Halberton - Hall-Green

Halberton (St. Andrew)

HALBERTON (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Tiverton, hundred of Halberton, Collumpton and N. divisions of Devon, 3 miles (E.) from Tiverton; containing 1739 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Tiverton to Taunton, and comprises nearly 8000 acres of arable and pasture land in nearly equal portions; the soil is various, though generally a red clay, and the surface is gently undulated. Stone, chiefly for building, is quarried; and in excavating the line of the Western canal in the parish, a vein of rock was discovered, which, from the durability of the stone, and the facility of obtaining it in large blocks, was used in many parts of that extensive work. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £31, and in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol: the appropriate tithes have been commuted for £550, and the vicarial for £682; the glebe consists of half an acre. The church, which has portions in the Norman and later English styles, contains some curious monuments, and a pulpit and screen of oak, elaborately enriched with carving: the building was injured, and the organ demolished, by a party of Cromwell's soldiers quartered here for a short time during the war. This church appertained to the abbey of St. Augustine, Bristol, and in the churchyard was a chantry chapel. A fraternity of St. John the Baptist was also attached to the church. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Mr. Spicer, of Exeter, in 1832 recovered from the Chamber of that city the sum of £80 per annum, for the poor of Halberton. The water of Halberton Pond preserves so mild a temperature that it is never known to freeze.

Halden, High (St. Mary)

HALDEN, HIGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Tenterden, hundred of Blackbourne, Lower division of the lathe of Scray, W. division of Kent, 3½ miles (N. E. by N.) from Tenterden; containing 683 inhabitants. The parish comprises 3753 acres, of which 220 are woodland; the surface is hilly, and the soil chiefly a strong clay. The lower grounds are watered by the river Tarn, which flows into the Medway, and by a brook named the River, which unites with a stream called Hunt's Bourne, and falls into the Rother near Rye. A layer of grey marble is found, three-quarters of an inch in thickness; and the parish abounds with clay, excellent for common earthenware. A mineral called by the inhabitants "Crow-stone," consisting of the oxyde of iron, clay, and manganese, exists in great quantities; also hone stones of a particular quality, resembling those of Turkey. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £19. 4. 7., and in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury: the tithes have been commuted for £450, and the glebe comprises 5 acres. The church is a large edifice, remarkable for a singular steeple built in the early part of the reign of Henry VI.

Haldenby

HALDENBY, a township, in the parish of Adlingfleet, union of Goole, Lower division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 9½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Howden; containing 75 inhabitants. The village is pleasantly situated on the river Don. Tithe rent-charges have been awarded, of which £234 are payable to the impropriator, and £54 to the vicar.

Hale

HALE, a township, in the parish of Bowdon, union of Altrincham, hundred of Bucklow, N. division of the county of Chester, 2½ miles (S. E.) from Altrincham; containing 974 inhabitants. The manor was anciently parcel of the barony of Dunham-Massey. In the reign of Henry VI. a moiety of it became the property of Sir Robert Booth, and subsequently descended with Dunham-Massey to the earls of Stamford and Warrington; the other moiety came to Sir Thomas Stanley as heir to the Stranges, and has for more than 150 years been in the family of Crewe. The township lies on the east side of the river Bollin, and comprises 3679 acres, of which three-fourths are of a clayey soil, and onefourth sandy: 50 acres are waste land or common. The tithes have been commuted for £97 payable to the vicar, and £323 to the Bishop of Chester. There is a place of worship for Unitarians.

Hale

HALE, a parish, in the union of Whitehaven, Allerdale ward above Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 2½ miles (S. E.) from Egremont; containing, with the hamlet of Wilton, 305 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £82; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Lonsdale: the tithes were commuted for land in 1811. The church, which has a small tower and spire, stands at a short distance from the village. Freestone and limestone abound.

Hale

HALE, a chapelry, in the parish of Childwall, union of Prescot, hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 11½ miles (W. S. W.) from Warrington; containing 645 inhabitants. Among the families connected with this place have been the Waltons, Hollands, Irelands, and Blackburnes: Sir John de Hibernia, ancestor of the Irelands, came over with the Conqueror, and was buried at Hale chapel in 1088. The township is beautifully situated on the northern bank of the river Mersey; it forms the most southern point of land in Lancashire, and comprises 1626 acres. The village is a delightful spot, and one of the most ancient villages in the county: it received a charter from John, of a market and a fair. The Hall, the seat of John Ireland Blackburne, Esq., who is lord of the manor, is a very ancient mansion of brick, with stone ornaments, and a great part of it is covered with ivy: the north front was built in 1674 by Sir Gilbert Ireland; the south front was rebuilt in 1809, from designs by Nash. In the garden and conservatories are numerous fine specimens of rare and exotic plants; among them are, the Corktree, the Tea-tree, and the Sabal Blackburnia, or Blackburne-Palm, considered to be the largest of the kind in Europe: it was presented to the family by Lord Petre, in 1737. On the west side of the parsonage-green is an antique vine, by tradition more than 300 years old; the stem is about a foot in diameter: although rugged, and perforated in several places by age, it still spreads its branches luxuriantly over the adjoining cottages, and produces fruit. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of Mr. Blackburne. The tithes have been commuted for £140, payable to the Bishop of Chester's lessee, Sir John Gerard, Bart., £42. 2. to the vicar, and £1. 17. 9. to the incumbent of the chapel, whose glebe contains 27½ acres. The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, was rebuilt in 1754, and has tablets to the memory of Sir Gilbert Ireland and others, the maternal ancestors of the present proprietor. A school is endowed with a house and garden valued at £12 per annum, and the interest of £150, for the education of 12 children; the other scholars pay. The interest of £100, to be distributed in cloth to the poor on the 22nd of November in each year; and the interest of another £100, to be distributed on Sundays at Hale chapel, were bequeathed by William Part, the founder of the endowed school. John Middleton, a man nine feet three inches in height, was born here in 1578. In 1617 Sir Gilbert Ireland took him to the court of James I., where he wrestled with the king's wrestler; he died in 1623, and was buried in the churchyard. A portrait of this gigantic person, who was called "the Childe of Hale," is to be seen in the library of Brasenose College, Oxford; and a likeness of him is also preserved at High Leigh.

Hale (St. Mary)

HALE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Fordingbridge, Ringwood and S. divisions of the county of Southampton, 2 miles (E. by S.) from Downton; containing 209 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the west by the river Avon, and comprises 1672 acres, of which 456 are woodland, 392 waste, and the rest arable and pasture. The soil, with the exception of the water-meadows, is dry and gravelly; the district around Hale House is richly wooded with oak, elm, and fir, but the other parts consist mainly of elevated downs. The living is a donative; net income, £122; patron, Joseph Goff, Esq. The tithes of the parish, except South Charford, have been commuted for £185; the glebe comprises 5 acres. The church is in the Grecian style.

Hale, Great (St. John the Baptist)

HALE, GREAT (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 5¾ miles (E. S. E.) from Sleaford; containing 1003 inhabitants. This parish, including the township of Little Hale, comprises by measurement 6244 acres; and has a considerable village. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 6., and in the patronage of the Crown. The church is principally in the decorated English style, and was thoroughly repaired and beautified in 1825-7: the chancel was taken down some time ago. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; and a parochial school is supported by the rent of land assigned on the inclosure of the parish. An allotment of 32 acres is let out to the poor of the township of Great Hale, producing a rental of £50, which is distributed among the most necessitous.

Hale, Little

HALE, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Great Hale, union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 6½ miles (E. S. E.) from Sleaford; containing 281 inhabitants. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists. An allotment of 20 acres is let to the poor, producing a rental of £28. 18., which is distributed among the most necessitous families in the township.

Hale-Weston.—See Hail-Weston.

HALE-WESTON.—See Hail-Weston.

Hales (St. Margaret)

HALES (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Loddon and Clavering, hundred of Clavering, E. division of Norfolk, 2 miles (S. E. by S.) from Loddon; containing 302 inhabitants. It comprises 909a. 3r. 11p., of which 761a. 1r. 18p. are arable, 59a. 2r. 21p. woodland, and 89a. 3r. 12p. pasture. The living is a perpetual curacy; patron and impropriator, Sir E. B. Smijth, Bart., whose tithes have been commuted for £246. The church, chiefly in the Norman style, has a circular tower.

Hales

HALES, a township, in the parish and union of Drayton, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 2½ miles (E. by S.) from Drayton; containing, with Bloore-in-Tyrley, 561 inhabitants. Hales is the centre division of the parish, and has a small village on an abrupt declivity, near which is Hales Hall. A small chapel was built here in 1833, by the Rev. A. H. Buchanan; and there is also a school.

Hales-Owen (St. Mary and St. John the Evangelist)

HALES-OWEN (St. Mary and St. John the Evangelist), a market-town and parish, in the unions of Bromsgrove, Stourbridge, and West Bromwich, partly in the Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire, Hales-Owen and E. divisions of Worcestershire, and partly in the Lower division of the same hundred, Stourbridge and Dudley, and E. divisions of the county, 7 miles (W. by S.) from Birmingham, 20 (N. by E.) from Worcester, 42 (S. E.) from Shrewsbury, and 120 (N. W.) from London; containing 17,376 inhabitants, of whom 2056 are in the town. King John, in the 16th year of his reign, gave the manor, and the advowson of the church, which is stated to have been built prior to the Norman Conquest, to Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, who founded here a priory of Præmonstratensian canons. This priory, from parts of the walls yet remaining, though concealed by brambles and weeds, seems to have been an extensive edifice, and, from the gable end of the chapter-house, in which are some fine lancet windows, to have been in the early English style. At the Dissolution its revenue was estimated at £337. 15. 6. in Salop, and at £282. 13. 4. in Worcestershire. Hales-Owen was created a borough by the convent, but does not appear to have ever returned members to parliament. It is situated in a fertile vale watered by the river Stour, which has its source in the neighbouring hills; and consists chiefly of one street, in which are some respectable houses, and of some smaller streets containing humbler dwellings irregularly built. The town is lighted with gas. In the vicinity is the Leasowes, the patrimonial estate of Shenstone, which has been deservedly eulogized for the classic taste and elegant chasteness of style with which, during his lifetime, the natural beauty of the grounds was artificially heightened and improved, but of which few traces remain. Belle-Vue House is the seat of John Meredith, Esq. The principal articles of manufacture are large horn-buttons, nails, and some few other articles of iron; the manufacture of steel is extensively carried on at Corngreaves, and there are some coal-mines in the parish. An act was passed in 1846, for making a branch from the Birmingham and Gloucester railway, to Hales-Owen, 5½ miles in length. The small river Stour runs through the town, and the Netherton canal passes within half a mile of it. The market is on Monday, but is indifferently attended; the fairs are on the Mondays in Easter and Whitsun weeks. The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates; and a high and low bailiff, a constable, and headborough, are annually appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor. A court baron is held for the recovery of debts under 40s.

The parish comprises the townships of Cakemore, Cradley, Hasbury, Hawn, Hill, Hunnington, Illy, Langley, Lapal, Lutley, Oldbury, Ridgacre, Romsley, Warley-Salop, and Warley-Wigorn. It contains by computation 11,000 acres, of which about 150 are woodland; the surface is boldly undulated, and the scenery abounds with interesting features. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15. 8. 11½.; patron and impropriator, Lord Lyttelton: the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £900, of which £84 have been alienated as an endowment for the new church of the Quinton. The parochial church is a spacious structure, having a tower surmounted by a lofty and graceful spire: a principal part of the west end is Norman, and the body of the edifice is in the early English style: it was enlarged in 1840, at a cost of about £2000, and contains a handsome monument to the memory of Major Halliday, and an urn to the poet Shenstone, who was buried in the churchyard. At Cradley, Langley, the Quinton, Oldbury, and St. Kenelm, are separate incumbencies. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and others. The free grammar school was founded in 1652, and endowed with lands and tenements now yielding more than £100 per annum: Shenstone received the rudiments of his education in it. Contiguous to the churchyard are schoolrooms capable of receiving 600 children, built in 1838. In 1804, many curious Roman coins were found in an earthen vessel deposited at a small depth below the surface, at Cakemore; but a few only were preserved. Dr. Adam Littleton, author of a Latin Dictionary and other works, who died in 1694; the poet Shenstone, who died in 1763; and William Caslon, the celebrated type-founder, who died in 1766, were born in the parish.

Halesworth (St. Mary)

HALESWORTH (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, in the union and hundred of Blything, E. division of Suffolk, 30½ miles (N. E. by N.) from Ipswich, and 101 (N. E.) from London; containing 2661 inhabitants. This town, which is situated in a valley on the banks of the river Blyth, is ancient, and indifferently built, nearly in the form of the letter S, but contains a few good houses; the streets are spacious, and well lighted with gas, and the inhabitants are plentifully supplied with water. A small theatre is opened once in two years. The river is navigable hence to Southwold, for craft of about 25 tons, which are usually laden with malt, grain, timber, and general merchandise; and there are some very large malt-houses here, the trade in malting being extensive. The market is on Tuesday, for corn and provisions: a fair is held on October 29th, chiefly for Scotch cattle; and pleasure-fairs take place on Easter-Tuesday and Whit-Tuesday. The magistrates of the hundred hold petty-sessions monthly, and courts leet and baron for the manor are held occasionally: the powers of the county debt-court of Halesworth, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Blything. The parish comprises 1445a. 3r. 25p. The living is a discharged rectory, with the vicarage of Chediston united, valued in the king's books at £20, and in the gift of Mrs. Badeley. The tithes have been commuted for £387. 3.; a rent-charge of £10 is paid to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich, and the glebe contains 20 acres. The church is a fine edifice of flint, chiefly in the later English style, with a low but handsome tower ornamented with a splendid clock; it was enlarged in 1823, and more recently a gallery was erected. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. John Keable, by will in 1652, left lands worth about £98 per annum, half of which is appropriated to poor widows, and the other half to the apprenticing of boys.

Halewood

HALEWOOD, a township, in the parish of Childwall, union of Prescot, hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 8 miles (S. E. by E.) from Liverpool; containing 1101 inhabitants. It comprises 3759a. 3r., of generally level surface, and for the most part good strong corn-land, which has been much improved by drainage and the application of manure. The Earl of Derby, and John Ireland Blackburne, Esq., are the chief owners of the soil. An antiquated and secluded building here, called The Hutte, or The Haut, was the abode of the Ireland family, lords of the place, who subsequently removed to Hale Hall. Halewood Farm is the residence of Robert Neilson, Esq.; Halewood Green, that of Spencer Steer, Esq.; and Woodside, that of Sidney Sherlock, Esq. Part of this township and part of Tarbock have been formed into an ecclesiastical district, of which the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Childwall, and endowed with £15 from the tithes of Childwall, £18 from Queen Anne's Bounty, and a rent-charge of £20 from the Earl of Derby: there is a good parsonage-house. The tithes of the township have been commuted for £61. 9. 4. payable to the vicar, £330 to the lessee of the Bishop of Chester, and £3. 9. 4. to the incumbent of Hale. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, was built in 1839, at a cost of £1200, and was enlarged in 1847, at a cost of £900; it is a cruciform structure in the early English style, with a very neat interior.

Halford

HALFORD, a chapelry, in the parish of Bromfield, union of Ludlow, hundred of Munslow, S. division of Salop, 8¼ miles (N. W. by N.) from Ludlow; containing, with the township of Dinchope, 124 inhabitants. It lies on the road from Ludlow to Shrewsbury. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Hon. R. H. Clive, who is impropriator; net income, £40: there are five acres of glebe, and a glebe-house, just erected. The chapel is a very old edifice, of which the date cannot be ascertained.

Halford, or Halford-Bridge (St. Mary)

HALFORD, or HALFORD-BRIDGE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Shipston-upon-Stour, Kington division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, 4 miles (N.) from Shipston; containing 422 inhabitants. This place is supposed to have had its name from a ford over the Stour, and was at first called Aldford, or Old Ford. It is noticed very early, as being in the possession of Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick; and afterwards passed to the heirs of Andrew Giffard, Margery de Cantelupe, and others. The parish comprises 917 acres, and is bounded on the west by the river Stour, a tributary of the Avon. Stone of good quality for burning into lime, and for rough building purposes, is quarried. The village stands pleasantly on the road between Shipston and Warwick, and has a bridge over the Stour, an ancient structure. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 9. 9½.; net income, £186; patron, the Bishop of Worcester. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1774; the land comprises 178 acres. The church is of very early date.

Halifax (St. John the Baptist)

HALIFAX (St. John the Baptist), a parish, partly in the union of Todmorden, but chiefly in that of Halifax, wapentake of Morley, W. riding of York; comprising the market-town and borough of Halifax, the parochial chapelries of Elland and Heptonstall, and the townships of Barkisland, Erringden, Fixby, Hipperholme with Brighouse, Langfield, Midgley, Norland, Ovenden, North and South Owram, Rastrick, Rishworth, Shelf, Skircoat, Sowerby, Soyland, Stainland with Old Lindley, Stansfield, Wadsworth, and Warley; the whole containing 130,743 inhabitants, of whom 19,881 are in the town, 42 miles (S. W.) from York, and 197 (N. N. W.) from London. This place is of no great antiquity, nor is it noticed in the Domesday survey. It appears to have been originally an obscure hamlet named Horton, situated in a dreary and almost inaccessible district, and to have acquired its earliest importance from the resort of numerous pilgrims to visit the head of a virgin, the victim of a rejected suitor's revenge. From this circumstance, to which the device of the town seal bears allusion, the present name of the place is supposed to have been derived, the word Halig meaning "holy," and fax, "hair;" but some antiquaries, interpreting the name as signifying "Holy Face," derive it from a relic called the Face of St. John, said to have been kept in a solitary hermitage which occupied the site of the present church. The formation of the parish is attributed to the families of Warren and Lacy, lords of the manors of Wakefield and Pontefract, who for this purpose appropriated certain portions of their respective lands; and the earliest document wherein Halifax appears described as a place of any note is a charter, by which, in the beginning of the twelfth century, the church was granted by William de Warren to the priory of Lewes, in the county of Sussex, which his ancestor had founded. Its subsequent growth is ascribed to the settlement of certain emigrants from the Spanish Netherlands, who, seeking refuge from the persecutions to which they were subjected under the government of the Duke of Alva, repaired in great numbers to England, and introduced the woollen manufacture, of which a branch was established here in 1414. At this time there were not more than 13 houses in the town, but it soon began to increase in extent and population; in 1540 it contained 520 houses, and it has since progressively advanced to its present importance, as one of the principal seats of the woollen manufacture.

The practice of summary legislation called Gibbet law, which had from time immemorial prevailed within the limits of the Forest of Hardwick, wherein this parish was included, was for many ages observed here, till it was finally abolished about the year 1650. By this law, a felon who had stolen property to the amount of thirteen pence halfpenny, after being tried by a certain number of frith burghers and found guilty, was subject to execution by the bailiff of the manor, and on the third marketday after his apprehension was publicly executed by a machine similar in its construction to the French guillotine. Part of the stone platform on which these executions took place is yet to be seen on an eminence near the town, named Gibbet Hill, and the original axe is still in the possession of the lord of the manor of Wakefield. In the reign of Charles I., the town was garrisoned by the parliamentarian troops, whose cause the inhabitants zealously maintained; and in 1642, an obstinate engagement occurred between the contending forces on Halifax Bank, which, from the slaughter that ensued, has since been called the Bloody Field. Frequent skirmishes, also, took place in the neighbourhood between the royalists who were besieging the towns of Bradford, Wakefield, and Leeds, and the inhabitants of Halifax, who often sent troops to the assistance of those places. Near the town are remains of various intrenchments thrown up at this period. During the Commonwealth, the inhabitants sent a representative to parliament; in the rebellion of 1745, they formed themselves into a loyal association, under Sir George Savile, and raised three companies of independent militia, clothed and accoutred at their own expense.

The town is situated in a wild mountainous district, on the south-eastern acclivity of an eminence rising gently to a considerable height from the bank of the river Hebble, which forms the eastern boundary, and falls into the river Calder about two miles to the south. Being inclosed by high grounds, the principal of which is an abrupt chain of hills extending from North Owram to the heights of Clayton, it has, from several lines of approach, the appearance of being in a deep valley. The houses, chiefly of stone, are in general well built, but some of the streets, in the more ancient parts, are narrow, and irregularly formed: considerable alterations, however, have taken place; obstructions have been removed, the principal thoroughfares widened, spacious streets added, and many handsome public buildings erected, within the last 20 years. The streets are well paved, and lighted with gas from works established at the foot of South Owram Bank, at a considerable expense, by a proprietary of £25 shareholders; and the inhabitants are amply supplied with excellent water from springs in the township of Ovenden, collected in two capacious reservoirs, each containing nearly 3,000,000 of gallons, constructed in 1826, by subscription amounting to £1900, raised for the purpose of affording employment to the poor during a state of general depression of trade. The theatre, erected by subscription in 1788, is a neat building. The New Assembly-rooms, erected in 1828, form a spacious range, comprising assembly and concert rooms well laid out and tastefully decorated, a newsroom, a billiard-room, and the subscription library, formed in 1769, and which contains an excellent collection of more than 7000 volumes. Another newsroom and a subscription library were established in 1823. The Literary and Philosophical Society was founded in 1830, and an elegant hall was erected for its use, of which the first stone was laid in May, 1834; it comprises the requisite arrangements for the meetings of the members, the delivery of lectures, and an extensive and valuable museum. The Mechanics' Institution, opened in 1825, has a library of more than 2000 volumes. The public baths, situated in a beautiful valley near the river, form a handsome establishment, comprising cold, warm, swimming, shower, vapour, and medicated baths, with dressing-rooms, and other accommodations; and attached to the buildings are a bowling-green, and large pleasure-grounds.

The situation of Halifax, in the heart of a populous district between Manchester and Leeds, abounding with coal and springs of excellent soft water, and possessing peculiar facilities of inland navigation, is admirably adapted for the purposes of manufacture, and has greatly contributed to its prosperity and importance. The woollen manufacture, from its introduction in the year 1414, has continued to increase; the manufacture of worsted stuffs was introduced in 1700, and the cotton and silk manufactures have been subsequently added. The principal articles made in the town and its immediate vicinity, are, broad and narrow woollen-cloths, kerseymeres, shags, coatings, baizes, carpets, shalloons, tammies, corduroys, calimancoes, everlastings, moreens, crapes, bombasins, and damasks. The vale from Sowerby to Ripponden is famous for the manufacture of blue cloth for the navy, and large quantities of it are also exported to Holland and America; cloths of superior fineness for the foreign markets, made of wool imported from Germany and Spain, were introduced about the year 1814, and foreign wool has since that time been used in the manufacture of the finer broad and narrow cloths. The shalloons are woven chiefly for the Turkish market, and, when dyed of a scarlet colour, are sent direct by the merchants of this town and Leeds to the Levant, where they are used for turbans. The manufacture of bombasins, crapes, and different kinds of stuffs of silk and worsted, is extensively carried on; and the cotton-trade, which is mostly confined to the western parts of the parish, is making rapid advances. In the production of the various articles, are employed not less than 153 mills, which are propelled by steam-engines of the aggregate power of nearly 2500 horses; of these, 57 are cotton, 45 worsted, 35 woollen, and 4 silk mills: one, erected in 1837, is 300 feet in length, 42 feet wide, and four stories high, and collectively the mills afford occupation to 18,377 persons. In addition to this, not less than 20,000, of whom the greater number are women and children, are engaged in making the cards used in the preparation of the wool and cotton: these cards were formerly all made of leather, with wire teeth fixed in them, and, for the adequate supply of materials, there are numerous curriers and wire-drawers in the town; but India rubber has recently been introduced, and is rapidly growing into general use as a substitute for leather; besides which, a machine has been invented, whereby a tedious manual process has been almost entirely superseded. A considerable number of people are employed in the manufacture of steam-engines and the various machinery used in the factories, for which there are several foundries and forges.

Prior to 1770, the finished cloths were exposed for sale in the butchers' shambles, or in the old marketplace, at an early hour in the morning, previously to the commencement of the general market; but in that year a spacious hall was built for the purpose by the lord of the manor; and after the introduction of the worsted stuffs, a more commodious and extensive building was erected in 1779, by the manufacturers in conjunction, at an expense of £12,000. This structure, which is called the Piece Hall, is a magnificent quadrangular edifice of freestone, inclosing an area of 10,000 square yards of ground given by Mrs. Caygill. The building is 300 feet in length and 273 in breadth, and on the eastern side is three stories, and on the western two stories, high: the lower story has a rustic arcade in front, under which is a sheltered access to the rooms; and each of the other stories is fronted with a handsome colonnade, under which is a large gallery continued round the whole of the area. The edifice contains 315 rooms, in which the finished goods are exposed for sale, and is lighted entirely from within; it is characterised by a chaste simplicity of style, and from its magnitude has a very imposing effect. It is open for the sale of goods every Saturday, from 10 till half-past 2 o'clock. Facilities of conveyance are afforded by the Rochdale and the Duke of Bridgewater's canals, which open a direct communication with Liverpool, Manchester, and the western district; and by the Calder and Hebble, and Calder, navigations, which connect Halifax with Hull and the eastern district. The Rochdale canal, and the Calder and Hebble navigation, unite at Sowerby-Bridge, about two miles west of the town; and the latter extends to Salterhebble, about a mile and a half to the south, from which place a branch was made in 1828 to Barley Hall, on the east side of Halifax, where wharfs and basins have been constructed, and warehouses erected. The Manchester and Leeds railway passes through several of the townships in the parish. The Halifax branch of this railway, about a mile and a half long, was formed under an act of 1839, and opened in July 1844: some of the gradients are very steep.

The market, which is one of the best in the north of England, is on Saturday; and fairs, for the sale of cattle, horses, and live-stock, are held on the 24th of June, and the first Saturday in November. The old market-place, which had become inadequate to the wants of the increased population, contains some fine specimens of ancient timber-frame and plaster houses. The new market-place, erected by a proprietary of £50 shareholders, under an act obtained in 1810, occupies a convenient area, with the various shops and other arrangements requisite; the profits arising to the proprietors are limited to ten per cent., the surplus to accumulate for the erection of a town-hall. The government of Halifax is vested in two constables nominated by the inhabitants, and sworn into office at the court leet of the lord of the manor of Wakefield. The petty-sessions for the wapentake of Morley take place in the town. The magistrates meet every Saturday for the transaction of business relating to the district, at their office at Wardsend; and one or more magistrates are in attendance also on Mondays and Thursdays. The powers of the county debt-court of Halifax, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Halifax. The gaol is situated in Gaol-lane. The inhabitants received the elective franchise in the 2nd of William IV., when Halifax was invested with the privilege of returning two members to parliament; the right of election is vested in the resident £10 householders, and the returning officer is appointed by the sheriff. The borough comprises the whole of the township of Halifax, and parts of the townships of North and South Owram, including an area of 1254 acres.

The parish comprises by computation not less than 75,740 acres, a considerable portion of which is moor. The surface is abruptly varied, rising into rocky and precipitous eminences in some places, and in others intersected with deep and romantic dells; the scenery is in many parts marked with features of wild and rugged grandeur. The substratum is chiefly gritstone, alternated with coal, ironstone, shale, and freestone of fine texture. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £84. 13. 6½., with a net income of £1678, and the patronage and impropriation belong to the Crown: the great tithes were commuted for a fixed payment, in the reign of Elizabeth; and the vicarial tithes, also, for a money payment, under an act of parliament, in 1829. The parochial church, situated on an ascent near the river Hebble, is a venerable structure in the later English style, with a high embattled tower crowned by crocketed pinnacles; the walls of the church are likewise embattled, and strengthened with enriched buttresses terminating in pinnacles. The interior is finely arranged, and of lofty proportions. The nave is separated from the aisles by noble clustered columns and gracefully pointed arches, and lighted by a handsome series of clerestory windows; the ceiling is embellished with the armorial bearings of all the incumbents, from the first institution of the vicarage, in 1274. The chancel is divided from the nave by a carved oak screen of elegant design, and underneath it is a crypt of apparently much earlier date. The present church is the third structure erected on the site, and some slight remains of former churches are incorporated in the building. The church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, situated in the western portion of the town, was built in 1798, by Dr. Coulthurst, then vicar, and is a handsome structure in the Grecian style, with a campanile turret surmounted by a dome, and embellished with pilasters of the Ionic order: the living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £130; patron, John Whitacre, Esq. The district church of St. James was erected in 1831, at an expense of £4122, partly defrayed by subscription, but chiefly by grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners; it is in the later English style, with two turrets crowned by domes, and contains 1200 sittings. The living is a perpetual curacy; patron, the Vicar of Halifax; net income, £200, with a house, erected in the Elizabethan style, at a cost of £1200. The district parish of St. Paul, King's-Cross, was formed under the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37; the living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop of Ripon and the Crown, alternately, and has a net income of £150. The church was opened in May 1847, and is a neat edifice in the early English style, erected at a cost of £4000. Many other churches have been erected in the parish, which are described under the townships where they are respectively situated. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Methodists of the New Connexion, Unitarians, and Wesleyans; a Roman Catholic chapel; and a general cemetery for all denominations, formed at an expense of £2500.

The Free Grammar school was founded by patent of Queen Elizabeth, in 1585; and the present school-house, with six acres of land, in Skircoat, was given for its endowment by Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, Edward Savile, Esq., and Sir George Savile, Knt., in 1598; to which have been added many bequests, the whole now producing an income of £187. It is under the direction of twelve governors, in whom is vested the appointment of the first and second masters, who must have studied for five years at one of the universities; and by a decree of the court of chancery in 1840, the head master is empowered to extend the course of studies to the mathematics and other branches of learning. The Rev. Thos. Milner, in 1722, assigned to Magdalen College, Cambridge, money for the foundation of scholarships, to which boys from this school and from the schools of Leeds and Haversham are equally eligible; the amount was afterwards increased by his sister, and the scholarships, now four in number, are each of the annual value of £77. The Blue-coat school for 20 children, who are maintained, educated, and brought up to some useful trade, forms part of a charity founded by Nathaniel Waterhouse in 1642. Almshouses were founded in 1610, by Ellen Hopkinson and Jane Crowther, sisters, for 18 widows and a schoolmaster; they have been rebuilt and enlarged, and there are now 21 widows resident. Nathaniel Waterhouse gave a large house to be used as a workhouse for the employment of the poor, and bequeathed to 13 trustees £200 to purchase land for its support; the residue of his estates he assigned for providing a stipend for a lecturer in the parish church, and increasing the incomes of the curates of the several chapels, for the maintenance of the Blue-coat school noticed above, the support of an almshouse for 12 aged persons, and other charitable uses. The property produces about £1180 per annum. The old house, being found inconvenient for setting the poor to work, was for some time used as a sessions-house, but it was subsequently thoroughly adapted to its original purpose, and occupied as the town workhouse till the erection of the present building, at an expense of £12,000, under the new Poor Law, for the use of the union, which comprises 19 chapelries and townships, containing 89,729 inhabitants. The dispensary, established in 1807, is now consolidated with the infirmary, for which a handsome building was erected in 1836, at a cost of £7250, of which £2500 were subscribed by the trustees of the former institution. British and Danish antiquities have at various times been found: on Mixenden Moor, near the town, about the close of the last century, a labourer, while digging, struck his spade against a black polished stone, near which were discovered a celt in excellent preservation, four arrow-heads of black flint, a light battle-axe of green pebble, and a hollow gouge of hard grey stone, evidently intended for scooping out vessels of wood. Among the distinguished natives of the parish, have been, Henry Briggs, a skilful mathematician, and author of a work on Logarithms, who was born at Warley, about the year 1556; Dr. John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was born at Haughend, in the township of Sowerby, and baptized at Halifax church; Sir Henry Savile, one of the most accomplished scholars of the 17th century, who was born at Bradley, in the township of Stainland; and Dr. David Hartley, a celebrated metaphysical writer, who was born at Illingworth, in Ovenden. Among eminent residents, have been Daniel De Foe, author of Robinson Crusoe, and Sir William Herschel, the astronomer, who officiated as organist in the church.

Hallam, Kirk (All Saints)

HALLAM, KIRK (All Saints), a parish, partly in the union of Belper, hundred of Appletree, and partly in the union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 8¾ miles (E. N. E.) from Derby; containing, with the township of Mapperly, 451 inhabitants. The manor, at the Domesday survey, belonged to Ralph de Burun, and was in the Greys of Codnor in the reign of Edward I. The large estate of the Leake family, granted to them in 1562, was sold after the death of Nicholas Leake, to the Earl of Scarsdale in 1736, and afterwards passed to the Newdigates: in 1762 Francis Newdigate, Esq., of Nottingham, bequeathed the estate to his nephew, Francis Parker, Esq., who took the name of Newdigate. The parish comprises 1690a. 2r., mostly a strong soil; of these, 721a. 2r. 23p. are in the township of KirkHallam, and in about equal portions of arable and pasture: the small rural village is embowered in trees. A bed of ironstone is wrought. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 9. 7.; net income, £309; patron and impropriator, F. Newdigate, Esq., lord of the manor, and principal proprietor of the soil. The church, which is in the hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, is a small structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and low embattled tower; it was repaired in 1844, and the porch rebuilt.

Hallam, Nether

HALLAM, NETHER, a township, in the parish of Sheffield, union of Ecclesall-Bierlow, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 2 miles (W.) from Sheffield; containing 7275 inhabitants. It comprised an extensive common, which, together with that of Upper Hallam, was inclosed in 1791, and brought into a profitable state of cultivation; the scenery is varied, and the Hadfield reservoir of the Sheffield water-works is in the township. A church, dedicated to St. Thomas, was erected in the populous district of Crookes, in 1840, at an expense of £1400, raised by subscription; is a neat structure in the early English style, with a square embattled tower, situated on an eminence, and contains 600 sittings, of which 200 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of five trustees; net income, £150, with a good residence. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Hallam, Upper

HALLAM, UPPER, a township, in the parish of Sheffield, union of Ecclesall-Bierlow, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 3¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Sheffield; containing 1401 inhabitants. This township, forming a romantic district, is bounded on the west by the mountainous moors of Derbyshire, on the north by the river Rivelin, and on the south by the Porter; near the source of the former river is the Redmires reservoir of the Sheffield water-works, about 50 acres in extent. A mineral spring here was in great repute at the time of the plague in 1666, but it has long been neglected.—See Fulwood.

Hallam, West (St. Wilfrid)

HALLAM, WEST (St. Wilfrid), a parish, in the union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Derby; containing 677 inhabitants. This parish comprises 1322a. 2r. 30p., the soil of which is chiefly a strong clay alternated with marl, and in some parts of lighter quality. The surface is undulated, and the scenery extensive and beautiful; the lower lands are watered by a rivulet called the Nutbrook. Coal is found in abundance, and several collieries are in full operation: the produce is partly conveyed by a branch of the Erewash canal; there is also a considerable traffic by land. The weaving of stockings is carried on to some extent, and the making of lace affords employment to many of the females. The village has been almost entirely rebuilt by Francis Newdigate, Esq., lord of the manor and proprietor of the soil, who has also improved the roads. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the patronage of Mr. Newdigate: the tithes have been commuted for £250, and the glebe comprises 40 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is in good repair, and is a neat structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, aisles, and a square embattled tower: in the eastern window are coats of arms of the Hunloke family, who formerly possessed the property. The Rev. John Scargill, in 1662, bequeathed £540 for the erection and endowment of a school, of which the annual income is now about £174: the school was rebuilt in 1838. There is a mineral spring, similar in its properties to the Harrogate waters, containing a large proportion of sulphur, and a little lime.

Hallaton (St. Michael)

HALLATON (St. Michael), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Uppingham, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester, 7 miles (N. E. by N.) from Market-Harborough, and 90 (N. N. W.) from London; containing 637 inhabitants, The name is supposed by some to be a corruption of Hollow town, in allusion to the situation of the place in a valley, or hollow spot; by others it is derived from Holy town. The market-cross is still standing, but the market has not been held within the memory of the present inhabitants. An attempt was made to revive it in 1767, which proved abortive, owing in a great measure to the badness of the roads, which were then nearly impassable in winter. Fairs are held for cattle on Holy-Thursday, and the third Thursday after. The living is a rectory, formerly in medieties, which were united in 1728; the north mediety is valued in the king's books at £18. 13. 4., and the south at £17. 6. 8.: net income, £646. It is held with the donative of Blaston St. Michael, and is in the alternate patronage of the families of Bewicke and Fenwicke. The church is a large and handsome edifice, consisting of a nave, aisles, and chancel, with a tower and spire, and contains an ancient square font, supported by columns ornamented with grotesque heads. There is a place of worship for Baptists. A school is endowed with £24 per annum, issuing from the Town estate of £318 per annum, of which £170 are expended in repairing the highways, £10 in apprenticing children, another portion for the support of almshouses for three widows, and the remainder, except the £24, in the distribution of blankets and coal among the poor. On the western side of the village, at a distance of a mile, is the site of a fortress, called Hallaton Castle Hill: the most conspicuous part is a conical eminence, 118 feet high, and 630 feet in circumference, on which stood the keep, occupying, with the outworks, about two acres of ground. A quarter of a mile south-west of this, are traces of another fortress of nearly the same extent. A battle is said to have been fought near Hallaton, and these vestiges give countenance to the tradition, as also does the name of Bloodwood, affixed to a spot where the battle is said to have taken place.

Hallatrow

HALLATROW, a hamlet, in the parish of High Littleton, union of Clutton, hundred of Chewton, E. division of Somerset, 10¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Bath; containing 351 inhabitants.

Hall-Carr.—See Coupe and Lenches.

HALL-CARR.—See Coupe and Lenches.

Hall-Garth

HALL-GARTH, in the parish of Pittington, S. division of Easington ward, union, and N. division of the county, of Durham; containing 2295 inhabitants. Hall-Garth, or South Pittington, forms the most importtant part of the parish, and includes the church and vicarage-house; it is a mile from North Pittington.

Hall-Green

HALL-GREEN, a hamlet, in the parish of Yardley, union of Solihull, Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire, Northfield and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3 miles (S.) from Birmingham. It lies on the road from Birmingham to Henley. Here is a chapel, of which the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Trustees. The edifice was built in 1703, by Job Marston, Esq,, at an expense of £1000, and was endowed with property that now produces £130 per annum: a gallery was added in 1836.