CHIPPENHAM CHURTON. 



387 



very fond of being in company with others of its 

 species. It feeds upon the roots of various bulbous 

 plants, which grow abundantly in those parts, and 

 produces, twice a year, five or six young ones. It 

 is so docile and mild in temper, that if taken into 

 the hands it neither bites nor tries to escape, but 

 seems to take a pleasure in being caressed. If 

 placed in the bosom, it remains there as still and 

 quiet as if it were in its own nest. This extraor- 

 dinary placidity may possibly be rather due to its 

 timid nature. As it is in itself peculiarly cleanly, 

 there can be no fear of its soiling the clothes of 

 those who handle it, or its communicating any bad 

 smell to them, for it is entirely free from that ill 

 odour which characterizes the other species of rats. 

 For this reason it might well be kept in the houses 

 with no annoyance, and at a trifling expense, which 

 would be abundantly repaid by the profit on its 

 wool. The ancient Peruvians, who were far more 

 industrious than the modern, made of this wool 

 coverlets for beds and valuable stuffs. 



The beautiful fur of the chinchilla, which ex- 

 ceeds in wannth and softness that of any other ani- 

 mal, has long been known as an expensive and use- 

 ful article in the dress of ladies; but, well known 

 as it was in commerce as a valuable fur, no infor- 

 mation had been obtained as to the animal that 

 furnished it, until within these few years. The first 

 chinchilla that arrived alive in England was brought 

 by the late expedition to the north-west coast of 

 America, under the command of captain Beechey, 

 and was presented by him to the Zoological so- 

 ciety. 



CHIPPENHAM; a market-town in the county 

 of Wilts, situated on the south bank of the Avon, 

 by which it is nearly surrounded, and over which 

 is a fine stone bridge of twenty-two arches. There 

 are a few grist mills, and the tanning of leather is 

 carried on upon a large scale, but the business of 

 the town seems to arise principally from its being 

 a great thoroughfare on the Bath and Bristol roads, 

 having, too, the advantage of the Wilts and Berks 

 canal, which passes close by the town. Distant 

 from London ninety-three miles W.; from Bath 

 thirteen E.N.E. Population in 1841, 5438. 



CHORLEY ; a market-town of Lancashire, si- 

 tuated in the middle of the county, thirty-two 

 miles S.E. from Lancaster, on the great turnpike 

 road between Liverpool and Preston, near the 

 source of a rivulet called the Chor, which after 

 flowing through some pleasant and picturesque val- 

 leys, falls into the Yarrow, a large stream which 

 encircles the southern extremities of the township. 

 The townhall is a neat modern structure, the lower 

 part of which is used as an open market, which is 

 well supplied with provisions. The increase of 

 population has latterly been great, owing to the 

 spirit with which the cotton manufacture in all its 

 branches has been carried on here. There are 

 numerous printing and bleaching establishments in 

 the vicinity of this town. Population of town and 

 parish in 1841, 1-M39. 



CHURTON, RALPH, Archdeacon of St David's, 

 Rector of Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, 

 F. S. A., was born in the parish ot Malpus, Che- 

 shire, Dec. 8, 1754. He lost his parents, who 

 were in humble circumstances, early in life ; but by 

 archdeacon Townson's recommendation, he was 

 entered at Brazen Nose in 177- ; and the same gen- 

 erous hand contributed one half towards his acade- 

 mical expenses. In 1778, he was elected a fellow 

 of his college; in 1785, he was chosen Hampton 



lecturer; appointed Whitehall preacher, by bi- 

 shop Porteous, in 1788; in 1792, his kind friend 

 and benefactor, Dr Townson, lived to see him pre- 

 sented by his college to the living of Middleton 

 Cheney ; and in 1805 he was collated to the 

 archdeaconry of St David's, by bishop Burgess. 



The archdeacon was the author of a numerous 

 list of works, chiefly in divinity and ecclesiastical 

 biography, bearing the impress of a conscientious 

 devotedness to principle, under the guidance of a 

 cultivated taste and a sound understanding. The 

 titles of the principal of these are as follows: 1. 

 Bampton Lectures; eight Sermons on the Prophe- 

 cies relating to the Destruction of Jerusalem, 

 preached before the University of Oxford. 1785, 8vo. 

 2. A Memoir of Thomas Townson, D. D., Arch- 

 deacon of Richmond, and Rector of Malpas, Che- 

 shire, &c. prefixed to "A Discourse on the Evan- 

 gelical History from the Interment to the Ascen- 

 sion," published after Dr Townson's death by John 

 Loveday, Esq., D. C. L. : Oxford, 1793. This 

 memoir has been wholly or in part thrice reprinted ; 

 in 1810, prefixed to an edition of Townson's whole 

 Works, 2 vols. 8vo. ; in 1828, with a private im- 

 pression of " Practical Discourses," by the late 

 archdeacon Townson, edited by the present dis- 

 tinguished and venerated bishop of Limerick ; and 

 in 1830, with the same Discourses published by 

 Messrs Cochran and Duncan. 3. A Short Defence 

 of the Church of England, &c., addressed to the 

 Inhabitants of Middleton Cheney, Northampton- 

 shire : Oxford, 1795. 4. An Answer to a Letter 

 from Francis Eyre, of Warkvvorth, Esq., on the 

 " Short Defence," &c. : Oxford, 1796. 5. A Post- 

 script to an Answer to Francis Eyre, Esq., occa- 

 sioned by his late publication, entitled A Reply to 

 the Rev. R. Churton, &c. : Oxford, 1798. 6. 

 Another Postscript to the same: 1801. 7. A 

 Letter to the Bishop of Worcester, occasioned by 

 his Strictures on Archbishop Seeker and Bishop 

 Lowth, in his Life of Bishop Warburton : Oxford, 

 1796. 8. The Lives of William Smyth, Bishop 

 of Lincoln, and Sir Richard Sutton, knight, 

 Founders of Brazen Nose College, Oxford : 1800. 



8vo To this work a Supplement was published 



in 1803. 9. The Life of Alexander Nowell, Dean 

 of St Paul's, &c.: Oxford, 1809. 8vo. 10. The 

 Works of Thomas Townson, D. D., with an ac- 

 count of the Author, an Introduction to the Dis- 

 courses on the Gospels, and a Sermon on the Quo- 

 tations in the Old Testament: 1810. 2 vols. 8vo. 

 11. Several detached Sermons on various occasions. 



The last publication from his pen was a short 

 Memoir of his friend, Dr Ricuard Chandler, pre- 

 fixed to a new edition of his " Travels in Asia 

 Minor and Greece." 2 vols. 8vo. Oxford, 1825. 



Archdeacon Churton married, July 11, 1796, 

 Mary Calcot, of Stene in Northamptonshire, and 

 had eight children. In private life, he was a zeal- 

 ous and unchanging friend, and most exemplary in 

 all his domestic and social duties. His diligence 

 as a parish priest was unremitting: during an in- 

 cumbency of nearly forty years in a poor and popu- 

 lous village, he was never for any continuance 

 absent from his parish. To purposes of charity 

 and literature he was ever ready to devote a por- 

 tion of an income which was far from abundant. 

 Though his knowledge was most extensive, he had 

 nothing of the pride of learning; and, in his ad- 

 dresses to his country congregation, he spoke a lan- 

 guage which the poorest could comprehend. He 

 died on the 23d of March, 1831 ; aged seventy-six. 



