Spilsby - Sproxton

Spilsby (St. James)

SPILSBY (St. James), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the E. division of the soke of Bolingbroke, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 31 miles (E.) from Lincoln, and 133 (N.) from London; containing, with the hamlet of Eresby, 1457 inhabitants. The town is situated upon elevated ground. It commands an extensive south-east view of a tract of marsh and fen land, bounded by Boston deeps and the North Sea; and is within twelve miles of Skegness, on the best part of the Lincolnshire coast. The four principal streets of the town diverge from a spacious square or market-place, which is ornamented on its east side by a cross, a plain octagonal shaft rising from a quadrangular base, and resting on five steps. A subscription library and newsroom are connected with the chief inn. The market is on Monday; and fairs are held on the Monday before, and the two next Mondays after, WhitMonday (when Whitsuntide falls in May, otherwise there is no fair on the last day), and on the third Monday in July, for cattle and for wearing-apparel: a market for fat-stock, lately established, takes place every fortnight. The general quarter-sessions for the south division of the parts of Lindsey are held here, in January and July. The powers of the county debt-court of Spilsby, established in 1847, extends over the registration-district of Spilsby. A court-house and house of correction, begun in June 1824, were completed within two years, at an expense of £25,000; the latter occupies about two acres of ground, and is surrounded by a brick wall, in which, in front of the building, is a Doric portico.

The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £109; patron and impropriator, Lord Willoughby de Eresby. The church is an irregular stone edifice, with a handsome embattled tower at the west end, supposed to have been erected about the time of Henry VII., at a much later, date than the body of the structure. Amongst several ancient monuments is one in memory of the celebrated Lord Willoughby de Eresby, who, in the reign of Elizabeth, commanded 4000 English troops despatched to France, in aid of Henry IV., King of Navarre; he died in 1601, and was interred here. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The grammar school, founded by the Willoughby family, and rebuilt in 1826, has an income of £66. 10. per annum. In 1735, the Duke of Ancaster and others endowed a school for 20 boys; and about £90 per annum, vested in trustees, are distributed half yearly to poor persons of good character. The union of Spilsby comprises 66 parishes or places, and contains a population of 26,699. At Eresby are extensive remains of the foundations of a chapel, made collegiate in 1349, for a master and twelve priests, by Sir John Willoughby, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. At the same place stood an elegant mansion belonging to the Duke of Ancaster, which in 1769 was destroyed by fire, one gateway pillar of exquisite brickwork alone remaining.

Spindlestone

SPINDLESTONE, a township, in the parish of Bambrough, union of Belford, N. division of Bambrough ward and of Northumberland, 3¼ miles (E. by S.) from Belford; containing 151 inhabitants. It is bounded on the south by the Waren river, and comprises 455 acres, of which 175 are pasture, and the remainder arable land. Coal exists, though it is not wrought; also whinstone, limestone, and freestone. Messrs. Nairn have constructed a reservoir of four acres here for their extensive mills. Waren House, the residence of Philip Nairn, Esq., is surrounded with plantations, and has fine sea and land views. Here was anciently a considerable military station, and vestiges of mounds and intrenchments are conspicuous.

Spitalfields (Christchurch)

SPITALFIELDS (Christchurch), a parish, in the union of Whitechapel, Tower division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex; containing 20,436 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated in the north-eastern part of the metropolis, was anciently called Lolsenorth Field, and appears to have been selected as a place of sepulture by the Romans, during their occupation of London. On breaking up the ground in 1576, for clay to make bricks, numerous urns containing ashes and burnt bones were discovered, in each of which was a brass coin of the emperor reigning at the time of the interment. Among the coins were some of Claudius, Vespasian, Nero, Antoninus Pius, and Trajan; and vials, glasses, and pottery of red earth, were also found, with various other relics of Roman antiquity. The present name of the parish is derived from a priory of canons of the Augustine order, and an hospital for poor brethren, entitled "the New Hospital of our Lady without Bishopsgate," founded in the year 1197, by Walter Brune, citizen, and afterwards sheriff, of London, and Roesia his wife. The establishment continued to flourish till the Dissolution, when its revenue, according to Dugdale, was estimated at £478. 6. 6. From the time of the Reformation it was the custom for a bishop, a dean, and a doctor of divinity, to preach a sermon each upon the Resurrection, on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Easter-week, in a pulpit cross in the churchyard of the priory. During the protectorate of Cromwell the practice was discontinued, and the cross destroyed; but the sermons, called the "Spital Sermons," were revived after the restoration of Charles II., and preached in the parochial church of St. Bride, Fleet-street. They are now delivered before the lord mayor and aldermen of the city, at Christchurch, Newgate-street. Undistinguished by any important features for many years, Spitalfields at length became the seat of the silk manufacture, originally established at Canterbury and other towns by the refugees who, after the revocation of the edict of Nantz in the reign of Louis XIV., found an asylum in England. From this time it began to increase, and it is now one of the most populous districts in the metropolis.

The parish was originally a hamlet in Stepney, from which it was separated by act of parliament in 1729. In Church-street and several other streets are some spacious and well-built houses; the other parts are inhabited chiefly by weavers and persons connected either immediately or remotely with the silk manufacture, who work in their own dwellings. Many firms in the trade employ from 200 to 1500 persons each; and including the adjacent parishes of Bethnal-Green and Shoreditch, and the hamlet of Mile-End New Town and its neighbourhood, not less than 15,000 looms are at work, affording occupation to more than 50,000 persons, exclusively of those engaged in other departments of the trade, which, in all its branches, is computed to employ from 130,000 to 150,000 in the district. The principal articles made are broad silks and plain and figured velvets of the best quality; and connected with the manufacture are numerous dyeing establishments, some of them on a large scale. In Brick-lane is the very extensive ale and porter brewery of Messrs. Truman, Hanbury and Buxton. A soap-manufactory in Wheler-street employs about 40 persons; and there are manufactories of harp and violin strings, violins and double basses, and materials for colouring spirits and vinegar. In Montague-street is a timber-yard with a great assortment of fancy mahogany and rosewood veneers; and in Bell-lane is a large timber and building yard. The market, principally for fruit and vegetables, has been for many years in high reputation for the supply of potatoes.

The living is a rectory not in charge; net income, £445; patrons, the Principal and Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford, who pay a stipend of £120 to the curate. The church, built in 1729, under the provisions of the act of parliament in the reign of Anne, is a stately and massive structure in the Roman style, with a tower surmounted by a pyramid of rather cumbrous appearance. On the north side of the chancel is a monument by Flaxman to Sir Robert Ladbroke, Knt., lord mayor of London, whose statue in his civic robes, with the sword and mace lying at his feet, is finely executed in marble; and on the south side is a monument to Edward Peek, Esq., one of the commissioners for building the 50 new churches in the reign of Anne, and who laid the first stone of this edifice. Sir George Wheler's chapel, in Chapel-street, was built by that gentleman for the accommodation of his tenants, previously to the erection of the parochial church, and for many years after continued in the family, and was subsequently purchased by the Tillards, whose lands were contiguous to those of the founder. It is a proprietary episcopal chapel, now in the patronage of the Rev. Richard Tillard. In Spital-square is a church dedicated to St. Mary, in the gift of the Trustees of Hyndman's Bounty. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Calvinistic Methodists.

The parochial school was founded in 1708, and is endowed with benefactions amounting to £241 per annum. A national school was built in Quaker-street, in 1819, at a total expense of £3300, for the reception of 1000 children; in the boys' room divine service is performed every Sunday evening by the rector. On the opposite side of the street is an infants' school, established in 1820. In Wood-street is the Protestant Dissenters' charity school, instituted in 1717, by subscription, for 50 boys and 50 girls; the house is substantially built, with a good garden behind, and in one of the lower rooms is a library, with a philosophical apparatus, for the members of the Eastern Mechanics' Institute, who hold their meetings here. In Bell-lane is the Jews' free school, originally founded in 1818 for 270 boys, and rebuilt on a larger scale in 1820.

Spittal, county of Chester.—See Poulton.

SPITTAL, county of Chester.—See Poulton.

Spittle, or Spittal

SPITTLE, or Spittal, a considerable fishing and sea-bathing village, in the parish of Tweedmouth, union of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in Islandshire, N. division of Northumberland, 1 mile (S. E.) from Berwick; containing 1631 inhabitants. This place is situated on the coast, at the mouth of the river Tweed, and consists principally of two streets. It was formerly inhabited by smugglers and others of disreputable character; but since the inclosure of the adjacent common, these have gradually been superseded by honest and industrious fishermen. Here are six houses for curing red and white herrings; and good accommodation is afforded for persons who resort hither for sea-bathiug, or for drinking the water of a powerful chalybeate spring in the neighbourhood. On Sunnyside Hill, half a mile from the village, is an extensive colliery, the property of the corporation of Berwick. The tithes have been commuted for £98. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians.

Spittle

SPITTLE, a township, in the parish of Ovingham, union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 11 miles (W. by N.) from Newcastle; containing 10 inhabitants. This village is situated on the north side of the Hexham turnpike-road, and on a tributary of the river Tyne. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 13s. 4d. Here is a mineral spring containing a considerable quantity of sulphur.

Spittlegate

SPITTLEGATE, a township, in the parish and union of Grantham, wapentake of Winnibriggs and Threo, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 1 mile (S. by E.) from Grantham; containing 1980 inhabitants, and comprising 2125a. 2r. 34p. A church dedicated to St. John was built in 1841, containing 800 sittings, of which 400 are free; the cost of erection was £4000. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Grantham.

Spittle-Hill

SPITTLE-HILL, a township, in the parish of Mitford, union, and W. division of the ward, of Morpeth, N. division of Northumberland, 1¾ mile (W. by N.) from Morpeth; containing 12 inhabitants. This township, which comprises 154 acres, takes its name from an hospital founded in the reign of Henry I., and dedicated to St. Leonard, by William de Bertram, who endowed it with lands for a chaplain. The advowson was vested in the barons of Mitford; but prior to the 14th century, the abbot of Newminster obtained possession of the chaplain's lands. The hospital, nevertheless, continued to exist till the year 1464, and on the death of one of the Percys, who held the advowson, was valued at 40s. per annum; the site is now occupied by a modern mansion, the residence of Mr. Bullock, owner of the township, which has been for many years the property of his family. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £16. 12. 2.

Spixworth (St. Peter)

SPIXWORTH (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of St. Faith, hundred of Taverham, E. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (N. by E.) from Norwich; containing 52 inhabitants. The parish is on the old road from Norwich to Cromer, and comprises 1224a. 16p., chiefly arable. Adjoining the village is Spixworth Hall, erected in 1609, and situated in tastefully laid out grounds. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6, and in the gift of J. J. Longe, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £360; there is a glebehouse, and the glebe comprises 8 acres. The church is chiefly in the decorated style, with a square tower; on the north side of the chancel is a splendid monument to William Peck and his wife Alice, and the church has numerous memorials to the Longe family.

Spofforth (All Saints)

SPOFFORTH (All Saints), a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Follifoot, Linton, Plumpton, Little Ribston, and Wetherby, 3398 inhabitants, of whom 969 are in the township of Spofforth with Stockeld, 3¼ miles (N. W. by W.) from Wetherby. This place was the residence of the Percy family previously to their settlement at Alnwick, and possessed a formidable castle, their baronial seat, which was demolished by the Yorkists after the battle of Towton, in which the Earl of Northumberland, and his brother Sir Charles Percy, were slain. The remains consist chiefly of the grand hall, which, though a ruin, retains much of its ancient magnificence; it is about 76 feet in length, and 37 in breadth, and lighted by a lofty window, enriched with flowing tracery. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Wharfe, and on the north-east by the Nidd; and comprises by computation 12,600 acres, of which 3800 are in the township of Spofforth, and chiefly the property of Col. Wyndham, who is lord paramount of the manor, the copyholders being all under the rectorial manor. The district abounds with limestone and sandstone. The village is situated on the Crimple brook, and on the road from London to Harrogate and Knaresborough; it is neatly built, containing several handsome houses, and the surrounding scenery is pleasingly diversified. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £73. 6. 8.; net income, £1538; patron, Colonel Wyndham. The church is a spacious and handsome structure, partly in the Norman and early English styles, and contains a monument with a recumbent figure of a Knight Templar. Adjoining the rectory-house was an ancient hall, in which was deposited a quantity of armour, probably for arming the rectorial copyholders of the manor. At Wetherby is a chapel. The Wesleyans have a place of worship; and some schools are supported by charity. Here is a mineral spring, not now in use, from which the parish is supposed to have derived its name.

Spondon (St. Mary)

SPONDON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Shardlow, hundred of Appletree, S. division of the county of Derby, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Derby; containing 1586 inhabitants. The parish was formerly more extensive than at present, the chapelries of Chaddesden and Stanley having been separated from it in 1836, and erected into distinct parishes. It comprises 3091 acres, of which 609 are arable, 2363 pasture, 92 wood, and 25 water. The beautiful mansion of Locko Hall, surrounded by a well-wooded park of 240 acres, is situated here. The village, seated on a commanding eminence overlooking the vale of Derwent, is of considerable extent, and the residence of several highly respectable families. The inhabitants are principally employed in agriculture, and in the manufacture of stockings, mits, and silk gloves; a few persons are engaged in brick-making. The Derby canal passes for more than two miles through the parish, and has a wharf about half a mile from the village; near which, on the south side, is a station of the Midland railway. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 14. 7.; net income, £200, with a glebe-house; patrons, the Trustees under the will of the late W. D. Lowe, Esq. The tithes for the liberty of Spondon were partly commuted for land and a money payment in 1788. The church is a large structure in the decorated English style, and consists of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with a tower and spire 114 feet high; in the chancel are three stone stalls: the edifice was thoroughly repaired in 1826, at a cost of £1200. In the churchyard is an antique stone, apparently Saxon. There are places of worship for Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists. A school is endowed with land producing about £15 per annum; and excellent Church of England schools were built in 1839, by subscription and public grants. William Gilbert left by will, in 1649, the sum of £1000, with which 51a. 1r. 30p. of land were purchased at Spondon, now worth £114 per annum; 20s. are given to ten poor people every Sunday, and the surplus is applied to charitable purposes at the discretion of the trustees.

Spoonbed

SPOONBED, a tything, in the parish of Painswick, poor-law union of Stroud, hundred of Bisley, E. division of the county of Gloucester; containing 694 inhabitants. On the summit of Spoonbed Hill is a camp with a double intrenchment.—See Painswick.

Sporle (St. Mary)

SPORLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Swaffham, hundred of South Greenhoe, W. division of Norfolk, 2½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Swaffham; containing, with the merged parishes of Great and Little Palgrave, 773 inhabitants. The parish comprises 4180a. 10p., of which about 3690 acres are arable, 400 pasture, and 90 woodland and plantations. The living of Sporle with Great Palgrave is a vicarage, with the rectory of Little Palgrave annexed, and is valued in the king's books at £10. 3. 6½.; patrons, the Provost and Fellows of Eton College; impropriator, W. Lucas, Esq. The great tithes of Sporle and Great Palgrave have been commuted for £929. 4., and the glebe comprises 16½ acres; the vicarage is endowed with land producing £80 per annum. The tithes of Little Palgrave have been commuted for £120, and its glebe comprises 90 acres. The church is an ancient and spacious building of flint, with a tower quoined and embattled with freestone, and a large embattled porch; a piscina and a niche of elegant design, which had long been concealed under a thick coat of plaster, were opened in 1842. At the inclosure, 92 acres of land were allotted to the poor, producing £52 per annum. A priory of Black monks at Sporle, a cell to the abbey of Saumers, in Anjou, was granted by Henry VI. towards the endowment of Eton College; the moat may still be traced. Walter Hart, Bishop of Norwich, was rector of the parish.

Spotland

SPOTLAND, a division or township, in the parish and union of Rochdale, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 1¼ mile (N. W.) from Rochdale; containing, with the hamlet of Whitworth, 18,469 inhabitants. This manor was part of the possessions of Gamel, the thane, and descended immediately after the Conquest to the Lacys. The lands were subsequently divided among the de Burys, the Spotlands, the Healeys, Wolstenholmes, Chadwicks, Holts, Bamfords, Whitworths, Ellands, Butterworths, and Garsides. These families emulating each other in their donations to the church, transferred a great part of their property here to the abbeys of Stanlow and Whalley (the latter superseding the former), till the district became almost absorbed in monastic lands. On the dissolution of Whalley Abbey, Henry VIII., having seized the possessions of that house, and consigned the abbot to the hands of the executioner for his share in the "Pilgrimage of Grace," made a grant of the manor to the Holts, of Grizzlehurst, in the neighbouring parish of Middleton; from which family it was conveyed, on their removal to Castleton, in 1667, to the Curzons, now represented by Earl Howe.

The township stretches from the Roche, on the southwest of the parish, to the Irwell, on the north-eastern extremity; it is six miles long and four broad, and part of it forms an extensive suburb of the town of Rochdale. The district is divided into four valleys or glens, watered by the Spodden (from which it derives its name), the Irwell, the Roche, and the Nadin water; and from these valleys rise bold and wide-spreading hills of considerable elevation. The Roman road from Ribchester to Manchester skirts the sides of the hills on the western border of the township. The increase of the population has been very rapid within the present century, the inhabitants largely participating in the cotton manufacture and every other branch of trade carried on in Rochdale. Inexhaustible quarries of flags, other stone, and slate, are worked in the township, affording an abundant supply for the neighbourhood and for distant parts of the country. Modern inclosures have divested the tract called Brandwood Common of much of its forest character.

The living of Spotland is a district perpetual curacy, with an income of £200, derived partly from the interest of £2000 left in 1840 by Jonathan Fildes, and partly from fees and pew-rents; patron, the Vicar of Rochdale. The church, dedicated to St. Clement, is in the later English style, with a campanile turret; and was erected in 1835, at an expense of £4430, raised by subscription and by public grants. In 1846 a portion of the township was formed into the church district at Healey: the living is also a perpetual curacy, endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; patrons, the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester, alternately. At Whitworth is a third incumbency. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and other dissenters. Samuel Taylor and Robert Jaques, in 1740, conveyed to Presbyterian (now Unitarian) trustees certain property for education, of which the income is £20: the school premises were rebuilt in 1819, at a cost of £400. A church school at Whitworth is endowed with £14. 10. per annum.

Spratton (St. Luke)

SPRATTON (St. Luke), a parish, in the union of Brixworth, hundred of Spelhoe, S division of the county of Northampton, 6¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Northampton; containing, with the hamlet of Little Creaton, 966 inhabitants, of whom 889 are in Spratton township. The parish is situated on the road from Northampton to Welford, and comprises by computation 2483 acres of rich land, two-thirds arable and the remainder pasture. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15, and in the gift of R. J. Bartlett, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for land under an inclosure act; there is a glebe-house, and the land contains about 200 acres, valued at £350 per annum. The church is an ancient structure, partly Norman, and partly in the early and decorated English styles; the western entrance is a beautiful specimen of the Norman style, and the spire is highly ornamented: in a chantry is a monument representing a Knight Templar. The edifice has just undergone a complete restoration, of which the cost was £1800. There are places of worship for Independents and Baptists. A boys', girls', and infants' school is partly supported by Robert Ramsden, Esq., aud partly by subscription. A chalybeate spring here, called Moore's Well, was formerly celebrated for the cure of scrofula.

Spreyton (St. Michael)

SPREYTON (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Oakhampton, hundred of Wonford, Crockernwell and S. divisions of Devon, 8 miles (E. by N.) from Oakhampton; containing 404 inhabitants. It comprises 2979 acres, of which 916 are common or waste land. The ground is hilly, and the village is supposed to be on as elevated a site as any in the county; the view from the tower of the church is panoramic, and embraces, among numerous interesting objects, and much beautifully picturesque scenery, more than 30 churches. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 5. 8.; net income, £135; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Richard Holland; impropriators, the landowners. There is a glebe-house, and the glebe contains about 90 acres. The church has a good tower of granite; and on the timber roof of the chancel are an inscription and several Latin verses, in which Henry Talbot is named as lord of Spreyton, and a benefactor to the church, in 1452.

Spridlington (St. Hilary)

SPRIDLINGTON (St. Hilary), a parish, in the E. division of the wapentake of Aslacoe, parts of Lindsey, union and county of Lincoln, 9 miles (N. by E.) from Lincoln; containing 292 inhabitants. The western part of the parish adjoins the road from Lincoln to Hull. The number of acres is 2400; the surface is flat, and the soil in some parts light, and in others clayey. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 10.; net income, £454; patron, the Rev. Frederick Gildart. The tithes were commuted for land in 1774; there is a glebe-house, and the land contains 250 acres. The Wesleyans have a place of worship.

Springfield (All Saints)

SPRINGFIELD (All Saints), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chelmsford, S. division of Essex, 1 mile (N. E.) from Chelmsford; containing 2256 inhabitants. This parish, which is separated from that of Chelmsford by the river Chelmer, is supposed to have derived its name from the extraordinary number of springs within its limits. It comprises by admeasurement 2728 acres; the soil is a good loamy earth, partially mixed with gravel, and the surface rises gently from the banks of the river. The village is pleasantly situated on elevated ground commanding fine views, and has been much increased since the formation of the Chelmsford and Maldon navigation: the county gaol is here. The living is a rectory in two portions, called Bosworth's and Richard's, consolidated by Bishop Sherlock, the former valued in the king's books at £11. 6. 8., and the latter at £11. 4. 9½.; patron, the Rev. Arthur Pearson. The tithes have been commuted for £848; there is a glebe-house, and the glebe contains 55¾ acres. The church, an ancient edifice with an embattled tower, was fully repaired in 1837, when the lower part of a handsome window, which had been bricked up, was opened, and a carved oaken screen restored to its pristine beauty, by John Adey Repton, Esq.; the font is of elegant workmanship, in the Norman style. An additional church, built by subscription, on a site given by Sir Henry and Lady Mildmay, was consecrated in July 1843; it is of Norman architecture, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Dr. Goldsmith is said to have composed his Deserted Village whilst residing at a farmhouse nearly opposite the church. Joseph Strutt, the engraver and antiquary, was born here, in 1749.

Springthorpe (St.George and St.Lawrence)

SPRINGTHORPE (St.George and St.Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, wapentake of Corringham, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Gainsborough; containing, with the hamlet of Sturgate, 209 inhabitants. It comprises 1072 acres, of which 220 are common or waste: the surface is flat, uninclosed, and badly drained; the soil is a stiff clay, producing chiefly wheat and barley. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 3. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown; the tithes have been commuted for £177, and the glebe comprises 14½ acres. The church is a very ancient dilapidated edifice, in the Norman style.

Sproatley (All Saints)

SPROATLEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Skirlaugh, Middle division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 7 miles (N. E. by N.) from Hull; containing 372 inhabitants. The parish is on the road from Hull to Aldborough, and comprises 1380 acres of productive land, of level surface. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 0. 10.; net income, £230, with a house; patron, John West Hugall, Esq. The tithes of the lordship were commuted for annual money payments in 1762. The church, built in 1819, upon the site of an old edifice dedicated to St. Swithin, is of white brick, and principally in the later English style: when laying the foundation, some antique tombstones were found, one of them bearing a Saxon inscription. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Bridget Biggs, in 1733, gave an estate for the erection and support of a school, of which the income is about £90.

Sproston

SPROSTON, a township, in the parish of Middlewich, union and hundred of Northwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 2¼ miles (E.) from Middlewich; containing 171 inhabitants. It comprises 830 acres, the soil of which is clay, with some moss. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £86.

Sprotborough (St. Mary)

SPROTBOROUGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Doncaster, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York; containing, with the township of Cadeby, 534 inhabitants, of whom 381 are in Sprotborough township, 2¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Doncaster. This place anciently belonged to the Fitzwilliam family, one of whom founded an hospital here, dedicated to St. Edmund, which flourished till the Dissolution, when its revenue was returned at £9. 13. 11. The manor subsequently became the property of the Copley family, of whom Sir Godfrey built the present spacious mansion in the reign of Charles II., and whose descendant Sir Joseph Copley, Bart., is now lord. The parish comprises about 3400 acres of fertile land, situated in the vale of the river Don, and abounding in richly diversified scenery. Sprotborough Hall consists of a centre and two wings in the Grecian style, and contains many stately apartments, an extensive library, and a valuable collection of paintings; the grounds are tastefully laid out in lawns, and embellished with plantations. The village is on the western acclivity of the vale; it had formerly a cross, which was removed in 1520. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £44. 18. 9.; net income, £685; patron, Sir J. Copley. The church is an ancient structure with a tower, and contains some monuments to the families of Fitzwilliam and Copley.

Sproughton (All Saints)

SPROUGHTON (All Saints), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Samford, E. division of Suffolk, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Ipswich; containing 585 inhabitants. The Stow-Market and Ipswich navigation passes through. A part of the parish is within the liberties of Ipswich. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20. 18. 9., and in the gift of W. Gould, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £566; there is a glebe-house, and the glebe comprises 13 acres. The church has some interesting monuments, one of which is to the Rev. J. Waite, rector in 1670.

Sprowston (St. Mary and St. Margaret)

SPROWSTON (St. Mary and St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of St. Faith, hundred of Taverham, E. division of Norfolk, 2½ miles (N. E. by N.) from Norwich; containing 1235 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Norwich to North Walsham, and comprises 2576a. 1r. 9p., of which 2098 acres are arable, 231 pasture, and 246 wood. The Hall, the ancient seat of the Corbets, has been greatly improved by the present proprietor. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich, the appropriators; net income, £94. The church is chiefly in the early style, with a square brick tower, and contains a monument of marble to Sir Miles Corbet, and Catherine his lady, a descendant of whom, Thomas Corbet, was one of the judges that signed the death-warrant of Charles I. Here is a place of worship for Baptists. At the inclosure of Mousehold heath in 1800, the owners agreed to pay £30 per annum, to provide coal for the poor of the parish. There are remains of a chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, now converted into a barn.

Sproxton (St. Bartholomew)

SPROXTON (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Melton-Mowbray, hundred of Framland, N. division of the county of Leicester, 8 miles (N. E. by E.) from Melton-Mowbray; containing 394 inhabitants. It comprises 2222a. 2r. 16p. The surface is hilly, and the soil in general incumbent on limestone of the oolite species, of which there are three quarries, supplying a good material for purposes of building and of agriculture. The part of the village below the hill is situated on red-sandstone, which is also used for building. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Saltby consolidated, valued in the king's books at £7. 4. 4.; net income, £282; patron and impropriator, the Duke of Rutland. The tithes have been commuted for 135 acres of land, of which 70 are in the parish of Saltby, and the whole of which is valued at £260 per annum. The church is in the later English style, with slight traces of Norman architecture. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A Danish tombstone, which for centuries had served as a bridge over a brook, was recognized some time since as an ancient relic, and removed into the vicarage-garden; several coins were discovered on its removal, near the same place.

Sproxton

SPROXTON, a township, in the parish of Helmsley, union of Helmsley, wapentake of Ryedale, N. riding of York, l¼ mile (S.) from Helmsley; containing 172 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Helmsley to York, a little to the west of the river Rye; and comprises 3370 acres of arable and pasture land, the property of Lord Feversham, lord of the manor.