Hampton-Wick

HAMPTON-WICK, a chapelry, in the parish of Hampton, union of Kingston, hundred of Spelthorne, county of Middlesex, 1½ mile (E. by N.) from Hampton Court; containing 1614 inhabitants. This place is divided from Kingston by the river Thames, and, from the beauty of the scenery, and its proximity to the grounds of Hampton Court and Bushy Park, which are partly within its limits, is a favourite resort. It comprises little more than 75 acres, chiefly meadow land, and ground cultivated by market-gardeners for the supply of the metropolis: the trade is principally in malt, a considerable quantity of which is made here. A stone bridge over the Thames to Kingston was erected some years since, instead of a former bridge of wood, one of the oldest on the river. The living is a district incumbency, in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £150; impropriators, the Trustees of Hampton Grammar School. The church, erected in 1831 by the Royal Commissioners, at an expense of £4337, is a handsome edifice in the later English style. The inhabitants of Hampton-Wick are entitled to one-third part of the various benefactions belonging to the parish, by virtue of an agreement entered into in 1698. In making an excavation for the abutment of the bridge, in 1826, several military weapons, of beautiful workmanship, were found imbedded in blue clay, 30 feet below the surface.