Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/380

Rh BRIDPORT DIVISION. 370 BRIERS. the bite of an ancient chapel, dedicated to St. Androw. The town e Union poorhouse, a custom-house, and a prison. The prosperity of Bridport depends chielly on th<! trade of the port and the various manufactures 11 with it. On the Brit is a large flax-mill, i i' on the Bredy. The harbour being liable to injury from the accumulation of sand, it is only by great and repeated efforts and at immense cost that it has been made so safe and commodious us it now Is. It L at the bottom of the spacious bay extending betwc. '1 the cliffs it some points to the height of 200 do of admitting vessels of 250 tons bur- Sinee th,. e.mViruction of railways the coostiiiK- . which was of considerable extent, has greatly fallen off. The number of vessels belonging to the port is be- tween 15 and 20. The principal articles imported are hemp, flax, tallow, and timber, from Russia and th" Baltic ; coals from Wales and the north of England ; wines, slate, &c. The exports consist of the various manu- factures which form the staple business of the town ; these are fishing-nets, sail-cloth, twine, cordage, and webbing. Considerable quantities of cheese and butter were for- merly sent to London, but that trade for some years past has been on the decline. Bridport has been noted for the building of smacks and small vessels of fine con- struction and fast sailing. Ship-building is still carried on h' as first incorporated by a charter granted by Henry III., about 1253, which was con- firmed and extended by several succeeding sovereigns. The limits of the borough were considerably enlarged by the Reform Act, and comprise now, besides the old borough and the parish, parts of the neighbouring parishes of Allington, Bradpole, Bothenhampton, Bur- l-.-adstock, Symondsbury, and Walsditeh, contain- ing altogether 1,468 inhabited houses, occupied in 1861 by a population of 7,672, against 7,666 in 1861, show- ing, an increase of 106 in the decennial period. The government of the borough, now divided into three wards, is vested under the new Act in a mayor or bailiffs, 6 al'lrrmen, and 18 councillors, bearing the style of the " bailifis and burgesses of the borough of Bridport." The borough has returned two representatives to parliament since the reign of Edward I., who conferred on it the i vo franchise in 1 296. The mayor or bailiffs are re- turning officers. Bridport is the seat of a Poor-law Union, the head of a County Court district, and a coast- guard station. The corporation hold a court of session annually, and a court of record once a fortnight. The living is a reel.* in the dioc. of Salisbury, of the val. of 250, in the patron, of the Earl of Ilchcster. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. It is an ancient edifice in the form of a cross, in the perpendicular style of an' ture, with a good tower at the centre, crowned with pin- nacles, and was admirably restored and considerably enlarged in 1869. It is said to be the finest church iii the county, except Sherborne and Wimbome minsters, and contains an altar tomb of William, son of Sir Eustace Dabridgocourt, Irinmnan to Queen Fhilippa. There is also at Allington a new church, capable of accommodating 1,000 persons. There are chapels belonging to the Baptists, Independents, Society of Friends, Unitarians, Wesleyans, and Roman Catho- lics. A free school and an almshouse were founded and endowed about the close of the 17th centn Daniel Taylor, a member of the Society of Friends. The school has a revenue of about 80, and is managed by trustees ; and the almshouse is endowed with about 70 per annum. There are also National and infant schools, and various charitable endowments producing about 1 00 a year. There are in the town a mechanics' institute and a savings-bank. Bridport was the birthpl. Giles de Bridport, who was raised to the see of Salis- bury about 1250. The Hood family take the title of viscount and baron from this place. Wedm -day and Saturday are the market days. Fairs for cattle, cheese, 4c., aro h, : ..Hi April, and the lltli ' BRIDPORT DIVISION, one of the nine divs. of Dorsetshire, situated in the western part of the Co., and bounded on the N. by Somersetshire, on and Dorchester divs., on the S. by th Channel, and on tint W. by Duvonshii- the following four hunds. lieamm- liedhone, Eggerton, Goddcrthome, aii Canonicorum ; and the four libs, of Bru. Frampton, Lothors, and Poorstock. Tli- I;UI1>STOW, a par. in the lower div. Wormolow, in the co. of II' nt.nd, 1 u, it Bom. It i- situated in a p!> ink i.i tin river Vyo. Tli Gloucester railway passes within a blu-i: living is a vie.* in the dim 1. "I 11 276, in the jtron. of thi: bishop. The, !. ,r cated to St. Bridget. Between th the picturesque ivy-covered ruins of Wilton Guile ancient seat of the Groy fanu. title of earl. It was burnt down during th* civ the reign of Charles 1. 'I trustees of Guy's Hospital, L<>ii<l n. Th on the W. bank of the river, near the old briu. also forms a pleasing object in the lands* BRIERCLIFFE, a tnshp. united with Kir the par. of Whalley, and himd. of Blackburn palatine of Lancaster, 3 miles to tin N The inhabitants are chiefly t mpl ing coal-mines. 'Die li of Manchester, of the val. of | itron. .f Vicar of Whalley. The charities prwi y, ar. BRIERLEY, a tnshp. in the par. and bor-juj Leominster, liund. of Wolphy, in the oo. mile from Leominster. BHIERLEY, a tnshp. in the par Staincross, in the Wist Hilling of miles to the N.E. of Barnsley. Grinn thorpe it t hi of this tnshp. The workpeople ar in the cloth manufacture. BRIEKI.KY, a vil. in the Seisdon, in the co. of Stafford, 3 miles to : BRIERLEY HILL, a n, the par. of Kingswinford, and in in this co. of Stafford, :i mi:. 7 from Wolvcrhampton, and 11 li is a station on the West Slidlaii'! consists of one lon^r street, neiu well paved and rous shops, and the muKit i- stroet. There is a nr. term ing societies, and an asso< of thieves. The chief manufactures ar> glass, consisting of boiler-making, implements, nails, glass, fii' ing establishments. Tin i large and extensive iron- works in the iv and porcelain stone. the dioc. of Lichfivld, of the val. v Marl's Mill annexed, of 300, in tin ptK .-I Kingswinford. The cl St. Michael and All Angels, was built recently been twice enlarged. It contains fii erected in 1844 at the cost ol may bo seen an extensive prospect, cmbn^^H , with the Stour winding ' tin- Wrekin, in Shropshire, and the Main W'.reesterBhirc, to the S.W. T!. dents, Wcsleyans, anq" Priniitie M and there are National and infant schools. and Stourbridge canal passes thr has many branches. The cha] parish for ecclesiastical purp within the parish of Kingswiuford. The a on Saturday. I'.KIKKS, a vil. in the par. ..! I Morley, in the West Riding t'i tlle'K. of Halifax. 'I dioc. of Ripon, of the val. of 150, in the fttt
 * !>:i,200 acres.