Mettingham - Micklehurst

Mettingham (All Saints)

METTINGHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union and hundred of Wangford, E. division of Suffolk, 2 miles (E.) from Bungay; containing 409 inhabitants. In the 17th of Edward III., Sir John de Norwich had a licence to make a castle of his house here, in which he founded a chantry dedicated to God and the Virgin Mary. He also established a college at Raveningham, in Norfolk, in 1343, for a master and eight chaplains, which, in the 11th of Richard II., was removed to Norton-Subcourse, where the number of chaplains was augmented to thirteen, and which was again removed, in 1395, to the chapel of the Virgin in Mettingham Castle: at the Dissolution, the revenue amounted to £202. 7. 5. The parish is bounded on the north by the river Waveney, and situated on the road from Bungay to Beccles; it comprises 1401a. 1r. 4p. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 17. 3½.; net income, £140; patron, the Rev. J. C. Safford. The church is chiefly in the later English style, with a circular tower; the font is curiously sculptured, and the entrance on the north is by a richly-decorated Norman doorway. About a mile southward of the church stand the stately remains of the castle, which appears to have been of great strength.

Metton (St. Andrew)

METTON (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Erpingham, hundred of North Erpingham, E. division of Norfolk, 3¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Cromer; containing 71 inhabitants. It comprises 662 acres, the property of W. H. Windham, Esq., of Felbrigg Hall, who is lord of the manor; 440 acres are arable, and 190 meadow and pasture. The living is a discharged rectory, united to the rectories of Felbrigg, Aylmerton, and Runton, and valued in the king's books at £7: the tithes have been commuted for £115, and there are 79 acres of glebe. The church is partly in the early English style, with a square embattled tower; the nave is separated from the chancel by a carved screen.

Meux, or Meaux

MEUX, or Meaux, a township, in the parish of Waghen, union of Beverley, Middle division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 5½ miles (E.) from Beverley; comprising 1390 acres, and containing 95 inhabitants. A Cistercian abbey was founded here in 1150, by William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle, and dedicated to the Virgin; it stood in the vale of the Melsa, was adorned with stately pinnacles and towers, and enriched with sculpture and tessellated pavements. The establishment consisted of fifty monks, whose revenue, at the Dissolution, amounted to £445. 10. 5. The only remains are an outer wall and arched gateway, but many of its ornaments are in the collections of antiquaries, and a fine tessellated pavement, removed from the foundation of the abbey church in 1833, now fronts the mansion of Mr. Wise.

Mevagissey (St. Mevan and St. Issi)

MEVAGISSEY (St. Mevan and St. Issi), a parish, in the union of St. Austell, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 6 miles (E. S. E.) from Grampound; containing 2310 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which is derived from its patron saints, borders on a bay of the same name in the English Channel, and comprises, according to measurement, 1222 acres. The population is chiefly employed in the pilchard-fishery, for which the place is celebrated. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 4. 2.; net income, £186; patron, the Rev. F. Carlyon; impropriator, the Duke of Buckingham. The vicarage is endowed with a portion of the great tithes, and the glebe comprises 18 acres. The church, a very ancient structure, had formerly a tower. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Bryanites.

Mewan, St.

MEWAN, ST., a parish, in the union of St. Austell, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 1 mile (W. by S.) from St. Austell; containing 1146 inhabitants. It comprises 2240 acres, whereof 640 are common or waste land. At Polgooth, which is partly in the parish, is a celebrated tin-mine. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the gift of the family of Taylor: the tithes have been commuted for £275, and the glebe comprises 35 acres.

Mexborough

MEXBOROUGH, a parish, in the union of Doncaster, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (N. E. by N.) from Rotherham; containing, with the township of Dennaby, 1425 inhabitants, of whom 1258 are in the township of Mexborough. This place, called by Matthew of Westminster Maisebel, was the scene of a memorable battle between the Saxons and the Britons under Aurelius Ambrosius, in which the latter were victorious. The parish is situated on the north and south sides of the river Don, and comprises, according to a recent survey, 2190a. 1r. 35p., of which 1169a. 1r. 2p. are in the township of Mexborough; of these latter, 630 are arable, 275 pasture, and 200 common. The soil is fertile, and there are two quarries of durable stone, of good quality for building, and also in some request for grindstones. The village is near the junction of the river Don and the Dearne and Dove canal; here are a glass-house, two potteries for the manufacture of glass and earthenware, and a yard for boat-building. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £120; patron, the Archdeacon of the West riding. The tithes have been commuted for £600, and the glebe comprises 39 acres. The church is an ancient structure, with a tower surmounted by a spire, and contains some remnants of stained glass; two galleries and an organ have been lately erected, and the whole of the interior has been repaired and restored. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Kilhamites. The parish has several aggers, supposed to have been raised by the Romans for strengthening their works at Templeborough.

Michael, St., or Midshall

MICHAEL, ST., or Midshall, formerly a representative borough and a market-town, partly in the parish of St. Enoder, and partly in that of Newlyn, union of St. Columb Major, hundred of Pyder, W. division of Cornwall, 36 miles (S. W. by W.) from Launceston; containing 107 inhabitants. The ancient name of this place was Modeshole, under which appellation John de Arundell, in 1301, certified his right to a market and fair here, which had been previously granted to Walter de Raleigh. The village is inconsiderable, consisting only of a few houses: a fair is held on October 25th, chiefly for sheep, of which from 3000 to 4000 are generally offered for sale. The borough, which first sent members to parliament in the reign of Edward VI., was disfranchised by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45: among its representatives, were Sir Walter Raleigh, and Carew, the historian.

Michael, St.

MICHAEL, ST., a parish, partly in the borough of St. Alban's, but chiefly in the hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, union of St. Alban's, county of Hertford, ¾ of a mile (W. by N.) from St. Alban's; containing 1999 inhabitants, of whom 1140 are in the borough. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 1. 3.; net income, £300; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Verulam. The church, though situated in the town of St. Alban's, and within the walls of the ancient city of Verulam, is without the limits of the borough. It was erected by Ulsinus, the sixth abbot, and has a square embattled tower; the chancel is built principally of Roman tiles from the ruins of Verulam, and attached to the south side of the nave is a chapel.

Michael, St., Hants.—See Winchester.

MICHAEL, ST., Hants.—See Winchester.

Michael, St., Bedwardine

MICHAEL, ST., BEDWARDINE, a parish, in the Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, union of Worcester, W. division of the county of Worcester; locally forming part of the city of Worcester, and containing 476 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 1.; net income, £90; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. Here is an endowed school.

Michael, St., Caerhays (St. Michael)

MICHAEL, ST., CAERHAYS (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of St. Austell, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 3¾ miles (S. E. by E.) from Tregoney; containing 208 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the shore of the English Channel, by which it is bounded on the south, and includes a small port called Luny Bay; the area by computation is 815 acres, and the surrounding scenery is finely varied. The living is a rectory and vicarage, with the livings of St. Dennis' and St. Stephen's annexed, valued in the king's books at £27. 10. 7½., and in the gift of Lady Grenville: the tithes of St. Michael's have been commuted for £150, those of St. Dennis' for £260, and those of St. Stephen's for £780; the glebe of St. Michael's comprises 23 acres. In the church are handsome monuments to the Trevanion family. There are some remains of an ancient chapel in the parish.

Michael's, St., Mount

MICHAEL'S, ST., MOUNT, an extra-parochial liberty, in the hundred of Penwith, W. division of Cornwall, ¼ of a mile (S.) from Marazion; containing 163 inhabitants. This place obtained the name of Cara Cowz in Clouze, in the Cornish language signifying "the grey or hoary rock in the woods," from its supposed situation, in the remoter ages of antiquity, in the centre of a wood; and to this supposition the recent discovery of a submarine forest extending for some miles around the base of the mount lends weight. Its present appellation, which extends to the whole bay, is derived from its patron saint, who, according to tradition, appeared to some hermits living in devotional retirement in this sequestered spot. The mount is thought to have been the island Ictis, noticed by Diodorus Siculus as the place to which the tin, when refined and cast into ingots by the Britons, near the promontory of Belerium, was conveyed in carts over an isthmus dry only at low water. A priory of Benedictine monks, afterwards exchanged for Gilbertines, was founded here prior to the year 1044, when Edward the Confessor granted to the community the whole of the mount, with its buildings and appendages, among which there appears to have been a castle. The priory, being a cell to the abbey of St. Michael, in Normandy, was seized as an alien priory during the war with France, in the reign of Henry V., and given first to King's College, Cambridge, and subsequently to the nunnery of Sion, in the county of Middlesex, with which it remained till the Dissolution, when its revenue was £110. 12. The place has at various times been the scene of martial operations: during the civil war of the 17th century, it was fortified for the king, and the Duke of Hamilton, who had been taken prisoner by the royalists, was confined here; but in 1646 it was surrendered to the parliament. After the Restoration it became the property of the St. Aubyns, its present proprietors.

This mount, which has more the character of a work of art than of nature, is connected with the main land by an isthmus 40 yards in width, formed of fragments of rock and pebbles seemingly compacted by two currents of the sea sweeping round the base of the mount: at high water it has the appearance of an island. Its circumference is about one mile at the base, gradually diminishing to the summit, which is 250 feet above the level of the sea. The surface is exceedingly rugged, consisting of large masses of granite overhanging the base, and threatening to precipitate themselves into the sea; the views are highly interesting, and the aspect of the rock is bold and striking. On its summit stands the castle, or fortified monastery, at present one of the residences of the family of St. Aubyn. The refectory of the monks is now the dining-room, and the chapel in the centre of the castle has lately been repaired. At the base of the rock is a wharf, near which is a small village inhabited by fishermen: there is also a harbour capable of affording shelter to about 40 vessels, with a pier, which was rebuilt by Sir John St. Aubyn, in 1727; and the rock is defended by three batteries mounting 18 guns. The business consists principally in the importation of timber from Norway, and coal; and in the exportation of copper-ore, china-clay, and pilchards. Among the minerals found are, mica, apatite, antimony, lead, malachite, and the triple sulphuret of copper: topazes have been discovered; and, at low water, on the south side of the rock, wolfran also; and several lodes of copper and tin have been observed.

Michael, St., On Wyre

MICHAEL, ST., ON WYRE, a parish, in the union of Garstang, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of Lancashire, 3¾ miles (S. W. by S.) from Garstang; including the chapelry of Plumpton-Wood, and the townships of Great Eccleston, Elswick, Inskip with Sowerby, Out Rawcliffe, and Upper Rawcliffe with Tarnacre; and containing 4786 inhabitants. This place is manifestly of as high antiquity as the heptarchy, and St. Michael's church is one of the three sacred edifices erected in Amounderness soon after the introduction of Christianity into the north of England, Preston and Kirkham churches being the other two. Dr. Whitaker supposes the parish of Garstang, from its contiguity, to have been severed from St. Michael's at a later date; but the Domesday survey does not favour that opinion, for Michelescherche is therein returned as containing only one carucate of land. The name of the parish is derived from the church, and the distinctive term Wyre is meant to distinguish it from the number of other St. Michaels in various parts of the kingdom. Nothing is known of the church from the time of the Domesday survey until the reign of John, when that monarch presented Master Macy; Henry, Earl of Lancaster, was patron in 1345, and the benefice ceased to be a rectory soon after the foundation of the college of Battlefield, in 1403. Since the dissolution of monastic establishments, the advowson has passed into the hands of various persons, most of whom have been incumbents.

The northern and eastern boundaries of the parish are formed by the parish of Garstang, the south boundary by the parish of Preston, and the west by that of Kirkham. The length from Plumpton-Wood, on the southeast, to Out Rawcliffe, on the north-west, is eleven miles; and the breadth, from Elswick, on the southwest, to Tarnacre, on the north-east, nearly four miles; forming an area of 19,532 acres. The land is in nearly equal portions of arable and pasture, with a small quantity of wood. The river Wyre, rising in the hills of Wyresdale and Bleasdale, passes Garstang and Garstang Church-Town, and arrives at St. Michael's, within artificial banks, which are in some parts thirty feet high, and extend about six miles, four of which lie to the west, and two to the east, of St. Michael's. A little to the east of the village, the Wyre is increased by the Brock rivulet, bringing with it the waters of the New Draft, a rivulet formed by the Plumpton-Wood and Barton brooks.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 17. 6.; net income, £700, with a house, and a glebe of 24 acres; patron and impropriator, the Rev. Hugh Hornby. The vicarial tithes were commuted under a private act, 56th George III., cap. 11. The church, supposed to be a re-erection of the age of Henry VIII., is situated in the township of Upper Rawcliffe with Tarnacre, in which, also, is the village of St. Michael's. The edifice consists of a tower, nave, aisles, and chancel, and a chapel on the north side; the tower is a low firm structure with castellated parapets, and, like the greater part of the building, is cemented with white plaster. The roof is of blue slate, with excellent pointing; and this, and the white walls, give the church an air of neatness. At Great Eccleston, Inskip, OutRawcliffe, and Plumpton-Wood, are other churches. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics; and various daily and Sunday schools. A large part of the moss of Pilling is in the parish, and beneath it are discovered great quantities of trees.

Michael, St., Penkevil

MICHAEL, ST., PENKEVIL, a parish, in the union of Truro, W. division of the hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 5 miles (W. S. W.) from Tregoney; containing 175 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 14. 2.; net income, £156; patron, the Earl of Falmouth. The church, an ancient edifice, contains a handsome monument by Rysbrach to the memory of Admiral Boscawen, the distinguished naval commander, who died in 1761.

Michael-Church

MICHAEL-CHURCH, an ancient parish, in the union of Ross, Lower division of the hundred of Wormelow, county of Hereford, 7 miles (W. N. W.) from Ross. The living is a rectory, united to that of Tretire: the tithes have been commuted for £22.

Michael-Church, St.

MICHAEL-CHURCH, ST., a parish, in the union of Bridgwater, hundred of North-Petherton, W. division of Somerset, 5¼ miles (S.) from Bridgwater; containing 29 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £80; patron, Sir P. Acland, Bart.; impropriator and incumbent, the Rev. J. A. Templer.

Michael-Church-Eskley (St. Michael)

MICHAEL-CHURCH-ESKLEY (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Dore, hundred of Ewyaslacy, county of Hereford, 16 miles (W. S. W.) from Hereford; containing 404 inhabitants. The river Eskley runs through the parish. The surface is hilly, and ornamented with wood in various parts; the Black mountains are seen at the distance of about three miles, forming a bold back-ground in the landscape. The number of acres is 3840; the land consists of arable and pasture, in general of inferior quality, the soil being partly a red clayey earth, and partly a stony loam. Stone of a lightgreen colour is quarried, supplying flagstones of a superior kind. A few of the inhabitants are employed in making woollen goods. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to that of St. Margaret's; impropriators, the Cornwall family.

Michaelstone-Le-Vedw (St. Michael)

MICHAELSTONE-LE-VEDW (St. Michael), a parish, in the union and division of Newport, partly in the hundred of Wentlloog, county of Monmouth, and partly in the hundred of Caerphilly, county of Glamorgan, 5¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Newport; containing 541 inhabitants, of whom 204 are in the English part. The parish comprises 3556 acres, of which 1014 are arable, 2124 pasture, and 400 woodland. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 3½.; net income, £400; patron, C. Kemeys Tynte, Esq.

Michaelstow (St. Michael)

MICHAELSTOW (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Camelford, hundred of Lesnewth, E. division of Cornwall, 3¼ miles (S. W. by S.) from Camelford; containing 225 inhabitants. It is intersected in the north-eastern part by the river Camel, and comprises by measurement 1613 acres, of which 793 are arable, 250 meadow and pasture, and 30 woodland and plantations; the soil is light but very fertile, and the surface is generally undulated. The road from Camelford to Bodmin passes through the parish. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 13. 9., and in the patronage of the Crown, in right of the duchy of Cornwall; net income, £270. At Helsbury are the mount and other earthworks of an ancient castle called the Beacon.

Mickfield (St. Andrew)

MICKFIELD (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union and hundred of Bosmere and Claydon, E. division of Suffolk, 1 mile (E.) from Stonham; containing 263 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1300 acres, of which about three-fourths are arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture: the soil is a strong fertile loam on blue and white clay; the surface is elevated, but level. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 11. 0½.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Maltyward Simpson: the tithes have been commuted for £390, and the glebe comprises 25 acres. The church is a handsome structure in the decorated English style, with a tower on the south side.

Micklefield

MICKLEFIELD, a chapelry, in the parish of Sherburn, Upper division of the wapentake of BarkstoneAsh, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (N. N. W.) from Ferry-Bridge; containing 474 inhabitants. The chapelry comprises 1755 acres, of which 25 are common or waste land; it abounds in limestone, under which are strata of sand and grit stone. A pit was sunk in 1835, to a bed of coal four feet in thickness. The village is on the great north road, about 2½ miles westward of Sherburn; and a station on the line of the Leeds and Selby railway is situated here, close to the road to Wetherby. The tithes have been commuted for £76, of which £6 are payable to the vicar. The chapel was built in the year 1700. There is a place of worship for a congregation of Wesleyans.

Mickleham, or Littleborough (St. Michael)

MICKLEHAM, or Littleborough (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Dorking, Second division of the hundred of Copthorne and Effingham, W. division of Surrey, 2 miles (S. by E.) from Leatherhead; containing 787 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2849 acres, of which 175 are common or waste land: it includes the beautiful demesne of Norbury. The village is pleasantly situated in a valley, on the road from London to Dorking, and consists principally of one street of respectable and well-built houses, sheltered by surrounding eminences, among which, Box Hill, so called from the box-trees planted on its southern declivity by the Earl of Arundel in the reign of Charles I., is remarkable for the beauty of its views. The river Mole runs through the parish, and is crossed by Burford bridge. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13, and in the gift of Sir G. Talbot, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £425, and the glebe comprises 35 acres. The church was partly rebuilt, and restored in an elegant manner, in 1823, at a cost of £2254, the interior now forming a faithful and curious specimen of early Norman architecture; the chancel was fitted up with stalls, at an expense of £500, by the Rev. A. Burmester. The Roman Stane-street from Sussex passed over Mickleham Downs; and there are remains of an ancient chapel at a place called Chapel Farm. Madame D'Arblay resided in the parish.

Micklehurst

MICKLEHURST, a hamlet, in the township of Tintwistle, parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester. It consists of a large tract of moorland, purchased in 1845 from John Tollemache, Esq., by the Earl of Stamford and Warrington.