Lancaut (St. James)

LANCAUT (St. James), a parish, in the union of Chepstow, hundred of Westbury, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 2 miles (N.) from Chepstow; containing 16 inhabitants. This place, which is within the manor of Tidenham, is romantically situated on the left bank of the Wye, and forms a beautiful peninsula, opposite the grounds of Piercefield, commanding a delightful view of the various windings of the river between Tintern Abbey and Chepstow, and the highly picturesque scenery on its banks. The living has generally been held with the rectory of Wollaston. The church is an ancient structure, and contains a curiously sculptured leaden font, supposed to be of the 10th century.

Lanchester (All Saints)

LANCHESTER (All Saints), a parish, and the head of a union, chiefly in the W. division of Chester ward, N. division, but partly in the N. W. division, of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham; comprising the townships of Benfieldside, Billingside, Burnop with Hamsteels, Butsfield, Collierly, Conside with Knitsley, Cornsay, Ebchester, Esh, Greencroft, Healyfield, Holmside, Ivestone, Kyo, Lanchester, Langley, Medomsley, and Satley; and containing 7783 inhabitants, of whom 579 are in the township of Lanchester, 8 miles (N. W. by W.) from Durham. This place, which occupies the site of a principal Roman station, is supposed by Camden, Gale, and Hunter, to have been Longovicum, and by Horsley, Glambanta or Glanoventa; more modern writers regard it as Epiacum. The period of its origin is uncertain, but its restoration is ascribed to the Emperor Gordian; it stood on the line of the Watling-street, and was successively garrisoned by a portion of the twentieth legion, the Varduli, and the Ligones. The station occupied an eminence half a mile eastward from the village: the rampart, inclosing a cultivated area of eight acres, is in most parts quite perfect; and numerous coins, altars, monuments, and other relics, especially a plate of solid gold with an inscription to the god Mars, have been discovered, several of which are preserved in the library at Durham.

The parish comprises by computation 41,890 acres, of which upwards of 16,000 acres of common land were divided in 1773; the chief portion is held under the see. The village, now small and straggling, was once of considerable importance; it lies in a warm sheltered vale watered by the Smalhope burn, and the road from Durham to Shotley-Bridge passes through it. Pettysessions are held once a fortnight, and a court for the recovery of debts under 40s. twice a year. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £123; patron, the Bishop of Durham; impropriators, T. Cookson, Esq., and others. The tithes were commuted for land in 1773. The church is a venerable structure in the early English style, and consists of a nave, aisles, chancel, south porch, and tower at the west end, surmounted by an embattled parapet, with crocketed pinnacles at the angles. The chancel, the arch of which is a fine specimen of the transition from the Norman to the early English style, is 44 feet in length, by 15 in breadth, and has on the east three tall lancet windows, the centre one with a portion of stained glass: on the south side are two windows of double lights, and a third of three lights; and on the north a window of two lights. It contains five ancient stalls, an elegant piscina, several sculptured decorations, and some interesting monuments. The church was made collegiate, for a dean and seven prebendaries, by Bishop Anthony Beke, about 1283, and the college was valued at the Dissolution at £49. 3. 4.: the dean's house occupied a plot of ground surrounded by a fosse, a little northward from the church. There are separate incumbencies at Collierly, Ebchester, Esh, Medomsley, and Satley; and several places of worship for dissenters: at Brooms is a Roman Catholic chapel. The poor-law union of Lanchester comprises 18 chapelries or townships, and contains a population of 9969 persons.

Lancing

LANCING, a parish, in the hundred of Brightford, rape of Bramber, W. division of Sussex, 2 miles (W.) from Shoreham; containing 781 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded on the east by the river Adur and Shoreham harbour, and on the south by the English Channel, comprises by measurement 2524 acres, whereof 1476 are arable, 566 meadow and pasture, 424 sea and fresh-water beach, and 14 acres plantations. Its soil is chiefly a rich loam intermixed with sand, but in that portion on the downs generally chalk; the scenery is enriched with wood, and Lancing House, the seat of Sir James Martin Lloyd, Bart., is a handsome residence seated in a demesne tastefully laid out. In the parish is a station of the Brighton and Chichester railway, eight miles distant from the Brighton station, and three from that of Worthing. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 9. 4.; patron, the Bishop of Lincoln; impropriator, Sir J. M. Lloyd. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £767. 14., and the vicarial for £176; the glebe comprises 6 acres. There is also a rent-charge of £61. 8. 6. payable to the rector of West Grinstead. The church is an ancient structure, partly Norman, and partly in the early and decorated English styles; the interior is neatly arranged, and has been repewed. Vestiges of a Roman pavement, with some small altars, lavatories, and a great number of coins, have been discovered on Lancing Down.

Landbeach (All Saints)

LANDBEACH (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Chesterton, hundred of Northstow, county of Cambridge, 4 miles (N. N. E.) from Cambridge; containing 468 inhabitants. It is on the road from Cambridge to Ely, and comprises 2207a. lr. 27p. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 1. 3., and in the gift of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge: the tithes were commuted for land in 1807; the value of the glebe altogether is £633 per annum. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower surmounted by an elegant spire; on the tower are some sculptured devices, among which the emblems of the Crucifixion, and a shield with two keys in saltier, are discernible. There is a place of worship for Baptists. Robert Masters, B.D., author of the History of Corpus Christi College, of which society he was a fellow, was rector of this parish.

Landcross (Holy Trinity)

LANDCROSS (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Bideford, hundred of Shebbear, Great Torrington and N. divisions of Devon, 2½ miles (S. by E.) from Bideford; containing 120 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Torridge, and intersected by the road from Bideford to Torrington; and comprises by measurement 331 acres. There are quarries of stone, which is used for building and also for the roads. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 4. 0½., and in the gift of the family of Rolle: the tithes have been commuted for £63, and the glebe comprises 8 acres. General Monk, afterwards Duke of Albemarle, was baptized here in 1608.

Landewednack (St. Lanty)

LANDEWEDNACK (St. Lanty), a parish, in the union of Helston, W. division of the hundred of Kerrier and of the county of Cornwall, 10½ miles (S. S. E.) from Helston; containing 431 inhabitants. The parish contains within its limits the Lizard Point, the most southern point in Great Britain, from which ships leaving the Channel date their departure: there are two lighthouses. The number of acres is about 1000; nearly one-half is profitable land, and the remainder of very inferior quality, being chiefly poor and unproductive downs: the surface is flat, with some gentle undulations, while the surrounding scenery is of bold and rugged aspect. A pilchard-fishery is carried on at Landewednack cove, employing several boats and seans during the season. Slabs and mantel-pieces are made from the rocks. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 16. 10½., and in the gift of P. Vyvyan Robinson, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £253. 11., and the glebe comprises 14 acres. The church is an ancient edifice, with a fine Norman doorway on the south side, and contains a curious font. There is a place of worship for a congregation of Wesleyans.

Landford (St. Andrew)

LANDFORD (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Alderbury, hundred of Frustfield, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 7 miles (E. by S.) from Downton; containing 255 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Salisbury to Southampton, and comprises 1689a. 2r. l6p., of which 773 acres are uninclosed common. A stream which has its rise within the parish, flows into the Southampton Water. The substratum contains iron-ore, but no mines have been opened. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 3. 9., and in the gift of the family of Nelson: the tithes have been commuted for £220, and the glebe comprises 58a. 2r. 39p. The church is a very ancient structure, with a tower surmounted by a campanile turret of wood; the northern entrance is under a fine Norman arch. Bishop Davenant, who purchased the manor-house, is supposed to have resided here occasionally.

Landguard-Fort

LANDGUARD-FORT, in the parish of Felixstow, union of Woodbridge, hundred of Colneis, E. division of Suffolk, 12 miles (S. E. by S.) from Ipswich, and l½ mile (E. S. E.) from Harwich, which see.

Landican

LANDICAN, a township, in the parish of Woodchurch, union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 5¾ miles (N.) from Great Neston; containing 67 inhabitants. This place, though now insignificant, was of considerable importance previously to the Conquest; and it is probable that a church existed here, not only from the appellative Lan, the ancient British word (Llan) for a church or churchyard, but from mention being made of a resident priest. The manor was conveyed by the Duttons, in 1326, to the family of Praers, from whom it passed to the Fulleshursts; and was afterwards in the Wilbrahams, of Woodhey, from which family it was purchased by the Wilsons. The township comprises 592 acres, of a clayey soil. It is distant from Birkenhead about four miles.

Landkey (Holy Trinity)

LANDKEY (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Barnstaple, hundred of South Molton, South Molton and N. divisions of Devon, 2¼ miles (E. S. E.) from Barnstaple; containing 774 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the road from Barnstaple to South Molton, comprises by computation 2400 acres: limestone of good quality is abundant, and there are two quarries of considerable extent. The living is a perpetual curacy, with that of Swimbridge annexed; net income, £179; patron, the Dean of Exeter. The church contains a handsome monument to one of the Acland family. At Herford, in the parish, was anciently a chapel. The Wesleyans have a place of worship.

Landmoth

LANDMOTH, with Catto, a township, in the parish of Leake, union of Northallerton, wapentake of Allertonshire, N. riding of York, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Northallerton; containing 56 inhabitants. The township comprises by computation 600 acres, including Cotliffe, a long precipitous cliff on the east of the Codbeck rivulet.

Landrake (St. Peter)

LANDRAKE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of St. Germans, S. division of the hundred of East, E. division of Cornwall, 4 miles (W. N. W.) from Saltash; containing, with the chapelry of St. Erney, 893 inhabitants, of whom 812 are in Landrake proper. The parish is bounded on the east by the Lynher river, which is crossed by a bridge. Here are fairs for cattle on February 4th and June 29th, and minor fairs on the first Wednesday in February, and the first Wednesday in September. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £18. 12. 4.; net income, £282; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe. The church is remarkable for the loftiness of its tower, which is a picturesque object for several miles round. There is a chapel of ease at St. Erney. A charity school was founded in 1703, by Sir Robert Jeffrey, Knt., who endowed it with lands now producing about £72 per annum; and there are five almshouses with a small endowment.

Landulph (St. Dilpe)

LANDULPH (St. Dilpe), a parish, in the union of St. Germans, S. division of the hundred of East, E. division of Cornwall, 5 miles (N.) from Saltash; containing 550 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded on the south and east by the navigable river Tamar, comprises by survey 2086 acres; a considerable portion of marsh land has been reclaimed by an embankment constructed by Mr. Arnold. The substratum is rich in minerals, and the lead and silver mines of Beer-Alston extend into the parish. Packet-boats sail three times in the week from Cargreen, the principal village, to Devonport. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20. 3. 6½., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £328, and the glebe comprises 42 acres. The church is an ancient structure, in the early and decorated English styles; the seats present much curious carved work, of the time of Henry VII., and the edifice contains a monument with an inscription, giving an account of the pedigree of Theodore Paleologus, a lineal descendant of the last Christian emperors of Greece, who died in 1636, and was interred here. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A mineral spring here was formerly in high repute.

Landwade (St. Nicholas)

LANDWADE (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Newmarket, hundred of Staploe, county of Cambridge, 4 miles (N. N. W.) from Newmarket; containing 29 inhabitants. The living, which is held with the living of Exning, is a perpetual curacy; net income, £20. The church is in the shape of a cross, and contains six beautiful marble monuments to the Cotton family. The remains of the ancient manor-house, still tenanted, exhibit a specimen of the domestic architecture of the sixteenth century, and are surrounded by a wide and deep moat.

Laneast (St. Galwell)

LANEAST (St. Galwell), a parish, in the union of Launceston, partly in the N. division of the hundred of East, and partly in the hundred of Lesnewth, E. division of Cornwall, 7 miles (W.) from Launceston; containing 320 inhabitants. It comprises 2262 acres, of which 600 are common or waste. The living is a perpetual curacy; income, £55; patron, J. K. Lethbridge, Esq. The tithes have been commuted for £113.

Lane-Bridge

LANE-BRIDGE, an ecclesiastical district, in the parochial chapelry, and union, of Burnley, parish of Whalley, Higher division of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division of Lancashire; containing about 2300 inhabitants. This district was constituted in Sept. 1845, under the provisions of the act 6 and 7 Victoria, cap. 37, and named St. Paul's. It is formed of the southeastern part of the township of Habergham-Eaves, and is bounded on the north-east by the West Calder river; having an area of about four square miles. The surface is uneven, high to the south, and sloping into the valley on which Burnley is built, on the north, and on the east to the valley of Townley Park. The roads from Burnley to Todmorden and Edenfield pass through portions of the district, and the Leeds and Liverpool canal through its northern part. There are coal-mines, five cottonfactories, a woollen-factory, two iron-foundries, a number of workshops of different kinds, and also the gasworks belonging to Burnley. Townley Hall is situated here; its fine woods, principally of ancient oak, forming the great ornament of the district. Divine service is at present performed in a school-house lately built: the style of the intended church will be Roman, the shape cruciform, and the cost is estimated at between £2000 and £3000. The living is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester, alternately. There is a Roman Catholic chapel; also a school, opened at Easter, 1847, in which as many as 512 children can receive instruction. Some mineral wells have appeared, but from the excavations of the coal-mines they are now entirely lost.— See Habergham-Eaves.

Lane-End

LANE-END, a district parish, in the union of Wycombe, hundred of Desborough, county of Buckingham, 4 miles (N.) from Marlow; containing about 1400 inhabitants. The district, until recently, formed part of the parishes of Marlow, West Wycombe, Fingest, and Hambleden, and was assigned to the church of LaneEnd by the ordinary, the Bishop of Lincoln. The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was built in 1832, at an expense of nearly £3000, defrayed by J. Meggatt Elwes, Esq., and was endowed with a glebe-house and garden, and a revenue of £100 per annum, by the late Rev. H. C. Ridley, rector of Hambleden, and his friends; patron, the Rector of Hambleden.

Lane-End, with Longton.—See Longton.

LANE-END, with Longton.—See Longton.

Laneham (St. Peter)

LANEHAM (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of East Retford, South Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 6¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Tuxford; containing 385 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded on the east by the river Trent, comprises by measurement 1704 acres: the soil is clay, with considerable portions of marsh; the surface is generally flat, and the lands are in good cultivation. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 3. 4.; net income, £56; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of York. The tithes, with some trifling exceptions, were commuted for land and a money payment, under an act of inclosure, in 1772; and the remainder have been commuted under the recent Tithe act, the appropriate tithes for a rent-charge of £36, and the vicarial for £5. The church is a small ancient structure.

Lane-Head

LANE-HEAD, a hamlet, in the parish of HuttonMagnum, union of Teesdale, wapentake of GillingWest, N. riding of York, 8 miles (N. N. W.) from Richmond; containing 36 inhabitants. The hamlet is situated nearly a mile south of the village of HuttonMagnum. Here is a large quarry of limestone of superior quality, on the property of Sir Clifford Constable, Bart., who is lord of the manor.

Lanercost-Abbey (St. Mary Magdalene)

LANERCOST-ABBEY (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Brampton, Eskdale ward, E. division of Cumberland, 2½ miles (N. E.) from Brampton; containing, with the townships of Askerton, Burtholme, Kingwater, and Waterhead, 1582 inhabitants. This place is identified as the site of the Roman station Amboglana, where was posted the Cohors Prima Ælia Dacorum, and of which considerable vestiges remain. The area occupies an extensive plain, with a precipitous descent to the river Irthing, and is 120 yards from north to south, and 80 from east to west. Several votive altars have been found, dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and other Roman deities; a fragment of the great Roman wall is yet standing at Harehill, about five yards in length, and ten feet high; and there are numerous other indications of Roman occupation. The abbey of Lanercost was founded in 1169, by Robert de Vallibus, Lord of Gillesland, for a prior and monks of the order of St. Augustine, and dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. It was frequently visited by Edward I.; and was partly destroyed by fire in 1296, but was restored, and continued to flourish till the Dissolution, when its revenue was estimated at £79. 19., and the site was granted to Thomas, Lord Dacre, a descendant of the founder. In 1716 the priory estate reverted to the crown, under which it is now held on lease by the Earl of Carlisle. The remains, which are beautifully situated on the north bank of the river, consist of the conventual church, which has been appropriated as the church of the parish, part of the cloisters, and refectory, and other buildings. In 1311, Robert Bruce lay with his army encamped here for three days.

The parish is bounded on the east and south by the Irthing, and intersected by the Kingwater and several smaller streams; it comprises by computation 30,000 acres, of which about two-thirds are pasture, and the remainder arable and woodland. Its surface is pleasingly varied, and in many parts highly picturesque. The soil in the lower lands is a rich loam, alternated with; sand, and the steep banks that inclose the vales of Kingwater and Irthing produce fine crops of grain; the substratum abounds with limestone. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £107; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Carlisle. The tithes were commuted for land in 1802. The church is principally in the early English style, with Norman portions, of which the western doorway is a highly-enriched specimen. In the transepts, which are covered with a profusion of ivy and other plants, are several tombs of the Howards and Dacres, much disfigured by exposure to the air; and in part of the ancient cemetery, which has been converted into gardens, are numerous monuments, and stone coffins scattered among the trees. The roof of the church fell in, September 1847. Within the parish, and about seven miles from Lanercost, is Gilsland Spa, of which a description is given under Gilsland.