. of Tawton, in the co. of Devon, 6i miles to the S. of Barnstaple, its post town, and 7 N.E. of Torrington. The river Taw runs through it, and the North Devon railway, which passes along the Taw valley, has a station at the small village of Umberleigh, 1 mile distant. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Exeter, val. 416, with 205 acres of glebe land, which is a manor of itself, in the patron, of the Rev. J. Arthur, the incumbent. In the church is a beautifully-carved oak screen, a rood loft, and several interesting monuments ; one of a crusader, another an altar-tomb, with brasses of a knight and
 * the gift of the chief heritor, Sir David Kinlock, Bart.