Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/776

WEDNESBURY. 764 WEEDON-BECK. water nine months in the year ; but within the present century it has been extensively drained. Wedmore is a polling place for the county elections, and an ancient borough governed by a portreeve chosen yearly at the manorial court, with water bailiffs, constables, and other officers. A court leet is held annually. The soil abounds with rich loam. This parish is noted for its Ched- dar cheese, which is made here in large quantities. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Bath and Wells, val. 360, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, dedi- cated to St. Mary, is of the 14th century. The in- terior has some old monuments. The register dates from 1560. There are also the district churches of Theale and Blackford, the livings of which are both perpet. curs., val. 300 each. The parochial charities consist of J. Wolleu's bequest of the interest of 1,000 for the poor, and of an endowment of ,750 to the charity school, besides other bequests from different donors. There is a church Sunday-school held in the free school. The Wesleyans and Baptists have each a chapel and Sunday-school. A pot of silver coins of the reigns of Sweyu and Hardicanute was discovered in the church- yard. T. Barrow, Esq., is lord of the manor. Cattle fairs are held on the Monday prior to St. James's day, and the last Monday in September. WEDNESBURY, a par., manufacturing and market town in the hund. of South Offlow, co. Stafford, 8 miles N.W. of Birmingham, 5 S.E. of Wolverhampton, and 118 N.W. of London, or 136J by Great Western rail- way, and situated on the London and Holyhead high road, near the source of the Tame. It is a place of great antiquity, and was originally called Wodensburg, after the god Woden. Under the Normans it was a royal domain. The town has increased rapidly of late years, and its extension has been as marked as almost any town in the so-called "Black Country." In 1811 the population was 5,372; in 1831 it was 8,437; in 1851, 14,281 ; and in 1861 it had risen to 21,968. The population of the parish in 1861 was 21,968, and its area is 2,175 acres. The large increase in the last de- cennial period is accounted for by the extension of the iron manufacture and by the facilities afforded by free- hold building societies. The London and North- Western and the Great Western railway companies have stations here. A branch of the Birmingham canal passes close to the town. For miles around, especially towards the N. and W., are coal pits, foundries, and blast furnaces innumerable; and almost all vegetation has disap- peared. At night immense bodies of flame issue from the blast furnaces and the countless smaller fires of the foundries and works. Coal, iron, and limestone abound in the vicinity of the town, and a coal which produces intense heat, and therefore is admirably suited for the preparation and working of iron, is found here. The manufactures of the town are railway ironwork and carriages, axletrees, coach springs, gas tubing, water pipes, gun locks and barrels, hinges and screws. Among the principal manufactures are the iron, engineering, and Bessemer steel works; the Patent Shaft and Axle-tree ; and the Crown Tube Works of Messrs. Russell and Sons. The town is lighted with gas from the West Bromwich gasworks, and has a good supply of water from Lichfield : there is a reservoir on Church-hill belonging to the waterworks company. A local board of health presides over the town. The local magistrates sit every alternate Tuesday, and the stipendiary for the district attends fortnightly. Wed- nesbury is within the jurisdiction of the Walsall County Court. The par. is in the dioc. of Lichfield and archdeaconry of Stafford. The church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, is situated on the highest point of the town, and its tower and spire are seen from a considerable distance In the interior are monuments of the Dudley and Parkes families. The living is a vicarage, val. 400, in the gift of the lord chancellor. St. John's, High-street, val. X300, was erected in 1844 at a cost of 5,200; St. James's, in the Holyhead road, val. 175. Within the parish is the perpetual curacy of Moxley. The Roman Catholics, Baptists, Congregationalists, Wesleyans, Methodist Free church, Primitive Methodists, and Methodist New Connexion, have chapels. There are National schools, British, Roman Catholic, and Wesleyan day schools, and nume rous Sunday-schools, a mechanics' institute, working- man's club, and a subscription library and news-room. The Crown Tube Works also maintain a library and reading-room for their work-people. There is a music hall at the " Green Dragon," in the market-place, and a theatre in Earps-lane. Two banking companies have establishments here the Staffordshire Joint-Stock Bank, Lloyd's Banking Company (late Messrs. Philip and Henry Williams). A branch of the National Savings- Bank Association is in High-street. The Wednesbury Advertiser is published on Saturdays. Market day is Friday. Fairs are held on 6th May and 3rd August. The wakes commence on the Sunday between the 4th and 10th of September. WEDNESFIELD, a tnshp. in the par. of Wolver- hampton, S. div. of Offlow hund., co. Stafford, 2 miles N.E. of Wolverhampton, its post town. At Wednesfield Heath is a station on the S_outh Stafford- shire railway. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of locks and keys,- chain-cables, and other articles of iron. In this township were formerly two barrows, on the supposed site of the field where Edward the Elder beat the Danes in 911, one of which has been levelled. The population in 1861 was 8,553, and the ecclesiastical district of Wed- nesfield Heath 5,049. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Lichfield, val. 280, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Giles, was built in 1750, and recently enlarged ; there is also a new church at Wednesfield Heath. The parochial charities produce about 20 per annum. There are National schools for both sexes. The Independents, New Connexion Metho- dists, and Wesleyans have chapels. The inhabitants have the right of voting for the borough of Wolverhampton. WEEDON, a hmlt. in the par. of Hardwicke, hund. of Cottesloe, co. Bucks, 3 miles N. of Aylesbury, and 13J from Buckingham. The principal residence is The Lilies. WEEDON - BECK, or WEEDON - ON - THE - STREET, a par. and post town in the hund. of Faws- ley, co. Northampton, 4 miles S.E. from Daventry, and 8 from Northampton. It is a station on the North- Western railway, which here passes through a tunnel of 418 yards. The village is situated in a valley on the Grand Junction canal and the ancient way Watling Street, and near the source of the river Nene. It is divided into Upper and Lower Weedon, of which the latter is intersected by the Holyhead road, here joined by the Northampton and Daventry road. A nunnery was founded here by Werburgh, daughter of Wulfhere, King of Mercia, in 630, which, being burnt by the Danes in the 9th century, was refounded by William the Conqueror as a cell to Bee Abbey. The par. con- tains the Royal Military Depot, having accommodation for 200,000 stand of arms, besides a great quantity of military stores. The building, which is situated above the village, consists of a centre with two detached wings, and on an eminence adjoining are barracks for 500 men. Between the two ranges of building is a cut commu- nicating with the Grand Junction canal, and affording facility of conveyance to any part of the kingdom. Many of the inhabitants are engaged in the manu- facture of boots and shoes, and in lace-making. Near Dodford Mill is " Gallows Furlong," where criminals were anciently executed. Courts leet are held occa- sionally, and a court baron annually. The population in 1861 was 2,189. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Peterborough, val. 300. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, was originally built before the Conquest, but was rebuilt in 1825. The parochial charities produce about 231 per annum, of which 101 go to Billing's free school. There are National and infant schools. The Independents and Wesleyans have chapels and Sunday-schools. The Provost and Fellows of Eton College are lords of the manor.