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BATHGA.TE BEAUMAR1S. 



BATHGATE; a parish and town of Scotland, in 

 Linlithgowshire. The parish extends seven miles 

 in length by two in breadth, is highly cultivated, 

 mid abound-* in lime-stone, iron-stone, free-stone, 

 and coal. Silver was anciently wrought to agreat 

 extent, hut the. vein is exhausted or lost. The town 

 is situated on the mid road between Kdinbtirgh and 

 Glasgow, eighteen miles distant from the former, 

 and twenty-four from the latter city. From its 

 situation, it has been considered as the Gander- 

 cleugh of the far-famed Jedediah Cleishbotham. 

 Of late, an educational institution has been esta- 

 bli>hed here, endowed by Mr Newlands of Jamaica, 

 a native of the town. It maintains five teachers, 

 from whom all the children in the parish receive an 

 excellent education. The inhabitants are chiefly 

 employed in the neighbouring lime and coal works, 

 and in weaving for the Glasgow manufacturers. 

 Population of town and parish in 1841, 3928. 



BATTLE ; a market-town in the county of Sus- 

 sex, distant from London fifty-six miles S. E ; 

 from Hastings eight miles N. W. It took its 

 name from being the scene of the important battle 

 (usually called the battle of Hastings) fought on the 

 14th Oct. 1066, between William, duke of Nor- 

 mandy, and Harold, king of England, in which the 

 latter lost his crown and life. In commemoration 

 of the event, the Conqueror founded a magnifi- 

 cent abbey here, which is now in ruins, with the 

 exception of the gate-house. The town grad- 

 ually sprung up in the vicinity of the abbey. It 

 consists principally of a single street, and is now 

 famous for the manufacture of fine gunpowder, for 

 which there are several mills. Population in 1831, 

 2999, in 1841,3039. 



The erection of Battle Abbey was commenced by 

 William the Conqueror in 1067, in conformity with 

 a vow which he had made before the fight, but it 

 was not completed till 1094, in the reign of Rufus. 

 The high altar is asserted to have been placed on 

 the spot where the dead body of Harold was found. 

 It is more probable, however, as other authorities 

 record, that the spot was that on which the royal 

 standard was raised at the commencement of the 

 battle. The house was originally intended to con- 

 tain one hundred and forty monks, but only sixty 

 were placed in it, who were brought from the 

 monastery of Marmoustier in Normandy. Many 

 manors were bestowed upon it, along with the 

 most ample privileges, exemption from all taxa- 

 tion, the rights of a free warren, treasure trove, and 

 sanctuary; independence of episcopal jurisdiction; 

 and, to the abbot, the singular prerogative of par- 

 doning any condemned thief or robber whom he 

 should meet on his way to execution. Its posses- 

 sions, in course of time, were greatly extended, 

 through the liberality of its regal patrons. The 

 abbot enjoyed the dignity of wearing the mitre, 

 and was always summoned to parliament so long 

 as the ancient religion lasted. The last individual 

 who held the office was named John Hamond. He 

 was elected in 1529, and in 1538 he surrendered 

 the monastery to the King. After the dissolution 

 the property was granted to a person named Gil- 

 mer, who, after pulling down a great part of the 

 buildings and disposing of the materials, sold the 

 place to Sir Anthony Browne. The latter soon 

 after commenced the erection of a dwelling-house 

 on the' site of part of the old monastery, which was 

 finished by his son, the first Lord Montague. This 

 building, however, fell afterwards into ruins ; but 

 the estate having been purchased by Sir Thomas 



Webster, the ancestor of the present Sir Godfrey 

 Webster, a new house was erected, which still 

 exists. It forms one of the sides of what appears 

 to have been originally a complete quadrangle, of 

 great spaciousness. The entire circuit of the ruins 

 of the abbey, indeed, is not much short of a mile. 

 Only a fragment of the church now remains, from 

 from which it is impossible to trace either its form 

 or extent. The apartment over the great gate- 

 way was long used as a town-house, until the 18th 

 September, 1794, when the roof was driven in by 

 a violent storm, and it has not been since repaired. 



BEAMINSTER ; a market-town in the county 

 of Dorset, 141 miles W. S. W. from London. It 

 is situated in a fertile vale on the banks of the 

 river Birton, which is formed by the union of sev- 

 eral rivulets rising in the immediate vicinity. It 

 is a place of considerable antiquity, but most of the 

 houses are comparatively modern, as it has three 

 times suffered severely from fire. The first of 

 these occurrences took place in 1664, during the 

 civil wars, the second in 1684, and the third in 

 1781. Many of the inhabitants are employed in 

 the manufacture of sail-cloth ; that of woollen 

 cloth, formerly the principal one, has begun to de- 

 cline. There are also potteries for the coarser 

 kinds of earthen ware, and manufactories of tin, 

 iron, and copper- ware. The market-day is Thurs- 

 day. Population in 1831, 2968; in 1841, 3270. 



BEAUM ARIS ; a town in the island of Angle- 

 sey, North Wales, 241 miles N. W. from London. 

 It has a small harbour opposite Bangor, at the en- 

 trance of the straits of Menai. The town consists 

 principally of one street, which is spacious, and 

 contains many handsome houses. It has of late 

 been much resorted to in the summer-season, as a 

 bathing place. A steam-boat plies during nine 

 months of the year between this place and Liver- 

 pool. Elegant public baths, to which a reading- 

 room is attached, have lately been erected. The 

 situation is very fine, and the strand convenient. 

 The view from the green commands a fine pros- 

 pect of a portion of the strait inclosed by the pro- 

 montory called the Orme's head, while the distance 

 is bounded by the Caernarvon mountains, which 

 rise ridge on ridge till they terminate in the lofty 

 Snowdon. Population in 1841, 2701. 



Beaumaris Castle was built by Edward I., to 

 overawe the Welsh, whom he had, after an arduous 

 struggle, subdued. The castle was the parent of 

 the town, which Edward surrounded with walls. 

 incorporated, and endowed with many privileges. 

 The place was originally called Bonover, but it 

 was changed to Beaumaris, from, as the interpreta- 

 tion most generally followed, beau fine, and marais 

 a marsh. A low marshy site was selected, for the 

 purpose of having a fosse round the castle, which, 

 being filled with water from the sea, would enable 

 vessels of a small size, by means of a canal, to dis- 

 charge their lading close under the walls of the 

 fortress. In the 17th volume of the "Beauties of 

 England and Wales," it is stated that " Part of this 

 canal, till very lately, was visible under the name 

 of Llyn y Green, and the chains for mooring the 

 vessels at the quay. The lowness of the site, the 

 expansive diameter of its circular towers and bas- 

 tions, together with the dilapidated state of its 

 walls, deprives the structure, though a prodigious 

 one, of that prominent character and imposing 

 effect so strikingly apparent in the prouder piles of 

 Caernarvon and Conway. The shape approaches 

 to an oblong square, comprising a case encircling 





