BALWEST. 171 BAMPTON. BALWEST, a vil. in the hund. of Kerrier, in the co. f Cornwall, 4 miles from Helston. BALWHERNE, a vil. in the par. of Mcthven, in the i. of Perth, Scotland, not far from Perth. BAMBER BRIDGE, a chplry. in tho par. and hund. f Blackburn, in the co. palatine of Lancaster, 3 miles om Preston, its post town. It is a station on the Lan- ishire and Yorkshire railway. The living is a perpet. ir., of the val. of 150, attached to the vie. of Black- urn, in tho dioc. of Manchester, and in tho patron, of ic vicar. BAMBER GREEN, a vil. in tho hund. of Uttiesford, i the co. of Essex, 3 miles from Dunmow. BAMBROUGH, or BAMBURGH, WARD, one of tho x wards or subdivisions of the co. of Northumberland. , lies in the north-eastern part of the county, and is mnded on the N. by North Durham, comprising .landshire and Norhamshire, a detached portion of tho >. of Durham ; on the E. by the North Sea, on the S. Coquetdalo ward, and on the W. by Glendale ward. was formerly called Bamboroughshire. There are o divisions ot this ward, the northern and southern. contains the following pars. : Bambrough and Bel- rd in the northern div. ; Ellingham, Embleton, Long oughton, Howick, and Lesbury in the southern div. comprises an area of about 70,000 acres. BAMBROUGH, or BAMBURGH, a par. in tho >rthern div. of Bambrough ward, in the co. of North- uberland, 5 miles to tho E. of Belford, its post town, icre there is a station on the York, Newcastle, and erwick railway. It is situated on the coast, and com- ises the chplries. of Beadnell, Lucker, and North Sun- irland, with the tnshps. of Adderstono, Bambrough, imbrough Castle, Bradford, and 16 others. Bambrough, ough now only a village, was described by King Alfred " the kingly burgh which men name Bebbanburgh," d was once of some importance. It returned two presentatives to one of the parliaments of Edward I, d had the privilege of a market. An Augustine 1'iry was founded here by Henry I., in 1127, as a cell Nobtil priory, in Yorkshire. Its value at the Dis- ilution was 124. A college, a monasteiy of Black iars, and a hospital dedicated to St. Maiy Magdalene TO also founded here. The village is pleasantly situated ir Budle Bay. The living is a perpet. cur.* in the jc. of Durham, of tho val. of 300, in the patron, of o trustees of Lord Crewe. The church is dedicated to . Aidan, and stands in the village, about half a mile ,iin the ruins of the ancient one erected by King Oswald the castle. Tho churchyard contains the grave of heroic Grace Darling, whose energy and exertions, th those of her aged father, were the means of rescu- -,' from shipwreck some of the crew of the Forfaivliii't- amer. The annual value of the church estate charity 100. Tho par. extends over an area of 26,234 BAMBROUGH, or BAMBURGH, CASTLE, a 1 hp. in the par. and ward of Bambrough, in the co. of . rthumberland, close to Bambrough. Tliis tnshp. in- < des tho site of the castle, which is one of the most icient forts in the kingdom. According to the Saxon < ronicle, it was erected about the middle of the 6th i itury by Ida, King of Northumberland, and was i oral times besieged before the Conquest. After that i -nt it was held by Robert dc Mowbray, Earl of North- i berland, till, on occasion of an insurrection which ) headed, it was besieged and taken by William Rufus. 3 stood many a rudo attack in the reign of Stephen, and i ny another during the fierce wars of the Roses, but < itinued in the possession of the crown till the 17th i itury. James I. conferred the castle and tho manor (i John Forster, grandson of Sir John Forstcr, governor "the castle in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In 1709, 1 y were purchased by Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham, i 'onsequence of the creditors of William Forster having i d a bill in Chancery in 1704. On his death, ho gave t se estates to trustees for charitable purposes, tho ] ticular application of tho funds being left to their c :vetion. The surplusage of the rents of tho estates at the disposal of the trustees, after the payments made by them in accordance with the will of the testator, did not at that time amount to 300 per annum, but tho income has subsequently been much increased, and in 1830 the total income of Lord Crewe's estates was 8,126 8s. Sd. One of the objects kept in view has been the succouring of shipwrecked seamen ; although many of the arrangements connected with the trust have been altered to meet the change of tunes and circum- stances since the first trustees were appointed." A life-boat, always ready ; signals for warning in stormy weather ; storehouses for goods cast ashore, &c., are tho chief elements of the provision made. The charity in- cludes also a dispensary with a resident surgeon, a large and valuable library, and two schools, besides funds to spare for other charitable purposes. The castlo had been in a state of dilapidation since the reign of Henry VIL, but on the suggestion, and at the expense, of Dr. John Sharp, one of the first trustees, the keep was put in repair and made fit for tho occasional resi- dence of one of the trustees. The rock on which tho castle stands rises perpendicularly from the sea to the height of 150 feet. The round towers on each side of the ancient gateway are still standing. A well was discovered in the keep in 1770, which was cut to the depth of 145 feet through the solid rock ; and in 1773 the remains of an ancient chapel, built by King Oswald, were discovered. A curiously-carved font, found in it, is to be seen in tho second library. The present name of the place is a corruption of the original Saxou name, Bebbanburgh, which, according to Bede, signified " town of Queen Bebba." BAMBURGH. See BAUMBEH, Lincolnshire. BAMFORD, ahmlt. in the par. of Hathersage,hund. of High Peak, in the co. of Derby, 6 miles to the N.W. of Tideswell. Bakewcll is its post town. It is in tho Peak, near the border of Yorkshire. Bamford Moor is near the village. BAMFORD, a joint tnshp. with Birtlo, in the par. of Middleton, and hund. of Salford, in the co. palatine of Lancaster, 3 miles to tho W. of Rochdale. BAMFYLDE-WESTON. See WESTON-BAMI'YLDE, Somersetshire. BAMPTON, a vil. in tho huud. of Bucklow, in the co. palatine of Chester, not far from Northwich. BAMPTON HUNDRED, one of the thirty-three hunds. or subdivisions of the co. of Devon, situated in the north-eastern part of the county, and bounded on the N. and E. by Somersetshire, on the S. by the hund. of Halbcrton, and on the W. by tho huuds. of "VVith- eridge and Tiverton. It contains the pars, of Bamp- ton or Bathampton, Burlescombe, Clayhanger, Hock- worthy, Holcombe-Rogus, Morebath, and Uffculme. The area of the hund. is about 29,430 acres. BAMPTON, or BATHAMPTON, a par. and market town in the hund. of Bampton, in the co. of Devon, 20 miles to the N. of Exeter, and 161 miles from London. It is situated near the confines of Somersetshire, on a stream called the Batherm, or Batham, which joins the rivci 1 Exe a little below the town. The par. contains the two hmlts. of Petton and Shilling-ford. It is a very old town, and is, by some antiquaries, considered to be the Saxon Beamdune, and the scene of the great defeat of the Britons by the Saxons in the year 614. At the Norman Conquest the manor was given to Walter do Douai, by whom a castle is said to have been built. Some vestiges of such a structure are still to be found. Tho government of the town, by a portreeve and con- stables annually chosen, is now merely nominal. The town is seated in a pleasant valley, the chief street forming part of the road between Tiverton and Dui- verton. There are largo quarries of limestone, and the production and sale of lime form an important part of tho trade of tho place. The manufacture of serge and of potterj' is carried on. Tho living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Exeter, of tho val. of 118, in the patron, of J. Chichester Naglo, Esq., of Calverleigh, near Tiverton. The church is a large structure in the early English style, with a low tovor, a groined roof, and some defaced
