Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/817

Rh MELFOED LOCH. 809 MELKSHAM. jjalian chapel, erected in 1813. There are paro- chial and other schools. The town of Old Meldrum is situated on the road from Aberdeen to Banff, distant 14 mill s N.N.W. from the former, and 27 from the latter, uii'i 5 N.E. of Inyerury. It was constituted a burgh of barony in 1672, under the jurisdiction of two bailies, &c. ; but these offices are now void. The streets are of irre- gular form, though some of the houses are well built. Tin townhall has a spire. There are also a mechanics' institute, reading-room, and horticultural society. The ipal manufactures are cotton spinning, an extensive distillery, brewery, and corn-mills. Meldrum House is an ancient mansion. Market day is Saturday, the market j; held every fortnight for the sale of cattle and grain during the winter and spring months. Fairs are held in May and November. MELFORD LOCH, co. Argyle, Scotland.. It is a email sea-loch, the name of which signifies " the Lake of the High Eminences," from the elevation of the land on either shore. It enters between Degnish and Ashnish Points, opposite Luing Island, and at its entrance is about 1 J mile in breadth, extending 4 miles N.E. along the southern boundary of Nether- Lorn. MELFORD-LONG, a par., and formerly a market town, in the hund. of Babergh, co. Suffolk, 3 miles N.W. of Sudbury, to which is a branch line from the Great Eastern railway, and 22 W. of Ipswich. The village, which is situated on a branch of the river Stour, extends for near a mile in length, from which circumstance it is called Long Melford. Silk weaving was formerly car- ried on. Petty sessions are held every fortnight, and a court baron annually by the lord of the manor. In the village is a literary institute, founded in 1849, with reading and lecture rooms. On the E. side of Melford Green is Melford Hall, an old Elizabethan mansion, with four small round towers in the front, situated in a park on the banks of the rivulet, and at present the residence of Lord Alfred Paget. In the neighbourhood are several other mansions, as Kentwell HaD, a little N. of the vil- lage, and Melford Place, the ancient seat of the Martyn family, at the S. end of the village, with pleasure-grounds. On Cranmer Green in this parish is a petrifying spring. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 830. The living is a root, in the dioc. of Ely, vaL .839. The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is a Gothic struc- ture, about 180 feet long, with a small square tower of more modern erection, containing a peal of eight bells. It contains several ancient brasses, and monuments of the Mnrtyn, Parker, and Cordell families, especially one of Sir William Cordell, Speaker of the House of Com- mons in the reign of Philip and Mary. The register commences in 1559. Near the church stands the hospital, a plain brick building, enclosed with a wall. It was founded and endowed in 1573 by Sir W. Cordell for a warden, twelve brethren, and two poor women, being old and decayed housekeepers of Melford. The Indepen- dents and Methodists have each a place of worship. There aro National and Sunday schools. An annual fnir of three days is held in Whitsun-week, Tuesday and Wednesday for pleasure, and Thursday for cattle. MELGAM, or MELGUM WATER, rises in the par. of Lentrathen, co. Forfar, Scotland, and runs S. to the river Isla. MELGUND CASTLE, near the par. of Aberlemno, co. Forfar, Scotland. It formerly belonged to the Kynynmounds, and gives title of viscount to the Earl of Minto. MELIDEN, a par. in the hund. of Prestatyn, co. Flint, 4 miles N.E. of St. Asaph, its post town. It is situated on the coast, and includes Nant, a seat of the Conways. At Prestatyn was formerly a castle. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of St. Asaph, val. . in the patron, of the bishop. The parish church is dedicated to St. Melided. There is a district church at Prestatyn, the living of which is a perpet. cur., val. 233. The charities produce about 75 per annum for four poor clergymen, bequeathed by Dr. Bouchcrv in 1783. MEL1N-ABBEY, a seat in the par. of Llanvihangel- Llantarnam, co. Monmouth, 4 miles N. of Newport. It is situated on the river Afon Llwyd, a branch of the river Usk, and was partly built out of the remains of a Cis- tercian abbey. MELIN-CRYTHATJ, a hmlt. in the par. of Neath, co. Glamorgan, 1 mile E. of Neath. It is situated on the Swansea canal and bay, near the mouth of the Neath river, and had extensive copper and coal works, belonging to the Mackworks of Gnoll. MELIN-CTIRT, a fall of the river Cleddau, co. Gla- morgan, 5 miles N.E. of Neath. MELINDUR, a tnshp. in the par. of Llanbadarn- Fawr, hund. of Geneur-Glynn, co. Cardigan, near Aberystwith. It is situated in the vale of Rheidol. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the lead mines. MELINE, a par. in the hund. of Kemess, co. Pem- broke, 6 miles S.W. of Cardigan, its post town. It is situated near Precelly Mountain. There is a camp at Pennybenglog. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of St. David's, val. 140. Tho church is a small ancient structure. There are National and other schools. MELINIOG - FACH and MELINIOG - FAWR, tnshps. in the par. of Llansaintffraid, co. Montgomery, near Llanfyllin. MELKINTHORPE, a tnshp. in the par. of Lowther, West ward, co. Westmoreland, 1J mile S.E. of Clifton railway station, and 2 miles E. of Lowther Castle. It is situated on the banks of the Leathe rivulet. There is a free school, endowed with an annuity of 14, for children under ten years, whom it prepares for the higher school at Hackthorpe. The land is fertile, and the soil loam and clay, upon a subsoil of clay and freestone. MELKRIDGE, a tnshp. in the par. of Haltwhistle, W. div. of Tindale ward, co. Northumberland, 2 miles E. of Haltwhistle railway station on the Newcastle and Carlisle line. Whitchester Roman camp is in this township. Sir Edward Blackett, Bart., is lord of the manor. MELKSHAM, a hund. in co. Wilts, contains the pars, of Earl-Stoke, Hilperton, Melksham, Poulshot, Trowbridge, Whaddon, and part of Keevil, comprising an area of 18,870 acres. MELKSHAM, a par., post and market town, in the above hund., co. Wilts, 5 miles S.E. of Corsham, 6 N.E. of Bradford, and 28 N.W. of Salisbury. It is a station on the Wilts, Somerset, and Weyinouth railway. It is situated on the river Avon, which is crossed by a bridge of four arches, and on the E. is the Wilts and Berks canal, which is in confluence with the Kennet and Avon canal, about 1J mile S. The par., which is of large extent, contains the tythgs. of Melksham Town, Shaw, Beanacre, Blackmore, Cannonhold, Seend, and Wood- row. Melksham was formerly held by King Harold, and was a place of some importance in the reign of King John, but has since decayed. The land is chiefly pasture and meadow, with a small proportion of arable and waste. The soil is clay, alternated with gravel. Two mineral springs, one saline, and the other chalybeate, were discovered in the last century ; and in 1816 a new saline spa was obtained at a depth of 351^ feet. Sub- uequently a bath and pump room was erected, with a crescent and promenade, at considerable expense, with the expectation of great advantages to Melksham ; but in consequence of the lack of patronage, it proved a failure. The town, which chiefly consists of one long street, well paved and lighted with gas, contains many good houses, but of irregular formation. It is a petty sessions and polling town for North Wilts. Tho sessions are held by tie justices of peace for Melksham division, at the townhall, on the last Tuesday in every month, and every fourth week a county court for the recovery of small debts. The townhall and the cheese market were erected by a company in 1847, at an outlay of 3,350. They are of white freestone, and improve the appearance of the town. There are an extensive corn-mill, manu- factories of broad cloth, hair cloth, sacking, &c. The appropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 1,278, and the vicarial for 1,214. Tho living is a vie.* with the curs, of Seend and Earl Stoke annexed,