MAIDENHEAD, a market-town and chapelry, having separate jurisdiction, though locally in the hundred of Bray and Cookham,county of BERKS, 13 miles (N. E. by E.) from Reading, and 26 (W.) from London; it is partly in the parish of Bray, and partly in that of Cookham, with which parishes the popula- - tion is returned. The ancient name of the place was South Allington, or Ealington, to distinguish it from a manor called Allington, a mile north of the town. According to Leland, its present appellation was acquired from the great reverence paid here to the head of a British virgin, who was one of the eleven thousand maidens said to have suffered martyrdom with St. Ursula. But in ancient records it is called Mayden-hithe, confirming the more probable opinion, that the name of the place refers to its having been an extensive wharf for timber; a bridge was erected over the Thames previously to the year 1297, which consisted of timber, and a tree was allowed annually out of Windsor Forest for its repair. Being situated on one of the great western roads, it was the seat of much contention during the troubles of the seventeenth century; at the Greyhound Inn in this town, the unfortunate Charles I. had his last interview with his family; and in 1688, the bridge was fortified, and a few Irish soldiers were posted upon it, in order to impede the progress of the Prince of Orange to the metropolis, who, however, deserted their post and cannon in the night, on hearing a Dutch march beat by the townsmen. This structure was succeeded by the present elegant edifice, consisting of seven semicircular arches of stone, with three smaller arches of brick at each end, built by the corporation, from a design and under the direction of Sir Robert Taylor, in 1772, at an expense of about £ 20,000; the central arch separating the counties of Berks and Buckingham; by an act of parliament passed that year the corporation were authorised to transfer the tolls received from vessels passing under the bridge to the road over it. The town, situated on the road to Bath, consists principally of one street, which extends from the bridge to the bottom of Folley hill, separating the two parishes, the north side being in that of Cookham, and the south in that of Bray; it is lighted and paved, and is now the great thoroughfare from the metropolis to Bath, Bristol, and the West of England. The adjacent country is in a high state of cultivation, and is richly adorned with woodland scenery, interspersed with elegant villas. The trade is principally in malt, corn," meal, and timber, which articles are conveyed by water to London; and the interests of the town are further promoted by the daily passage of not less than sixty-eight coaches, and by its proximity to the Thames, which skirts its eastern extremity. The market, established by letters patent of Henry VI., is on Wednesday: there are three fairs, each of which continue for three days, and commence respectively on the Wednesday in Whitsun-week, for horses, horned cattle, and pigs; September 2Qth, for horses, cattle, and the hiring of servants; and November 30th, for horses and other cattle. The principal inhabitants of this town, with some of the inmates of the priory of Hurley, were constituted a guild, or fraternity, so early as 1352, by letters patent of Edward III.; their principal object being to keep the bridge in proper repair and uphold the chantries, for which purpose a toll was granted at the bridge, on the river, and on all commodities sold in the market; these privileges were confirmed and extended by Henry VI., suspended at the Reformation, and renewed by Elizabeth, who four years afterwards granted the first charter of incorporation, with the style of warden, bridge-masters, and burgesses; which charter was renewed by James I., and with still farther privileges by Charles II. The charter of the present corporate body, which consists of eleven burgesses, out of whom are chosen annually a mayor and two bridge-masters, with power to appoint a high steward, recorder, town clerk, and other officers, was granted by James II. The mayor, who is both clerk of the market and coroner, the late mayor, the high steward, and the recorder, are justices of the peace, and hold a session quarterly in the town hall, a handsome and commodious structure, under which the market is held. Under the charter of James II. the mayor and corporation have power to hold a court of record on Friday, every three weeks, for the recovery of debts not exceeding £20. Petty sessions for the division are held here by the county magistrates, on the second and fourth Monday, in every month. There is a small gaol for the temporary confinement of criminals. The chapel, dedicated to St. Andrew and St. Mary Magdalene, is of modern erection, and presents a good specimen of ancient English architecture; it was erected by subscription, aided by a grant of £500 from the Incorporated Society for the enlargement of churches and chapels, on the condition that four hundred of the sittings should be free. The present building was erected nearly on the site of the former chapel, which was taken down in consequence of its being too small for the accommodation of the inhabitants, and forming an obstruction in the public road. The living is a perpetual curacy, within the archdeaconry of Berks, and diocese of Salisbury, endowed with £490 private benefaction, £400 royal bounty, and a small annual payment from the Exchequer; it has a commodious residence, built by the corporation for the use of the incumbent. The chapel is furnished with a very excellent organ, the bequest of Lady Ann Pocock, and ornamented with a very fine altar-piece, painted and presented by Isaac Pocock, Esq., of Maidenhead Bridge; the incumbent is styled "the Chaplain of the free chapel of Maidenhead, and is presented by the Corporation." The establishment dates its origin at a very early period; it had originally a chantry, dedicated to St. Andrew, built by Margaret of France, sister of Philip the Fair, and second consort of Edward I. of England, upon a piece of ground granted by that king out of his manors of Bray and Cookham, the letters patent of which grant were confirmed by her grandson, Richard II., and which still exists, under the great seal of that monarch, with the muniments of the corporation; a chantry, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, was annexed, in the reign of Edward III., with a bequest of one hundred marks, to the priory of Hurley, to provide a priest to say mass in the chapel. It is a curious fact that in the protestant reign of Elizabeth, new letters patent were granted by that queen to this religious fraternity, confirming all former privileges, with its ancient Roman Catholic rights, which instrument still exists; but this resuscitation continued only for four years, when the guild was abolished, and a lay corporation substituted. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, those in the late Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, and Independents. An almshouse for eight poor men and their wives was founded, in 1659, by James Smyth, Esq. 5 the original endowment of £40 per annum was augmented with £8 per annum for fuel, by Mrs. Smyth: the trust of this charity is vested in the Master and Wardens of the Salters' Company. A National school is well supported, partly by contribution, and partly by an endowment of £30 per annum, from an estate given by Abraham Spoore, for educating and apprenticing poor boys, producing about £60 per annum, and a rentcharge of £5 per annum, the bequest of Elizabeth Merry, in 1686, for educating five boys. Sir Isaac and Lady Pocock bequeathed property for supplying poor persons weekly with bread, and one hundred families with bread, meat, and coal, at Christmas; also £ 50 in small sums to the aged and infirm, at the commencement of every year. A Sunday school was established and endowed by Lady Pocock, for thirty girls; and every two years a bounty of £ 100, in sums of £ 10 each, is given to ten female servants of good character, who shall have lived in the same family for a period of seven years; other bounties, are derived from the same source by the county and neighbourhood, which do not immediately apply to the town, viz. £30 a year to the parish of Cookham, and £ 50 per annum to the widows and orphans of poor clergymen of the county of Berks.