Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/241

Rh POLWABTH. 229 PONTEFEACT. POLWABTH, a par. in the co. of Berwick, Scotland It comprises the vil. of the same name. It extends in length about 3 miles from E. to W., with an extreme breadth of 2 miles, and is bounded by the pars, o! Langton Fogo, Grcenlaw, and Longformacres. The surface is hilly in some parts, the greatest altitude being at Kyles Hill, about 1,100 fret above sea-level. The soil in the uplands is of a moorish character, but in other parts it is chiefly sandy. The parish is traversed by the road from Greenlaw to Dunse. The village ol Polwarth is about 3 miles S.W. of Dunse. It is situated near the river Blackadder, and on the road between Greenlaw and Dunse, and formerly belonged to the Sinclairs and Homes. This par. is in the presb. ol Dunse and synod of Morse and Teviotdale. The minister has a stipend of 201. The parish church was erected in 1703. Traces of the original church still exist. There is a parochial school. POMEBOY, a par. and post-office vil. in the bar. oi Dungannon, co. Tyrone, prov. of Ulster, Ireland, 15 miles E. of Gmagh, and 105 from Dublin. It is a sta- tion of the Ulster and Oinagh Junction railway. The par. is 7 miles long by 3 broad. The interior consists of a good light soil, and is traversed by the road from Dungannon to Omagh. The whole surface was for- merly covered with forest. Part of the parish is moun- tainous, and comprises some extent of bog. The vil- lage is situated on the road from Dungannon to Newtown-Stewart. It contains a police station, and petty sessions are held at intervals. The dispen- sary is within the Cookstown poor-law union. This place was granted to Sir A. Chichestor by James I. Pomcroy House and Mulnagore House are the principal residences of the district. Buins of two castles are seen among the hills. Quartz, basalt, iron, and granite occur. The living is a rect. and vie. in the dioc. of Armagh, val. 487, in the patron, of the bishop. The church is nearly a century old. The Boman Catholic chapel is united to that of Donaghmore. There is likewise a Presbyterian chapel. There are several day and Sunday schools. Fairs are held on 1st June and 31st October, and on the second Tuesday in each month. POMFEET. Set PONTEFRACT, co. York. PONDEE'S END, a hmlt. in the par. of Enfield, hund. of Edmonton, co. Middlesex, 11 miles N.E. of London. It is a station on the Cambridge section of the Great Eastern railway. The Lea navigation passes within 1 mile of the village. There is a modern church, erected at a cost of 4,000, partly defrayed by the Par- liamentary Commissioners. PONDISFOBD, or POUNDSFOED, a tythg. in the par. of Pitminster, co. Somerset, 3 miles S. of Taunton. PONDS, a Til. in the par. of Bathfarnham, bar. of Bathdown, co. Dublin, prov. of Leinster, Ireland, about a quarter of a mile S.E. of Bathfarnham. A convent formerly stood here. l'( >X'D-STEEET, a hmlt. in the par. of Hampstead, co. Middlesex, 4 miles N.W. of St. Paul's, London. PONSNOOTH, or PONSANOOTH, a hmlt. in the pars, of Gluvias and Stithians, hund. of East Kerrier, co. Cornwall, 3 miles N.W. of Penryn, and 6 from Truro. It is situated on the road from Falmouth and nth to Penryn. The inhabitants are partly em- '1 in the woollen manufacture, and others in the Ki-nnal gunpowder mills in the vicinity. There are sof worship for Wesleyans and Bible Christians, also a village school. PON8OSBY, a par. in the ward of Allerdale-above- oo. Cumberland, 1 mile from Calder Bridge, its post town, 4 miles S. by E. of Egremont, and 2 from the station at Scllafield, on the Whitehaven and ! unless Junction line of railway. The village, which is of small exi - t L >d on the river Calder, and i wholly agricultural The soil consists principally o my mould, and is very productive. Freeston very productiv of tone l - " ;iie aro icuiai: Koman camp. The living is a perpet. cm-.* in the dioc. of Carlisle, val. 113. The church is an ancient structure with a spired tower. It has an E. window filled with ancient stained glass, brought from Dale- garth Hall, and bearing the arms of the Stanleys. There is a brass to Frances Patryckson, the daughter of Sir Thomas Wyat, bearing date 1578, and several monu- ments of the Stanleys. The register dates from 1723. The church is situated in the park, near the centre of the parish. The Hall was erected in 1786, and situated in a well-wooded park. It has a prospect over the sea to Wales, &c. The interior contains relics of the Aus- thwaites, of Dalegarth, among which is a carved bed- stead, made in 1345. E. Stanley, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner. PONT-AB-COTHY, a hmlt. in the par. and co. of Carmarthen, 4 miles N.E. of Carmarthen. It is situated on the river Cothi. PONT-AE-DAWE, a hmlt. in the par. of Killybe- byll, hund. of Neath, co. Glamorgan, 4 miles N. of Neath, and 8 from Swansea. It is a station on the Swansea Vale railway. The river Tawe is here crossed by a one-arched bridge of 80 feet span. PONT-AB-DULAIS, a hmlt. in the par. of Llandilo- fawr, co. Carmarthen, 9 miles S.E. of Carmarthen. It is a station on the Llanelly and Vale of Towey railway. It is situated near the confluence of the rivers Lougher and llulais, and is much frequented as a fishing station. PONTBLYDDYN, a hmlt. in the tnshp. of Lees- wood, par. of Mold, co. Flint, 2 miles S.E. of Mold. PONTEFBACT, or POMFBET, a par., market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, in the upper div. of the wap. of Osgoldcross, West Biding co. York, 9^ miles from Wakefield, 23 S. by W. of York, and 176 N. by W. of London. It is a station on the western section of the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway, by which it is connected with the Great Northern and North- Eastern lines. The town is situated on a hill not i'ar from the confluence of the rivers Aire and Don, and about 3 miles from the Airo and Calder canal. It is a place of great antiquity, and appears to have arisen from the ruins of the Boman station Legiolium, now Castleford, which is in the vicinity. It was called by the Saxons Kirkby, but after tho Conquest obtained the name of "Pontl'ract" (Pons fraclus), from the breaking down of the bridge over the river Aire by tho Nor- thumbrian insurgents in 1070, to arrest the progress of William the Conqueror, who was in pursuit, with a formidable army. The castle was originally built by Alric, or JElfric, the Saxon, but having fallen into decay, was rebuilt by Hildebert de Lacy, to whom at the time of the Conquest William granted the honour and manor of Pontefract, and by whose family it was held until tho early part of the 14th century, when it came into the possession, through marriage, of Thomas Earl of Lancaster, uncle to Edward II. The history of Pontefract Castle, is, perhaps, one of the most interest- ing on record, as having been the scene of more stirring and important historical events than any other similar edifice in England. This same Earl of Lancaster was taken prisoner, with many other barons, and beheaded for procuring the death of Gaveston. It was here that Richard II. was imprisoned, and "hacked to death," Uichard III. put to death Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, Lord Grey, and others, to pave the way the more readily to his accession to the throne. It was also .he place of confinement of the Duke of Orleans, taken irisoner at Agincourt, and was occasionally visited by Kdward IV., Henry VIL, and Henry VIII. It was .a ken by tho celebrated Bobert Aske, at the head of the ' Pilgrims of Grace." During tho civil wars of the reign of Charles I. Pontefract Caetlo was more than once besieged by both the royalists and parliamentarians, and was finally taken and dismantled by Major-General Lambert in 1649. The keep, which originally covered ' acres, is the only portion now remaining. The popu- lUini of Pontefract in 1851 was 5,100, with 1,069 inha- ited houses, which in 1861 had increased to 6,346, with 1,122 inhabited houses; the parliamentary limits, how-
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 * hat Archbishop Scrope was beheaded in 1405, and that