Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/806

Rh MAUMBURY. 798 MAWGAN-IN-PYDER. MAUMBURY, a hill, co. Dorset, a quarter of a mile S.W. of Dorchester, remarkable for the remains of an amphitheatre cut out of the chalk rock by order of the Roman general, Agricola. The amphitheatre, which is reckoned the most perfect in England, is nearly oval, being 344 feet by 340, and 65 feet deep. MAUMYKELLY, a mountain, co. Mayo, Ireland, 5 miles S.E. of Bangor. It attains an altitude of 1,205 feet above the sea level. MAUN, or MAN, a feeder of the river Idle, rises in Sherwood Forest, co. Notts, and joins the Idle at Ollerton. MAUNBY, a tnshp. in the par. of Kirkby-Wiske, wap. of East Gilling, North Riding co. York, 6 miles N.W. of Thirsk, and 6 S.W. of Northallerton. It is situated on the river Swale, and contains Maunby Hall. MAUTBY, a par. in the hund. of East Flegg, co. Norfolk, 6J miles N.W. of Yarmouth, its post town, and 2i W. by N. of Caistor. The parish, which is inconsiderable, is situated near the river Bure, and is wholly agricultural. Nearly two-thirds of the land is arable, the remainder meadow and marsh land. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 580. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of Norwich. The church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, is a small thatched structure, with a circular tower, octagonal in the upper part, and of earlier date. The interior of the church has monuments to the Mautby family. Robert Pellowes, Esq., is lord of the manor and sole landowner. MAVESYN-RIDWARE, a par. in the N. div. of the hund. of Offlow, co. Stafford, 3J miles E. of Rugeley, its post town, and 6 N.E. of Lichfield. It is situated on the N. bank of the river Trent and Grand Trunk canal, near the Trent Valley railway. The par. comprises the vils. of Blithbury and Hill Ridware. The land is very fertile, and in a good state of cultivation. The manor anciently belonged to the Malvoisins, or Mauvesins. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Lichneld, val. 438. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is an ancient structure, with a tower containing four bells. The interior of the church contains monuments of great an- tiquity to the Chadwick and Mauvesiu families. The parochial charities produce about 12 per annum. There is a free school, supported by voluntary contributions. Lord Leigh is lord of the manor. MAV1S-ENDERBY, a par. in the hund. of Boling- broke, parts of Lindsey, co. Lincoln. [See ENDEKBY, MAVIS.] MA VISTONS, shifting sandhills on the coast of Elgin, Scotland, near Dyke and Burghead. MAWCARSE, a station on the Kinross railway, co. Kinross, Scotland, 7 miles from Ladybauk, and 4 from Kinross. MAWDDACH, or MAW, a river rising under Cam Twrog, co. Merioneth, and falling into the sea at Aber- Maw, or Barmouth. It flows through a valley for above 20 miles, and in its course forms the cascades of Rhaiadr Du and Pistyll-y-Cain, the latter a fall of 150 feet. MAWDESLEY, a tnshp. in the par. of Croston, hund. of Leyland, co. Lancaster, 7 miles from Ormskirk, its post toMw, 8 W. by S. of Chorley, and 2 from the Rufford station on the East Lancashire railway. The village, which is small, is situated on a branch of the river Douglas, and is wholly agricultural. The soil consists of stiff clay. The living ia a perpet. cur. * in the dioc. of Manchester, val. 150, in the patron, of the Rector of Croston. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a stone structure built in 1840. It has a small spired tower containing one bell. There is a National school for both sexes, in which a Sunday-school is held. There are schools and places of worship for the Roman Catholics and Wesleyan Methodists. Mawdesley Hall, still the principal residence, was formerly the family seat of the Mawdesleys. It is situated on a rock of red sandstone. Courts leet and baron are held annually at Michaelmas by Sir Thomas Heskoth, Bart., and John Randolphus de Trafl'ord, Esq., who are the lords of the manor and principal landowners. MA. WES, ST., a small seaport and ancient market town in the par. of St. Just-in-Roselaud, hund. oi Powder, co. Cornwall, 3 miles E. of Falmouth, across the harbour, and 14 from Truro. The ferry from Fal- mouth to Flushing is worked every half hour, from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. in summer. Its name is supposed to be a corruption of St. Mary's, to whose priory at Plymptou it anciently belonged. Other writers refer to a tradition which derives it from St. Mawe, or Machutus, a Welsh monk, who also gave name to the town of St. Halo, upon the coast of France. The former derivation, how- ever, appears the more reasonable, and is supported by ancient records, in which the town is frequently written St. Mawes, alias St. Mary's. A castle was erected here in 1542 by Henry VIII. during the French war, as a protection to Falmouth Harbour. It stands upon the solid rock, a little to the right of the town, at an eleva- tion of 1 17 feet above high-water mark, overlooking a most dangerous part of the coast, owing to the rough- ness of the waves, which in stormy weather break upon the rocks. In 1646 it was bombarded by Sir Thomas Fairfax, who captured in it thirteen pieces of ordnance, two brass guns of 13,000 Ib. weight, and a large propor- tion of stores. It continued for several generations the property of the Vyvyan family, to whom it was given, with other lands belonging to the priory of St. Mary's at Plympton, at the Dissolution. In 1855 the tower tier, or battery, was mounted -with twelve heavy guns, eight 65-pounders, and four of 96 Ib., carrying shot of 130 Ib., but the upper tiers are still unmounted. Opposite rises Pendennis, with its ancient keep, also the Lone Point and lighthouse, with the heights of St. An- thony to the left. The town, which is built at the foot of a precipitous hill, consists chiefly of one street fronting the sea. It is irregularly laid out, and chiefly inhabited by fishermen and pilots. The only branch of manufac- ture is that of cables and ropes for small craft. The pilchard fishery, formerly so productive, has entirely declined. A portreeve, or mayor, is chosen by the jury at a court-leet of the lord of the manor, held iii October. It formerly returned members to parliament from the reign of Elizabeth, but was disfranchised by the Act of 2 William IV. cap. 45. It contains a chapel-of-ease dedicated to St. Mawes, also places of worship for Inde- pendents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists. There is a National school for boys and girls, and one founded by the late Duke of Buckingham. The chief landowners are Viscount Falmouth, Sir S. T. Spry, and Hugh 0. Olivy, Esq. A small market is held on Friday for butcher's meat. MAWGAN-IN-MENEAGE, a par. in the hund. of Kerrier, co. Cornwall, 4 miles S.E. of Helston, its post town. The parish, which is situated near the head of Helford Creek, under the Goonhilly-Downs, comprises a portion of the small port of Gweek. There are several barrows in which coins, urns, &c., have been found. The soil is light, with a subsoil of gravel, marl, and rock. From Point Downs a view is commanded over the valley of Mawgau, with a branch of the small river Hel. The tithes have been commuted for a rent- charge of .600. The living is a rect.* annexed to that of St. Martin in Meneage, in the dioc. of Exeter, val. 910. The church, dedicated to St. Mawgan, is an ancient stone structure with a tower containing three bells. The interior of the church contains a cross of great antiquity, also monuments of the Vyvyan and Carminow families. There is a National school for girls, in which a Sunday-school is also held for both sexes. There are two chapels for Association Methodists, and one each for Wesleyans and Baptists. Trelowarren, about 1 mile distant, is the residence of Sir Richard R. Vyvyan, Bart., who is lord of the manor and prin- cipal landowner. It was erected in 1644, with a splendidly decorated chapel annexed. A feast day occurs on the nearest Sunday to November 11. Fairs are held on the first Tuesday after Lady Day, second Tuesday in August, and first Tuesday in December, for cattle. MAWGAN-IN-PYDER, a par. in the hund. of East Pyder, co. Cornwall, 3 miles N.W. of St. Colomb-Major,