Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/896

Rh WUERDLE WITH WARDLE. 88* WYCOMBE. Oxford, 25 miles N.W. of Oxford, and 3 from Banbury. The par. includes the hmlt. and chplry. of Balscot, and had formerly an Austin priory founded in the reign of Henry III. for a prior and six canons, the revenue of which at the Dissolution was 78 14. 8Jrf. On its suppression part of the buildings were demolished, and the demesne given to Sir Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity College, Oxford, but in 1618 the structure was rebuilt by "William Pope, first Earl of Downe, in which some arches and other remains of the original building are incorporated. This mansion, the seat of Lieutenant- Colonel and the Baroness North, contains a collection of family portraits. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Oxford, val., with the cur. of Balscot annexed, 137. The church, dedicated to All Saints, occupies elevated ground near the abbey. At the W. end of the nave is an old font with figures of six of the apostles, and in the chancel is an altar tomb of alabaster, with recumbent effigies of Sir W. Pope, Earl of Downe, and his lady, in the costume of the early part of the 17th century, also monuments to the earls of Guilford and to the Norths, including one to Lord North the premier. There is also a chapel-of-ease at Balscot. The Wesleyans and Independents have chapels, and there are National schools. The charities produce about 35, chiefly the produce of church lands. WUERDLE WITH WARDLE, a tnshp. in the par. of Rochdale, hund. of Salford, co. Lancaster, 2 miles N.E. of Rochdale, of which it is a large and populous suburb, containing the chplry. of Smallbridge. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the cotton mills and mines. WYASTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Edlaston, co. Derby, 2 miles S. of Ashborne. WYBERTON, a par. in the wap. of Kirton, parts of Holland, co. Lincoln, 2 miles S. of Boston. It is situated near the river Witham, and includes the hmlt. of West End. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Lincoln, val. 600. The church is dedicated to St. Leodegar. The Wesleyans have a chapel at West End. The charities produce about 40 per annum. WYBOSTON, a hmlt. in the par. of Eaton Socon, co. Beds, 3 miles S.W. of St. Neot's, near the river Ouse. WYBUNBTJRY, a par. in the hund. of Nantwich, co. Chester, 3i miles E. of Nantwich. It is situated on the turnpike road from Nantwich to Newcastle and Woore, in Shropshire, and traversed on the eastern boundary by the London and North- Western railway, which has a station at Basford. The par., which contains 20,360 acres and 4,985 inhabitants, comprises the chplries. of Doddington, or Hunsterson, and Weston, with the tnshps. of Bartherton, Basford, Blakenhall, Bridgemere, Checkley - cum - Wrinehill, Chorlton, Doddington, Hatherton, Hough, Hunsterson, Lea, Rope, Shavington- cum-Gresly, Staperley, Walgherton, Weston, Wybun- bury, and part of Willastpn. The soil is loam and clay. Doddington Hall is in the occupation of Henry Akroyd, Esq. There are numerous ancient seats and halls in the parish. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Chester, val. 230, with 12J acres of glebe, in the patron, of the Bishop of Lichfield. The church, dedi- cated to St. Chad, was rebuilt in 1595, and again in 1832, with the exception of the tower, which is 96 feet high, and having fallen 6 feet out of the perpendicular during the lapse of several centuries, was rectified in 1833, and contains 6 bells. The church has a carved roof and a stained E. window, and in the interior are several brasses and monuments of the Delves of Dod- dington, the Smiths of the Hough, the Lees of Lea Hall, now a farmhouse, and of the Breretons. There are, besides, chapels-of-ease at Hunsterson and Weston. The" Wesleyans have chapels at Wybunbury and Chorlton. There are National and free schools. The charities produce about 270 per annum, including school endowments, an hospital dedicated to the Holy Cross, and St. George, for a master and brethren, existed here before 1464, and after the Dissolution came from the Praers to the Bishops of Lichfield. Sir H. Delves Broughton, Bart., is lord of the manor and principal proprietor. WYCHLING. See WITCHLINO, co. Kent. WYCKS, BISHOP, and WYCKS TJFFORD, hn in the par. of St. Clement's, Ipswich, co. Suffolk, joining Ipswich. WYCLIFFE, a par. in the wap. of Gilling-Wi North Riding co. York, 2J milts N.E. of Greta-Brid^ and 8 N.W. of Richmond. It is situated on the banks o: the Tees, comprising the tnshps. of Thorpe and Wycliffo, and is said to he the birth-place, in 1324, of Wycliffe, whose family were settled here from the Conquest down to 1606. The soil is loamy and well cultivated. Wycliffe Hall is the residence of G. Sowerby, Esq. The living ia a rect.* in the dioc. of Ripon, val. 500. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. The Roman Catholics have a chapel. The charities produce about 3 per annum. Sir T. A. C. Constable, Bart., of Bur- ton Constable, is lord of the manor. WYCOMB, a hmlt. in the par. of Rothley, hund. of East Goscote, co. Leicester, 4J miles N.E. of Melton- Mowbray. WYCOMBE, HIGH, or CHIPPING, a par., market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, in the hund. of Desborough, co. Bucks, 28 miles S.E. of Buck- ingham, and 29 from London by road, or by the Great Western railway, which communicates with this town by a branch from Maidenhead. It is situated in a valley watered by the river Wye, which joins the Thames below Wo'oburn, about 6 miles S. of Wycombe. The par., which comprises 6,380 acres, includes, besides the town and borough of Wycombe, the chplries. of Hazlemere and Loudwater. High Wycombe, as the town is commonly designated, probably occupies the site of a Roman settlement from the discovery of Roman tesselated pavements, coins, and other antiquities, and the existence of an ancient encampment, about a mile to the westward, called Desborough Castle, which gives name to the hundred, and is supposed to be of Roman or Danish origin. It was a market town in the time of the Saxons, and was given by Edward the Confessor to his queen Editha as part of her dower. After the Conquest the manor was divided, and was held by the Bassets, Viponts, Marshalls, Bohuns, and other families. The town was incorporated either in the reign of Edward III. or Henry VI., and has returned two members to parlia- ment since the reign of Edward I. By Edward IV. it was presented to the Dean and Canons of Windsor, and was held by the parliamentarians in 1643, when attacked by the royalists under Prince Rupert. The boundaries of the parliamentary borough were enlarged by the Reform Act of 1832, so as to take in the whole of the parish, and under the new municipal Act the town is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, 12 councillors, and a town clerk. For the purposes of sitting in petty sessions three additional justices, independent of the corporation, were appointed by the lord chancellor in 1852, to join with the mayor and ex-mayor, who is always a justice for the borough. The population in 1851 was 7,179, and in 1861 8,373, inhabiting 1,703 houses, but the muni- cipal borough contained only 826 houses and 4,221 inha- bitants. The town, which contains many well-built houses, and is lighted with gas, principally consists of one long street, forming part of the high-road from London to Oxford, bordered on either side by hills rising from 150 to 200 feet, towards which several smaller streets or roads stretch out. The town is well kept by a board of commissioners appointed under a local Act. It contains a townhall and market-houses, supported on 34 stone pillars, a prison, two banks, and savings bank. There are numerous paper and corn mills along the banks of the streams, and a considerable business is done in malt- ing and brewing. A trade almost peculiar to this town and district is maintained by the manufacture of chairs, the common sort being made from the beechwood which abounds in the neighbourhood, and the choicer and lighter sorts of walnut, cherry, and other ornamental woods, with bottoms of rush or cane. The female popu- lation are chiefly occupied in the making of lace, straw- plait, and bonnets. The county militia have their head-. quarters here. Wycombe gives name to a Poor-law