Dunkeswell, in the co. of Devon, 6 miles N. of Honiton. At Dunkeswell Abbey is a handsome district church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and endowed by the late Mrs. Simcoe with £50 per annum. It is a stone building, and has tower, Galilæan porch, and chancel with several handsome stained glass windows. There is a school for boys and girls. Abborn, in the co. of York. See Auburn.
Abbotrule, formerly a separate par. in the co. of Roxburgh, Scotland, 4 miles to the S.W. of Jedburgh, on the river Rule. It is now consolidated with the pars. of Hobkirk and Southdean.
Abbot's, a tythg. in the par. and hund. of Portbury, in the co. of Somerset, 6 miles to the N.W. of Bristol. It was anciently a cell of the Augustine order to the priory of Bromere.
Abbot's Ann, a par. and vil. partly in the hund. of Wherwell, partly in that of Lower Andover, union of Andover, in the co. of Hants, 212 miles to the S.W. of Andover. It lies on a branch of the river Test, and the Andover canal passes near it. The tythg. of Little Ann is included in it. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Winchester; val. £645, in the patron. of Miss Burrough. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. Here are national and infant schools, and a place of worship for Independents. The Rev. Thos. Best is lord of the manor. Bury Hill, in the tythg. of Little Ann, is a large double encampment, at the confluence of the Pillhill brook and the Anton river.
Abbot's Astley, Salop. See Astley Abbot's.
Abbot's Bickington, a par. in the hund. of Great Torrington, in the co. of Devon. It is situated on the river Torridge, 6 miles to the N.E. of Holsworthy, and was formerly a cell to Hartland Abbey. The living is a cur. in the dioc. of Exeter, val. £93, in the patron. of the trustees of Lord Rolle. The church is dedicated to St. James.
Abbot's Bromley, Staffordshire. See Bromley Abbot's.
Abbotsbury, a town and par. in the hund. of Uggscombe, in the co. of Dorset; 9 miles S.W. of Dorchester, and 128 S.W. from London. It is a place of great antiquity, and was once a market town. Its situation is very picturesque and pleasant, in a valley shut in by lofty chalk hills, not far from the north end of the Chesil Bank, and open to the sea at the south-west. Its name is derived from its ancient possessors, the abbots of the monastery dedicated to St. Peter, which was founded (as it is supposed) in the year 1044, by Orking (steward of the household to King Canute) and Tola his spouse. It belonged to the Benedictine order, and became a very wealthy house. All that is now left of the building is a gateway, with portions of the walls. It was granted, at the Dissolution, to Sir G. Strangeways. A mansion was afterwards erected on the site, which was held and garrisoned by the Royalists in 1644, and was attacked and burnt by Sir A. A. Cooper. The town consists of three streets. The chief employment of the population is fishing. Some time ago cotton-weaving was introduced, but the experiment did not succeed. A fair for sheep and toys is held on the 11th July. The church, which is dedicated to St. Nicholas, was built in the reign of Edward IV. It is a large and handsome edifice, in the perpendicular style, with a square tower. The living is a vic.* in the dioc. of Salisbury; val. £140. The pat. is the Earl of Ilchester, who is also lord of the manor. Strangeways Castle, his seat, stands in the midst of extensive and beautiful grounds, including a large decoy for wild fowl, and a swannery. There is a free school, founded by the Earls of Ilchester, and the new school-house has just been completed by the present earl at the cost of £1000. At a short distance from the town is a cromlech. There are also traces of a Roman camp, which occupied a space of about 20 acres. On an elevation south-west of the town stands the ruined chapel of St. Catherine, supposed to have been erected in the reign of Edward IV., which now serves as a landmark for coasting-vessels.
Abbot's Carswell, Devonshire. See Abbotskerswell.
Abbot's Castle, or Apewood Castle, near Wolverhampton, in the co. of Stafford. Here are the remains of a British fortification, on a lofty round eminence, to the N. of the Shrewsbury and London road.
Abbot's Chair, near Huntingdon, in the hund. of Hurstingstone, and co. of Huntingdon, 4 miles N.E. of Huntingdon, and 69 N. of London. It receives the first affix of its name from an Austin friary, founded by Eustace de Lovetot, in the reign of Henry II., but of which no traces now remain.
Abbot's Court, an ext. par. place, situated in the par. of Winterborne Kingston, and hund. of Bere-Regis, in the co. of Dorset, 5 miles to the S.W. of Blandford.
Abbotsford, near Melrose, in the district of Melrose, and co. of Roxburgh, Scotland, 2 miles W. of Melrose, and 37 from Edinburgh, by the Hawick railway. This beautiful mansion, which is one of the attractions to the tourist in the north, is built in the old château style at a point where Gala Water falls into the Tweed. Sir Walter Scott, whose name renders it sacred, commenced it in 1816, after a design of his own, and fitted it up after his own taste. The edifice defies all the rules of architecture, and has singular features and extraordinary proportions, yet looks both beautiful and picturesque. The hall is embellished with the carved oak panels brought from Dunfermline, armorial paintings, and other antiques. There is also an armory, and a magnificent library of 20,000 volumes, which were brought together by the poet himself, as also some fine paintings by Turner, with portraits of Queen Mary, Essex, Cromwell, Claverhouse, Charles XII. of Sweden, Scott of Harden, and other historical personages. Here is preserved the old Tolbooth gate, from Edinburgh, and Erskine's pulpit. This spot, and the neighbouring ruins of Melrose Abbey, supplied many of the scenes described in "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," and in "The Monastery." The seat is still the property of the poet's family, having passed, on the death of his son, into the occupancy of his son-in-law, Mr. Lockhart.
Abbotsford, a small place near the vil. of Shipley, in the par. of Heanor, in the hund. of Morleston, and co. of Derby, 31 miles from Leicester. There are coal mines near here.
Abbotshall, a par. in the Kirkcaldy district of Fifeshire, Scotland. It is 14 miles from Edinburgh, near Kirkcaldy, and extends along the coast of the Frith of Forth, being, in its utmost length, not more than 4 miles, and in its greatest breadth about 2 miles. The Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee railway passes through it. It formerly belonged to the abbots of Dunfermline. The country is hilly and the soil fertile, the village populous and busy. There are some coal mines; and lime, brick-earth, and potters' clay are also procured. Linen, cotton, and flannel are manufactured here to a considerable extent; there are also a sail-canvas manufactory, spinning-mills, and a number of corn-mills. The place partakes of the general prosperity of Kirkcaldy. The living, in the presb. of Kirkcaldy, val. £200, is in the patron. of Ferguson of Raith, who is the chief proprietor of the village. On his estate are shown the remains of Balwearie Tower, in which the famous astrologer, Sir Michael Scot, lived. The villages of Linktown Burgh, Newtown and Chapel are in this parish.
Abbots-Hall, near Stowmarket, in the hund. of Stow, and co. of Suffolk, 12 miles from Ipswich, and 81 from London by East Union railway. It receives the first affix of its name from having been given by Henry II. to St. Osyth's Abbey.
Abbots-Hall, in the par. of Kendal, and co. of Westmoreland, adjoining the town of Kendal, 25814 miles from London by the Lancaster and Carlisle railway. It receives the first affix of its name from having been in ancient times a seat of the abbots of St. Mary's, York.
Abbotsham, a par. in the hund. of Shebbear, in
