Lissett

LISSETT, a chapelry, in the parish of Beeford, union of Bridlington, N. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 7½ miles (S. S. W.) from Bridlington; containing 132 inhabitants. The earliest owners of this manor on record are the family of Monceaux, and among subsequent proprietors occur the families of De la See, Boynton, Hildyard, Beverley, and Dent: the manor-house, an old brick building, is now occupied by a farmer. The township comprises about 1150 acres: the village, situated on the road to Hull, has been of late years much improved, and wears an appearance of neatness and respectability. The chapel, dedicated to St. James, is an humble edifice of ancient date, some parts being probably as old as the 12th or 13th century.

Lissington (St. John the Baptist)

LISSINGTON (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Caistor, W. division of the wapentake of Wraggoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 4¼ miles (S.) from Market-Rasen; containing 186 inhabitants. The parish is on the Rasen and Wragby road, and comprises by measurement 1530 acres, including a portion of the common of Lissington Pasture, the rest of which is in the three adjoining parishes of Buslingthorpe, Friesthorpe, and Wickenby; the surface is level, and the soil chiefly clay. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12. 17. 6.; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of York. The vicarage is endowed with the rectorial tithes, with the exception of a small sum payable to the Dean and Chapter; the whole of the tithes payable to the incumbent have been commuted for a rent-charge of £350, and the glebe comprises 58 acres. The church, a small edifice, has some portions in the Norman, and others in the early English style. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Liston

LISTON, a parish, in the union of Sudbury, hundred of Hinckford, N. division of Essex, 2¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Sudbury; containing 80 inhabitants. It is bounded on the east by the river Stour, and comprises 628 acres; the soil, though various, is generally fertile, and in the low grounds near the river is light and sandy. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12, and in the gift of R. Lambert, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £200; the glebe comprises 18 acres. The church is in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; on the south side of the chancel is a handsome marble monument to one of the Clapton family.

Litcham (St. Andrew)

LITCHAM (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Mitford and Launditch, hundred of Launditch, W. division of Norfolk, 8 miles (N. E. by N.) from Swaffham; containing 846 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1932a. 3r. 16p., of which 1397 acres are arable, 256 meadow and pasture, 42 woodland, and the remainder heath and common, of which a considerable portion, under an act of inclosure in 1770, was allotted to the poor for fuel. The village, which is large, consisting of several streets, had formerly a market and some annual fairs, granted by Edward I. to Robert de Felton; the market has long been discontinued, but fairs are still held on Whit-Tuesday and November 1st, chiefly for pleasure. A court leet is held in October, and pettysessions for the division take place on the first Wednesday in every alternate month. The living is a discharged rectory, with the livings of East and West Lexham, valued in the king's books at £9. 2. 6., and in the gift of Lord Wodehouse: the tithes of the parish have been commuted for £441; the glebe comprises 45½ acres, and there is a glebe-house. The church is chiefly in the later English style, with a tower of brick; the chancel is separated from the nave by a richly-carved oak screen. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans. Near the bridge was a hermitage, which is now a farmhouse.

Litchborough (St. Martin)

LITCHBOROUGH (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of Towcester, hundred of Fawsley, S. division of the county of Northampton, 5½ miles (N. W.) from Towcester; containing 408 inhabitants. This place is of great antiquity, being one of the four garrisoned towns taken by the Saxons in 571. In Domesday book, the abbey of Evesham is said to have held land here, but the monks appear to have alienated the property soon after: at a subsequent period the monasteries of CanonsAshby, and St. James near Northampton, had possessions, which they retained until the Dissolution. Among the families formerly connected with the place, may be named those of Malorie and Needham. The parish comprises 1699a. 3r. 17p., in equal portions of arable and pasture; the surface is hilly, and the soil various, the greater portion red loam alternated with clay. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 9. 7.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. William Addington Taylor: the tithes have been commuted for £564. 6., and the glebe comprises 21 acres, with a house. There are two considerable charities, and a master receives a voluntary payment of £30 per annum from Lady Katherine Levison's charity, for education. Sir William Addington was born in the rectory-house.

Litchfield (St. James)

LITCHFIELD (St. James), a parish, in the union and hundred of Kingsclere, Kingsclere and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 4 miles (N.) from Whitchurch; containing 94 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Oxford to Southampton, and comprises by computation 1806 acres, of which 494 are common or waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 19. 7., and in the gift of William Kingsmill, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £400. The church is ancient.

Litchurch

LITCHURCH, a township, in the parish of St. Peter, Derby, union and hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 1½ mile (S. E.) from Derby; containing, in 1841, 855 inhabitants. This place, which, with Morleston, gives name to the hundred, has, since the formation of the Midland railway, become very populous; it is part of a suburb of the town of Derby, and contains the Arboretum, and the union workhouse. The area of the township is 704 acres. Several neat villa residences have been erected adjoining the Osmaston road. A court is held at Easter and Michaelmas.

Litherland

LITHERLAND, a township, in the parish of Sefton, union and hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 4¾ miles (N. by W.) from Liverpool; containing, in 1846, 1932 inhabitants. Stephen, Earl of Boulogne, who afterwards succeeded to the crown of England, granted to Robert de Molines his land in "Liderlant," for 14s. per annum; and the Molyneux family have ever since retained possession of the lordship. The township is sometimes called Down Litherland, in contradistinction to Up Litherland, a hamlet in the parish of Aughton; it is bounded on the west by the bay of Liverpool, and is intersected by the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Here are two tanyards, and an asphalte factory. The tithes have been commuted for £219.—See Seaforth and Waterloo.

Little Abington.—See Abington, Little.

LITTLE ABINGTON.—See Abington, Little. And other places having a similar distinguishing prefix will be found under the proper name.

Littleborough

LITTLEBOROUGH, a parochial chapelry, in the parish and union of Rochdale, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 3½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Rochdale. This place is supposed to have been the site of a small Roman station. The Roman road from Manchester to York skirts the village, and several relics have been found in the immediate vicinity; among them, in 1793, the right arm of a silver statue of Victory, which Dr. Whitaker conjectures, with much probability, from the inscription upon it, "Victoriæ leg vi vic val rvfus vslm," to have been the arm of a votive statue of Valerius Rufus, broken off, and lost by the Roman army in one of their marches from York to Manchester. Littleborough lies on the road from Rochdale to Halifax, and is intersected by the Rochdale canal. The Manchester and Leeds railway, also, has a station here; and at a short distance attains its summit level, 330 feet above the Manchester station, and 440 feet above the terminal station at Normanton, in Yorkshire. It proceeds through a tunnel in Calderbrook, 2869 yards in length, 24 feet wide, and 22 in height, and having 14 shafts ten feet in diameter, varying from 50 to 300 feet in depth: in the formation of this tunnel, 1000 men were employed, and more than £251,000 expended. The population is chiefly employed in three flannel-mills, four cotton-factories, in bleachworks, six coal-pits, a stone-quarry, and in brick-making. About a mile east of Littleborough is Pike House, the ancient seat of the Halliwells, and now of their descendants, the Beswickes: the oldest remaining parts of the house were built in 1609, and the more modern alterations were made in 1703; the situation is remarkably picturesque, and the grounds are laid out with much taste. Town House has been the seat of the Newall family from the reign of Henry VI., and is now occupied by Mrs. Newall. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £190; patron, the Vicar of Rochdale: there is a parsonage-house. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was licensed for mass by the convent of Whalley, in 1476; it was rebuilt about 1815, in the early English style, and a gallery has since been erected. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans, and another for Association Methodists. A free school founded by Theophilus Halliwell, barrister-at-law, in 1688, was endowed by him with lands at Haugh-End, in Sowerby, in the parish of Halifax; and was further endowed in 1699 by the will of his brother, Capt. Richard Halliwell. It affords instruction to about 30 children, who, and the master, are nominated by the founder's representative, now a minor, of Pike House. Day and Sunday schools have also been built here.

Littleborough

LITTLEBOROUGH, a parish, in the union of East Retford, North-Clay division of the wapentake of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 8½ miles (E. by N.) from East Retford; containing 77 inhabitants. The parish contains 916 acres, and is situated on the river Trent, across which is a ferry that has existed from the time of the Romans. It is supposed to be the site of the station Segelocum, or Agelocum. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £58; patron and impropriator, G. Saville Foljambe, Esq.: the tithes were commuted for land in 1822. The church, a very ancient structure, was put into a state of thorough repair by the late incumbent, the Rev. Francis Hewgill, and the chancel was beautified by the patron; many Roman bricks are found in the old walls, and the masonry in some parts is of that kind called the herringbone style.

Littlebourne (St. Vincent)

LITTLEBOURNE (St. Vincent), a parish, in the union of Bridge, hundred of Downhamford, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent, 4 miles (E.) from Canterbury; containing 819 inhabitants. The parish is on the road to Deal, and comprises 2101a. 20p., of which about 1281 acres are arable, 245 meadow, 441 wood, 66 in orchards, and 41 in hop-grounds. The village is situated on a branch of the river Stour, on the bank of which is an extensive corn-mill; there are also a brewery and a tanyard. A fair, chiefly for pleasure, is held on the 5th of July. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £235; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury; impropriator, Charles James, Esq. The church is ancient. There is a place of worship for Calvinists.

Littlebury (Holy Trinity)

LITTLEBURY (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Saffron-Walden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 2 miles (W. N. W.) from SaffronWalden; containing 822 inhabitants, and comprising 3408a. 1r. 31p. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10. 2. 1.; net income, £205; patron, the Rector. The rectory is a sinecure, valued at £26. 13. 4.; net income, £24; patron, the Rev. J. H. Sparke, Prebendary of the fifth stall in the Cathedral of Ely. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1801. The church is within the area of an ancient encampment. On Chapel green was formerly a chapel of ease. In 1585, Jane Bradbury bequeathed some land, for instruction.

Littlecot

LITTLECOT, a chapelry, in the parish of ChiltonFoliatt, union of Hungerford, hundred of Kinwardstone, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Hungerford. A curious tessellated pavement, the largest ever found in England, was discovered in Littlecot Park, in 1730, but, unfortunately, was soon destroyed; an accurate drawing, however, was made, which was engraved at the expense of the Society of Antiquaries. Pickedfield, a part of the Littlecot domain, was purchased by government, in 1803, for the purpose of establishing a depôt for the interior of the country; it comprises about 40 acres of ground, on which were erected three magazines and other buildings. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £140, and the vicarial for 11s. payable to the vicar of Enford. At Knyghton, a small hamlet on the north bank of the Kennet, near Littlecot Park, is an ancient encampment.

Littlecote

LITTLECOTE, a hamlet, in the parish of Stewkley, union of Winslow, hundred of Cottesloe, county of Buckingham, 5½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Winslow; containing 28 inhabitants. A chapel of ease situated here is now in ruins.

Littlecott

LITTLECOTT, a tything, in the parish of Enford, union of Pewsey, hundred of Elstub and Everley, Everley and Pewsey, and S. divisions of the county of Wilts; containing 52 inhabitants.

Littledale

LITTLEDALE, a chapelry, in the parochial chapelry of Caton, parish of Lancaster, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 6 miles (E. by N.) from Lancaster; containing 115 inhabitants. Littledale comprehends one-fourth of the township of Caton; it has a tolerably good bed of coal running through it, and the mountainous part of the district yields a considerable supply of slate. The principal mansion here, called the Craggs, was granted by the first lord Monteagle to Richard Baines, his standard-bearer, for heroic conduct in the battle of Flodden-Field; and on the estate is a field which the standard-bearer named Flodden, from its similarity to the field whence his fortunes and honors sprang. In 1752, the inhabitants of Littledale, owing to their distance from Caton chapel, built and endowed a chapel here, which is dedicated to St. Anne under Caton. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £48; patron, the Vicar of Lancaster.

Littleham (Holy Trinity)

LITTLEHAM (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of St. Thomas, hundred of East Budleigh, Woodbury and S. divisions of Devon; containing, with part of the town of Exmouth, 3927 inhabitants. The parish is situated at the mouth of the river Exe, and comprises 2068 acres, of which 1398 are arable, 391 meadow, 50 in orchards, 165 furze and common, and 63 glebe land. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter (the appropriators), valued in the king's books at £15. 12. 6.; net income, £137. The church is an ancient structure in the early English style, and contains about 600 sittings. There is a place of worship for dissenters.

Littleham (St. Swithin)

LITTLEHAM (St. Swithin), a parish, in the union of Bideford, hundred of Shebbear, Great Torrington and N. divisions of Devon, 2 miles (S. S. W.) from Bideford; containing 390 inhabitants. This place was anciently a royal manor, and formed part of the dower of Matilda, consort of William the Conqueror. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Yeo, which separates it from the parish of Monkleigh; the scenery is enriched with wood, and in many parts beautifully picturesque, especially near the road from Bideford to Buckland-Brewer, which runs parallel to the course of the Yeo. On the banks of the river are some grounds producing hops of superior quality. Littleham Court, the seat of George Anthony, Esq., lord of the manor, is a handsome mansion. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 6. 10½., and in the gift of Mr. Anthony: the tithes have been commuted for £190, and the glebe comprises 93 acres. The church is an ancient edifice with some interesting details, among which is a wooden screen, richly carved.

Littlehampton

LITTLEHAMPTON, a town and parish, in the hundred of Poling, rape of Arundel, county of Sussex, 4 miles (S.) from Arundel, and 61 (S. S. W.) from London; containing 2270 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the coast, and on the east bank of the river Arun, was distinguished by the landing of the Empress Matilda, in 1139, to assert her claim to the crown. For a long period it was a very inconsiderable village, inhabited by fishermen; but of late years it has grown into some importance as a place of trade, and, from the fineness of its sandy beach, and the salubrity of its air, has become a favourite and much frequented watering-place. Handsome lodging-houses have been built on the beach, which commands a view of the coast from Brighton to the Isle of Wight. There are several inns: baths have been erected, containing hot, cold, and shower baths, with apartments for shampooing; and a broad terrace, extending for about a mile along the carriage road, affords a delightful promenade. The town is neatly built, and amply supplied with water, and the streets are paved; there are two libraries and reading-rooms.

The trade consists principally in the export of oak timber to the west of England, and the import of corn, coal, timber, Irish provisions, butter, cheese, fruit, wine, oil-cake, and other articles, The harbour is accessible to vessels drawing not more than thirteen feet of water; it is formed at the influx of the Arun into the English Channel, and defended by a fort erected on the bank of the river. There are two yards for ship-building, the one containing a dry dock, and the other a patent-slip; about 200 men are employed, and several vessels of considerable tonnage have been built. A good inland trade is carried on by lighters and small craft, which convey merchandise to Newbridge, near Billingshurst, and thence to the Wye and Thames rivers; and to facilitate the communication, a canal branches off from the Arun a little to the north-west of the town, leading to Chichester, Emsworth, and Portsmouth. An act was passed in 1846 for making a branch railway from the Brighton and Portsmouth line; it will be a mile and a quarter long. The parish comprises 993a. 3r. 29p., of which 650 acres are arable, and 343 pasture and garden-ground. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Bishop of Chichester, with a net income of £150: tithe rentcharges are paid, of £105 to the bishop, £56 to Eton College, £189 to an impropriator, and £93 to the vicar. The church rebuilt in 1826, at an expense of £4000, is a handsome edifice in the later English style, with a square embattled tower. A school was founded by John Corney, Esq., who, in 1805, endowed it with £600 three per cent. consols.; and in 1837, Thomas Compton, Esq., erected spacious schoolrooms on the beach.

Littlemoor

LITTLEMOOR, a liberty, in the parish of St. Mary the Virgin, partly within the liberties of the city of Oxford, and partly in the hundred of Bullingdon, union of Abingdon, county of Oxford, 2½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Oxford; containing 547 inhabitants. A priory of Benedictine nuns, founded here about the reign of Henry II., was suppressed by the papal bull given to Cardinal Wolsey, in 1524, and subsequently became part of the endowment of King's College, Oxford. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1817. A chapel of ease was erected in 1835.

Littleover

LITTLEOVER, a chapelry, in the parish of Mickleover, union of Shardlow, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, county of Derby, 2 miles (S. W. by S.) from Derby; containing 497 inhabitants. It comprises 1483 acres, of a strong marly soil; and has a straggling village, in which are a few houses of modern erection. The chapel is a small ancient edifice, consisting of a nave, chancel, aisle, and turret; it contains a handsome monument to Sir Richard Harpur. The vicar has 74½ acres of glebe here.

Littleport (St. George)

LITTLEPORT (St. George), a parish, in the union, hundred, and Isle, of Ely, county of Cambridge, 5¼ miles (N. E. by E.) from Ely; containing 3365 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the Ouse, comprises by survey 15,557 acres. The village is on the road from Ely to Lynn, and a considerable traffic is carried on in corn and coal, for which the river affords great facility. The Lynn and Ely railway, also, passes close to the village. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Bishop of Ely, valued in the king's books at £8; impropriators, the Master and Fellows of Clare Hall, Cambridge. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £248, and the vicarial for £1931; the impropriate glebe comprises 81 acres, and the vicarial 76 acres. There are places of worship for Baptists, Huntingtonians, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans.