Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/79

Rh NORFOLK. 67 NORLAND. Stafford ; Gunton House, of Lord Suffield ; Honingham Hall, of Lord Bayning ; Horshead Hall, of the Dowager Lady Suffield ; Kimberley Hall, of Lord Wodehouse ; Melton HaU, of Lord Hastings ; Merton Hall, of Lord Walsingham ; Ormesby House, of the Dowager Lady Lacon ; Beeston Hall, of Sir J. H. Preston, Bart. ; Bucken- ham Hall, of the Hon. Francis Baring ; Cranmer Hall, of Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart. ; Gissing HaU, of the Rev. Sir W. 11. Kemp, Bart. ; Hargham Hall, of Sir T. B. Beevor, Bart. ; Hillington Hall, of Sir W. H. Ffolkes, Bart. ; Ketteringham Hall, of Sir J. P. Boileau, Bart. ; Mount Amelia, of Capt. Davy ; Necton Hall, of Colonel Mason ; Rackheath Hall, of Sir Henry Stracey, Bart. ; Raveningham Hall, of Sir E. Bacon ; Sail Hall, of the Rev. Sir E. R. Jodrell, Bart. ; Shadwell Court, of Sir R. J Buxton, Bart. ; Stow Hall, of Sir T. Hare, Bart. ; Stratton Hall, of Lieut.-Col. H. Fitzroy ; Twyford Hall, of Colonel Packe ; West Harling Hall, of Sir G. Nugent, Bart. Besides traces of Roman roads, sta- tions, and camps, mentioned at the commencement of this article, the county possesses other antiquities ; as the Roman tower at Caistor St. Edmund's, the ancient Venta, about 3 miles S. from Norwich, and near the junction of the rivers Taes and Yare, a considerable portion of which is still standing, comprising front of the wall, still 30 feet high, and composed of alternate layers of Roman bricks and of flint, bound together by a strong cement. The parish church of Caistor, which stands within the area, is partly built of Roman bricks. There are also the Saxon camp at Bloodgate, near South Creake ; Foss and Grime's graves, near Wecting ; Nor- man castles at Norwich, Castle Acre, Castle Rising and Caistor ; monastic and ecclesiastical edifices of the middle ages as the abbeys or priories of Thetford, Walsing- ham, Beeston, Flitcham,Bingham,Broomholm,Wymond- ham, Castle Acre, Lnngley, St. Augustine's Abbey at North Creak ; St. Bennet's, at Hulme, founded by Canute in 1020; and a Prcmonstratensian abbey at West Dereham. Also ancient houses as Winwal House, at Wareham, near Stoke Ferry, which is pro- bably the most ancient domestic edifice in England, being supported by Norman buttresses, and decorated with ornaments of the Plantagenct period. The whole building, consisting of 2 stories, is only 33 feet long by 27 feet deep, and 1 6 feet high ; another ancient manor- house is Oxburgh Hall, near Stoke Ferry, erected in 1481 by Sir Edmund Bedingfield, and surrounded by a moat 52 feet broad, and 10 feet deep, over which is a bridge ; East Basham House, near Fakenham, built in the reign of Henry VII., and now a farmhouse, is an in- tsrestiug building, as is also another farmhouse at Fin- chain, near Downham Market, which is an early speci- men of the revived Grecian architecture. Many eminent persons have been born in this county, as Sir John ilf, who took John II., King of France, prisoner; the antiquary and lawyer Spelman ; Archbishop Parker, Sir Thomas Gresham, the eminent lawyer, Sir Edward , Bishop Pearson, Admiral Sir Cloudesloy Shovell, Sir R. Walpole, and Lord Nelson, at Burnham Thorpe. NORHAM, a par. and vil. in the bund, of Norham- ehire, co. Northumberland, until recently a detached portion of the county of Durham, 8 miles S.W. of Ber- wick-upon-Tweed, its post town, and three-quarters of a mile from the Norham station on the North-Eastern line of railway. Tho village, which is extensive, is situated on the riverTwci-d, at the new Waterford chain bridge, which was erected in 1820, at an expense of not more than 5,000. Tho river is also crossed about half a mile W. of the village by a strong wooden bridge, erected in 1840, connecting this parish with Ladykirk, in Berwickshire. In ancient times it was a market town, and place of considerable importance under the bishops of Northumbria, having brrn given to Aidan, the first bishop, by tin: ." 'I Northumbria, on his con- version to Christianity. His successors, until the time of Bishop Barnes, who alienated his rights to the crown, continued to exercise; a special jurisdiction throughout the district, having their slieiifl', coroner, justices, and other civil officers, with a court of exchequer, gallows, &c. Being situated on the Borders between England and Scotland, at the ford of the river Tweed, it became in the Norman times the scene of frequent rupture and bloodshed, and was the general rendezvous of the nobi- lity of both kingdoms for settling affairs of the Border. The par. of Norham, which is of large extent, contains Norham Mains, Cornhill, Hedon, Twisel, and eight other tnshps., and the famous pass of the river Tweed, called by the Saxons Ubbanford, where the remains of St. Cuth- bert rested. On the E. of the village, and on the sum- mit of a rocky eminence impending over the bed of the river, are the ruins of the Border Castle, built in 1121 by Bishop Flambard, which having been enlarged and strengthened by succeeding prelates, was, when well garrisoned, deemed almost impregnable. It was, how- ever, destroyed in 1139 by King David I., but was afterwards rebuilt by Bishop Pudsey, who added the present great tower to the castle, and conferred exten- sive privileges by charter on the inhabitants of the town, that they might be the more ready to aid in its defence. It was unsuccessfully besieged by King John in his war with the barons, but was twice taken by the Scots in tho reigns of Edward II. and Edward III., and was surprised a short time prior to the battle of Flodden Field. It was taken by the Parliamentarians, and was finally destroyed by Cromwell. Tho keep, or main tower, with its vaults and prisons entire, is the prin- cipal part, and is constructed of a soft red freestone. The village consists of one long wide street, containing some modern houses of stone construction, intermixed with others of great antiquity. On the green, which is situated in the midst of the village, is a stone cross. A portion of the inhabitants are engaged in the collieries and fisheries. The land is in a fine state of cultivation. The soil is of a loamy nature, with a subsoil of gravel upon stone and coal, of which latter several mines are in operation. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 460, and the glebe comprises 24 acres, valued at 60 per annum. Norham gives name to a deanery in the archdeac. of Lindisfarno and dioc. of Durham. Tho living is a vie.* with tho cur. of Duddo annexed, in the dioc. of Durham, val. 529, in the patron, of the dean and chapter. The church, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, is of great antiquity, having been rebuilt about 1180 on the site of a more ancient one erected prior to 840. It had three chantries in honour of St. Cuthbert, the Virgin Mary, and St. Nicholas, and possessed the privilege of sanctuary for thirty-seven days. The tower and main aisles were rebuilt in 1837, and tho S. and N. transepts were re- stored in 1846-52. Tho interior contains many monu- ments and effigies of great antiquity ; also the grave of Ceolwulph, a lineal descendant of Ida, the first Saxon king of Northumberland and of Gospatrick, Earl of Northumberland. The E. window, of Edward III.'s time, is in five compartments, besides several other memorial windows. In the churchyard are some an- cient ruins of a monastery, including a stone cross, 10 feet in height. There is a free school for both sexes, founded in 1762, and endowed with an annuity of 60 ; also a National school, in which a Sunday-school is held. The Free Kirk of Scotland, tho Independents, and the United Presbyterians, have each a place of worship. There are some Druidical remains, including a barrow, surrounded by stone steps ; also vestiges of a Roman camp, near which two urns were found, containing human bones. Tho learned Dr. Carleton, who wrote Bishop Gilpin's life, was born in this parish in 1559. Sir W. T. Stanley Massey Stanley is lord of the manor. Fairs are held on the second Thursday in May, and on tho third Thursday in October. NORHAM-MA1NS, a tnshp. in the par. of Norham, hund. of Norhamshiro, co. Northumberland, formerly in Durham, 2 miles from Norham, the same distance from Hornclifle, and C S. by W. of Berwick. The township consists of a few farmhouses. Morris Hall is the prin- cipal residence. NORLAND, a tnshp. in tho chplry. of Sowerby Bridge, and par. of Halifax, wap. of Morley, West Riding co. L