Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/821

Rh T ,YIIORLTON. 809 WICK. Gainford. There are National schools. The principal residence is Whorlton Castle. WHORLTON, a par. in the W. div. of Langbaurgh lib., North Hiding co. York, oj miles S.W. of Stokes- lev, and 3 from Carleton. It is situated at the base of tl.j Cleveland hills, and contains the chplry. of Faceby, the tnshps. of Potto, Swainby, and Whorlton, and one limit. Tho principal village is at Swainby, on the road leading to Thirsk and Northallerton, Whorlton itself being a mere hamlet. There are quarries of good building atone, and in the hills above Swainby vast quantities of ironstone have been discovered, for the transit of which a line of railway has recently been con- structed. The living is a perpct. our. in the dioc. of York, val. 90. The church of the Holy Cross contains a canopied monument with the effigy of a Knight Templar carved in oak, and an ivy-tree in full vigour. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have chapels at Swainby, and there are several schools. At Scarth are traces of a house of Augustine canons, founded in the reign of Henry I. as a cell to the priory of Guis- boro', and in the parish is the gateway tower of a castle built in the reign of Richard II., and bearing the arms of the D'Arcy, Meynell, and Gray families, its ancient possessors, near which silver coins were lately discovered. The castle and manor passed in the reign of Charles I. to Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, ancestor of the present lord, the Marquis of Ailesbury. WHORLTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Newburn, W. div. of Castle ward, co. Northumberland, 4 J miles N.W. of Newcastle. It is divided into East and West Whorl- ton. WHORWELSDOWN, a hund. in co. Wilts, contains the borough of Marlborough, and the pars, of Ashton Steeple, North Bradley, East Coulston, St. Mary and St. Peter Marlborough, and part of Keevil ; comprising 18,440 acres, exclusive of Marlborough. WIA, an island of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 1 mile S.E. of Benbecula, from which it is separated by a narrow strait called the Sound of Wia. It is situated near South Uist. It extends in length about 2J miles from N.E. to S.W., with a breadth of 1J mile. It is en- tirely composed of gneiss. WIA, an island in the par. of Bracadale, Isle of Skye, Scotland, opposite Loch-Scarig. WIBBLE A7SD WIBBLEGATE, a hmlt. in the par. of St. Decuman, co. Somerset, about 2 miles from Watchet. WIBSEY, a vil. and chplry. in the tnshp. of North Bierley, par. of Bradford, West Riding co. York, 2 miles S.W. of Bradford. It is situated in the heart of a populous mining district, and has the extensive iron- works belonging to the Low Moor Iron Company. Most of the inhabitants are employed at the coal and iron- stone mines, or in the numerous foundries and worsted- mills. WIBTOFT, a chplry. in the par. of Claybrooko, co. Warwick, 5 miles N.W. of Lutterworth, and 6 N.W. of Rugby. The village is situated on the Leicestershire border close to High Cross, where the old Roman roads AValling Street and Fosseway meet. WICHAUGH, a tnshp. ia the par. of Malpas, higher div. of Broxton huud., co. Chester, 5 miles N.W. of Whitehurch. WICHENFORD, a par in the lower div. of Oswalds- low hund., co. Worcester, 6 miles N.W. of Worcester. Tho surface is flat, and the lands are watered by several small brooks falling into a branch of the Severn. The soil is clayey, upon a subsoil of deep red marl. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Worcester, val. 450, in the patron, of the dean and chapter. The church, dedi- caled to St. Lawrence, contains monuments to the Washbourne family, for many centuries the proprietors of the manor. Tho charities produce about 3 per annum. WICHNOR, a chplry. in the par. of Tutonhill, co. Stafford, 6 miles N.E. of Lichfield. It is a junction station on the Lichfield and Derby branch of the South Staffordshire railway. It occupies the site of a Roman camp on the ancient Icknield Street, near the Grand Trunk canal and the river Trent. It was visited by James I. in 1621, who held a court in Wichnor Hall, the old seat of the Somervilles, who held the manor under the honour of Tutbury by the tenure of the " flitch of bacon," as at Dunmow, in Essex. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Lichfield, val. 100. The church is dedicated to St. Leonard. WICK, a hmlt. in the par. of Fyfield, co. Berks, 5 miles W. of Abingdon. WICK, a lib. in the par. of Radlev, co. Berks, 2 miles E. of Abingdon. It is joined with Thrupp. WICK, a par. in the hund. of Ogmore, co. Glamor- gan, 6 miles S.W. of Cowbridgo. Tho parish is situated on the shore of the Bristol Channel. The Cowbridge harriers meet here. The living is a cur. with St. Bride's Major. The church is dedicated to St. James. WICK, a par., seaport, market town, royal and par- liamentary burgh, in co. Caithness, Scotland. The par. contains, besides tho town of its own name, which may be considered tho political capital of Caithness-shire, the suburban towns of Louisburgh and Pulteneytown, tho vils. of Ackergill, Keias, Sarclet, and Staxigoe. It is bounded on the E. and S.E. by the North Sea, and on the other sides by tho pars, of Bower, Canisbay, Latheron , and Wat-ten. It extends in length from N. to S. about 14 miles, with an extreme breadth of 7 miles. Tho coast, which is indented with numerous creeks, is rocky and precipitous, except towards the N., where it forms Keiss and Wick bays, stretching several miles inland, and skirted by a low beach of siliceous sand. The chief promontory is Noss-Head. The sur- face is nearly flat, comprising several straths varied only by the hills of Bruan, Canister, and Yarrow. It is now well cultivated, except towards the southern and western borders, where are extensive tracts of bog and moss. It is drained by the rivers Wiuk and Wester- Water, and by numerous small lochs, as Yarrow, Kilminster, Dim, Hempriggs, Wick, and Windless. Tho prevailing rocks are clay-slate nnd graywacko-slate, with some limestone and sandstone, alternating with pyritous shale near tho coast. Traces of iron, lead, and copper are met with in several places, the last-named having been formerly worked. The soil is generally stiff clay and peat earth, alternated with loam and siliceous earth. The largest proprietor is Sir G. Dunbar, Bart. The chief seats are Hempriggs House, of the Dunbars ; Ulbster, of the Sinclairs ; Keiss House, Harland, Stirkoke, Rosebank, Sibster, Tarmach, and Thrumster. The town of Wick, the principal seat of the northern herring fishery and the county town, occupies a convenient site at the head of Wick Bay, on the left bank of the river Wick, over which is a bridge connecting it with Pulteneytown, which nearly rivals it in population, and contains the only good streets and squares. Tho town consists of Wick-Proper and Louisburgh, tho former irregu- larly built and dirty, but the principal seat of trade. It contains a town and county hall, court-house, Pul- teneytown Academy, branches of the City of Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Commercial banks, also a distillery, brewery, and grain and saw-mills. The principal trade is connected with the herring fishery and herring curing establishments ; the other manufactures are rope and net- making, boat-building, and an iron-foundry. There are resident hero an agent of the Britisli Fishing Society, and vice-consuls of Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and the United States ; it is also the seat of custom- house establishment. The value of tho boats, nets, and lines employed in the herring fishery is about 70,000, and the yield of herrings cured, 165,000 barrels, besides 6,250 not cured. Two weekly newspapers, the John o' Groat Journal and Northern Ensign, are published in the town. Wick was erected into a royal burgh by charter of James VI. ia 1589. The town council consists f a provost, 3 bailies, a dean of guild, treasurer, and 9 common councillors, but their authority is limited to Wick-Proper, the British Fishing Society being superiors of Pulteneytown, by whom it was established