nity: near the old hall are the remains of an ancient prison, and in the old market-place those of a cross.

ASHTON (LONG), a parish in the hundred of HARTCLIFFE with BEDMINSTER, county of SOMERSET, 23 miles (S. W. by W.) from Bristol, containing 1168 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Bath, and diocese of Bath and Wells, rated in the king's books at £10. 17. 11., and in the patronage of Sir J. Smyth, Bart. The church is dedicated to All Saints. There were formerly a chapel and hermitage at Rownan Ferry, in this parish. In 1661, Francis Derrick gave a piece of land producing about £8 per annum, which, exclusively of 10s. to the minister, and 10s. to the poor, is appropriated towards the support of a school. Anne Smyth, in 1760, left a rentcharge of £10, which has been applied to the support of a National school, to which, in 1822, John Stanton gave £100. On the eastern point of Ashton hill are two intrenchments, called Burwalls and Stokeleigh, now overgrown with wood, which appear to have been Roman camps; many Roman coins have been dug up in the vicinity.

ASHTON in MACKERFIELD, a chapelry in the parish of WINWICK, hundred of WEST DERBY, County palatine of LANCASTER, 2 miles (N. W. by N.) from Newton in Mackerfield, containing 5674 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, endowed with £ 200 royal bounty, and £1600 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Rector of Winwick. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Wesleyan Methodists, and Roman Catholics. Ashton is a large village lying in the centre of a district in which are numerous potteries and cotton-manufactories.

ASHTON upon MERSEY, a parish in the hundred of BUCKLOW, County palatine of CHESTER, comprising the townships of Ashton upon Mersey and Sale, and containing 1924 inhabitants, of which number, 875 are in the township of Ashton upon Mersey, 63 miles (N.) from Altrincham. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, rated in the king's books at £13. 4. 7., and in the patronage of W. Johnson, Esq. and another. The church is dedicated to St. Martin. There are places of worship for Calvinists, Methodists, and Unitarians. The navigable river Mersey runs through the parish. A school is endowed with land and tenements producing about £50 per annum ; in addition to which, William Williamson, Esq. left an annuity of £70 for the instruction of children.

ASHTON (STEEPLE), a parish (formerly a market town) in the hundred of WHORWELSDOWN, County of WILTS, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Trowbridge, containing, with the chapelries of Littleton and Semington, and the tythings of West Ashton and Great Hinton, 1632 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Salisbury, rated in the king's books at £17. 2. 6., and in the patronage of the Master and Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a very lofty and elegant structure in the later English style, with extensive north and south porches, two small chapels, and, at the west end, a large and handsome embattled and pinnacled tower, having also a fine western window with five richly ornamented niches over it: ten clustered columns separate the aisles from the nave, and

the whole interior is rich in architectural decorations : the north aisle was erected at the expense of Robert Long, a clothier, and Edith his wife, and the south chiefly at that of the parishioners. This place derives the prefix to its name from a very elevated spire, ninety-three feet high, which originally surmounted the tower of the church, but it was seriously damaged by lightning in July 1670, and again in October following, when the spire and a portion of the tower were struck down, two workmen employed in its reparation killed, and a great part of the nave and aisles damaged; the body of the church was repaired in 1675, partly from voluntary subscriptions, and partly at the expense of the parishioners. A market was granted to be held here in the reign of Edward III., and was confirmed in that of Richard II., who also added an annual fair. In the time of Henry VIII. there was a considerable clothing trade, which no longer exists; the market has been long discontinued, and the fair, now inconsiderable, is on September 18th. John Hicks gave a piece of land, producing £5 per annum, for the education of poor children.

ASHTON-GIFFORD, a township in the parish of CODFORD ST. PETER, hundred of HEYTESBURY, county of WILTS, 3 miles (S. E. by E.) from Heytesbury. The population is returned with the parish.

ASHTON-KEYNES, a parish in the hundred of HIGHWORTH, CRICKLADE, and STAPLE, county of WILTS, 4 miles (W.) from Cricklade, containing, with the chapelry of Leigh, 1151 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Wilts, and diocese of Salisbury, rated in the king's books at £16, and in the patronage of Robert Clack and others. The church is dedicated to the Holy Cross.

ASHURST, a parish in the hundred of WASHLINGSTONE, lathe of AYLESFORD, county of KENT, 43 miles (W.) from Tonbridge-Wells, containing 208 inhabit

ants.

The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Rochester, rated in the king's books at £5. 4. 7., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of Earl De la Warr. The church, a low mean building, was, before the Reformation, famous for a rood or crucifix, the supposed miraculous powers of which attracted numerous pilgrims. The river Medway, which is here but an inconsiderable stream, bounds the parish on the north-west.

ASHURST, a parish in the hundred of WEST GRINSTEAD, rape of BRAMBER, county of SUSSEX, 33 miles (N.) from Steyning, containing 394 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chichester, and in the patronage of the President and Fellows of Magdalene College, Oxford. The navigable river Adur runs through this parish.

ASHWATER, a parish in the hundred of BLACK TORRINGTON, county of DEVON, 6 miles (S. E. by S.) from Holsworthy, containing 774 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Totness, and diocese of Exeter, rated in the king's books at £26. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Rev. T. Melhuish. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, contains some interesting monuments. Fairs for cattle are held on the first Tuesday in May, and the first Monday after the 1st of August. Freestone of excellent quality is obtained in the vicinity.

ASHWELL, a parish in the hundred of ODSEY, county of HERTFORD, 44 miles (N. N.E.) from Baldock, containing 915 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Huntingdon, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £22.3. 6., and in the patronage of the Bishop of London. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious edifice, with a tower and spire one hundred and seventy-five feet high. Ashwell is a place of great antiquity, and was a market town and borough at the time of the Norman survey, having also four fairs, and being held in royal demesne. Its name is derived from several springs, issuing out of a rock at the south end of the town, which were formerly surrounded by ash trees: they form the source of the small river Rhee, which soon becomes so full and rapid, as to turn several mills within a short distance. On Harborough hill, in this parish, are the remains of a quadrangular encampment of the Romans, whence the approach of an enemy, in any direction, and at a great distance, could be observed. Urns, coins, and skeletons, have been dug up, as well as near the Iknield-road, in the vicinity. The free school, in which fourteen boys are instructed, has an endowment from the estate of Sir Richard Hutchinson, paid to the master by the Merchant Taylors' Company of London. There are also six endowed almshouses for as many poor persons, and a fund for apprenticing poor children. A small manor here was held by Walter Somoner, in petit serjeantry, by the service of providing spits and roasting meat in the king's kitchen, on the day of his coronation. The only trade carried on is in malt, the barley produced in the neighbourhood being of a peculiarly excellent quality. The Rev. Ralph Cudworth, D. D., master of Christ's College, Cambridge, and author of "The Intellectual System," was vicar of this parish, and died here in 1688.

ASHWELL, a parish in the hundred of ALSTOE, county of RUTLAND, 3 miles (N. by W.) from Oakham, containing 220 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Northampton, and diocese of Peterborough, rated in the king's books at £20. 16. 3., and in the patronage of Viscount Downe. The church is dedicated to St. Mary.

ASHWELLTHORPE, a parish in the hundred of DEPWADE, County of NORFOLK, 3 miles (S. E. by S.) from Wymondham, containing 418 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, with that of Wreningham annexed, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk, and diocese of Norwich, rated in the king's books at £6. 13. 4., and in the patronage of Robert Wilson, Esq. The church is dedicated to All Saints.

ASHWICK, a parish in the hundred of KILMERSDON, County of SOMERSET, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Shepton-Mallet, containing 829 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Kilmersdon, in the archdeaconry of Wells, and diocese of Bath and Wells. The church is dedicated to St. James. There are places of worship for Methodists and Presbyterians. Here is a considerable brewery, and in the neighbourhood are many coal mines. On the south-western side of the parish, near the Fosse-way, there is a Roman camp, with a double intrenchment, called Masbury Castle.

ASHWICKEN, a parish in the Lynn division of the hundred of FREEBRIDGE, county of NORFOLK, 5 miles

(E. by S.) from Lynn-Regis, containing 79 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, with that of Leziate annexed, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Norwich, rated in the king's books at £6. 13. 4., and in the patronage of Earl Spencer. The church is dedicated to All Saints.

ASHWORTH, a chapelry in the parish of MIDDLETON, hundred of SALFORD, county palatine of LANCASTER, 31⁄2 miles (W.) from Rochdale, containing 280 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, endowed with £800 private benefaction, £1000 royal bounty, and £300 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of W. Egerton, Esq. The chapel is dedicated to St. James.

ASKE, a township in that part of the parish of EASBY which is in the western division of the wapentake of GILLING, North riding of the county of YORK, 13 mile (N.) from Richmond, containing 109 inhabitants.

ASKERNE, a township in the parish of CAMPSALL, upper division of the wapentake of OSGOLDCROSS, West riding of the county of YORK, 7 miles (N.) from Doncaster, containing 159 inhabitants. Here is a sheet of water, called Askerne Pool, a few yards from which rises a spring with a sulphureous impregnation, the water of which is esteemed beneficial in rheumatic and scorbutic diseases, and is now extensively used; a spacious inn has lately been erected for the accommodation of visitors.

ASKERSWELL, a parish in the hundred of EGGERTON, Bridport division of the county of DORSET, 4 miles (E.) from Bridport, containing 190 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Dorset, and diocese of Bristol, rated in the king's books at £9. 2. 6., and in the patronage of the Rev. Edward Foyle. The church is dedicated to St. Michael.

ASKERTON, a township in the parish of LANERCOST-ABBEY, ESKDALE ward, county of CUMBERLAND, 6 miles (N. N. E.) from Brampton, containing 503 inhabitants. The castle, situated on the eastern bank of the Cambeck, was a small tower building with lofty turrets, but it has long been in ruins. Askerton comprises the ancient parish of Kirk-Cambeck, the church of which was destroyed by the Scots in the reign of Edward II., and the tithes are held on lease from the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle: the inhabitants repair to the church of Lanercost for the performance of ecclesiastical rites.

ASKHAM, a chapelry in the parish of EAST DrayTON, within the liberty of SOUTHWELL and SCROOBY, which is locally in the South-clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, county of NOTTINGHAM, 23 miles (N.) from Tuxford, containing 270 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Dean and Chapter of York, and in the patronage of the Vicar of East Drayton. Hops are cultivated here. There are almshouses for six widows.

ASKHAM, a parish in WEST ward, county of WESTMORLAND, comprising the townships of Askham and Helton, and containing 517 inhabitants, of which number, 355 are in the township of Askham, 43 miles (S.) from Penrith. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle, rated in the king's books at £6, and in the patronage of the Earl of Lonsdale. The church is a small ancient building, dedicated to St. Peter. Limestone abounds in the parish. A school was endowed, in 1813, with subscriptions

amounting to £420, a great part of which has been vested in the purchase of land.

ASKHAM-BRYAN, a parish in the ainsty of the city, and East riding of the county, of YORK, 4 miles (w.s. W.) from York, containing 377 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, within the peculiar jurisdiction of the lord of the manor, endowed with £800 private benefaction, and £ 800 royal bounty, and in the patronage of R. J. Thompson, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. A small endowment has been given for the education of poor children.

ASKHAM-RICHARD, a parish in the ainsty of the city, and East riding of the county, of YORK, 5 miles (S. W. by w.) from York, containing 249 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of York, rated in the king's books at £4. 13. 4., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of R. J. Thompson, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists.

ASKRIGG, a market town and chapelry in the parish of AYSGARTH, western division of the wapentake of HANG, North riding of the county of YORK, 57 miles (W. N. W.) from York, and 247 (N. W. by N.) from London, containing 765 inhabitants. The town is situated on an eminence rising from the northern bank of the river Ure, and the surrounding country exhibits some fine waterfalls and picturesque scenery: it was formerly a place of considerable note, but has fallen into decay; there are a flax and a wool-carding mill. In the neighbourhood are lead mines, but they are not very productive. The market is on Thursday; and fairs are held on May 11th, the first Thursday in June, and October 28th. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of Richmond, and diocese of Chester, endowed with £200 private benefaction, £400 royal bounty, and £1000 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Vicar of Aysgarth. The chapel is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Oswald. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. Almshouses were founded and endowed, in 1807, by Christopher Alderson, for six poor widows of the townships of Askrigg and Low Abbotside, each of whom has a stipend of £10 per annum. In this township is the free grammar school of Yorebridge, founded by Anthony Besson, in the 43rd of Elizabeth, with an endowment of £64. 10. per annum.

ASKWITH, a township in the parish of WESTON, upper division of the wapentake of CLARO, West riding of the county of YORK, 3 miles (N. W.) from Otley, containing 367 inhabitants.

ASLACKBY, a parish in the wapentake of AVELAND, parts of KESTEVEN, county of LINCOLN, 2 miles (S. S. E.) from Folkingham, containing, with the hamlets of Graby and Milthorpe, 425 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £12. 10.7, and in the patronage of M. Barstow, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. James. Here was a preceptory of Knights Templars, which, on the abolition of their order, became a commandery of the Hospitallers: a square tower belonging to the edifice yet remains.

ASLACTON, a parish in the hundred of DEPWADE, county of NORFOLK, 34 miles (W. by 8.) from St. Mary

Stratton, containing 352 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk, and diocese of Norwich, endowed with £800 royal bounty, and in the patronage of Mrs. Bodham. The church is dedicated to St. Michael.

ASLACTON, a township in the parish of WHATTON, northern division of the wapentake of BINGHAM, county of NOTTINGHAM, 24 miles (E. by N.) from Bingham, containing 273 inhabitants. It is in the honour of Tutbury, duchy of Lancaster, and within the jurisdiction of a court of pleas held at Tutbury every third Tuesday, for the recovery of debts under 40s. This was the birthplace of Cranmer, the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, who was burnt at Oxford in 1555, a martyr to his religious tenets.

ASPALL, a parish in the hundred of HARTISMERE, county of SUFFOLK, 14 mile (N. by W.) from Debenham, containing 109 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of Sudbury, and diocese of Norwich, and in the patronage of the Rev. C. Chevallier. Here is a free school, endowed with land bequeathed by the Rev. John Metcalf, in 1612, from the produce of which £50 per annum is paid to the master, and £10 to the usher.

ASPATRIA, a parish in ALLERDALE ward below Derwent, county of CUMBERLAND, comprising the townships of Aspatria with Brayton, Hayton with Melay, and Outerside with Allerby, and containing 1220 inhabitants, of which number, 632 are in the township of Aspatria with Brayton, 8 miles (N. by E.) from Cockermouth. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle, rated in the king's books at £10. 4. 2., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Carlisle. The church, dedicated to St. Kentigern, is a finely ornamented structure, in the Norman style of architecture. A place of worship for Independents was built in 1827. Aspatria derived its name from Gospatrick, father of the first lord of Allerdale : the parish is bounded on the west by the Solway Firth, and on the south-east and south by the river Ellen, and contains a vein of red freestone at Hayton, and coal at Outerside: the village, which is long, straggling, and well built, extends along the ridge of a hill facing the south. In 1790, a barrow was opened about two hundred yards to the north of it, when the skeleton of a man, with the corroded remains of some military weapons, gold ornaments, &c., were discovered in a vault constructed of large stones, on two of which various emblematical figures were sculptured: it is supposed to have been the tomb of a warrior, interred about the close of the sixth century.

ASPEDEN, a parish in the hundred of EDWINSTREE, county of HERTFORD, of a mile (S.) from Buntingford, containing 455 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Huntingdon, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £ 15. 5. 21., and in the patronage of the Earl of Hardwicke. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. The river Rib, which falls into the Lea near Hertford, flows through this parish. W. and R. Freeman, in 1668, and Mrs. Cater, in 1704, gave land for the education of children; and R. Freeman assigned an additional plot of land for clothing them. In 1684, Dr. Seth Ward, Bishop of Sarum, founded an almshouse for two men and two women, and endowed it with £41. 12. per annum.

ASPLEY, a township in the parish of ECCLESHALL, northern division of the hundred of PIREHILL, county of STAFFORD, containing 24 inhabitants.

ASPLEY, a joint hamlet with Fordhall, in the parish of WOOTTON-WAWEN, Henley division of the hundred of BARLICHWAY, County of WARWICK, containing, with Fordhall, 106 inhabitants.

ASPLEY-GUISE, a parish in the hundred of MANSHEAD, county of BEDFORD, 24 miles (N. by W.) from Woburn, containing 848 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, consolidated, in 1796, with the vicarage of Husborn - Crawley, in the archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £15. 16. 10. The church, dedicated to St. Botolph, contains several ancient and interesting monuments. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. A market on Friday, and a fair on the festival of St. Botolph, were granted to be held here in 1267; but they have been long discontinued. A small portion of this parish lies in the county of Buckingham.

ASPULL, a township in that part of the parish of WIGAN which is in the hundred of SALFORD, county palatine of LANCASTER, 3 miles (N. E. by E.) from Wigan, containing 1894 inhabitants. A chapel has been lately erected by the parliamentary commissioners. Cannel coal abounds in the township. Here is a small endowment for the education of poor children.

ASSELBY, a township in the parish of HowDEN, wapentake of HOWDENSHIRE, East riding of the county of YORK, 2 miles (W. by S.) from Howden, containing 254 inhabitants. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists.

ASSENDON, a hamlet in the parish and hundred of PIRTON, County of OXFORD, 4 miles (N. N. W.) from Henley upon Thames. The population is returned with the parish. Here is an almshouse, endowed with £5 per annum.

ASSINGTON, a parish in the hundred of BABERGH, County of SUFFOLK, 24 miles (s. W. by W.) from Boxford, containing 533 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Sudbury, and diocese of Norwich, rated in the king's books at £10, endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Rev. John Hallward. The church is dedicated to St. Edmund. In 1777, John Gurdon bequeathed £100 for the instruction of poor children.

ASTBURY, a parish comprising the township of Somerford-Booths, in the hundred of MACCLESFIELD, the market town of Congleton, and the townships of Astbury-Newbold, Buglawton, Davenport, Hulme Walfield, Moreton with Alcumlow, Oddrode, Radnor, Smallwood, and Summerford, in the hundred of NORTHWICH, County palatine of CHESTER, 11⁄2 mile (S. W.) from Congleton, and containing 10,388 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, rated in the king's books at £68, and in the patronage of Lord Crewe. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious and beautiful structure, in the later style of English architecture the interior contains several stalls, a rood-loft, and some fine screen-work; the ceilings, which are of oak, are richly carved; the east window is highly finished, and there are some fine specimens of stained

glass. The nave is separated from the aisles by lofty pointed arches springing from clustered columns. The tower, which stands at the north-west angle of the church, and is surmounted by an elegant spire, appears to have belonged to a former edifice. In the township of Oddrode, a church, or chapel of ease, has been erected by Mr. Dobbs, of Clapham in Surrey, which for a time was shut up, on account of some dispute respecting the patronage; but the service of the established church is now performed in it, the minister being appointed by the founder. The office of churchwarden devolves on the proprietors of six of the principal halls, and on the mayor of Congleton, who are styled Præpositi, here termed Posts, and who in rotation nominate a deputy. A railway passes through the parish from Mole-Cop to a coal wharf near Congleton'; and the Macclesfield canal proceeds at a short distance east of the village. The sum of £50 per annum, the bequest of John Halford, in 1714, is partly distributed among the poor, and partly applied in apprenticing poor children.

ASTBURY (NEWBOLD), a township in that part of the parish of ASTBURY which is in the hundred of NORTHWICH, county palatine of CHESTER, 3 miles (S. by E.) from Congleton, containing 569 inhabitants.

ASTERBY, a parish in the northern division of the wapentake of GARTREE, parts of LINDSEY, county of LINCOLN, 7 miles (N.) from Horncastle, containing 189 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £8. 0. 10., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £ 200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of Lady Southwell. The church is dedicated to St. Peter. Here is a small endowment for the instruction of poor children, the bequest of Anthony Ascham, in 1638.

ASTHALL a parish in the hundred of BAMPTON, county of OXFORD, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Burford, containing, with the hamlet of Asthall-Leigh, 365 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Oxford, rated in the king's books at £7. 9. 4., and in the patronage of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas. In this parish is a barrow of considerable height, supposed to be a sepulchral monument, near which the Roman Akeman-street passes. Sir George Fettiplace bequeathed £6 per annum for the instruction of six girls, with a house for the mistress; he also left £5 per annum for apprenticing poor boys.

ASTLEY, a chapelry in the parish of LEIGH, hundred of WEST DERBY, county palatine of LANCaster, 3 miles (E.) from Leigh, containing 1882 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £400 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Vicar of Leigh. The chapel, dedicated to St. Stephen, was founded by Adam Mort, gent., in the early part of the seventeenth century, and endowed by him with property of the value of £18 per annum. In 1760, the old edifice was taken down, and a new one erected upon a more enlarged plan, by the landowners of the chapelry, the income at that time having been considerably augmented. For a long period the right of appointing the minister was a subject of dispute,

and various contests took place at the time of elec tions; but the matter was ultimately determined by the judges of the court of King's Bench, in 1824, in favour of the present patron. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. The manufacture of fustian is extensively carried on in the chapelry. A school is endowed with £25. 14. 8. per annum, for the education of poor children; and, in 1630, Adam Mort bequeathed land, producing about £24 per annum, for the instruction of poor children here, and in the townships of Great Bolton, Little Hulton, Bedford, and Tyldesley.

ASTLEY, a chapelry in that part of the parish of ST. MARY which is within the liberties of SHREWSBURY, County of SALOP, 5 miles (N. N. E.) from Shrewsbury, containing 204 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, within the jurisdiction of the court of the royal peculiar of St. Mary in Shrewsbury, and in the patronage of the Perpetual Curate of that parish.

ASTLEY, a parish in the Kirby division of the hundred of KNIGHTLOW, county of WARWICK, 41⁄2 miles (W. S. W.) from Nuneaton, containing 293 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of Coventry, and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, endowed with £16 per annum and £400 private benefaction, and £600 royal bounty, and in the patronage of F. Newdigate, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was made collegiate and rebuilt in the form of a cross, with a lofty spire, in the reign of Edward III., by Lord Thomas de Astley, many of whose family were interred here; the ancient choir, now forming the body of the church, is the only portion of the building remaining the revenue of the college, at its dissolution, was £46. 8. A short distance to the north is an old mansion, erected in the sixteenth century, on the site of a more ancient baronial castle, some portion of the massive walls of which still exist.

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ASTLEY, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of DODDINGTREE, county of WORCESTER, 3 miles (S. W. by s.) from Stourport, containing 784 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester, rated in the king's books at £15. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Rev. D. J. J. Cooks. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is of Norman architecture. An Alien priory of Benedictine monks, founded here by Ralph de Todeni, in the reign of William I., was annexed to the college of Westbury in that of Edward IV. Here is a school, endowed with about £ 20 per annum. At Redstone ferry, in the vicinity, is an ancient hermitage, excavated in a lofty cliff by the side of the river.

ASTLEY (ABBOT'S), a parish in the hundred of STOTTESDEN, county of SALOP, 2 miles (N.) from Bridgenorth, containing 664 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the peculiar jurisdiction and patronage of T. Whitmore, Esq. The river Severn passes through the parish. Here is a school with a small endowment for poor children.

ASTON, a hamlet in the parish of IVINGHOE, hundred of COTTESLOE, county of BUCKINGHAM, 12 mile (N. N. E.) from Ivinghoe, containing 382 inhabitants.

ASTON, a joint hamlet with Thornton, in the parish of HOPE, hundred of HIGH PEAK, County of DERBY, 6 miles (N. N. E.) from Tideswell, containing with Thornton, 102 inhabitants. This hamlet is in the

honour of Tutbury, duchy of Lancaster, and within the jurisdiction of a court of pleas held at Tutbury every third Tuesday, for the recovery of debts under 40s.

ASTON, a parish in the hundred of WIGMORE, county of HEREFORD, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Ludlow, containing 54 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry of Salop, and diocese of Hereford, rated in the king's books at £2. 13. 4., and in the patronage of T. A. Knight, Esq. The church, which is very small, is dedicated to St. Giles.

ASTON, a parish in the hundred of BROADWATER, county of HERTFORD, 34 miles (S. E.) from Stevenage, containing 509 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Huntingdon, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £26. 11. S., and in the patronage of the Rev. James Ellice. The church is dedicated to St. Mary.

ASTON, a joint hamlet with Cote, in the parish and hundred of BAMPTON, County of OXFORD, 4 miles (S. S. W.) from Witney, containing, with Cote, 659 inhabitants. A school for the education of twenty poor children is endowed with land given by Mr. Horde.

ASTON, a township in that part of the parish of WEM which is in the Whitchurch division of the hundred of BRADFORD (North), county of SALOP, containing 262 inhabitants. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists.

ASTON, a township in that part of the parish of MUCKLESTON which is in the northern division of the hundred of PIREHILL, County of STAFFORD, 8 miles (w. s. w.) from Newcastle under Lyne, containing 277 inhabitants.

ASTON, a parish in the Birmingham division of the hundred of HEMLINGFORD, county of WARWICK, 2 miles (N. E. by E.) from Birmingham, containing, with the chapelries of Bordesley and Deritend, 19,189 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Coventry, and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, rated in the king's books at £21. 4. 9., and in the patronage of the Rev. G. Peak. The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, has a handsome tower and spire in the later style of English architecture, with other parts of an earlier date, but much modernized: the chancel contains some altar-tombs with effigies. The Birmingham and Fazely canal passes through this parish. In 1820, a chapel in the later style of English architecture was erected at Bordesley, at an expense of £12,722. 15. 6., by subscription of the inhabitants, aided by a grant from the parliamentary commissioners; and, in 1822, another was erected at Erdington, at the expense of £5657. 11., solely by grant of the commissioners. An almshouse for five men and five women was founded and endowed by Sir Thomas Holt, Bart., in the reign of James I.; the present building was erected by his grandson about the year 1650.

ASTON, a parish in the southern division of the wapentake of STRAFFORTH and TICKHILL, West riding of the county of YORK, 5 miles (S. S. E.) from Rotherham, containing, with the township of Aughton, 556 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of York, rated in the king's books at £ 12. 15. 24., and in the patronage of the Duke of Leeds. The church, dedicated to All Saints, contains a monument to the memory of Lord D'Arcy, who lived in the reign of Henry VIII.; and also a marble tablet to that