Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/807

Rh DOWNHAM SANTON. 797 DOWNPATRICK. im the Saxon dune, a "hill," and ham, a. " dwelling," nifying its situation on the slope of a hill about a mile ""of the navigable river Ouso. It commands a prospect many miles over the fens to the W., and is approached an old wooden, bridge across the river. A small iory formerly stood hero belonging to Ramsey Abbey, ) manor forming a part of the demesne of that estab- hment. Edward the Confessor gave this town the ivilcge of a market, and it was long famous for its tter. Henry III. renewed its privileges, and granted the abbots of Ramsey Abbey the power to try ami ccute felons on their gallows of Downham. The town remarkably neat and clean, having been much im- ovcd since 1S35, when a local Act was obtained for this rpose. It is well paved, and lighted with gas, and has md contains the union workhouse, a mechanics' ,itut<, bank, savings-bank, and a handsome modem lilding in which the county courts and petty sessions hi'M. A brewer}', iron foundry, and extensive steam , grinding and seed crushing, give employment many of the inhabitants. It is a polling place for the division of the county, a petty sessions town, 1 the seat of a court-baron, which is held quarterly by .! lord of the manor. The Poor-law Union comprises parishes. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Nor- ch, val. 403, in the patron, of W. Franks, Esq. The '. 'dicated to St. Edmund, is an ancient structure th low square embattled tower, supported by buttresses (1 adorned with quoins, &c. It has a fine peal of eight 1 Is, and contains an ancient octangular font. The ' charities produce about 149 per annum. The Vslcyans, and Primitive Methodists, and the i' Friends, have places of worship. There k a N'alional school for both sexes. Sir Thomas are, Bart., is lord of the manor. Downham House is principal residence. Market day is Saturday, for tter, corn, and provisions. Fairs are held on the 3rd uvli, first Friday in May, and second Friday in No- mbrr, fur cattle, horses, and other live stock; and on Saturday fortnight previous to Old Michaelmas Day d the Saturday following there are hirings for servants. IinWXHAM SANTOX, or SANDY, a par. in the ml. of Lackford, in the co. of Suffolk, 4 miles N.W. of ..-tlnul, and 2 miles N.E. of Brandon, its post town 1 nc:uv.-t s'ation on the Great Eastern railway. It is naif! OH the river Ousc. In 1668 this place was .irly overwhelmed by an immense drift of sand from i heath hills, 5 miles distant. The drift covered m 1,500 to 2,000 acres, and almost choked up the river. 01 living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Ely, val. 59, in i patron, of Lord William Powlett, who is lord of the mur and owner of the whole of the soil. The church dedicated to St. Mary. Downham Hall is the seat < f >rd William Powlett. I )U VXIIKAD, a par. in the hund. of Whitstone, in e co. of Somerset, 2j miles X. of the Cranmore station the Great Western railway, and 5 N.E. of Shepton illct, iis post town. It is generally considered a plry. in the par. of Doulting, to which it is ecclesias- ully annexed. The impropriate tithes, belonging to 80, and the vicarial for 114. The living is a cur. iM'xod to the vie. of Doulting, in the dioc. of Bath and ells. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a stone 'iicture in the perpendicular style of architecture. The ,'ister commences in 1695. There arc parochial and nday schools. Lord Portman is lord of the manor. DOWNHEAD, a hmlt. in the par. of West Camel, in J co. of Somerset, 3 miles N.E. of Ilchester. DOWN-HILL, an eminence rising 580 feet above the i, on the boundary- of the par. of Dunbar, in the co. of iddington, Scotland. Hero the Covenanters were camped before their defeat by Cromwell, and that gagemcnt is sometimes called the battle of Downhill distinguish it from the battle of Dunbar, fought in the th century. 1>OWN HOLLAND, a tnshp. in the par. of Halsall, nd. of West Derby, in the co. palatine of Lancaster. 3 miles S.AV. of Ormskirk. It is intersected by the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Down Holland Hall, an ancient residence, is now occupied as a farm. There is a National school for both sexes. Charles Scarisbrick, Esq., is lord of the manor. DOWNHOLME, or DOWNHAM, a par. in the wap. of West Hang, North Riding of the co. of York, 5 miles N. of Leyburn, and 5 S.W. of Richmond, its post town and nearest railway station. It is situated near the river Swale, and contains the tnshps. of Downholme, Walburn, Staniton, and Ellerton Abbey. On the banks of the Swale are the ruins of Ellerton Nunnery, founded in the reign of Henry II. At the Dissolution its revenue was estimated at only 8. The living is a perpot. cur. in the dioc. of Ripen, val. 75, in the patron, of J. T. Hutton, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is an ancient stone structure in the later Norman stylo of architecture, with belfry containing two bells. The charities amount to about 8 per annum. There is a parochial school with a small endowment. The parish comprises four manors, of which Lord Bolton is lord of the manor of Downholme ; T. Hutton, Esq., of the manor of Walburn; S. T. 8. Scrope, Esq., of Stainton ; and J. Drax, Esq., of Ellerton Abbey. DOWNIE, a vil. in the par. of Monikic, in the co. of Forfar, Scotland, G miles S.E. of Forfar. DOWNIES, a vil. in the par. of Banchory-Dovenick, in the eo. of Kincardine, Scotland, i miles 8. of Banchory. DOWNINGS, a par. in the bar. of Clane, in the co. of Kildare, prov. of Lcinster, Ireland, 5 miles N.W. of Naas, its post town. It is situated on the road from thence to Edenderry. The surface is flat and boggy. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Kildare, val. with Carragh, 153, in the patron, of the bishop. There are some ruins of the parish church. The Grand canal passes through the parish, and is crossed by two bridges. The chief seats are Downings House and Woodville. DOWN, LOWER, a tnshp. in the par. of North Lyd- bury, in the co. of Salop, 2 miles S.E. of Bishop's Castle. DOWNPATRICK, a par., city, and market town, in the bar. of Lecale, co. of Down, prov. of Ulster, Ireland, 74 miles N. of Dublin, and 26' S.S.E. of Belfast by tho 1'elfast and County Down railway, of which it is the terminus. It is a parliamentary borough, county town, and seat of the bishopric of Down. Situate on a group of little hills, on the S.W. shore of the W. branch of Lough Conn, or Lough Strangford, it consists of four principal streets, rising with steep ascent from the market-place in the centre ; the chief of which are the English and Irish streets. In the former all the business is transacted. Ac- cording to ancient usage, it is divided into three dis- tricts, called respectively the English, Scotch, and Irish quarters, and contains about 900 houses, mostly well built. The population, according to the census of 1861, was 4,310. The County Down railway connects the town with Belfast and Newtownards. It was anciently the residence of the native kings of UKdia, and waa originally named Aras-GfUair and Jtath-kettair, one sig- nifying the house, and the other tho castle of Celtair ; Ptolemy called it Dnmim. Its present name is derived from its situation, and from having been the residence of St. Patrick. Between the years 900 and 1111 it was constantly ravaged by tho Danes, who plundered and burnt it several times. In 1177 it became the residence of John de Courcy, by tho defeat of McDunleve, its former possessor. Edward Bruce, in his invasion of Ulster, in 1315, marched here, and plundered and burnt part of the town. In 1538, owing to the wealthy abbots of this district having opposed the spiritual supremacy of King Henry VIII., Lord Grey, then lord-deputy, get lire to the cathedral and the town. It was again partly destroyed in 1552 by the Earl of Tyrone. In the warof 1G41 the Protestants of the surrounding district having lied here for protection, it was attacked by the Irish under Colonel Brian O'Neil, who slaughtered many of the towns- men, and burnt a castle erected by Lord Okeham. Down- pa trick had a corporation at an early period, the existence of which is recognised in 1403 by letters of protection,
 * .s market place. It principally consists of two
 * rd Portman, have been commuted for a rent-charge