Norton, Bishop's - Norton, Wood

Norton, Bishop's (St. Peter)

NORTON, BISHOP'S (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Caistor, E. division of the wapentake of Aslacoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 10 miles (W. N. W.) from Market-Rasen; containing, with the township of Atterby, 475 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the patronage of the Prebendary of Bishop's-Norton in the Cathedral of Lincoln, valued in the king's books at £9; net income, £185. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Norton, Brize (St. Brise)

NORTON, BRIZE (St. Brise), a parish, in the union of Witney, hundred of Bampton, county of Oxford, 5 miles (W. S. W.) from Witney; containing 687 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 4000 acres, of which the principal portion is arable: the soil is rather shallow, and in some parts stone brash; the surface is generally flat. There are good stone-quarries. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 7. 11.; net income, £165; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Canons of Christ-Church, Oxford. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1775. The church contains a beautiful effigy in stone of John D'Aubigny, in the costume of the time of Edward III.

Norton-by-Bredon

NORTON-BY-BREDON, a chapelry, in the parish of Bredon, union of Tewkesbury, Middle division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Pershore and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 4½ miles (N. E. by N.) from Tewkesbury; containing 287 inhabitants. It is situated on the left bank of the river Avon; and the road from Pershore to Tewkesbury and the Birmingham and Gloucester railway traverse it in a parallel direction, from north to south. The area is 1097a. 30p. To the east of the village, at the foot of Bredon Hill, is Norton House, a handsome Elizabethan structure. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1814. The chapel, near the centre of the village, is a stone edifice, capable of seating 120 persons. When excavating for the railway, some Romanized-British or early Saxon remains were found, consisting of spear-heads, beads, &c.

Norton-by-Kempsey (St. James)

NORTON-BY-KEMPSEY (St. James), a parish, in the union of Pershore, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, W. division of the county of Worcester, 3½ miles (S. S. E.) from Worcester; containing 601 inhabitants. This place, which by the adjunct to its name is distinguished from other Nortons in the county, was during the reigns of Henry IV. and V. the residence of the Gowers of Warwickshire, escheators of Worcestershire, of whose ancient seat, Woodhall, little more remains than the stately avenue of elm-trees, that formed the approach. One of this family married a daughter of the house of Dudley, who was styled Lady Dudley of Woodhall; and in the reign of James I., the estate was sold by William Gower to Mr. Stevens, of Newington, in the county of Middlesex, whose tomb is still preserved in the church. The parish is situated near the turnpike-road to Pershore, and comprises by measurement 1846 acres, of which 1157 are arable, 600 meadow and pasture, and the remainder woodland, plantations, and roads. The surface is pleasingly varied, and in many places very picturesque. From the hamlet of Hatfield are obtained beautiful views of the surrounding country, embracing the Bredon and Malvern hills, with the town of Malvern, the Woodbury and Cruckbarrow hills, Worcester cathedral, the spire of St. Andrew's church, and other interesting objects. The soil is a rich clay and marl, producing excellent crops of wheat, beans, and peas; and the substratum chiefly blue lias, which is quarried for building, and for burning into lime. The Birmingham and Gloucester and the Oxford and Wolverhampton railways intersect the parish. Norton Hall, the seat of Benjamin Hooke, Esq., an old mansion previously the residence of Thomas Bird, Esq., has been greatly improved and enlarged by the present proprietor. Norton Villa, the residence of George J. A. Walker, Esq., is pleasantly situated on the north-east side of the road, in grounds tastefully laid out, embellished with thriving plantations, and commanding extensive and finely varied prospects: Newland House, the residence of Thomas Hooke, Esq., is also pleasantly situated. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester, valued in the king's books at £2. 12. 6.; net income, £100, with an excellent house. The appropriate tithes were commuted in 1841 for £460, and the appropriate glebe comprises 41 acres. The church is a very ancient structure with a tower. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; a parochial school is supported by subscription, and a Sunday school by Mrs. Walker, who has presented a library for the use of the children attending it. Thomas Knight in 1652, and Elizabeth Stevens in 1668, bequeathed each £100 to the poor.

Norton-Canes.—See Norton-under-Cannock.

NORTON-CANES.—See Norton-under-Cannock.

Norton-Canon (St. Nicholas)

NORTON-CANON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Weobley, hundred of Grimsworth, county of Hereford, 3¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Weobley; containing 282 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2072a. 2r. 23p., of which rather more than one-half is arable, and the remainder, with the exception of 90 acres of woodland, meadow and pasture. It is intersected by the road from Hereford to Kington. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5; net income, £120; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Hereford. The great tithes have been commuted for £310, and the vicarial for £119; the glebe contains 4 acres.

Norton, Chipping (St. Mary)

NORTON, CHIPPING (St. Mary), an incorporated market-town, a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Chadlington, county of Oxford, 19 miles (N. W.) from Oxford, and 74 (N. W. by W.) from London; containing, with the hamlet of Over Norton, 3031 inhabitants, of whom 2629 are in the town. This place derives its name from its northern situation, and appears from its Saxon prefix to have been of some importance at the time of the heptarchy: it occupies a picturesque situation, surrounded by undulated hills, on the road from Oxford to Worcester. The streets are partially paved, and lighted with gas, and there is a plentiful supply of water. Many remains of ancient buildings have been incorporated in the present houses; the most interesting are in a house in the High-street. The woollen manufacture, which formerly flourished, is now reduced to one establishment, chiefly in the horsecloth and girth branch. The market is on Wednesday; and great markets for cattle are held on the last Wednesday in each month, and the Wednesday next after Dec. 11th; also statute-fairs on the Wednesday before and after the 10th of October.

The charter was granted by James I. in 1607, and under it the officers of the corporation were, two bailiffs, two chamberlains, twelve burgesses, a town-clerk, and two serjeants-at-mace; the government is now vested in a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors, agreeably with the act 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, and the mayor and late mayor are justices of the peace. The freedom is acquired by birth or servitude. By charter the late corporation had cognizance of, and the power of trying, all offences the punishment of which did not extend to loss of life or limb; the present corporation, however, hold no other than courts of pettysession. The powers of the county debt-court of Chipping-Norton, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Chipping-Norton. The town anciently returned two members to parliament, but discontinued from the reign of Edward III. Belonging to the borough are two commons, one called the Great common and the other Southcomb, on which the occupier of every ancient tenement may turn a horse or a cow from May-day till the end of October.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 6. 8.; net income, £150; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester: the tithes were commuted for land in 1769. The church, situated in a beautiful valley, is in the decorated English style, and once had an elegant and highlyenriched tower, which, being in a very dilapidated state, was taken down, and a square embattled tower erected, in 1819; the interior was repewed and beautified, at a cost of about £2000, in 1839. The edifice contains the chantry chapels of St. John, St. James, and the Virgin, founded respectively by John Tanner, Margaret Pynner, and Master Lee; and some very handsome monuments with recumbent effigies. Here are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, and Wesleyans; also a Roman Catholic chapel, which, standing on an eminence, is a prominent object. On the dissolution of the Trinity guild, the grammar school, which for a long period had been endowed with £6 per annum from the funds of that establishment, was re-founded by Edward VI., and the sum has since that time been paid at the Salt-office, out of the land revenue belonging to the crown. Mr. Francis Barnes in 1762 bequeathed £300, now producing £17 per annum, to the school. The poor-law union of Chipping-Norton comprises 33 parishes or places, 30 of which are in the county of Oxford, 2 in that of Warwick, and one in that of Gloucester, the whole containing a population of 16,151.

At Over Norton was an Augustine priory, founded in the reign of Henry II., by William Fitz-Alan, and dedicated to the Virgin, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Giles; having escheated to the crown in the reign of Henry VII., it was purchased by Dr. William Smith, Bishop of Lincoln, and given to Brasenose College, Oxford, its revenue then amounting to £50. Close to the church, and surrounded by a moat, is the site of a castle supposed to have been built in the reign of Stephen; and on the road to Birmingham, half a mile distant, was an ancient chapel, the site of which is now occupied by a posting-house and hotel called Chapel House. On digging for the purpose of enlarging this building, stone coffins were found containing human bones, among which were beads and a silver crucifix; and three urns were discovered in a vault, with some fragments of masonry. There is a curious crypt under a house in the town, and a Saxon arched doorway in another dwelling.

Norton, Cold (St. Stephen)

NORTON, COLD (St. Stephen), a parish, in the union of Maldon, hundred of Dengie, S. division of the county of Essex, 5 miles (S.) from Maldon; containing 264 inhabitants. It comprises 1651a. 1r. 28p. of land. The soil is chiefly clay; the surface is hilly, and was formerly enriched with oaks of luxuriant growth, of which a few still remain. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 13. 4., and in the gift of the Governors of the Charter-House, London: the tithes have been commuted for £385, and the glebe comprises 42 acres. The church is a small edifice with a shingled spire, situated on an eminence, and contains some ancient monuments.

Norton, Cold

NORTON, COLD, a township, in the parish of Chebsey, union of Stone, S. division of the hundred of Pirehill, N. division of the county of Stafford, 2¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Eccleshall; containing 41 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Stone to Eccleshall, near the river Sow; and a station on the Liverpool and Birmingham railway is fixed here.

Norton-Coleparle (All Saints)

NORTON-COLEPARLE (All Saints), a parish, in the union and hundred of Malmesbury, Malmesbury and Kingswood, and N. divisions of Wilts, 3¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from Malmesbury; containing 116 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 948 acres, of which 324 are arable, 535 pasture, and 4 woodland: the surface is elevated, and enriched with wood; the soil is chiefly clay, alternated with stone brash. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £2. 19. 9½., and in the gift of J. Neeld, Esq.; the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £77. 14., and the vicarial for £100. The church is of modern date.

Norton-Conyers

NORTON-CONYERS, a township, in the parish of Wath, wapentake of Allertonshire, N. riding of York, 3½ miles (N. by E.) from Ripon; containing 60 inhabitants. This was the seat of Richard Norton, lord chief justice of England in the early part of the reign of Henry IV.; and subsequently of the gallant royalist, Sir Richard Graham, who, having received numerous wounds in the battle of Marston-Moor, and finding it lost, fled to his house here, and died the same night. The township comprises 985a. 1r. 9p., of which 368 acres are arable, 377 meadow and pasture, 98 woodland, and 115 open common. A rent-charge of £156 has been awarded as a commutation for the tithes.

Norton-Cuckney.—See Cuckney.

NORTON-CUCKNEY.—See Cuckney.

Norton-Disney (All Saints)

NORTON-DISNEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Newark, Lower division of the wapentake of Boothby-Graffo, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Newark; containing 206 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded on the east by the river Witham; comprises by measurement 2306 acres: the soil is very various, in some parts a stiff tenacious clay, in others sand and gravel; the lands are chiefly arable. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 6. 10., and in the gift of Sir Thomas Clarges, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £115, and the glebe comprises 60 acres. The church is an ancient structure.

Norton, East (All Saints)

NORTON, EAST (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Billesdon, hundred of East Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 6 miles (W. by N.) from Uppingham; containing 137 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the road from Leicester to Stamford, comprises 1062a. 1r. 30p. of land, inclosed in the year 1651, and in profitable cultivation; the surface is varied, and the scenery generally pleasing. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Tugby: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £7. 2., and the vicarial for £147. 8.; the glebe comprises 6 acres. The church is ancient. At the inclosure, 12 acres were allotted to the poor, who have also some small bequests.

Norton-Falgate

NORTON-FALGATE, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Whitechapel, locally in the Tower division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county of Middlesex; adjoining the ward of Bishopsgate Without in the city of London, and containing 1674 inhabitants. Norton Falgate or Folgate, called also Norton-Folley, derives its name from its situation north of Bishopsgate, and the adjunct to its name probably from the Saxon Foldweg, "a highway," the Roman Ermin-street having passed through the place. It is a precinct exempt from archidiaconal jurisdiction, being subject to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, to whom the manor belongs, and who are stated in Domesday book to have held ten cottages and nine acres of land here in the reign of Edward the Confessor. In Elder-street are almshouses for six members of the Weavers' Company, founded and endowed in 1729 by Nicholas Garrat, Esq.; and adjoining them are others for the poor of Norton-Falgate, erected in the previous year. St. Mary Spital, a priory for canons and brethren of the order of St. Augustine, was founded by William Brune, a citizen of London, in the year 1197: its revenue at the Dissolution was £557. 14. 10.

Norton-Ferris

NORTON-FERRIS, a tything, in the parish of Kilmington, hundred of Norton-Ferris, union of Mere, E. division of Somerset; containing 95 inhabitants.

Norton-Fitzwarren (All Saints)

NORTON-FITZWARREN (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Taunton, hundred of Taunton and Taunton-Dean, W. division of Somerset, 2¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Taunton; containing 606 inhabitants. It comprises 1257 acres. The canal from Taunton to Tiverton passes through. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20. 10. 10., and in the gift of Charles Welman, Esq., lord of the manor: the tithes have been commuted for £283, and the glebe comprises 7½ acres. The church is an ancient structure; the chancel is separated from the nave by a richly-carved screen. On an eminence above the church are traces of a circular encampment.

Norton, Greens.—See Greens-Norton.

NORTON, GREENS.—See Greens-Norton.

Norton-Hautville

NORTON-HAUTVILLE, a ville, in the union of Clutton, hundred of Chew, E. division of Somerset; containing 32 inhabitants.—See Chew Magna.

Norton, Hook (St. Peter)

NORTON, HOOK (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Banbury, hundred of Chadlington, county of Oxford, 5¼ miles (N. E. by N.) from Chipping-Norton; containing, with the township of Southrope, 1525 inhabitants. The parish comprises by survey 5310 acres of arable and pasture land in nearly equal portions. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £180; patron, the Bishop of Oxford; impropriator, Lord Talbot. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans.

Norton-in-Hales (St. Chad)

NORTON-IN-HALES (St. Chad), a parish, in the union of Drayton, Drayton division of the hundred of North Bradford, N. division of Salop, 3½ miles (N. E. by N.) from Drayton; containing 312 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1846 acres of land, of which the substratum abounds with red-sandstone of the new formation, quarried for building. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 9. 4.; net income, £305; patron, F. B. Pearson, Esq. A school has an endowment of £10 per annum. The learned Dr. Lightfoot, master of Clare Hall, Cambridge, was rector of the parish.

Norton-Juxta-Twycross (Holy Trinity)

NORTON-JUXTA-TWYCROSS (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Market-Bosworth, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 6½ miles (W. N. W.) from Market-Bosworth; containing, with the chapelry of Bilstone, 526 inhabitants, of whom 400 are in the township of Norton. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14, and in the gift of the Crown; income, £273. William Whiston, the celebrated divine and mathematician, was born here in 1667, during the incumbency of his father.

Norton, King's (St. John the Baptist)

NORTON, KING'S (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Billesdon, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester; containing, with the chapelry of Stretton Parva, 172 inhabitants, of whom 64 are in the township of King's Norton, 7½ miles (E. S. E.) from Leicester. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7; net income, £103; patron and impropriator, Henry Green, Esq. The tithes were commuted for land in 1770. At Stretton Parva is a chapel of ease.

Norton, King's (St. Nicholas)

NORTON, KING'S (St. Nicholas), a parish, and the head of a union, in the Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire, E. division of the county of Worcester, 5 miles (S. S. W.) from Birmingham; containing, with the chapelries of Moseley and Wythall, 5550 inhabitants. This place was formerly a town of some importance, and in the reign of James I. had the grant of a weekly market. In the parliamentary war, Hawkesley, in the parish, the seat of the Middlemore family, was attacked and burnt by a party of royalists, on the 14th of May 1645. The parish comprises 11,502a. 3r. 37p., of which about 4500 acres are arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture, with the exception of 49 acres of woodland and plantations, 19 in beds of osier, and 31 covered by the reservoirs of the Worcester and Birmingham canal. The surface, especially around the church, is undulated, presenting a pleasing variety of hill and dale; the scenery is enriched with numerous hedge-rows of well-grown timber, and the small river Rea flows through the lower grounds. The soil near the village is of a strong stiff nature, well adapted for the growth of wheat and beans; the grass-land, also, in that part of the parish, is luxuriantly rich, and, from its vicinity to Birmingham, lets at a high rent, chiefly for pasturing milch-cows. In the north-eastern portion, which extends to within a mile of Birmingham, and in which is the chapel of Moseley, the soil is of a lighter quality, with a substratum of gravel, and produces excellent crops of potatoes and turnips. In the southeastern district, at Wythall, it is dark coloured, and peaty, resting on clay, and is less fertile than in any other part of the parish.

A considerable number of the inhabitants are employed in the manufacture of nails; there is also a manufactory for swords and gun-barrels, which is in a very flourishing state, and one for the making of fire-irons. The market has been long discontinued; but fairs are still held on the 25th of April and the 5th of September. The Birmingham and Worcester canal, and the Birmingham and Gloucester railway, pass through the parish; the former makes a junction with the Stratford canal, and is conveyed through a tunnel into the parish of Alvechurch. The living was till lately annexed to the vicarage of Bromsgrove; it is now a distinct perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. The great tithes have been commuted for £630, and the small for £175; the impropriate glebe consists of 300 acres, and the vicarial of 65. The church is an ancient structure, chiefly in the decorated English style, with some insertions of later date, and a tower of elegant design surmounted by a lofty and well-proportioned spire, and contains 800 sittings. At Moseley and Wythall are separate incumbencies. The free grammar school was founded by Edward VI., and endowed with a payment of £15 per annum; it has a library of several hundred volumes, bequeathed by the Rev. Thomas Hall, a former curate. Fifteen boys are instructed on the foundation in reading, writing, and arithmetic. The master has the privilege of taking private pupils; the present master was nominated by James Taylor, Esq., who, as lord of the manor (purchased from the crown by his father), claims to be the sole trustee. There are two schoolrooms, which are also used by the boys and girls of some Sunday schools. The poor-law union consists of five parishes or places, of which three are in the county of Worcester, and one each in the counties of Stafford and Warwick, together containing a population of 21,674.

Norton-Le-Clay

NORTON-LE-CLAY, a township, in the parish of Cundall, wapentake of Hallikeld, N. riding of York, 3 miles (N.) from Boroughbridge; containing 150 inhabitants. It comprises 1030 acres. The village is pleasantly situated about a mile east of the Leaming-Lane, and near the road between Boroughbridge and Dishforth. A neat chapel of ease was built in 1839.

Norton-Lindsey (Holy Trinity)

NORTON-LINDSEY (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Warwick, Snitterfield division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 3¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Warwick; containing 176 inhabitants. From the time of Edward III. this was the property of the earls of Warwick. The parish is situated between the roads from Henley and from Stratford to Warwick, and comprises 600 acres by measurement. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Claverdon: the rectorial tithes have been commuted for £121. 10. The church is a small ancient structure.

Norton-Malereward

NORTON-MALEREWARD, a parish, in the union of Clutton, hundred of Chew, E. division of Somerset, 2¼ miles (N. W.) from Pensford; containing 98 inhabitants. It comprises 1053a. 1r. 36p. of land, of which the substratum abounds with stone, quarried for building. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 2. 6., and in the gift of the Rev. W. P. Wait: the tithes have been commuted for £223, and the glebe comprises 57 acres. The church is an ancient structure, chiefly in the Norman style; the chancel is separated from the nave by a handsome arch of that character. There are some traces of a Roman camp.

Norton-Mandeville (All Saints)

NORTON-MANDEVILLE (All Saints), a parish, in the union and hundred of Ongar, S. division of Essex, 3 miles (N. E. by E.) from Ongar; containing 134 inhabitants. This place is supposed to have derived its name from its relative situation to Ongar, and the affix to its name from an early proprietor. The parish comprises by measurement 725 acres, of which about 500 are arable, 217 pasture, and 6 woodland. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £83; patron and impropriator, C. Cure, Esq. The church is a small plain edifice, with a shingled spire.

Norton, Midsomer (St. John the Baptist)

NORTON, MIDSOMER (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Clutton, hundred of Chewton, E. division of Somerset, 9½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Bath; containing, with the tythings of Clapton, Downside, and Welton, 3509 inhabitants, of whom 1266 are in Midsomer-Norton tything. This place derives the prefix to its name from its situation between the two branches of the river Somer. The parish is bounded by the Roman Fosse-way, and comprises about 10,000 acres: the soil is various, in parts a rich red loam, and in others of inferior quality; the surface is boldly undulated, and the scenery pleasingly diversified. The district abounds with coal of superior quality, of which several mines are in operation. The village consists of one long street; a fair is held in it for cattle, pigs, and various articles of merchandise, on the 25th of April. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 3. 4., and in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Christ-Church, Oxford: a tithe rent-charge of £340 is paid to the vicar, one of £70 to the dean and chapter, and one of £25 to certain impropriators. The church is a large and handsome structure, with a modern tower having on the south side a recess containing a statue of Charles II. A neat district church has been erected at Downside, and another church at Clandown. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Ann Harris, in 1719, gave the residue of her personal estate, now producing about £45 per annum, for teaching children of the poor.

Norton-on-the-Moors (St. Bartholomew)

NORTON-ON-THE-MOORS (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Leek, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 5 miles (N. E.) from Newcastle-under-Lyme; comprising the townships of Bemersley and Norton, and the hamlets of Baddeley-Green, Ball-Green, Brown-Edge, Ford-Green, Milton, Norton-Green, Smallthorn, and Whitfield Ville; and containing about 4000 inhabitants. The parish consists of 3828 acres of inclosed land, with 250 acres of common. The scenery is very bold and picturesque, and is remarkable for three hills, running parallel from north to south, one passing through the village of Smallthorn, another through Norton, and the third through Brown-Edge, being at about equal distances from east to west: the valleys contain land of good quality, but the soil generally is of a cold clayey nature. Two streams of the river Trent pass through the parish, one of them at Ford-Green, and the other at NortonGreen; and it has been a matter of controversy which of the two is the source of the Trent: that at NortonGreen rises furthest to the north, at or near Lask-Edge, in the parish of Horton, and passing by Knypersley, and through the parish of Norton, joins the Ford-Green stream at or near the Abbey Farm, in the parish of Stoke-upon-Trent. There is an abundance of coal, varying in quality, suitable for works and household purposes, and which is obtained at different depths in beds from four to seven feet thick. The road from Newcastle to Leek, and the Caldon canal (a branch of the Trent and Mersey canal), pass through the centre of the parish.

Norton was separated from the parish of Stoke by act of parliament in 1807. The living is a rectory not in charge, in the patronage of C. B. Adderley, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. George B. Wildig: the tithes have been commuted for £550; and there is a substantial parsonage-house, built by the present incumbent in 1826, of stone obtained in the parish. The church, erected in 1738, stands on the summit of Norton Hill, and on the site of a former edifice; it is a plain commodious structure of brick, with a tower at the west end containing six excellent bells. At Brown-Edge is a district church, dedicated to St. Anne: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop of Lichfield, with an income of £100. There are several places of worship for dissenters. Some small sums have been left for instruction, and for the poor.

Norton, Over

NORTON, OVER, a hamlet, in the parish and union of Chipping-Norton, hundred of Chadlington, county of Oxford, ¾ of a mile (N. by E.) from Chipping-Norton; containing 402 inhabitants. Here are the mansion and beautiful park of Colonel Dawkins.

Norton St. Philip (St. Philip and All Saints)

NORTON ST. PHILIP (St. Philip and All Saints), a parish, in the union of Frome, hundred of Wellow, E. division of Somerset, 6½ miles (S. by E.) from Bath; containing 775 inhabitants, and comprising 1527 acres. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 11. 3., and in the gift of the Bishop of Bath and Wells; the impropriation belongs to Mrs. Day. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £123, and the glebe comprises 4 acres. The church is partly in the later English style, with a very handsome tower. There is a place of worship for Baptists; also a school supported by two endowments, one of £10 per annum, bequeathed by Mr. Coles, and the other of £50, the interest of money given in 1827 by Joseph Neeld, Esq., who, in the same year, built schoolrooms.

Norton, Pudding (St. Margaret)

NORTON, PUDDING (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Walsingham, hundred of Gallow, W. division of Norfolk, 1½ mile (S.) from Fakenham; containing 25 inhabitants. It comprises by survey 809 acres, of which 480 are arable, 256 meadow and pasture, and 25 in plantations, chiefly of fir. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6; patron, A. G. W. Biddulph, Esq. The church is in ruins, and the rector receives a modus of £10 per annum in lieu of tithes.

Norton-Subcourse (St. Margaret)

NORTON-SUBCOURSE (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Loddon and Clavering, hundred of Clavering, E. division of Norfolk, 6 miles (N. by W.) from Beccles; containing 356 inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by the navigable river Yare, and comprises about 1800 acres. The living is a vicarage; patron and impropriator, Sir Edmund Bacon, Bart. The great tithes have been commuted for £179, and the vicarial for £160; the glebe comprises 16 acres. The church is an ancient structure in the decorated English style, with a circular tower. A chantry, or college of eight secular priests, was removed to this place from Raveningham in the reign of Richard II., when the number was increased to thirteen; in 1395 the society was transferred to Mettingham, in the county of Suffolk.

Norton-Under-Cannock (St. Margaret)

NORTON-UNDER-CANNOCK (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Penkridge, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 8½ miles (W. by S.) from Lichfield; containing, with the township of Little Wyrley, 755 inhabitants. The parish comprises 4077a. 2r. 14p., of which 2529 acres are inclosed, and the remainder open common. It abounds with coal and ironstone, and of the former, which is of excellent quality, there is an extensive mine in operation at Brown Hills, opened about a century ago, and the property of the Hussey family, leased to William Hanbury and Son: clay, also, for brick-making, is obtained in abundance. The Wyrley and Essington canal passes through the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £94; patron, the Bishop of Lichfield: the tithes have been commuted for £353. 16. The church is a handsome structure of Tixall stone, with a tower and pinnacles; it was built by subscription, in 1832, at a cost of £1220. R. Gildart and P. Hussey, Esqrs., in 1776 founded a school, and, with the consent of the freeholders, inclosed 55 acres of land from the common, for the purpose of increasing the endowment, as well as the stipend of the minister: out of the rent, now £40 per annum, £30 are paid to the schoolmaster, and £10 to the minister. There is likewise a school supported by subscription.

Norton-Under-Hambdon (St. Mary)

NORTON-UNDER-HAMBDON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Yeovil, hundred of Houndsborough, Berwick, and Coker, W. division of Somerset, 4½ miles (N. N. E.) from Crewkerne; containing 527 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the southwestern side of Hambdon Hill, in a retired and pleasant vale, richly wooded, and comprises 642 acres, of which 74 are common or waste land. The manufacture of sailcloth is carried on to a small extent, and a few of the inhabitants are employed in the glove-trade; stone of good quality for building is quarried. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 16. 3., and in the gift of W. Locke, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £240. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with an embattled tower crowned by pinnacles, and is supposed to have been built in the reign of Henry VII., whose bust, as also that of his queen, is sculptured in alto-relievo in the north aisle.

Norton, Wood.—See Wood-Norton.

NORTON, WOOD.—See Wood-Norton.