Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/448

Rh SHEEPSHED. 436 SHEERNESS. living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Ripon, and in the patron, of the Vicar of Leeds. SHEEPSHED, or SHEPESHED, a par. in the hund. of West Goscote, co. Leicester, 4 miles W. of Loughborough, its post town, and 119 from London. The village, which is extensive, is situated near Charn- wood Forest canal. It formerly belonged to the Gordons, and has an ancient cross. The manufacture of hosiery was introduced in the last century, and a large portion of the inhabitants are engaged in frame- work knitting, and in glove and needle making. The forest of Charn- wood was about 10 miles in length, by about 6 in breadth, but a considerable portion has recently been enclosed. The surface is very hilly, including Beacon Hill, Bardon Hill, Ives Head, and Cliff Hill, which are among the principal summits. The substratum con- tains granite, which is quarried for building purposes. A chapel was erected in the forest in 1815. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Peterborough, val. 364. The church, dedicated to St. Botolph, is an ancient structure, with a square spired tower. The church has tombs of the family of Phillips, of Garendon Park. There is a National school for both sexes. The Particular Baptists, General Baptists, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics have each a pla^e of worship. SHEEP'S ISLE, an islet adjoining Inish Capel, co. Argylc, Scotland, 1 mile W. of Seil Island. SUEEPSTOR, a par. in the hund. of Roborough, co. Devon, 7 miles S.E. of Tavistock. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the river Mew, near Sheepstor rock, a granite heap upon Dartmoor. At Ailsborough heights, in this parish, are extensive tin mines. The living is a cur. annexed to the vie, of Bickleigh, in the dioc. of Exeter. (See BICKLEIGH.) SHEEPWASH, a par. in the hund. of Shebbear, co. Devon, 5 miles N.W. of Hatherleigh. Exeter is its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the Torridge, which sometimes inundates the lower ground. It was formerly an extensive market town, but suffered great damage from a fire in 1743. Many of the female inhabitants are employed in glove- making. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 110, and the vicarial for 99. The living is a perpet cur. annexed to the vie. of Shebbear, in the dioc. of Exeter. The church, dedicated to St. Lawrence, is an ancient structure, with a tower con- taining a clock and one bell. The Baptist and Bible Christians have each a place of worship. Lord Clinton is lord of the manor and principal landowner. Annual fairs are held on the Thursday prior to the third Saturday in March, and on the Thursday prior to the 10th October. SHEEPWASH, a tnshp. in the par. of Bothal, ward oi Morpeth, co. Northumberland, 5 miles E. of Morpeth. It is situated near the bridge over the river Wansbeck. This place was formerly a separate parish, but was joined to Bothal by Act of Parliament in the 17th century. It now with Ashingtou forms a tnshp. The living is a rect. annexed to that of Bothal, in the dioc. of Durham. There is no church. SHEEPWAY, or SHEPPY, a tythg. in the par. of Portbury, co Somerset, 5 miles N.W. of Bristol. 8HEEPY MAGNA, a par. in the hund. of Sparken- hoe, co. Leicester, 3 miles N.E. of Atherstone, its post town, and 5 S.W. of Market Bosworth. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the Sence rivulet, a branch of the river Anker. The inhabitants are chiefly agricultural. The par. includes the hmlt. of Katcliffe-Culey, and the ruins of an ancient chapel at Myth Lodge, which formerly belonged to the monks of Merevale. There is a mineral spring in the neighbour- hood. The surface is undulating, and the soil a reddish marl alternated with light loam and gravel. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment under an Enclosure Act in 1810, and the glebe comprises about 650 acres. The living is a rect. with that of Sheepy Parva, and the cur. of Ratcliffe-Culey annexed, in the dioc. of Peterborough, val. 1,040. The church, dedicated to All Saints, has an ancient square tower, and five bells. The interior of the church contains monuments of the Fell family, and tombs of several Knights Templars, which were much mutilated during the re- building of the church at the end of the last century. There is a chapel-of-ease at Ratcliffe-Culey. The parochial charities produce about 25 per annum. There is a National school for both sexes. The Independents have a place of worship. SHEEPY PARVA, a par. in the hund. of Sparken- hoe, co. Leicester, 3J miles N.E. of Atherstone, its post town, and 5 S.W. of Market Bosworth. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the Bosworth- field brook, and is wholly agricultural. There is a large corn-mill in the parish. The living is a rect. annexed to that of Sheepy Magna. Sir T. W. Blomfield, Bart., is lord of the manor. SHEERING, a par. in the hund. of Harlow, co. Essex, 3J miles N.E. of Harlow, its post town, and 2 S.E. of Sawbridgeworth railway station. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on an eminence near the Cambridge section of the Great Eastern rail- way, and is wholly agricultural. The parish is bounded on the W. by the river Stort. The land, which is chiefly arable, is under excellent cultivation. The soil is fertile. The tithes have been commuted for a rent- charge of 507, and the glebe comprises 18 acres. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Rochester, val. 433, in the patron, of Christ Church College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is an ancient structure with a square tower containing four bells. The parochial charities produce about 4 per annum, which goes to the support of Tutte's school. At Chapel-Field are traces of an ancient chapel, formerly endowed by Christiana de Yaloines. There is a National school. SHEERNESS, a parochial chplry., market town, sea- port, and naval arsenal of the second rank, having sepa- rate j urisdiction, but locally in the par. of Minster and lib. of the Isle of Sheppey, upper div. of the lathe of Scray, co. Kent, 17 miles N.E. of Maidstone, and 46 S.E. of London, or51Jby the Sheerness branch of the London, Chatham, and Dover railway. It has also steamboat communication with London, Chatham, and other places, by means of the Medway Company's steamers. It ia situated on the N.W. point of the Isle of Sheppey, at the conflux of the Medway, or West Swale, with the Thames, and nearly opposite the Nore light. It is a rapidly-rising town, comprising the four districts of Bluetown, Mile-town, Banks-town, and Marine-town, and of late years has been much enlarged. In 1797, the mutiny of the Nore broke out at this port. There are hot and cold baths on tho boach, and adjoining is the Royal Hotel, situated in Bankstown, facing the sea. The town is a place of modern growth, having been a swamp prior to the reign of Charles II., who, in 1667, directed the construction of a strong fort, but before it was completed the Dutch Admiral De Ruyter entered the Thames, and made his attack on the shipping in the Medway, having in his passage destroyed that portion of the works which was then completed. In con- sequence of this attack, a regular fortification, with a line of heavy artillery and smaller forts, higher up on both sides of the Medway, was formed, to which other works have since been added, and which now extend for a mile and a half, and mount above 100 guns, many of which are of the largest calibre. A garrison is kept up, under the command of a governor, or port-admiral, cap- tain superintendent, fort-major, and inferior officers, who have residences within the government lines, and ad- joining the barracks, which, with new ones recently built, will accommodate 2,000 men. The dockyards alone, within the last quarter of a century, have cost, in their extension and improvement, upwards of 3,000,000, and give constant employment to about 3,000 artisans, mechanics, and shipwrights. The wharf fronts the Medway, and the harbour is now rendered safe and com- modious. The dockyard, which covers an area of about 60 acres, is formed upon mud-land reclaimed from the sea with great labour and ingenuity. It is nearly tri-