S!V) 



BARKWAY. 



BARMOITTH. 



sfll 



The manor of Barking, which seems to have formed part of the 

 original endowment of the abbey, remained with the crown from the 

 dissolution xintil 1628, when Charles I. sold it to Sir Thomas Fanshawe 

 for 200(M., reserving to the crown a fee-farm rent of ISO/., which is 

 now payable to the Earl of Sandwich. The abbey-church and con- 

 ventual buildings occupied an extensive plot of ground ; but except 

 the abbey gate-house scarcely any remains are now standing. The 

 site of the abbey-church is just without the north wall of the present 

 churchyard. 



Barking declined considerably in consequence of the suppression of 

 the abbey, and it has never regained its former prosperity. It is 

 situated on the Roding, about 2 miles north of the Thames. The 

 river, which is wide and receives the tide from the Thames as far as 

 the town, is commonly called Barking Creek. It narrows very much 

 immediately above the town, but has been made navigable for small 

 craft as far aa Ilford. The inhabitants consist chiefly of fishermen 

 and of persons employed in conveying coals and timber from the 

 Thames tn the different towns in the district. The fishing-trade 

 employs about 150 smacks, averaging 60 or 70 tons each. A con- 

 siderable number of the inhabitants also find employment in conveying 

 to the l.o:i i. market the potatoes and vegetables which the vicinity 

 produces in abundance. The church dedicated to St. Margaret is an 

 ancient edifice of considerable beauty. The church, as well as the 

 gate-house at the entrance of the churchyard, is of the perpendicular 

 style, and appears to Lave been erected in the first half of the 15th 

 century; but inside of the church are three columns of the early 

 Norman style, which were perhaps brought there from the ruins of 

 the adjacent abbey on the occasion of enlarging the north side of the 

 church by the addition of an aisle. In 1774 the church underwent 

 extensive alterations under the auspices of Mr. Bamber Gascoyne, at 

 a large outlay of money, but in utter and barbarous defiance of its 

 original style of architecture. Under the idea of grecianising a gothic 

 building, the ancient carved wooden roof was under-ceiled with plaster, 

 and the fine stone columns with their bold mouldings and capitals 

 were encased in lath and plaster. These however have been recently 

 restored to their original state, and the whole of the church has been 

 repewed in an elegant and uniform manner. The chancel window 

 has been filled with stained glass ; the subject represented being the 

 ' Last Supper,' after Da Vinci. The church is now considered one of 

 the handsomest in Essex. The whole of the alterations were effected 

 by voluntary contributions. The parish church of Great Ilford, about 

 half a mile from the town, and the chapel at Barking-side, have each 

 KI! schools for boys and girls attached to them. There is also 

 in 1 llbnl a small hospital for old men (originally an hospital for lepers) 

 with a chapel annexed : it is in the gift of the Marquis of Salisbury. 

 In Barking there is a National school for boys and girls; there is also 

 an Infant school on the site of what was once an endowed Grammar 

 school. There are places of worship belonging to the Methodists and 

 Plymouth Brethren (with schools attached to each), and Independents; 

 there is also a Quakers' meeting-house, but it is only used when inter- 

 menta take place in the adjoining burial-ground. There is a market- 

 house, but it is not now made use of, the market having been for many 

 years abandoned. 



In Barking parish, about a mile east of the town, is a large manor- 

 house, called Kastbury House, which is a veiy excellent, and externally 

 almost unchanged, example of an Elizabethan mansion. There is a 

 local tradition (apparently quite unfounded) that it was the place of 

 ig of the conspirators concerned in the ' Gunpowder Plot.' 

 The li'iuse was thoroughly repaired a few years back. It is now a 

 farm-house. 



(Lysons's Environ* of London ; Morant's Hittory of Etiex ; Wright's 

 Ewfi ; Dugdale's Moruuticon ; Communication from Barking.) 



BAHKWAV. [HERTFORDSHIRE.] 



If A It L K'TT A, a town in the province of Ban in the kingdom of the 

 Two Sicilies, is situated on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, 34 miles 

 W. N.W. from Ban, and 11 6 miles E.N.E. from Naples, in 41" 20' N. lat., 

 K IV K. long., and has 20,000 inhabitants. The town is well built, 

 the streets wide and well paved, and many of the houses are built in 

 a very handsome style. The harbour, which is formed by a mole and 

 by a small island, on which the light-house is built, is frequented only 

 by vessels of small burden. Nevertheless Barletta carries on a con- 

 siderable trade with the other ports of the Adriatic, and with Greece 

 and the Ionian Islands ; and here most of the corn, wine, wool, oil, 

 salt, latnb and kid-skins, and other produce of Puglia, are shipped 

 f'.r rjxirtati.,!,. The gateway leading to the harbour is of vast sine 

 and great magnificence. The town is defended by strong walls flanked 

 with towers and by a castle, which was formerly one of the strongest 

 fortresses in Italy, but it is now partly out of repair. The cathedral 

 i* built in Hie Lombard style : it is remarkable for its splendid facade 

 and lofty steeple ; the roof of the nave is supported by ancient granite 

 columns. In the market-square near the church of San-Stefano is a 

 il bronze statue of the emperor Heraclius. The town has several 

 ntli'T churches and monasteries, an orphan asylum, a college, founded 

 by hVnlmruid IV., and a handsome theatre. The shore road between 

 t ;i and Itari i.s remarkable even in Italy for its fine scenery, owing 

 f<i the high cultivation of the soil than to any remarkable natural 

 features. The country around is well cultivated, especially on the side 

 toward* Bari, and intenpersed with neat country-houae*. The climate 



is extremely mild in winter, but is considered rather unhealthy during 

 part of the summer, owing to the great marshes of Salpi on the left 

 bank of the river Ofanto, which enters the sea 3 miles north-west of 

 Barletta. Barletta does not seem to have been a place of any import- 

 ance until after the Norman Conquest. Frederick II. of Suabia granted 

 it some privileges, and his son Manfred resided for some time at 

 Barletta, while he was directing the building of the new town of Man- 

 fredonia. Ferdinand I. of Aragon was crowned in the cathedral. 

 After the invasion of the kingdom by the French and the Spaniards 

 in 1501, Gonzalo of Cordova shut himself up in Barletta, where he 

 j was besieged, or rather blockaded, by the French under the Duke de 

 j Nemours in 1502. The Spaniards having received reinforcements 

 from Sicily attacked the French, who were defeated in two battles, 

 one at Seminara, 21st April 1503, and the other on the 28th of the same 

 month at Cerignola in the plains of Puglia. In this second battle Gon- 

 zalo commanded in person, and the Duke de Nemours was killed with 

 3000 of his men, after which the French evacuated the whole kingdom. 

 During the siege of Barletta the celebrated challenge took place 

 between eleven French and eleven Spanish cavaliers; among the 

 former was the illustrious Bayard, and among the latter Don Alonzo 

 Sotoinayor. They fought on the 16th of February 1503 in a field 

 between Andria and Corato. At the first onset seven of the French 

 knights were overthrown, but with such bravery and skill did 

 Bayard and his three remaining companions defend themselves that 

 the tournament ended in a drawn battle. 



BARMEN, a town in the circle of Elberfeld in the Prussian Rhein- 

 Provinz, situated in the valley of the Wipper or Wupper and on the rail- 

 way between Minden and Aix-la-Chapelle, 20 miles E. from Dusseldorf. 

 The valley of the Wupper extends for about 6 miles along both banks 

 of that stream, between two ranges of hills running immediately east- 

 ward of Elberfeld and lying within a mile and a half of each other. 

 The natural advantages of its soil and situation are very great, and 

 have given rise to an extensive development of manufacturing and 

 commercial activity. The valley is literally studded with cloth- 

 factories ; cotton and silk mills ; manufactories of linens, velvets, and 

 ribbons ; bleaching grounds ; dye-works ; soaperies ; tobacco factories ; 

 potteries ; and various other establishments, including some for iron- 

 mongery, metal and plated goods, chemical products, &c. The 

 appearance of the place indicates a large measure of successful enter- 

 prise, and many of the private residences would elsewhere be called 

 palaces. In manners and customs and in the general cleanliness of 

 their habits the people of Barmen strongly resemble the Dutch, with 

 whom they have long maintained active commercial intercourse. 

 The five large villages in the valley Ritterhausen, Wicklinghausen, 

 Wupperfeld, Gemarlec, and Barmen with the dwellings scattered 

 around, were a few years ago incorporated into one town under the 

 name of Barmen. The aggregate population is about 27,000, and the 

 annual value of the industrial products of the district is said to bo 

 about a million sterling. Barmen possesses an exchange, a handsome 

 Protestant church of modern erection, an asylum for the deaf and 

 dumb, and various other institutions of a public character. On the 

 opposite bank of the Wupper is the town of ELBERFELD, distinguished 

 in many respects by the same features as Barmen. The river is crossed 

 by one stone bridge and four wooden bridges. 



BARMOUTH, Merionethshire, North Wales, a town in the parish 

 of Llan-aber and hundred of Ardudwy/ in 52 43' N. lat., 4 2' W. 

 long., is 10 miles N.W. from Dolgelley, 222 miles W.N.W. from 

 London : the population of the township of Barmouth in 1841 was 

 930 ; that of the parish of Llan-aber was 1709 ; in 1851 it was 1672. 



BarmoutJ is situated near the mouth of the river Mowddach or 

 Maw, whence it received the name of Abermaw, abbreviated into 

 Bermaw, and corrupted by the English into Barmouth. The river at 

 this place flowing to the south of the town forms two channels, 

 between which is a small island called Ynis Brawd, or the Friar's 

 Island. The port, which is the only one in the county, is formed by 

 this island and the beach to the south. The entrance is difficult and 

 dangerous owing to shifting sands, and particularly two sand-banks 

 called the north and south bars, so that vessels of much burden can 

 only get in or out at spring tides. A small pier was erected a few 

 years back. Barmouth formerly carried on some considerable trade, 

 particularly in woollens ; and a number of small vessels employed in 

 the coasting trade still belong to the port. Ship-building is carried 

 on to a small extent. The general loss of trade however seems to havo 

 been compensated by its having become a genteel watering-place, 

 which during the summer months is frequented by many respectable 

 families from Wales and the adjacent English counties. The bathing 

 is perhaps as good as can anywhere be found ; the accommodations in 

 the town and on the beach are of a comfortable description. The 

 promenade along the beach at low water is much admired, and the 

 views of the distant mountains are striking. The town is principally 

 situated on the sloping side of a very lofty rock, which shelters it on 

 the eastern side. The houses, which are indifferently built, gradually 

 rise above each other in successive terraces, so that the ground floor 

 of one row is nearly on a level with the chimneys of the houses 

 beneath it. The communication between these terraces is carried on 

 by a flight of steps. A street below is formed by a large number of 

 substantial houses, built on the strand, inhabited by tradesmen and 

 lodging-house keepers, and defended from tho encroachments of tho 



