Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/785

Rh WEMBLY. 773 WENDOVER borough it is situated. The parish is bounded on the E. by the navigable river Parret, and on the S. by the road from Bridgwater to Dunster. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Bath and Wells, val. 615. The church is dedicated to St. George. The local charities produce about 6 per annum. There is a village school. WEMBLY, a limit, in the pur. of Harrow-on-the- Hill, cp. Middlesex, 9 miles N. W. of St. Paul's, London. It is situated on the river Brent, near the Sudbury station of the London and North- Western railway, by whom the church was built. The manor formerly belonged to the priory of Kilburn. For ecclesiastical purposes it forms a district parish with Sudbury. WEMBUKY, a par. in the hund. of Plympton, co. Devon, 6 miles S.E. of Plymouth, and 5 S.W. of Plymp- ton-Earls. It is bounded on the S. and W. by the English Channel, and on the E. by the river Yealin. It anciently belonged to Plympton Priory, and includes the hmlt. of Knighton. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioo. of Exeter, val. 90, in the patron, of the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The church, dedicated to St. Werburgh, is situated on the brow of a hill overlooking the sea. It contains tombs of the Heles and Calmadys of Langdon. There is an almshouse for 10 poor people, founded and endowed in 1625 by Sir W. Hele, and a vil- lage school. E. K. P. Bastard, Esq., is lord of the manor. WEMBWORTHY, a par. in the hund. of North Tawton, co. Devon, 4 miles S.W. of Chulmleigh, 12 N.W. of Crediton, and 1J mile S.W. of the Eggesford station on the North Devon railway. The village is situated in the vale of the river Taw. The living is a rect* in the dioc. of Exeter, val. 160. The church is dedicated to St. Michael. The Earl of Portsmouth is lord of the manor, and resides at Eggesford House. WEMERGILL, a hmlt. in the tnshp. of Lunedale and par. of Ronaldkirk, North Riding co. York, 10 miles N.W. of Barnard Castle. It is situated near the Lune- dale Beck, a branch of the river Tees. WEMYSS, a par. in the district of Kirkcaldy, co. Fife, Scotland. It comprises the vils. of East Wemyss, West Wemyss, Buckhaven, and Methill, on the coast, also the inland vils. of Kirkland, East Coaltown and West Coaltown. It extends in length about 5 j miles from S.W. to N.E., with an extreme breadth of about 2 miles, and is bounded along the S.E. and the S. by the Frith of Forth, and on other sides by the pars, of Dysart, Markinch, Kennoway, and Scoonie. It is a burgh of barony, and a subport to Kirkcaldy. The coast, which is bold and rocky, extends a considerable length into the sea, and is perforated with many caves. One of these caves extends 200 feet in length, and in another James IV. was entertained by the gipsies. The rocks are chiefly of the carboniferous series, including excellent coal in 12 seams about 89j feet in thickness; a shining parret toal, which is cut into tables, looking-glass frames, &c. ; and beds of ironstone, which are worked. Fishing is carried on to some extent on the coast. The village is about 3 miles N.E. of Dysart. Many of the inhabitants are employed in linen weaving and in the collieries. This par. is in the prosb. of Kirkcaldy and synod of Fife. The stipend of the minister is about 269. The parish church is situated at East Wemyss, and at the same place is a Free church. At Buckhaven are an United Presbyterian Church and a public library. There are two chapels-of-ease, respectively situated at Methill and West Wemysa, at which latter place is also a public library. There are a parochial school and 5 non-paro- chial schools. The principal seat is Wemyss Castle, where Queen Mary first met Darnley. It is at a short distance E. of West Wemyss, on a cliff 35 feet above the sen, and near it are the ruins of Macdull's castle. WEMYSS BAY, a haven in the Frith of Clyde, co. Renfrew, Scotland, 6 miles S.W. of Greenock. It is the terminus of the Glasgow, Greenock, and Wemyss Buy branch of the Caledonian railway. WEMYSS, EAST, a vil. in the par. of Wemyss, co. File, Scotland, 1 mile N.E. of West Wemyss, and 1 S.W. of Buckhaven. It has long been a seat of the linen trade. WEMYSS, WEST, a vil. and burgh of barony in the pur. of Wemyss, co. Fife, Scotland, 1J mile S.W. of East Wemyss, and 2 N.E. of Dysart. It has an excel- lent harbour, much used by vessels employed in the coal trade. Its government is invested in two bailies, a treasurer, and a number of councillors. WEN, a hmlt. in the par. of Llansawel, co. Carmar- then, 9 miles N. of Llandilo-Fawr. WENDENS AMBO, a par. in the hund. of Uttles- ford, co. Essex, 2 miles S.W. of Saffron Walden, and 1 mile N.W. of Newport. It has a station at Audley End, on the Great Eastern railway. It is situated near the source of the Grantor, a feeder of the river Cam, and includes the hmlts. of Great and Little Wenden, which, prior to 1662, formed separate parishes. At Audley End is a railway hotel, built by Lord Braybrooke. The living is a vie.* with the rect. of Little Wenden united, in the dioc. of Rochester, val. i'220. The church, dedi- cated to St. Mary, contains a carved oak screen and a brass of 1420. The parochial register dates from 1780. The Independents have a chapel. The local charities produce about 6 per annum. WENDLEBURY, a par. in the hund. of Ploughley, co. Oxford, 2J miles S.W. of Bicester. It is situated on the ancient Akeman Street, near the river Ray. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 220, in the patron, of Corpus Christ! College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Giles, was rebuilt in 1761, with the ex- ception of the tower, which is ancient. There is a village school, and a small theological library. The parochial charities produce about per annum. WENDLING, a pur. in the hund. of Launditch, co. Norfolk, 4 miles W. of East Dereham. The village is situated on the road from Swaffham to East Dereham. It had formerly an abbey for Prajmonstratensian canons, founded in the 13th century by William de Wendling, and which was suppressed by a bull of Pope Clement, and given in 1528 to Cardinal Wolsey towards the foundation of his new colleges, when its revenues amounted to 55 18s. 4rf. The living is a perpet. cur. united to that of Longham, in the dioc. of Norwich, joint val. 60. The church is dedicated to SS: Peter and Paul. The parochial charities produce about 21 per annum. WENDON-LOFTS, a pur. in the hund. of TJttlesford, co. Essex, 5 miles W. of Saffron-Walden, and 3 N.W. of Wendens Ambo. The village is situated in an open country, watered by the Grantor, a feeder of the Cam. The living is a rect.* with the vie. of Elmdon annexed, in the dioc. of Rochester, val. 470. The church, dedi- cated to St. Dunstan, contains a brass of W. Lucas and family of the 16th century, and several monumental in- scriptions. There is also a small chapel of ease, recently erected by the Rev. R. Wilkes. WENDOVER, a par., market-town, and decayed borough, in the hund. of Aylesbury, co. Bucks, 5 miles from Aylesbury, 21 S.E. of Buckingham, and 7 from Tring station on the North- Western railway. It is situated at the foot of the Chiltern hills, near the en- trance to the Vale of Aylesbury, and includes, besides the town of its own name, Wendover, Dean Foreign, and Lee Common. It was given by Henry II. to Faramus de Boulogne, and was subsequently held by Alice Ferrers, a favourite of Edward III., the Hollands, Earls of Kent, Edward Duke of York, the royal family, and the Knollys, who sold it in 1660 to the Hampdens, of whom was John Hampden the patriot, who sat for the borough in five successive parliaments ; the manor con- tinued in their possession until the decease of the late lord, when it became the property of the Earl of Buck- inghamshire, who sold it to the Smiths of Walton, to whom the manor now belongs, and who represented it in parliament until the borough was disfranchised by the Reform Act of 1832. A branch of the Grand Junction canal extends to the town, and passes through a reser- voir in the neighbourhood, extending over 70 acres. The town is lighted with gas. Lace and straw plait are made. Petty sessions are held fortnightly, and courts leet and baron occasionally. It contributes