Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/744

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
734

HA vi 734 DAVID'S, ST. DAVKN TKY. or 1 >A 1XTKKK, a par. ami n town, with separate jurisdiction, but locally sitnati [ in the himd. "I Fawsloy, in the c- >. 01 Northampton, 13 milrs Northampton, und 4 from Wecdon. It ia supposed to derive its name from the words Dt&y-uvon-tre, or "town of the two rivers," from its situation between the source of the river Loam and the river NYn. From the common pronunciation of tin' word I -re is a tradition that the town WHS built originally by tin- 1 >ai it is, that at Danes' or Borough Hill, about half a milu from the town, there are traces of perhaps the largest 'iipment in England. N> .r the north-eastern mity of this encampment, the Homan military way i Watling Street passes, but the camp its of more recent date. The town was of considerable importance at the Conquest, and was given by the Conqueror to hie niece, Judith, wife of Waltheof, the great Earl of Northumberland. It belonged to Robert Fitzwitlter in the reign of King John, and ultimately came to the Finches. Before the battle of Naseby, in 1645, it was occupied by the Jang on his march to relieve Oxford. Hugh do Leycestre, in 1090, founded a priory, which was granted by 'Henry VTII. to Cardinal Wolsey. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of shoes, whips, and stockings. They are obliged, by a singular custom, to "bake their bread at a public oven, and grind their malt at a public mill," unless exempted by foes. The borough is exempt from contribution to the county, and from nerving on its juries. King John granted the first charter to Daventry, and it is now governed under the new Act by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councilmen. The common seal bears the date 1593, with the impress of a Dane and a tree. It is a polling place for the southern division of the county, and a sessions town. The population in 1851 was 4,430, which in 1861 had decreased to 4,124. The town, which ia situated in a gentle hollow surrounded by hills, has a clean appear- ance, and is well paved, lighted with gas, and sup- plied with water from springs only equalled in purity by those of Malvern. The borough sessions are held at the townhall. The gaol is built on the site of the priory. There are two banks, a county court, and water- works. The Grand Junction canal passes through a tunnel, upwards of 2,000 yards long, to the N. of the town. The poor-law commissioners have recently erected a workhouse, to accommodate 300 inmates. The union of Daventry comprises 28 parishes, and extends over an area of 95 miles. The living is a perpet. cur.* in the dioc. of Peterborough, vaL 344, in the patron, of Christ < h, Oxford. The church is dedicated to the Holy Cross, and has a tower and spire, in which is a clock with musical chimes, and a fine peal of bells. There is H recently built chapel-of- ease, dedicated to 8t James, in connection with the parish church. The charities amount to 446 per annum. The Wesleyans and Independents have chapels. There is a free Latin grammar school, f' iiindod in 1660, and a National school. E. T. Clark, Esq., is lord of the manor. The manor-house at Ashby St. Ledger's was for centuries the residence of the Catosby family. Naseby is an object of historic interest in the neighbourhood. Before railwa -i ex- istence, as many as eighty mail and stage coaches passed daily through Daventry, once the great thoroiiL ID the north-western parts of England. John Smith, said by Walpole to be the best engraver in ni' ^/"tinto, was born here. It gives the title of baron t< > tin- F: of Winchelsea. At the foot of the hills, in tho vicinity, aro some ancient ruins known as tho Burnt Walls, and at a short distance other ruins called John nivisions is hold weekly on Wednesday, nd thirteen fairs during the the ]uinei]i:il of which are those in 1

md the In-winning of ( Mohi-r, which ]:i-t two

DAVID'S, ST., or I,I,AN YAKS, a par. in tho hund. of liivvnuock, union .-I Brecon, io tic 10. of Brecon, Wales. It is situated 1 mile from Krecon, where the river T'sk. The parish is in two division* : the upper being in tho hunds. of Dovyn- and I'cnkelly, th rthyr. The part called Llanvaes is a subn . s. paniti-d only from it bv the river Usk. The living is a . the dioc. of St. David's, in tho pat . ot I'.lecon. DA VIM'S, ST., a par. and city in theh,. land, in the co. of Pembn: and 1C from Haverfordw- hmlts. of Bychan, G consisting chiefly of a n -s in the midst of ruins. It was tho Welsh M;i Mentvia, or Mmapia, at tho terminus ot the two i_-nt roads Via Julia and .' ', or Fftn It is almost as much isolated i mm days, one omnibus twice a week to I lav. il'ordwort " being the only connecting-link between ; city of St. David's and modern civilisation." b- n.ainsof tho Roman town are supposed to have been al'out 2 miles N.W. of the present cit . sands of Whitesand Bay. Tho earliest " i. y is towards the close of the 5th century, St. David, who succeeded Dubritius in the Archt"' of South Wales, transferred the see from the city of Caerleon to the wilds of Mcnevia, and I thither many distinguished pupils by his learn piety, which became widely renowned al synod at Llanddowi-Brefi, in which by his pi he checked the spread of the I'- la-iau here on tho increase. Between the yen town and cathedral are said to 1. pillaged no less than I and Normans. William the i Edward I. visited the shrine of st. I (avid, whic part of tho present cathedral , -d bet v third arch from the E., on the N. side of the pro It is certainly of great antiquity, and part of tl is worn away by the fingers or lips of the m pilgrims. Henry VIII. determined upon n the see to Carmarthen, but altered In he heard that his grandfather, ! mond, was buried there. Tho modern 11 is a mere village, consisting of one prim . and two cross ones, at the junction of v. -an ancient cross, but its principal attractions are its grand old cathedral, and tho ruins of its once The ground on which the cathedral is houses of the resident ecclesiastics, tl gardens, were formerly surrounded by a w a mile in diameter, and situated in a deep d- only the upper part of the tower of the catitM^^H visible from the village. The usual entrance : close is that leading from the S.E., through a gateway, above which is an octagonal tower, the records were formerly kept, and the < court held ; but tho more imposing view is the N.E., which takes in the ruins t-o. The cathedral itself is a -. Gothic structure, originally built in 117'- by Kiahop !'; de Leia, but subsequently much altered; a large portion of the choir and transepts having been crushed by tho fall of tho original tower. -her time a part i -turo having bci i i by an earthquake. 'The external portion of tin admired is the W. front, n-si century, with modern antique tl- pinnacles ; :,]-,, tho nave and aisles, of wl^^^H I. Tin- I. eiy i i. i;.. ! II quite in ruins. Tho guuaMIt design of the building is cruciform, 1 K. to V.. and the tran- inferior height. In the interior some have recently 1 1 by Mr. lltlTeslint,' objects ill tl exquilM workmanship ; a line decorated stone screen and rood- work of Bishop (lower; also Bishop Vaughan'i a] Tudor chapel and mimum* stalls, painted tile-, and many antique monumi eluding one to tho father of Henry VII . and the hen