Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/525

Rh CASTLEEOGY. 515 CASTLETON. chen. In the village is a curious old cross. The con- trast in the destinies of Rising and Lynn is the subject uf a popular rhyme. CASTLEROGY, a vil. in the bar. of Carrigallen, in [the co. of Leitrim, prov. of Connaught, Ireland, not far Ifrom Ballinamore. CASTLESAM80N, a limit, in the bar. of Athlone, in the co. of Koscommon, prov. of Connaught, Ireland, 8 miles to the N. of Athlone. CASTLESHANE, a vil. in the par., bar., and co. of Monaghan, prov. of Ulster, Ireland, 3 miles to the S.E. iof Monaghan. It is not far from the river Blackwatcr, and contains Gastleshane House, the seat of the Right Hon. E. Lucas. Annual fairs are held here on the 21st June, the 21st July, the 12th August, and the loth November. CASTLE SOWERBY, or SOWERBY-CASTLE, a par. in Leith ward, in the co. of Cumberland, 2 miles t>.K. "f Hcsket-Newmurkct, 10 S. of Carlisle, and 11 iC.AV. of Penrith, its post town and railway station, fbeing 295 from London. It lies within the limits of the jforest of Ingle wood, near the river Caldew, and includes the tnshps. of Bustabeck Bound, How Bound, Row [Bound, Southemby Bound, and Stockdalewath Bound. In How Bound formerly stood a castle, of which all traces have disappeared. The manor is now held by Ithe Duke of Devonshire. Some estates in this parish were held by the curious tenure, long obsolete, of their owners riding through Penrith on Tuesday in Whitsun- vtrk. brandishing their spears. The title " Red Spears" was applied both to the lands and their holders. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Carlisle, val. 90, iin the patron, of the dean and chapter. The church, dedicated to St. Kentigcrn, is a small stone building in tin 1 township of How Bound. There is a chapel of ease at Roui;hton Head, and Sunday schools. . CASTLETERRA, a par. in the bar. of Upper Loughtee, o. of Cavan, prov. of Ulster, Ireland, 4 miles to the X. 10. of Cavan. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of Kilmore, Ardagh, and Ephin, val. 483, in the patron, of the bishop of the dioc. The poor have the benefit of charitable endowments worth about 20 a year. Bally- s one of the principal residences. CASTLE-THORPE, a par. in the hund. and union of J>i:vj)ort-Pagnell, in the co. of Buckingham, 3 miles to the N. of Stony Stratford, its post town, 5 N.E. from Newport Pagncll, and 3 N. of Wolverton station on the London and Birmingham railway. The London and North-Western railway passes near it. This parish ibelonged to the honour of Hanslope Castle during the 'baronial wars of the 13th century. The living is a cur. annexed to the vie. of Hanslope, in the dioc. of Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient struc- ture, with low square tower, and stands in the centre of the village. It contains a monument to Sir Thomas Tyrrell, Bart., who died in 1671. CASTLETHORPE, a tnshp. in the par. of Broughton, wap. of Manley, parts of Lindsey, in the co. of Lin- coln, 1 mile from Brigg, its post town and railway station. It is seated on the banks of the small river Ancholme. Ermine Street passed near it. CASTLETOGHER, UPPER, LOWER, and MID- DLE, vils. in the bar. of Ballymoe, in the co. of Gal- way, prov. of Connaught, Ireland, 5 miles to the S. of Glenn amaddy. CASTLETON, a par. in the hund. of High Peak, in the co. of Derby, 13 miles to the N. of Bakewell, and 30 miles to the N. of Derby. Sheffield is its post town. It includes the chplry. of Edale. This place is situated in a district full of interest and attraction, both for its an- cient associations and its physical character and natural curiosities. A castle was in existence here before the Norman Conquest, but the erection of the present struc- ture is attributed to William Peveril, son of William the Conqueror. Many lordships in this county were given to him. The castle, which was named Pevaril from its founder, and Peak from its situation, was built on the summit of a steep rock hanging over the entrance to the Peak cavern. The rock is above 200 feet in height, and is very difficult of access. The castle was held by King John, but was captured and retained for some years by the barons. Edward III. granted it to his son John of Gaunt, who being afterwards created Duke of Lancas- ter, the castle became, what it still remains, part of the duchy of Lancaster. It was a fortress of considerable size and strength, having walls from 8 to 9 feet thick and 20 feet high. The ruins consist of the donjon, or keep; a massive tower, 55 feet high, standing on tho edge of the rock ; and part of the gateway on tho N. side. It is said that a tournament was held here by William Peveril. Tho rock on which the castle stands is a mass of limestone, the prevailing rock in tho district. The town itself is said to have been formerly fortified with a rampart and fosse, tho hitter of which is still traceable. Castlcton is now a small vil- lage, occupied mostly by miners. Basalt and fluor spar are found, and there are several lead-mines. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Lichfield, val. 186, in the patron, of the Bishop of Lichfield. The church is dedicated to St. Edmund. It is an ancient building of small dimen- sions, and though modernised and much altered, still re- tains some vestiges of the early English, its original style. There are a chapel for Wesleyans and an endowed free school in tho village. The charitable endowments of the parish amount to about 65 per annum. Castle- ton is part of the honour of Tutbury, in the duchy of Lancaster. Tho principal natural objects of interest in the vicinity are the Peak Cavern, the Winnets or Wind- gates-road, Mam Tor, and the Speedwell, Odin, Trecliff, and Water Hull mines. The Peak Cavern, also called the Devil's Cave, is at the termination of the remarkable glen or hollow in which the village stands, and consists of a series of vast chambers and passages in the interior of the rock on which the castlo is built. The entrance is a great dark arch, 120 feet wide and 40 feet high. One of the chambers is 200 feet square and 120 feet high. A broad stream separates the cavities, and is crossed by a ferry. The entire length of tho cavern is said to bo 2,250 feet. Various names are given to the chambers, one being called the Bell House, another the Chancel, others the Devil's CeUar, Halfway House, &c. The Winnets or Windgates-road, is a very steep descent, a mile long, forming the approach to Castleton from Chapcl- en-le-Frith, and winding, in some parts, between preci- pices 800 feet high. The road is so called on account of the rush of w r ind constantly sweeping through it. Mam Tor, a grand mountain, composed of gritstone and shale, rises majestically above the village to the height of 1,300 feet. From the nature of this rock its surface is subject to constant disintegration by the action of the atmo- sphere, and the loosened fragments fall and accumulate at its foot. From this circumstance it is also called the Shivering Mountain. On its summit are remains of an ancient camp, covering about 16 acres, surrounded by a double ditch, and close by are two barrows. Near the foot of Mam Tor is the famous Odin lead-mine, which is said to have been known to the Saxons, and is still one of the best mines in Derbyshire. Silver is found with the lead in small quantities, and the mine yields also a curious elastic bitumen, petroleum, fluor spar, manganese, &c. The Speedwell mine, near the foot of the Winnets-road, is no longer worked. It is reached by a descent of above 100 steps, at the bottom of which is a great level covered with water. This is crossed by boat, and the cavern is entered. It is believed to be 500 feet high, and to be bounded by an awful gulph several hun- dred feet deep, into which the water rushes with appal- ling noise. The Treeliif mine is near tho Peak Cavern, and contains many great chambers splendid with stalac- tites. One of them is said to be 200 feet high, and another 1.50 feet. The latter is named LordMulgravo's Cave. This mine is celebrated for producing the fluor spar, or " Blue John," a very beautiful mineral, in largo masses, a very fine specimen of which is preserved at Chatsworth. Elastic bitumen is also found here. In the vicinity of Castleton is an extraordinary chasm in the limestone rocks, called Eldon Hole, nearly 200 feet deep, at the bottom of which is supposed to be a passage