9 -,3 



BEAUVOISIS. 



BEDFORD. 



Beauvais also contains a public library, a theatre, a court-house, a 

 large cavalry barrack, and two well-endowed hospitals. One of the 

 hospitals receives orphans and foundlings, who are instructed in all 

 the processes of the manufacture of broadcloth, from the washing of 

 the wool to the dressing of the cloth : the profits arising from the 

 work are added to the funds of the institution. The town also pos- 

 sesses an ecclesiastical seminary, a chamber of arts and manufactures, 

 tribunals of first instance and of commerce, and an agricultural 

 society. 



The manufactures of Beauvais are important. For silk tapestries 

 the town has been long famous. Broadcloths of every quality and 

 colour, flannels, swansdowns, shawls, hosiery, cotton and woollen yarn, 

 ribands, black lace, china, and chemical products are also extensively 

 manufactured. A great part of the cloth worn by the French army 

 is made at Beauvais. There are also several linen-bleaching and wool- 

 waghing establishments, tanneries, and dye-houses. The commerce of 

 the U>wn consists of its industrial products and corn. A large corn 

 market is held every Saturday, and a fair on the first Saturday of 

 every mouth. 



was called Coesaromagus by the Romans till the time of 

 Cunstuitine the Great, when, from the Celtic tribe whose capital it 

 was it took the name of Bellovaci, to which the modern name is 

 clearly traceable. It fell under the power of Chilperic in 471, and in 

 succeeding times was often taken, pillaged, and burnt by the Normans. 

 In 1232 the citizens framed a charter for themselves, to which they 

 forced their bishop to swear obedience. In the rising of the peasantry 

 in 1357 Beauvais took part against the nobles, and the neighbourhood 

 was the scene of a great slaughter of the peasants. The English made 

 a fierce but unsuccessful assault upon the city on the 7th of June 

 1433. In the year 1472 Beauvais was besieged by Charles the Rash, 

 duke of Burgundy, with an army of 80,000 men. During this siege 

 the women of Beauvais distinguished themselves by their courage, and 

 one of them named Jeanne Laine, battle-axe in hand, tore down and 

 bore off in triumph a standard which had been just planted on the 

 walls by the Burgundiaus. This courageous act procured for the 

 heroine the name of Jeanne la Hiichctte, and has been celebrated 

 every year since, except for a short time after the first revolution, by a 

 procession in which the banner is carried by young girls, and the 

 women take precedence of the men. The procession takes place on 

 the Sunday next before or after the 14th of October : the banner is 

 carefully preserved in the town-hall. 



(Walckenaer, Geographic del Gaulet; Dictionnaire de la France; 

 Macgregor's Commercial Statutict.) 



BEAUVOISIS, a district in the former province of Picardie, which 

 now forms the greater part of the arrondissement of Beauvais in the 

 department of OlSE. 



BEAUZELEY. [AvEYRON.] 



BECCLES, Suffolk, a market-town and borough in the parish of 

 Beccles and hundred of Wangford. The town is situated on the right 

 bank of the river Waveney, in 52 28' N. lat., 1 31' E. long.; 32 

 miles N.N.E. from Ipswich, and 109 miles N.E. from London. The 

 population of the borough, which is co-extensive with the parish, was 

 4398 in 1851. The borough is governed by four aldermen and twelve 

 councillors, tinder the style of the portreeve, surveyors, and com- 

 monalty of the Fen of Beccles. The living is a rectory in the 

 archdeaconry of Suffolk and diocese of Norwich. 



The manor of Beccles, with an adjoining common of about 1400 

 acres, formed part of the possessions of Bury Abbey. On the diaso- 

 lution of monasteries, the manor with the common was granted to 

 William Rede, with a stipulation that the common was to be held for 

 the use of the inhabitants. The poor are still allowed to pasture 

 their cattle upon it on very easy terms. The management of the 

 common is vested in a corporation, called t^e Corporation of Beccles 

 Fen. The town sustained great injury iu 1586 from a fire, which 

 destroyed 80 houses, damaged the church, and occasioned loss of 

 property to the amount of 20,000i., as estimated at the time. 



Bcccles is a well-built town, consisting of several streets which 

 terminate in a spacious area, where the market is' held. The streets 

 are paved, and lighted with gas. The parish church, dedicated to 

 St. Michael, appears to have been founded about the year 1369. The 

 ]i'in:h and the steeple are of much later date. The first legacy 

 bequeathed for the erection of the steeple is dated 1515, from which 

 time till 1547 there were many legacies towards " building Becclys 

 rtepul." The church stands on a steep bank overlooking the level 

 of meadows through which the Waveney flows. The west end of the 

 church approaches so near to the edge of the bank, that no room wtis 

 left for the safe foundation of the ' steeple ; ' which is therefore placed 

 at a small distance from the south-east angle of the chancel. It is a 

 fine tiwer of freestone : but it appears never to have been completed, 

 the height not being proportionate to the size, and a parapet at the 

 top being wanting, which seems to indicate that it was the intention 

 of the architect to raise it higher than at present. The church itself 

 is a fine structure. It consists of a nave, two aisles, and a chancel. 

 The porch i(* a very beautiful specimen of the decorated gothic, 

 differing in its style from both the church and the tower. Beccles 

 formerly consisted of two parishes, St. Mary Endgate and St. 

 Michael ; but they were consolidated in 1419 ; and St. Mary's church 

 was afterwards demolished by order of Queen Elizabeth. The 



Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, Independents, and Baptists have 

 places of worship in the town. A Free school was founded here in 

 the reign of James I. by Sir Johu Leman, alderman of London, who 

 endowed it with 100 acres of land for the maintenance of a master 

 and usher to instruct 48 poor boys in writing and arithmetic. There 

 is also a Grammar school, founded in the year 1712 by Dr. Fauconberg, 

 who resided several years in the parish, and at his death bequeathed 

 for this purpose an estate at Corton in Suffolk, of the yearly rent of 

 40. This school has ten exhibitions at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. 

 The income from endowment is now 21 21. a year. Sons of inhabitants 

 pay an annual fee of ten guineas. The school is under a head master 

 and several assistants. The number of scholars in 1852 was 62. There 

 are in the parish various charities to the amount of about 250J. a 

 year. 



Beccles has a handsome town-hall in which the quarter sessions are 

 held. A county court is held iu the town. Tho theatre is at present 

 used as a corn-exchange. There are in the town a jail, a custom-house, 

 and assembly-rooms. 



AB the Waveney is navigable from this town to Yarmouth, Beecles 

 carries on a considerable trade with the vicinity in coals, groceries, &c. 

 In size and importance Beccles ranks as the third town in the county. 

 The market is held on Saturday. There are fairs on Whit-Monday, 

 June 29th, and October 2nd ; the last being for horses and pedlary. 



(Game's History of Suffolk ; Excursions in Suffolk, &c.) 



BECKENHAM. [KENT.] 



BECKINGTON. [SOMERSETSHIRE.] 



BEDALE, North Riding of Yorkshire, a market-town in the parish 

 of Bedale, and chiefly in the wapeutake of East Hang, but partly in that 

 of Hallikeld, in the liberty of Richmoudshire. The town, which is 

 tolerably well built, is situated in a rich valley, upon the stream 

 called Bedale-beck, which flows into the Swale, in 54 17' N. lat., 

 1 35' W. long.; it is 34 miles N.W. from York, and 223 miles N.N.W. 

 from London. The population of the township in 1851 was 1200 ; 

 that of the entire parish, which comprises several townships, was 

 2892. The living is a rectory in the archdeaconry of Richmond and 

 diocese of Ripon. 



The chief building in the town is the church, which is a spacious 

 building erected iu the reign of Edward III. ; it is dedicated to St. 

 Gregory. There are places of worship for Roman Catholics, Baptists, 

 Wesleyans, and other Dissenters. Bedale possesses an endowed 

 Grammar school, of which the actual income to the master from the 

 endowment is 61. 18. lid. a year, but it is considered that part of 

 the original endowment has been diverted to other purposes and should 

 be restored for the benefit of the school. There were 23 scholars in 

 1851. There are two National schools. The poor of Bedale are 

 provided for by numerous bequests ; among the charities in the parish 

 are an hospital for six decayed townsmen, founded in 1698 by Peter 

 Samwaies, D.D., who was rector of the parish ; an hospital for three 

 poor widows, founded by Richard and Thomas Young, in 1667 ; and 

 Clapham's hospital for a master and six aged brethren. From an 

 inscription in the church it would appear that there was formerly a 

 castle here, built by Brian Fitz-Alan, earl of Arundel, in the reign of 

 Edward I., and it is said that there are some traces of it in the gardens 

 of Bedale Hall. The tower of the church, which is very strong, was 

 formerly used as a fortress by the inhabitants. 



The market is held on Tuesday. There are fairs on Easter Tuesday, 

 Whit-Tuesday, 6th and 7th of July for horses, cattle, and sheep, and 

 llth and 12th of October for cattle. 



BEDARIEUX. [HERAULT.]. 



BEDDGELERT. [CAERNARVONSHIRE.] 



BEDDINGTON. [SURREY.] 



BEDEGUE. [PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND.] 



BEDFONT. [MIDDLESEX.] 



BEDFORD, the chief town of Bedfordshire, a municipal and 

 parliamentary borough, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union. It is 

 situated on both sides of the river Ouse, in 52 8' N. lat., 28' 

 W. long. ; 50 miles N.N.W. from London by road, and 63 miles 

 by the North- Western railway, a branch from which is earned from 

 the main line at Bletchley to Bedford. The population of the 

 municipal and parliamentary borough, which are co-extensive, was 

 11,693 in 1851. Bedford is divided into five parishes, which are in the 

 archdeaconry of Bedford and diocese of Ely. The corporation consists 

 of six aldermen and eighteen councillors, one of whom is mayor. The 

 borough returns two members to the Imperial Parliament. Bedford 

 Poor-Law Union contains 44 parishes and townships, with an area of 

 97,320 acres, and a population in 1851 of 35,523. Bedford is in the 

 Norfolk circuit. The lent and summer assizes, the quarter sessions, 

 and a county court are held in the town. 



It is generally supposed that Bedford is the Bedcanford of the 

 Saxon Chronicle. This signifies 'a fortress on a river,' a designation 

 of which the present name seems a corruption. Bedcanford is spoken 

 of under the year 571 as the scene of a battle between the Saxon 

 Cuthwulf and the Britons. It afterwards suffered greatly in the wnrs 

 between the Saxons and the Danes, and was ultimately burned by the 

 latter in 1010. Mention is made of a fortress or citadel built on the 

 south side of the river by Edward the Elder ; but it would seem to 

 have been destroyed by the Danes, or was found an inadequate defence, 

 for Paine de Beauchamp, to whom the barony was given by William 



