Rickerby - Ridware, Pipe

Rickerby

RICKERBY, a township, in the parish of Stanwix, union of Carlisle, Eskdale ward, E. division of the county of Cumberland, 1½ mile (N. E. by E.) from Carlisle; containing 92 inhabitants.

Rickergate

RICKERGATE, a township, in the parish of St. Mary, city and union of Carlisle, ward and E. division of Cumberland; containing 2440 inhabitants.

Rickerscote

RICKERSCOTE, a township, in the parish of Castle-Church, E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, union, and S. division of the county, of Stafford, 1¾ mile (S. S. E.) from Stafford; containing 154 inhabitants. It is situated on the banks of the river Penk, near the Penkridge road, amid scenery highly picturesque, and is distinguished by its valuable spa. The soil is a good light loam; and the low lands, which are mostly in pasturage, have been greatly improved by the formation of embankments, which protect them from inundations.

Rickinghall-Inferior (St. Mary)

RICKINGHALL-INFERIOR (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Stow, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of Suffolk, ¼ of a mile (S. W. by W.) from Botesdale; containing 432 inhabitants. The road from Bury St. Edmund's to Norwich runs through the village. The living is a discharged rectory, with that of Rickinghall-Superior consolidated, valued in the king's books at £16. 5. 2½., and in the gift of G. St. Vincent Wilson, Esq.: the tithes of the two parishes have been commuted for £1040; the glebe of this place contains nearly 24 acres. The church, which has about 450 sittings, is in the decorated English style, with a tower circular below and octagonal above. The Wesleyans have a place of worship.

Rickinghall-Superior (St. Mary)

RICKINGHALL-SUPERIOR (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Hartismere, W. division of Suffolk, ¾ of a mile (S. by W.) from Botesdale; containing 768 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Norwich to Bury St. Edmund's. The living is a discharged rectory, consolidated with that of RickinghallInferior, and valued in the king's books at £19. 13. 11½.; the glebe comprises about 15 acres. The church is in the decorated English style, and consists of a nave and chancel, with a square embattled tower; the south porch is remarkably handsome.

Rickling (All Saints)

RICKLING (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Saffron-Walden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 6 miles (N.) from Bishop-Stortford; containing 445 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1356a. 31p., of which about 1083 acres are arable, 146 meadow and pasture, and 49 woodland. It is separated from the parish of Quendon by the road to Newmarket, on which the village, consisting of several neatly-built houses, is pleasantly situated. The manor-house, about a mile from the church, is a spacious quadrangular embattled structure, with a lofty gateway tower, and still retains much of its original grandeur. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10; patron, the Bishop of London; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. The great tithes have been commuted for £275, and the vicarial for £124; the appropriate glebe comprises 17 acres, and the vicarial 6. The church, an ancient edifice of stone, contains various interesting monumental inscriptions.

Rickmansworth (St. Mary)

RICKMANSWORTH (St. Mary), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Watford, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford, 24 miles (S. W. by W.) from Hertford, and 18 (N. W. by W.) from London; containing 5026 inhabitants. The name of this town, in ancient records, is written Rykemereswearth and Richmeresweard, signifying "the rich moor meadow." The manor, which, with four others constituted the lordship of Pynesfield, formed part of the demesne of the Saxon kings, and was bestowed by Offa of Mercia on the monks of St. Alban's, who retained it until the Dissolution. It was given by Edward VI. to Ridley, Bishop of London, upon whose martyrdom it was granted by Mary to his successor, Bonner; in the reign of Elizabeth it again became the property of the crown, and ultimately passed into private hands. The town is pleasantly situated in a valley, near the confluence of the Colne and Gade with the Chess; these rivers are much frequented by anglers, being noted for their trout, and the last, which rises in Buckinghamshire, turns several mills. Its short distance from London, combined with an agreeable adjacent country, renders the town a desirable place of residence: it is irregularly built. Within the parish are some flour-mills and six paper-mills, affording occupation to nearly 600 persons; there is also a large brewery. The manufacture of horse-hair seating for chairs, and of straw-plat, is carried on to a considerable extent; and the cultivation of water-cresses for the London market gives employment to many persons. The Grand Junction canal passes through the town, and the London and Birmingham railway a few miles on the east of it. Fairs for cattle are held on July 20th and Nov. 24th, and a statute-fair on the Saturday before the third Monday in September. The parish comprises 9769a. 15p., exclusively of roads and rivers; 430 acres are common or waste land.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £16; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of London: the great tithes have been commuted for £1385, the vicarial for £600, and the glebe comprises 108 acres. The church has a large embattled tower of hewn flints at its western end. The body was a few years since rebuilt of brick, coloured in imitation of weatherstained stone; some ancient ecclesiastical coins, and leaden and stone coffins, were discovered in digging for the foundation. Over the altar is a beautiful window of painted glass, representing the Crucifixion, brought originally from St. Peter's at Rome, and purchased in Paris, in 1800, for £200. A church called Christ Church, erected in the hamlet of Chorley-Wood, chiefly at the expense of James Hayward, Esq., of Loudwater House, was consecrated in November 1845; it is in the style of the 13th century, with a tower, and is of faced flint, with stone dressings: the living is in Mr. Hayward's gift. At West Hyde, also, is a church dedicated to St. Thomas, of which the first stone was laid in May 1844; it is in the Norman style, with a tower, and was built partly by the Church Commissioners: the living is in the gift of the Bishop of London. There are places of worship for Baptists and Independents. Moor Park, a splendid mansion in the vicinity, the property of Lord Robert Grosvenor, has been occupied at different times by Neville, Archbishop of York, in the reign of Henry VI.; by Cardinal Wolsey; by the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth, son of Charles II.; and by Lord Anson. On the high ground on the other side of, and close adjoining, the town, is Rickmansworth Park, now unoccupied. The parish was the birthplace, in 1553, of Sir Thomas White, lord mayor of London, who is honourably known as the founder of Gloucester Hall (now Worcester College) and of St. John's College, Oxford; also of Merchant Tailors' school, London; and for his extensive charities.

Riddell's-Quarter

RIDDELL'S-QUARTER, a township, in the parish of Long Horsley, union of Morpeth, W. division of Morpeth ward, N. division of Northumberland; containing 175 inhabitants. This township, which derives its name from the family of Riddell, comprises about 2022 acres of land. Within its limits, near the village of Long Horsley, is an old tower, that belonged in the time of Henry VIII. to Sir Robert Horsley, whose ancestors held the estate at a very early period, probably before the reign of Henry III. There is a small but neat Roman Catholic chapel, and the ancient tower is now used for a priest's house.

Riddings

RIDDINGS, a township and ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Alfreton, union of Belper, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 3 miles (S.) from Alfreton; the township containing 1841, and the district 4500 inhabitants. This place, with Watnall in Nottinghamshire, formed the half of a knight's fee. It was anciently the property of the Chaworths, and subsequently of the De Ryddinges, who, in the early part of the reign of Henry III., were resident here: the old manor-house was pulled down about the year 1809. The manor is now vested in James Oakes, Esq. Here are extensive iron-works and furnaces for smelting iron-ore, immense quantities of which, and of coal, are obtained in the immediate neighbourhood, affording occupation to a large portion of the inhabitants. The population of Ironville, which is part of Riddings, are employed in the adjacent mines, forges, &c., of CodnorPark. At the iron-works in Riddings, called the Alfreton Iron-works, large quantities of ordnance stores are manufactured for the service of the British government and the East India Company. These works were established about 1801, and have greatly increased the population, which prior to that period was but small, although in early ages Riddings was of considerable consequence. The coal formation surrounds the hill on which the village stands, in the shape of an inverted basin, having a dip on every side. There are six workable beds of coal, and at least twelve separate mines, or rakes, as they are technically called, of ironstone: a sandstone rock, very low in the series, yields a large and constant quantity of water, containing about twelve per cent. of common salt, which is not at present applied to any use. The blast furnaces here were the first at which metallic titanium, in the form of brilliant cubic crystals, was found to be produced; and another curious product of these works, of late years, is cyanide of potassium, in a state of great purity: it oozes out of the sides of the furnaces, about three or four feet above the part at which the scoria, or cinder, as it is called, is allowed to escape. The source of the potassium is the peculiar kind of ironstone in use here, which, on analysis, has been found to contain potash: the titanium has a similar origin. A branch of the Cromford canal, connected with Mansfield by a railway, passes through the village.

The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patron, the Vicar of Alfreton. The church, a neat edifice with a tower and spire, in the early English style, dedicated to St. James, was erected in 1830 by the Parliamentary Commissioners, the inhabitants subscribing £1000; it affords accommodation to 1000 persons. A parsonage-house was subsequently provided; and schools in connexion with the Church were built in 1844, for about 600 children. The schools are in the Elizabethan style, and are very ornamental to the neighbourhood: they comprise three rooms for the separate instruction of boys, girls, and infants, as also a master's house; and are provided with all the modern improvements for perfect warming and ventilation. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans; and Sunday schools attached to them. A piece of land called the Chapel Yard, adjoining the residence of the proprietor of the iron-works, indicates the site on which a chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene formerly stood.

Riddlesworth (St. Peter)

RIDDLESWORTH (St. Peter), a parish, in the union and hundred of Guilt-Cross, W. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (S. W. by S.) from East Harling; containing 70 inhabitants. It comprises 1157 acres, and is separated from the county of Suffolk by the Lesser Ouse river. The living is a discharged rectory, with that of Gasthorpe united, valued in the king's books at £11. 2. 8½., and in the gift of T. Thornhill, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £116, and the glebe contains 15 acres. The church is in the early English style, with an embattled tower, and in the chancel is a handsome monument to Sir D. Drury.

Ridgacre

RIDGACRE, a township, in the parish of HalesOwen, union of Stourbridge, Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire, Hales-Owen and E. divisions of the county of Worcester; containing 465 inhabitants.

Ridge (St. Margaret)

RIDGE (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Barnet, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford, 3½ miles (N. W. by N.) from the town of Barnet; containing 409 inhabitants. The parish is watered by the river Colne, and comprises 3607 acres, of which 139 are common or waste; the soil in the hilly parts is a strong clay, and in the lower parts a loamy earth resting on chalk and gravel. The road between Barnet and St. Alban's is less than a mile from the village. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.; the patronage and impropriation belong to the Countess of Caledon. The great tithes have been commuted for £323. 12., and the vicarial for £242; the glebe-house has been erected by the present vicar. The church is principally in the later English style. Here was a religious house, an appendage to the abbey of St. Alban's, now a private residence.

Ridgeway

RIDGEWAY, an ecclesiastical parish, in the parish of Eckington, union of Chesterfied, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 7 miles (N.) from Chesterfield; containing 1467 inhabitants. The district is co-extensive with the township of Ridgeway with Troway, and abounds in coal, of which two mines are in operation; the inhabitants are employed chiefly in the manufacture of scythes and sickles. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the Rector's gift, endowed with the pew-rents of the church, and a fixed payment of £280 out of the tithes. The church was erected in 1840, at an expense of £1600, raised by subscription, aided by £350 from the Diocesan Church Building Society, and £200 from the Incorporated Society; it is a neat structure in the later English style, with a small tower at the east end, and contains 571 sittings, of which 324 are unappropriated. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Ridgmont (All Saints)

RIDGMONT (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Woburn, hundred of Redbornestoke, county of Bedford, 3¼ miles (N. E.) from Woburn; containing 964 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Segenhoe, valued in the king's books at £9; net income, £84; patron and impropriator, the Duke of Bedford. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment, in 1796. The church of Ridgmont has been enlarged: that at Segenhoe was long since demolished. There is a place of worship for Baptists.

Ridgwell (St. Lawrence)

RIDGWELL (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Halsted, hundred of Hinckford, N. division of Essex, 5 miles (N. W.) from Castle-Hedingham; containing 753 inhabitants. The river Colne has its source here, and the parish contains some fine springs. The village, which is on the road to Cambridge, had formerly a market; and a fair is still held on the eve of the festival of St. Lawrence. The hamlet of Ridgwell-Norton consists of a few houses situated on a pleasant green. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10; patrons and impropriators, the Master and Fellows of Catherine Hall, Cambridge. The great tithes have been commuted for £420, and the vicarial for £136; there are 37 acres of impropriate glebe, and 15½ of vicarial. The church is an ancient structure, with a square embattled tower. Here are places of worship for Baptists and Independents. Ridgwell is supposed to have been a Roman station, and a tessellated pavement has been found.

Riding

RIDING, a township, in the parish of Bywell St. Andrew, union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 6 miles (E. S. E.) from Hexham; containing 132 inhabitants. A bridge was erected here in 1822, across the dangerous ford of Dipton burn. The Roman Watling-street, and the road from Newcastle to Hexham, pass through the township, and the Carlisle railway in the vicinity.

Ridley

RIDLEY, a township, in the parish of Bunbury, union of Nantwich, First division of the hundred of Eddisbury, S. division of the county of Chester, 6¼ miles (W. by N.) from Nantwich; containing 123 inhabitants. It comprises 1335 acres, of which the prevailing soil is clay. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £100, payable to the Haberdashers' Company, of London. Sir Thomas Egerton, an eminent lawyer, and chancellor under James I., by whom he was created Viscount Brackley, was born here in 1540.

Ridley (St. Peter)

RIDLEY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Dartford, hundred of Axton, Dartford, and Wilmington, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent, 11 miles (N. E. by N.) from Seven-Oaks; containing 95 inhabitants, and comprising 814a. 11p., of which 34 acres are in wood. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 14. 9½., and in the gift of William Lambard, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for a yearly rent-charge of £174. 8., and there are 30 acres of glebe.

Ridley

RIDLEY, a township, in the parish and union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Haltwhistle; containing 258 inhabitants. The township is on the west of the river Allen, and south of the river South Tyne. It comprises 4202a. 1r. 1p., of which a small portion is arable and wood, and a considerable breadth wild moor; the soil is clay on the higher grounds, and gravel or sand in the vicinity of the Tyne, and the open land is occasionally interspersed with woody ravines, from which streams descend into the river. The Newcastle and Carlisle railway runs for about half a mile through the north-east corner of the township. Ridley Hall is mentioned in old documents as the property of the Ridleys of Willimoteswick, in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I.; in the latter part of the 17th century it had passed into the hands of the family of Lowes, by whom the present mansion was built, towards the close of the last century, and considerable additions were made to it by the late John Davidson, Esq., whose grandmother was named Lowes. It is charmingly situated on ground retiring irregularly from the Tyne; soft green slopes, and a rich garniture of groves, environ it on three sides, and on the south it has a broad and flat lawn, and the deep and thickly-wooded chasm of the Allen full in front. William's-Wyke Castle, which also belonged to the family of the martyred Bishop Ridley, until the year 1652, when the estate was seized by the commonwealth, is now a possession of Sir Edward Blackett's; it stands upon a rather steep eminence, overlooking the lands that intervene between it and the Tyne. The rectorial tithes, belonging to Sir Edward, have been commuted for £43, and the vicarial for £100. In the chapel-yard of Beltingham, in the township, are several fine yewtrees of great age; and near Allen's-Green are some petrifying springs which leave an incrustation upon any vegetable substance brought in contact with them.—See Beltingham.

Ridlington (St. Peter)

RIDLINGTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of Tunstead, E. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (E.) from North Walsham; containing 212 inhabitants. It lies between North Walsham and the sea, and comprises about 600 acres, chiefly arable land. The living is a discharged rectory, with the vicarage of East Ruston united, valued in the king's books at £4. 6. 8.; net income, £208; patrons, Lady Wodehouse and the Canons of Windsor, the latter of whom are appropriators of East Ruston. The church is chiefly in the early English style, with an embattled tower surmounted by statues of the Four Evangelists as pinnacles.

Ridlington (St. Mary and St. Andrew)

RIDLINGTON (St. Mary and St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Uppingham, hundred of Martinsley, county of Rutland, 2½ miles (N. W. by N.) from the town of Uppingham; containing 299 inhabitants, and comprising about 2000 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 1. 3., and in the gift of the Earl of Gainsborough: the tithes have been commuted for £353, and the glebe contains 46 acres.

Ridware, Hamstall, county of Stafford.—See Hamstall-Ridware.

RIDWARE, HAMSTALL, county of Stafford.— See Hamstall-Ridware.

Ridware, Mavesyn (St. Nicholas)

RIDWARE, MAVESYN (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 4¾ miles (E. by S.) from Rugeley; containing, with the hamlet of Blithbury, 531 inhabitants. The parish is situated between the rivers Trent and Blythe, and comprises by admeasurement 2336 acres of rich land; it is mostly arable, with some fine meadow land on the margin of the Trent. The road from Lichfield to Uttoxeter runs through the parish, and the Grand Trunk canal crosses the road about 1½ mile from the hamlet of Hill-Ridware. Petty sessions are held at Hill-Ridware on every alternate Tuesday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 2. 11., and in the gift of Hugo Mavesyn Chadwick, and John Newton Lane, Esqrs.: the former is the principal proprietor of the parish. The tithes have been commuted for £470, and the glebe comprises 13 acres.

Ridware, Pipe (St. James)

RIDWARE, PIPE (St. James), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 4¾ miles (E.) from Rugeley; containing 100 inhabitants. It comprises an area of about 700 acres, the soil of which is in some parts light, and in others a stiff clay; the river Trent and the Grand Trunk canal pass through. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £46; patron, the Chancellor in the Cathedral of Lichfield.