Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/17

Rh ABBOT'S WORTHY. ABERAERON. ABBOT'S WORTHY, a tythg. in the par. of King's Worthy, in the Winchester div. of the hund. of Mitchcl- devcr, in the co. of Hants., 2 miles N.E. of Winchester. It is pleasantly situated in the vale of the Itchen. ABB'S HEAD, ST., a promontory on the eastern coast of Scotland, a little S. of the entrance to the Frith of Forth. It lies within the par. of Coldingham, about 10 miles N. of Berwick, and the same distance S. of Dunbar, and generally swarms with sea-fowl. This promontory consists of a mass of trap-rocks trap-tuff, amygdaloid, and felspar porphyry, being the principal components. The prevailing rocks in the district are gilurian and older slates. There are various traditions as to the origin of the nunnery which once existed here. Perhaps the one most generally received is the fol- lowing : In the early part of the 7th century, Peiida, King of Mercia, sought in marriage the fair Ebba, or Abba, daughter of Ethelfrith, King of Northumber- land. This princess, who was a Christian, shrank from allying herself with the pagan Penda. She there- fore fled and put to sea. A storm overtook her, and her vessel was driven ashore on this promontory. And here, in the solitude of rock and sea, amidst scenes of almost savage grandeur, she, with her companions, established her religious house. The summit of the rock on which the nunnery was erected, is about 300 feet above the level of the sea, and has three sides per- 1 udicular to the sea. It is related in the chronicles of tho time, that in the year 837, when the Danes invaded the land, the abbess and her nuns, in order to save themselves from pagan violence, cut off their noses and upper lips. But in vain ; the pagans had no pity, and the nunnery with its occupants was burnt. On another hill, about a mile off was the chapel and the cemetery. The site of the latter is said to bo still indicated by a more luxuriant vegetation. ABBY SHEEPCOT, a hmlt. near the vil. of Clehonger, in the hund. of Webtree, in the co. of Hereford, 4 miles from the Hereford railway station, on tho bank of the river Wye. ABCOTT, a tnshp. in the par. of Clungunford and hund. of Purslow, in Shropshire, 8 miles to the N.W. of Ludlow. It is divided from Clungunford by the river Clun, which is famous for trout. ABDICK and BULSTONE HUNDRED, in tho southern part of Somersetshire ; bounded on the N. by North Cany hund., part of Somerton hund., and Pitney hund. ; on the E. by East Petherton and South Kingsbury hunds. ; ontl.oS. by part of South Petherton hund. and part of East Kingsbury hund. ; and on the W. by Taunton and Taunton Dean hunds. It contains the pars, of Ashill, Beer-Crocombe, Bickenhall, South Bradon, Broadway, Buckland St. Mary, Cricket-Mal- herbe, Curland, Curry-Malet, Curry-Kivel, Donyatt, West Dowlish, Drayton, Earnshill, Fivehead, Hal. h- Beauchamp, Uminster, Ilton, Isle-Abbots, Isle-Brewers. White-Lackiiigton, Puckington, Staplc-1' itzpaine, Stoke- linch St. Magdalen, Stokelinch-Ottersay, and Swell. ABDIE, a par. in tho district of Cupar, in the co. of Fife, Scotland, 2 miles S.E. of Newburgh. It lies among the Ochill hiDs, on the south shore of the Frith of Tay. The par. is broken up into three separate parts. It contains tho Grange of Lindores, Lindorcs, and Mount Pleasant. The district has no woods, and is generally well cultivated. There are no rivers, except the Tay, but it is watered by several lochs, the principal of which is the Loch of Lindores. This lake is about a mile in length and of varying breadth, and it contains an abundance of fish. The scenery of the neighbourhood is very fine. There are many ancient mansions which have fallen into decay. Freestone and whinstone are quarried here, as also granite, which is shipped in con- siderablc; quantity fer paving the streets of London. A few hands are engaged in linen weaving. The living, val. 233, is in tho presb. of Cupar, and in the patron, of the Earl of Mansfield. Near the old abbey church stands Lindores House, the residence of Admiral Mait- land. Denmill Castlo, said to have belonged to Mar- duff', the celebrated Thane of Fife, is in this parish. There are traces, on tho highest hills of the district, both of Danish and Roman fortifications, especially on Clat- chart Crag and Norman's Law, which are remarkable for their height and precipitous fronts. In 1309, a battle was fought between the English and the Scots under Wallace, at Blakearnside, in which the English were defeated. ABDON, a par. in tho lower div. of the hund. of Munslow, in tho co. of Salop, a short distance from Bridgnorth, and 10 miles N. of Ludlow, which is a market town and railway station on the Shrewsbury and Hereford railway. It is situated near the foot of the Glee hills, and looks out upon Corvo Dale, through which flows the small river Corve. Tho living, a discharged rect.,* val. 147, is in the dioc. of Hereford, and in the patron, of Lord Herbert. The church, is dedicated to St. Margaret. ABENBURY-FAWR, a tnshp. in the par. of Wrox- ham, and hund. of Bromfield, in the co. of Denbigh, North Wales, 3 miles to the N. of Wrexham. According to an arrangement made in March, 1830, this tnshp. supports its own poor. ABENBURY-FECHAN, a tnshp. in the par. of Wrexham, in the hund. of Maylor and co. of Flint, North Wales, 3 miles N.N.W. of Wrexham. It is watered by the river Clywedog, over which is a bridge. There are iron foundries in the town. It is the only tnshp. in tho par. of Wrexham that lies in Flintshire ; all the other tnshps. are in Denbighshire. It has a separate assessment for the maintenance of its poor. ABENHALL, Gloucestershire. See ABINGHALL. AI5EE, a vil. in the par. of Llandyfriog, hund. of Troedyraur, in the co. of Cardigan, South Wales, 2 miles N.E. of Newcastle Emlyn. The river Teifi passes through it. This word Aber is Celtic, and signifies the " mouth of a river." In this sense it serves as a prefix to many ancient British names of places, as Abei'deen, " the mouth of the river Dee ;" Aberbrothwick, now called Arbroath (in Scotland), " the mouth of the river Brothwick ;" Abergavcwj (in Wales), tho confluence of the river Gavenny with the river Usk. ABER, or ABERGWYNGREGYN, a par. in the hund. of Uchaf, and union of Bangor, in the co. of Car- narvon, North Wales, 4 miles E. of Bangor, and now a station on the Holyhead railway. Tho vil., which is small, stands at the opening of a pleasant glen, near the Lavan sands, on the Meuai Straits, which at this point are about 7 miles in breadth. At low water there are 4 miles of fine sands, pleasant for walking. The small river Gwyngregyn flows through the glen and falls here into the straits. The prospect is very fine, extending over the Bay of Beaumaris, and the hills of the Isle of Anglesey, to Great Orme's Head, and the distant Island of Priestholme. Tho native princes had once their residence here. A castle was built near the village by Llewellyn the Great, but of this no vestiges remain. It was from this place that Llewellyn sent his wife, the daughter of King John, to intercede with her father, who was attempting the subjugation of North Wales. And hence, too, the last Llewellyn led his forces to the final conflict with Edward I. The church, which is dedicated to St. Bodvan, is spacious and old, with a square tower. The living is a rcct. in the dioc, of Bangor, val. 382, in the patron, of Sir R. B. W. Bulkeley, Bart. The Independents and Wcsleyans have places of wor- ship here. There is a school in the village which was established and endowed by Dean Jones, for the pur- pose of teaching ten poor children of the parish to read Welsh. ABERAERON, or ABERAYRON, a seaport town, partly in the par. of Henfynyw, but mostly in the par. of Llandewi-Aherarth, hund. of liar, in the co. of Car- digan, Soutli Wales, 21 miles N.E. of Cardigan, and 192 miles from London. It is very pleasantly situated on Cardigan Bay, at tho extremity of the Vale of Aeron. The sides of the valley are here abrupt and well wooded. The river Aeron, which flows through the valley, sepa- rates tho two parishes. It abounds in trout and salmon. The sceiierv of the vale is charming, and has attracted