MapNames of PlacesCounty Number of Miles FromDist.
Lond.		Popul
ation.
43BeadlamtoN.R. YorkHelmesley3Kirkby2Gillamoor3225157
29BeadnelltoNorthumbBelford9Aluwick13Ellingham8321251
11BeafordpaDevonTorrington5Chumleigh10Hatherleigh9200624
45BeaghalltoW.R. YorkPontefract6Snaith7Selby6178563
21BeaksbournepaKentCanterbury4Wingham3Dover259351
29BealhamDurhamBelford8Berwick8Wooler233070
36Bealing, GreatpaSuffolkWoodbridge3Ipswich7Wickham876367
36Bealing, LittlepaSuffolk...4...6...975272
34Beamhurst..StaffordCheadle7Uttoxeter3Checkley2139...
12Beaminster,[A]m.t.& chDorsetDorchester18Bridport6Crewkerne71412968
13BeamishtoDurhamGateshead6Durham6Sunderland102651848
45BeamsleytoW.R. YorkSkipton6Addingham2Otley10215279
29BeanleytoNorthumb.Alnwick8Wooler9Belford11314169
10BeardtoDerbyAshton8Manchester15Sheffield23177283
37Bear Green..SurreyDorking4Horsham9Capel228...
39BearlypaWarwickStratford4Warwick8Henley597230
21BearstedpaKentMaidstone3Milton10Chatham937594
33BearstontoSalopDrayton4Eccleshall9Nantwich1215795
10Bearward-CotetoDerbyDerby6Sudbury8Uttoxeter13130...
40Beathwaite Green,hamWestmorlndKendal6Millthorpe3Burton7258...
10Beauchief Abbey,e.p.lDerbySheffield4Dronfield4Chesterfield1016085
39Beaudesert[B]paWarwickHenley1Stratford9Birmingham16102199

[A] BEAMINSTER is a town of very great antiquity; it is situated on a fertile spot near the banks of the small river Birt. The prebendaries of Salisbury were formerly lords of the manor, until the parliamentary commissioners (who appear to have made very free with church property) seized it, and for a time it passed into other hands, but it was only for a time: the right at length became acknowledged, and in the possession of the prebendaries of Sarum it now remains. This town has suffered much by the devastation of fire, and still more by the destructive sword of civil, or rather uncivil, warfare. Britton speaks of a record of the former being preserved in a blank leaf of an old Bible, in the possession of a gentleman of this town, which memorandum ran as follows:—"The towne of Beaminster was burnt on Palme Sunday, being the 14th day of April, and in Destroyed by fire in 1644. the year of our Lord 1644. At the same time prince Maurice, being in the towne seven dayes before the fire, and there continued till the fire burnt him out of his quarters. The fire was first kindled in John Sergeant's house, in North-street; it was a musket discharged in the gable; and it was wild-fire, and the winde lying directly with the towne, the whole place was destroyed in two hours; and those goods for the most part which were saved out of the fire were carried away by the soldiers. There were seven score and four dwelling-houses, besides barns and stables, burnt." An eye-witness in Sir Thomas Fairfax's army describes it as "a place of the pitifullest spectacle that man can behold; hardly a house left not consumed by fire." Two thousand pounds were granted by the parliament to assist in re-building the town: this, with other sums, raised by the neighbouring gentry, answered the purpose. But it appears that the place was doomed to destruction, for in June, 1684, it Burnt down in 1684, and again in 1781. was again consumed, and the loss is said to have amounted to £10,000.: nor did its misfortunes end here, for in the gusty month of March, in the year 1781, upwards of fifty dwelling-houses, besides barns, stables, and other buildings, were reduced to ruins in the short space of three hours. Mrs. Tucker founded a free-school here, in 1684, for the purpose of affording education to twenty of the poorest boys in the town; three or four of these boys were to be apprenticed annually, and it is necessary that one of these, at least, should become a seaman. The Rev. Mr. Samuel Hood, father of Lord Hood, was master of this school in the year 1715. The inhabitants are principally engaged in the manufacture of sail-cloth, and in the production of iron, tin, and copper ware. The work-house is a large commodious building; formerly an alms-house.

Market, Thursday.—Fairs, April 4; September 19, for horses, sheep, and cattle.

[B] BEAUDESERT. This place is situated in the hundred of Barlichway. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and exhibits some good specimens of ancient architecture. The village was the birth-place of Richard Jago, the poet, who was the son of the rector: he was born in 1715, and was educated at Solihull grammar-school, about eleven miles distant from this place. His first poetical production which attracted notice was an "Elegy on the Death of a Blackbird," and this was followed by a poem, descriptive of the "Battle of Edgehill," which is considered the most finished of his works: the subject was in all probability suggested by his residence in the neighbourhood of the scene of action. He died on the 8th of April, 1781.

MapNames of PlacesCounty Number of Miles FromDist.
Lond.		Popul
ation.
16Beaulieu[A]pa.HantsLymington7Hythe5Southampton7821298
23Beau Manorex. pl.LeicesterMount Sorrel3Loughboro3Leicester810698

[A] BEAULIEU. The river Exe, over which there is a bridge, is navigable up to this village. Here is a manufacture of coarse sacking. The ruins of Beaulieu Abbey are beautifully situated on the eastern banks of the river. The delightful valley which surrounds these venerable remains, is of a circular form, bounded by well-wooded hills, and in itself, consists of a rich variety of ground. The Abbey was founded, A.D. 1204, by The Abbey founded by King John. King John, for monks of the Cistercian order; a class of friars to which that monarch had been previously particularly adverse. The king, it is said, after various oppressive measures exercised against the Cistercians, summoned the Abbots and principals of that order, to Lincoln, whither they hastened, flattering themselves that he would there confer upon them some marks of his grace and favor. Instead of this, say the monkish historians, "the savage monarch ordered the Abbots to be trodden to death, by horses: but none of his attendants being found sufficiently cruel to obey the sanguinary command, the ecclesiastics, dreadfully alarmed, retired hastily to their inn. In the course of the ensuing night, when the monarch slumbered on his bed, he dreamt that he was standing before a Judge, accompanied by the Cistercian Abbots, who were commanded to scourge him severely with rods and thongs; and when he awoke in the morning, he declared that he still felt the smart of the beating. On relating this dream to a certain ecclesiastic of his court, The king's singular dream. he was advised to crave pardon of the Abbots, whom he had before so barbarously treated; and assured, that the Almighty had been infinitely merciful to him, in thus revealing the mysteries of his dispensations, and affording him paternal correction. The king, adopting this counsel, ordered the Abbots to attend him; and, contrary to their expectations, received them with kindness:" and the remembrance of his dream still continuing to influence his conduct, he shortly after granted a charter for the foundation of the Abbey of Beaulieu. It was greatly enriched by succeeding grants; and at the Dissolution, its possessions were estimated at the annual value of £428. 6s. 8d. The manor of Beaulieu, with all its rights, privileges, and appurtenances, (the rectory and right of patronage excepted), was granted to Thomas Wriothesley, Esq. afterwards Earl of Southampton. The circumference of the manor embraces an extent of 28 The manor extends 28 miles. miles, and the clear annual revenue amounts to between £4000 and £5000. The immediate precincts of the Abbey were encircled by a stone wall, the remains of which are richly mantled with ivy. An edifice, nearly square, now called the palace, but originally built for the Abbot's lodging, was converted into a family seat after the Dissolution. Over the entrance is a canopied niche, in which stood the image of the Virgin Mary. The hall is a well proportioned room, handsomely vaulted, the ribs springing from pilasters, and spreading over the roof in beautiful ramifications. Eastward from this edifice is a long building, supposed from the extent and height of the apartments, to have been the dormitory; beneath it are several good cellars. The ancient kitchen is also standing, and near it is the refectory, a plain stone edifice, with strong buttresses: this is now the parish church of Beaulieu; the Abbey church, which stood to the north-east, having been entirely destroyed. On the west side is the ancient rostrum, or pulpit, from which lectures were read when the monks were assembled at their meals below. The site of the Abbey Church may be traced by the unevenness of the ground; but not a vestige of the building is remaining. Fragments of demolished tombs are occasionally dug up here, this having been the burial-place of various illustrious and noble personages, Burial place of Queen Eleanor. and among them, Queen Eleanor, mother of King John. Some traces of the cloisters are yet distinguishable. Whilst Beaulieu Abbey was invested with the privilege of a sanctuary, its walls afforded a temporary protection to Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI.; who, returning from the continent, in expectation of being reinstated in her former dignity, was informed of the imprisonment of her husband, the destruction of his army, and the death of the Earl of Warwick, and the elevation to the throne of Edward IV. Another celebrated fugitive, to whom this abbey afforded sanctuary, was Perkin Warbeck, who, after many vicissitudes, was executed at Tyburn, in 1499.

MapNames of PlacesCounty Number of Miles FromDist.
Lond.		Popul
ation.
47Beaumaris[A]m.t.AngleseaBangor7Aber6Holyhead222512497
9Beaumontpa.CumberlandCarlisle5Gretna7Longtown8306276

[A] BEAUMARIS, though but a small place, is the capital of the island; it is finely situated on a low shore, called Beaumaris Bay. The present town appears to have originated from the circumstance of a castle having been erected here about the close of the 13th century, by Edward I. It lies Chief town in Anglesea. close to the town, covering a large space of ground, in a low situation. Its erection was subsequent to its proud rivals Conway and Caernarvon. The necessity of the present castle arose from Rhyddlan, upon the opposite shore, being often possessed by the Welsh princes. It appears to have been the last of the three great fortresses erected by Edward. On the conquest of Wales in 1295, he fixed upon this spot with a view of surrounding it with a fosse, for the double purpose of defence, and bringing small craft to unload their cargoes under its walls, by a canal, part of which was, till lately, remaining. From the period of its erection to the time of Charles I., it does not appear to have been at all conspicuous on the page of history. A communication was made between various parts of the inner court, by means of a surrounding gallery, about six feet wide, a considerable portion of which is yet entire. Within recesses, in the sides of the gallery, are several square apertures, apparently once furnished with trap doors, which opened into rooms beneath; but their use has not been ascertained. Mr. Grose thinks they might have been used for the purposes of imprisonment. A tennis, fives court, and bowling-green, have been formed within the interior. The town of Beaumaris was surrounded with walls, for its defence, and placed under the government of a corporation, endowed with various privileges and lands. Mr. Lloyd supposes, from local tokens being circulated by opulent tradesmen, about the year 1650, of which he had several in his possession, that it was a place of considerable traffic. The present town consists of several streets, of which one terminated by the castle is handsome, and the houses are generally well built. Beaumaris is much frequented during the summer months, by Much frequented in summer. numerous genteel families, attracted by the pleasantness of this part of the island, and to avail themselves of the benefit of sea-bathing. The parochial church is a handsome structure, consisting of a chancel, nave, and two aisles, with a large square embattled tower. In the vestry adjoining were deposited the remains of lady Beatrice Herbert, daughter of the celebrated mirror of chivalry, the Lord Herbert of Cherbury. Near which lies interred the Rev. Gronwy Davies, with an inscription concluding as follows:

"Here lies learning, friendship, love;
And innocency of the dove.
Within this grave and in the dust
His ever courteous body must
Until the resurrection lie;
Then he shall live and death shall die."

The free-school was erected and liberally endowed by David Hughes, Esq., in the year 1603, who ten years afterwards founded also an excellent alms-house for six poor persons, to whom he granted small annuities. He was born about the middle of the 16th century, in a cottage now in ruins. He left the island early in life, in a very humble station, but by prudence and propriety of conduct, he made a decent fortune.