Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/285

Rh RADFORD-SEMELE. 273 RADNOR. 57 acres. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Lincoln, val. 293. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, has a tower at the W. end containing two bells. The church was rebuilt in 1812. There is also a district church at New Radford, the living of which is a perpet. cur., val. 150. There are National schools for both sexes. The Wesleyans, Independents, Baptists, Methodist New Connexion, Association, Old, and Primitive Methodists, have each a place of worship. George Gregory, Esq., is lord of the manor. KADFORD-SEMELE, a par. in the Kenilworth div. of Knightlow hund., co. Warwick, 1J mile E. of Leamington, its nearest railway station and post town, and 4 miles E. of Warwick. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the Napton and Warwick canal, and is chiefly agricultural. The soil consists of loam and clay, with a subsoil of clay. The living is a vie. * in the dioc. of Worcester, val. 136. The church, dedi- cated to St. Nicholas, is an ancient structure, with a tower containing four bells. The chancel was restored in 1833, and three stained windows were inserted in 1837. The register dates from 1565. The parochial charities produce about 17 per annum. There is a village school for both sexes. F. E. Williams, Esq., is lord of the manor and principal landowner. RADIPOLE, a par. in the hund. of Uulliford-Tree, Dorchester div. of co. Dorset, 2 miles N.W. of Wey- mouth, its post town, and 5 S. of Dorchester. The vil- lage, which is of small extent, is situated on the harbour formed by the mouth of the river Wey. There are a mineral spring (discovered in 1830) and sulphur baths in the neighbourhood. The land is nearly evenly divided between arable and pasture. Previous to the dissolution of monasteries, the manor belonged to Cernc- Abbas convent. The tithes have been commuted for a lent-charge of 280, and the glebe comprises 3J acres. Tho living is a cur.* annexed to the rect.* of Melcombe Regis, in the dioc. of Sarum. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was rebuilt in 1817, and is the mother church to Melcombe Regis. There are places of worship for the Independents and Roman Catholics. The neighbour- hood is studded with residences, the principal of which are Nottington House and Corfe Hill. A portion of the parish is in the borough of Weymouth. RADLEY, a par. in the hund. of Hormer, co. Berks, 24 miles N.E. of Abingdon, its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the line of the Oxford railway. The parish is bounded by the navigable river Isis, and is wholly agricultural. Radley once belonged to the priory of Abingdon, and in the reign of Elizabeth was purchased by George Stonehouse, Esq., one of the clerks of the Board of Green Cloth. The par. comprises the lib. of Thrupp- wick and a portion of the tnshp. of Kennington. The soil consists of a rich loamy earth. The living is a don. cur. in the dioc. of Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. James, was rebuilt in 1842, with an embattled tower. The interior of the church contains effigies and monuments of the Stonehouse family. The parochial charities produce about 4 per annum. The Hall is the principal resi- dence. Sir Or. Bowyer, Bart., ia lord of the manor and chiul landowner. RAD LOW, a hnnd. in the co. of Hereford, contains the pars, of Ashperton, Aylton, Bishop's Frome, Bosbury, n -Frame, Castle - Frome, Coddington, Colwall, Cradley, Donnington, Eastnor, Evesbatch, Ledbury, Idigwardine, Littlc-Marcle, Moreton-Jeffries, Munsley, su.ku-Kdith, Stretton-Grandison, Tarrington, !on-Beggard, and Yarkhill ; comprising an area of 5:i,:siO acres. U >];]<;, ahmlt. in Cannock Chase, co. Stafford. ID of a Cistercian priory, founded in 1140 by (Jiii-i-n Maud, and afterwards removed to Stoneleigh l;.l>NA<;K, a par. in the hund. of Desborough, co. N.W. of High Wy combe, its post town, an| i '' ^ The village, which is of small extent, is situated in a valley in the midst of lofty hills. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture. Nearly two-thirds of the land are arable, and the remainder pasture, woodland, and common. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 220. The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, has a square spired tower containing four bells. The parochial charities produce about 24 per annum, arising from bequests for the poor. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. RADNOR, a tnshp. in the par. of Astbury, hund. of Northwich, co. Chester, 2 miles E. of Astbury, and 2 N.W. of Congleton. It is situated on the river Dane. RADNOR, or RADNORSHIRE, an inland co. of South Wales, lying between 52 2 1 and 52 33' N. lat., and between 2 67' and 3 45' W. long. It is bounded on the N. by co. Montgomery, on the E. by cos. Salop and Hereford, and on the S. and W. by cos. Brecon and Cardigan. Its greatest length from E. to W. is 32 miles, and its greatest breadth from N. to S. about 28 miles. The area is 429 square miles, or 272,128 statute acres, of which about one-third is enclosed, and the remainder mountain, common land, bogs, and moorland. Of the enclosed portion only one-fourth is under the plough. The geneial aspect of this county is mountainous, bleak, and dreary, with the exception of the south-eastern dis- tricts, which are comparatively level, and producing good crops of corn. The hills in the northern and southern portions of the county are of considerable height, but the highest and most connected range is that of Radnor Forest, running nearly E. and W. from the Herefordshire border to the river Ithon, and reach- ing an elevation of 2,163 feet above sea-level. This wild tract is supposed to have been anciently covered with wood, as its name implies, although it now produces nothing but moss and heath. It is the property of the crown, and is chiefly useful for the production of game, and according to Leland wild deer were once in great abundance. The waste lands are also of considerable value as sheep-walks, and recently large tracts have been planted in larch and fir. The geological formation of the county is chiefly composed of the strata forming the Silurian system, but on the W. and N.W. sides of the county the upper beds of the older rocks, comprising the Cambrian system, crop out, and limestone underlies the surface generally in the vale of Radnor; but the want of coal prevents the preparation of lime for manure. Syenite and porphyry occur in many parts, and a coarse amygdaloidal trap is met with. The mineral produce is of little importance, comprising only lead, which is found at Caen-Elan, and traces of copper in the vicinity of Llandrindod. This county is almost environed by rivers, but none of them are navigable. The principal is the Wye, which rises in Plinlimmou Hill, and crossing the north-eastern corner of the county, forms the boundary between this county and those of Brecknockshire and Herefordshire, till it enters the latter county below Clifford Castle. In the S. are the Arrow, Machawy, and Eddow, or Edw. The central districts are watered by the Lug, which rises in the hills to the W. of Knighton, and passing the town of Presteign joins the Wye about 4 miles below the city of Hereford. One branch of this stream, called the Somergill, forms the waterfall called " Water-break-its-Neck," about 2 miles W. of New Radnor, and then flows for a short distance underground below Aber Edw church. The Ithon, or Ython, rises in the Kerry hills on the northern border, and flowing S. joins the Wye about 6 miles above the town of Builth ; the Clywedog is a branch of the Ithon, and the small river Aran also joins the Ithon. In the N. are the Glan, a considerable stream, rising on the Cardigan bor- der, and after a circuitous, but rapid, course, joins the Wye a little below the town of Rhayader ; the Teme, also a considerable stream, rises in the Kerry Hills, and skirting the Shropshire border for several miles, at length enters Herefordshire a little to the N. of Brompton Park, and joins the Severn a little below Worcester ; another stream rising on the northern border also joins Hie. Severn near Llanidloes in Montgomeryshire. With these two exceptions, all the rivers of Radnorshire, in- cluding several mountain streams, as the Bach-wy,