AYLESBY. 137 AYLSHAM. proceedings at the election in 1804. The government o the town now belongs to the county magistrates ; and thi superintendent registrar's district, according to thi census of 1861, includes 5,068 inhabited houses, -with a population of 23,598. Petty sessions are held weekly .V mechanics' institution is established. There is ai infirmary, a savings-bank, and several other banks The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Oxford, of the val if 300, in the patron, of the bishop. The -vicar is the Ven. Edward Bickersteth, M. A. , Archdeacon of Bucking- lam. Aylesbury was a prebend in the cathedral churcl )f Lincoln ; but the prebend is now suppressed, anc ivill fall to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners when the pre- lent lease expires. The church is an ancient cruciform luilding, in the early English style, with a low centra! ower, and contains a Norman font and some old monu- nents. It is dedicated to St. Mary. The churchyarc 3 large, and pleasantly laid out and planted. In addi- ion to the parish church, there is a district church ai iiValton, with a parsonage, the living of which is a erpet. cur.* val. 100, in the gift of trustees. There ire chapels belonging to the Wcsleyans, Baptists, In- dependents, and Primitive Methodists. The charitable i-ndowments of this parish are of considerable amount. The free grammar school, founded by Sir Henry Lee, md subsequently endowed by John Philips, Esq., pro- rides for 120 pupils, and has a revenue of 539. The Jedford charity, founded in 1619, for the benefit of the oor, now yields 535 per annum. Hickman's charity, if a like nature, produces 45. Aylesbury is the seat if a county court district, and of a Poor-law Union. ,t supports three newspapers the Sucks Advertiser nd A;/k'sbiirij Netcs, the Bucks Herald, and the Bucks Ihronicle. A short canal connects the town with the Jrand Junction canal at Marsworth. The Bruce family ike from this place the title of Marquis of Ailesbury. ?he market, chiefly for corn, is held on Saturday. Fairs Ire held on the Friday after the 18th of January, on le eve of Palm Sunday, the 8th of May, 14th of June, 5th of September, and 12th of October. AYLESBY, a par. in the wap. of Bradley Haverstoe, arts of Lindsey, in the co. of Lincoln, 4 miles to the IV. of Great Grimsby, its post town. It is situated in ie Wolds. The living is a perpet. cur. * in the dioc. of .incoln, val. 73, in the patron, of the Eev. T. T. Drake, e incumbent. The church is dedicated to St. Lawrence, .ylesby House is the principal residence. AYLESFOKD LATHE, one of the five lathes or ibdivs. of the co. of Kent, occupying a nearly central osition in the co. and bounded on the N. by the river 'hames and the co. of Essex, on the E. by the lathe of cray, on the S. by the co. of Sussex, and on the W. by 10 lathe of Sutton. It contains the following hunds. : 'renchley and Horsemonden, Chatham and Gillinghani, yhorne, Hoc, Larkfield, Littlefield, Maidstone, Sham- ell, Toltingtrough, Tonbridge, Twyford, Washling- .one, and Wrotham. This lathe extends over an area .' 233,580 acres. AYLESFOKD, a par. and small town in the hund. of arkfield, lathe of Aylesford, in the co. of Kent, 4 miles > the N.W. of Maidstone, and 6 S.W. of Eochester. It situated on the banks of the river Medway, over which a bridge of six arches, in a rich and pleasant country,
- id contains the hmlt. of Millhall. Jt has a station on
^e North Kent railway. The Saxon form of the name f this place is Aer/elesford, and in Domesday Book it is
- iraed Elesford. It is supposed by some to. have been
10 scene of more than one engagement between the
- iid the Saxons, and of a still earlier one between
>ns and the Britons. There is a tradition of a ittle in the middle of the fifth century, in which the Ixons suffered a defeat. The Danes are said to have ten defeated here by Alfred, in 893, and again by ilmund Ironside in 1016. A monastery for the Car- hilites, or White Friars, -was founded here in 1240, by 'chard, Lord Grey, of Codnor. It was given at the ssolution to Sir Thomas Wyatt, and subsequently, by icen Elizabeth, to John Sedley. The present town nsists of one street, and the inhabitants are mainly VOL. I. employed in the manufacture of mill-board and brown paper, and in an extensive brown stone pottery, -which is situated about J a mile to the east of the church. The living is a vie. * in the dioc. of Eochester, of the val. of 531, in the patron, of the Dean and Chapter of Eochester. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a handsome Saxon building, with a square tower at tho west end. It stands on a bill which rises very abruptly above the village, and contains several tombs and monu- ments of interest. There is a brass to John Covington. of the year 1426 ; a fine monument to Sir John Banks, and monuments to the families of tho Colepeppers, Eycauts, and Scdleys. To tho last-named the manor of Aylesford once belonged ; and Sir John Sedley, wit and poet of the 17th century, was a member of this family. Sir Paul Eycaut, who was a native of the village, and is interred here, was a distinguished traveller. The parochial charities consist of an almshouse for a warden and six poor persons, founded in 1605, by John Sedley, the revenue of which is 135 ; a free school, endowed by Milner with an income of 20 a year ; and several smaller endowments. Aylesford contains several curious relics of ancient times. The most interesting is tho cromlech, well known by the name of Kit's Cotty House. It stands on a hillside not far from the village, and is visible from the London and Maidstone road. It is in the usual form, consisting of three massive upright stones, supporting a fourth laid flat upon them. Its name remains at present unexplained. Other stones are found in its neighbourhood, which may be the ruins of crom- lechs overthrown. A free chapel formerly stood in this parish, the remains of which are converted into a barn, and named the Hermitage. Aylesford Priory is a modern mansion erected by Sir William Sedley, on tho site of the ancient friary, and including some remains of it. It is the seat of the Earl of Aylesford. Aylesford is tho seat of a Poor-law Union, and about lj miles to the north-east of tho town on the Kochester and Maid- stone road is the new lunatic asylum, the cost of which is estimated at 50,000. Hops are cultivated in the neighbourhood. A fair is held on tho 29th June. AYLESTONE, a par. chiefly in the hund. of Guth- laxton, partly in the hund. of Sparkenhoe, in the co. of Leicester, 2 miles to the S. of Leicester. It is situated on the river Soar and the Union canal, which here joins that river. The Midland Counties railway runs through the parish, and the Fosse Way is near it. Ayleston contains the chplry. of Lubbesthorpe and the tnshp. of Glenn Parva. The living is a rect. * in the dioc. of Peterborough, of the val. of 845, in the patron, of tho Duke of Eutland. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew. AYLMEKTON, a par. in the hund. of North Erping- bam, in the co. of Norfolk, 2| miles to the W. of Cromer, its post town. It is situated in a picturesque country on the north-eastern coast of the county. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of Norwich, of the val. of 370, in tho patron, of the trustees of the late W. H. Wyndham, Esq., )f Felbrigg Hall. The rect. of Bunton is annexed to Jiat of Aylmerton. The church, dedicated to St. John ,he Baptist, is in the perpendicular style, with an em- lattled round tower, dating as early as the 13th century. The font is of Purbeck marble, and the register dates 'rom 1696. There are fine views over the country and tho sea from Beacon Hill, a little to the north of tho church. AYLSHAM, a par. and market town in the hund. of iouth Erpingham, in the co. of Norfolk, 1 2 miles to the S". of Norwich, and 118 miles from London by road, or 138 miles by the Eastern Counties railway. It is plea- antly situated on the river Bure, which is navigable for small vessels to Yarmouth, where it falls into the German 3ccan. This town was once the seat of the duchy court if John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, whose arms are
- arved upon the font. In the first half of tho 14th
- ontury, this town attained some note as a seat of tho
inen manufacture, and the products of its looms were n much request. The woollen manufacture was extcn- Ively carried on at a later period, and in tho reign of T
