AMBLESTON. 62 AMESBURY HUNDRED. Buckingham, and 26 miles from London, or 30 by the London and North Western railway. The town stands in a very pleasant valley, watered by the small rive Mesbourn, a branch of the Colne, and surrounded by picturesque and well wooded hills. The hamlet of Coles- hill is included in the parish. Its Saxon name ww Agmundesham. It was a borough by prescription, and returned two representatives to parliament from the 28th year of the reign of Edward I. to the 2nd of Edward II. Its right was not exercised again till the latter part of the reign of James I. Petition for its restoration was made and granted in 1623, and it continued thenceforth to return two members until it was disfranchised under the Reform Act in 1832. Edmund Waller, the poet, and Algernon Sydney, have been among the representatives of this borough. The town consists chiefly of one long street, on the road from Uxbridge to Wendover, crossed by another street, forming part of the road from Chesham to High Wy- combe. Near the centre of the town is the townhall, a handsome structure of brick, supported on pillars, and surmounted by a lantern and clock. The lower part is used as a market-house. It was erected about the year 1680, by Sir William Drake, Bart. The town is well paved and has a good supply of water. The manufac- the inhabitants are employed in the quarries, from which slate is procured. There is a market-house which was built in 1796 on the site of an ancient one, also a mechanics' institute, and a small library. A now town- hall was erected in 1868. Near the upper part of the town is a waterfall called Stockdale Force. Under a charter granted by Charles II., a mayor is chosen annually at Christmas; but his office is merely nominal, as the town is under the jurisdiction of the county magistrates. Petty sessions are held once a fortnight, and the county court once in six weeks or two months. Polling for the county election takes place here. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Carlisle, val. £80, in the patron. of A. F. Huddlestone, Esq. The old church, which was made parochial in 1675, was rebuilt in 1812, but it is now disused, a new church having been built in 1854. It is a handsome stone building in the early English stylo, with a lofty spire and 4 bells. There are chapels belong ing to the Independents and Methodists. In 1721, John Kelsick established and endowed a free grammar school here, the annual income of which is about £130. The market is held on Wednesday, and fairs on Whit-Wednes- day, and the 18th and 29th October. Ambleside Hall was the seat of the Braithwaites; remains of it still exist. There are many handsome modern mansions in the vicinity. Ambleside is supposed to be the Roman Galacum,ture of cotton, silk, crape, and black laco, formerly carried and the earthworks and various remains of an extensive Roman station are found near the town.
AMBLESTON, a par. in the hund. of Dungloddy, in the co. of Pembroke, South Wales, 7 miles to the N.E. of Haverfordwest. It is watered by a branch of the river Cleddy. It is chiefly interesting as the site of an ancient camp, called by the people Castle Flemish, which is supposed to be the remains of a Roman station. The popular name arose from tho circumstance that the camp was at one time occupied by Flemings, who settled in Pembrokeshire. The living is a vic. in the dioc. of St. David's, val. £183, in the patron. of the Prince of Wales. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. There is a chapel belonging to the Calvinistic Methodists.
AMBRESBURY, Wiltshire. See AXESBURY.
AMBROSDEN, a par. in the hund. of Bullingdon, in tho co. of Oxford, 3 miles to the 8.E. of Bicester, and 12 N.E. of Oxford. It includes the chplries. of Arncott and Blackthorn. It is watered by the river Ray, and the ancient Roman way from Dorchester, in the same county, passes through the parish. The living is a vic. in the dioc. of Oxford, val. £228, in the patron. of the trustees of the late Bir G. Page Turner, Bart. The church, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, is in the early Eng- lish style. It stands on the site of a more ancient one, and was created in the reign of Edward I. The rectory of this village was once held by the learned antiquary, Bishop Kennet, author of the "Parochial Antiquities" of Ambrosden, Bicester, and other places. He derives the namo from the famous, but legendary, British chief Ambrosius Aurelius, who had (he says) a camp here, while the Saxons besieged Alchester. There are charities, including the church lands, amounting to £40 per annum. AMBROSETOWN, a par. in the bar. of Bargy, in the co. of Wexford, and prov. of Leinster, Ireland, 4 miles to the 8. W. of Taghmon. It includes the vil. of Tullyoanna, and the townlands of Ballingeal and Rochestown. The living is a rect. forming part of the union of Duncormuck in the dioc. of Ossory, Ferns, and Leighlin. AMCOTTS, a tnshp. in the par. of Althorpe, western div. of the wap. of Manley, parts of Lindsey, in the co. of Lincoln, 5 miles to the E. of Crowle. The town- ship is situated on the river Trent. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Lincoln, val. £260, in the patron. of the crown. The old chapel, which was dedi- cated to St. Thomas-à-Bockot, fell down about 1850, but has lately been rebuilt. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel here. AMERSHAM, or AGMONDESHAM, a par., market- town, and municipal borough, in the hund. of Burnham, in the co. of Buckingham, and partly also in the hund. of Dacorum, in the co. of Hortford, 30 miles to the 8.E. of on hore, is discontinued; wooden chairs are made in rest numbers for exportation, from the wood of the beech tree, which abounds in the neighbourhood. There are three flour mills, and an extensive brewery, and many wonien aro employed in the manufacture of straw plait. The living is a rect. in the dioo. of Oxford, val. £1,331, in the gift of Thomas Tyrwhitt Drake, Esq., lord of the manor. The church, which is a spacious brick edifice of the 16th century, and was extensively repaired in 1778, stands near the intersection of the two streets. It is dedicated to St. Mary. It contains a mausoleum of the Drake family, in which, and in the chancel, are some interesting monu- ments, besides a fine window of stained glass, representing the Twelve Apostles. There are two places of worship belonging to the Baptists, one to the Wealeyans, and one to the Society of Friends. There is a free gimme school, with a revenue of £86, founded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by Dr. Robert Challoner, rector of Amersham and canon of Windsor; in connection with which he also established three scholarships at Christ Church College, Oxford. The writing school, endowed by Lord Cheyne, has an income of £20. There is also a Sunday school endowed by William Drake, Jun., with 611 per annum; and an almshouse for six poor widows, erected and endowed by Sir William Drake. The union workhouse, erected in 1838, is a handsome building in the Elizabethan style of architecture. The parochial charities amount altogether to £428. Shardeloss Park, the seat of T. T. Drake, Esq., is about a mile from the town. Queen Elizabeth was entertained there in one of her pro- gresses, by William Tothill, Esq. The hall stands on a hill, overlooking a small lake, and embracing a fine prospect over Amersham and its wooded hills. The manor of Amersham was formerly held by the Neville family, of whom was the great Earl of Warwick, the king- maker, and last of the barons. Several persons suffered death at the stake here, in the reign of Henry V., for following the Lollards. And in the reign of Queen Mary, William Tillsworth and others suffered in the same manner, for holding the doctrines of the Reforma- tion. The market day is Tuesday. Fairs are held on Whit-Monday and the 19th September, chiefly for sheep. Amersham is the seat of a poor-law union. AMERTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Stowe, hund. of South P'irchill, in the co. of Stafford, 6 miles to the N.E. of Stafford. AMESBURY HUNDRED, in Wiltshire, is bounded on the N. by Elstub and Everley hundreds, on the F. by the county of Southampton, on the 8. by the hundreds of Alderbury and Underditch, and on the W. by the hundred of Branch and Dole. Portions of this hundred lie detached in Berkshire. It contains the pars. of Allington, Amesbury, Boscombe, Bulford,
