EDGWARE, a parish (formerly a market-town) in
the hundred of GORE, county of MIDDLESEX, 8 miles
(N.W. by W.) from London, containing 551 inhabitants.
This place, from its situation within a pleasant distance of
the metropolis, and the excellence of the road leading to
it through an almost uninterrupted sxiccession of elegant
villas and agreeable scenery, has become the residence of
numerous opulent and respectable families. The .Roman
Watling-street, leading to the andient city of Verulam,
passes over a bridge near the entrance to the village,
which consists of one principal street, of which the
western side is in the parish of Little Stanmore, or
Whitchurch, where, in the early part of the eighteenth
century, James, Duke "of Chandos, at an expense of
£250,000, erected-the magnificent palace of Canons, the a
walls of which were twelve feet in thickness at the
base, and nine feet thick in the upper part; the pillars
of the hall and the steps of the grand staircase were
of the most beautiful marble, and the locks and hinges
of the doors were of silver; the internal decorations
were of the most splendid description, and the grounds
were adorned with a profusion of statuary; the household
establishment was in every respect equal to the
splendour of this sumptuous mansion; the chapel was
of like elegance, and richly embellished with paintings
of the Italian school: the most eminent composers
were employed in the arrangement, and the most
eminent masters in the vocal and instrumental performance
of the musical services. After the death of
the duke, this noble mansion was taken down and
sold piecemeal: the columns formed part of the portico
of Wanstead-house; the marble staircase was
put up in the Earl of Chesterfield's residence in Mayfair,
London; and the celebrated equestrian statue of
George I. at present decorates the area of Leicestersquare.
The village contains several respectable houses,
and is supplied with water from a well dug in 1822,
by public subscription. The market, formerly on
Thursday, has been discontinued, but an annual fair
is still held on the first Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday, in August, for cattle and toys; on the two last
days races are held, which are in general well attended.
Edgwareis within the jurisdiction of a court of requests
held at Brentford and Uxbridge, for the recovery of debts
under 40s. There are courts baron and leet annually on
the 1st of May; and the petty sessions for the division
are held in that part of the village which is in the parish
of Little Stanmore. Sir William Blackstone mentions
a singular ancient custom as existing here, for the
lord of the manor to provide a minstrel or piper to
play for the amusement of the tenants, and there is
in the parish a small field still called Piper's Green.
The living is a perpetual curacy, but having been from
time immemorial endowed with the vicarial tithes, it
may be considered a vicarage not in charge; it has
been further endowed with the rent of three houses in
Hosier-lane, London, by Mr. John Jones; it is in the
archdeaconry of Middlesex, and diocese of London,
and in the patronage of John Lee, L.L.D. The church,
dedicated to St. Margaret, with the exception of its
square embattled tower, which is of flint and stone, was
rebuilt of brick in 1763, and the interior was thoroughly
repaired in 1822. An almshouse, containing four tenements,
with a garden to each, was founded for four
aged women, in 1680, by Samuel Atkinson, Esq., who endowed
it with lands at Oakley, in the county of Buckingham,
to which has been added a small bequest of
land at Kenton, in Middlesex, by Thomas Napier, Esq.,
producing together, exclusively of the rents of Harrod's
Green, given by Mr. Watts to the parish, and appropriated
to this charity, an annual income of £32. 10.
Charles Day, Esq., in 1828, founded almshouses for
eight aged persons, five of Edgware, and three of Little
Stanmore, and endowed them with £100 per annum;
the premises, situated at the northern extremity of the
village, are handsomely built, at an expense of £2000
in the later style of English architecture, fronted with
stone brought from Eadley in Yorkshire, and have a
clock inthe centre.