Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/810

Rh WHITBY. 798 WHITCHUROH. Fauldhouse in the S. This parish formed part of Living- stone till 1730. WHITE Y, a tnshp. in the pars, of Eastham and Stoke, higher div. of Wirrall hund., co. Chester, 6 miles N. of Chester. The village is situated near the Dee and Mersey canal, which here communicates with the river Mersey, on which are extensive docks and wharves. WHITBY, a par., market town, seaport, and parlia- mentary borough in the libs, of Whitby-Strand and East Langbaurgh, North Riding co. York, 20 miles N.W. of Scarborough, and 44 N.E. of York by road, or 56| by the Pickering branch of the N.E. railway. It is also the terminus of the North Yorkshire and Cleveland branch of the North Eastern railway. The par. includes the borough of Whitby, with the chplries. of Aislaby, Eskdaleside, and Ugglebarnby, and the tnshps. of Hawkser, Newholm, and Ruswarp. It is situated at the mouth of the river Esk, which flowing through the town here falls into the German Ocean, and is crossed by a bridge of three arches, with a cast-iron swivel bridge, constructed for the purpose of admitting ships into the inner harbour. It is supposed to be the Dunum Sinus mentioned by Ptolemy, and was called by the Saxons Streonesheale, where Oswy, King of Northumbria, founded an abbey under St. Hilda in 657, at which a synod was held in 664 for determining Easter after the Roman style. A village on the cliff, of which there are still some traces, sprang up under the shelter of the abbey, but the latter being destroyed by the Danes under Hubba, who landed here in 876, the village first received the name of Presteby, or "priest town," and afterwards Whytebye or "white village," hence its modern name. After the Norman conquest the abbey was restored as a Benedictine priory by William de Percy, and at the Dis- solution had a revenue of 437, at which time the town contained 40 houses. The ruins of this pile, situated on a rock 240 feet above the sea, include parts of the cruci- form church, which was 300 feet long by 69 feet, or 150 through the transepts, and had a central tower 106 feet high supported upon four pillars of sixteen columns in the cluster, but which fell in 1830. The demesne of the ancient abbey was given by Henry VIII. to the Cholmleys of Honsham, whose mansion, Whitby Abbey, built out of the ruins of the old monastery, was taken by the Roundheads in 1645. There were also two other religious houses in the town, known as the White Hos- pital and St. John's. The town, which is divided into two nearly equal parts by the river Esk, consists of several narrow streets of old-fashioned, houses of brick and stone. It contains the townhall, a substantial build- ing of the Tuscan order, erected by the Cholmleys in 1 788, and situated in the market-place, and the baths on the pier of three stories, the first containing the baths, the second the subscription library, and the third the mu- seum of the Literary and Philosophical Society, contain- ing specimens of the fossil crocodile, ichthyosauri, and other saurians, with which the cliffs abound ; the custom- house, savings-bank, two commercial banks, the gas- house, seamen's hospital, dispensary, marine assurance clubs, and shipbuilding yards. The population of the parliamentary borough in 1851 was 10,989, and in 1861, 12,051, inhabiting 2,464 houses, but of the parish 14,014. It is one of the new boroughs created by the Reform Act of 1832, and returns one member to parliament. It is also a polling place for the North Riding, an excise collection, coastguard station, and bonding port. The magis- trates for the North Riding hold petty sessions on Tues- day and Saturday weekly, and George Cholmley, Esq., who is lord of the manor, holds his court-leet annually at Michaelmas. The Whitby Poor-law Union comprises 22 parishes or places, the union poor-house being situated in the tnshp. of Hawsker-cum-Stainacre. It is also the head of the new County Court and Superintendent Re- gistry districts. The inland trade of the port is con- siderable, but its prosperity is chiefly dependent on ship- building and the chartering of its numerous vessels. The manufacture of alum was established here in 1615 by the Cholmleys, and more recently the manufacture of jet ornaments has been introduced. The fisheries are prolific, and some of the, working classes are employed in the weaving of canvas. There are also extensive patent roperies belonging to Messrs. Morgan of London. The harbour, which is tidal, and almost dries at low water, but rises at high tide from 10 to 15 feet, admit- ting vessels of 600 tons, is divided into the outer and inner harbours by the bridge. It has been much im- proved by the construction of the eastern and western piers, the former extending into the sea 645 feet, and the latter 1,560 feet, besides the old Burgess pier, built in 1632 by the Cholmleys, but the entrance is still ren- dered dangerous by the Whitby Scar, an extensive ledge of black rock near the Sledway passage, which is 300 yards broad. At the end of the W. pier is a light- house, put up in 1831, 83 feet high, with a fixed light, visible for 13 miles ; and on the E. pier is another light- house, recently erected. The harbour is protected by a battery, and has Sandend and Robin Hood's Town for subports. The trade is in coal, timber, stone, alum, hemp, flax, and grain. Near 300 boats are constantly em- ployed in the herring and other fisheries. The alum cliffs extend along the coast for nearly 30 miles, abounding in fossils, and attain an elevation of from 100 to 700 feet above the sea. The living is a perpet. cur.* in the archdeaconry of Cleveland and dioc. of York, val. 215, in the patron, of the archbishop, who is impropriator of the great tithes. The parish church, dedicated to St. Mary, was built about 1110. It stands on the summit of East Cliff, and is approached by an ascent of 194 stone steps. In the interior are monuments to the Cholmley, Lascelles, and Chapman families. There are besides two chapels-of- ease dedicated respectively to St. John and St. Michael, also an Episcopalian chapel. The Wesleyans, Inde- pendents, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Society of Friends, and Unitarians have chapels. There are National, British, and infant schools, and Boulby's almshouses. The local charities produce about 170 per annum. Races take place on the sands in the early part of September. Mar- ket day is on Saturday. Fairs are held on 25th August, and on Martinmas-day. WHITBY-STRAND, a lib., North Riding co. York, contains part of the borough of Whitby and the pars, of Fylingdales, Hackness, and Sneaton, comprising 43,320 acres. WHITCIIESTER, a tnshp. in the par. of Heddon- on-the-Wall, co. Northumberland, 9 miles N.W. of Newcastle. Here was a Roman station, near which coins of Domitian, Antonine, and other emperors have been found. The demesne formerly belonged to the Turpins. WHITCHURCH, a par. in the hund. of Caerphilly, co. Glamorgan, 3 miles N.W. of Cardiff. The village is situated in the Vale of the Taff, near the Merthyr canal and Taff Vale railway. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the tin-plate works of Melin Grufydd. The principal residences are Velindre and Greenmeadow. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Llandaff, val. 100, in the patron, of the bishop. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. WHITCHURCH, or EGLWYS WEN, a hmlt. in the par. and co. of Denbigh, 1 mile E. of'Denbigh. WHITCHURCH, a par., decayed market town, and borough by prescription, in the hund. of Evingar, co. Hants, 12 miles N.E. of Winchester, and 59 S.W. of London. It is a station on the Andover and Basing- stoke branch of the London and South- Western rail- way. The par. includes, besides the town of its own name, the tithgs. of Charlcott, Cold Henley, and Free- folk Priors. It is situated on the river Test, which has its rise about 6 miles distant in a range of chalk hills. It has a mechanics' institute, held at the townhall, a branch bank, a library at the church, and bank- note paper mills in the tything of Freefolk Priors. It is a polling place for the northern division of the county, and sent two members to parliament from the 27th of Queen Elizabeth till the passing of the Reform Act of 1832, by which it was disfranchised. It is a borough by prescription, not included in the Municipal Corpora- tion Act, and is governed by a mayor and bailiff, elected annually by the freeholders at the court-leet of the