Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/838

WILSTHORPE. 826 WILTON BEACON. to "West Calder. It was founded in 1779 by Ihe Messrs. Wilson, who introduced the manufacture of iron. It rapidly grew into a small town, but the trade having suddenly declined, it is now of little importance. WILSTHORPB, a hmlt. in the par. of Sawley, hund. of Morleston, co. Derby, 7 miles S.E. of Derby, near the rivers Trent and Derwent. WILSTHORPK, a chplry. in the par. of Greatford, wap. of Ness, co. Lincoln, 6 miles N.E. of Stamford, and 5 N.W. of Market-Deeping, near the river Glen. WILSTHORPE, a tnshp. in the par. of Bridlington, East Hiding co. York, 2 miles S. of Bridlington. It is situated near the coast, and is joined to Hilderthorpe. WILSTONE, a hmlt. in the par. of Tring, co. Herts, 2 miles N.W. of Tring, near the Aylesbury canal. WILSTROP, a tnshp. in the par. of Kirk-Hamtner- ton, E. div. of York ainsty, co. York, 7 miles N.W. of York, near the river Nidd. WILTON, a par., market town, municipal and parlia- mentary borough in the hund. of Branch and Dole, co. Wilts, 3 miles N.W. of Salisbury, and 85 from London. It has stations on the London and South- Western and Salisbury branch of the Great Western railways. This place is supposed by Baxter to have been the Caer Guilo of the Britons, but was changed to Wilton by the Saxons from the river Willey, or Will, on which it is situated at its confluence with the Nadder. Under the West Saxons it became a place of such note as to give name to the shire, and early in the 10th century was chosen as the seat of the diocese of Wells, and so continued during the lives of 11 bishops, till 1050. It was the scene of the defeat of the Mercians by Egbert in 823, and of the Danes by Alfred in 871 ; but was burnt by Sweyn the Dane in 1003, and again by the army of the Empress Matilda in 1143, who took it from Stephen. It was afterwards rebuilt, and in the 23rd of Edward I. was summoned as a borough to return two members to par- liament. Queen Elizabeth visited it in 1579, and Prince Henry in 1603, when for a short space it became the resideace of the court. With the rise of New Sarum, or Salisbury, it began gradually to decline, notwithstand- ing the introduction of the manufacture of carpets by Duffosy, a Frenchman, who first brought over into England this branch of industry, under the Herberts, in the reign of Elizabeth. By the Eeform Act of 1832 the bounds of the borough were greatly extended, and the number of members reduced to one instead of two, as from the reign of Edward I. The chief influence is with the Earl of Pembroke, of Wilton Castle rebuilt by Wyatt, and altered from designs of Holbein and Inigo Jones by Sir W. Herbert, afterwards Earl of Pembroke, on the site of the ancient abbey, originally founded by Wulstan, Earl of Wiltshire, in 773. In this mansion is a collection of paintings and old marble sculpture ; also the library where Sir Philip Sidney is said to have writ- ten the "Arcadia." Wilton is a borough by prescrip- tion, having been first chartered by Henry I., and is now governed by a corporation consisting of a high steward, mayor, who is also returning officer, recorder, five aldermen, and a number of burgesses, of whom the mayor and recorder are magistrates. The town hall is the principal public edifice in the town, which consists of one long street. The population of the parish in 1861 was 1,930, and of the borough 8,657, inhabiting 1,814 houses. It has long been celebrated for the manufacture of carpets, but the only factory at present in operation is that of Messrs. Blackmore and Lapworth, which em- ploys about 500 hands, and made the Axminster carpet exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851, from Gruner's designs. Wilton gives name to a deanery in the arch- deaconry and diocese of Sarum. The living is a rect.,* val. with Bulbridge, Ditchampton, and Netherhampton annexed, 400, besides 22 acres, 2 roods, 29 poles of glebe. The church of SS. Mary and Nicholas, recently erected in lieu of the old one by Wyatt and Brandon, at the cost of 25,000, defrayed by the late Right Hon. Sir Sidney Herbert, is 156 feet in length, with a campanile tower 120 feet high, connected with the body of the structuro by a corridor. It is in the Lombard style of architecture, with a western doorway, stained windows, stone pulpit supported by 16 black marble pillars, carved stone screen, chancel paved with Italian agates and marble, and inlaid mosaic work brought from the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The charities pro- duce about 350 per annum, including the bequests of R. Sumption, Esq., whose will hangs up in the town- hall. The Dissenters have chapels, and there are a free school, Sunday-school, and St. John's Hospital the last founded in 1190, by Archbishop Hubert, for a prior or clergyman, and five aged persons. It is the head of a Poor-law TJnion of 22 parishes, the workhouse for which is situated in the parish of Newton, and of a superin- tendent registry, but belongs to the Salisbury New County Court district. Market days, now nearly obso- lete, are AVedncsday and Saturday, but the sheep fairs, held on the 4th May and 12th September, are some of the largest in England. WILTON, a par. in tho district of Hawick, oo. Rox- burgh, Scotland. It comprises the vils. of Dean and Appletree-Hall, and part of the town of Hawick. It extends in length upwards of 5 miles, with an extreme breadth of 4 miles. The surface is hilly, and is for the most part in an excellent state of cultivation. Lime- stone and marl are abundant. The parish is traversed by the road from Edinburgh to Carlisle, and contains the terminus of the Hawick railway. It is watered by the river Teviot, which is crossed by an old bridge near the principal street in Wilton suburb. This par. is in the presb. of Jedburgh, synod of Merse and Teviot- dale. The stipend of the minister is about 294. The parish church was erected in 1762, enlarged in 1801, and restored in 1829. There is a parochial school. The principal seat is Wilton Lodge. WILTON, a tythg. in the par. of Great Bedwin, co. Wilts, 5 miles S.W. of Hungerford. WILTON, a par. in the hund. of Taunton, co. Somer- set, half a mile S.W. of Taunton, of which it is a suburb, containing the gaol and houne of correction. There was formerly a hospital built by one of the bishops of Win- chester. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Bath and Wells, val. 200. The church, dedicated to St. George, was formerly a chapel-of-ease to the vie. of St. Mary Magdalene, in Taunton. WlLTON. See HOCKWOLD-CUM- WILTON, co. Norfolk. WILTON, a hmlt. in the par. of Haile, co. Cumber- land, 2 miles E. of Egremont. WILTON, a hmlt. in the bar. of Clonkee, co. Cavan, Ireland, 2 miles S.E. of Ballieborough. WILTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Kirk-Leatham, E. div. of Langbaurgh lib., North Riding co. York, 3 miles N.W. of Guisborough, 3 from Redcar, and 8 from Stockton. At Lazenby, in this township, is a station on the Stockton and Darlington railway. This township, which is situated on the road from Stockton to Redcar, is bounded on the N. by the German Ocean, and con- tains the hmlts. of Lackenby and Lazenby. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of York, val. 150. The church is dedicated to St. Cuthbert. Sir J. H. Lowther, Bart., is lord of the manor and principal landowner. WILTON, an ancient castle of the Greys, on tho river Wye, co. Hereford, 1 mile W. of Ross. From this now ruined castle the Egertons of Heaton Castle take the titles of Earl and Viscount Grey de Wilton. WILTON, a chplry. and tnshp. in the par. of Eller- burn, W. div. of Pickering lythe wap., North Riding co. York, 4 miles S.E. of Pickering. Tha village is situated on the old road from Pickering to Scarborough. The land is fertile, on a subsoil of limestone. There are a chapel- of-ease to Farmanby and a chapel for Wesleyans. There are National and Sunday schools. The Rev. J. R. Hill, M.A., is lord of the manor. WILTON BEACON, a div. of the wap. of Harthill, East Riding co. York, contains the pars, of Allerthorpe, Barmby-on-the-Moor, Bishop-Wilton, Burnby, Fang- foss, Full Sutton, Great Givendale, Huggate, Kilnwick Percy, Millington, Pocklington, Sutton-on-Derwent, Wilb"erfoss, and parts of Catton, Nuu-Burnholme, find Thornton, comprising 46,600 acres.