ALDAN MOUNTAINS. 



ALDERNEY. 



183 



Union contains 22 parishes, with aiuarea of 51,943 acres, and a popu- 

 lation in 1851 of 17,471. Alcester is a place of great antiquity, and 

 the name would indicate that it had been a Roman station ; Roman 

 coins and other remains have been found on the spot. Alcester has 

 been generally supposed to be the Alauna of Richard of Cirencester. 

 It stands on the old Roman way, or Ikneild Street, which is still 

 popularly known as Ickle Street. An abbey was founded here in 

 1140 by Ralph Boteler of Oversley, on a piece of ground about half 

 a mile to the north of the town, surrounded by the Arrow on the 

 north and east, and by a moat on the other two sides. It was hence 

 called the Church of our Lady of the Isle. Dugdale, in his ' Anti- 

 quities of Warwickshire," ( published 1656) says that, by that time, the 

 ruins of this abbey had been dug up and the ground sown with corn ; 

 but traces of the moat and of the foundation-walls still remain (1853). 

 The abbey had by means of alienations become so poor about the 

 middle of the loth century, that it was found necessary, in 1465, to 

 unite it to the neighbouring abbey of Evesham. The letters patent 

 issued by Edward IV. for this purpose, state that ' there then was 

 not, nor of a long time had been, any monks to bear the abbot 

 company.' Henry VIII. in 1540, granted the site of the monastery 

 to Mir Fulke Greville, of Beauchamp* court, who pulled down the 

 edifice, and with the materials enlarged his house ; but the 

 present structure at Beauchamps contains no vestige of any ancient 

 building. 



Alcester was formerly very famous for its wheat fair. The manu- 

 facture of needles, which in 1814 employed about 600 persons, has 

 much declined of late years. Alcester contains many old houses, and 

 a handsome town-house, in which courts are held by the Marquis of 

 Hertford, the lord of the manor. The streets are lighted with gas. 

 The church, with the exception of the tower, which is ancient, was 

 rebuilt in 1732. It is of the Grecian Doric order. It contains an 

 altar-tomb with alabaster effigies of Sir Fulke Greville ( grandfather of 

 the celebrated friend of Sir Philip Sydney) and of his wife : also a 

 reclining figure in marble of Francis, second Marquis of Hertford, by 

 Sir Francis Chantry. A free grammar-school was founded here in 

 1594 by Walter Newport. A National school was erected in 1844 on 

 a site given by the present Marquis of Hertford, who also contributed 

 towards the building fund. There is a savings bank. There are two 

 bridges over the Arrow, one, with the date 1600 upon it, has one half 

 of stone, having been widened with brick-work : the other was built 

 entirely of brick in 1839. A county court is held in the town. On 

 an eminence overhanging the river Arrow, about a mile and a half 

 from Alcester, is the site of Oversley castle, which belonged to the 

 Burdets. It was the residence of the Burdet whose fate was involved 

 with that of the Earl of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV. Burdet 

 is said to have been executed on account of the expressions he used 

 on that monarch's shooting his favourite white buck as it was grazing 

 in Oversley park. Of the castle the lines of the walls are still visible, 

 and some terraces on the sides of the eminence. 



(Communication* from Alcattr.) 



ALDAN MOUNTAINS. [ALTAI.] 



ALDBOROUGH, West Riding of Yorkshire, a town in the parish 

 of Aldborough, and wapentake of Claro, is situated on the right bank 

 of the river Ure, in 54 6' N. lat, 1 23' W. long., distant Ifl miles 

 N.W. from York, and 208 miles W.N.W. from London. The 

 population of the township in 1851 was 538, that of the entire parish 

 2438. The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Richmond 

 and diocese of Ripon. Aldborough returned two members to the 

 Imperial Parliament from the year 1558 till the passing of the Parlia- 

 mentary Reform Act, when it was disfranchised. Aldborough is a 

 place of great antiquity, and has been regarded as the capital of the 

 Brigantes, the most powerful of the nations of Britain before the 

 conquest by the Romans. But the remains, which attest the former 

 greatness of the place, go no higher than the Roman dominion. By 

 the Romans Aldborough was called- Isurium ; the Saxons gave it the 

 appellation of Aid-burgh (OH Borough or Town). The ancient walls 

 are stated by Drake ( ' Hist, and Antiq. of York ' ) to have inclosed a 

 space nearly square, and about a mile and a half in circuit. Many 

 Roman antiquities have been dug up, including coins, signets, piece* 

 of urns, Ac. : and there have been found the remains of aqueducts 

 cut in great stones and covered with Roman tile, and of a temple 

 built on what is called the Borough Hill ; several tessclated pavements, 

 ome of rather a superior character, have also been discovered in the 

 U of A. Lawson, Esq. The remains of Isurium have served for 

 the pavements and walls of out-buildings, both in Aldborough and in 

 Boroughbridge, a town about half a mile to the W. [BoROUuH- 

 BRIDOE.] There is little trade now carried on in the place. The 

 town of Boroughbridge is in Aldborough parish ; and the parochial 

 school, which in partially endowed, is at Boroughbridge. In the parish 

 are three chapels of ease, including one at Boroughbridge. Three 

 remarkable obelisk* are yet remaining to the west of Boroughbridge, 

 and are therefore nearer to it than to Aldborough ; but they are 

 connected in their origin with Isurium. By some antiquaries they 

 have been pronounced Briti.-ih monument*, by others Roman ; they 

 are now with more probability believed to be Celtic, though it may 

 be doubted whether they are mnmhin, or, as Mr. Ackerman conjec- 

 tures, ' from their relative position, the remains of a large circle.' 

 ( ' Archteological Index.' ) They are vulgarly called the Devil's 



Arrows, or Bolts, and are rough blocks of coarse rag-stone. The 

 middle one is above 30 feet from the top to the base, which is 6 feet 

 below the surface. 



ALDEBURGH, or ALDBOROUGH, Suffolk, a market-town and 

 borough iu the hundred of Plomesgate, is situated on the coast, by 

 the mouth of the river Aide, (whence its name), in 52 9' N. lat., 1" 

 34' E. long. ; distant 25 miles E.N.E. from Ipswich, and 94 miles 

 N.E. from London : the population in 1851 was 1627. The living 

 is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Suffolk and diocese of Norwich. 

 A charter of incorporation was granted to the town in the reign of 

 Edward VI., and it is still governed by two bailiffs and a certain 

 number of burgesses ; the bailiffs act as magistrates and coroners for 

 the borough. Aldborough was formerly a parliamentary borough, 

 but it was disfranchised by the Reform Act. The town is now of 

 much less than its ancient extent, having, like others on the east 

 coast, suffered considerably from the inroads of the sea. The work 

 of destruction, however, has not advanced of late years, and the 

 town is now in a flourishing state ; being much resorted to as a 

 bathing-place. Many of the inhabitants are engaged in fishing. The 

 church, which is of the decorated and perpendicular styles, is one of 

 the largest in the county ; it consists of three spacious aisles, and 

 contains sittings for 1000 persons, besides a gallery for 200 children 

 of the^National schools. The east gable has been restored with great 

 taste, and a magnificent decorated east window inserted. An elegant 

 marble bust of the poet Crabbe, who was a native of the town, has 

 also been placed within the church. The Baptists have a place 

 of worship in the town. 



(Gage's SuffoUi ; Communications from Aldborough.) 



ALDERBURY, Wiltshire, a village, and the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union, in the parish and hundred of Alderbury, is situated on the 

 Southampton road, about 3 miles S.E. from Salisbury : the popula- 

 tion of the entire parish, which includes the chapelriea of Farley 

 and Pitton, in 1851 was 1438. The living is a vicarage in the 

 archdeaconry and diocese of Salisbury. Alderbury Poor-Law Union 

 contains 22 parishes, with an area of 51,337 acres, and a population 

 in 1851 of 14.366. The church, a small plain building, stands on an 

 eminence, and is the only noteworthy edifice. At Clarendon, an 

 extra-parochial liberty, about a mile east from Alderbury, formerly 

 stood a mansion which was a frequent residence of the early English 

 monarch*, and of which there lire yet some remains. It was at a 

 parliament assembled there by Henry II., in 1164, that the celebrated 

 ' Statutes of Clarendon,' intended to check the papal encroachments, 

 were enacted. 



ALDERNEY, or AURIGNY, one of the islands in the English 

 Channel, lying hi the bay of Avranches formed by the peninsula of 

 Cotautin (which constitutes part of the department of La Manchc), 

 in Normandy, and the coast of Brittany. It is the nearest of this 

 group of islands to the French coast, being about 7 miles west of 

 Cape La Hogue, in Normandy, from which it is separated by the 

 strait or Race of Alderney, a channel very dangerous in stormy 

 weather, from its conflicting currents, but safe at other times, and 

 affording sufficient depth of water for the largest ships. The remnant 

 of the French fleet escaped through the Race of Alderney after the 

 defeat of Tourville by the combined navies of England and Holland, 

 under Admiral Russell, iu 1092. Alderney is in 49 45' N. lat., 

 2 13' W. long., and is distant from Guernsey (N.E. by N.) about 15 

 miles, or 20 miles from port to port ; from Jersey about 33 miles 

 from coast to coast, and 45 miles from port to port ; and about 55 or 

 60 miles S. by E. from Portland Bill, the nearest point of England. 

 The communication with Guernsey is kept up by means of a steamer, 

 which makes generally two passages weekly between the islands. 



The island is about 4 miles long, from N.E. to S.W. ; about 1 } 

 mile broad; and about 12 miles in circuit. The south-east coast is 

 formed by picturesque and lofty cliffs, from 100 feet to 200 feet high ; 

 the highest land is 281 feet above high-water mark. As the island 

 shelves towards the N.E. the coasts in that direction are of lees 

 elevation, and more indented with email bays, such as those of Longy 

 or Catel bay on the east, and of Braye on the north. The last affords 

 good anchorage, and near it is the only harbour in the island, that of 

 Crabby, which, however, is only available for small vessels. The 

 approach to the island is dangerous in rough weather, in consequence 

 of the rapidity and diversity of the currents, and the rocks and islets 

 which surround it in every direction. 



On the north side of the island the government is constructing 

 extensive works for a harbour of refuge and breakwater. It ia 

 proposed to inclose the bay by means of two piers, one from Grosney 

 Point on the west, the other from Touraille or Mount on the east ; 

 leaving a sufficient entrance about the centre of the bay. When 

 completed, this harbour will afford desirable shelter for vessels 

 navigating that side of the Channel. 



About 6 miles west lies a cluster of rocks called the Casket*, 

 included in the compass of a mile. On them arc light-houses, so 

 situated a* to form a triangle. They are called St.-Peter, St. -Thome g, 

 and Donjon. The men who have the care of the lights keep a journal 

 of the wind and weather ; they have a telegraph for the purpose of 

 communicating with the agent of the Trinity House (which corpo- 

 ration has the charge of the light-houses), also a little brewery and 

 a forge. 



