Norwell - Nunkeeling

A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848.

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'Norwell - Nunkeeling', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 446-461. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp446-461 [accessed 24 March 2024]

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Norwell (St. Lawrence)

NORWELL (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Southwell, N. division of the wapentake of Thurgarton, S. division of the county of Nottingham, 6 miles (N. by W.) from Newark; containing, with the chapelry of Carlton-upon-Trent, and the township of Norwell-Woodhouse, 954 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, originally divided into three portions, denominated Secunda, Tertia, and Overhall; net income, £336; patron, the Bishop of Ripon. Norwell Secunda and Overhall are each valued in the king's books at £4. 12. 11. The tithes were commuted for land and corn-rents in 1826. The church is a large ancient structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with a tower containing three bells. On the site of an ancient mansion called Preston Hall now stands a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists, built in 1827. A school is endowed with £44 per annum.

Norwell-Woodhouse

NORWELL-WOODHOUSE, a township, in the parish of Norwell, union of Southwell, N. division of the wapentake of Thurgarton, S. division of the county of Nottingham, 7¼ miles (N. N. W.) from the town of Newark; containing 156 inhabitants. It is situated two miles west-north-west of the village of Norwell.

Norwich

NORWICH, a city and county of itself, locally in the hundred of Humbleyard, E. division of Norfolk, of which it is the capital, 108 miles (N. E. by N.) from London; containing 62,344 inhabitants. This ancient city rose from the ruins of the Venta Icenorum of the Romans, so named from the river Wentsum or Wensum, and the site of which is now occupied by the village of Caistor, a little to the south. By the Britons, in allusion to that circumstance, it was called Caer Gwent; and by the Saxons, in reference to its situation with respect to the Roman station, Northwic, or the northern castle, of which its present name is an evident contraction. Uffa, first king of the East Angles, is stated to have built a castle in 575. According to Spelman, the castle was a residence of the kings of East Anglia, who established a mint here, from which issued coins of Alfred and several succeeding kings. Being an object of frequent contention between the Saxons and the Danes, it was alternately in the possession of each party, and was repaired and fortified by Alfred the Great against the latter, to whom, after a treaty of peace, that monarch finally conceded it. The Danes being subsequently driven out, it remained in the hands of the Saxons till 1004, when those invaders, stimulated by the weakness of Ethelred II. and the treachery of Alfric, Earl of Mercia, landed on the coast of Essex under Sweyn their king, plundered and burnt the city, and left it in a state of desolation. In 1018, they again took it under Canute, by whom it was rebuilt and the fortifications of the castle were restored. From this time it increased in extent and importance till the Norman Conquest, when it was inferior only to the city of York. It was bestowed by the Conqueror on Ralph Guader, who, with the Earls of Hereford and Northumberland, entered into a conspiracy against the king; but being frustrated in his design by the vigilance of the Bishop of Worcester, the sheriff of that county, and Walter Lucy, Baron of Hereford, he withdrew into Brittany, leaving in the castle a garrison of Britons under the command of his wife, who heroically sustained a protracted siege, till, being reduced by famine, she surrendered to the king, on condition of being suffered to leave the kingdom with all her forces in perfect security. During this siege the city was so much reduced that, from 1320 burgesses who inhabited it in the reign of Edward the Confessor, there were only 560 remaining. It gradually recovered, however, from this severe calamity; and in 1094, Herbert de Lozinga, who had accompanied William Rufus from Normandy, being bishop of Thetford, removed that see to Norwich.

Arms.

The city from this time rapidly improved, and, according to William of Malmesbury, soon became famous for the number of its population, and the extent of its trade. It was rebuilt in the reign of Stephen, who incorporated the inhabitants, and gave the town as an appanage to his third son William, from whom it was afterwards taken by Henry II., whose son gave it to Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in order to secure his interest in his rebellion against his father. The earl having repaired the fortifications, and placed a strong garrison of French and Flemings in the castle, held it for some time against the king, but after a vigorous defence, he was compelled to surrender it, and to purchase peace by the payment of 1000 marks. In the reign of King John, the Dauphin of France, whom the confederated barons had invited to their assistance, besieged and took possession of the castle, plundered the citizens, and committed numerous depredations. In the time of Edward I., having recovered from the injury it had sustained, and again grown into importance, it abounded with opulent citizens, who environed it with walls of great strength; and in the reign of Henry IV., in 1403, the inhabitants obtained permission to elect a mayor and sheriffs in lieu of their ancient bailiffs, whereby Norwich was constituted a county of itself. In the reign of Richard II. an insurrection was excited by John Letester, a dyer in the town, which was quelled by the exertions of the Bishop of Norwich, by whom he was defeated, and, being taken prisoner, was executed in 1381. The city suffered severely by continual discord between the monks and the citizens; the latter at one time assaulted and set fire to the monastery, which, with the exception of the chapel, was burnt down. The king, informed of this outrage, visited Norwich, and, after due examination, caused thirty young men of the city to be executed. In 1446, another assault on the monks was restrained by the activity of the Duke of Norfolk, who seized and punished the ringleaders, displaced the mayor from his office, and appointed Sir John Clifton governor of the place till the king might be pleased to restore its forfeited privileges. Soon after the suppression of these tumults, the city, which had repeatedly suffered from a similar calamity, was nearly consumed by a fire that accidentally broke out in a house situated in the parish of St. George.

In the reign of Edward VI., Robert Kett, a tanner, and his brother William, both of Wymondham, under the pretence of resisting the inclosure of waste lands, excited a formidable rebellion; and, having seized on the palace of the Earl of Surrey there, converted it into a prison, in which they confined many noblemen and others. They then encamped on Mousehold heath, near Norwich, where they were at length defeated by the Earl of Warwick with a numerous army, and the two brothers being taken prisoners, Robert was hanged on Norwich Castle, and William on the steeple of Wymondham church. In the reign of Elizabeth, the manufacture of bombasin and other articles, for which the city has been since noted, was introduced by the Dutch and Walloons, who, fleeing from the Netherlands, found in this country an asylum from the persecution of the Duke of Alva. That queen, who, by the encouragement she gave to the emigrants, laid the foundation of the commercial and manufacturing prosperity of this and other towns, in 1578 visited Norwich, where she was received with great demonstrations of respect, and pompously entertained for several days. During the civil war in the reign of Charles I. the city was held by the parliamentarian forces, who defaced the cathedral, stripped it of all its plate and ornaments, and greatly damaged the episcopal palace. After the Restoration the place was visited by Charles II. and his consort, and subsequently by Queen Anne, who were hospitably entertained by the corporation.

The city is pleasantly situated on the summit and acclivities of an eminence rising gently from the Wensum, which river, after pursuing a winding course through the town, joins the river Yare, thus affording a line of navigation to the sea at Yarmouth. The houses are in general of antique appearance, and the city being thickly interspersed with orchards and garden-grounds, presents a rural aspect almost unparalleled in a place of such extent. There are not less than nine bridges over the river, connecting the different parts of the town, which has recently been lighted wholly with gas; the streets are in many places narrow, diverge from one common centre, and are for the most part paved. The whole town, extending a mile and a half in length, and one mile and a quarter in breadth, was formerly surrounded, except where it was defended by the river, with embattled walls, in which were forty towers and twelve principal gates; the walls are in a dilapidated state, and the towers and gates have been taken down. Various parts of it are supplied with water by means of public water-works. The environs are in the highest state of cultivation, and, from the salubrity of the air, and the pleasantness of their situation, have become the residence of numerous opulent families. There is a public subscription library, founded in 1784, which has more than 14,000 volumes; a large building was erected for it in 1837, on part of the site of the old gaol, at the north end of the market-place, opposite the guildhall. The Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution occupies part of a noble structure erected in 1839, on the site of the Duke of Norfolk's ancient palace in St. Andrew's street, granted by his grace to a proprietary for erecting a building for a museum, which had then been established about ten years, and is in a flourishing condition. The Norwich and Norfolk United Medical Book Society was instituted in 1824. A society of artists was formed in 1803, for promoting the study of painting, sculpture, and architecture; and in 1816, some of the original members instituted the Norwich and Norfolk society of artists and amateurs, out of which arose the Art-Union in 1842: a mechanics' institute was founded in 1825. The theatre royal, a handsome building tastefully fitted up, was first opened in 1826, under the direction of the Norwich company. Near it is an elegant suite of assembly-rooms, consisting of a larger ball-room 66 feet long and 23 wide, a smaller 50 feet long and 27 wide, and a tea-room 27 feet square; which, by removing partitions, form one apartment 143 feet in length. The public gardens, in which is a well-built edifice called the Pantheon, are tastefully laid out. The cavalry barracks, in Pockthorpe, consist of a centre and two wings, and the walls inclose an area of ten acres.

The chief articles of manufacture are, bombasins, crapes, camlets, chalis, shawls, plaids, worsted stuffs, and fabrics in which silk, wool, and mohair are interwoven, called Norwich shawls; to prevent fraud in the manufacture of which, eight wardens, of whom four are chosen from the citizens and four from the neighbourhood, are annually appointed, with full powers of inspection. The number of looms in the city and neighbourhood is about 14,000, affording occupation to more than 15,000 persons. There are several silk-mills, the principal of which employs from 300 to 400 persons; the silk, after being properly prepared, is distributed to the weavers to be manufactured into crape. The towns of Yarmouth and Bungay participate in the benefit of the silk manufacture, of which branch establishments have been opened in those places. Another source of employment arises from three yarn-factories, in which the wool undergoes the processes of combing, sorting, &c., and is spun into yarn. There are, besides, some extensive iron-foundries, breweries, establishments for making vinegar, snuff-manufactories, and numerous corn-mills. A considerable trade in agricultural produce is derived from the situation of the town in a district remarkable for its fertility and the improved mode of its cultivation. The trade between Norwich and Yarmouth is partly carried on by keels and wherries of very light construction, varying from fifteen to forty tons' burthen, by which coal, timber, grain, and other articles of merchandise, are brought from that port up the river, on which is also a regular establishment of steam-packets. Besides the British products just mentioned, large quantities of wine and oil are imported from the continent of Europe, and yarn from Ireland; and the manufactures of Norwich are exported from London and Yarmouth to Russia, the Baltic, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, as well as the East and West Indies and to America. In 1842 an act was passed for a railway to Yarmouth, and in 1844 an act for a railway to Brandon; these railways were united in December, 1845, by the opening of a swing or moveable bridge over the Wensum. An act was obtained in 1846 for a railway from Norwich to the Ipswich and Bury railway near Stow-Market, 31 miles in length. The marketdays are Wednesday and Saturday, the latter of which is very considerable for corn: the corn exchange is a commodious building, erected in 1828; the front is ornamented with a noble Ionic portico of four columns, and the interior constitutes one of the most spacious rooms in the kingdom. A very large market is also held on Saturday, on the Castle Ditches, for horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs; and there is a market for fish daily. The fairs are on the day before Good Friday, and on the Monday and Tuesday in Easter and Whitsun weeks.

More than twenty different charters had been granted previously to that of Charles II., under which the city was governed until the recent passing of the Municipal Corporations' act. The government is now vested in a mayor, sixteen aldermen, and forty-eight councillors, and a sheriff is appointed by the council; the municipal boundaries of the borough are co-extensive with those for parliamentary purposes, and the city is divided into eight wards. The income of the corporation is about £4500 per annum. The mayor and late mayor are justices of the peace, and the total number of magistrates is twenty-seven. The freedom is inherited by birth, or acquired by servitude to a resident freeman. The city first exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of Edward I., since which time it has regularly returned two members to parliament: the sheriff is the returning officer. A court of assize takes place twice a year for Norwich, before the judges on the Norfolk circuit, and is opened by a commission distinct from that for the county of Norfolk: courts of general sessions are held six times a year, for the trial of all except capital offenders; and a barrister appointed by the corporation presides at the Borough Court, for the recovery of debts to any amount, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The powers of the county debt-court of Norwich, established in the year 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Norwich, St. Faith, Blofield, and Henstead, and part of the registration-districts of Forehoe, and Loddon and Clavering.

Corporation Seal.

The Guildhall, situated north of the market-place, is an ancient structure of black flint, containing convenient courts and offices. The council-chamber is a noble room, ornamented with numerous portraits of eminent persons, and containing the sword of Don Xavier Francisco Winthuysen, the Spanish admiral, presented to the corporation by Lord Nelson, accompanied with a letter in the admiral's hand-writing. St. Andrew's Hall, formerly the church of the monastery of the Black friars, and now converted into a banqueting-hall, used occasionally for public meetings, is also an ancient structure; the front has been carefully restored, and the roof ceiled, and painted in compartments, in imitation of old oak, with carved tracery. The choir is used as a chapel for the inmates of the city workhouse. The nave, 124 feet long, is elegantly fitted up, and decorated with historical paintings and full-length portraits of many distinguished persons who have served municipal offices, besides others of Queen Anne, and Prince George of Denmark; the Hobarts, earls of Buckinghamshire; and the Harbords, lords Suffield: at the east end is a fine portrait of Lord Nelson, by Sir William Beechey, presented in 1804. In this hall are held the grand triennial musical festivals, and at the west end is a splendid organ, built at the expense of the corporation. The City Gaol, erected in 1829 at a cost of £24,000, is a massive building: the house of correction contains six wards, day-rooms, and airing-yards, and an infirmary; also a day ward and two schoolrooms for juvenile offenders. The assizes and quarter-sessions for Norfolk are held in the Shire-Hall, a spacious edifice erected in 1822; in the grand-jury room are admirable full-length portraits of the late Earl of Leicester, and Lord Wodehouse, lord-lieutenant of the county. The Castle, which, though situated in the centre of the city, belongs to Norfolk, has long been a prison for that county, and a new gaol has been erected in connexion with it. The principal remains of the ancient building are, the shell of the keep, a massive structure on the summit of an artificial eminence, and Bigod's Tower, a fine specimen of the Norman style; over the fosse is an old stone bridge of one circular arch, of forty feet span, still entire, and, from the supposed date of its erection, considered to be of Saxon architecture. The outer walls inclosed an area of twenty-three acres.

Norwich was raised into a see by Herbert de Lozinga, who, when Bishop of Thetford, transferred the seat of the diocese, in 1094, to this city, where, having purchased a large plot of ground near the castle, he erected a cathedral, an episcopal palace, and a monastery for 60 Benedictine monks, whose revenue at the Dissolution was £1050. 17. 6. The episcopal chair was originally at North Elmham, where a bishop was placed about 673, on the division of the kingdom of East Anglia into two sees; but in 1091, Thetford became the head of the diocese. The diocese, until recently, comprised the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and eleven parishes in the county of Cambridge; but by the ecclesiastical arrangements under the act 6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77, the archdeaconry of Sudbury in Suffolk (with the exception of the deaneries of Stow and Hartismere) and the parishes in Cambridgeshire have been transferred to the diocese of Ely. The ecclesiastical establishment consists of a bishop, dean, three archdeacons, four canons residentiary, eight honorary canons, six minor canons, of whom one is precentor, an epistoler, a gospeller, eight lay clerks, ten choristers, an organist, and other officers; there are also a high steward (who must be a nobleman), a deputy steward, commissary, and chapter-clerk. The bishop is a suffragan of the Archbishop of Canterbury; and, besides being entitled by his episcopal dignity, sits in the House of Peers as titular abbot of Bene't-at-Holme, being the only abbot in England. He possesses the patronage of the archdeaconries and the chancellorship. The Dean and Chapter were instituted out of the priory of Norwich, by Henry VIII., and re-founded by charter in the reign of James I. The body consists of the Dean, who is presented by the crown, and the four canons residentiary, who are appointed by the lord high chancellor with the exception of one, who is always master of Catherine Hall, Cambridge; it has the patronage of the minor canonries, and the exclusive jurisdiction of the cathedral.

Arms of the Bishopric.

The cathedral, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, after being destroyed by fire, was rebuilt by John of Oxford, the fourth bishop; and having suffered materially from repeated assaults arising from the dissensions between the monks and the citizens, it has undergone numerous repairs and alterations, especially within the last few years, during which a complete restoration has been effected. The edifice still displays much of its original Norman architecture, of which it affords some of the finest specimens in the kingdom. It is a spacious cruciform structure, with a tower of the most finished and highly ornamented Norman style, rising from the centre, and surmounted by an octagonal spire, in the later decorated style, crocketed at the angles. The west front, principally of Norman character, has a central entrance, with a large window above it in the later English style, and in 1842 was restored under the direction of Mr. Blore: the east end has several circular chapels; the Lady chapel, now destroyed, was in the early English style. Some vestiges exist of a part resembling that portion of Canterbury cathedral called Becket's Crown; and amidst all the alterations and insertions which have been made, there are still numerous remains of the ancient details of the edifice. The interior has an impressive grandeur of effect. The nave, the roof of which and of the aisles is vaulted, is purely Norman: the triforium is large, and surmounted by a range of clerestory windows: the choir is richly ornamented with tracery, in the later English style, of excellent design, and is decorated with screen and tabernacle work of elaborate execution. Within the communion rails is placed, upon the sabbath, on a bronze stand the upper part of which represents an eagle with extended wings, the Bible on which Queen Victoria took the usual oaths at her coronation, a gift to the Dean and Chapter by Dr. Stanley, bishop of the diocese, and clerk of the closet to the Queen. The font, in St. Luke's chapel, is remarkably beautiful, and there are some ancient monuments of great interest: in the chapel of St. Mary the Less are held the consistorial episcopal courts. The cloisters are peculiarly fine, displaying a continued series of the purest specimens, from the early decorated to the later style of English architecture. The chapter-house has been demolished: of the old episcopal palace the entrance gate and hall are still remaining; and St. Ethelbert's and Erpingham gates, both beautiful structures, are in good preservation. The precincts are in the special jurisdiction of the dean and other members of the establishment, who exercise magisterial powers within them; but under the Municipal act, the mayor and city justices have concurrent jurisdiction.

PARISHES IN THE CITY.
Parish. Population. Livings. Value in the King's Books. Present Income. Patrons.
£. s. d. £.
All Saints 676 United Rectory 3 14 7 246 The Rev. G. H. Webster.
St. Julian 1093
St. Andrew 1295 Perpetual Curacy 5 0 0 90 The Parishioners.
St. Augustine 2053 Discharged Rectory 6 17 150 The Dean and Chapter.
St. Benedict 1319 Perpetual Curacy 95 The Parishioners.
St. Clement 2836 Discharged Rectory 7 9 2 98 Caius College, Cambridge.
Christ Church, New Catton Perpetual Curacy. 150 The Rector.
St. Edmund 727 Discharged Rectory 4 6 3 165 The Rev. C. D. Brereton, incumbent.
St. Ethelred 308 Perpetual Curacy 77 Trustees of Charities, the impropriators.
St. George Colegate 1440 Perpetual Curacy 98 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. George Tombland 778 Perpetual Curacy 144 The Bishop of Ely, the appropriator.
St. Giles 1546 Perpetual Curacy 150 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Gregory 1107 Perpetual Curacy 120 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Helen 487 Perpetual Curacy 16 Trustees of Charities.
St. James 3189 Perpetual Curacy 150 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. John Maddermarket 731 Discharged Rectory 7 10 2 110 New College, Oxford.
St. John Sepulchre 1847 Perpetual Curacy 185 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. John Timberhill 1108 Perpetual Curacy 120 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Lawrence 974 Discharged Rectory 4 13 9 82 The Crown.
St. Margaret de Westwick 865 Discharged Rectory 5 4 80 The Bishop.
St. Martin at Palace 1320 Perpetual Curacy 70 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Martin at Oak, alias St. Martin Coslany 2589 Perpetual Curacy 102 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Mary Coslany 1402 Perpetual Curacy 71 The Townshend family.
St. Mary in the Marsh, in the precincts 498 Discharged Rectory now held as a Perpetual Curacy 5 0 10 110 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Michael Coslany 1298 Discharged Rectory 13 6 8 117 Caius College, Cambridge.
St. Michael at Plea 395 Discharged Rectory 6 10 0 85 Sir T. B. Lennard, Bart., & J. Morse, Esq.
St. Michael at Thorn 1860 Perpetual Curacy 88 The Dowager Lady Suffield.
St. Paul 2783 Rectory Not in charge 150 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Peter Hungate 428 Discharged Rectory 3 1 63 The Crown.
St. Peter Mancroft 2976 Perpetual Curacy 87 The Parishioners.
St. Peter Mountergate 2025 Perpetual Curacy 78 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Peter Southgate 464 Discharged Rectory 2 17 61 The Bishop.
St. Saviour 1419 Perpetual Curacy 103 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Simon and St. Jude 370 Discharged Rectory 3 10 0 65 The Bishop.
St. Stephen 4212 Discharged Vicarage 9 0 0 212 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
St. Swithin 753 Discharged Rectory 6 3 4 105 The Bishop.
Earlham (St. Mary) 107 Vicarage 5 7 The Frank Family.
Eaton (St. Andrew) 621 Vicarage Not in charge 87 The Dean and Chapter, the appropriators.
Heigham (St. Bartholomew) 6050 Rectory 6 13 4 211 The Bishop.
Lakenham 4006 V. united to that of Trowse.
St. Mark's District Church Perpetual Curacy The Dean and Chapter.
Pockthorpe 1098 Perpetual Curacy, united to that of St. James.

Many of the Churches, of which the prevailing style is the later English, with portions of an earlier date, and some Norman remains, are deserving of notice. The church of St. Peter Mancroft is a spacious structure in the later English style of architecture, with a lofty square embattled tower highly enriched: the interior is remarkably light and elegant. The intervals between the arches of the nave are ornamented with niches of exquisite design, and the windows are large, and filled with excellent tracery; the east windows are embellished with stained glass, and in the vestry are some ancient portraits of the saints, and a painting of the Resurrection. There are likewise numerous monuments, but of several the inscriptions are obliterated. The church of St. Michael Coslany is a handsome structure of flint and stone, and affords a fine specimen of that mode of building: the prevailing character is the later English, intermixed with the early and decorated styles; the details are elaborately wrought, and the chancel in particular is beautifully ornamented. The churches of St. Benedict, St. Ethelred, and St. Julian have round towers, in which, though greatly obscured by alterations and repairs, remains of Norman architecture are discernible. The church of St. Lawrence is a fine edifice, with a tower of flint and stone 112 feet high: over the western entrance are sculptured representations of the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, and of St. Edmund, King of East Anglia. The churches of St. Andrew, St. George Colegate, St. Giles, and St. Saviour are also handsome structures in the later English style, with lofty towers of flint and stone, and contain numerous interesting portions in earlier styles. There are places of worship in the city for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, and Unitarians; a synagogue; and two chapels belonging to the Roman Catholics, one of which is an elegant edifice.

The Free Grammar school, originally built by Bishop Salmon, was established by Edward VI., under whose charter it is supported out of the revenues of St. Giles' or the Great Hospital, in Bishopsgate-street. Belonging to this school and that of Aylsham are three scholarships of £2. 13. 4. each per annum, founded at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, by Archbishop Parker; who also established, in the same college, two scholarships for boys educated at Norwich, Aylsham, or Wymondham. The school has four scholarships, of £5 each per annum, founded at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, by William Braithwaite in 1618; and two scholarships, of £5 per annum each, were founded at Caius College, by Matthew Stokys, in 1635, for natives of Norfolk. Edward Colman, also, in 1659 bequeathed £20 per annum to Corpus Christi College, for the maintenance of four scholars from this school or that of Wymondham. The Boys' hospital, founded in 1618 by Thomas Anguish, mayor; and the Girls' hospital, endowed in 1649, are both under good regulations. In 1775, Mr. Moy bequeathed £1000 Bank stock, directing the interest to be appropriated to apprenticing children educated in the schools; and Mr. Elmy left £400 for the same purpose. St. Giles' hospital was established in 1249 by Bishop Suffield, for aged persons, and the ancient collegiate church of St. Helen has been appropriated to its use; the choir is fitted up for the residence of 50 women, part of the nave has been prepared for the reception of 50 men, and the remainder is used as a chapel. The edifice, notwithstanding the alterations it has undergone, still displays many interesting portions of its ancient architecture. There are cottage residences for about 50 other pensioners of the hospital. Doughty's hospital, in which are 40 aged persons, was founded in 1687 by William Doughty, who bequeathed £6000 for its erection and endowment. Cook's hospital was founded prior to the year 1701, by Robert and Thomas Cook, for ten women. The Norfolk and Norwich hospital, a handsome building of red brick, was erected in 1771, at an expense of £13,323: a valuable collection in anatomy and pathology having been presented to it by Mr. Dalrymple, the governors erected a building as a museum, which was formally opened in Sept. 1845. At Thorpe, about two miles from the city, is the Norfolk and Norwich lunatic asylum, erected in 1814, at a cost, including the furniture, of £39,828. The Magdalen asylum, under the management of a committee of ladies, contains about 20 females. Bethel hospital, for the reception of lunatics, was erected by Mrs. Mary Chapman in 1713, and is supported by funds arising from donations, and by subscription. An infirmary for the cure of diseases of the Eye was established in 1822. The institution for the relief of the Blind, established chiefly by the exertions of Thomas Tawell, Esq., one of its greatest benefactors, embraces also a school for the instruction of blind children: 15 aged persons are now in the asylum. Considerable bequests have been made for distribution among the indigent in general. The management of the poor is regulated by a local act, which extends over 44 parishes; the parish of St. Mary in the Marsh forms an exception, and is in the union of St. Faith.

Of the Monastic establishments formerly existing in the town and neighbourhood, numerous vestiges of which are still visible, were, the priory and church of St. Leonard, at Thorpe-wood, near the city, in which Herbert de Lozinga placed several monks while he was erecting the cathedral; an hospital for Lepers endowed by him, the revenue of which at the Dissolution was £10; the hospital of St. Paul, founded in 1121 by the convent of Norwich; a nunnery dedicated to St. Mary and St. John, endowed for sisters of the Benedictine order by King Stephen, who in 1146 established a new convent at Carrow, the revenue of which at the Dissolution was £84. 12. 1¾.; St. Edward's hospital, instituted in 1200 by Hildebrand de Mercer, citizen of Norwich, which had so far decayed that at the Dissolution its revenue was only 14s. 6d.; the monastery of Black friars, built in the reign of Edward II., and of which the ancient church is now St. Andrew's Hall; the monastery of Grey friars, erected in 1226 by John de Hastingford, on the site now occupied by Cook's hospital; the monastery of White friars, founded in 1256 by Philip Congate, merchant, which remained till the Dissolution; the convent of Augustine friars, established in the reign of Edward I., by one of the bishops; a convent of friars of the order of De Pænitentiâ Jesu, instituted in 1266, and which, after the suppression of that order, was annexed to the convent of Black friars; and the college of St. Mary, originally a chapel formed in 1250 by Sir John Broun or Brom, and at the time of the Dissolution consisting of a dean, four prebendaries, and others, with a revenue of £86. 16. There were also various hospitals, vestiges of which may be traced in several parts.

Among the eminent Natives of the city, have been William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich in the fourteenth century, and founder of Trinity Hall, Cambridge; Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, and chaplain to Queen Ann Boleyn, whom he attended to the scaffold; Dr. John Kaye or Caius, founder of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and author of a treatise on the antiquities of that university, and other works; Robert Green, a popular writer in the reign of Elizabeth; Dr. John Cosin, Bishop of Durham in the reign of Charles II.; the learned Dr. Samuel Clarke, the son of an alderman of Norwich, born in 1675; Edward King, F.R.S. and F.S.A., a most erudite antiquary, and author of a work on ancient architecture entitled Munimenta Antiqua, born in 1734; the Rev. William Beloe, the translator of Herodotus; and Sir James Edward Smith, M.D., founder and first president of the Linnæan Society, and author of the Flora Britannica. Of distinguished residents may be named, Sir Thomas Erpingham, Knt., chamberlain to Henry IV., who distinguished himself at the battle of Agincourt, and who built the beautiful gate facing the western end of the cathedral, and was interred in the cathedral in 1428; and Sir John Fastolf, a renowned warrior, who signalized himself in the wars with France in the reigns of Henry IV., V., and VI., and was interred in 1459 in a chapel which he had founded in the abbey of Holme. Sir Thomas Browne, author of the Religio Medici, died at Norwich in 1682.

Norwood

NORWOOD, a precinct and parochial chapelry, in the union of Uxbridge, hundred of Elthorne, county of Middlesex, 2½ miles (N. by W.) from Hounslow; containing, with the hamlet of Southall, and part of North Hyde hamlet, 2385 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £128; patrons, the Trustees of the late J. Hamborough, Esq. The chapel has been enlarged. A district church, dedicated to St. John, was erected at Southall in 1839.

Norwood

NORWOOD, a district, partly in the parish and union of Lambeth, E. division of the hundred of Brixton, and partly in the parish and union of Croydon, First division of the hundred of Wallington, E. division of Surrey, 6½ miles (S.) from London; containing 6046 inhabitants. The village derives its name from an adjacent wood, which borders on a common formerly a noted resort for gipsies. Its elevated situation, the beauty of the surrounding scenery, and the salubrity of the atmosphere, have of late years caused the erection of many elegant seats in the vicinity. A mineral spring, called the Beulah Spa, was discovered some years since, and inclosed within an ornamental building; and a large tract of ground with a favourable undulation of surface has been laid out in a variety of walks and shrubberies, tastefully adorned with grottoes and fanciful buildings, which attract numerous visiters during the summer months: a convenient hotel has been built at the entrance to the gardens. Some coarse earthenware is made in a pottery here. There are two churches in the district. That dedicated to St. Luke, in the parish of Lambeth, a large edifice in the Grecian style, with a Corinthian portico and a tower, was completed in the year 1825, at an expense of £12,897, of which the commissioners gave one moiety, and lent the other, together with the sum of £4325 for making a cemetery, furnishing the building, &c.: the living is a district incumbency; net income, £303; patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The district church dedicated to All Saints, situated at Beulah Hill, in the parish of Croydon, is in the English style, with four turrets, and was completed in 1829, by a grant from the commissioners: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Croydon; income, £285. There is a place of worship for Independents. A burial-ground here, called the South Metropolitan Cemetery, covering forty-one acres, laid out in the most tasteful manner, and adorned with appropriate buildings, was consecrated on the 7th of December 1837. It is principally on the north and north-west acclivities of a commanding eminence, upon which two chapels stand, and from which the views of Norwood, Penge, Herne-Hill, and the adjoining country, are very fine; the chapels were designed by Mr. Tite, and are in the style that prevailed in the time of Henry VI. On Westow Hill, which has a splendid panoramic prospect, are some Industrial schools for training the pauper children of numerous London parishes: the premises occupy four acres.

Norwood, with Clifton.—See Clifton.

NORWOOD, with Clifton.—See Clifton.

Nosley

NOSLEY, an extra-parochial liberty, in the hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester, 8½ miles (N. by E.) from Market-Harborough; containing 20 inhabitants. A chantry, or college, was founded about 1274, by Sir Anketine de Martival; it was dedicated to the Ascension of Our Lord and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, and in the reign of Henry VI. was valued at £6. 13. 4. per annum. The liberty comprises 1316 acres of land, nearly all the property of Sir A. G. Hazlerigg, Bart., of Nosley Hall, a fine old mansion in a small park, which has belonged to his family since 1414: the Hall contains many valuable paintings.

Nostal, with Huntwick and Foulby

NOSTAL, with Huntwick and Foulby, a township, in the parish of Wragby, Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 4¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from Pontefract; containing 152 inhabitants. A priory of Augustine canons, in honour of St. Oswald, king and martyr, was established in the time of William Rufus, by Ilbert de Lacy: at the Dissolution it had a revenue of £606. 9. 3. Near its site, a mansion named Nostal Priory was erected in the beginning of the last century, by Sir Rowland Winn; the house is of great size, displaying many features of interest, and containing a valuable collection of paintings. The park presents some beautiful scenery, and is embellished with wood.

Notgrove (St. Bartholomew)

NOTGROVE (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Stow-on-the-Wold, hundred of Bradley, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 4¾ miles (N.) from Northleach; containing 181 inhabitants. It comprises 1500 acres, of which the soil is a stone brash, and generally laid out as sheep pasture. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £256. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1770; the glebe altogether comprises 314 acres, with a house. The church is a small ancient structure.

Notley, Black (St. Peter and St. Paul)

NOTLEY, BLACK (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Braintree, hundred of Witham, N. division of Essex, 1½ mile (S. by E.) from Braintree; containing 520 inhabitants. The parish occupies elevated ground commanding fine views of the adjacent country, and comprises 1800 acres, of which about 130 are woodland, and the remainder arable and pasture. The soil is in some parts a rich loam, in others of lighter quality, and in some alternated with gravel; the lower grounds are watered by the brook Hoppett, which forms part of the northern boundary of the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15, and in the gift of W. W. Luard, and J. H. Pattisson, Esqrs.: the tithes have been commuted for £497, and the glebe comprises 25 acres. The church is a small edifice, with a belfry turret of wood surmounted by a shingled spire: in the churchyard is a monument to John Ray, the naturalist, who was a native of the parish. James Coker, in 1702, devised property for the instruction of children, producing £22 per annum; the school is on the national system. The learned William Bedell, Bishop of Kilmore, was born here in 1570.

Notley, White

NOTLEY, WHITE, a parish, in the union of Braintree, hundred of Witham, N. division of Essex, 4 miles (N. W.) from Witham; containing 470 inhabitants. It comprises about 2200 acres, of which 130 are woodland, 200 pasture, and the remainder arable. The living is a vicarage, endowed with a portion of the great tithes, and valued in the king's books at £10; patron, the Bishop of London; impropriator, R. O. Easton, Esq. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £254, and the vicarial for £248. 13.; the glebe comprises 8 acres. The church is of stone, and consists of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with a lofty spire containing three bells; the chancel was thoroughly repaired in 1639, by Henry Smyth, then owner of the great tithes. White Notley and Black Notley formerly constituted one township, styled in Domesday book Nutlea, Nutleia, and Nuchelea, and in other records Nutteslega and Nutelegh: the name is supposed to signify "a nut pasture."

Nottingham

NOTTINGHAM, a borough and market-town, forming a union and county of itself, locally in the wapentake of Broxtow, N. division of the county of Nottingham, of which it is the chief town, 124 miles (N. N. W.) from London; containing, with the limits of the castle, in the wapentake of Broxtow, 53,091 inhabitants. This town, from the numerous caverns and subterraneous dwellings excavated in the sandy rock on which it is situated, was by the Saxons called Snottingha-ham, or "place of caverns," of which its present name is a slight modification. According to the Saxon Chronicle, the Danes, having in one of their numerous predatory incursions made themselves masters of the town, in 868 were attacked by Burrhed, King of Mercia, who, obtaining the assistance of King Ethelred I. and his brother Alfred, afterwards Alfred the Great, compelled the invaders to conclude a treaty of peace, and to retire to York. The place having subsequently suffered material injury from their renewed attempts to take it, in which they were frequently successful, was fortified with a wall by Edward the Elder, who in 910 built a bridge over the river Trent. In 924, the town was repaired on the south side, towards the river, but it soon after fell again into the hands of the Danes, who retained it till they were finally subdued by Edmund in 941. In the reign of Edward the Confessor, Tosti, brother of Harold, had considerable possessions in Nottingham, which at that time contained 192 burgesses; but this number at the time of the Conquest, had decreased to 120. William, in order to keep his new subjects in awe, erected on the site of the ancient fort a formidable castle, the government of which he conferred on William Peverell, his natural son: this fortress, from its situation on the summit of a bold eminence rising perpendicularly above the river Leen, and from the strength of its works, was regarded as impregnable; and the town was at the same time strongly fortified. During the war between Stephen and Matilda, Nottingham was besieged by the Earl of Gloucester, who, having gained possession, plundered and burnt the place, which a few years after experienced a similar calamity, from the partisans of the young prince Henry in his rebellion against his father Henry II. On the death of the prince, and the consequent pacification of the kingdom, the king greatly contributed to the rebuilding of the town; and to reward the fidelity and loyalty of the inhabitants, granted them a charter, by which he confirmed all the privileges they had enjoyed under Henry I.

Arms.

Richard I., previously to his embarking in the crusades, assembled a parliament here, to deliberate upon the requisite measures for the administration of the government, which was entrusted after his departure to his younger brother John, during whose attempts to usurp the dominion, the castle was alternately in the hands of his partisans and those of Richard. The king, on returning from his captivity in Germany, finally reduced the castle, and held another parliament in the town, in which he demanded justice against the unnatural usurpation of his brother, whom, however, he ultimately pardoned. In the reign of John the town and castle were unsuccessfully assaulted by the confederate barons, who had invited the Dauphin of France to accept the English crown. In the early part of the reign of Edward III., Mortimer, Earl of March, and the queen dowager Isabel, resided in the castle, which was strongly fortified; but a party of noblemen in the interest of the king, obtaining entrance through a subterranean passage which led to the keep, surprised that nobleman in an apartment adjoining the queen's, and, having seized him, conveyed him to London, when, being convicted of high treason, he was hanged at Elmes. In the same reign a parliament was held here which passed the first enactments for prohibiting the exportation of English wool, and for encouraging foreign manufacturers to settle in the kingdom. David Bruce, who had been made prisoner at the battle of Durham, was for some time confined in the castle, previously to his removal to London; and in 1386, Richard II. held a council here, the members of which, having declared the proceedings of the parliament which had impeached his ministers to be illegal, were afterwards accused of treason by the house of commons, and many of them executed. In 1461, Edward IV., after landing at Ravenspur, in Yorkshire, assembled his forces in the town, where he caused himself to be proclaimed king, and made extensive additions to the castle, which were completed by Richard III., who marched hence with his forces to Bosworth Field. Henry VII. held a council of war here previously to the battle of Stoke, in which the rebels who had espoused the pretensions of Lambert Simnel, were defeated, with the loss of 4000 men.

Before the commencement of the civil war, Charles I., having retired to York, received the answer of the parliament to his various propositions for an accommodation; but the terms offered by that body were so humiliating that the monarch resolved on war as the milder alternative, and collecting what forces he could in those parts of the country that adhered to his cause, advanced to Nottingham, where he set up his standard on a hill within the limits of the castle, which is still distinguished by the appellation of Standard Hill. Wishing, however, to avoid extremities, he again made overtures for a treaty, which were still refused. Very early in the war, Prince Rupert, commanding a body of cavalry, which had been placed at Worcester to observe the movements of the Earl of Essex, defeated a party under the command of Colonel Sandys, who was killed in the encounter. The town and castle were soon afterwards besieged and taken by the parliamentarians, who stationed Colonel Hutchinson here with a powerful body as a check on the garrison at Newark, which still held out for the king. During the usurpation of Cromwell, the castle was dismantled, and so far demolished as to be unserviceable. Upon the Restoration, it became the property of the Duke of Buckingham, who sold it to the Duke of Newcastle, by whom it was pulled down, and a mansion commenced on part of the site, which was completed a few years after his death. At the time of the Revolution in 1688, the Earl of Devonshire and other noblemen who had declared for a free parliament, held a meeting here on the landing of William, Prince of Orange, whom they assisted with all their influence in establishing his claims to the crown. In later times, few events of importance have occurred. During the French Revolution in 1793, there existed a considerable degree of political excitement in the town; and in the years 1811 and 1812, the workmen, ascribing their distresses to the introduction of improved machinery, were incited to the destruction of property to a considerable amount, by the party called the Luddites; subsequently to which some disturbances originating with the frame-work knitters, occasioned the passing of the act of the 57th of George III.

The town is situated nearly in the centre of the kingdom, at the south-western extremity of the Forest of Sherwood, and occupies the acclivity of a sandy rock, commanding a view of the beautiful vale of Trent, with the fertile meadows watered by that river and the Leen. It is sheltered by a chain of hills on the north, and on the south is open to the vale of Belvoir, the Nottinghamshire wolds, and the Leicestershire hills. The streets in the central and more ancient portion are narrow, but since the increase of the manufactures, the town has experienced considerable improvement, and several spacious streets have been formed, and handsome ranges of building erected. It is well paved, and admirably provided with water. The general appearance of the town is interesting, and from its elevated situation, the streets are always clean: in 1842 an act was passed, granting more effectual powers for lighting it and places adjacent. At the distance of a mile on the London road, is an ancient stone bridge of twenty arches over the river Trent, which is here of considerable breadth, being increased by the waters of the Derwent, the Soar, the Dove, and the Erewash: this bridge, for the repairs of which ample funds are vested in the corporation, having been repeatedly damaged by floods, exhibits a great diversity of style, corresponding with the several times at which it has been repaired. The approaches to the town are generally good, and alterations of much benefit have been effected in the entrances from Mansfield and Derby; the environs abound with pleasant walks, and with interesting and diversified scenery. An act was obtained in 1839, for the inclosure of the lands called West Croft and Burton Leys, and in the same session another for inclosing and improving certain open fields; also an act for constructing a canal and other works in West Croft. Some very handsome houses have been built on Park Terrace; the situation, for beauty of scenery and extent of prospect, is almost unrivalled, and though extra-parochial, the neighbourhood forms a valuable appendage to the town.

A public subscription library and newsroom were established in 1816; and in 1821, Bromley House, so called from the family by whom it was built, a spacious mansion at the west end of the Market-place, was purchased by the subscribers, and appropriated to the use of the institution. It contains a commodious suite of rooms, comprising a library of 10,000 volumes, a newsroom, lecture-room, and law-library: a valuable collection of old books given by the Rev. William Standfast in 1744, is also deposited here, but kept distinct from the other works. The museum of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Society for the Study of Natural History, is in the same building, and contains a very extensive and complete collection of British birds, with numerous specimens of mammalia, fishes, insects, reptiles, minerals, &c. A literary society, consisting of 100 members, established in 1824, meets every alternate Monday during the winter, for the discussion of literary and scientific subjects. The artisans' library, formed also in 1824, has 3700 volumes, with a reading-room; the members assemble in one of the upper apartments of the Exchange buildings. The mechanics' institute, formed in October 1837, first held its meetings in rooms in St. James's street; on January 29th, 1845, a new Hall was opened for the institution on Burton Leys, the event being celebrated by a grand entertainment at which upwards of 800 persons were present. The building is in the Grecian style, and is 124 feet long, 62 feet in extreme width, and 46 feet high. A government school of design was established April 1st, 1843. There are also a newsroom and assembly-rooms in that part of the town called the Low Pavement, where the assize and race balls are held. The theatre, a small plain building in Marygate, is open generally for about three months in the year. The races formerly took place on the second Tuesday in August; they are now celebrated in October, and are well attended: the course, which has been greatly improved, is situated to the north-east of the town, and is about a mile and a quarter in circumference; the grand stand, a handsome brick edifice, was erected by subscription in 1777. The cavalry barracks, an extensive range at the upper extremity of the Castle park, was erected in 1793, on land leased to the crown by the Duke of Newcastle. Near the Castle-gate is a spacious brick building, erected in 1798 as a ridinghouse by the Nottingham yeomanry cavalry, and occasionally used as a circus, and for other public amusements.

The staple manufactures are those of cotton and silk stockings, bobbin-net, and lace, which afford employment to nearly 40,000 persons in the town and environs; and so much has the trade increased, that the manufacturers now have agents, or factors, in most parts of the world with which commercial intercourse is maintained. For this prosperity Nottingham is greatly indebted to science, the improvements in machinery having given to the productions of the town a decided superiority. The improved lace machines have been latterly worked by steam: the machines for stockings and lace are principally made in the town, and the manufacture of them affords occupation to a large number of persons. There are several mills for spinning and twisting silk, and for spinning cotton and woollen yarn; and pinmaking, wire-drawing, and the manufacture of brass fenders, are carried on: there are also white-lead works, iron-foundries, marble-works, and some breweries. The trade in malt is very extensive, and the ale brewed here is in high repute. The town derives great facility of trade from its situation near the river Trent, which is navigable to the Humber; from the Grantham canal, connecting it with Lincolnshire and part of Leicestershire; and from the Nottingham, Cromford, and Erewash canals, connecting it with those of Staffordshire, Leicestershire, and Derbyshire, opening a communication with the mines of coal, lead, and iron in those counties, and providing a medium of intercourse with the metropolis and the principal manufacturing towns. There is a railway to Sawley, where the line branches off in two different directions, to Derby and to Leicester; also a railway to Lincoln; and in 1846 an act was passed for the construction of a line to Mansfield: all the three lines belong to the Midland Company. An act was passed in 1846 for a railway from Ambergate, Derbyshire, through Nottingham, to Boston and Spalding.

The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday; the latter, principally for corn and cattle, is the largest in the midland district. The fairs are on the Friday after Jan. 13th, for cattle; on March 7th and 8th, for cheese, cloth, and cattle; the Thursday before Easter, for horses; and Oct. 2nd, called Goose Fair, which is very considerable for geese, cheese, cloth, and cattle. All the fairs are nominally for eight days, and the October one actually continues the greater part of that time. The market-place, including an area of more than five acres and a half, is one of the most extensive in the kingdom, and is surrounded with lofty buildings, the first stories of which, projecting over the pavement, form a piazza. At the east end is the New Exchange, a handsome building of brick, erected by the corporation in the early part of the last century, and in 1814 repaired, and faced with Roman cement. The ground-floor is converted into shops, behind which are shambles; the upper stories contain a suite of rooms for public business, where also concerts and balls are held. The large room and other parts, destroyed by fire on Nov. 26th, 1836, were soon after rebuilt in a superior manner.

The town, with the exception of the castle and the county gaol, was separated from Nottinghamshire, and made distinct, under the designation of "the Town and County of the Town," in the 27th of Henry VI. A charter was granted to the burgesses by Henry II.; and others by John, Henry III., Edward I., II., and III., and Henry IV. and VI. The government, however, is now vested in a mayor, 14 aldermen, and 42 councillors, under the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76; agreeably with which, also, the borough is divided into seven wards. A sheriff is appointed by the council; the mayor and late mayor are justices of the peace, and the total number of magistrates is 25. The freedom is inherited by the eldest sons of freemen, born in the town, and by the younger sons after the expiration of their indentures of apprenticeship in any place; by others it is obtained by servitude to a resident freeman. Among the privileges of a freeman is the right of pasturing three head of cattle, or 45 sheep, in the common fields and meadows, which comprise nearly 1000 acres. The town has returned two members to parliament from the reign of Edward I.: the boundaries comprise an area of 2560 acres; the sheriff is returning officer. Quarter-sessions take place for the trial of all but capital offenders; also a court of record before the recorder, every alternate Wednesday, for the recovery of debts to any amount, the power of which extends to the recovery of freehold property by ejectment: in the absence of the recorder, the court is held before the mayor and sheriff, or one of them. The county debt-court of Nottingham, established in 1847, has jurisdiction over the registration-districts of Nottingham and Radford, and part of those of Basford, Bingham, and Shardlow.

Corporation Seal.

The town-hall, rebuilt in the reign of George I., is a commodious edifice two stories in height, containing on the ground-floor the town prison or common gaol, and on the first story the court-room for the sessions. The town bridewell, or house of correction, contains thirteen day-rooms and twelve airing-yards, a tread-mill, separate apartments for the sick, and a chapel. A spacious piece of ground has been taken on the east side of the house of correction, for the site of a new gaol; and a lock-up house for persons apprehended in the night, has been erected on the west side. This being the county town, the assizes and quarter-sessions are held in it. The county-hall, rebuilt in 1770, is a handsome edifice with a stone front, containing well-arranged courts for the crown and nisi prius, with rooms for the grand jury, and the necessary offices: behind it is the common gaol for the county, with a detached hospital. Extensive premises nearly opposite the county-hall have been purchased as judges' lodgings, and for the accommodation of the magistrates at sessions.

The town comprises the parishes of St. Mary, containing 41,135, St. Nicholas 5424, and St. Peter, 5605, inhabitants; and the liberty of St. James, which is extraparochial, and has 927 inhabitants. The living of St. Mary's is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 5.; net income, £250, with a glebe-house, rebuilt in 1845; patron and impropriator, Earl Manvers. The church, founded in the reign of Edward III., is a spacious cruciform structure in the later English style, with a beautiful tower rising from the centre in two stages, and crowned with battlements and pinnacles; it has been restored and enlarged, at a cost of nearly £3000, defrayed by subscription, and now contains 2000 sittings. The west front, which was modernised in 1726, presents a striking contrast to the rest of the building, which is of elaborate execution; the south porch is highly enriched with panels and fan tracery, depending from the roof, which is finely groined. The interior is lighted by ranges of noble windows of exquisite tracery, and has a very imposing aspect. The living of St. Nicholas' is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £2. 16. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £156, with a house. The church was rebuilt in 1678, having been taken down during the parliamentary war; and is a neat edifice of brick, with quoins and cornices of stone: it was enlarged in 1756 and in 1783, by subscription, and the churchyard inclosed with neat iron palisades in 1824. The living of St. Peter's is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 7. 6., and in the gift of the Crown; net income, £336. The church is a spacious edifice, with a lofty spire, in the later English style, of which it retains some few good portions, though the greater part of it has been modernised. St. James' church or chapel, on Standard Hill, was erected in 1808, and is a neat edifice in the later English style, with a low square embattled tower: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Trustees; net income, £200.

St. Paul's church, erected as a chapel of ease to the vicarage of St. Mary's, in 1822, is a handsome edifice in the Grecian style, with a portico of the Doric order; an ecclesiastical district has been formed for it out of the parish: patron, Earl Manvers. A church in the early English style, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was consecrated Oct. 13th, 1841; its external dimensions are 129 feet by 64, and it has a square tower, on which is an octagonal lantern 24 feet high, surmounted with a spire rising 29 feet. The living is in the gift of Trustees; net income, £400. The church of St. John the Baptist, in the parish of St. Mary, was consecrated in Nov. 1844; it is in the early English style, and cost about £4000: the living is a perpetual curacy, under the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37, and is in the patronage of the Bishop of Lincoln; net income, £150. St. Ann's chapel, attached to a cemetery belonging to St. Mary's parish, is also used for divine service. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, the Society of Friends, Huntingtonians, Sabellians, and Unitarians; a synagogue; and a Roman Catholic cathedral. This last edifice is dedicated to St. Barnabas, is in the early English style, and remarkable for the splendour of its interior, which is 180 feet in length, and adorned with windows of stained glass; at the intersection of the nave and transepts rises a tower surmounted by a spire 164 feet above the ground. The cathedral was designed by Pugin, and the Earl of Shrewsbury was a principal contributor to its erection. A cemetery containing 13 acres on the north-west side of the town, and fronting the Alfreton turnpike-road, was formed by a company under an act passed in 1836. The Free Grammar school was founded in 1513 by Agnes Mellors, but had nearly fallen into disuse prior to 1807, when the corporation made some regulations for its better government; the property with which it was endowed, together with subsequent bequests, produces about £750 per annum. There are now four masters, and 80 free boys on the foundation, besides 20 private pupils allowed to be taken by the masters, in addition to their salaries. One-half of the free boys are taught English, French, writing, and mathematics, as also Latin and Greek, in a preparatory department; and the other half receive a classical education of the highest order, to fit them for the public schools, universities, and the professions. A Blue-coat school is supported by an income arising from land, and by subscription; and numerous national and other schools are maintained.

Plumtree Hospital was established in 1392, by John de Plumtree or Plumptre, who endowed it for two chaplains, of whom one was master, and for thirteen aged widows. In 1751, a descendant of the founder built four new tenements, to which two were added by his son, who also repaired the old buildings; and in 1823, John Plumptre, Esq., the late trustee, obtained an act of parliament to dispose of part of the trust property, and rebuild the hospital. There are also thirty out-pensioners, who receive each £10 per annum. The premises are neatly built of brick, coated with cement, and are in the ancient English style. Collin's hospital was founded in 1704, by Mr. Abel Collin, who bequeathed an estate for its erection and endowment; on the foundation are twenty-four aged widowers and widows in Parkstreet, and twenty in Carrington-street, where an additional almshouse was built in 1830. Willoughby's hospital, instituted in 1525, and comprising nineteen tenements, is in Fishergate; the very trifling endowment was considerably increased on the expiration of the leases in 1831. Handley's hospital, in Stoney-street, comprising twelve ancient tenements for aged persons, is endowed with £40 a year. Bilby's almshouses, in St. John's-street, established in 1709, comprise eight tenements for aged persons. Labray's hospital was founded in 1700, for six poor frame-work knitters. The Lambley hospital, a neat building consisting of a centre and two wings, with a grass-plot in the front, comprises twentytwo tenements for decayed burgesses. Wartnaby's hospital was founded in 1665, for six aged persons. Warser-gate hospital, Wooley's almshouses, and St. Nicholas' White rents, comprise each six tenements; and the freemen have erected twelve almshouses for the oldest resident freemen or their widows, under certain restrictions, from funds paid to them by the canal and other companies as compensation for the loss of parts of uninclosed lands. Sir Thomas White's charity was founded in 1552, for the purpose of granting loans of £50 to inhabitant householders for nine years, free of interest. There are also numerous bequests for apprenticing children, and for general distribution among the infirm and indigent. The General hospital, a commodious building consisting of a centre and two projecting wings, was erected in 1781, on the highest part of Standard Hill, on a site given by the corporation and the Duke of Newcastle: near it is a house of recovery from fever. The Lunatic asylum was erected in 1812, at an expense of nearly £20,000, in an airy situation in the parish of Snenton, about a quarter of a mile to the north-east of the town. The poor-law union of Nottingham is limited to the three town parishes, and contains, with some extra-parochial places, a population of 53,080.

Some fragments of the town walls are visible on the side of the hill above Narrow Marsh; and of the ancient Castle, the gateway, repaired some years since, and portions of the outworks, are yet remaining: a subterraneous passage, called Mortimer's hole, is still an object of interest; and there are numerous caverns and galleries excavated in the rock, which are of great antiquity. The mansion erected by the Duke of Newcastle in the seventeenth century on the castle hill, a noble edifice in the Grecian style, with a handsome façade of the Corinthian order, was on the rejection of the Reform Bill by the house of lords set on fire by a mob, at which time it had for many years been divided into separate dwellings; the Duke of Newcastle obtained upwards of £20,000 damages from the hundred of Broxtow: the walls alone are standing. Thurland Hall, previously called Clare Hall, a brick mansion faced with stone, the temporary residence of James I. during his frequent visits to Nottingham, was pulled down in 1831, and the land offered for sale by the Duke of Newcastle. In the northern part of the town was an hospital dedicated to St. John the Baptist, founded about the reign of John, for a master, warden, two chaplains, and several sick persons; the revenue at the Dissolution was £5. 6. 8. In the reign of Henry III., a cell for two monks was maintained in the chapel of St. Mary, in the rock under the castle. There were also a house of brethren of the Holy Sepulchre, and a college of Secular priests, at Nottingham. To the west of the town was a convent of Grey friars, established by Henry III. in 1250; and in the parish of St. Nicholas was a convent of Carmelite friars, instituted in 1276 by Reginald, Lord Grey de Wilton, and Sir John Shirley, Knt. At Babbington colliery, near Nottingham, a saline chalybeate spring was discovered some years ago, the properties of which, according to an analysis by a medical gentleman in the town, are such as to render it one of the most valuable mineral springs in the county. Near the Forest of Sherwood, on the spot formerly used for the execution of criminals, a great quantity of human bones was lately found; and on the site of the union workhouse, some ancient relics have been discovered, consisting chiefly of a pavement of glazed tiles, detached cells of stone rudely formed, and stone coffins. Among the eminent natives of the town may be named Dr. Andrew Kippis, the biographer, who was born in 1725; the Rev. Samuel Ayscough, compiler of the Index to Shakspeare, born in 1745; Gilbert Wakefield, distinguished for his acquaintance with classical literature, born in 1756; and the poet, Henry Kirke White, who was born in 1785. Nottingham gives the title of Earl to the family of Finch-Hatton.

Nottinghamshire

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, an inland county, bounded on the north by Yorkshire, on the east by Lincolnshire, on the south by Leicestershire, and on the west by Derbyshire. It extends from 52° 48' to 53° 30' (N. Lat.) and from 0° 38' to 1° 19' (W. Lon.), and comprises an area of 837 square miles, or 535,680 statute acres: within its limits are 50,550 houses inhabited, 2760 uninhabited, and 214 in progress of erection; and the population amounts to 249,910, of whom 121,731 are males, and 128,179 females.

The county formed part of the territory of the Coritani, and was afterwards included in the Roman district called Flavia Cæsariensis. On the establishment of the AngloSaxon kingdom of Mercia, about the year 560, the greater portion of it, namely, that on the north-western side of the Trent, was comprised in North Mercia, and the portion on the other side of the river in South Mercia. In nearly all the civil wars of the middle ages, the central situation of the county, and the circumstance of its being intersected by the large river Trent, which in those times was an important barrier defended by the strong fortresses of Nottingham and Newark, rendered it the scene of numerous military movements, and consequently of many ravages. It was long included in the diocese and province of York, but now, under the arrangements provided by the 6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77, is part of the diocese of Lincoln and province of Canterbury; it forms an archdeaconry, comprising the deaneries of Bingham, Newark, Nottingham, Southwell, and Retford, which contain 205 parishes. For purposes of civil government it is divided into six wapentakes, or hundreds, viz., Bassetlaw (which is subdivided into North Clay, South Clay, and Hatfield divisions), Bingham (North and South), Broxtow (North and South), Newark (North and South), Rushcliffe (North and South), and Thurgarton (North and South). It contains the borough and market-towns of Nottingham, Newark, and East Retford; and the market-towns of Bingham, Mansfield, Ollerton, Southwell, Tuxford, and Worksop. Under the act 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the county was divided into the Northern and Southern divisions, each sending two members to parliament; two representatives are returned for each of the boroughs of Nottingham and Newark, and two by the burgesses of East Retford conjointly with the freeholders of the hundred of Bassetlaw. The county is included in the Midland circuit: the assizes are held at Nottingham; and the quarter-sessions at Nottingham, Newark, and East Retford. The county gaol is at Nottingham, and the county house of correction, or bridewell, at Southwell. The counties of Nottingham and Derby were under the same shrievalty until the 10th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

The shape of the county is elliptical. Its surface is for the most part uneven, but none of the hills are of great elevation: those of the sandy district, which formed a considerable part of the Forest of Sherwood, are chiefly long ridges of gentle acclivity, running from west to east, and forming narrow valleys, along the principal of which run fine streams of water. The noble river Trent, in the whole of its course through Nottinghamshire, is bordered by a level fertile tract varying in breadth; many parts of the vale are bounded by high woody cliffs, and the greater portion, particularly in the immediate vicinity of the river, is rich grass-land. The district lying south of the Trent, and forming the three hundreds of Bingham, Rushcliffe, and Newark, comprises, besides the lower and more extensive part of the Vale of Belvoir, and the fertile levels in the vicinity of the Soar, at the south-western extremity of the county, the range of high bleak country called the Nottinghamshire Wolds, lying to the south and south-east of Bunny. The soils may be classed under three heads; sand or gravel, clay, and limestone and coal land. The crops usually cultivated are wheat, rye, barley, oats, beans, and peas; and an inferior species of oats called "skegs," almost peculiar to the county, is grown in different parts, chiefly on the forest land: this, however, is seldom brought to market, being frequently given as fodder in the straw. The common artificial grasses, namely, red and white clover, trefoil, rye-grass, and rib-grass, are cultivated, as is also lucerne; burnet grows naturally and plentifully in the Trent meadows. Hops form a considerable article of produce in the clay districts north-west of the Trent, in the vicinities of Ollerton, Tuxford, and East Retford; they are generally known by the name of North Clay hops, and are much stronger than the Kentish. Woad is cultivated on the light soils near Scrooby, Ranskill, and Torworth. The excellent grass-land bordering on the Trent and the Soar is appropriated more for feeding than the dairy, except along the course of the Soar and in the vale of the Trent above Nottingham, where are large dairies, the chief produce of which is cheese. By far the greater part of the forest having been inclosed, there is now comparatively little waste land: the parts which remain are mostly about the centre of that district, in the space between the towns of Mansfield, Southwell, and Ollerton, and consist in a great measure of rabbit-warrens. On the tongue of sandy land east of the Trent, between Newark and Gainsborough, are some low, flat, barren commons, almost constantly under water in the winter. The Wolds, properly so called, consist of waste in the open parishes, affording a stinted pasture for young cattle and horses.

The ancient royal Forest of Sherwood, noted for the fabled exploits of Robin Hood and his band of outlaws, extends from Nottingham to the vicinity of Worksop, in length about 25 miles, and varies in breadth from seven to upwards of nine miles. Several smaller tracts of land, particularly in the northern part of the county, as far as Rossington bridge, have been usually called forest; but from the survey made in 1609, they appear either not to have belonged to the forest, or to have been disafforested before that period. Within its limits are included several large parks which have been taken in at different times, namely, Welbeck, Clumber, Thoresby, Beskwood, Newstead, and Clipstone; with several villages, or lands, belonging to them. The forest is the only one that remains under the superintendence of the lord chief justice in Eyre, north of the Trent, or which now belongs to the crown in that portion of England. The officers are, the lord-warden, at present the Duke of Newcastle, who holds his office by letters-patent from the crown, during pleasure; the bow-bearer and ranger, who is appointed by the lord-warden, and holds his office also during pleasure; four verderers, elected for life by the freeholders of the county; a steward; nine keepers, appointed by the verderers during pleasure, for so many different walks; and two sworn wood-wards for Sutton and Charlton. Thorneywood Chase comprises a great part of the southern division of the forest lying on the eastern side: the Earl of Chesterfield is hereditary keeper of it, by grant of the 42nd of Queen Elizabeth to J. Stanhope, Esq.

The principal remains of ancient woods are the hays of Birkland and Bilhagh, situated to the north of Ollerton and Edwinstow, and which form an open wood of large old oaks, most of them in decay: the wood occupies about 1400 acres, and is destitute of underwood, except some birch in a certain part, which has given name to one of its divisions. A portion of the tract has been taken, by grant, into Thoresby Park. Harlow wood, Thieves' wood, and the scattered remains of Mansfield woods, are of small extent, and contain only timber of an inferior size. Tracts of plantations, consisting principally of firs of various kinds, occupy many miles of country to the south and south-east of Mansfield; and there is a vast extent of the same kind of woods, in a similar direction from Worksop, chiefly on the estates of the Dukes of Portland and Newcastle, and Earl Manvers. Numerous large plantations have been made also still further north in the county, and some close upon its western border. In Clumber Park alone, are about 1850 acres of plantation. In the clay districts are considerable tracts of wood, mostly sprung, the principal value of which, in common with all other spring woods in the county, arises from the ash hop-poles, and the stakes and bindings, &c., for the farmers' use, which they produce. In the limestone and coal district, and in the sandy tongue of land east of the Trent, are also broad woods and plantations.

The chief Minerals are coal, gypsum, and stone of various kinds. Coal is procured on the western border of the county; and gypsum of excellent quality is dug on Beacon Hill, near Newark: it is much used for plastering floors; a considerable quantity is sent in lumps to the colourmen in London, and some of the white kind, ground and packed in hogsheads, is likewise forwarded to the metropolis. At Red Hill, at the junction of the Trent and the Soar, is a quarry of the same mineral; it is also found at Great Markham, the Wheatleys, and many other places in the red-clay districts. Lime is burned at various places in the limestone tract. At Mansfield a very fine freestone is quarried for building, and a coarser red kind for cisterns and troughs. At Maplebeck is a blueish building-stone which, by continued exposure to the air, bleaches to nearly a clear white. At Beacon Hill is obtained a blue stone for hearths, approaching to a marble in texture, and which also burns to lime. At Linby, a few miles to the southwest of Mansfield, a coarse paving-stone is raised, much used at Nottingham.

The oldest branch of Manufacture is that of cotton and silk stockings, which is carried on to a vast extent at Nottingham and for some miles round it, and in Mansfield and its neighbourhood; and the very high state of improvement to which the machinery for manufacturing British lace was here brought, some years since, and the great demand for the superior article thus produced, have rendered the manufacture of "bobbin-net," and the embroidering of machine lace, a source of employment to a large portion of the inhabitants of the same district. The cotton and silk mills for the supply of these manufactures are exceedingly numerous. The bleaching-trade in the vicinity of Nottingham is very extensive; there are several large starch-mills and some paper-mills in different parts of the county. The malting business is carried on to a great extent, particularly at Nottingham, Newark, Mansfield, Worksop, and Retford; a considerable quantity of malt being sent up the Trent and the canals into Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire. At Newark are breweries which rival those of Burton in their trade to the Baltic and other quarters; and there are likewise large breweries at Nottingham.

The principal rivers are, the Trent, the Soar, the Erewash, and the Idle. Of English rivers, the Trent ranks next after the Thames and the Severn; it is navigable for ships of considerable burthen up to Gainsborough, and for barges during the rest of its course in this county. To facilitate the navigation, there is a side cut ten miles in length, sometimes called the Trent canal, avoiding the numerous shallows which occur in about thirteen miles of its course, between the Trent bridge, at the commencement of the Nottingham canal, and Sawley ferry in Derbyshire, at the commencement of the Trent and Mersey canal. The Soar is navigable for the Trent barges. The Idle, formed by the junction of the Maun and the Meaden, has been rendered navigable from Bawtry to the Trent: at its mouth are gates, sixteen feet high, to prevent the tide from overflowing the low lands which border on the latter part of its course. This channel, in one part, bears the name of Bycar Dyke, and about half a mile from Stockwith assumes that of Misterton Sluice. The Nottingham canal was completed in 1802. The Grantham canal, in its course into Leicestershire, has a branch upwards of three miles in length, to the town of Bingham. The Chesterfield canal, at a little distance below Worksop, passes over the small river Ryton by an aqueduct; and having crossed the Idle at Retford, takes a northern direction to Drakelow, where its course is through a tunnel 250 yards in length. The Pinxton railway, from Mansfield to Pinxton basin, where it communicates with the Cromford canal, was constructed under an act of parliament passed in 1817, and at once caused a considerable reduction in the price of coal obtained from the pits at Pinxton and Kirkby. The Midland railway is noticed under the head of Nottingham.

There are comparatively few monuments of remote antiquity. The most remarkable British remains are the caves in the sand rock near Nottingham. At Barton, four miles south-west of Nottingham, is Brent's Hill, considered by Aubrey to have been a fortified place of the Britons; and at Oxton are three large tumuli, supposed by Major Rooke to be of equal antiquity. Brass celts have been found between Hexgrove and the little stream called Rainworth water. Of Roman antiquities, the camp on Solly-hill, near Arnold, is thought by Dr. Gale to have been the important station Causennis; about two miles from Mansfield are the remains of a Roman villa, and in various other parts have been found spears, fibulæ, and brass keys, of Roman workmanship. The principal vestiges of Roman roads are those of the Fosse-way, which entered the county near Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, proceeded to Newark, and, crossing the line of the Ermin-street, quitted for Lincolnshire: it may be traced for many miles across the Wolds, being literally a fosse, dug to a great depth, so as to form a spacious covered way. Another ancient road, formerly called "the Street," commenced at Newark, and proceeded through part of Southwell to Mansfield; it is still discernible between the two former towns. The Religious houses, including colleges and hospitals, were about thirty-nine; the chief remains are those of the abbeys of Newstead and Worksop, and of the college of Southwell. There are considerable remains of the once important castle of Newark, and some interesting relics of that of Nottingham: Bunny Park, the seat of Viscount Rancliffe, is one of the most curious specimens of ancient mansions. Among the most distinguished of the numerous modern seats which adorn the county, more especially the northern part of its once dreary forest district, may be enumerated Welbeck Abbey, the residence of the Duke of Portland; Clumber Park; Thoresby Park, the property of Earl Manvers; Wollaton Hall, that of Lord Middleton; and Newstead Abbey, lately that of the poet Byron.

Nottingham-Fee

NOTTINGHAM-FEE, a liberty, in the parish of Blewbury, union of Wantage, hundred of Moreton, county of Berks; containing 44 inhabitants.

Nottington

NOTTINGTON, a hamlet, in the parishes of Broadway and Buckland-Ripers, union of Weymouth, hundred of Culliford-Tree, Dorchester division of Dorset, 3 miles (N.) from Weymouth; containing 104 inhabitants. This place, situated on the west side of the road from Weymouth to Dorchester, has lately come into notice from the purity and efficacy of its mineral spring, which rises near the margin of the river Wey, and is strongly impregnated with sulphur, in combination with hydrogen. Over the spring is a commodious building called the Nottington Spa House, comprising a pump-room and baths, in connexion with which are several apartments for the accommodation of invalids who may prefer to reside on the spot. The scenery of the place is diversified, and its convenient distance from Weymouth makes it a pleasant excursion from that town, by the visiters of which it is much frequented.

Notton

NOTTON, a township, in the parish of Royston, wapentake of Staincross, W. riding of York, 5 miles (N.) from Barnsley; containing 310 inhabitants. It comprises 2540 acres, of which 300 acres are woodland: the farm of Applehaigh and part of the hamlet of Staincross are in the township. The village is seated on an eminence above the source of a small stream. The tithes have been commuted for £450.

Nowton (St. Peter)

NOWTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union and hundred of Thingoe, W. division of Suffolk, 2¾ miles (S. S. E.) from Bury St. Edmund's; containing 171 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 19. 4.; patron, the Marquess of Bristol: the tithes have been commuted for £345, and the glebe consists of 10 acres. The bounds of the parishes of Hawstead and Nowton are said to pass through the north and south doors of Nowton church.

Nuffield (Holy Trinity)

NUFFIELD (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Henley, hundred of Ewelme, county of Oxford, 2 miles (W. N. W.) from Nettlebed; containing 216 inhabitants. It comprises 2076 acres, of which 104 are common or waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 16. 10½., and in the patronage of Miss F. Burdett and the family of Langham: the tithes have been commuted for £430, and the glebe comprises 62 acres. The late incumbent, the Rev. John Pearse, held the living for sixty-six years. A house of friars, of the order of the Holy Trinity, existed here before the 33rd of Edward III.

Nun-Burnholme (St. James)

NUN-BURNHOLME (St. James), a parish, in the union of Pocklington, partly in the Holme-Beacon, and partly in the Wilton-Beacon, division of the wapentake of Harthill, E. riding of York, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Pocklington; containing, with the township of Thorp-le-Street, 263 inhabitants. This place derives its name from a small Benedictine nunnery, founded by an ancestor of Roger de Morley or Mauley, Lord of Morpeth: a short time previous to the Dissolution there were eight religious, with a revenue of £10. 3. 3. The parish comprises 1480 acres; the surface is undulated, the soil clay and chalk, and the scenery picturesque: the village, which is small, is situated in a narrow dale. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 12. 6.; net income, £302; patron, the Archbishop of York. The church is ancient, and has a Norman arch, and a painted-glass window. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Nuneaton (St. Nicholas)

NUNEATON (St. Nicholas), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the Atherstone division of the hundred of Hemlingford, N. division of the county of Warwick, 18 miles (N. N. E.) from Warwick, and 100 (N. W. by W.) from London; containing, with the hamlets of Attleborough and Stockingford, 7105 inhabitants. The name of this place is derived from a river in its neighbourhood, Ea in Saxon signifying "water;" and from a priory established here in the reign of Stephen, by Robert, Earl of Leicester, for nuns of the order of Fontevrault. In the convents of the order abroad were sometimes nuns and monks in one establishment; here were only a prior, a prioress, and nuns, the prioress having supreme authority. In the reign of Henry III., a weekly market was granted to the prioress, and at the Dissolution the revenue of the nunnery was £290. 15. 0½. The town is pleasantly situated on the borders of Leicestershire, on the river Anker, over which are two bridges, and consists principally of one long street, from which a cross street leads to the market-place; the houses are in general of mean appearance, but interspersed with some handsome modern buildings, and are well supplied with water. The chief occupation is ribbon-weaving for the London market, in which branch of manufacture French looms and machinery have been introduced, especially in the figured gauze ribbon. The Trent-Valley railway passes by the town; and in 1846 acts were passed for making a railway from Nuneaton to Burton-on-Trent, 23 miles in length; a railway to Wigston Magna, near Leicester, 15 miles in length; and a line to Coventry, 10½ miles in length. The Birmingham and Coventry canal passes by the north-west extremity of the town. About two miles distant are some coal-mines; fine clay for pottery, and also manganese, are dug; and there are quarries of freestone in the parish. The market is on Saturday: fairs are held on May 14th, 15th, and 16th, for cattle and hardware, and on Feb. 18th and Oct. 31st for horses and cattle; and a statute-fair takes place fourteen days before Michaelmas. Three constables are annually elected and sworn in at the court leet for the town and hamlets; there is also a permanent constable. The powers of the county debt-court of Nuneaton, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Nuneaton, and the parishes of Ansley and Bedworth. The town-hall is a neat modern edifice of brick.

The parish contains 6005 acres of productive land. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £24. 14. 7., and in the patronage of the Crown; appropriator, the Bishop of Lichfield. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £554. 16. 1., and there are 226 acres of vicarial glebe. The church is a fine structure exhibiting portions in the various styles of English architecture, with a square embattled tower having pinnacles at the angles. At Stockingford is a chapel, built in 1824; a proprietary chapel has been erected, which is elegantly fitted up, and a chapel has also been completed at Attleborough. Here are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics. The free grammar school was founded in the 6th of Edward VI., and endowed with 103 acres of land at Coventry. An English free school for boys and girls, established in 1712, by the will of Mr. Richard Smith, of St. Anne's, Westminster, and endowed with 94 acres of land producing about £100 annually, is now conducted on the national system. The poor-law union of Nuneaton comprises 7 parishes or places, containing a population of 12,240. The ground plan of the monastery and a considerable portion of the walls of the main edifice, with fragments of columns and richly-moulded arches, are yet visible: the outer walls, also, which inclosed a spacious quadrangular area, are still standing on the east and north sides. A portion of the materials was used in repairing or rebuilding the church.

Nuneham-Courtney (All Saints)

NUNEHAM-COURTNEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Abingdon, hundred of Bullingdon, county of Oxford, 5 miles (S. S. E.) from Oxford; containing 351 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the east bank of the river Isis, and on the road from Oxford, through Henley, to London, comprises 2054a. 4p., of which 530 acres are arable, 1098 meadow and pasture, and 316 woodland. The village has a peculiarly neat appearance, consisting of about 40 cottages built uniformly, two under one roof, and at equal distances, with a fine row of poplars in the front; the surrounding scenery is enlivened with the splendid mansion and park of the late Earl of Harcourt. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 6. 0½., and in the gift of the family of Harcourt: the tithes have been commuted for £446. 16., and the glebe comprises 54 acres. The church is an elegant edifice of the Ionic order, erected at the expense of Simon, Earl of Harcourt, in 1764. The place gave the inferior title of Viscount to the earls of Harcourt.

Nunkeeling

NUNKEELING, a parish, in the union of Skirlaugh, N. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 10¾ miles (N. E.) from Beverley; containing, with the township of Bewholme, 291 inhabitants. A priory of Benedictine nuns, in honour of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Helen, was founded here in the reign of Stephen, by Agnes de Archis: at the Dissolution it had a revenue of £50. 17. 2. The parish comprises about 2232 acres, forming a rich tract of arable and pasture land, with little wood except ornamental plantations; the houses are scattered, and the neighbourhood of the village is diversified with hill and dale. The manor-house, close to the church, seems to have been built from the materials of the priory. A cross stands on the side of the road leading to Catfoss. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £55; the patronage and impropriation belong to Mrs. Dixon. The church, situated on elevated ground, is a small plain building of brick, erected in 1810, at the expense of T. Dixon, Esq., then patron, and is capable of accommodating 300 persons; parts of the circular pillars are the masonry of the original church.