Halling (St. John the Baptist)

HALLING (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of North Aylesford, hundred of Shamwell, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 4¾ miles (S. W.) from Rochester; containing 448 inhabitants. The bishops of Rochester had a palace here before the Conquest, which was rebuilt some time in the twelfth century; additions were made about the year 1320, and there are still some remains. The parish consists of 1847 acres, of which 514 are in wood; it is watered by the river Medway, and a ridge of hills extends across it. Chalk abounds, and the works for burning it into lime provide the chief occupation of the inhabitants: the lime used in building Waterloo and London bridges was brought from Halling. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 13. 4.; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester: the great tithes have been commuted for £238, and the vicarial for £150; the incumbent's glebe contains 31 acres, and there is an appropriate glebe of about ¾ of an acre. The church is principally in the early English style, with a low tower. Lambard, the Kentish historian, was a native of this place.

Hallingbury, Great, or Hallingbury-Morley

HALLINGBURY, GREAT, or Hallingbury-Morley, a parish, in the union of Bishop-Stortford, hundred of Harlow, S. division of Essex, 3 miles (S. E. by E.) from Bishop-Stortford; containing 690 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2639 acres, of which 45 are waste land or common; it is bounded on the west by the river Stort, and forms part of a cheerful and fertile district bordering on the county of Hertford. On a green called Woodhill, a fair is held on Whit-Tuesday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £22, and in the gift of J. Archer Houblon, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £704, and the glebe comprises 56 acres. The church is a small handsome edifice, with a square embattled tower, and contains, in the chancel, a very old brass monument to the memory of the Parker family. On Mr. Houblon's estate are the remains of an encampment, called Wallbury, of elliptic form, and inclosing an area of about 30 acres, defended by a double rampart.

Hallingbury, Little (St. Mary)

HALLINGBURY, LITTLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bishop-Stortford, hundred of Harlow, S. division of Essex, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Bishop-Stortford; containing 497 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1612 acres, of which 34 are waste land or common; it is bounded on the south by Great Hallingbury. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15, and in the gift of the Charter-House, London: the tithes have been commuted for £465, and the glebe comprises 26 acres. The church, a small plain edifice with a square embattled tower surmounted by a shingled spire, consists of a nave and chancel; a gallery has been erected, with 50 sittings.

Hallington (St. Lawrence)

HALLINGTON (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Louth, Wold division of the hundred of Louth-Eske, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 2 miles (S. W. by W.) from Louth; containing 78 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, united to the rectory of Raithby, and valued in the king's books at £17. 1. 8.; impropriator, C. Chaplin, Esq.

Hallington

HALLINGTON, a township, in the parish of St. John Lee, union of Hexham, S. division of Tindale ward and of Northumberland, 11 miles (N. N. E.) from Hexham; containing 105 inhabitants. This place, anciently Haledown, was a possession of Hexham Abbey. It is situated north of the Erring burn, and east of the road from Chollerton to Kirk-Harle; and the estate consists of about 300 acres of land, of which 220 are in tillage, and the remainder in grass. On an eminence called the Mote-Law is a square intrenchment, with a hearth-stone in the centre, upon which beacon-fires were kindled.

Halliwell

HALLIWELL, a township, and ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Deane, union of Bolton, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 1 mile (N. W.) from Bolton, on the road to Chorley and Preston; containing 3242 inhabitants. The first mention of Halliwell occurs in the 17th year of the reign of John, when the abbot of Cockersand had an exemption from fines and amerciaments, by a charter of that date from the king. Among the early families resident here were the Pilkingtons, Radcliffs, and Bartons. The heiress of the lastnamed married Henry, eldest son of the first viscount Fauconberg, whose descendant, Thomas, in 1721 sold the estate of Smithills, here, which afterwards passed to the Byroms, of Manchester, from whom it was purchased by Richard Ainsworth, Esq., for £21,000. The township comprises 2320 acres, mostly grass-land, of a clayey soil; the surface and scenery are mountainous, running up to the base of the Rivington range. The population is employed in two extensive bleaching-works, a cottonmill, six collieries, a large stone-quarry, and in agriculture. Smithills Hall is an ancient mansion, recently restored: it stands in a sheltered situation at the head of a fine lawn, and has two wings, with a court-yard in the centre; the east wing contains a private chapel, on the window of which are the arms of the Stanleys and Bartons. The Rev. George Marsh, the Protestant martyr, was tried at the Hall, by Sir Roger Barton, in the reign of Mary, and being declared guilty, was burnt at Chester, on the 24th of April, 1555, a barrel of pitch being placed over his head at the stake, a refinement of cruelty peculiar to his execution. The living of Halliwell is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Trustees. The church, St. Peter's, was built in 1844, at a cost of £700, and is in the early English style, with a square tower, having eight bells, and surmounted by pinnacles; the interior is richly fitted up, contains three painted windows, and a splendid organ. A national school is endowed with £10 per annum. The Wesleyans have a place of worship.

Halloughton (St. James)

HALLOUGHTON (St. James), a parish, in the union of Southwell, Southwell division of the wapentake of Thurgarton, S. division of the county of Nottingham, 1¾ mile (S. S. W.) from Southwell; containing 88 inhabitants. It comprises 900 acres; the surface is hilly, and the soil generally a stiffish clay. Blue lias is quarried for the roads. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £46; patron, the Bishop of Ripon.

Hallow

HALLOW, a parish, in the union of Martley, Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, Worcester and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 3 miles (N. N. W.) from Worcester; containing, with the chapelry of Broadheath and hamlet of Shoulton, 1228 inhabitants. This is a fertile parish, comprising a considerable area of land, of which the river Severn forms the eastern boundary. From a Chamber-order book of the city of Worcester (date 1575) it appears that Queen Elizabeth chose this spot for hunting purposes, killing two bucks here during her visit to Worcester. The mansion of Hallow Park, a handsome seat, occupies the summit of a small eminence, near the village, and not far westward of the Severn, which adds greatly to the beauty of the well-wooded grounds. The manor of Woodhall, the residence of the abbots of Worcester, now belongs to Francis Hooper, Esq., as lessee under the Bishop of Worcester. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Grimley. The church was rebuilt in 1830, and contains 600 sittings, whereof 300 are free: in 1839 an organ was erected, by subscription. The remains of the distinguished surgeon, Sir Charles Bell, who died at Hallow Park in 1842, are interred in the churchyard. On Hallow common, about half a mile beyond the village, is a place of worship for Independents. A school has an endowment of £70 per annum; and in the village is a useful circulating library. There is a chalybeate spring. —See Broadheath.

Hallystone (St. Mary)

HALLYSTONE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Rothbury, W. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland; containing, with the townships of Barrow, Dueshill, Harbottle, and Linshields, 443 inhabitants, of whom 125 are in the township of Hallystone, 7 miles (W. by N.) from Rothbury. The parish is almost entirely covered with heath. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Allenton in 1311. Near the church are the foundations of a priory for Benedictine nuns, founded by one of the Umfravilles, lords of Redesdale; the rectory of Allenton was appropriated to it, because, as said by Pope Gregory XI. in his letters apostolic, the endowments of the priory, being situated in the marches, were so wasted and destroyed, that the nuns could not maintain themselves. At the time of the Dissolution the priory was possessed of various houses and lands in the village of Hallystone, farms at Corsenside, Brigghouses, Woodhouses, and Risingham, in Redesdale, lands at Wreigh-Hill, a house in Alnwick, lands at Wallington, Bavington, Nun-Riding, Thockrington, and Rochester, with several houses in Newcastle; they had likewise the rectories of Alnwick, Hallystone, and Corsenside. Here are also the remains of a tower, which was a place of great security before the union of the two kingdoms. On the southern bank of the Coquet, which runs through the parish, are vestiges of an old edifice, styled Barrow Peel, and a little to the west is Ridlee Cairn Hill, both supposed to have been cemeteries of the ancient Britons. Poised on the summit of a lofty hill, near which is Harbottle Loch, is a large stone named the Drake stone. There is a fine basin of water, called Lady's Well, beautifully variegated at the bottom with green and white sand, and encircled by a wall of hewn stone. Upon the introduction of Christianity into Northumbria, it is said that about 8000 persons were baptized at Hallystone by Paulinus.

Halmer-End

HALMER-END, a township, in the parish of Audley, union of Newcastle-under-Lyme, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 2 miles (S. by E.) from Audley; containing 907 inhabitants. It includes the village of Alsager's-Bank, consisting chiefly of cottages, and within its limits is also the seat of Apedale Hall. Here are places of worship for Independents and Methodists.

Halnaker

HALNAKER, a tything, in the parish of Boxgrove, union of West Hampnett, hundred of Box and Stockbridge, rape of Chichester, W. division of the county of Sussex; containing 233 inhabitants.

Halsall (St. Cuthbert)

HALSALL (St. Cuthbert), a parish, in the union of Ormskirk, hundred of West Derby, S. division of the county of Lancaster; comprising the townships of Down Holland, Halsall, and Lydiate, and the chapelries of Maghull, and Melling with Cunscough; and containing 4445 inhabitants, of whom 1218 are in the township of Halsall, 3 miles (W. N. W.) from Ormskirk. Halsall was anciently under the barony of Warrington. Of a family of the local name, was Simon de Halsall, contemporary with Sir Adam de Molines, 12th Henry III.; and previous to 1593 lived Sir Edward Halsall, some time chancellor of the exchequer at Chester. Sir Cuthbert Halsall sold the manor and advowson of the church, for, it is said, £1000, to Sir Gilbert, Lord Gerard of Bromley. By the will of the Gerards, Lord Mahon, Baron of Oakhampton, succeeded to Halsall; and his wife conveyed the property, by her second marriage, to the Mordaunts, who sold the living to the Blundell family. The parish comprises 29,312 acres, of which 6996a. 3r. are in Halsall township. It is situated near the coast, and intersected by the Leeds and Liverpool canal, which passes through each of its townships; the views of the sea are good, and the air salubrious. There are some quarries of freestone; and in Halsall moss, which is rather extensive, is found a bituminous turf, which burns like a candle. La Mancha, here, is the residence of Thomas Fisher Moore, Esq. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £24. 11. 5½., and in the patronage of R. B. B. Hollinshead Blundell, Esq., of Deysbrook; net income, £3051: the rector's house is a stately structure of stone, built in 1847. The parochial church is handsome, partly in the decorated and partly in the later English style, with a lofty spire, and forms a conspicuous object in the scenery. There are also churches at Maghull, Melling, and Lydiate, the livings of which are perpetual curacies, in the patronage of the rector. In the churchyard is a school-house, built in 1595, by Edward Halsall, who bequeathed a rent-charge of £13. 6. 8.

Halse

HALSE, a hamlet, in the parish of St. Peter, union and borough of Brackley, hundred of King's-Sutton, S. division of the county of Northampton, 2¾ miles (N. W. by N.) from Brackley; containing 64 inhabitants. Here was formerly a chapel dedicated to St. Andrew.

Halse (St. James)

HALSE (St. James), a parish, in the union of Taunton, hundred of Williton and Freemanners, though locally in the W. division of the hundred of Kingsbury, W. division of Somerset, 4 miles (E.) from Wiveliscombe; containing 421 inhabitants. It comprises 1301 acres, of which 59 are common land or waste. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 19. 7., and in the gift of Mrs. Frobisher: the great tithes have been commuted for £327. 16., and the vicarial for £135; the glebe contains 4 acres.

Halsham (All Saints)

HALSHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Patrington, S. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 6 miles (E. by S.) from Hedon; containing 284 inhabitants. It comprises 2800 acres. The soil is various, in some parts rich arable land, and in others of inferior quality; the surface is flat, and was formerly subject to inundation. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; net income, £631; patron, J. Dyneley, Esq. On an eminence near the church is an elegant mausoleum, built at an expense of £10,000, of white freestone faced with polished marble, having in the centre a beautiful monument to the memory of William Constable, Esq., whose remains lie here, surrounded by those of his ancestors. Sir John Constable, in 1579, bequeathed a rent-charge of £80, for a free school, and an hospital for eight men and two women; to which Catherine Constable added £6. 13. 4. a year for putting out apprentices, and £10 a year for the maintenance of a scholar at Trinity College, Oxford. These two latter sums, however, have never been paid or demanded: the £6. 13. 4. were to be paid out of lands at Gates-in-Stainhoe and Stapleton-upon-Tees, and the £10 out of tithes at Baldersby now belonging to Lord Grantham.

Halstead (St. George)

HALSTEAD (St. George), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Hinckford, N. division of Essex, 17½ miles (N. N. E.) from Chelmsford, and 47 (N. E.) from London; containing 5710 inhabitants. This town is pleasantly situated on a gentle acclivity rising from the river Colne, and on the road from London to Norwich, through Bury St. Edmund's; it consists chiefly of one spacious street, containing some handsome and wellbuilt houses, is lighted with gas, and supplied with water from springs. In the reign of Elizabeth, many of the French Protestants being violently persecuted in their own country, fled to England, and, settling at Halstead and Colchester, introduced the manufacture of baize and says, now discontinued. Large silk-crape mills were established in 1825, on the site of a flour-mill, and employ about 800 persons, mostly females. An act was passed in 1846, for effecting railway communication with Colchester. A market for corn is held on Tuesday; and there are cattle-fairs on May 6th and October 29th. Courts leet and baron take place about once a year, by the lord of the manor; and the petty-sessions for the division of South Hinckford are held here on alternate Tuesdays. The powers of the county debt-court of Halstead, established in 1847, extend over the greater part of the registration-district of Halstead. There is a house of correction, in which is a tread-mill. The parish comprises 5632a. 1r. 14p., of which 4176a. 2r. 15p. are arable, 854a. 2r. 7p. pasture, 250 acres woodland and plantations, and about 70 appropriated to the cultivation of hops: there are numerous handsome seats.

Arms.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £17; patron, the Bishop of London; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter, and Vicars Choral, of St. Paul's Cathedral, under whom the great tithes are held on lease by J. G. Sparrow, Esq., and have been commuted for £1350; the vicarial tithes have been commuted for £470, and the glebe comprises 5 acres. The church is a spacious edifice, in the later English style, except the chancel, which is in the decorated style; its spire is of wood, and occupies the place of one destroyed by lightning about 90 years ago. It contains many ancient monuments, brasses, and inscriptions; and probably belonged to a college of priests, founded here in the 14th of Edward IV., and the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £26. 5. 8. A district parish, named the Holy Trinity, was constituted in October 1844, under the act 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37; it comprises part of the town, from which it extends nearly two miles. The church is a very handsome and spacious edifice in the early English style, with a spire 150 feet in height, and cost about £5000. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners with £150 per annum, and in the patronage of the Bishop of London. At Greenstead-Green is a district church, dedicated to St. James, which was consecrated in Oct. 1845. It is a beautiful structure in the same style, built at the expense of Mrs. Gee, of Colne House, on a site presented by Mrs. Brewster, and has a tower which forms a conspicuous object for miles round; the fittings-up of the interior are exceedingly good, and at the east end is a window of stained glass. The total cost, including the endowment, schools, and parsonage, amounting to £8000, was defrayed by Mrs. Gee. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Rochester. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, and Independents. A free grammar school, founded by Lady Ramsey in 1594, is endowed with a rent-charge of £20, and a house for the master. The family of Martin, in 1573, left lands producing £130 per annum, and Mrs. Holmes, in 1783, £4000 three per cents., for the benefit of the poor. The union comprises 16 parishes or places, and contains a population of 17,691. Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Edward IV., a distinguished patron of literature, was a native of Halstead.

Halstead (St. Margaret)

HALSTEAD (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Seven-Oaks, hundred of Codsheath, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent, 5¼ miles (N. W. by N.) from Seven-Oaks; containing 303 inhabitants. It comprises 918 acres, of which 130 are in wood. The living is a rectory, in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, valued in the king's books at £5. 17. 11.; net income, £184. The church was rebuilt, and a handsome chapel added to the north side, by the lord of the manor, in 1609; the windows of the latter were richly ornamented with stained glass, but most of it has been destroyed. There are places of worship for Baptists and Independents.

Halstead

HALSTEAD, a township, in the parish of Tilton, union of Billesdon, hundred of East Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 7¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Oakham; containing 186 inhabitants. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Halstock (St. Mary)

HALSTOCK (St. Mary), a parish and liberty, in the union of Beaminster, Sherborne division of Dorset, 6 miles (S. by W.) from Yeovil; containing 626 inhabitants. The road from Bridport to Yeovil passes through. The parish comprises about 3200 acres, whereof one-third is arable, one-third pasture, and the rest woodland and waste. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Lord Abinger, with a net income of £100: the tithes have been commuted for £485, and there are 85 acres of glebe.

Halston

HALSTON, an extra-parochial liberty, in the hundred of Oswestry, N. division of Salop, 3½ miles (E. N. E.) from Oswestry; containing 34 inhabitants. The Knights Templars had a preceptory here, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which subsequently belonged to the Hospitallers, and was valued in the 26th of Henry VIII. at £160. 14. 10. per annum: in the reign of Mary it was re-granted to the order of St. John of Jerusalem, and in that of Elizabeth was possessed by William Horne. The district comprises about 1700 acres; the soil is generally loam, with a portion of reclaimed bog which is now very fertile. Halston House is a handsome mansion, in front of which is a fine sheet of water, formed by a diversion of the channel of the river Perry. The Ellesmere canal passes close to the boundary of the liberty. Connected with Halston House is an elegant chapel, in the later English style, the living of which is a donative, in the patronage of the Mytton family, who pay the minister an annual stipend of £105.

Halstow, High, (St. Margaret)

HALSTOW, HIGH, (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union and hundred of Hoo, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 6 miles (N. N. E.) from Rochester; containing 373 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2926a. 2r. 30p., of which about 1283 acres are arable, 1468 pasture and marsh, 58 acres salts, or land outside the river walls, and 85 wood, consisting chiefly of oak and elm. The soil of the arable grounds is heavy; the pastures were formerly for the most part overflowed by the Thames, but now, though the soil is wet and heavy, are in tolerable condition, The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 5. 7½., and in the patronage of Mrs. S. Burt: the tithes have been commuted for £759, and there are five acres of glebe.

Halstow, Low (St. Margaret)

HALSTOW, LOW (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union and hundred of Milton, Upper division of the lathe of Scray, E. division of Kent, 5½ miles (N. E.) from Sittingbourne; containing 297 inhabitants. It is situated at the upper end of Stangate creek, by which it has a communication with the Medway a little above Sheerness. Here vessels from foreign countries, that cannot produce clean bills of health, are compelled to perform quarantine, and to remove their cargoes into two large vessels called Lazarettos, constantly stationed for the purpose of receiving them. The road from Chatham to Sheerness, by King's Ferry, crosses the creek at a ford called the Stray, south of the church. It is stated that several ships and boats belonged to the village in the reign of Elizabeth. The parish comprises 1563a. 3r. 22½p., of which 37 acres are in wood. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 2.; net income, £245; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The church is a very ancient building in the early English style.

Haltham-upon-Bain (St. Benedict)

HALTHAM-upon-Bain (St. Benedict), a parish, in the union and soke of Horncastle, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 5¼ miles (S. by W.) from Horncastle; containing 253 inhabitants. The Horncastle canal, upon which steam-vessels ply daily between Lincoln and Boston, passes through the parish. The living is a discharged rectory, united to that of Roughton in 1741, and valued in the king's books at £8. 11. 3.