Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/68

Rh ALTON. AI.fM BAY. ..I Henry II., stood on a r. e 300 .lit. The ruins also within this : la large camp, with ;i double ditch mi thru- hides, and ].i
 * : is supposed to have been f<

about i "', by one of tliu kings of Morcia. lu ir the old castle, a huHpii.il i' r .-ILK d j-"jile, dedicated to St. John. On the northern slo; Valley, opposite to the .'", stands Alton Towers, the noble seat of th< 1 ..11 -y. Kilty years ago, the site of this mansion and its park 'and gardens was a rabbit warren. It is now a se> i ., 'idinary magnificence and to be named by the great landscape gui uud I Ir. Loudon, the Enchanted Valley. The stands on a hill formerly callid Umi- bury, in tl ilcy, was begun by Charles, the :-i :1, iu the jia'r ISM. Al'icr his death, in lhi'7, many udilitions and improvements were made by hi* successor. The architecture is of various styles, itilly Gothic. A fine sheet of water spreads out in front of the hall, which is flanked with terraces, and adorned with a lofty tower, and many turrets and pinnacles. It contains a lofty entrance hall, armoury, picture gallery, octagon, conservatory, long gallery,' dining and drawing rooms, libraries, chapel, and other apartments, to name and describe which would take a volume. From the entrance hall, which opens into the armoury, there is a splendid down the galleries, extending nearly ICO yards. The armoury, which is ubout 120 feet in length, has, in the -, a statue of John Talbot, the great Earl of Shrewsbury, and round the sides are twenty-four figures in complete armour. Specimens of guns, weapon are arranged on tables. This apartment communicates with the picture gallery by a screen formed of spears and halberts. In the picture gallery, which is 160 ] length, is a large and valuable collection of works of art. A large number of the paintings are from the coll of Madame Bonaparte. Among them are the kneeling Madonna of liaphuel, a Madonna by Da Vinci, the Prodigal Son of Ikmifaccio, Magdalcns by Paul Veronese and by Guido, and works by Spugn Gone, Murillo, Valaaquez, &c. There are nun busts, vases, antique*, Arc., in the octagon, which if, like a chapter-house, supported by one central column. conservatory contains many statues. The fitting* the chapel are very costly and splendid, gold crosses on the altarpiece, pointing* on the walls, a fine sen Pugin, and stained windows by Willement. The gar- den* reach to the river side, the terraces being connected by ih -I/. of steps, and they abound in temples, grottoes, fountains, falls, statues, and greenhouses. An elegant structure, on the model of the undent Choragic 'I ysicntas, at Athens, stands ' mnco to the gardens. Views over the whole magical scene are ob- tained at the Harper's Cottage and the Gothi, Temple. A celebrated lawsuit respecting this magnificent estate and mansion, has recently ti nnin;itl in favour < Talbot, of Ingestreo Hall, who in June, 1858, was de- clared, by a Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords, to have established his claim to the iarl, Shrewsbury; aixl in i 1860, was adjudged by irt to be the owner of the estates. ALTON, a constablewick in the |-ir. of Kock, and lower iliv. of the hund. of I>ml in the oo. of . -ter, I mil.--, t" H.e 'W. of liewdley, at a short distance fn ALToN-ltAI j,ar. in the hund. of Swanborough, in ; miles to tin- I-'.. u canal posses through it. This place was formerly a possession of the m ' rueabury. The Ihing i< it int. in the <1 tin' Vai.l ' KM) HI M>!.-i:i>, in the AH..H div. of ti,. 'f 1 1 hun- Snney in of the hundred of Bishop's Sutton, on the S. by 1 county of Sussex and i . and on tin. V. hv eoiiUtins the pars. :wtn, I> Keadlry, Kroyl' . ey, Neatham, Shaldham, Eust WorlJhani. "orldham. ALTON-PANCRAS, a lib. and par. in tin if tin- 1,1. of Dorset, 8 miles to the N. <>f I riie living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Salisbury. in the patron, of the Dean and Chapter of The church is dedicated to St. Andrew. Alton Don^H near this village, is a meet for the Blackmoor hai i ALTiiN-l'l:lnl;S, a chplry. in the par. o: in the hund. of Elstub and Kvcrley, in the eo. <,t' Wilts, mtains the tythg. of Stow, -11, which w.ts one of the possosi ,,f Wim he.-;, r. Mh 1 with the vie. ot i : Salisbflt^H The church, which is il o All Saint-. a, brass of the year loJ.s. ALTRINCHAM, or A 1 TIM NGUAM, a market towfl and clijilry. in the ]>ar. of Bowdon, and hund. of I'.nck- u the co. palatine of Chester, 28 miles to the of Chester, 8 miles S.W. of Manchester, with which it fl now connected by it railway, and 1C miloa by raiH from London. Its pleasant and 1, Bowdon Downs has long made it nttr,. from Manchester, and since the eoiiMm railway, many of the business men of .' : liafB gone to reside at Altrincham, for whose convenienaBJ trains are run frequently through the day. The tn, which is neat and clean, lies near th and the Bridgwater canal from Mai: KniM ,,, in ]iassC8 through it. The liviu t. cur.* tin- (hoc. of Chester, vol. 210, in tin 1' flfl vicar. The church, which is dedicated to was built by subscription iu 1709. T j >P*fl belonging to the Unitari;. Independents, and two to the Methodist*, besides so floating chapel, in connection with laud, on the canal. The jubilee school for eighty girfl was established in 1810, und is su]ipoi;i>d ),y v, luntaiJ contributions. The jirim i]>al ocrnjiatiuii.s of the plaofl in, weaving of linen thread, and turning bobbins for the cotton and worsted spinners. V ! t and fruit are grown in the neighbour! cheater mat I < Stamford has lately ercctefl a townhall here. The market is on Tuesday, and fair*! arc held on the 22nd April, the ."ah Ani. jLi.d l,,i the sale of cattle and >-' un>B court is lield lieie. ]!y a i liaiter e:;n:ti (1 in the reign oH id I. by Hamon do Massy, lord of Uui .! Altrincham was made a free burgh, anil the luirgesMfl had ] so a guild men! I'. i mayor is still >!, ,t,d in the autumn, but nominal, the only duty in i : that* of opening the fairs. The charities of the jiliice .v mount* ALTVIM-:. a ]ar. now united v.itli l;.i(l',,id, in the co. ot M- I'! 1, le i.'. church, which contains u f thsJP Earls of Badenoch, whose ^opre^' NV. i 'um- ming, liar; the mansi,,n li, HM of Al; u style of; ALUMBAT.a reinarkalileliay mar t! in lily of the Isle of AVight, in Hampshire; havinjd iioitln rn limit the l"lly lli'adon Hill, ^ej,.llaling ft
 * id's Bay; and at its soiitliuii limi

singular <1- l;s called tin N lit of 300 or tVt MI! they are i.l'ch-i'k. of a ileliall a, with thin layers of word coal ; bill on the eastern eide they consist of vertical ? ularly ig in i ha: and yell,-., Tho .laiul. which in ,ry I>UIT, i.-i ex] the niaiiul.i, '.ure of glass and ]