BISHOP'S LYDEARD. 



BISSAGOS. 



1114 



Methodists have chapels. The Free school at Bishop's Castte, founded 

 in 1785, has an endowment of about ill. a year, and is for the 

 education of 25 boys and 25 girls. A National school for 100 boys 

 and 100 girls was erected by subscription on occasion of the coming 

 of age of Earl Poms, November 5th, 1839. The town-hall is a plain 

 brick building, erected in 1750. The market-house is of stone. The 

 market is held on Friday. The fairs, which are much celebrated for 

 the excellent breeds of cattle and sheep reared in the neighbourhood, 

 are held on the Friday before February 13th, March 26th and 27th, 

 Friday after May 1st, July 5th, September 9th, and November 13th. 

 All these are cattle fairs, except that in May, which is the hiring 

 and pleasure fair. A county court is held in the town 

 BISHOP'S LYDEARD. [SOMERSETSHIRE.] 

 BISHOPS STORTFORD, Hertfordshire, a market-town and the 

 seat of a Poor-Law Union, in the parish of Bishop's Stortford and 

 hundred of Braughin, is situated in 51 53' N. lat., 10' E. long., 

 12 miles E.N.E. from Hertford, 28 miles N.N.E. from London by 

 . 32J miles by the Eastern Counties railway. Bishop's 

 Stortfui '1 is so named from its position on the river Stort, and from 

 having Keen, even from Saxon times, the property of the bishops of 

 London. The population of the town in 1851 was 5280. The living 

 is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of St. Albans and diocese of 

 Rochester. Bishop's Stortford Poor-Law Union contains 20 parishes 

 and townships, with an area of 50,426 acres, and a population in 1851 

 of 20,367. 



Domesday Book records that the Conqueror gave the town and 

 castle of Stortford to Maurice, bishop of London ; if so, as Salmon 

 remarks, he gave no more than he had previously taken, for the same 

 document mentions that William, the last bishop but one before 

 Maurice, had purchased this manor of the lady Eddeva. The castle, 

 which was small, and was called Waytemore Castle, stood on an 

 artificial hill, in a piece of land surrounded by the Stort. Roman 

 coins of the lower empire have been found in the castle gardens. 

 King John caused the castle to be demolished in revenge for the 

 active part which Bishop William de St. Maria took against him in 

 his difference with the pope, this prelate being one of the three who 

 placed an interdict upon the kingdom. When the pope triumphed 

 over the king, the latter found it necessary to give the bishop his own 

 manor of Guildford, in Surrey, to atone for the demolition of this 

 castle. Some parts of the foundation walls are now the only remains 

 visible. The bishops continued to appoint a custos, or keeper, of the 

 ' Castle and Jail ' of Stortford till the time of James I. Quit-rents 

 for castle guard are still paid to the see of London from several 

 manors adjacent to Bishop's Stortford. King John erected the town 

 into a borough, with power to the commonalty to elect their own 

 officers for the local government, and to return two members to 

 Parliament. This constitution held until the 14th of Edward III., 

 when the bishop was restored to his former privileges, as he had 

 before been to his lands, and the town was relieved from the 

 necessity of returning members to Parliament. 



Bishop's Stortford is built chiefly on the left side of the Stort, where 

 it extends up the slope of a hill from the river. It consists chiefly of 

 two lines of street in the form of a cross. There are some good inns, 

 and many houses of the better class. The church, dedicated to St. 

 Michael, stands upon elevated ground, and consists of a nave, chancel, 

 and aisles, with a fine lofty tower at the west end. The church was 

 partly rebuilt in 1820, and now accommodates 2000 persons. The 

 market-house, a handsome structure erected in 1828, stands at the 

 point of intersection of the two principal streets. Its front is of the 

 Ionic order, and it has a semicircular area, with a colonnade supported 

 by iron pillars. A large hall in the building is used as a corn 

 exchange ; over this are an assembly-room, a coffee-room, and a 

 chamber for the magistrates. The Union workhouse accommodates 

 200 persons. 



A fresh impulse was given to the prosperity of- Bishop's Stortford 

 in the last century by means of a canal which was completed in 1769, 

 and which, communicating with the river Lea, afforded a ready means 

 of traffic with the metropolis. The surrounding district being fertile 

 in grain, a very extensive trade in malt is carried on. A silk-mill, a 

 large brewery, and several tanyards, afford employment to many of 

 the inhabitants. There is a savings bank in the town, and a county 

 court is held here. A public library ,and several book societies are in 

 the town. The market is held on Thursday. Fairs are held on Holy 

 Thursday, Thursday after Trinity Sunday, and on October 10th. 



There are in Bishop's Stortford a National school and a British 

 school. There is also a Grammar school, called the High School, 

 founded hi 1671. In the early part of the 18th century its reputation 

 rose very high under Dr. Tooke, who became master about the year 

 1708. After having been for many years dormant, the school was 

 revived in 1850. The income from endowment is about lOi. a year. The 

 school has four exhibitions of 121. each for Cambridge University. 

 The number of scholars in 1852 was 43. A Proprietary school com- 

 menced in 1850 had 41 scholars in 1852. A training institute for 

 teachers for the diocese of Rochester was commenced at 

 'rtf'ii-l in November, 1852. 



BISHOP'S VVALTHAM, Hampshire, a market-town in the parish 

 and lower half of the hundred of Bishop's \Vulthani, Ilnixford division 

 of the county, is situated in 50' 57' N. lat., 1" 12' W. long., 9 miles 



S.S.E. from Winchester, and 65 miles S.W. by S. from London : the 

 population of the parish in 1851 was 2265. The living is a rectory in 

 the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester. 



The place has immemorially been the property of the seo of Win- 

 chester, whence the affix 'Bishop's.' The small river Hamble has 

 its source about a mile from the village ; it passes through a piece 

 of water which was once a large and beautiful lake, half a mile long 

 and a furlong broad ; but it is now deprived of this character by the 

 growth of rushes and the" iucroachments of the soil. The bishops of 

 Winchester had a castle here, which was originally built by Bishop 

 Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen ; but much of the grandeur 

 which it ultimately attained is attributed to the architectural taste 

 of William de Wykeham, whose favourite residence it was, and who 

 there terminated his active life at the age of eighty. The castle was 

 demolished during the civil wars by the parliamentary army under 

 Waller. 



The town is chiefly remarkable for the neighbourhood of this 

 castle. The church, which is dedicated to St. Peter, is an ancient 

 edifice, capable of accommodating 1100 persons. The Grammar 

 school founded in 1679 has an income from endowment of 321. a 

 year ; it is free to poor children of the parish for reading : the 

 number of scholars in 1851 was 180. There are also National schools 

 for boys and girls. The town is chiefly agricultural. It has however 

 a trade of some activity in leather ; there is also some business in 

 malting. The market is held on Friday ; and there are fairs on the 

 second Friday in May, July 30th, and the first Friday after Old 

 Michaelmas Day. A county court is held at Bishop's Waltham. 



Waltham Forest, in this vicinity, was in the early part of the last 

 century infested by deer-stealers, who were generally known as the 

 ' Waltham Blacks,' because they blackened their faces in their pre- 

 datory enterprises. An Act of Parliament was passed against them, 

 which was called the Black Act. 

 BISHOP WEARMOUTH. [SOTDERLAND.] 

 BISIGNANO. [CALABRIA CUBA.] 



BISLEY, Gloucestershire, a market-town in the parish and hundred 

 of the same name, situated in 51 45' N. lat., 2 8' W. long. ; 11 miles 

 S.E. from Gloucester, and 96 miles W.N.W. from London : the popu- 

 lation of the parish in 1841 was 5339 ; in 1851 it was 4801, the decrease 

 being attributed to emigration, mainly consequent on the failure of 

 the cloth trade (' Population Tables,' Census 1851). The living is a 

 vicarage in the archdeaconry of Gloucester and diocese of Gloucester 

 and Bristol. 



The parish of Bisley is upwards of 20 miles in circumference, com- 

 prehending about 6000 acres, the greater part of which is high ground, 

 with steep hills and narrow valleys. Fulling and dressing mills have 

 been from time to time erected in the parish. Some of these mills are 

 now used for the manufacture of silk-thread, for making umbrella 

 sticks, &c. On the establishment of the woollen manufactures the 

 parish received large additions to its population, and the new inha- 

 bitants established themselves upon the waste lands. Such lands were 

 formerly very extensive, but they have been to a great extent inclosed. 

 Soon after the Domesday Survey the manor of Bisley came to the 

 crown, and in the time of Edward I. it passed by marriage to the 

 Mortimers, afterwards earls of March. It continued in that family for 

 nearly three centuries, when it passed to Edward, duke of York, 

 afterwards Edward IV., and remained attached to the crown with 

 little interruption, until it t was given by James I. to the Marquis of 

 Rockingham. It has since that time repeatedly passed by sale froin 

 one family to another. 



Bisley is merely a village, although considered as a town since the 

 grant of a weekly market and two annual fairs by James II. The 

 market is held on Thursday : it is but little frequented, and may be 

 considered almost extinct.. The fairs for cattle, &c., on May 4th and 

 November 12th, have also become of small importance. The village 

 consists of irregular streets, and has not many houses of good appear- 

 ance. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is spacious, and rather 

 baudsome ; and being placed on an eminence is a very conspicuous 

 object. The interior contains some interesting monuments, among 

 which a figure representing a cross-legged knight in armour attracts 

 particular attention. In the churchyard there stands an ancient 

 octagonal stone cross. An ancient stone font, which was removed to 

 ;he cross when the church was repewed in 1771, has been restored to 

 ,ts place in the church. At Chalford, Oakridge, and Bussage, are 

 district churches, with schools attached to each. Bisley Free school 

 and a Blue-Coat school are conjoined. The two establishments are 

 ;aught together in a commodious school-room, standing on ground 

 aelonging to the parish. 



The canal by which the Thames and Severn are united passes 

 hrough Bisley parish ; and near the border of it, at Sapperton, enters 

 a tunnel 2 miles and 5 furlongs in length. It is lined with masonry, 

 and arched over at top, with an inverted arch at the bottom. The 

 summit level of the Thames and Severn Canal at Sappertou tunnel is 

 376 feet above low-water mark at London. Many Homau remains 

 lave been found in the parish. 

 BISNAGHUR; [BIJANAOIIUR.] 



BISSA'GOS, THE, or BIJUGA ISLANDS, lie on the west coast of 

 Africa, between 11" 40' and 10 50' N. lat., 15 30' and 1630'W. 

 ong., opposite the mouth of the river Bulola or Rio Grande. They 



