[B] BERE REGIS is situated in the Blandford division of the county. Drs. Stukeley and Coker conjecture that this place was the site of a Roman station; an opinion which is confirmed by a large entrenchment upon Woodbury Hill, about half a mile north-east of the parish. The area of this place, which contains about ten acres, is surrounded by triple ramparts, that in some places are high and deep. On the summit, which commands a very extensive prospect, a fair is annually holden. This fair begins on the Nativity of the Virgin, and continues through the five following days: though of late years it has much decreased; it was once the most considerable in the west of England. Queen Elfrida, to whom the manor belonged, is said to have retired to her seat in this place, after the The residence of Queen Elfrida. murder of her son-in-law, Edward the Martyr. King John also appears to have made it his residence. In the reign of Henry III. the manor was bestowed on Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester; but, as a consequence attending his rebellion, it was taken from him, and granted to the King's brother, Edmund. Edmund gave a moiety of it to the Abbess of Tarent, who, in the reign of Edward I. claimed for her manor of Bere a fair, a market, a free-warren, and the whole forest of Bere. Her moiety of these was granted her. At the dissolution, Henry VIII., for the sum of £680. 16s. 8d. granted the manor to Robert Turberville, to whose ancestors the other moiety had belonged for ages. The mansion of the Turbervilles still remains: it is an ancient irregular structure, built with stone, and its windows contain various quarterings of the Turberville family and its alliances. Bere Regis, though it does not appear ever to have been represented in parliament, was incorporated in the time of Edward I. Its market is ancient, as appears from King John's having confirmed it to the inhabitants. The church is a large and handsome structure, and contains numerous monuments of the Turberville and other families. The town of Bere Regis has suffered twice by fire: once in 1634, and again in 1788. After the latter fire the inhabitants found shelter in the booths erected for the fair. The most distinguished natives of the place have been James Turberville, Bishop of Exeter, and John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Market, Wednesday.—Fair, September 18.

MapNames of PlacesCounty Number of Miles FromDist.
Lond.		Popul
ation.
9Bees, St.[A]to & paCumberlandEgremont3Whitehaven4Buttermere13296517
24BeesbypaLincolnLouth9Grimsby9M. Raisin1215899
24Beesby in the Marsh,paLincolnAlford3Saltfleet10Louth9144132
3BeestontoBedfordBiggleswade3Tempsford3Bedford848258

[A] BEES, (ST.) This ancient village is situated in the Ward of Allerdale, west by north from Egremont. It is understood to have derived its name and origin from a religious house, which was founded here about the year 650, by St. Bega, an Irish nun of great sanctity. On the death of Bega, Early history. a church was erected in honour of her virtues; but both these establishments having been destroyed by the Danes, William, son of Ranulph de Meschines, replaced them by a new foundation of Benedictine monks, and made it a cell to the Abbey of St. Mary at York: in the time of Henry I. The manor was granted after the dissolution to Sir Thomas Chaloner, by Edward VI. in the last year of his reign. It next became the property of a family named Wyberg, from whom, under a fore-closed mortgage, it passed to an ancestor of the Earl of Lonsdale, about the year 1663. St. Bees church, which was erected about the time of Henry I., had the form of a cross, and great part of it is yet standing. The east-end is unroofed, and in ruins: the nave, however, is fitted up as the parish church, and the cross aisle is used as a place of sepulchre. The ancient chancel has narrow lancet windows, ornamented with double mouldings, and pilasters, with rich capitals. At the east end are niches, of a singular form, with pointed arches, supported on well proportioned pillars, having capitals adorned with rich engravings. The whole edifice is of red free-stone. A free grammar school was founded in the village of St. Bees by Archbishop Girandal, under a charter from Queen Elizabeth, towards the close of the sixteenth century. This prelate was born in the neighbouring village of Helsingham, in the year 1519. He was educated at Cambridge, where he obtained a fellowship at Pembroke Hall. Being attached to the principles of the Reformation, Bishop Ridley made him his chaplain, and precentor of St. Pauls. He was also appointed chaplain to the King, and prebendary of Westminster; but on the accession of Mary he retired to Germany, and settled at Strasburgh. When Elizabeth ascended the throne he returned home, and was employed in revising the Litany. In 1559 he was chosen master of Pembroke Hall, and the same Archbishop Girandal. year preferred to the see of London, from whence, in 1570 he was translated to York, and in 1575 to Canterbury. Two years afterwards he was suspended from his archiepiscopal functions, for refusing to obey the Queen's order to suppress prophecyings, or the associations of the clergy to expound the Scriptures. His sequestration was taken off, though he never completely recovered the royal favour. He died at Croydon, 1583. He contributed to Fox's acts and monuments. James I. afterwards increased the endowments, which have been since augmented by divers benefactors. Several scholars of great eminence have received the rudiments of education in this seminary. It is remarkable, however, that, till a few years ago, the school had not undergone any material change since its foundation. Occasional repairs were indeed found absolutely necessary for the support of the buildings, but no improvement seems ever to have been attempted. Through the munificence of the Earl of Lonsdale this long respected seminary has been put into complete order, and made more suitable to the purpose intended by the pious founder than it had been at any time since its erection. Exclusive of what has been done at the spacious school-room, the library is rendered more commodious. The master's house, which adjoins the school, has been enlarged, some parts of it rebuilt, a good garden well walled round, and the whole made a very comfortable and eligible residence.

MapNames of PlacesCounty Number of Miles FromDist.
Lond.		Popul
ation.
7Beeston[A]toChesterNantwich7Tarporley2Whitchurch14171434
27BeestonpaNorfolkSwaffham7E. Dereham6Castle Acre5100702
30BeestonpaNottinghamNottingham4Chilwell1Ashby161242530
45BeestonchapW.R. YorkLeeds2Birstall5Huddersfield91902128
27Beeston, St. AndrewpNorfolkNorwich4Worstead9Acle911349
27Beeston, St. Lawren.pNorfolkColtishall4...3Norwich1112052
27Beeston RegispaNorfolkCromer4Holt7Cley8126246
40Beethom[B]pa & toWestmorlndBurton4Millthorpe1Kendal102521639
27BeetleypaNorfolkE. Dereham4Foulsham6Fakenham9104381
31BegbrookpaOxfordWoodstock3Oxford6Islip560102
34BeggerielgehamSomersetBath4Frome9Beckington6110...

[A] BEESTON. Near this village are the remains of a castle, once deemed impregnable; it is situated on a sandstone rock, 366 feet in perpendicular height. So strong was this fortress considered, that it became a proverb in the neighbourhood to say, "It is as strong as Beeston Castle." The area contains five acres, and was rendered unapproachable by means of a very wide ditch. In the reign of Charles I. it underwent a lengthened siege, or rather blockade, for all communications were cut off with the neighbourhood for a long term; at last it was compelled to surrender, and the parliament ordered it to be dismantled. During the period of the threatened invasion of the French, in 1803, this castle was fixed upon by the lieutenancy of the county, as the site for a signal station and beacon. The ancient and craggy walls are beautifully mantled over with a luxuriant Castle on a rock. covering of ivy, and the base of the hill abounds with several varieties of rare plants. The well of the castle is nearly 300 feet deep, and the peasantry firmly believe that it contains a vast store of riches, which have been thrown into it during the civil wars. A mineral spring was discovered here a few years ago. The inhabitants of Chester consider it a favourite holiday indulgence to visit this castle in a pleasure excursion; and by application to an old woman in the village, who may be A favourite place of resort. considered the female warden of the place, travellers can be conducted to the summit of the building. The views from the ramparts are beautiful, extending over the whole Vale Royal of Cheshire, to the estuaries of the rivers Mersey and Dee: that side of the hill which forms a precipice rises perpendicularly 160 feet from the base of the elevation, and upon looking down from the high pinnacle of the castle wall, it is sufficient to call to remembrance the sublime poetic effusion of our immortal bard:—

"How fearful
And dizzy 'tis, to cast ones eyes so low,
The crows and choughs, that wing the mid-way air,
Shew scarce as gross as beetles.
"I'll look no more,
Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight,
Topple down headlong."

[B] BEETHOM. This mountainous and highly interesting parish is situated in the Kendal Ward, at the south-western extremity of the county of Westmoreland, on both sides of estuaries of the river Kent, which is navigable for small craft as far as the hamlet of Storch, and comprises the chapelries of Witherslack, and the townships of Beetham, Farleton, Haverbrack, and Methop, with Ulpha. The parish church is dedicated to St. Michael, the patron saint of mountainous and hilly parishes: it is a neat building, situated in a fine vale, or holm ground, commanding the richest variety of wood, water, and rocky scenery. Here are two fine old monuments to the memory of Thomas de Beetham and his lady, who lived in the reign of Richard III. Here was anciently a chapel, dedicated to St. John, and near it, in a garden, a considerable number of human bones were dug up; it was situated about forty yards from the present school-house. Some few years since a mole cast up an amber bead, and with it an oval piece of silver, about the size of a shilling; it was perforated through the middle, and on one side was an impression of the crucifixion, with the letters J.N.R.J.; on the right of which was a crescent, and on the left a rising sun; at the bottom, the Virgin Mary, in a weeping attitude: on the reverse, a lamb, with a standard, and St. Andrews' cross. The parsonage, or rectory-house, which stood on the north-east corner of the churchyard, was formerly called the college of St. Mary's. The Hilton family had also a handsome house near this spot, which was enlarged and improved by George Hilton, an eccentric squire, George Hilton, an eccentric character. and well known character in this neighbourhood about the commencement of the last century. This George Hilton was a Roman Catholic, and joined the Scotch rebels in 1715, upon whose defeat he made his escape, but was pardoned by the act of grace the year following, and afterwards retired to a house which he built at the south end of Beethom Park. Mr. Hutton, the historian of this place, says, "that he discovered a diary, in an old chest, which was kept by this gentleman, taken by himself every night, but which was afterwards lost. 'On Sunday, (says he in one place,) I vowed to abstain from three things during the ensuing week (Lent), viz. women, eating of flesh, and drinking of wine; but, alas! the frailty of good resolutions. I broke them all! Conversed with a woman—was tempted to eat the wing of a fowl—and got drunk at Milnthorp.'" Of this parish the Rev. William Hutton was vicar, who wrote a folio book of collections for its history, which he deposited in the vestry for the information of posterity, with blank pages to be filled up as materials should occur. He was an amiable man, and an indefatigable antiquarian. The old manor house, called the Hall of Beethom, was a fine old castellated mansion, but now unfortunately in ruins. One large apartment in this castle is still called the hall, and according The Hall. to the laudable practice of ancient hospitality, was devoted to the purpose of entertaining the friends and dependants of the family: and hence came the proverb—

"'Tis merry in the hall
When beards wag all."

The remains of a room, formerly used as a chapel, still exist; and the ruins of this fine mansion are of considerable extent. The ruins of another hall in this parish are also to be seen in Cappleside Demesne, consisting of a front and two wings, comprising an extent of 117 feet of frontage. Also an ancient tower, now in ruins, called Helslack Tower: and another tower, called Arnside Tower; equally neglected. These towers seem to have been intended to guard the Bay of Morecambe, as similar buildings are erected on the opposite side of the river. A grammar school was founded here in 1663, and rebuilt in 1827. It has an endowment of about £40. a year, arising out of lands bequeathed for the instruction of fifty poor boys.