Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/843

Rh WIXCUENDOX, NETHEU. 831 WINCHESTER. jurisdiction, 3 miles S.W. of Rye, within which parlia- mentary borough it is included, and 8 N.E. of Hastings, of which cinque port it is a member. It is a station on the London and South-Eastern railway. This place, which is now only a considerable village, was formerly a market town and parliamentary borough, originally fuiimled by Wincheling, son of Cissa, the first king of the South Saxons, from whom it derives its name. It is situated at the mouth of the river llother, on the road from Rye to Hastings, and near the military canal. In the Saxon times it was one of the most flourishing towns on the S. coast, and was the port at which William the Conqueror landed in 1067, and Henry II. in 1188. It was made a cinque port before the reign of Johu, and in that of Henry III. it was made a member of the port of Hastings, and contributed 10 ships, each containing 21 men and a boy. In 1250 more than 300 houses were destroyed by an inundation, and in 1287, on the eve of St. Agatha, the original town was entirely overwhelmed by the sea, which on that occasion also drowned all the lands, climesden and the voches of Hithe. After this event the inhabitants resolved to build a new town upon the top of a rising ground, or isthmus, called Sham, and then a rabbit warren, in the par. of Schleshitm, but now about a mile and a half from the sea ; three of the gates are now standing, Newgate, Strandgate, and Landgate. The site of the present town was given by Edward I., who also contributed largely to the relief of the inhabi- tants, though some years previously, viz., in 1266, whilst prince, ho had stormed the town for piracy. The new town soon rose into importance, but was plundered by the French in 1358 and 1377, and by the Spaniards in 1380 ; it, however, continued to flourish till the time of Queen Elizabeth, who visited it and termed it Little London, but shortly after it decayed rapidly, owing to the retiring of the sea, which caused the harbour to become choked. It at present consists of several streets run- ning ut right angles to one another, said to have been built after the plan of the town which was swept away by the sea, and has an ancient courthouse, with gaol beneath it. The town, which contains many good houses is about two miles in circumference, and extends into the adjoining parishes of Icklesham, Pett, and Broom- hill. The parish, in 18C1, had a population of 719. i'rom the 42nd year of the reign of Edward III. to the passing of the Reform Act of 1832, it returned two members to parliament, but was then annexed to the borough of Rye. Immediately before the disfranchise- ment of the borough the number of electors, consisting of the mayor, jurates, and freemen, amounted to only 9. The charter of incorporation is of great antiquity. Un- der it the town is governed by a mayor and 12 jurates, who are justices of peace holding courts of general ses- sion and gaol delivery, and have jurisdiction over capital offences within the ancient town and liberties. In the marshes, about 2 miles N.E. of the town, stand the ruins of Winchelsea or Cambrc Castle, built by Henry VIII. out of the materials of a more ancient tort, and within the ancient walls are parts of the conventual church and choir of the Grey Friars, found by William de Buckingham with an arch 26 feet wide and some windows. There were also a convent of Dominicans and a perceptory of St. Anthony, but of these no traces exist. Winchelsea gives the title of Earl to the family of Finch of Eastwell. Robert de Winchelsea, who died in 1313, Archbishop of Canterbury, was born here. The principal places are Mariteau House and the new Rectory. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Chichestcr, val. 280. The church, dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle, is now mostly in ruins, overgrown with ivy on the S. and W. sides, the chancel alone being now used for divine worship. In tho interior aro an ancient brass bearing date 1140, three effigies of Knights Templars or Crusaders, and two of priests. The parochial register dates from 1538. The market, which was held on Saturday, has long been obsolete. A fair is held on 14th Mav. WINCIU'.NDON, NETHER, a par. in the hund. of Ashcndon, co. Bucks, 6 miles N.E. of Thame, its post lown, and C^ S.W. of Aylcsbury. The living is a per- pet. cur. in the dioc. of Oxford. A Sunday-school is held at the church. Winchendon Priory, the prin- cipal residence, was cviginally an ecclesiastical structure, and has belonged to the Bernard family a considerable period. Thomas Syringham Bernard, Esq., is lord of tho manor. WINCHENDON, TIPPER, a par. in the hund. cf Aylesbury, co. Bucks, 2 miles N.E. of Nether Winchen- don, and 6. N.W. of Aylesbury. The Duke of Marl- borough has a lodge in the village. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 60. The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, contains tombs of the Whartons, and two brasses, the earliest bearing date 1515. WINCHESTER, a div. of co. Hants, contains the bunds, of Bountisborough, Upper and Lower Buddies- gate, Upper and Lower Fawley, Upper and Lower Mitcheldever, Mainsborough, and East and West Soke liberty; comprising 100,110 acres, exclusive of the city of Winchester. WINCHESTER, an ancient city and market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, having separate jurisdiction, but locally situated in the hund. of Buddies- gate, co. Hants, of which it is the county town, 12 miles N.E. of Southampton, and 02 S.W. of London by road, or CG| by the London and South- Western railway, ou which it 'is a station. Before the Roman time it was suc- cessively occupied by tho Iberians, Britons, and Belgse. On the conquest of tho island by tho Romans, the city was taken by Ostorius Scapula, and called Yenta Bel- garum. Carausius and Alectus, who assumed the im- perial purple in Britain, are asserted to have fixed their residence in this city, and here their coins have been discovered in greater numbers than in any other part of the island. After the departure of the Romans it again became the seat of government till the year 516, when tho West Saxons made themselves masters of the city, which then became the capital of Wessex, and re- ceived tho name of Wintan-ceaster. During Cerdic's reign the church and monastery, which had been founded hero shortly after tho establishment of Chris- tianity iu tho island, were converted into a pagan temple. In tho following century, St. Birnus, whom Pope Honorius had sent into Britain, succeeded, through the influence of Oswald, King of Northumbria, in con- verting the West Saxons to Christianity, and their king, Cenwahl, in 648 erected a church, which ho dedi- cate^ to SS. Birinus, Peter, and Paul, near the site of the primitive British church, and which, in 660, King Kenewalch made it the head of a see. It continued to be the capital of Wessex till 827, when Egbert was hero crowned king of all Angle-land, or England. Although several times assaulted by the Danes, the city continued to flourish as tho capital of England, and was made a guild under royal protection in the 9th century, thus enjoying municipal liberties at least one hundred years earlier than any other town in England. Athelstan established here his treasury and mint, and deposited the standard Winchester bushel, which is still preserved, together with the standard yard of Henry I. In 1013 it was devastated by Sweyn, the Dane, in retaliation for the " Hocktide massacre " of his countrymen in 1002, and remained the seat of the Danish government till the death of that monarch, when Edmnnd Ironside re- covered the western part of the island, with Winchester for his capital, and Cnut reigned in London ; but on tho death of the former in 1016, Cnut became sole king. In 1042 Edward tho Confessor was crowned hero, and in 1044 his mother, Queen Emma, is said to have passed through the ordeal of red-hot ploughshares, in the cathedral, unscathed. After the Norman Conquest, Winchester continued for above a century to divide with London the honours of the capital, and William I. built a strong castle at the S.W. extremity of the city. In 1079, Walkelyn, a relative of the Conqueror, having been made bishop of this see, commenced tho rebuilding of the cathedral, retaining the Saxon crypt, with sash portions of the walls and pillars of the previous edifice