NUNEATON, a market-town and parish, in the
Atherstone division of the hundred of HEMLINGFORD
county of WARWICK, 18 miles (N. N. E.) from Warwick
and 100 (N. W. by W.) from London, containing, with
the hamlets of Attleborough and Stockingford, 6610 inhabitants.
The name of this place is derived from the
river in its neighbourhood, Ea in Saxon signifying water,
and from a priory established here, in the reign of
Stephen, by Robert, Earl of Leicester, for nuns of the
order of Fontevrault,in whose convents abroad there were1
sometimes nuns and monks in one establishment, but here
there were only a prior, a prioress, and nuns, the prioress
having supreme authority. In the reign of Henry III., a
weekly market was granted to the prioress, and at the
dissolution the revenue of the nunnery was £290. 15. 0.
The town is pleasantly situated on the river Anka, over
which are two bridges, and consists principally of' one
long street, from which a cross street leads to the market-
place; the houses are in general of mean appearance,
though interspersed with some handsome modern buildings
it is neither paved nor lighted, but is well supplied
with water. The principal source of occupation is riband-
weaving for the London market, in which branch
of manufacture French looms and machinery have been
recently introduced, especially in the -figured gauze riband.
The Birmingham and Coventry canal passes-by
the north-west extremity of the town, and.about two
miles distant are coal mines; fine clay for pottery, and
also manganese, are dug here, and there are quarries of
freestone in the parish. The market is on Saturday; and
fairs are held on May 14th, 15th, and 16th, for cattle
and hardware j on February 18th, and October 31st, for
horses and cattle; and a statute fair is held fourteen
days before Michaelmas. Three constables are annually
elected, and sworn in at the court leet for the town
and hamlets; there is also a permanent constable: the
town hall is a neat modern edifice of brick, containing
in the upper story several apartments, of which one is
used as a subscription news-room, and two others for a
Sunday school.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of
Coventry, and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, rated
in the king's books at £24. 14. 7, and in the'patronage
of the Crown. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas,
is a fine structure, exhibiting portions in the various
styles of English architecture, with a square embattled
tower having pinnacles at the angles: the interior consists
of a nave, chancel, and aisles separated by clustered
columns and pointed arches; the roof is of oak,
divided into panels, and richly ornamented with ribs and
foliage. A proprietary chapel has been recently erected,
and elegantly fitted up in the cathedral style, but it is not
yet used. There are places of worship for Independents
andWesleyan Methodists. The free grammar school
was founded in the 6th of Edward VI., and endowed
with one hundred and three acres of land at Coventry;
the management is vested in twelve trustees, who appoint
the masters; the classical master has a salaryoi
£ 50 per annum, with a house and garden; and the unOer
master, who teaches reading, writing, and arithmetic,
£45 per annum. An English free school, for forty ooys
and thirty girls, under the management of seven trustees,
was founded in 1712, by the will of Mr. Richard Smith
of St. Ann's, Westminster, and endowed with ninetyfour
acres of land at Hartshill: the salary of the mas
ter is £15 per annum, and that of the mistress £7
per annum, with houses and gardens; a great augmentation
of the endowment having taken place, from the
discovery of mines of manganese on the estate, an additional
annual gratuity of & 10 is given to the master,
and one of £ 8 to the mistress. In the churchyard is an
almshouse for four aged persons, who receive each
a small annual stipend; there is likewise a fund arising
from land, for putting out poor apprentices. The
site and ground-plan of the ancient monastery, with
fragments of columns, and richly-moulded arches, together
with a considerable portion of the walls of the
main building, are yet visible; the outer walls, which
enclosed a spacious quadrangular area, are still standing
on the east and north sides; a considerable portion
of the materials was used in repairing or rebuilding the
church.