Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/233

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BEDSTONE. 223 BED WIN. ai includes the vils. of Newton and Rewcastlp. The d rict is partly cultivated and partly moorland, and r< tains some freestone, which is quarried at Mainslaws. T> surface rises at Dunian to the height of 1,030 feet, cumanding extensive views over the Marches, and ai (uberslaw, another hill in the parish, to the height 01 ,419 feet. This latter mountain was a hiding-place of tl Covenanters. The living, of the val. of 148, is in the p ,b. of Jedburgh, and the patron, of Hume of New 3 Is. At Kewcastle and Fulton there are some vestiges 01 Ancient castles. There are also in the parish two old ei impments. The name of this place, formerly Bcth- rr, and still earlier Kule-Bethoc, is traced to an heiress

. n-d Bethoc, an ancestress of the Moray j. The par.
1 1 4 miles in length and 1 7 in breadth.

KDSTONE, a par. in tho'hund. of Purslow, in .if Salop, 5 miles to the N.E. of Knighton, it TOst town, and 7 from Craven Arms railway station. i par. is very small, and the village consists of s.'at- d luius's, situated on the road from Knighton to Arms station. The living is a rect.* in the dr. of Hereford, val. 230, with 35 acres of glebe, in

patron, of E. Rogers, Esq. The church, dedicated

i ary, is a plain old structure, and was repaired in i 1. Edward Bennett, Esq., is lord of the manor, and i.ir of the parish.

l-;i)WARDINE ST. JOHN'S, a par. in the hund.

iswaldslow, in the co. of Worcester, partly within nds of the city of Worcester. It lies on the

ik of the river Severn, and contains the vil. of
>iscopi, situated on the river Teme, near its con-

fi.nco with the Severn. Bread and provisions were . i plied to the monks of Worcester from this place, 'iich circumstance its name is supposed to be Lived. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Worcester, ojthe val. of 635, in the patron, of the dean and clpter. The church is ancient, partly in the perpen- d ilar and partly in the Norman style of architecture. i charitable endowments of the parish, including a ml, amount to 96 a year. An annual fair was

iLuvly held on the Friday before Palm Sunday, when

mayor imd corporation of Worcester, attended by Luis officers, walked in procession through the town. ^ custom, which had existed since the reign of vard IV., is now obsolete. 1EDWARDINE ST. MICHAEL'S, & par. in the and co. of Worcester, next Bedwardino St. John's. i living is a rect. in the dioc. of Worcester, val. 90, ii he patron, of the dean and chapter. The parochial rities produce 113 per annum. '.EDWAS, a par. chiefly in the lower div. of the ...1. of Wentllooge, in the co. of Monmouth, and i tly in the hund. of Caerphilly, in the co. of Glamor- , South Wales, 2 miles to the N. of Caerphilly. It i ituated on the banks of the river Rumney, and con- s (lie hmlts. of "Upper and Lower Bedwas (in Mon- uthshire), and Van (in Glamorganshire). The living i . rect. in the dioc. of Llandaff, val., with the cur. of idry annexed to it, 450, in the patron, of the 1 hop. The church is dedicated to St. Barrog. '.EDWELLTY, a par. in the lower div. of the hund. (Wentllooge, in the co. of Monmouth, 7 miles to the A of Pont-y-pool. Newport is its post town. It is latcd in a hilly district between the river Rumney, the W., and the Sirhowey on the E., and contains

chplries. of Rhymney and Tredegar, the latter being

i iv a market town, and the hmlts. of Ishlawrcoed, J mholo, and TJ wchlawrcocd. The district is rich in id coal, and is the seat of an extensive iron i' 'lufacturc, giving employment to above 1,300 hands. 11 3,000 anil 4,000 persons are engaged in the [kit ironworks and collieries in the vicinity. The Hug is a pcrpet. cur.* in the dioc. of Llandaff, val. J'iii, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, situ- ai 1 on a hill commanding a fine prospect over the ^rounding hills and wooded valleys, is in the early 1 jlish style of architecture, and is dedicated to St. t- man. In addition to the parish church there is a 1 utiful new church at Ebbw Vale, recently erected by A. Darby, Esq. Bcdwellty is the scat of a Poor-law Union. Polling for thu elections takes place at the Rock Inn, in this parish. BED WIN, or BEDWYN, GREAT, a par., market town, and borough, in the hund. of Kinwardstone, in the co. of Wilts, 5 miles to the S.W. of Hungerford, and 66 miles from London. It is a station on the recently- constructed Berks and Hants Extension railway, being a continuation of the Hungerford branch of the Great Western railway to Devizes, and is about 2 miles S. of the great Bath road. It is situated in a fertile and beautiful country near the border of Berkshire, on the Kennet and Avon canal, and contains the tythgs. of Crofton with Wolf hall, East and West Graf- ton, Martin, Wexcombe with Wilton, and several hamlets. It is a very ancient town, and was a place of importance in the Saxon period, being the seat of Cissa, viceroy of Berkshire and Wiltshire under one of the kings of Wessex. Its Saxon name was Hcdywyn, or Sedewind, and in the Saxon chronicle it is called Bedan-hcufod. The neighbourhood was the scene of a battle between Wulfhere, king of Mercia, and Escuin, governor of Wessex, in the year 674. Front the reign of Edward I., Bedwyn, with occasional inter- missions, returned two members to parliament, until the passing of the Reform Act, when tho borough was dis- franchised. The town has one principal street, crossed by another at right angles. In the former is the market-house, an ancient building. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Salisbury, of the val. of 212, in the patron, of the Marquis of Ailesbury. The church is an ancient structure of flint and freestone, in the form of a cross, with a lofty central tower, and exhibits various styles of architecture, from Norman, that of the nave, to the perpendicular in the aisles and clerestory. It is dedicated to St. Mary, and was thoroughly restored in 1854. It contains several ancient and interesting monu- ments. The earliest is the effigy of a knight who died in 1312. There is in the chancel a fine altar-tomb with an effigy of Sir John Seymour, father qf Jane Seymour, queen of Henry VIII., and of the Protector, the first Duke of Somerset, both of whom were born at Wolf- hall, in this parish. There are several other monu- ments to the Seymours, many of whom are interred here. Besides the district church of St. Nicholas, at East Grafton, built in 1844, the living of which is a perpet. cur., val. 115, in the patron, of the vicar, there has been recently built a very beautiful church near the House, at Tottenham, by the Marchioness of Ailesbury, to the memory of her mother, the Countess of Pembroke. It was consecrated in September, 1861, and is dedicated to St. Katherine. It is to have a separate district assigned to it, under an incumbent appointed by Lord Ailesbury. There are excellent National schools at Great Bedwyn and East Grafton, and at Tottenham, affording accommodation for more than 400 children, under certificated masters, principally supported by the Marquis of Ailesbury. At Wilton is a chapel belonging to the Wesleyans. The charitable endowments of the parish, including a small free school, and a bequest for apprenticing poor boys, amount to 23, with a church fabric fund of 18 per annum. Chisbury Camp, a great British earthwork, inclosing an area of 15 acres, and attributed to Cissa, is about a mile to the north of the town. Many Roman remains, including a tesselated pavement, a leaden cistern, bricks, &c., have been found at Castle Copse, south-west of the town. It was probably the site of a villa. Tottenham Park is the seat of the Marquis of Ailesbury. Bedwyn was the birthplace (1621) of Dr. Thomas Willis, an eminent physician, and one of the first fellows of tho Royal Society. Tues- day is the market day. Fairs are held on the 23rd April and the 26th July, the latter being only for pedlery and fancy articles. The par. comprises an area of about 10,020 acres, belonging, with the exception of about 2,000 acres, to the Marquis of Ailesbury, whose planta- tions extend for many miles, abounding with deer and game. BED WIN, or BEDWYN, LITTLE, a par. and vil. in