Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/379

Rh =: BRTDLINGTON. 369 BRIDPORT. The Danes for a long time held their ground in this part of the country, which was the scene of many conflicts. There are still remains of extensive earth- works in the neighbouring wolds, and many tumuli, both of Danish and Saxon origin. About the time of the Conquest the manor belonged to Earl Morcar, but was subsequently given by the Conqueror to one of has ncphi-ws. The most important fact in the early his- tory of this place is the foundation of its priory in the reign of Henry I. by Walter de Gaunt, who at that time held the manor. It was for canons of the Augus- order, and by royal leave was fortified, to protect it from assault by sea. Many important privileges were 3 of the house were of immense extent, so that, flourishing for more than 400 years, its revenue intcd to about 682 per annum. The last prior forfeited to the crown, and soon after (in 1539) lonvrntual buildings were taken down. During ivil war in the reign of Charles I., his queen,
 * ted to the priors, and the endowments and posses-
 * rxivutod as a traitor, the possessions of the priory
 * ,ig procured a supply of arms in the Netherlands,

vod the notice of the squadron stationed to intcr- lier, and effected a landing here under the convoy of Van Tromp. The town was then cannonaded for jseveral hours by Admiral Batten. A combat took place ir~9, in Bridlington Bay, between the adventurer, Paid Jones, with four vessels, and two British war- i. The latter were taken, and carried off as prizes xol. The town, which consists chiefly of one long situated about a mile from the coast, on ground .-ising gradually towards the north. The streets are narrow and irregular, and many of the houses old and uilt. Tho town is lighted with gas, there is a ^ood supply of water, and many improvements have ido of late years. There is a market-place with m exchange, built in 1856, and a room in the >ld gateway of the priory is used as the townhall. Brid- ington Quay, a small, well-built, modern town, stands v in a recess of the bay, about a mile to the i Uidlington. It forms the port, and has become . and is lighted with gas. It contains the cus- m-house, the baths, and the Victoria and Polytechnic The beach is firm and sandy. Tho two piers, i instructed of stone for forming the harbour, make a lightful promenade, commanding good views over the iy, and of Flamborough Head, which encloses it on the Near the Quay is a chalybeate spring, and in the arbour an ebbing and flowing spring covered by every was discovered in 1811, and yields an abundant f pure water. Bridlington contains a small hat ii.'venil corn-mills, and a steam-mill for grinding .V good general trade is carried on with the >wns and villages of the neighbourhood, and the resort 's for sea-bathing has contributed to the growth perity of the place. The port is subordinate to of Hull, and has between 30 and 40 vessels be- to it, which are chiefly engaged in the coasting '". Corn, malt, and bones are the principal exports, 'I coal, timber, and general merchandise are imported.
 * favourite and much-frequented bathing-place. It has
 * ood streets, the principal running down to the
 * ie harbour covers an area of 11 acres, and is the best on

1 1 of the coast, affording a safe retreat for many vessels in bad weather. The bay, too, being Hored from N. and N.W. winds, offers good and anchorage. Tho harbour is dry at low water. A rd is stationed here. Bridlington is the scat of ' t. It is also a polling-place for the riding. Petty are held in the town. The living is a perpet. if the trustees of the Rev. C. Simeon. The n-h, dedicated to St. Mary, is part of the ancient civentual church, and forms the most interesting feature <i ie town. The original structure appears to have been vo 330 feet in length, and had two fine towers at the ^ tern end, the lower portions of which only remain. of the towers and the north side of the church I is in the early English, and the western front of the building chiefly in the perpendicular style. In archi- tectural beauty this front resembles the fine church of Bevcrley. The window is 55 feet high and 27 feet broad. A thorough repair and restoration of the structure was effected a few years ago. The dimensions of the present church are length, 185 feet ; breadth, 68 feet ; and height, 60 feet. In addition to the parish church there are three new churches : one at Bridlington Quay, erec- ted about the year 18-10. It is called Christ Church, and is in the early English style. The living is a perpot. cur.,* worth 150, in the gift of the Incumbent of Bridlington. The other two are situated, one at Sewerby, and the other at Speeton ; the livings of both are perpet. curs., the former val. 181, in the patron, of G. J. Yar- burgh, Esq., the latter, val. 50, in the gift of Lord Londesborough. There are chapels in Bridlington be- longing to the Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, and for the two latter bodies and the Methodist Reformers at Bridlington Quay. Tho boys' free school, founded in 1637 by William Hustler, has an income from endowment of 40 a year. There are also a free school for girls, endowed in 1671, National and infant schools. The private schools are numerous ; and there are public libraries, a mechanics' institute, and a museum. Fossil remains ahound in the chalk cliffs along this coast, and in a freshwater deposit of the neighbourhood was discovered some time ago the head of an elk, an extinct species, the horns of which mea- sured 1 1 feet from tip to tip. George Ripley, an alche- mist, and author of a treatise in metre called the " Com- pound of Alchemic," written in 1471, was one of the canons of Bridlington Priory. William of Newburgh, who wrote in the reign of King John, and Prior John of Bridlington, who lived in the reign of Edward III., were probably natives of this town. It was also the birthplace (1695) of Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington, by whom Burlington House was erected ; and of the famous landscape gardener, Kent, who died in 1748. There are many pleasant seats of the gentry in the neighbourhood ; among which are Boynton, the resi- dence of Sir G. Strickland, Bart. ; Thorpe Hall, Bes- singby, and Sewerby. Lord Cavendish takes from this place the title of earl. Saturday is the market day. Two annual fairs are held on the Monday before Whitsuntide and the 21st October for the sale of cattle and cloth. They are hold on the Green, an open space which was formerly the priory close. Races take place in October. BRIDPORT, a par., seaport, market town, and mu- nicipal and parliamentary borough, having separate juris- diction, in the hund. of Sturminster, though locally in the hund. of Whitchurch-Canonicorum, Bridport div. of the co. of Dorset, 14 miles to the W. of Dorchester, and 134 miles by road to the S.W. of London, or 163 by the Great Western railway, on which it is a station. There are also two branch lines to Dorchester and to Maiden Newton, the former joining the South- Western line at Dorchester, and the latter the Great Western at Maiden Newton, thus forming two distinct lines of communica- tion with the metropolis and other parts of the kingdom. Bridport was an important town before the Norman Conquest, and had a mint at the time of the great Survey. It was early noted for the manufacture of cordage, and in the reign of Henry VIII. the entire supply for the navy was ordered to be obtained at Bridport, or within 5 miles of the town. A " Bridport dagger" has long been a popular designation for a halter, and it is said of a man who has been hung, that he was " stabbed with a Bridport dagger." The town was alternately in the hands of the parliament and the royalists during the civil war of the 17th century. Bridport is situated in a pleasant sheltered valley, skirted by the Brit and the Asker, which unite to form the har- bour, and fall into the sea about 2 miles below the town. The principal streets, three in number, are spacious, well paved, and lighted with gas, and contain many good modern houses. In the centre of the town is the town- hall and market-house, built in 1786, which occupies 3s
 * w "Union and the head of a County Court dis-
 * in the dioc. of York, of the val. of 130, in the