Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/511

60ULDERN 499 SOUTHAMPTON. manor. Cattle fairs are held on the Tuesday prior to Easter Sunday, and on the 30th August. SOULDERN, a par. in the hund. of Ploughley, co. Oxford, 7 miles S.W. of Brackley, ita post town, and the same distance N.W. of Bicester. The village, which is considerable, is situated on a branch of the river Cherwell, near the Oxford canal. In Henry III.'s time Souldern came into the possession of Richard Basset. The soil on the more elevated parts consists of sand and stone brash, but towards the river of clay and loam. The living is a rect. * in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 453, in the patron, of St. John's College, Cam- bridge. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, has a massive tower. It contains tombs of the Goughs. The parochial charities produce about 30 per annum. There is a boys' school with a small endowment. Words- worth composed some of his sonnets in this neighbour- hood. Many .Saxon antiquities have been recently found here. SOULDROP, a par. in the hund. of Willoy, co. Bed- ford, 10 miles N.W. of Bedford, its post town, and 5 S. of Higham Ferrers. The village is wholly agricultural. A few of the females are employed in the manufacture of lace. The living is a rect.* annexed to that of Knotting, in the dioc. of Ely. The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity or to All Saints, has a spired tower containing three bells. There is an infant school, founded by the Duke of Bedford, who is lord of the manor and chief landowner. SOULTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Wem, co. Salop, 2 miles N.E. of Wem. SOUND, a tnshp. in the par. of Wybunbury, hund. of Nantwich, co. Chester, 3 miles S.E. of Nautwich. It is situated on a branch of the river Weaver. The Primitive and Association Methodists have chapels. The old hall is now converted into a farmhouse. Mrs. Beckett is lady of the manor. SOURTON, a par. in tho hund. of Lifton, co. Devon, 4J miles S.W. of Okehampton, its post town. The village, which is irregularly built, is situated near Dart- moor Forest, on the road from Okehampton to Tavistock. The par. comprises Sourton Quarry, Lake, Southerleigh, and 5 other limits. ; also a large tract of common for- merly belonging to Dartmoor. The living is a cur. annexed to the rect. of- Bridesto w, in the dioc. of Exeter. The church, dedicated to St. Thomas-a-Becket, has a tower containing five bells. There is a Wesleyan chapel. SOUTH'ABERDEEN, a par. in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. See ABERDEEN. The like for other names with this prefix. SOUTHACOTT, a hmlt. in the par. of Okehampton, co. Devon, 3 miles W. of Okehampton. SOUTHALL, a chplry. in Norwood precinct, par. of Hayes, hund. of Elthorne, co. Middlesex, 3 miles N.W. of Brentford, and 9 W. of London. It is a junction station on tho Great Western and West London rail- ways, and lies between the Paddington and Grand Junction canals. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of London. The church, dedicated to St. John, is a modern structure built and endowed by the late Henry Dobbs, Esq. Southall House is the seat of Lord Mont- ford. There is a cattle and sheep market on Wednesday. SOUTHAM, a div. in the hund. of Knightlow, co. Warwick, contains the pars, of Birdingbury, Grand- borough, Upper and Lower Hoduel, Hunningham, Bishop's Itchington, Long Itchiugton, Ludbrook, Lea- mington-Hastings, llartin, Napton, Upper Radboum, Lower Radbourn, Upper Shuckburgh, Southam, Stockton, Wappenbury, Watergall, Weston, and Wolfhamcote, comprising an area of 40,000 acres. SOUTHAM, a par., post, and small market town in the Southam div. of Knightlow, 30. Warwick, 10 miles S.E. of Warwick. At Southam-road is a station an the Oxford and Rugby railway. The town is situated on the river Stowe, a brarch ot the Ichene, here crossed by a bridge of two arches. It consists of two streets of well-built houses, and is a polling-place for South War- wickshire. It is mentioned in Domesday Book as tiiii I'Ctu, or Sutlitut, and had anciently a mint. In tho VOL. III. vicinity are several mineral springs, ono of which, designated the Holy Well, was formerly held in high estimation, its waters possessing similar properties to those at Leamington. In 1818 an institution for diseases of the eye and ear was established, principally through the exertions of H. L. Smith, Esq. A county court is held here, and the magistrates meet in petty sessions on the first and third Mondays in every month. There are brick and tile kilns, and cement is manufactured to a considerable extent. The Poor-law Union embraces 19 pars, or places. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Worcester, val. 534, in the patron, of tho crown. The church, dedicated to St. James, has a spired tower con- taining five bells. It was repaired and part of it re- built in 1854. There are several stained windows. The parochial charities produce about 225 per annum, of which 180 are realised from town lands. There are National schools for both sexes, and places of worship for the Independents and Wesleyans. Market day is on Monday, chiefly for corn. Fairs for cattle are held on the first Monday in every month, also on Easter Monday and 10th July. SOUTHAMPTON, a div. of co. Hants, contains the libs, of Beaulieu and Dibden, and the pars, of Upper and Lower Mainsbridge, comprising 4,850 acres. SOUTHAMPTON, a seaport, market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, and a county of itself, locally in the huiid. of Mainsbridge, co. Hants, 14 miles S.S.W. of Winchester, 17 N.E. of Lymington, and 11 N.W. of Portsmouth. It is situated on a peninsula at the head of Southampton Water, between the river Test, or Anton, on the W., and the Alre, or Itchen, on the E. It is a constantly and rapidly-increasing place, the population having risen from 7,913 in 1801 to 35,305 in 1851, and 46,960 in 1861, occupying 7,712 houses. About a mile to the S.W. of the present town stood the Roman Clammtum, the site of which is now occupied by Bittern Farm, and is still indicated by a fosse and vallum on the land side. The present town, supposed to have been refounded by the Saxons, is called in Domesday Book Hantime, from the river Anton, or Test, which flows by it, and in the Saxon chronicle Hamtune, or Suth-Hamttm. It was often attacked by the Danes, who pillaged it in 980, and again in 992, and there established therr winter quarters in 994. Athel- stane made it a mint town. On the accession of Canute to the English throne, in 1016, it became a favourite residence of that king, and it is said that he there rebuked the flattery of his courtiers by vainly com- manding the waves to retire. In the reign of Henry II. it had four churches and a castle, and in 1215 was mado a staple for wines. In 1339 it was plundered and partly burnt by tho combined French, Spanish, and Genoese fleets, but was immediately rebuilt and for- tified. In 1346 Edward III. sailed with his army from this port for tho conquest of France, as did also Henry V. in 1415. In 1377 the French made a descent on tho town, which caused Richard II. to surround it with a wall and strengthen the fortifications. It took an active part in the wars between York and Lancaster, and tho latter party was defeated here with great loss. In 1554 Philip II., when coming to espouse Queen Mary, landed here and was sumptuously entertained by the corporation. In 1665 the plaguo which devastated London here also committed dreadful ravages. This subsequent history of the place presents few points of interest. At the commencement of the present century it was comparatively unimportant, bin the impetus given to our trade with India and America by the application of steam as a motive power in essels, the tide of emigration which has set in to Australia ;md our other colonies, and the convenience of this port as a point of arrival and departure, all tended to its rapid development, and have causeil an increase in the popu- lation since 1801 of nearly 600 per cent. The town occupies a high gravelly bank rising gradually from Southampton Water, and sloping in every direction. It is washed on the W. side by the Anton, and on the E. by tho Itchen, tho streams mingling in the estuary, 3 T