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spirited reply which will always be remembered to their honour, "We will not allow the laws of England to be changed!" The Abbey walls encompassed almost 60 acres of ground; they are still nearly entire, but of the buildings which they enclosed, scarcely a vestige remains. They appear to have been dismantled by order of Parliament in 1648, but so late as 1730 the Chapel was in existence. The site of this Abbey is now occupied by manufactories for calico printing, and copper works, and the greater part of the population of the village, which in 1821 was 1177, are employed in one or other of these establishments. The parish Church was built by the founder of the Abbey, and is of flint, with a low spire. Merton Place, in this neighbourhood, was the favourite residence of Lord Nelson, during the short intervals of repose which the service of his country permitted him to enjoy.

Walter de Merton, Lord Chancellor of England, and Bishop of Rochester, was born in this place, and founded the College which bears his name at Oxford. He died in 1277, and was interred in the Cathedral of his See, as already related, at p. 42 of this volume.

MICKLEHAM, a small village at the foot of Box Hill, three miles from Dorking, possesses many beautiful seats, among which the most remarkable is Norbury Park, famous for the delightful views which it commands; the great number of walnut trees with which it is filled, amounting at one time to no less than 40,000; and the elegant paintings which embellish the principal apartments of the house.

MITCHAM is a populous village, about eight miles from London, with 4453 inhabitants, and being situated on the Wandle, and surrounded by several hundreds of acres laid out in physical herb gardens, it has a delightful appearance. The Church is an elegant modern structure, of Gothic architecture, with a tower and turret at the west end, and was built in 1821, on the site of an ancient and decayed edifice. Calico printing is carried on in Mitcham to a considerable extent; and there are many handsome villas in the neighbourhood.

MORDEN, a neat village, two miles from Mitcham, has a small Church, which does not contain any thing remarkable, and in its vicinity are several elegant seats; the population in 1821 was 638.

MORTLAKE is situated on the Thames, near Rich-" mond, and about seven miles from the metropolis. Its Church is an ancient edifice, with a tower, partly of flint; the interior is neatly fitted up. Within its walls are interred Dr. Dee*, who died in 1608; the patriotic Sir John Barnard, 1764; and Sir Brook Watson, 1807. In the Churchyard are buried John Partridget, the celebrated almanac maker, who died in 1715; Alderman Barber, 1741; and Sir Philip Francis, the reputed author of the Letters of Junius, 1819. An ancient mansion in this parish is said to have been the residence of Oliver Cromwell; and many of the nobility and gentry of the present day have houses in the vicinity. Here is a National School, and a Dissenting Chapel. Population, in 1821, 2484.

NEWINGTON BUTTS, which extends from the termination of the Borough of Southwark to Kennington Common, is supposed to have derived the addition to its name from the butts anciently placed there for exercise in archery. The parish Church, dedicated

*He was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, and was visited by her at this place; she had employed him, early in her reign, to determine, on astrological principles, what day would be the most fortunate for her coronation! Such is the power of superstition on the strongest minds! It is suspected, however, that he was frequently employed by the Queen as a political agent, and that his character of a conjuror was in many instances assumed as a cloak for designs of which his dupes had no suspicion. He was a man of real learning, and wrote a valuable preface and notes to Euclid's Geometry, beside several mathematical treatises. Dr. Casaubon published, in 1639, a folio volume of Dee's Conferences with the Spirits; and some earlier ones are given in the Monthly Magazine for 1816; considered as the reveries of a man, apparently once a dupe and an impostor, they are extremely curious. He studied at Cambridge, received the degree of D. C. L. from the University of Louvain, and in 1551 obtained some preferment in the Church of England. During the reign of Mary he was imprisoned some time on a charge of "practising against the life of the Queen by enchantments." Elizabeth made him Warden of Manchester College, where he resided until 1604, when he retired to Mortlake, and closed a long and unsettled life, at the age of 81 years.

+ This man was originally a shoemaker, but afterwards became Physician to Charles II. He was the butt for the wit of Swift and Pope; but could not have been so ignorant as they represent him; his works on astrology, his favourite science, are said to be specimens of acute and able reasoning, thrown away, indeed, on subjects, but yet evidently proceeding from a man of ability.

to St. Mary, is situated on the road-side, and was built in 1793, the former edifice being small and decayed. It is of brick, with a small turret, and is. remarkably plain in appearance. Near the altar is a monument, with a long Latin inscription, to the memory of Sarah, second wife of Bishop Horsley, who is also interred in this Church, of which he was Rector during 34 years. In the Churchyard are numerous tombs, but the only one deserving attention is that of William Allen, a young man who was unfortunately killed during the riots of 1768. Its inscriptions bear evident marks of the great excitement under which it was raised; one asserts that he was inhumanly murdered by Scottish detachments from the army;" and several texts of Scripture are applied in a manner which may perhaps be excused by those who reflect that they proceed from parents who had been deprived of their only son.

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Newington has had its share of the benefits conferred on most of the districts in the environs of London, by the Commissioners for building New Churches; two of these edifices have been raised within the limits of this parish. The first is near the Walworth road, and is a handsome brick building, of Grecian architecture, with a light turret and cupola; it is dedicated to St. Peter, and will accommodate 2000 persons. The second is situated in Trinity Square, near Great Suffolk Street, and is a spacious and elegant edifice of stone, with a noble portico and tower on the north side. The interior is very handsomely finished; it is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The square is composed of well-built houses, and in the centre, which is laid out as a garden, is a statue of the great King Alfred.

A Charity School, a Sunday School, and some Almshouses, are established in this parish, the population of which, in 1821, was 33,047. Near Trinity Church is a handsome building, erected a few years ago, as a Court of Requests for the hundred of East Brixton.

NORWOOD, a hamlet of the parish of Lambeth, is delightfully situated on the skirts of the extensive wood from which it is named, and which was formerly noted as the resort of gipsies. It is about five miles from London, and a number of elegant villas

have, within the last few years, been erected here and in the neighbourhood; and to accommodate the increasing population, a handsome Church, dedicated to St. Luke, has been built, which, from its situation, makes a very fine appearance. Here is also a Chapel for Dissenters, and two Schools. In Thomson's time very few houses existed here; contrasting the charms of solitude with the cares of a city life, he says,

"Perhaps from Norwood's oak-clad hill,
When Contemplation has her fill,

I just may cast my careless eyes
Where London's spiry turrets rise;
Think of its woes, its cares, its pain,
Then shield me in the woods again."

NUTFIELD, a village with about 700 inhabitants, is between Bletchingley and Reigate, 24 miles from London, and noted for the great quantities of fuller's earth dug there, which is also of a very superior quality. The Church contains a very ancient tomb, now much defaced; and near this place, in 1755, an earthen vessel was discovered, containing nearly 900 brass coins of the Lower Empire.

ОCKHAM, near Ripley, is a small village, nigh to which is Ockham Park, the seat of Lord King, which was purchased by the first peer of that title, Lord Chancellor in the reign of Queen Anne. The house and grounds have been much improved by the present possessor. In this parish was born William of Ockham, a celebrated philosopher of the fourteenth cen tury, who acquired the title of the Invincible Doctor, from his skill and energy in the polemical disputes of the time, asserting the complete independence of all persons on the Pope in temporal matters. He died in 1330, at Munich in Bavaria.

OCKLEY, a village on the border of Sussex, is remarkable for the defeat of the Danes in its neighbourhood, by King Ethelwolf, in 851; an eminence known by the name of Hanstie Bury, where arrows and other weapons have been found, is supposed to be the spot on which they encamped previously to the battle. The Roman road from Arundel to Dorking, called Stane Street, passes through this parish, and is still used for some distance; many coins and

other antiquities have been discovered near it. About two miles from hence is Holmbury Hill, on which is a camp, supposed to be of Roman construction, surrounded by a double trench, and enclosing an area of more than eight acres.

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OXTED is about 22 miles from London, near Godstone, and is very pleasantly situated in a valley, sheltered by a range of chalk hills. Its Church is an ancient structure, and the inhabitants are about 800.

PECKHAM, a hamlet of Camberwell, is four miles from London, and contains many handsome houses, principally inhabited by merchants and tradesmen of that city. There is no Church in this village, but a Chapel of Ease was erected some years ago, in a style which may be truly termed Gothic. Here is also Hanover Chapel, a spacious building, in which Dr. Collyer has for several years preached; a Baptist chapel, and a Quaker's meeting. A branch of the Surrey Canal extends to this place, which adds much to its business; and the population, which in 1821 was 7360, is on the increase. Near this village an annual fair was held in August; but this, as well as most others in the vicinity of the metropolis, has been put down by the magistrates, in their superabundant anxiety for the morals of the lower orders.

PETERSHAM is a small village, beautifully situated on the Thames, about one mile from Richmond, and, like that, the residence of many persons of distinction. Until 1769 the Church was a chapel of ease to Kingston, but was then, jointly with Kew, made parochial. There are about 520 inhabitants in the village.

PUTNEY, four miles from Hyde Park Corner, is on the bank of the Thames, over which it has a wooden Bridge, 805 feet in length, leading to Fulham. The Church is an ancient building, with a venerable tower; at the east end is a small chapel, of beautiful architecture, erected by Nicholas West, Bishop of Ely. In the Churchyard lies Toland, the deistical writer, and in the burying-ground, on the road from Wandsworth to Richmond, is a monument to the

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