Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/65

Rh ALPHAMSTONE 55 ALSAGER. Hill, hund. of Gore, in the co. of Middlesex, lying 8 miles to the N.W. of the city of London. It is not iar from the river Brcut. The London and North Western railway and the Paddington canal pass near it. ALPHAJISTONE, a par. in the hund. of JUuckford, in the eo. of Essex, 4 miles to the S. of Sudbury. The river Stour runs near it. The living is a red.* in the dioc. of Rochester, val. 257, in the gift of the lord chancellor. The parochial charities amount to 13 a year. ALPHETON, a par. in the hund. of Bahergh, in the co. of Suffolk, 8 miles to the N. of Sudbury. A feeder of the river Stour runs through it. The living is a rect. in the dipc. of Ely, val. 275, in the patron, of the Rev. W. J. Aislabie, the rector. ALPHINGTON, a par. in the hund. of Wonford, in the co. of Devon, 2 miles to the S. of Exeter. The Alphin, a branch of the river Exe, runs through the parish, as does also the Exeter canal, in a parallel course with the river. Tho South Devonshire railway passes near it. The living is a rect. * in the dioc. of Exeter, val. 987, in the patron. of the Ecv. F. A. Savile. There are some alms- houses here, and an ancient cross stands in the chief street. The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and con- tains a font in the Norman style, with pillars and intersecting arches. Tho tower was repaired in 1853. Cattle fairs are held here on the first Wednesday after June 20th, and on Michaelmas day. Alphington House is the principal residence. ALPHINGTON, or ALPINGTON, a vil. in the par. and hund. of Ottery St. Maiy, in the co. of Devon, ll mile N. of the town of Ottery St. Mary, and 10 E. from Cullompton railway station. The living is annexed to the vie. of Ottery St. Mary. The church, which is dedicated to St. James and St. Anne, is a new brick building in the early English style, erected in 1849 at the sole expense of the Hon. Justice Coleridge, who also a present to the village of a parsonage-house and schoolroom. The church contains a painted window at the east end, and a font of Devonshire marble, with a Bacrarium. ALPINGTON, a par. in the hund. of Loddon, in the cp. of Norfolk, G miles to the S.E. of Norwich. The living is a reet. united with Yelverton, in the dioc. of Norwich. The tithes of the united para, have been com- muted for 408 per annum. No vestige of the church now exists. A new school-house was built in 1854. Alpington Hall is the principal residence. ALPORT, a limit, in the tnshps. of Rowsley and Youlgrcave, in the co. of Derby, 5 miles to the N.W. of Castleton. Alport Brook runs through the hamlet. It takes its rise in the Peak and joins the Ashop at Gillop Hey, not far from the lofty Alport rocks, which rise to a height of nearly a thousand feet. Tho calcareous deposit from streams which run through a limestone district, called Tufa, is obtained here, and is employed in the construction of ornamental rockwork. ALPRAHAM, a tnshp. in the par. of Bunbury, first div. of the hund. of Eddisbury, in the co. palatine of Chester, 6 miles to the N.W. of Nantwich. The Chester and Crewe railway and the Birmingham canal pass near it. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel here. ALRESFORD, a par. in the hund. of Tendring, in the co. of Essex, 5 miles to the S.E. of Colchester. It is situated on a branch of the river Colne. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Rochester, val. 378, in the patron, of Hulme's trustees. The church is dedicated to St. Peter. The par. has an area of 1,583 acres. ALRESFORD (commonly called ALSFORD) NEW, a par. and market town in the Alton div. of the co. of Hants, 7 miles to the N.E. of Winchester railway station, and 57 miles from London by road, or 75 miles by the South Western railway. It is a neat and well-built union and market town, situated near the head of the river Itchen. Its name imports that there was a ford, over- shadowed by alder trees, on the spot ; but, by a mistake, the river here is often called the Alre. Cenwalch, King of Wcssex, after his baptism, gave the manor to the Bishop of Winchester. Tho market, which in the early part of the 13th century had been discontinued, was re* stored about the year 1220, by Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester. The town was incorporated at an early period. It returned one member to parliament in the twenty-third and thirty-fifth years of the reign of Edward I., which privilege has long since been lost. Tho town has suffered on several occasions from fire. In 1690 and 1710 it was nearly destroyed, and it was subject to a like calamity in 1736. The church of St. John the Baptist is a neat building, and has a low embattled tower, with a peal of eight bells. The living was formerly a chplry. of Old Alresford, but now is a rect.* in the dioc. of Winchester, val. 240, in the patron, of the bishop, who is also lord of the manor. The Independents have a chapel here. There is a grammar school, founded and endowed in 1698 by H. Perrin, Esq., for 19 boys, sons of tradesmen in the town and in the villages of Old Alresford, Sutton, and Tichbourne, which, besides a house for the master, has fifty-two acres of land, yielding at present an income of 149 per annum. Petty sessions are held fortnightly by the county magistrates for the Winchester division. At Michaelmas, a court leet is held by the Bishop of Winchester. Alresford used to be within the jurisdiction of the Cheyney Court, at Winchester. There is a national school and a savings-bank in the town. The fonner remarkable prosperity of this place is said to have been owing to the fact of the river Itchen having been made navigable up to the town, for which purpose in the reign of King John an em- bankment was constructed by Bishop Godfrey de Lucy ; and the small lake, now called Alresford Pond, which covers an area of about 40 acres, was formed, but the navigation does not extend now beyond Winchester. The bishop and his successors received, as compensation for his great work, the royalty of the river from the pond to the sea. The market, which is chiefly for corn, is held on Thursday ; where sheep are also sold in the three months before Christmas. Fairs are held on the hist Thursday in July, the first Thursday in Sep- tember, the first Thursday after October the 16th, and the last Thursday in November, for the sale of cattle. There arc several mansions in the neighbourhood : Tich- bourne House, the seat of the Tichboume family, and tho Grange, the seat of Lord Ashburton. The latter is built in imitation of the Parthenon at Athens. ALRESFORD, OLD, a par. in the hund. of Fawley, in the Alton div. of the co. of Hants, close to New Alresford. It hies on tho other side of the river Itchen. The living is a rect. * in tho dioc. of Winchester, val. 556, in the patron, of the bishop. The church,which was rebuilt in 1753, has a fine tower, and is dedicated to St. Mary. Admiral Lord Rodney formerly resided in Old Alresford House, now belonging to his descendant Lord Rodney. This village is within tho jurisdiction of the Cheyney Court of Winchester. A very neat free school has been erected, at the sole expense of Miss Onslow. ALREWAS, a par. in tho northern div. of the hund. of Oftlow, in the eo. of Stafford, 5 miles to the N.E. of Lichfield. It comprises the hmlts. of Fradley, Orgreave, and Ovcrley. It is a station on tho South Stafford- shire railway. The par. is bounded on the N. by tho river Trent, and on the E. by the river Tame, and is intersected by the Grand Trunk canal, which joins the Trent here. The Coventry canal also passes through the parish. Early in the 9th century, Alrewas became tho possession of the cathedral of LicMeld. The living is a discharged vie. in tho dioc. of Lichfield, val. 328, in Hie patron, of the bishop. The church is dedi- cated to All Saints. There is a chapel belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists. A worsted-mill furnishes employment to some of the population. There are charities amounting to 26 per annum. ALREWAS HAYES, an ext. par. lib., in the northern div. of tho hund. of Offlow, in the co. of Stafford, closo to Alrewas. ALSAGER, a chplry. in the par. of Barthomley, hund. of Nantwich, in the co. palatine of Chester, 4 miles to tho S.E. of Sandbach. It is situated near tho Trunk canal and the river Wenlock, and is a station on