Marham-Cherry - Marlborough

Marham-Cherry (Holy Trinity)

MARHAM-CHERRY (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Downham, hundred of Clackclose, W. division of Norfolk, 8 miles (N. E.) from Downham; containing 817 inhabitants. The parish comprises 3966a. 3r. 24p., of which 2529 acres are arable, 1169 pasture and meadow, 74 woodland, and about 200 fen allotted to the poor. It was anciently remarkable for the number of its cherry-trees, and subsequently for walnut-trees of stately growth. The river Nar intersects the parish on the north-west. Near the village are some chalk-pits, in which various fossils are found. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.; patrons and impropriators, the Master and Fellows of St. John's College, Cambridge. The great tithes have been commuted for £645. 15., and the vicarial for £371; the glebe comprises 28 acres, with a house, built in 1830 by the Rev. A. Browne. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; under a canopy are the recumbent effigies of Sir John Steward and his lady. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans; also a national school, erected in 1841. A Cistercian nunnery, in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded here in 1251, by Isabella de Albini, Countess of Arundel; at the Dissolution it had a revenue of £42.

Marham-Church (St. Marvenne)

MARHAM-CHURCH (St. Marvenne), a parish, in the union and hundred of Stratton, E. division of Cornwall, 2 miles (S. S. W.) from Stratton; containing 659 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north-west by the Bristol Channel, and comprises by estimation 2600 acres, of which 150 are common or waste land: the Bude canal passes through it. There is a small iron-foundry. Fairs are held on the Wednesday after the 25th of April, and on the 12th of August. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 11. 0½., and in the gift of the Rev. John Kingdon: the tithes have been commuted for £390, and the glebe comprises 38 acres, with a house.

Marholm (St. Cuthlac)

MARHOLM (St. Cuthlac), a parish, in the union and soke of Peterborough, N. division of the county of Northampton, 4½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Peterborough; containing 197 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 2. 3½.; net income, £266; patron, Earl Fitzwilliam. The church has an ancient font, and, amongst other memorials, a magnificent marble monument to William, Earl Fitzwilliam, and Anne, his countess. In the parish is Abbey Milton, one of the seats of the family, a large irregular structure, the most ancient part of which is of the time of Elizabeth.

Mari-Ansleigh (St. Mary)

MARI-ANSLEIGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of South Molton, hundred of Witheridge, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon, 3½ miles (S. E.) from the town of South Molton; containing 338 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1740 acres, of which 540 are common or waste. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £120; patrons, the Trustees of Davey's Charity; impropriator, W. Stabback, Esq., whose tithes have been commuted for £165, and whose glebe comprises 2 acres.

Mark

MARK, a parish, in the union of Axbridge, hundred of Bempstone, E. division of Somerset, 5 miles (S. S. W.) from Cross; containing 1308 inhabitants. It comprises 4477 acres, the greater portion of which is pasture; great quantities of cheese are produced. Fairs are held on the Tuesday before Whit-Sunday, in August, and in September. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £154; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Harrowby, whose tithes have been commuted for £295, and whose glebe comprises 8 acres. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Mark-Eaton

MARK-EATON, a township, in the parish of Mackworth, union of Belper, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 1¾ mile (W. N. W.) from Derby; containing 200 inhabitants. It comprises 1912½ acres of rich land, and has a small ancient village. The Hall is a large brick mansion with a spacious park in front, erected about 1750. The township is entitled to an annual payment of £12. 12. for apprenticing a boy, the gift of German Pole, of Radbourn, in 1682.

Markby (St. Peter)

MARKBY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Spilsby, Wold division of the hundred of Calceworth, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 2¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Alford; containing 102 inhabitants. A priory for canons of the Gilbertine order was established here, of which nothing now remains but the site, indistinctly pointed out by the inequalities of the ground. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £72; patron and impropriator, P. Massingberd, Esq. The tithes have been commuted for £200, and the glebe comprises 60 acres. The church is an ancient structure, built with the materials of the priory. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists.

Market-Bosworth.—See Bosworth, Market.

MARKET-BOSWORTH.—See Bosworth, Market.—And other places having a similar distinguishing prefix will be found under the proper name.

Market-Street

MARKET-STREET, a chapelry, in the parishes of Caddington, Flamstead, and Studham, partly in the hundred of Dacorum, county of Hertford, and partly in that of Manshead, county of Bedford, 3½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Luton. The ancient name of Merkgate, or Mark-gate, of which the present is a corruption, appears to have been derived from Merk, a boundary, and Yate, or Gate; the place having formerly been the end of the inclosed country, where it is supposed there was a gate on the high road or Watling-street. On a hill in the vicinity, now occupied by an ancient mansion, stood a nunnery of the Benedictine order, dedicated to the Holy Trinity; it was founded about 1145, principally by Geoffrey, abbot of St. Alban's, on land given by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, and at the Dissolution had a revenue of £143. 13. 8. The village is on the road from London to Birmingham, and consists of one long street: the manufacture of hats and bonnets of straw-plat is somewhat considerable; and a fair is held about Michaelmas. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £227; patron, D. Goodson Adey, Esq. The chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and situated in Cell or Priory Park, was erected about a century since, in lieu of one at the manor-house, which had been burnt down. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans.

Market-Street

MARKET-STREET, a township, in the parish of Wymondham, incorporation and hundred of Forehoe, E. division of Norfolk; with 1324 inhabitants.

Market-Weston (St. Mary)

MARKET-WESTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Thetford, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of Suffolk, 6 miles (S.) from East Harling; containing 330 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Bury, through Buckenham to Norwich; the scenery is varied, and the seat of the Thruston family is within the parish. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 19. 7., and in the patronage of the Rev. H. T. Wilkinson, incumbent: the tithes have been commuted for £324. 19. 1., and there are 16 acres of glebe. The church, which occupies a gentle eminence, is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, and has a porch of earlier date; it was re-opened at the end of 1845, after a complete renovation, effected at a cost of £2000. A rectoryhouse was built in 1837.

Markfield (St. Michael)

MARKFIELD (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Market-Bosworth, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 7 miles (N. W. by W.) from Leicester; containing 1203 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 1. 8.; net income, £441; patron, the Marquess of Hastings. The church has been enlarged. Land producing £10 per annum was bequeathed to the poor by Mrs. Jane Avery, in 1723.

Markham, East (St. John the Baptist)

MARKHAM, EAST (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of East Retford, South Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 1½ mile (N.) from Tuxford; containing 771 inhabitants. This parish, consisting of 2700 acres, comprised a wide tract of moorland, which was inclosed in 1811; the soil is generally a fertile clay. The village is situated on an acclivity, and is large and well built. The living is a vicarage, with the rectory of West Drayton annexed, valued in the king's books at £11. 18. 11½.; net income, £334; patron and impropriator, the Duke of Newcastle: the tithes were commuted for land in 1810. The church is a large structure, with a lofty embattled tower, and contains several ancient monuments to the Markham, Cressy, and other families. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Markham, West, or Markham-Clinton (All Saints)

MARKHAM, WEST, or Markham-Clinton (All Saints), a parish, in the union of East Retford, South Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 1¾ mile (N. W.) from Tuxford; containing, with the hamlet of Milton, 191 inhabitants. The parish comprises by computation 1067 acres. The living is a vicarage, with that of Bevercoates united, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 1.; net income, £254; patron and impropriator, the Duke of Newcastle: the tithes were commuted for land in 1808. The present church, erected at the expense of his Grace, to supersede the old edifice, and also as a place of sepulture for his family, was consecrated on the 3rd of January, 1834, and is a handsome structure of the GrecianDoric order, of Roche-Abbey stone. Sir John Markham, chief justice of the king's bench in the reign of Edward IV., was born here.

Markingfield

MARKINGFIELD, an extra-parochial place, in the liberty of Ripon, W. riding of York, 3 miles (S. S. W.) from Ripon; containing 27 inhabitants, and comprising 650 acres. The old Hall, a large mansion formerly encompassed by a moat, was long the seat of the knightly family of Markingfield, of whom Sir Ninian was at the battle of Flodden, in 1513. The estate was forfeited to the crown by the rebellion of Thomas Markingfield, in 1569, and was granted to the Chancellor Egerton.

Markington, with Wallerthwaite

MARKINGTON, with Wallerthwaite, a township, in the parish and liberty of Ripon, W. riding of York, 4¾ miles (S. S. W.) from Ripon; containing 510 inhabitants. The township comprises about 3000 acres of land, including that part of the pleasure-grounds of Studley Park in which stand the splendid ruins of Fountains Abbey, and the mansion of Fountains Hall. The village is situated west of the road from Ripon to Ripley. The hamlet of Wallerthwaite consists of a farm and a few cottages, and is distant about a mile eastward of Markington. The church of St. Michael, in the township, consecrated in October, 1844, is a beautiful though small structure, on a picturesque site adjacent to the village; it has a fine east window of stained glass. The erection cost £900, and the family of the late Mr. Wilberforce gave £1000 towards the endowment. The living is in the gift of the Bishop of Ripon. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Marksbury (St. Peter)

MARKSBURY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union and hundred of Keynsham, E. division of Somerset, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Pensford; containing, with the hamlet of Houndstreet, 328 inhabitants. The parish comprises by computation 1420 acres, principally pasture. The soil is generally a stone brash, but black and blue marl are found, and successfully applied to the improvement of the land; the surface is hilly, and the lower grounds are watered by several rivulets. Coal is obtained. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 4. 2.; net income, £240; patron, General Popham, to whom a small portion of the tithes belongs. There are slight remains of an ancient chapel on Wingsbury Hill; and a monastery existed in the parish, the site of which is now occupied by a private mansion.

Markshall (St. Margaret)

MARKSHALL (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Witham, Witham division of the hundred of Lexden, N. division of Essex, 5 miles (N.) from Kelvedon; containing 33 inhabitants. This parish, originally called Mercheshald, comprises by admeasurement 806 acres, of which about 200 are arable, 420 pasture, and 180 woodland; the situation is low, and the soil generally a strong loam, resting on clay. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14, and in the gift of W. Honywood, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £176, and the glebe comprises 32 acres. The church is a modern brick edifice, of octangular form, erected by General Honywood, and containing a finelyexecuted monument to Mrs. Mary Waters Honywood, who died aged 93, leaving 367 immediate descendants.

Marks-Tey, Essex.—See Tey, Marks.

MARKS-TEY, Essex.—See Tey, Marks.

Marland, Peter's (St. Peter)

MARLAND, PETER'S (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Torrington, hundred of Shebbear, Black Torrington and Shebbear, and N. divisions of Devon, 4½ miles (S. by W.) from Torrington; containing 351 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Ven. Archdeacon Moore: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £195.

Marlborough

MARLBOROUGH, a borough and market-town, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Selkley, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and N. divisions of Wilts, 27 miles (N. by E.) from Salisbury, and 75 (W. by S.) from London; containing 3391 inhabitants. The name, anciently written Marleberg, or Marlbridge, is supposed to be derived from the marl, or chalk, hills by which the town is surrounded. Camden supposes this to have been the Cunetio of Antoninus, but more recent researches induced the late Sir R. C. Hoare to place the station at Folly Farm, about a mile and a half eastward, where that celebrated antiquary discovered a tessellated pavement, and other relics of a Roman settlement. At the time of the Norman survey, Marlborough had a church, and was held in royal demesne; soon after, a castle was erected, which seems to have been the cause of the subsequent enlargement of the town. In the time of Richard I., and during his imprisonment in Austria, his brother John took possession of this fortress; but Richard, on his return from captivity, seized it, with all the other possessions belonging to his brother, and on their reconciliation he still retained the castle of Marlborough in his own hands. King John occasionally kept his court here; and in the civil war of this period, Marlborough was held alternately by the king and the barons: it seems to have been the occasional residence of the sovereign till the time of Henry VII., and to have formed part of the dowries of several queens. There was also a royal residence at Ogbourne, about a mile and a half from the town. The assizes were held at Marlborough from the time of Henry III. to that of Charles I.; and in the 52nd of Henry III. a parliament was assembled here which enacted the laws relative to the police of the kingdom, and to the administration of justice, commonly called the "Statutes of Marlebridge."

The castle and borough were granted by Henry VIII. to Edward, Duke of Somerset, and became forfeited to the crown on the attainder of that nobleman, in the reign of Edward VI.; they were subsequently restored to the Seymour family, and have descended, by intermarriage, to the Marquess of Ailesbury. Even in Camden's time, a few fragments only of the castle were remaining. A large house which occupies its site, and is now used for the purposes of the college of Marlborough, is said to have been commenced by Francis, first lord Seymour, of Trowbridge, and to have been improved by the first duke of Somerset of the Seymour family, and subsequently by the Earl of Hertford, in the early part of the eighteenth century. The old keep was converted into a spiral walk, in the grotto of which Mrs. Rowe wrote the most celebrated of her works, Friendship in Death; and here, also, Thomson is said to have composed a great part of his Seasons, when on a visit to the Earl of Hertford, one of the most distinguished patrons of literature of that age. In the civil war between Charles I. and the parliament, the latter had a garrison in the town under the Earl of Essex; but the royal army, commanded by Lieut.-General Wilmot, marching hither from Oxford in Dec. 1642, captured above 1000 prisoners, besides large stores of arms and ammunition, with all which they returned in safety to that city.

The town is delightfully situated on the banks of the Kennett, upon the northern verge of the forest of Savernake, and on the north of it are open downs; it consists principally of one long street, running from east to west, which is paved, and lighted with gas. The older houses are constructed of wood, and ornamented in front with curious carved work; the more modern are of stone and brick. On the north side of the chief street is a piazza projecting in front of the houses, serving for a promenade in wet weather; and at its eastern extremity is a market-house, erected on the site of a former one, by the corporation, in 1790. The inhabitants are well supplied with water. The trade is mainly in corn, coal, malt, bacon, and butter and cheese, of which two last articles vast quantities are sent every week to London; and some advantages arise from the situation of the town on a great thoroughfare. The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday; the former is for vegetables, and the latter, which is considerable, has long been celebrated for its extensive supply of grain, cheese, butchers' meat, &c. Fairs are held on July 11th, for horses and wool; Aug. 22nd, for lambs, horses, and cows; and Nov. 23rd, for sheep, horses, and cows. Marlborough, which is a borough by prescription, received its first existing charter from King John, in 1205, and others from Henry III., in the 13th and 30th years of his reign, which were confirmed by several succeeding kings. In 1577, Queen Elizabeth bestowed a charter, under which the town was governed until 1836, when the corporation was made to consist of a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors; the mayor and late mayor are justices of the peace, the county magistrates having concurrent jurisdiction. The privilege of sending members to parliament has been exercised ever since the 23rd of Edward I.: the right of election was, by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, extended to the £10 householders of the old borough (containing 211 acres) and the parish of Preshute, which together constitute the new borough, and comprise 3983 acres: the mayor is returning officer. Courts leet are held by the corporation; and the King's court, for the recovery of debts to any amount, takes place every three weeks, under the charter of John. The powers of the county debt-court of Marlborough, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Marlborough and Pewsey. The county bridewell and house of correction was erected in 1787.

Marlborough comprises the parishes of St. Mary the Virgin, containing 1871 inhabitants, and St. Peter and St. Paul, containing 1520; the whole divided into five wards. The living of St. Mary's is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 9. 4.; net income, £100; patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church, a neat edifice of stone, with a Norman doorway, sustained considerable damage during the civil war, in 1641; having undergone substantial repair, and been repewed and beautified, it was re-opened for divine service in October, 1844. The living of the parish of St. Peter and St. Paul is a discharged rectory, valued at £12; net income, £130; patron and impropriator, the Bishop. The church, which stands at the western extremity of the main street, has a lofty square tower with battlements and pinnacles. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The free grammar school was founded, and endowed with the revenue of the dissolved hospital of St. John, by grant of Edward VI.; the income is about £180 per annum, and the scholars share, with those of the free schools of Manchester and Hereford, in certain exhibitions at Brasenose College, Oxford, and certain scholarships at St. John's College, Cambridge, founded by Sarah, Duchess of Somerset, in 1679. Marlborough College, or School, for the education of the sons of the clergy and others, was formally opened in August, 1843, by the bishop of the diocese, in the presence of the Marquess of Ailesbury, the mayor and corporation, and several distinguished members of the school-council. The prominent design is, to provide the clergy of the country with the means of classical instruction for their children at a more moderate rate than is charged in the great public schools. The number of pupils at present is limited to 200, of whom two-thirds are sons of clergymen, and one-third sons of laymen; but it is the intention of the council to admit 500 pupils so soon as their funds enable them to enlarge their plan. The fine mansion of the former dukes of Somerset, known of late years as the Castle hotel, was, together with extensive new buildings, fitted up for the establishment. The foundation stone of a chapel within the precincts of the college, was laid by the bishop; the edifice has just been completed, and is a pretty specimen of the early English style. The poor-law union comprises fourteen parishes or places, containing a population of 9234. The monastic institutions here were, a Gilbertine priory dedicated to St. Margaret, founded in the reign of John, and the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £38. 19. 2.; a convent of White friars, established in 1316, by the merchants of the town; St. John's Hospital, founded in the reign of Henry II.; and St. Thomas', founded in that of Henry III., and annexed to the priory of St. Margaret in the reign of Richard II. A chapel and other portions of the priory were standing a few years since.

Among the distinguished natives of the town the following may be specified: Henry of Marlborough, an English historian of the fourteenth century; Sir Michael Foster, an eminent lawyer, and one of the judges of the court of king's bench, born in 1689; Walter Harte, poet and historian, who died in 1773; Dr. Sacheverell, of political celebrity, born in 1672, during the incumbency of his father, in the parish of St. Peter and St. Paul; and John Hughes, a poet, and one of the writers in the Spectator, born in 1677. Marlborough confers the title of Duke on the family of Spencer-Churchill.