Hoo, or St. Werburgh

HOO, or St. Werburgh, a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Hoo, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 4½ miles (N. E.) from Rochester; containing 930 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Medway, which is here very broad, and deep enough to float first-rate ships of war. It comprises 4822 acres: the soil is various, in some parts rich, in others less fertile; a considerable portion is marsh, and the remainder arable and pasture land, with 188 acres of wood. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £18. 6.; net income, £395; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester. The church is a handsome stone structure, with a lofty spire, which is conspicuous for many miles round. The poor-law union comprises seven parishes or places, and contains a population of 2794. Abbey Court, now a farmhouse, was a monastery subordinate to Leeds Abbey, Kent.

Hoo (St. Mary)

HOO (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Hoo, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 5 miles (N. E. by N.) from Rochester; containing 297 inhabitants. It consists of 2196 acres, of which 42 are in wood. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 12. 1., and in the patronage of Mrs. S. Burt: the tithes have been commuted for £74. 13. payable to the Dean and Chapter of Rochester, and £602 to the rector; the glebe comprises 11 acres.

Hoo (St. Andrew and St. Eustachius)

HOO (St. Andrew and St. Eustachius), a parish, in the union of Plomesgate, hundred of Loes, E. division of Suffolk, 4¼ miles (N. W.) from Wickham-Market; containing 211 inhabitants, and comprising by survey 1212 acres. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £44; patron, the Rev. O. S. Reynolds. The church is an ancient structure in the early English style, with a square tower, and contains a curiously sculptured font. There were anciently guilds of the Holy Trinity, St. Mary, St. Peter, St. Andrew, and St. John.

Hood-Grange

HOOD-GRANGE, a hamlet, in the parish of Kilburn, wapentake of Birdforth, union of Thirsk, N. riding of York, 4½ miles (E.) from the town of Thirsk; containing 25 inhabitants. It comprises about 600 acres. Here was an abbey for Cistercian monks, who removed to Old Byland in 1143, and afterwards to Byland, near Coxwold.

Hooe (St. James)

HOOE (St. James), a parish, in the union of Hailsham, hundred of Ninfield, rape of Hastings, E. division of Sussex, 8 miles (S. W.) from Battle; containing 519 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Eastbourne to Battle, and comprises 2447a. 3r. 35p., of which 900 acres are arable, 300 pasture and meadow, 30 in hop plantations, and the remainder common and marsh land. A fair for the sale of stock is held on the 1st of May. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 2. 6.; patron, Sir G. Webster, Bart.; impropriator, A. E. Fuller, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £215, and the vicarial for £317. 10.; the impropriate glebe contains 26 acres, and the vicarial 1½ acre. The church is partly in the early English style, with a low embattled tower. An alien priory of Benedictine monks, belonging to the abbey of Bec, in Normandy, was erected here about the commencement of the twelfth century, and was given by Henry VI. to Eton College, and subsequently by Edward IV. to Ashford College, in Kent; the foundations only of the building are remaining.

Hook

HOOK, a hamlet, in the parish and union of Kingston-Upon-Thames, First division of the hundred of Kingston, E. division of Surrey, 3½ miles (S. by W.) from Kingston; containing 222 inhabitants. The hamlet consists chiefly of small cottages on the west side of the road from Kingston to Leatherhead. It has a small church dedicated to St. Paul, built in 1838, at a cost of about £1140; the edifice is of red and yellow brick intermingled, and in the earliest pointed style. The living is in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester.

Hooke (St. Giles)

HOOKE (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of Beaminster, hundred of Eggerton, Bridport division of Dorset, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Beaminster; containing 268 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1237 acres, of which 207 are wood, consisting chiefly of good oak; the land is high and open, and the soil various, in some parts sandy and in others a chalk, abounding in springs. There is a small establishment for spinning flax. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 18. 10., and in the patronage of the Duke of Cleveland and the Countess Dowager of Sandwich: the tithes have been commuted for £41, and the glebe contains 42 acres. The church, which is ancient, has been lately repaired and enlarged.

Hooke

HOOKE, a chapelry, in the parish of Snaith, union of Goole, Lower division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 2 miles (N. by E.) from Goole; containing 1221 inhabitants. The chapelry comprises by computation 1600 acres of land, and includes a small portion of the town of Goole: the village is pleasantly situated on the river Ouse, which is here of considerable breadth. The soil, originally indifferent, has been much improved, and the lands are now in good cultivation. The chapel, dedicated to St. John, is an ancient structure: the living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £70; patron, T. H. S. Sotheron, Esq. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Almshouses for three widows were founded by Joshua Jefferson, Esq., who endowed them with land now producing £38 per annum, of which £6 are paid for the instruction of children.

Hoole

HOOLE, a township, in the parish of Plemonstall, union of Great Boughton, Lower division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester, 2½ miles (N. E.) from Chester; containing 294 inhabitants. It comprises 745 acres, of a sandy soil. The tithes have been commuted for £80 payable to the rector, and £22 to the Marquess of Westminster. Various plots of land here, belonging to the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, of Hoole Lodge, and others, have been laid out for building purposes, such as the erection of villas, &c., by Mr. Rampling, architect, of Liverpool; and some of the plots have been sold at the rate of 5s. the square yard, or £1210 per acre; while, before the introduction of railways, the price was not more than about £150 an acre.

Hoole (Holy Trinity)

HOOLE (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Preston, hundred of Leyland, N. division of Lancashire; containing 989 inhabitants, of whom 785 are in the township of Much Hoole, 8 miles (S. W.), and 204 in that of Little Hoole, 7 miles (S. W. by W.), from Preston. This place, which was separated from Croston by act of parliament in 1642, and made a distinct parish, lies on the road from Preston to Ormskirk and Liverpool, and is bounded on the west by the river Douglas or Astland. It comprises 2851 acres, whereof 1701 are in Much, and 1150 in Little, Hoole; three-fourths of the land are in pasture, and of the whole area 115 acres are common or waste. The soil is partly a marly loam, alternated with peat moss and marsh, and the surface is generally level. Hoole gave name to a family as early as the reign of John. Much Hoole was anciently held by the Montebegons; and the families of Viler, Butler, Walton, Leigh, Banister, and Hesketh, and Sir Thomas Barton and others, succeeded: in more recent times have been the Crooks, Claytons, and Bartons. The estates are now much divided: among the principal proprietors are, Sir Thomas G. Hesketh, Bart., and G. A. Legh Keck, Esq. The whole of Little Hoole, which is on the southern bank of the Ribble, adjoining the parish of Penwortham, is the property of Rice George Fellowe, Esq., of Edmonton, in Middlesex, lord of the manor. This manor was anciently granted by Roger de Montebegon to the priory of Thetford.

The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 14.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Miles Barton, whose family in the last century purchased, with the advowson, a considerable portion of the estates of the township of Much Hoole: he resides in the manor-house of Little Hoole. The tithes have been commuted for £280. The church is a plain edifice of brick, built in 1628, having a tower of stone, rebuilt in 1720. There are, a Methodist place of worship, built in 1824; and a Primitive one, built in 1828. A school, erected in 1774, is endowed with land producing about £16 per annum, and is further supported by the rector. Jeremiah Horrox, the distinguished astronomer, who was the first to observe the transit of Venus over the sun's disc (November 24th, 1639), resided with his parents at Much Hoole, previously to entering Emmanuel College, Cambridge; and made his observations in the township. A marble tablet is erected to his memory in St. Michael's church, Toxteth, recording his death in 1641, at the age of 22.

Hoon

HOON, a township, in the parish of Marston-UponDove, union of Burton, hundred of Appletree, S. division of the county of Derby, 9¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Derby; containing 39 inhabitants. The manor at the Domesday survey was held by Sewall, ancestor of the Shirley family, under Henry de Ferrers. The Shirleys possessed it in the reign of Henry VIII., and it was purchased of them by the Palmers, who were succeeded by the Staffords. About the middle of the 17th century, it was sold to John Pye, Esq., who settled at Hoon, and was created a baronet in 1664: the estate remained in this family for some time, and came by inheritance to the Watkinses, and afterwards, by purchase, to other and recent proprietors. The township contains about 800 acres; the soil on the hills is a gravelly marl, and on the common a rich sand: the Derby and Uttoxeter road passes near. The Hall is an ancient half-timbered building, with pointed gables. A tithe modus of £3 is paid to the Vicar of Marston. There is an ancient barrow.

Hoose

HOOSE, a township, in the parish of West Kirby, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 9½ miles (N. N. W.) from Great Neston; containing 444 inhabitants. This township, which comprises only 74 acres, of a sandy soil, is not mentioned in the Domesday survey; which may be attributed to its being so small, and lying between Great and Little Meolse, of which it was probably then a part. It has been in the possession of various persons, among others of the family of Glegg, of Irby; in 1812, the manor, and the greater part of the township, became the property of John Timothy Swainson, Esq., formerly collector of the Customs of Liverpool. The sea front of the three townships occupies a line of upwards of five miles, reaching from the western part of Wallasey to the village of West Kirby. The inhabitants of Hoose are principally boatmen and fishermen, who have frequently evinced the greatest courage and alacrity in rescuing mariners from the horrors of shipwreck; large banks of sand, extending for miles on the northwest, being annually the scene of most fatal disasters to shipping. The Liverpool custom-house has a branch establishment, or water-guard, stationed here. — See Meolse, Great and Little.

Hooton

HOOTON, a township, in the parish of Eastham, union, and Higher division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 9 miles (N. by W.) from Chester; containing 120 inhabitants. This place, in the Domesday book, is included in the possessions of Richard de Vernon, the Norman baron of Shipbrook, under whom it was held by a family named Hotone, which became extinct in the male line in the reign of Richard I. It then passed by marriage to Randle Walensis or Welshman, after which alliance, his family occasionally assumed the name of Hotone. The estate was finally conveyed by an heiress to William de Stanley, to whom the nearest kin of the Hotones confirmed possession of the manor, by deed, in the 12th of Henry IV. The whole township is now the property of Sir William Stanley, Bart. Hooton lies in one of the most pleasant situations of which the banks of the Mersey estuary can boast, and is shaded with venerable oak-trees, of a growth exceeding any on the shores of Wirrall: it comprises 996 acres, of a clayey soil. The Chester and Birkenhead railway passes in the immediate vicinity. The ancient Hall, a large timbered building, erected by licence from Henry VII., was taken down in 1778. The present mansion is built of stone from the Stanley quarries in Storeton, after designs by Wyatt, and is a beautiful structure, standing on a gentle eminence, and commanding an extensive view of the river, and of the entire coast of Cheshire and Lancashire; the fine entrances to the park are also from designs by Wyatt: the grand circular stone staircase is universally admired. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £80, and the vicarial for £3 1. 10. There is a Roman Catholic chapel.

Hooton-Levett

HOOTON-LEVETT, a township, in the parish of Maltby, union of Rotherham, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 5¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Tickhill; containing 76 inhabitants. It derives the affix to its name from the family of Levett, who held lands here, up to about the time of Henry V. The township comprises by computation 470 acres; the soil is favourable, and the scenery pleasing.

Hooton-Pagnell (All Saints)

HOOTON-PAGNELL (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Doncaster, wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York; containing 423 inhabitants, of whom 348 are in the township, 5½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Doncaster. This parish derives the latter part of its name from Ralph de Paganel, to whom the manor belonged at the time of the Conquest: it consists of the three constablewicks of Hooton and Moorhouse, Bilham, and Stotfold, which, as well as Frickley with Clayton, are included in the manor of Hooton. The parish comprises nearly 3000 acres, of which the surface is varied, and the scenery picturesque, embracing extensive views. The manor, and the chief part of the township of Hooton, belong to St. Andrew Warde, Esq. The manor-house is very ancient, but by whom, or at what period built, is not known; nor can it be clearly ascertained how long the manor continued in the family of Paganel: it appears, however, that it afterwards belonged successively to an Earl of Southampton, to a Giffard Lutterel, to Sir Richard Hutton, and lastly to Colonel Bierley, of whom it was purchased by the great-grandfather of the present proprietor. The mansion is beautifully situated, embosomed in fine plantations; there is a curious ancient gateway and porter's lodge. The village has an old cross in good preservation. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 10. 2½.; net income, £247; patrons, the Governors of Wakefield School. The church, which belonged to a religious house at York, is an ancient structure with a tower.

Hooton-Roberts (St. John the Baptist)

HOOTON-ROBERTS (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Rotherham, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 4½ miles (N. E.) from Rotherham; containing 175 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1036a. 1r. 11p., of which 34 acres are woodland, and of the remainder, two-thirds arable and one-third pasture. Its substratum abounds with limestone and freestone; and from the quarries of the latter, the stone was raised for the erection of Wentworth House, Thribergh House, and Rose Hill. Thomas, Earl of Strafford, who was beheaded in the reign of Charles I., had a seat here, in which his countess resided for several years after his death. The village is situated on the road from Rotherham to Doncaster, and the surrounding scenery is pleasingly varied. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 11. 8.; patron, Earl Fitzwilliam: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £255, and the glebe comprises 59 acres. The church is chiefly in the later English style, with a tower, and has an enriched Norman arch.