Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/841

Rh MIDDLETHIRD. 883 MIDLLETON. the pars, of DunMl], Islandicane, Kilbride, Kilburne,. Killoteran, Kilronan, Lisnakill, Keisk, and parta of Drumcannon, Kilmeadan, Newcastle, and Trinity with- out. MIDDLETHIRD, a bar. in co. Tipperary, prov. of Munster, Ireland. Its boundaries are the bars, of Elio- garty, Slieveardagh, Iffa. and Offa, Clanwilliam, and Kilnemanagh. It ia 12 milea long and the same in width at the broadest part. It contains the pars, of Ardmayle, Ballysheehan, Baptist-Grange, Barretts- Grange, Boytonrath, Brickendown, Colman, Cooleagh, Coolmundry, Dogstown, Drangan, Erry, Fethard, Gaile, Horcabbey, Kilbragh, Kilconnell, Killeenasleena, Kil- tinan, Knockgrafibn, Magorban, Magowry, Mora, Oughteragh, Peppardstown, Railstown, Rathcool, Red- city, St. Johnstown, St. Patricksrock, Tullamain, and parta of Cloneen, Dangandargan, Donaghmore, Grays- town, Holycross, Relickmurry, and St. John Baptist. MIDDLETHORPE, a hmlt. in the par. of Ashby, co. Lincoln, 2 miles N. of Horncastle. MIDDLETHORPE, a tnshp. in the par. of St. Mary Bishopshill, Ainsty of York, co. York, 2 miles S. of York. It is situated on the river Ouse, and contains Middlethorpe Hall. The village, which is email, is united to the North Riding for electoral purposes. MIDDLETON, or MIDLETON, a par., post and market town, in the bar. of Imokilly, co. Cork, prov. of Munster, Ireland, 12 miles E. of Cork. It is a station on the Cork and Youghal railway. The par. is 2J miles long by 2 broad, and contains, besides the larger part of the town of Middleton, the vil. of Ballinacurra. The surface consists generally of a fertile soil. It is traversed by the road from Cork to Waterford. The town is situated between the rivers Curra and Lewis, on an inlet from Cork harbour, called the river Middleton, or Anachora, here crossed by a stone bridge, and on the road from Cork to Waterford. It consists of one main street, with several smaller ones branching from it. The houses are generally of neat appearance. Middleton was formerly a parliamentary borough chartered in the time of Charles II., and returned two members to the Irish parliament till the Union, when it was disfran- chised. It haa a thriving trade, chiefly in corn, and there is a large distillery. The principal buildings are the market-house, court-house, bridewell, assembly rooms, fever hospital, dispensary, and union poor-house. There is a chief police station. General sessions are held in Juno and November, and petty sessions once a fortnight. The living is a rect. and vie. in the dioc. of Cloyne, val. 708, in the patron, of the bishop. The church was rebuilt in 1825 by the late Board of First Fruits. It is situated in the town, and has a spire. There are two Roman Catholic chapels, one of which is in the town, besides the Convent of the Presentation with a largo school attached. The public free school or college was founded in 1709 by Lady Elizabeth Villars. There are several day schools in the parish. Cahirmore Castle, formerly a seat of the Fitzgeralds, ia now the residence of Lord Middleton'a representative.. This place was formerly called Caitrachcre, from Castre ' chore, i.e. "castle of the ford." A Cistercian abbey was founded here in 1182, and granted, together with Custleredmond, to the Broderick family in 1670, to whom Middleton gives title of viscount. Remains of the old church are seen here, likewise ruins of an hospital and the ancient Castleredmond. Middleton is the head of a Poor-law Union, containing 21 electoral divisions in eo. Cork. Saturday is market day. Fairs are held on 14th February and May, 6th July, 10th September and October, and 22nd November. MIDDLETON, a par. in the hund. of Hinckford, co. ., 1 mile S. of Sudbury, its railway station and post town. Thi! village, which is small, is situated on the river Stour, and is wholly agricultural. The manor belonged to Earl Algar of Mercia, in the reign of Edward the Confessor. There are extensive chalk-pits. The mi face is level, diversified by eminences. The living is a ri;et." in the dioc. of Rochester, val. 657. The church is an ancient structure, with a modern spire, con- taining one bell. The interior, which has been restored, contains an altar-piece of the "Annunciation," by Schiavone, also some stained-glass windows. MIDDLETON, and NORTH MIDDLETON, vils. in the par. of Borthwick, co. Edinburgh, Scotland, 7 miles S. of Dalkeith, and 13 S.E. of Edinburgh. They are situated on the old road from Edinburgh to Gala- shiels, and are entirely agricultural. MIDDLETON, a par. and market town in the hund. of Salford, co. Lancaster, 4 milea W. of Oldham, 5 S. of Rochdale, and 6 N. of Manchester. It is a station on the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway, and the Man- chester and Rochdale canal passes within a mile of the town. The par., which is extensive, comprises the tnshps. of Ainsworth, Ashworth, Birtle-cum-Bamford, Great Lever, Hopwood, Middleton, Pilsworth, and Thornham. The manor was in early times in possession of the Bartons, and passed by marriage to the family of Assheton, to which belonged Sir Richard Assheton, who commanded the Middleton archers at the battle of Flodden. It is now chiefly the property of William Wagstaff, Esq., who ia the present lord of the manor, and who holda courts leet and baroii in October. In the time of the Commonwealth the parish is said to have contained 500 inhabitants, and till the end of the last century was only a small village, but since 1791, when it obtained a charter for holding a weekly market, it has rapidly risen into an important manufacturing town. It is situated in a fertile vale on the Irk, and extends into the parish of Prestwick-cum-Old- ham. It is nearly a mile in length along the road from Manchester to Rochdale, and is well paved, drained, and lighted with gas. It is supplied with water from the Heywood waterworks. The affairs of the town are managed by a board of commissioners under a special local Act. Petty sessions are held fortnightly on Wednesdays at the sessions room. Tho chief trade of the town and neighbourhood is silk weaving, chiefly for the Manchester and Spitalfields houses; also cotton spinning, weaving, and bleaching ; there are also extensive dye works, including the calico-printing works of Silas Schwabe and Co. : these last are some of the largest in England, employing upwards of 1,000 hands. Iron founding and machine making are carried on, and in the adjoining townships of Hopwood and Thornham are extensive collieries. The living ia a rect. * in the dioo. of Manchester, val. 950. The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, is a venerable structure with a low square tower. The more modern part was built in 1524 by Sir Richard Assheton and his wife Anne. In the interior is a wooden screen divided into seven compartments, in which are carved the shields andarmorial bearingsof several families connected by marriage with the Asshetons, the ancient lords of Middleton, whose burial-place was the S. aisle ; there are also several brasses, an ancient font, and S. and N. windows in the chancel, decorated with ancient stained glass. In addition to the parish church there are two churches in the town Holy Trinity, Parkfield, and Rhodes chapcl-of-ease. In the parish are also the follow- ing district churches, viz. at Ainsworth or Cockoy, Ash- worth, Birch, Birkle, and Great Lever, the livings of which are all perpet. curs., varying in val. from 136 to 33. There aro places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, Baptists, Primitive Methodists, Swedenbor- gians, and Lady Huntingdon's Connexion. The grammar school was established under royal charter dated August llth, 1572, by Alexander Nowell, D.D., Dean of St. Paul's, London, who founded and endowed thirteen scholarships in Brazenose College, Oxford, for the benefit of this and other schools in the county. Two additional scholarships were subsequently founded in the same college by Samuel Radclifle, D.D. There are also three National and three infant schools in connection with the Church of England, besides denominational and Sunday schools attached to the several places of worship. The annual wakes are held on the last Monday but one in August, a horticultural show on the same day, and an agricultural show is held in September yearly. Friday is market day.