Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/504

SODBURY, OLD. 492 SOLIHULL. bald's Ash, co. Gloucester, 2J miles S.E. of Chipping- Sodbury, and 4 N.E. of the Yate railway station. The village, which is of small extent, is situated near the Bath and Chippenham roads. The inhabitants are chiefly agricultural. The soil is of a clayey character, and the land is partly in common. On the brow of one of the Cotswold hills in this parish, facing the Severn, are traces of a Roman camp, from which point a view is obtained of the vale of Gloucestershire. The living is a rect. * in the dioc. of Gloucester and Bristol, val. 235. The church is dedicated to St. Adeline. There is a Sunday-school. "W. H. H. Hartley, Esq., is lord of the manor. SODBURY, OLD, a par. in the lower div. of Grum- bald's Ash hund., co. Gloucester, IJmileE. of Chipping- Sodbury, and 3 miles E. of the Yate railway station. The village, which is chiefly agricultural, is situated on the western side of the Cotswold hills. The soil is of various qualities, with a subsoil of clay and limestone. Kumerous fossils, including Nautili and Eelemites, are found on the side of the hill. In the vicinity is a Roman encampment. The road from Bristol to Chippenham here meets the Bath and Cheltenham road at the " Cross Hands " inn, which owes its name to an ancient Roman coin discovered in the encampment, and bearing the legend, " Caius Marius, Imperator, concordia Militum." The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Gloucester and Bristol, val. 460, in the patron, of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient stone structure with a square embattled tower containing one bell. There is a National school for both sexes. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. Lye Grove House is the principal residence. V. H. H. Hartley, Esq., is lord of the manor. SODOR AND MAN, diocese. See MAN, ISLE OF. SOFTLEY, a hmlt. in the par. of St. Andrew Auck- land, N.W. div. of Darlington ward, co. Durham, 7 miles S.V. of Bishop-Auckland, and 8 S.E. of Walsing- ham. It is joined with Lynesack to form a township. The village is situated on the river Gaunless. A portion of the inhabitants are employed in the collieries. SOHAM, a par. in the hund. of Staploe, co. Cambridge, 18 miles N.E. of Cambridge, 8 N. of Newmarket, and 6 S.E. of Ely, its nearest station on the Great Eastern railway. There is a navigable canal called "The Lode," which joins the Ouso at Ely. The par. is 9 miles in length, and comprises the chplry. of Barway. It formerly included a large mere or lake and about 10,000 acres of fen, but these have been drained, and are now in a high state of cultivation. The chief employ- ment of the inhabitants is agricultural, with dairy farming and market gardening. Excellent Cottenham cheese and butter are made, and large quantities of fruit are sent to the London and other markets. The town, which is straggling and irregularly built, consists principally of one street, and has been much improved within the last quarter of a century. It is lighted with gas, but indifferently supplied with water. There are a branch bank, breweries, and tile works. The prin- cipal seat is The Place. In the Saxon times it was selected as the seat of a diocese founded in 630 by St. Felix, but removed to Dunwich in 870, when the convent was destroyed by the Danes. A court-leet is held in the town annually. The living is a vie. with the cur. of Barway annexed, in the dioc. of Ely, val. 1,653 10s., in the patron, of Pembroke College, Cambridge. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, or St. John the Baptist, is a cruciform structure, with an old tower containing a peal of ten bells. The register dates from the early part of the reign of Elizabeth. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, Independents, Baptists, and Unitarians. The boys' school has an income from endowment of 100 per annum, and Haggitt's Sunday-school one of 10. The parochial charities produce about 700 per annum, in eluding the endowment of Thomas Peachey's alms- houses for 17 widows, founded in 1582, and the bequest of Bishop Laney for apprenticing poor children of Ely and Soham. The Commissioners of tho Bedford Level allotted a certain portion of fen lands in lieu of common rights. Roman urns and other antiquities have been, found here. An annual cattle fair ia held 9th May and a pleasure fair on the Monday nearest to St. John's Day. SOHAM, EARL, a par. in the hund. of Loes, co. Suffolk, 3 miles E. of Debenham, and 4 W. of Framling- ham station on the Great Eastern railway. Wickham- Market is its post town. It was formerly a market town, but is now a village. The manor anciently be- longed to the Bigods, earla of Norfolk, from which circumstance it takes the prefix to its name. Near the village is Soham Lodge, an old moated -house of the Cornwallises. The living is a rect.* in the dioe. of Norwich, val. 515. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. There are some small charities. The Baptists and Wesleyans have each a chapel, and there is a free school. A fair is held on the 4th August. SOHAM, MONK, a par. in the hund. of Hoxne, co. Suffolk, 4 miles N.E. of Debenham, and 6 N.W. of Framlingham. Wickham Market is its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is wholly agricultural. Tho living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Norwich, val. 530. The church is dedicated to St. Peter. The register dates from 1712. SOHO, a hmlt. in the par. of Handsworth, hund. of Offlow, co. Stafford, 2 miles N.W. of Birmingham, of which it is an important suburb. It has stations on the Great Western, and London and North- Western rail- ways. The chief part of the land was in heath till 1762, at which period a rolling-mill was established by Boulton, who carried on an extensive manufacture of buttons, buckles, and silver-plated goods up to 1774, when Watt joined him, and the two brought to perfec- tion the invention of the steam-engine. The principal residence is Soho House. See BIRMINGHAM. SOKEHOLME, a tnshp. and chplry. in the par. of Warsop, Hatfield div. of Bassetlaw wap., co. Notting- ham, 3 miles N.E. of Mansfield, its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is wholly agricultural. A short distance from tho village is a spring which at one time was resorted to for bathing. The chapel- of- ease is a small ancient structure. Tho township of Sokeholme is connected with the manor of Nettleworks. Sir II. Fitzherbert ia lord of the manor and principal landowner. SOKENS, THE, a lib. in tho hund. of Tendring, co. Essex. It includes the pars, of Kirby, Thorpe, and Walton. SOLAR, formerly a pai. in the bar. of Upper Glen- arm, co. Antrim, prov. of Ulster, Ireland, but now incorporated with the pars, forming the benefice of Connor, on the road from Larne to Cushendall. SOLDIERSTOWN, a hmlt. in the par. of Aghalee, bar. of Upper Massareene, co. Antrim, prov. of Ulster, Ireland, 6 miles S.W. of Lisburn, so named from a body of soldiers having been stationed here during the dis- turbances of 1641. It is situated on the Lagan canal. SOLENT, the channel separating the Isle of Wight from the opposite coast of co. Hants. It is about 7 miles long by 2 broad, and deepens towards tho Needles. SOLE STREET, a hmlt. in the hund. of Tolting- trough, lathe of Aylesford, eo. Kent, near Rochester. It is a station on the London, Chatham, and Dover railway. SOLE-STREET, a hmlt. in the par. of St. Peter's, Isle of Thanet and lathe of St. Augustine, co. Kent, near Margate. SOLEY END, a vil. in the par. of Astley, co. War- wick, 5 miles N. of Coventry, on the rivor Sow. SOLIHULL, a div. in the hund. of Hemlingford, co. Warwick, contains the pars, of Baddesley-Clinton, Barston, Berkeswell, Bickenhill, Elmdon, Hampton-in- Arden, Meriden, Great and Little Packington, and Solihull, comprising an area of 43,560 acres. SOLIHULL, or SILHILL, a par. and post town in the Solihull div. of Hemlingford hund., co. Warwick, 6J miles S.E. of Birmingham, and 14f from Warwick. It is a station on the Birmingham and Oxford railway,