Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/401

Rh BROMIIILL. 391 BROMLEY, GREAT. immortal poet, Thomas Moore, who died at Sloperton . long his favourite residence in this parish. A plain stone slab in the churchyard marks the spot where the poet and his two children are inti .i-rcd. BROMHILL, or BRUMIIILL, a limit, in the par. of Wciaini;-, hund. of Grimshoc, in the co. of Norfolk, 1 mile to the N. of Brandon. It was the site of an Au^iiMinr priory, founded about the beginning of the 13th cen- tury by Hugh de Playz. Henry III. conferred on th'' prior the privilege of a fair and a market. On the sup- pression of the house by Clement VII., in 1528, its en- dowments were given, first to Wolsey, and afterwards to Christ College, Cambridge. A farmhouse now stands. on the spot. BROMHOLME, or BROOMHOLM, a limit, in the par. of Bacton, hund. of Tunstcad, in the co. of Norfolk, 4 miles to the N.E. of North Walsham. It is seated on the sea-coast, and was once a place of some note and a market town. It has still some of the arches and walls ncient priory, founded in 1113 by William de Glanville, as a cell to the Cluniac monastery at Castle- acre. At the Dissolution it was valued at 145, and was iven to Sir Thomas Woodhouse, whose descendants still .d it. In 1233, Henry III., with his court, resided at i priory for a short time. A cross, in the possession this house, was reputed to be made of the wood of the true cross, and attracted large numbers of pilgrims with costly offerings. BEOMLEY and BECKENHAM HUNDRED, one of the 8 hunds. or subdivisions of the lathe of Sutton-at- Hone, in the co. of Kent, situated in the western parlia- mentary div. of the co., and bounded on the N. by the hund. of Blackheath, on the E. and S. by the hund. of Euxley, and on the W. by the co. of Surrey. It contains the pars, of Be'ckenham and Bromley, and has an area of about 8,450 acres. BKOMLEY, a par. and market town in the hund. of Bromley and Beckenham, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, in the co. of Kent, 10 miles to the S.E. of London, and 4i from Sydenham. It is a station on the London and Bickley branch of the South-Eastern railway, and also on the Dover and Chatham line. The parish is situated in a pleasant country on the banks of the Ravensboume, ami lias been a possession of the see of Rochester for above a thousand years, the manor having been given to th<' bishop by Ethelbert, King of Kent, in the 8th century. The possession was interrupted, but only for a short time, by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who seizi-d and held the manor after the Conquest, till 1076. The town consists chiefly of one street, ex- tending along the high road to Toubridge Wells, on the N. bank of the Ravensbourne, and before the con- struction of the railway was the scat of a large posting trade. The town is paved and lighted with gas, and contains many pretty and well-built houses. In the market place is an old market-house supported on pillars. There are also a police court and a savings-hank. Brom- ley is the seat of a Poor-law Union for 17 parishes, the head of a registration and County Court district, and a polling place for the western division of the county. Petty sessions are held in the town, for the western division of the county, the second Monday in every month. The living- is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Canterbury, of the val. of 6 ICO, in the patron, of the Bishop of Worcester. The church of St. Peter is a spacious edifice, with a massive embattled tower and a peal of eight bells, partly rebuilt about 1"95, and repaired in 1830. It is partly in the per- pendicular style, but has been much altered. It contains an old Norman font and some interesting monuments ; among which are those of Dr. Zachary Pearce, and other bishops of Rochester; of Dr. Hawkesworth, author of " The Adventurer ;" and of the wife of Dr. Johnson. There are several monumental brasses. The entrance gate to the churchyard ail'ords a good example of the ancient lich-gates by which, in former times, the corpse was borne into the burial-ground. A church, dedi- cated to the Holy Trinity, waa erected on Bromley Com- mon in 1841. It is a handsome structure in the Gothic Stylo of architecture. The cur.,* worth 132, is in the gift of the Bishop of Worcester. In the town are chapels belonging to the Independents and Wesleyan Methodists, and a literary institution. A college was founded and endowed here in 1666 by John Warner, Bishop of Rochester, for the support of 20 widows of clergymen, and a chaplain. The funds of the charity having been largely inm-ascd by later bequests, the number of in- mates has been doubled. Kadi inmate receives 38 a year, besides an allowance for coals and candles; the management of the charity is vested in trustees. Tho college stands at the northern entrance to the town ; its revenue amounts to about 2,000 per annum. The other charitable endowments of the parish, including the income (40) of a free school, amount to about 42 per annum. Bromley Palace, situated on a hill near the town, is a plain brick building, erected on the site of the ancient palace of the bishops of Rochester, which had fallen into decay, in 1777. It is now the residence of Coles Child, Esq., who is lord of the manor. In the grounds is a chalybeate spring, once in high repute, and called St. Blaise's Well, after the patron saint of an ancient oratory established near it. The bishops of Rochester have their seat now at Danbury Palace, in Essex. There arc many seats of the gentry in the neigh- bourhood, among which are Bickley Park, Eden Farm, Hayes Place, Langlcy Park, Sundridge Park, &c. Thursday is the market day. A cattle fair is held once a month. Extensive fairs for live stock also take place, in Widmore Lane and near the church, on the 14th February and the 5th August. Races are held annually in the month of September. BROMLEY, a tnshp. in the par. of Worfield, hund. of Brimstree, in the co. of Salop, 1 mile from Bridgnorth. BROMLEY, a tnshp. in the par. of Eccleshall, hund. of Pircliill, in the eo. of Stafford, not far from Eccleshall. BROMLEY, a hmlt. in the chplry. f Wortley, and par. of Tankersley, wap. of Staincross', in the West Riding of the co. of York, 6 miles to the S. W. of Barns- ley. It is crossed by the Midland railway. BROMLEY, ABBOT'S, a par. in the southern div. of the hund. of Pirehill, in the co. of Stafford, 12 miles to the E. of Stafford, and 128 miles from London by the London and North- Western railway. Rugeley station is about 4 miles distant from this place. The par. is situated on the E. side of the river Blithe, a branch of the Trent, and includes the lib. of Bagot's Bromley, and the tnshp. of Bromley Hurst. Blithbury, in a neigh- bouring parish, was the site of a monastery of the Bene- dictine order, founded in the first half of the 12th century, and given at the Dissolution to the Pagets. From its proximity to this monastery the parish is sup- posed to have taken the addition to its name. Bromley was once a market town, and the old townhall and market-house is still standing. The principal business of the place is the malt trade. The parish includes a considerable tract of moorland. Bromley is one of the polling places for the north division of the county. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Lichfield, of the val. of 187; in the patron, of the Marquis of Anglcsea. The church, an ancient edifice altered and modernised, is dedicated to St. Nicholas. It is partly in the perpen- dicular style, and has a Norman entrance. The Inde- pendents have a chapel in the town. There are also a hospital and a free school : the former, founded by L. Bagot in 1702 for six old men, has an income from en- dowment of about 70 per annum ; the latter, founded and endowed by Richard Clarke in 1GOG, has an income of about 35. The other charities produce about 90 a year. This parish is noted for having kept up the curious old custom, called the " hsbby-horse dance," till the middle of the 17th century. The deer's horns, which a number of the dancers used to wear, are pre- served in the church. Fairs for the sale of cattle are held on the llth March, the 22nd May, and the 4th September. BROMLEY, BAGOT'S. See BAGOT'S BROMLEY, Staf- fordshire. BROMLEY, GREAT, a par. in the hund. of Tend- ring, in the co. of Essex, 5 miles to tho E. of Colchester.