Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/756

Rh WANSTEAD. 744 WAPPENHAM. on the navigable river Hull. It contains a carpet fac- tory and extensive flour and tone mills. There is a school for both sexes, at which a Sunday-school is held. The Wesleyans have a chapel. WANSTEAD, a par. and post town in the hund. of Becontree, co. Essex, 7 miles N.E. from Shoreditch, and 1J mile from Ilford station on the Great Eastern railway. It is situated on the river Eoding, near the Great Eastern railway and Epping Forest. The vil- lage, which has doubled in population during the last quarter of a century, contains the station of the K division of the metropolitan police. The parish includes the hmlt. of Snaresbrook, close to the borders of the forest. Wanstead was given by Edward the Confessor to St. Paul's Cathedral, and is mentioned in Domesday book as being held at that time by Ralph Fitz-Brien, from whom it passed to the Herons and Lord Eich, whose son sold it to Robert, Earl of Leicester, in 1577 ; it afterwards passed to the Mild- mays and Childs, Earls of Tylney, by whom Wan- stead House was built in 1715. This mansion, having come by marriage to the Hon. W. P. T. L. Wellesley, it was sold and demolished in 1822, with the excep- tion of the stables and out-offices. At a short distance from Snaresbrook Pond stands the Infant Orphan Asylum, the foundation-stone of which was laid by the late Prince Consort, in 1841. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of London, val. 616. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was rebuilt in 1790. The interior contains an E. window by Eginton, and a monument to Sir Josiah Child, Bart. A chapel-of-ease was erected in 1861. The parochial charities produce about 86 per annum, of which 20 go to Bowles's school. In place of the almshouses at Potter's Field and Old Street Road, the Weavers' Company have erected others at New Wanstead. There are an infant school and a National school for both sexes. Many relics of antiquity, includ- ing tesselated pavements, urns, Roman coins, &c., were discovered near here in the years 1724 and 1746. WANSTROW, a par. in the hund. of Frome, to. Somerset, 6 miles S.W. of Frome, its post town, and a quarter of a mile from the Wanstrow railway station. The village is situated ,on the high road from Bruton to Frome. The par. includes the hmlt. of Weston. The soil is clayey, with a subsoil of clay. There is a small extent of common. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Bath and Wells, val. 325. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. There is a National school for both sexes, at which a Sunday-school is held, and the Wesleyans have a chapel. Mrs. C. S. Clarke is lady of the manor. WANTAGE, a hund. in co. Berks, contains the para, of Ardington, Childrey, East Garston, East and West Hundred, East Lockinge, Wantage, and parts of Dench- worth, West Hanney, and Sparsholt ; comprising an area of 28,160 acres. WANTAGE, a par. and ancient market town in the above hund., co. Berks, 22 miles N.W. of Reading, and 60 W. of London. Wantage Road is a station on the Great Western railway. It is situated near the Vale of the White Horse, on the Wilts and Berks canal, and a branch of the river Ock. The par. includes the hmlts. of Charlton, Grove, and West Lockinge. Alfred the Great is said to have been born here. After the Con- quest it was held by Roger Bigod, who gave it to the noble family of Fitzwarrens, who held it for a considerable period, and obtained for it a grant of a market from Henry III. In 1849 a millenary festival was held here in commemoration of the birth of King Alfred, when funds were subscribed for the rebuilding of the grammar-school, and a medal was struck in honour of the jubilee. The town is governed by a board of commissioners appointed under an Act of Parliament in 1828. Petty sessions are held fort- nightly on Wednesday. A county court is also held monthly, and the Poor-law guardians sit weekly on Tuesday at the union workhouse, which is situated nearly 1J mile from the town. The union com- prises 34 parishes or townships. The population of the parish in 1861 was 3,925, and of the town, 3,064. The chief trade is in corn, malt, and other agricultural produce, the manufacture of sacking, twine, and hempen goods having declined ; there is also a brass and iron foundry, known by the name of the Vale of White Horse Foundry. There are a savings-bank, a branch of the London and County bank, and a reading room. The soil of the surrounding district is particularly adapted to the growth of wheat. An annual meeting for coursing, called the " Letcombe Bowers' Meeting," is held on the downs. The living is a vie.,* with the chapelry of Charltou annexed, in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 503, in the patron, of the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, contains 18 carved stalls with miserere seats, a wooden screen, and two brasses one of a priest and the other of a knight, both Fitzwarrens besides other monuments of the Fitzwarren and Wilmot families, and double piscina and old altar stone. There is also the dis- trict church of Grove, the living of which is a perpet. cur.,* val. 83. The Wesleyans and Baptists have chapels. The parochial charities produce about 650 per annum, of which 450 are from the town lands. Roman coins and a bath have been found in the vicinity, and near the Ridge way leading over the downs, is a large tumulus called the " Wayland Smith," supposed to be of Uruidical origin. Butler, Bishop of Durham, was bom hero in 1692. Market- days are Wednesday and Saturday, the former for corn and the latter for meat and provisions. Fairs are held on the first Saturdays in March and May for cattle and cheese, 18th July for cherries, and 17th and 18th October for pleasure and hiring servants. WANTISDEN, a par. in the hund. of Plomesgate, co. Suffolk, 4 miles N.W. of Orford, and 7 N.E. of Woodbridge. Wickham Market is its post town. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Norwich, val. 64. The church is dedicated to St. John. The parochial charities produce about 5 per annum. WANTSUM, a channel forming the Isle of Thanet, co. Kent. It passes between Richborough and the Reculvers, and was anciently the readiest passage to the port of London, but is now choked up by the sea, which is retiring on the eastern side. WAPLEY, a hmlt. in the par. of Lofthouse, North Riding co. York, 8 miles E. of Guisbrough. WAPLEY, a hill near Titley, with a fine view, co. Hereford, 2J miles S.E. of Presteign. It has traces of Caractacus' camp. WAPLEY-CUM-CODRINGTON, a par. in the lower div. of Grumbald's-Ash hund., co. Gloucester, 2 miles S.W. of Chipping-Sodbury, its post town, and 2 N.W. of Yate. The village is situated near the Bristol and Gloucester railway. The soil is clayey. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Gloucester and Bristol, val. 400, in the patron, of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The church is dedicated to St. Peter. Sir C. W. Codringtou is lord of the manor. WAPLINGTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Allerthorpe, Wilton Beacon div. of Harthill wap., East Riding co. York, 2 J miles S.W. of Pocklington. WAPPENBURY, a par. in the Southam div. of the hund. of Knightlow, co. Warwick, 5 miles N.E. of Leamington, its post town, and 3 N.W. of Marton rail- way station. The village is situated on the River Learn, and adjoining the turnpike road leading from Leamington to Rugby. The soil is loamy, with a subsoil of gravel and marl. The par. includes the hmlt. of Eathrope, separated from that of Wappeubury by the Learn. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Worcester, val. 60. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.. The register dates from 1754. The parochial charities pro- duce about 9 per annum. The Roman Catholics have a chapel. Lord Clifford is lord of the manor, WAPPENHAM, a par. in the hund. of King'j- Sutton, co. Northampton, 5 miles S.W. of Towcester, its post town, and 7 from Brackley. The village is situated on the river Tove. The par. includes the hmlts. of Astwell and Falcatt, near the former of which is an ancient mansion once the seat of the earls Ferrars. The