Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/844

Rh MILDLETON-SCETVEN. 836 MIDDLEWIUIt. 6 miles M".N;E.- of Kipon. The village is small, and most of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture. The land is nearly evenly divided between arable and meadow and pasture. MIDDLETON-SCRIVEN, a. par. in the Chelmarsh div. of the hund. of Stottesden, co. Salop, 5J miles S.W. of Bridguorth, its post town, and I G from Shiffnal. The village, which is inconsiderable, is situated 1 mile off the road from Bridgnorth to Cleobury- Mortimer. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agriculture. The soil consists of marl and clay. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of .115, besides a glebe of 33 acres. The living is a rect.* in the dice, of Hereford, val. 170. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The fittings of the interior are of oak, and it has several stained windows. The Manor House is the principal residence. MIDDLETON, SOUTH, a tnshp. in the par. of Ildorton, N. div. of Coquetdale ward, co. Northumber- land, 3 miles S. of Wooler. MIDDLETON, SOUTH, a tnshp. in the par. of Hartburn, W. div. of Morpeth ward, co. Northumber- land, 10 miles W. by S. of Morpeth. MIDDLETON-STONEY, a par. in the hund. of Ploughley, co. Oxford, 3 miles N.W. of Bicester, its post town, and 12 N.E. of Oxford. The village is small. It was formerly a market town, and had a castle belong- ing to William Longsford, which afterwards came to the Lacys. There are now but slight traces of the castle, but a mound of great elevation. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 416 10s. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 600. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is situated in Middleton Park, and is of great antiquity. It has a square embattled tower containing five bells. The interior of the church contains tombs of the Villierses, and adjoining the N. side is a chapel used as a burial-place for the Jersey family. There are schools for both sexes, also an infant school, all of which are supported by the Countess of Jersey. The mansion of Middleton Park, erected on the site of an older building, which was destroyed by fire in 1753, is one of the principal seats of the Earl of Jersey, who is lord of the manor. MIDDLETON, STONY, a chplry. in the par. of Hathersage, hund. of High Peak, co. Derby, 6 miles N.E. of Bakewell. The village, which is small, and chiefly inhabited by limeburners and miners, is situated on a branch of the river Derwent in Middleton Dale. Lord Denman has a seat here surrounded by plantations which break the monotony of the otherwise dreary pass of 2 miles long. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Liehfield, val. 90, in the patron, of the Vicar of Hathersage. The church, dedicated to St. Martin, is an octagonal edifice rebuilt in 1759. There is a place of worship for Unitarians. The charities produce 23 per annum, of which 3 belongs to Turie's school. MIDDLETON-TYAS-WITH-KNEETON, a par. in the wap. of E. Gilling, North Riding co. York, 5 miles N.E. of Richmond, its post town, and 5 from Catterick. The parish, which is large, is situated on the great road leading from Catterick Bridge, across the river Swale, to Pierce Bridge, crossing the Tees into the county of Durham. The par. includes the tnshp. of Moulton, and is chiefly agricultural. The soil is clay on a limestone subsoil. The impropriation belongs to the Hartley family. The living is a vie. * in the dioc. of Ripon, val. 705, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, dedi- cated to St. Michael, is an ancient structure, with a square tower containing three bells. The register dates from 1541. There is a parochial school for both sexes supported by voluntary contributions. Middleton Lodge, East Hall, and Morris House, are the principal residences. Leonard Lawley Hartley, Esq., is lord of the manor. MIDDLETON-UPON-LEVEN, a tnshp. in the par. of Rudby-in-Cleveland, W. div. of the lib. of Langbaurgh, North Riding co. York, 4 miles S.E. of Yarm, its post town. It is situated on the eastern bank of the river Leven. The houses, which are few, are much scattered. The living is a cur. annexed to the vie. of Rudby-in-Cleveland, in the dioc. of York. The chapel, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, is a small edifice, with a turret containing one bell. Viscount Falkland is lord of the manor and chief landowner. MIDDLETON-WITH-SMERRIL, a tnshp. in the par. of Youlgreave, hund. of Wirksworth, co. Derby, 1 mile S.W. of Youlgreave, and 3 miles S.W. of Bakewell. In the neighbourhood is a Druidical circle called " Arbor- lowe's ring," and several barrows, in which Celtic antiquities have been found. Also the manor of the late Thomas Bateman, Esq., who formed a museum for the antiquities of the county. A portion of the inhabi- tants are engaged in the lead mines now in operation near the village. The laud is partly in common. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. MIDDLETOWN, a tnshp. in the par. of Alderbury, hund. of Cawrse, co. Montgomery, 6 miles N.E. of Welshpool. It is a station on the Shrewsbury and Welshpool branch of the Cambrian railway. MIDDLETOWN, a par., and market town in the bar. of Tiranny, co. Armagh, Ireland, 9 miles S.W. of Armagh. It has a station at Tynan on the Ulster railway. The parish, which is small, is situated near the Ulster canal. The town, which is only a consider- able village, was founded in 1770 by Bishop Sterne. It contains a market-house, police station, dispensary, fever hospital, and a large distillery. The business is chiefly in grain. Petty sessions are held in the town. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Armagh, val. 106, in the patron, of the Rector of Tynan. The church was built in 1793, partly by a gift from the late Board of First Fruits. There are three Roman Catholic chapels, a free school founded by Bishop Sterne, with an income from endowment of i'70, and other schools. In the vicinity are the remains of Crifcairn and Adr- gounell castles. Wednesday and Saturday are market days. Fairs are held on the first Thursday in each month. MIDDLEWICH, a par., post and market town, in the hunds. of Northwich and Eddisbury, co. Chester, 20 miles E. of Chester, 6 from Northwich, and 2 from the Winsford station on the London and North- Western line of railway. It is supposed to be the site of the Roman station called Condate, but the earliest notice of it is in the reign of Edward the Confessor, when it was held by the Earl of Mercia under the king. After the Conquest it was annexed to the earldom of Chester, and subsequently to the crown, under which it is held by the present lessee. The par. comprises the chplries. of Kinderton, Newton, Minshall, Vernon, Byley, and twelve tushps. It is watered by the rivers Weaver, Wheelock, Croes or Crooke, and the Dane, which last here crosses the Grand Trunk or Trent and Mersey canal. The town of Middlewich is situated in the centre of the wiches or salt towns, hence the origin of its present name. It is lighted with gas, and contains several narrow streets with many thatched houses, although of late years it has been much modernised. The townhall is a modem erection. The upper part of the building is used for the holding of petty sessions and for public meetings, also by the literary and scientific institution and the savings-bank, while the lower part of the hall is ueed for provisions on market days. There are silk and cotton mills giving employment to a large number of hands, also corn mills. In the vicinity of the town are several brine springs, from which salt is made. About three parts of the land is in pasture and one-fourth arable. Constables are appointed at the court-leet of the lessee of the manor. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Chester, val. 150. The parish-church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a noble structure, with a tower con- taining six bells. The interior of the church contains tombs of the Venables. The parochial charities pro- duce about 11 per annum. There are also two district churches, viz. Byley with Lees and at Minshull Vcr- non, the livings of which are perpet. curs, val. 100 each. There is a large National school for both sexes, erected in 185-1. The Independents and Wesleyans have each a chapel. Market day is Tuesday. Fairs are