2 Bradford-upon-Avon. 
being found in the Bradford clay. In the ancient buildings too, 
one of them perhaps of a date anterior to the conquest,—in the deep 
ecclesiastical imprint that may be traced everywhere, the lasting me- 
morial of those five hundred years during which the manor apper- 
tained to a great Religious House,—in the mansions, one of which 
has been restored of late, and remains as a proud evidence of the 
ample means as well as the pure taste of its original builder,—in the 
manufactures, in times past the source of the wealth of more than 
one ennobled family,—there is abundant material for those who 
delight in tracing out the actual life and habits of by-gone genera- 
tions, and this not simply as a matter of barren curiosity, but as a 
means, indirectly at least, of self-discipline and self-improvement. 
The parish of Bradford is situated at the north-western side of 
Wiltshire, its limits forming for some miles the boundary line of 
that county, and separating it from Somersetshire. It contains no 
less than 11,272 acres, and had, according to the census of 1851, 
8958 inhabitants.. It is divided into ten tithings, and has within 
it seven churches, a new one, that of Christ Church, having been 
erected about sixteen years ago. All these churches were originally 
united in one benefice, and held under the Vicarage of Bradford ; 
indeed, for the purpose of the poor rate assessment, all the tithings 
are still the constituent parts of one parish. Since the year 1846, 
however, the various chapelries have been, for all ecclesiastical 
purposes, distinct benefices. The Borovcx and TRow Ls tithings 
have been attached as a district to the Church of the Holy Trinity, 
i.e.the Parish Church ;—those of Leen, Woottey, and CUMBERWELL 
form the district of Christ Church; Hons, with its church dedicated 
to St. Catharine, has become a distinct benefice; ArwortH and 
Wraxnarn with their two churches, the latter of which is dedicated 
to St. James, have been united into one benefice; and, in like man- 
ner, Winstey and Limptey SroxE have been joined together under 
one Incumbent, with their churches dedicated, the one to St. 
Nicholas, the other to St Mary the Virgin.! 
1 The above description of the various divisions of the parish is aceurate for 
the most part, though not perfectly so, inasmuch as the tithings do not in all 
cases correspond with the several ecclesiastical districts. A part of Winsley: 
