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Walsingiiam of Davis, Cape, a cape on the E. coaft of 

 America, at the N. fide of the entrance into Cumberland 

 ilraits. N. lat. 64° 10'. W. long. 66°. 



Walsingham of Froh'ifitr, Cape, a cape at the S.E- ex- 

 tremity of Hale ifland in Davis's ftraits, at the entrance of 

 Frobifher's ftraits. N. lat. 62° 50'. W. long. 64° 58'. 



WALSRODE, I.e. Walo's Cross, a town of Weft- 

 phalia, in the principahty of Luneburg Zell, on the Bolme. 

 It owes its rife to a monaftery founded in 986, by Walo a 

 prince of Anhalt, and is now a confiderable town with a 

 good trade in wool, beer, &c. ; 3 miles N.W. of Zell. N. 

 lat. 52° 54'. E. long. 9^ 35'. 



WALSTORP, a town of the duchy of Holftem ; 1 1 

 miles S.W. of Lutkenborg. 



WALT, in Sea Language, an obfolete or fpurious term, 

 fignifying crank. 



WALTDORF, or Waltersdorf, in Geography, a 

 town of Silefia, in the principality of Neifle ; 5 miles 

 N.N.E. of Neiffe. 



WALTENBUCH, a town of Wurtemburg ; 8 miles 

 S. of Stuttgart. 



WALTER NiENBURG, a town of Germany, in the 

 principality of Anhalt Zerbft ; 6 miles W. of Zerbft. 



WALTERSDORF, a town of Bohemia, m the circle 

 of Chrudim ; 13 miles N.E. of Leutmifchl. 



WALTERSDORFF, a town of Auftria ; 5 miles 

 E. of ZifterdorflF. 



WALTERSHAUSEN, a town of Germany, in the 

 principality of Gotha ; 4 miles S.S.W. of Gotha. N. lat. 

 50° 56'. E. long. 10° 38'. 



WALTERSKIRCHEN, a town of Auftria ; 8 miles 

 N.W. of Zifterdorff. 



WALTHAM, a town of Maflachufetts, in the county 

 of Middlefex, containing 1014 inhabitants ; 1 1 miles N.W. 

 of Bofton. — Alfo, a town of Vermont, in the county of 

 Addifon, containing 244 inhabitants. 



Waltha.m, or IVeJlham, a town of Virginia, on the left 

 bank of James river ; 4 miles N.W. of Richmond. 



Waltham Abbey, or Waltham Holy-Crofs, a large 

 irregular market-town in the half hundred of Wal- 

 tham and county of Eftex, England, is fituated on low 

 ground near the river Lea, at the diftance of twenty-three 

 miles W. by S. from Chelmsford, and twelve miles N. by 

 E. from London. This fpot was originally part of the 

 foreft of Eftex, and derived the appellation of Waltham 

 from the Saxon words Ham, a place, and Weald, woody ; 

 the whole fcite being anciently overgrown with trees. The 

 additional names were derived from the abbey afterwards 

 founded here, and the crofs to which the abbey was dedi- 

 cated. The firft mention of Waltham occurs in the reign 

 of Canute the Great, when Tovy, the king's ftandard- 

 bearer, founded here a village and a church, placing three 

 fcore and fix dwellers in the former, and two priefts in the 

 latter. After his death, Waltham reverted to the crown, 

 and was granted, in 1062, by Edward the Confeftor, to earl 

 Harold, on condition that he ftiould build a monaftery there. 

 Harold accordingly, in the fame year, re-founded and en- 

 larged the building erefted by Tovy, and endowed it as a 

 college for a dean and eleven fecular canons of the order of 

 St. Auguftine. A diftind manor was afligned for the main- 

 tenance of each canon, and fix for the fupport of the dean ; 

 the church was enriched with a great number of relics and 

 coftly veflels. The poflJeftions of the college were after- 

 wards confiderably augmented by various benefaftions, and 

 it continued in a ftate of progreflive advancement till the 

 reign of Henry H. This monarch, by a charter of licence 

 from pope Alexander, changed the old foundation of fecu- 



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lars into an abbey of regular canons of the fame order, 

 enlarging the number to twenty-four, and proportiuuably 

 increafing their revenues ; and tlie abbey and church were 

 re-dedicated to the Holy Crofs. Walter do Gaunt was ap- 

 pointed the firft abbot, with an exemption by tlie pope from 

 epifcopal jurifdiftion ; and this privilege has defcended to 

 modern times, Waltham being ttiU exempted from the arch- 

 deacon's vifitation. Richard L granted to the abbey the 

 wliole manor of Waltham, with various privileges aiid gifts, 

 which were greatly augmented by Henry HL, from whofe 

 time it became fo diftinguilhed by a ftries ot roya' an^i noble 

 benefaAors, as to rank with the moft opvlent in the king- 

 dom. Henry frequently made the abbey his refiuence ; and, 

 to provide, in feme meafure, for the rncreafed confumption 

 which his prefence and retinue occafionod, grrnced to the 

 town the privilegi^ of a weekly markt;t, and an annual fair 

 of fevcn days. The abbey having cxiflcd during the go- 

 vernment of twenty-fevcn abbots, exclulive ot rhi deans of 

 the firft foundation, was diflblved in the year 1539; whea 

 its annual revenues were valued at 900/. 4J. \\d. according 

 to Dugdalc ; or, as recorded by Speed, at IC79/. i2x. \d. 

 The fcite was granted to fir Anthony Denny ; from whofe 

 family it pafled in the next century, by manage, to James 

 Hay, earl of Carlifle : it has fince been in the family of fir 

 WiUiam Wake, bart. The abbey-houfe is faid to have been 

 a very extenfive building ; but it has been long fince wholly 

 dcmoliftied ; a gateway into the abbey-yard, a bridge which 

 leads to it, fome ruinous walls, an arched vault, and the 

 church, are now the only veftiges of the ancient magnifi- 

 cence of Waltham abbey. The cliurch, which was of a 

 much earlier ftyle of architefture than the other remains, 

 was built in the ufual form of a crofs, and confiftcd of a 

 nave, tranfept, choir, ante-chapel, &c. Some idea may be 

 formed of its great extent, from the fituation of king Ha- 

 rold's tomb, which ftood about 120 feet eaft from the termi- 

 nation of the prefent building, in what was then the eaft end 

 of the choir ; the interfeftion of the tranfept is ftiU vifible ; 

 above this rofe the ancient tower, part of which falling 

 through mere decay, the remainder was undermined and 

 blown up, and the whole choir, tower, tranfept, and eaft 

 end, were wholly demohfhed, fo that nothing was left 

 ftanding but the nave, which has fince been fitted up, and 

 made parochial, and conftitutes the prefent church. This 

 venerable relic, though much disfigured and mutilated, con- 

 tains feveral interefting and curious fpecimens of the orna- 

 mented columns, femi-circular arches, and other charafter- 

 iftics of the Norman ftyle of architedure. Its length is 

 about ninety feet ; and its breadth forty-eight. The body is 

 divided from the aifles by fix arches on each fide ; five are 

 femicircular and decorated with zigzag ornaments ; the fixth 

 is pointed, and apparently of a later conftruAion. At the 

 weft end is a heavy fquare embattled tower, rifing to the 

 height of eighty-fix feet, and having the date of 1558. 

 Almoft every ornamental veftige of grandeur and antiquity, 

 which formerly diftinguiftied the exterior of this church, 

 has been induftrioufly defaced ; and what remains owes its 

 prefervation to the durable nature of it? materials. In the 

 infide the hand of violence is lefs confpicuous ; but every- 

 thing difplays marks of the moft wretched parfimony : the 

 grandeur and fimplicity of the ancient remains are much 

 injured by white-waftiing ; the brafles are torn from the 

 grave-ftones, and it is with difficulty that their impreflions 

 can be traced. In this church were interred king Harold 

 and his two brothers. Girth and Leofwin, flain with him at 

 the battle of Haftings. Many other perfons of rank and 

 authority in early times were alfo buried here. The hiftory 

 of Waltham town is fo nearly identified with that of the 



abbey. 



