Helmsley (St. Matthew)
HELMSLEY (St. Matthew), a market-town and
parish, and the head of a union, in the wapentake of
Ryedale, N. riding of York; comprising the townships
of Beadlam, Laskill-Pasture, Rivaulx, and Sproxton, and
the chapelries of Bilsdale-Midcable, Haram, and Pockley;
and containing 3475 inhabitants, of whom 1465 are in
the town, 23 miles (N.) from York, and 218 (N. by W.)
from London. This place, which is of great antiquity,
and was formerly of considerable importance, derives
its name from elm and slac, a narrow vale. It belonged
in the reigns of Richard I. and John to the family of
Roos, who in 1200 built a strong castle for their baronial residence, which in the parliamentary war, being
garrisoned for the king, was besieged and taken by Fairfax, in 1644, and soon afterwards dismantled by order
of the parliament. The remains of this structure, which
stood on an eminence, and was surrounded by a double
moat, consist principally of detached portions of the
state apartments and the offices, and part of the keep
and gateway. The town is situated on the declivity of
a small eminence, sloping gently towards the river Rye,
which gives name to the wapentake; the houses are
mostly built of stone, with thatched roofs, and the inhabitants are supplied with water from springs and from
a rivulet called the Boro' Beck, which, after running
through the town, falls into the Rye near Helmsley
bridge. The environs are extremely pleasant, being
diversified with extensive woods and fertile valleys.
Duncombe Park, a noble mansion within a mile of
Helmsley, was built in 1718, of the Doric order, from a
design by Vanbrugh. There are some mines of coal,
chiefly of an inferior description, on the moors; and
good limestone is quarried for building. The market is
on Saturday; the fairs are on May 19th, July 16th, Oct.
1st and 2nd, and Nov. 5th and 6th, for cattle, sheep,
and linen and woollen cloth. The powers of the county
debt-court of Helmsley, established in 1847, extend over
the registration-district of Helmsley.
The parish is 16 miles long, from north to south, and
comprises about 50,000 acres. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£11. 8. 6½.; patron, Lord Feversham: the vicarial
tithes have been commuted for £405, and the glebe
comprises 36 acres. The church is a large and handsome structure, partly Norman, and partly in the early
English style, with later insertions, and having a tower
at the west end; it contains some elegant screen-work,
and an hexagonal font of early English character. At
Haram and Pockley are chapels of ease, the latter built
in 1822, at the expense of the late Lord Feversham.
Bilsdale forms a separate incumbency. There are places
of worship for Independents, the Society of Friends, and
Wesleyans. The poor-law union comprises 47 parishes
or places, and contains a population of 12,010. George
Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, after he had withdrawn
from the court and cabinet of Charles II., spent a considerable portion of his time here, this period of his life
being distinguished by revelries and profligacy which
soon reduced him to comparative indigence: he died at
Kirkby-Moorside in April, 1687.
Helmsley, Gate (St. Mary)
HELMSLEY, GATE (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union of York, wapentake of Bulmer, N. riding of
York, 6¼ miles (E. N. E.) from York; containing 306
inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from
York to Bridlington, and comprises 470 acres, in nearly
equal portions of arable and pasture; the soil is in
general gravel, and the scenery pleasing. A private
asylum for lunatics was established in 1821, by Mr.
James Martin; the grounds around it are extensive.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £2; net income, £114; patron, the Prebendary
of Osbaldwick in the Cathedral of York; impropriators,
the family of Barratt: the tithes were commuted for
land in 1769. The church is an ancient edifice with a
tower. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Helmsley, Upper (St. Peter)
HELMSLEY, UPPER (St. Peter), a parish, in the
wapentake of Bulmer, union and N. riding of York, 7½
miles (N. E. by E.) from York; containing 68 inhabitants.
The parish comprises by computation 800 acres, of
which about 400 are meadow and pasture, 200 arable,
30 woodland, and nearly 200 waste; the surface is
elevated, the soil various, and the scenery pleasing and
picturesque. The living is a discharged rectory, valued
in the king's books at £4. 19. 2., and in the patronage
of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £97,
and the glebe comprises 2 acres. The church is a neat
brick edifice, built about fifty years since, at the sole
expense of Mrs. Jane Wilmer.
Heloughton (All Saints)
HELOUGHTON (All Saints), a parish, in the
union of Walsingham, hundred of Gallow, W. division
of Norfolk, 4¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Fakenham;
containing 356 inhabitants. It comprises 1637a. 3r. 36p.,
of which. 959 acres are arable, 335 pasture and meadow,
and 50 woodland. The living is a discharged vicarage,
with that of South Rainham united, valued in the king's
books at £6. 13. 4.; patrons and impropriators, the
family of Townshend: the great tithes have been commuted for £299. 14., the vicarial for £184. 12., and the
glebe comprises 26 acres. The church, which is chiefly
in the early English style, consists of a nave and chancel,
with a tower. At the inclosure, in 1819, thirty acres
were allotted to the poor for fuel.
Helperby
HELPERBY, a township, in the parish of Brafferton, wapentake of Bulmer, N. riding of York, 4¼
miles (N. E. by E.) from Boroughbridge; containing
645 inhabitants. The township comprises about 1900
acres of land, the property of various owners: the village adjoins that of Brafferton, with which it forms one
long street; and the river Swale passes on the west.
Helperthorpe (St. Peter)
HELPERTHORPE (St. Peter), a parish, in the
union of Driffield, wapentake of Buckrose, E. riding
of York, 4 miles (N. by E.) from Sledmere; containing
160 inhabitants. It comprises 3000 acres, of which
about 150 are pasture and wood, and the remainder
arable land. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued
in the king's books at £4. 19. 7.; net income, £178;
patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of
York: the tithes were commuted for land in 1801.
The church, a small edifice with a low tower, was
thoroughly repaired in 1829. There being no burialground, the parishioners use that at Weaverthorpe.
Helpringham (St. Andrew)
HELPRINGHAM (St. Andrew), a parish, in the
union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts
of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 7 miles (S. E. by E.)
from Sleaford; containing, with the hamlet of ThorpeLatimer, 774 inhabitants, and comprising 3202 acres.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £8. 3. 4.; net income, £149; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Thomas Mitchinson; impropriators,
S. J. Baxter, Esq., and others. The glebe comprises
84 acres. The church is principally in the decorated
English style, with a tower surmounted by a spire.
There are places of worship for Baptists and Primitive
Methodists.
Helpstone (St. Botolph)
HELPSTONE (St. Botolph), a parish, in the union
and soke of Peterborough, N. division of the county
of Northampton, 3¾ miles (S. S. W.) from Market-Deeping; containing 513 inhabitants, and comprising
by measurement 1750 acres. There are quarries of
stone for common building purposes and for the roads.
The village is neatly built; and in the centre is an ancient cross. The Helpstone station of the Syston and
Peterborough railway is midway between Stamford and
Peterborough, being six and a quarter miles from each
town. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £8. 0. 5.; net income, £99;
patron, Earl Fitzwilliam; impropriators, the Master
and Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge: the tithes
were commuted for land in 1774. The church has
traces of Norman design, with insertions in the early,
decorated, and later English styles. There is a place of
worship for Wesleyans. Under an inclosure award in
1774, twenty acres of land were allotted, which are let
in small portions, producing £40 per annum, to be distributed among the poor.
Helsby
HELSBY, a township, in the parish of Frodsham,
union of Runcorn, Second division of the hundred of
Eddisbury, S. division of the county of Chester, 2¼
miles (S. W. by W.) from Frodsham; containing 572
inhabitants. It comprises 1054 acres, of a sandy and a
marshy soil. There is a freestone-quarry. A national
school was established in 1846.
Helsington
HELSINGTON, a chapelry, in the parish, union,
and ward of Kendal, county of Westmorland, 3½
miles (S. W. by S.) from Kendal; containing 310 inhabitants. This place has been for many generations
the property of the Strickland family, of whom Sir
Walter de Strickland lived here in the reign of King
John, and William was bishop of Carlisle in 1400: the
male line of the family has been successive and uninterrupted for more than 700 years. Sizergh Hall, the
fine old Gothic seat of the Stricklands, stands in the
midst of highly fertilized grounds beautifully interspersed with wood, though at the foot of a wild and sterile
hill. When it was first erected has not been clearly
ascertained; it is supposed to have been at the time of
the Conquest; but it is still very perfect, having been
frequently repaired and enlarged, and preserves its ancient formidable appearance. It contains many stately
apartments, some of which are beautifully wainscoted
with richly carved black oak, and adorned with paintings;
the dining-room is particularly spacious, and the
"Queen's room" is so called from Catherine Parr, consort of Henry VIII., having lodged here after the king's
death. In the border wars, the lord of this mansion
could bring into the field 290 bowmen and billmen.
The present owner is Walter Charles Strickland, Esq.,
who recently attained his majority.
The township comprises, including roads, 3250 acres,
of which 875 were common land, now inclosed: the
high lands, called Helsington barrows, are rocky, but
suitable to the growth of wood; the low lands are
arable, and are extremely productive. The drainage
of the latter, under a local act, was effected at a cost of
£14,500; and nearly 200 acres of the high common
lands have been planted since January, 1846. The
grounds belonging to Sizergh House consist of about
1884 acres, including lands adjoining the domain. The
river Kent, the Lancaster and Kendal canal, the Lancaster road to Kendal and Milnthorpe, and the Lancaster and Carlisle railway, all pass through the chapelry.
The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of
the Vicar of Kendal; net income, £125. The chapel,
dedicated to St. John, was founded in 1726, by John
Jackson, of Holeslack, who endowed it with an estate.
A school is supported by subscription.
Helston, or Helleston (St. Michael)
HELSTON, or Helleston (St. Michael), a borough and market-town, and
the head of a union, in the
parish of Wendron, possessing separate jurisdiction, but
locally in the hundred of
Kerrier, W. division of
Cornwall, 17 miles from
Truro, and 279 (W. S. W.)
from London; containing
3584 inhabitants. This place
is of considerable antiquity,
and in the Domesday survey formed part of the royal
demesnes, under the appellation of Henliston. King
John, among other privileges bestowed on the town,
made it a free borough, and gave the inhabitants power
to have a mercatorial guild; Edward I. made it one of
the stannary towns, and Edward III. granted a confirmation of the charter of John, and the right of a
weekly market and annual fairs. The town is situated
on the great road from Exeter and Plymouth, through
Falmouth, to the Land's End, upon the declivity of a hill
to the east of the little river Cober; and comprises four
principal streets, diverging at right angles from the
market-place, in the centre of which is the guildhall,
lately erected on the site of the ancient market-house.
It is paved, and lighted with gas; and the inhabitants are
supplied with water by a stream which, flowing through
the green that skirts the town, gives a neat and agreeable
aspect to the place. Assemblies are held during the
winter, in a spacious ball-room at the Angel inn; and
a handsome structure called the Subscription Rooms,
comprising a reading-room, library, savings' bank, and
accommodation for other societies, has been erected
at a cost of £1600. At the eastern extremity of the
street which takes its name from the building, is the
Coinage Hall, a well-constructed edifice, but since the
recent act abolishing the duty, no longer used for that
purpose; and at the western extremity, is a monumental arch, erected to the memory of Mr. Humphrey
Grylls, who died in 1834.
Seal and Arms.
In the neighbourhood are mines of tin, lead, and copper, which are very productive, especially the famous
tin-mine of Huel Vor, about three miles westward from
the town, the works of which extend more than a mile
and a half under ground. The operations of roasting
(according to the improved plan invented by Mr. Brunton) and smelting are carried on upon the spot; and
the expense of working the mine has been estimated at
£5000 per month, notwithstanding which, the proprietors are said, on one occasion, to have obtained a
clear profit of £7000 in three months. A considerable
number of the population is employed in the manufacture of shoes, sent to the neighbouring towns for sale;
and there are some ancient and extensive quarries, from
which has been raised the stone for the erection of
nearly all the houses in the town. About three miles
distant is the harbour of Port Leven, which has been of
late much improved, and affords a facility of communication by sea. Markets are held on Wednesday and
Saturday; and fairs on the Saturdays before Mid-Lent
Sunday and Palm-Sunday, on Whit-Monday, July 20th,
September 9th, October 28th, and the first, second, and
third Saturdays before Christmas-eve. A handsome
butchers' and poultry market was opened in June, 1838,
adjoining the old market.
Helston received its first charter from King John, in
1201, and since that time fourteen others have been
granted, under the last of which, that of George III.,
dated September 3rd, 1774, the corporation consisted
of a mayor and four aldermen, forming the commoncouncil and governing body, assisted by a recorder,
town-clerk, two serjeants-at-mace, &c. By the act of
the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, the control is
now vested in a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve
councillors; the mayor and late mayor are justices of
the peace, and there are other justices appointed under
a commission, also a recorder, and a separate court of
quarter-sessions. The Guildhall, a handsome edifice
erected at an expense of £6000, contains a stately hall
for the transaction of public business, with court-rooms
and the requisite offices; and underneath is a spacious
market for corn. A commodious prison has been
erected. The borough sent two members to parliament
from the 26th of Edward I., to the 2nd of William IV.,
when it was deprived of one by the Reform act. The
right of election, under the charter of 1774, was vested
in the freemen, who were chosen by the corporation,
and held their franchise for life; but by the act of the
2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the non-resident electors,
except within seven miles, were disfranchised, and the
privilege was extended to £10 householders within an
enlarged district, comprising 5072 acres, which, for
elective purposes, was substituted for the ancient
borough: the mayor is returning officer. The pettysessions for the west division of the hundred of Kerrier
are held here, every alternate Saturday. The powers of
the county debt-court of Helston, established in 1847,
extend over the registration-district of Helston.
The living is a rectory, annexed to the vicarage of
Wendron: the tithes have been commuted for £135.
The present church, a good edifice with a lofty pinnacled
tower, standing on an eminence to the north of the
town, was built in 1762, at an expense of £6000, the
benefaction of Earl Godolphin; and has been repewed,
and a gallery and handsome porch added, at an expense
of £1850. There are places of worship for Baptists,
and Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists; also a small
grammar school. The poor-law union comprises 18
parishes or places, with a population of 32,546. Here
was a castle, of which some vestiges existed when
Leland visited the town, in the reign of Henry VIII.;
the site is now a bowling-green. At the village of St.
John, adjoining Helston, was a priory or hospital, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the revenue of which, at
the Dissolution, was £14. 7. 4. Near the town is Loe
Pool, one of the most considerable lakes in the county,
formed by an accumulation of the waters of the river,
confined by a sandbank thrown up by the waves of the
sea, through which an opening is made occasionally to
drain the lake. Helston has from time immemorial
been noted for a popular festival held on the 8th of May,
called "the Furrey," and supposed to have been derived
from the Roman Floralia, or games in honour of the
goddess Flora: on this occasion, persons parade and
dance through the streets and in the houses with garlands of flowers, and all ranks partake of the pleasures
of dancing and various rural amusements.
Helton
HELTON, a township in the parish of Askham,
West ward and union, county of Westmorland, 6
miles (S.) from Penrith; containing 193 inhabitants.
Helton, or Hilton
HELTON, or Hilton, a township, and formerly a
chapelry, in the parish of Bongate, or St. Michael,
Appleby, East ward and union, county of Westmorland, 3 miles (E.) from Appleby; containing 271 inhabitants. It comprises about 6054 acres, of which the
inclosed land is of good quality; the remainder consists
of a common called Brackenber Moor, and of the hilly
moors above the village of Hilton. The London Lead
Company work mines here, which are very productive,
and they have also a mill for smelting the ore, which
yields a considerable quantity of silver. The chapel has
long been demolished.
Hemblington (All Saints)
HEMBLINGTON (All Saints), a parish, in the
union of Blofield, hundred of Walsham, E. division
of Norfolk, 4 miles (W. N. W.) from Acle; containing
284 inhabitants, and comprising by computation 739
acres. About a mile to the north-west of the church,
is the scattered hamlet of Pedam, in which is a fine lake
of ten acres, with a picturesque waterfall, the scenery
around which has been artificially embellished with
grottos, and heaps of rude stones piled in the form of
arches, interspersed with clusters of trees. The living
is a perpetual curacy; net income, £56; patrons and
appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Norwich, whose
tithes have been commuted for £290. 5. 6. The church
is an ancient structure, in the early and decorated
English styles.
Hembury, Broad.—See Broadhembury.
HEMBURY, BROAD.—See Broadhembury.
Hemel-Hempstead.—See Hempstead, Hemel.
HEMEL-HEMPSTEAD.—See Hempstead, Hemel.
Hemingbrough (St. Mary)
HEMINGBROUGH (St. Mary), a parish, partly
in the union of Howden, and partly in that of Selby,
wapentake of Ouse and Derwent, E. riding of York;
containing, with the chapelries of Barlby, and Cliff with
Lund, and the townships of Brackenholme with Woodhall, South Duffield, Menthorpe with Bowthorpe, and
Osgodby, 1953 inhabitants, of whom 475 are in the township of Hemingbrough, 4¼ miles (E. S. E.) from Selby.
The parish comprises about 9000 acres, of which fourfifths are arable land: the Hull and Selby railway passes
through it, and at Cliff is a station, where coal and lime
are unloaded for the convenience of the neighbourhood.
The village, which is considerable, is situated on the
north bank of the river Ouse. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the patronage of the Crown; net
income, £85; impropriators, the families of Wilson,
Tweedy, and others. The church is a cruciform structure, principally in the later English style, with a square
embattled tower surmounted by a lofty octangular spire;
it was made collegiate in 1426, and the revenue of the
society, at the Dissolution, was valued at £84. 11. There
is a chapel at Barlby, erected in 1777, by subscription;
and at Hemingbrough, Cliff, and South Duffield are
places of worship for dissenters. A school is endowed
with £35 per annum.
Hemingby (St. Margaret)
HEMINGBY (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union
of Horncastle, N. division of the wapentake of Gartree, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 3¾ miles
(N. N. W.) from Horncastle; containing 373 inhabitants.
The parish is pleasantly situated in a valley, watered by
the river Bane, and comprises by measurement 2003
acres. A statute-fair is held in the week after Old Mayday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books
at £17. 8. 6½., and in the gift of King's College, Cambridge: the income arises from land appropriated in lieu
of tithes, and comprising 421 acres, valued at £500.
The church, which was rebuilt about the beginning of
the last century, is a plain edifice, consisting of a nave
and chancel, and contains a handsome marble monument
to the Rev. Joseph Carr, who was for forty years rector
of the parish, and died in 1768. There is a place of
worship for Wesleyans; and a school is partly supported by endowment. Almshouses of five tenements
were founded by Lady Jane Dymoke, widow of the
Champion of England, who in 1727 endowed them with
174 acres of land and £300 in the funds, now producing
an income of £120 per annum.
Hemingfield
HEMINGFIELD, a hamlet, in the township of
Wombwell, parish of Darfield, N. division of the
wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding
of York, 4½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Barnsley; containing 346 inhabitants. It abounds with coal, of which
several mines are in full operation, and there are some
extensive quarries of good building-stone: the Dearne
and Dove canal passes through the hamlet. A national
school was built by John Birks, Esq., who transferred it
to the trustees of Ellis' charity, on their endowing it with
£15 per annum.
Hemingford, Abbots (St. Margaret)
HEMINGFORD, ABBOTS (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of St. Ives, hundred of Toseland,
county of Huntingdon, 2½ miles (W.) from St. Ives;
containing 564 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 2370 acres, of which 1966 are arable, and 410 pasture. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books
at £26. 13. 4., and in the patronage of Lady Olivia B.
Sparrow: the tithes were commuted for land and a
money payment in 1801; the land comprises 500 acres,
valued at £500.
Hemingford, Grey (St. James)
HEMINGFORD, GREY (St. James), a parish, in
the union of St. Ives, hundred of Toseland, county of
Huntingdon, 1¾ mile (W. by S.) from St. Ives; containing 910 inhabitants. It is situated on the river
Ouse, which is navigable from Bedford to Lynn; and
comprises 1110a. 1r. 6p. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 16. 10.; net
income, £177; patrons, the Master and Fellows of
Trinity Hall, Cambridge; appropriator, the Bishop of
Ely. The tithes were commuted for land and money
payments in 1806; the glebe comprises 75a. 3r. 6p.
Hemingston (St. Gregory)
HEMINGSTON (St. Gregory), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Bosmere and Claydon, E. division of Suffolk, 4 miles (S. E.) from Needham-Market;
containing 381 inhabitants, and consisting of 1444 acres.
Hemingston Hall is a good mansion in the Elizabethan
style, erected in 1558. The living is a rectory, valued
in the king's books at £8. 11. 5½., and in the gift of Sir
W. F. F. Middleton, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £369. 5. 5., and the glebe comprises 67 acres.
The church, a handsome structure in the later English
style, with an embattled tower, contains monuments to
the Brand and Colville families.
Hemington
HEMINGTON, a township, in the parish of Lockington, union of Shardlow, hundred of West Goscote,
N. division of the county of Leicester, 9 miles (S. E.)
from Derby; containing 381 inhabitants. This township lies on the road from Tamworth to Nottingham,
and comprises about 1200 acres, of which two-thirds
are pasture, and the remainder arable: it was inclosed
in 1789. The surface is hilly; the soil is gravelly below
the village, above it marly and stronger. Sir John
Harpur Crewe, Bart., is chief proprietor, and lord of the
manor, which was held by the Harpur family as early as
1580, and previously by the Crophulls. Hemington was
anciently a separate parish, and had a church, of which
there are still large remains, partly converted into two
dwellings, adjoining the ruins of the tower. There is a
place of worship for Wesleyans.
Hemington (St. Peter and St. Paul)
HEMINGTON (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish,
in the union of Oundle, hundred of Polebrooke, N.
division of the county of Northampton, 5½ miles (E.
S. E.) from Oundle; containing 147 inhabitants. The
parish is situated on the borders of Huntingdonshire,
and consists of 1309a. 38p. The living is a vicarage, in
the patronage of the family of Montagu, and is endowed
with 100 acres of land, in lieu of tithes; net income, £70.
The church, rebuilt in 1666, with the exception of the
tower, which is of ancient date, is a small neat edifice,
and contains some stone seats or stalls said to have been
removed from Fotheringay church or castle. A school
was endowed with £8 per annum, in 1619, by the Rev.
Nicholas Latham. The remains of antiquity are a
square encampment in a field called Elland's Pasture,
and part of an old manor-house, in which is a fine
mantelpiece of stone.
Hemington (St. Mary)
HEMINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Frome, hundred of Kilmersdon, E. division of
Somerset, 5¼ miles (N. W. by N.) from Frome; containing 483 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, with
that of Hardington united, valued in the king's books at
£13. 14. 7.; net income, £641; patron, Lord Poltimore.
Here is a school with a small endowment.