Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/627

Rh LITTON. 619 LIVERPOOL. miles N.W. of Bakewell. It lies in the Dale of Litton Frith, near Monsal Dale. There are lead mines, in which some of the people are employed, but the neigh- bourhood is chiefly agricultural. Many of the females are engaged in stocking knitting. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have places of worship. There are a few small charities. This was the birthplace in 1628 of William Bagshaw, the celebrated Nonconformist divine called the " Apostle of the Peak." LITTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Presteign, hund. and co. of Radnor, 3 miles N.W. of Presteign, and 7 N.E. of Radnor. It is situated near the river Lug, and is joined with Cascob. LITTON CHENEY, a par. in the hund. of Uggs- combe, Dorchester div. of co. Dorset, 6 miles S.E. of Bridport, and 10 W. of Dorchester, its post town. This place was formerly a market town. The par. includes the hmlts. of Ashby, Higher Egerton, Nether Coombe, and Stancombe. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Salisbury, val. 800. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient stone structure, with a tower sur- mounted by battlements and pinnacles. It contains an antique font, a monument of the Dawberry family, and several brasses. The register commences in 1624. The parochial charities produce about 32 per annum, 25 of which is the endowment of Thornhill's free school. In 1771 Thomas Hollis gave two acres of land and a house for the schoolmaster's residence. LIVERMERE MAGNA, a par. in. the hund. of Thedwestry, co. Suffolk, 5 miles N.E. of Bury St. Edmund's, its post town, and railway station on the Great Eastern line. It is a small agricultural place. The surface is generally level and the soil fertile though light. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Ely, val. with that of Little Livermere annexed, .!'! 1M. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small edifice with a, thatched roof. The charities, amounting to nearly 40 per annum, are derived from land, and applied to the relief of widows. Livermere Hall, is the principal residence. Sir W. F. F. Middleton, Bart., is lord of the manor. LIVERMERE PARVA, a par. in the hund. of Black- bourn, co. Suffolk, 1 mile N.W. of Livermere Magna, and 6 miles N.E. of Bury St. Edmund's. The village is small and wholly agricultural. The living is a dis- charged rect. annexed to that of Livermere Magna. The church is a structure of brick dedicated to St. Peter. There are small charities of about 1 per annum. Sir W. F. F. Middleton is lord of the manor. LIVERPOOL, a par., seaport, market town, muni- cipal and parliamentary borough, having separate juris- diction, but locally in the hund. of West Derby, southern div. of the co. palatine of Lancaster. It stands on the right bank near the mouth of the river Mersey, in lat. 53 23' N., and long. 2 59' 30" W., 32 miles W. by S. of Manchester, 49 S. by W. of Lancaster, and 210 from London by rail, or 206 by road. The name of this town was anciently Lyrpoole, or Litherpoole, and is probably a corruption of the Welsh Llerpwtt, "the place on the J," though the popular idea is that the first part of i word is the name of the bird which is still seen on i arms of the town, and which, it is said, was once indant on the pool which formerly covered the neigh- rhood of Whitechapel and Church-street. The town ated in a castle built on the spot by Roger of iors, to whom William I. granted the country between the Kibble and the Mersey. This building was enlarged by King John, subsequently dismantled by order of parliament in 1659, and, after being rented by the town for some years, was finally destroyed in 1715. "orge's church now stands on its site. The town first began to be used as a port after the conquest of Ireland in 1172. In the following year Henry II. canted the first charter, which was confirmed by John i 1207 ; and in 1227 Henry III. constituted the town a free borough for ever. Its progress, however, was small ; for in 1272 it only consisted of 168 houses, and during the following centuries it decreased both in size and prosperity, till, in 1561, the number of houses was reduced to 138, and the merchants of the town only- owned twelve ships. The town contributed one ship only to serve in the French wars of Edward III. During the reign of that king the Stanleys, who owned land in the neighbourhood, built a tower, where Water-street now ends, for the defence of the town. This was used as a residence for a considerable period, then as an assembly room, and finally as a gaol till 1819, when it was pulled down to make room for new buildings. In 1361 and 1548 Liverpool was visited by plagues. The present series of docks was commenced in the reign of Elizabeth, by the formation of a mole to protect tho shipping during the winter, and a quay for loading and unloading their cargoes ; but for long tho commerce of the town was of very inferior importance, as is shown by the amount of ship-money levied by Charles I. here, which was 25, while Bristol was rated at 1,000. During the commencement of the Civil War, Liverpool was in the hands of the parliamentary party, but was taken by Prince Rupert in 1644. It was soon, however, recovered by the opposite army. A considerable portion of the town was burnt during the sieges, and tho corpo- ration petitioned parliament in 1645 for compensation ; when the ferry-boats were granted to them, with a sum of .10,000 to indemnify the inhabitants for their losses, and 500 tons of timber for repairs, from the parks of tho Earl of Derby, Lord Molyneux, Sir William Norris, Robert Blundell, Robert Molyneux, Charles Gerard, and Edward Scaresbrick. The fortifications were destroyed about tho same time. Towards the end of tho 17th century the inhabited portion consisted of Castle-street, and a few other streets on the N. and N.E. ; but during William III.'s reign the population increased so rapidly that it was found necessary to constitute Liverpool a distinct parish from Walton. In 1709 the first wet dock was constructed on the old pool, but was filled up in 1831, and tho custom-house and post-office now stand on its site. At present the docks cover 203 acres, and pos- sess 15 miles of quay. They consist of wet docks, which are filled with water permanently, and are used for tho discharging of the cargoes from foreign merchantmen ; dry docks, which are affected by the ebb and flow of tho tide, and are made use of chiefly by coasting vessels ; and graving docks, for the repair of vessels. The names and sizes of the principal ones are as follows, com- mencing from the N. : Tho Canada dock, about 400 yards by 180 ; the Huskisson, about 1,600 feet by 400, in front of which stands a small fort ; the Sandon, 930 feet by 450, with six graving docks 500 feet in length, and a basin connecting it with the river ; the Welling- ton, 800 feet by 400, and tho Wellington half-tide, 800 by 400; the Bramley Moore, 1,050 feet by 400; the Nelson, 870 feet by 400 ; the Salisbury, 300 feet by 500 ; the Collingwood, 1,500 feet by 480 ; the Stanley, 340 feet by 80. These three form a chain of basins, and aro connected with tho Leeds canal. Tho North Graving docks and basin are about 600 feet long ; the Clarenco dock and basin, built in 1830, 250 yards by 135, is appropriated to the steam vessels serving between Liver- pool and other ports of Great Britain ; tho Trafalgar, Victoria, and Waterloo, opened 1830. Their united area is 30,674 square yards. Prince's basin and Prince's dock, opened on the day on which George IV. was crowned, 19th July, 1821, 500 yards by 106. There is an entrance to this dock at each end that on tho N. leading into the basin, that on the S. into George's basin. Sheds for the stowage of merchandise extend along the dock, and there is a dwelling-house at each end for the masters of this dock and George's, respec- tively. The basin contains a " gridiron," a contrivance for lifting ships requiring repair so that the keel and adjacent parts may be inspected. George's dock and basin, 246 yards by 100, was built in 1767, and enlarged in 1825. A range of warehouses run along the E. side, and the W. side forms an extensive parade, and contains tho public baths. The seamen's church is moored in this dock. A landing-stage projects from the parade, whence steamers start continually for Birkenhead, New Brighton, Seacombe, Eastham, and other places on tho