Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/803

Rh WEYBHEAD. 791 WEYMOUTH AND MELCOMBE EEGIS. malting establishment, and house for curing fish. Some of the inhabitants are employed in the crab and lobster fishery. The living is a don. cur. in the dioc. of Norwich, val. 50. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient structure, with a square tower. The Earl of Orford is lord of the manor and chief landowner. WEYBREAD, a par. in the hund. of Hoxne, co. Suffolk, 9 miles E. of Diss, and 2 S.AV. of Harleston station on the Great Eastern railway. The village con- tains Weybread Hall and Instead Manor-house, now converted into farmhouses. The land is fertile and the soil clayey. There are four manors, viz., the Kectory Manor, Weybread Hall, Hoblins, and Instead. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Norwich, val. 120. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew. There is a National school and a small lending library. WEYBRIDGE, a par. and largo vil. in the first div. of Elmbridge hnnd., co. Surrey, 3 miles S.E. of Chert- sey, 5 N.W. of Esher, and 19 S.AV. of London by the South- Western railway, on which it is a station. The parish is bounded on the N. by the Thames, which is here joined by the AVey and Busingstoke canal and the river Wey, across which last is an ancient bridge. On the Green ia a pillar 30 feet high, erected to the memory of the late Duchess of York, who formerly resided at Oatlands, commanding a view of the valley of the Thames, with Windsor Castle in the distance. This mansion, which occupies a site near the old palace built by Henry VIII., but of which now only the gateways and underground passages re- main, has recently been converted into an hotel, known as the Oatlands Park Hotel. It is approached through a conservatory 36 feet in height, with corridors paved in encaustic tiles. In the grounds is the model of the Temple of Vesta, overhanging Broadwater Lake, also the Grotto, which cost 40,000, and in which George IV. , when Prince of Wales, entertained his friends at a ban- quet. The air is salubrious and dry, and the soil sandy, upon a subsoil of gravel. The population has increased from 747 in 1801, to 1,000 in 1861. The living is a rcct.* in the dioc. of Winchester, val. 320, in the gift of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. James, was rebuilt in 1848 ; it contains a carved font, several old brasses, and a monument by Chantrey to the late Duchess of York, who was interred in the churchyard. There is a Roman Catholic chapel, with a painted E. window representing the Crucifixion, and a small pri- vate oratory attached to the priest's residence. In the interior of the chapel is the vault of the Orleans family, containing the remains of Louis Philippe, the late King of the French, the Duchess of Orleans, and the Duchess do Nemours. There are National schools for both sexes. The parochial charities produce about 80 per annum, of which about 38 were bequeathed for the repairs of the church. J. Sparks, Esq., is lord of the manor. The principal landowners are the Hon. Petor J. Locke-King, M.P., John Easthope, Bart., and T. Feetham, Esq. WEYCROFT, a tythg. in the par. of Axminstcr, co. Devon, 2 miles from Axminster. WEYHILL, a par. in the hund. of Andover, co. Hants, 3 miles N.W. of Andover. The par. includes the hmlts. of Penton Grafton, formerly a distinct par., Clanvillo, Nutbean, and Ragged Appleshaw. A large cattle and horse fair is held in October. Cheese, hops, and leather are also sold in considerable quantities during the fair. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Winchester, val. 476, in the patron, of Queen's Col- lege, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, was much disfigured by Cromwell's soldiers. The manor and advowson were formerly held by the poet Chaucer, and subsequently given by Charles I. to Queen's Col- lege, Oxford, for services rendered during the civil war. The fair commences on 10th October, aad lasts the five following days. WEYMOUTH AND MELCOMBE REGIS, a market and sessions town, bonding port, municipal and parliamentary borough, and bathing-place, possessing independent jurisdiction, but locally in the hund. of Cullifordtree, Dorchester div. of co. Dorset, 8 miles S.W. of Dorchester, 128 from London by road, 148 by tha London and South- Western, and 168J by the Wilts and Somerset section of the Great Western railway. Steamers ply regularly to Southampton and the Channel Islands, and to Portland. The present borough, which includes the two ancient boroughs of Weymouth and Melcornbe Regis, is situated at the north-western side of a semicircular bay, formed by the mouth of the river Wey, which here falls into the English Channel near the end of the Chesi! Bank. Weymouth is the more ancient borough of the two, though Melcomhe Regis appears formerly to have enjoyed the greater privileges, and is now frequented as a watering-place. The former town takes its name from its situation at the mouth of the river AVey, over which there is a bridge connecting it with Melcombo Regis. The chapelry of Weymouth, in the parish of AVyke Regis, was given by Henry I. to the monastery of St. Swithin at AVinchester, under the prior of which it obtained many privileges, and flourished to such an extent that, in 1348, it was able to furnish 20 ships for the siege of Calais. In 1588 it supplied 6 ships to Elizabeth against tho Spanish Armada. In the 13th Eliz. an Act of Parliament was passed incorporating the two boroughs of AVeymouth and Melcombe Regis. At the commencement of the civil war of Charles I. it was garrisoned for the king, but was taken by the parliamentary forces in 1644, and the year following sustained a siege by the Royalists. Its modern prosperity as a resort for sea-bathing dates from 1789, when it was visited by George III. and the Duke of Gloucester. Under the Municipal Reform Act it is divided into two wards, and is governed by a mayor, who is also returning officer, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, with the style of " mayor, aldermen, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty of the borough and town of Wey- mouth and Melcombe Regis." Its revenue is about 450. Previously to the passing of the Reform Act of 1832 it returned four members to parliament, two for each town, but since only two for the whole borough. Its population in 1851 was 9,453, and in 1861, 11,383, inhabiting 1,864, houses. The town consists principally of a sea frontage, to which the other streets run down, many of tho latter being narrow and old. It is well paved, lighted with gas, and supplied with excellent water. The Esplanade, which is above a mile in length, command a sea view, with lofty headlands to the E. and the Bill of Portland to tho S. The public buildings are the guildhall ; the market-house, in St. Mary-street ; the fish market, on the Quay ; the masonic hall, erected in 1826; the Royal Hotel and assembly-rooms; tho theatre, in Augusta-place ; two public libraries, the Royal Baths, and the library and museum belonging to the literary and scientific institute above ; Royal Eye In- firmary, Royal Dispensary, custom-house, union work- house, situated at Rodwell, on the Wyke Regis road, cavalry barracks a little to the AV. of tho town, and a race-stand overlooking tho course, which is a level oblong one mile in circuit. The races take place in August or September. There are remains of a priory for Black Canons, of the 15th century, and in the vici- nity are tho ruins of Sandsfoot Castle, erected in 1533, for tho defence of the coast, by Henry VIII. About a mile to the N.W. of the town is the extramural ceme- tery, approached by a bridge across the backwater, and at Radipole and Nottington are mineral springs. Many fossils are found in tho lias rock, and there aro traces of the Roman road to Dorchester. The Marquis of Bath takes from this place the title of baron. The Wey- mouth Poor-law Union comprises 17 parishes, with tho Isle of Portland, and also the New County Court and Superintendent Registry districts, The bay, which makes a sweep of above two miles, is sheltered by a range of hills to the E., and by the Isle of Portland to the S., but the harbour has a bar at its mouth, and is obstructed by tho Mixon shoal, the water being from 7 to 9 feet outside the harbour in tho roads ; the sea deepens to 7 fathoms towards the Portland breakwater, recently constructed. The exports are corn, bricks, tiles,