Lowick

LOWICK, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands, N. division of Lancashire, 5½ miles (N.) from Ulverston; containing 374 inhabitants. William de Lancaster, first baron of Kendal, granted certain lands here, temp. Henry II., to the Towers family, who conveyed them to the Lofwics in the reign of John. The estate was held by the Lofwics until it passed by marriage, in the reign of Henry VI., to the family of Ambrose, in whom it continued by descent till 1684, when, on failure of male issue, it came into the possession of the Latus family. The river Crake forms the eastern boundary of the chapelry; and the Ulverston and Broughton-inFurness road, the Broughton and Kendal road, and that between Ulverston and Coniston, pass through it. The surface is varied: in some parts the soil is very productive, in other parts there is much waste land; and the scenery, which is interspersed with wood, partakes in every direction of the mixed character of hill and dale. At Gawthorpe are some slate-quarries of ancient date, but they are now not profitable; others have been recently opened at Stone Dykes, from which large quantities of slate are obtained. There is a spade manufactory at Lowick Green, where a few hands are employed. Lowick Hall, formerly the residence of the Blencowes, and now the seat of the Misses Everard, maternally descended from that family, stands in a retired and beautiful situation, surrounded on all sides by trees, some of which are of ancient growth; a part of the building bears traces of great antiquity, but the greater portion is not more than a century old: it contains several paintings of considerable merit and value. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £90, and is in the patronage of the Misses Everard, who are the impropriators: there are a glebe-house, and a glebe of 8 acres. The chapel is a neat structure with accommodation for 250 persons; it was erected in 1817 (the former chapel being ruinous), at an expense of £300.

Lowick (St. Peter)

LOWICK (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Thrapston, hundred of Huxloe, N. division of the county of Northampton, 2 miles (N. W. by N.) from Thrapston; containing 430 inhabitants, and comprising by admeasurement 1955 acres. Drayton House, here, is a noble specimen of the prevailing style of architecture in the time of Henry VI. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 8. 11½.; net income, £308, with a glebe-house; patrons, the Sackville family: the tithes were commuted for land in 1771. The church is a handsome edifice in the later English style, with a remarkably elegant tower crowned by pinnacles and a large octagonal lantern; the windows exhibit some brilliant specimens of stained glass. There is a splendid monument of richly-carved alabaster, to the memory of Edward Stafford, Earl of Wiltshire; and in the chancel is an elegant monument to Lady Mary Mordaunt, Duchess of Norfolk, afterwards wife of Sir John Germain, Bart., of Drayton House, to whom also the church has a monument of great beauty. Here was a chantry, or college, of Secular priests, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, founded by an ancestor of the above earl, about the time of Edward II., and granted at the Dissolution to Sir Edward Montague. A school was established by Sir John Germain, who endowed it with £50 per annum; and his second wife, Lady Elizabeth, further gave £40 per annum and a school-house.

Lowick

LOWICK, a parish, in the union of Glendale, E. division of Glendale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 8 miles (N. by E.) from Wooler; containing 1941 inhabitants. It comprises about 12,000 acres, of which the soil is chiefly a loamy clay: coal and limestone are obtained. The village stands nearly in the centre of the parish, and consists principally of one irregular street of detached houses; the road from Wooler to Berwick passes a little to the west, in which direction also, about a mile from Lowick, is the hamlet of Barmoor. Barmoor Castle, a seat here, is a stately structure, beautifully situated amidst rising plantations. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £166; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church was rebuilt in 1794. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians.

Low-Quarter

LOW-QUARTER, a district, in the parish of Kirkby-Ireleth, union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 5 miles (W.) from Ulverston; containing 644 inhabitants. This is one of two divisions of the township of Kirkby-Ireleth, the other being named the Northern or Middle Quarter. The Low Quarter is in the south, and contains the church, the village or hamlet of Kirkby-Ireleth, and the houses called Beckside. The tithes for this township and certain other portions of the parish have been commuted for £74 payable to the Dean and Chapter of York, and £22 payable to the vicar; the appropriate glebe consists of 42 acres, and the vicarial of four acres.

Lowside, or Lowhand

LOWSIDE, or Lowhand, a township, in the parish of Whickham, union of Gateshead, W. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 2 miles (W. S. W.) from Newcastle-upon-Tyne; containing 1192 inhabitants. The ancient vill and manor of Farnacres, in this township, gave name to a resident family; and in Bishop Hatfield's time was held by Robert Umfraville, who in 1428 obtained licence to found a chantry in a chapel here, to which the hospital of Frereside was annexed in 1439: after the Dissolution, Farnacres was added, by purchase, to the Ravensworth estate. The village of Dunston is also situated in the township.

Lowside-Quarter

LOWSIDE-QUARTER, a township, in the parish of St. Bees, union of Whitehaven, Allerdale ward above Derwent, W. division of Cumberland; containing 299 inhabitants. The township lies between the river Ehen on the east, and the Irish Sea on the west, and contains the venerable remains of Egremont Castle, built soon after the Conquest by William de Meschines, the first baron of Copeland, and still exhibiting traces of strength and grandeur. The township comprises 1940 acres, of which 95 are common or waste. As commutations of the tithes, rent-charges have been awarded amounting to £138.

Lowther (St. Michael)

LOWTHER (St. Michael), a parish, in West ward and union, county of Westmorland, 4¾ miles (S.) from Penrith; containing, with the townships of Hackthorpe, Melkinthorpe, and Whale, 470 inhabitants, of whom 216 are in the township of Lowther. The parish is bounded on the west by the river Lowther, and comprises 3515 acres. It formerly contained a village of the same name, which was demolished in 1682, by Sir John Lowther, who soon afterwards built another, called New-town, where carpet and linen manufactories were established, but without success. The Lancaster and Carlisle railway runs through the parish; and in the immediate vicinity is the Lowther viaduct, 100 feet from the rocky bed of the Lowther river. Here a fine view opens, embracing Ullswater Lake, and the mountains of Helvellyn, Seat Sandal, Saddleback, and Skiddaw, on the left; and on the right, Cross Fell and the Yorkshire and Durham range. The viaduct consists of seven semicircular arches of 60 feet span, the entire length being 500 feet. Lowther Castle, the residence of the family of that name, stands majestically in a park of 600 acres, and combines the grand effect of a fortification with the splendour of a palace; the fabric is modern, having been commenced in 1802, upon the site of the ancient Hall, which was nearly destroyed by fire in 1720. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £25. 7. 3½., and in the gift of the Earl of Lonsdale: the tithes have been commuted for £95, and the glebe contains 260 acres. The church was almost wholly rebuilt in 1686, and the tower underwent considerable repairs and alterations in 1824. Richard Lowther, in 1638, gave £100 in support of a school; and subsequently, Mr. Allgood left a rent-charge of £10, for a similar purpose. Two schools for girls have together an endowment of 20 guineas a year.

Lowthorp (St. Martin)

LOWTHORP (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of Driffield, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding of York, 5 miles (E. N. E.) from Driffield; containing 164 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1960 acres. The ancient Hall, the residence of the St. Quintin family, was taken down in 1826. The village, which is small, is to the south of the road from Driffield to Bridlington. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £64; patron and impropriator, W. T. St. Quintin, Esq. In the church was a college, or chantry, for a rector, six chaplains, and three clerks, founded in the reign of Edward III., by Sir John Haselarton. The chancel of the church has long been without a roof, and within its ruinous walls grow two large ash-trees.

Lowton (St. Luke)

LOWTON (St. Luke), a parish, in the union of Leigh, hundred of West Derby, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 7 miles (N.) from Warrington; containing, with the township of Golborne, 3807 inhabitants. This place gave name to a family who subsequently adopted the surname of Kenyon from their possessions in a neighbouring township. An heiress of this family brought the estate to the Haydocks, and an heiress of the latter brought it to the Leghs. The Langtons and Fleetwoods have also been proprietors of land here. Lowton was formerly a township in the parish of Winwick, but was, with Golborne, formed into a separate parish by act of parliament in 1845. The parish comprises 3395 acres, of which 1825 are in Lowton township, one-seventh of the latter area being arable, and nearly all the remainder of it pasture; the surface is tolerably level, and the soil partly clay and partly loam. The Manchester and Liverpool railway runs on the south, and at Golborne is a station on the NorthUnion railway. The living is a rectory, with a net income of £250; patron, the Earl of Derby: the next presentation, however, will be exercised by the present Rector of Winwick, should a vacancy occur during his incumbency: there are 55 acres of glebe and a glebehouse. The tithes of Lowton township have been commuted for £107. The church, built in 1733 as a chapel, is a cruciform structure with a bell-tower. A school at Lowton, with a house for the master, is endowed with about three acres of land, called the School lands, producing £20 per annum; and about £60 per annum, arising from houses and land bequeathed by William Leadbeater in 1685, are distributed among the poor of Lowton and Golborne townships in equal portions.—See Golborne.

Loxbear

LOXBEAR, a parish, in the union and hundred of Tiverton, Cullompton and N. divisions of Devon, 4¼ miles (N. W.) from Tiverton; containing 144 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 14. 9½., and in the gift of Sir T. D. Acland, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £112, and there are 20½ acres of glebe. The church has a rich Norman doorway and a font in the same style. There was formerly a chapel at Leigh, in the parish.

Loxhore (St. Michael)

LOXHORE (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Barnstaple, hundred of Sherwill, Braunton and N. divisions of Devon, 6¼ miles (N. E.) from Barnstaple; containing 306 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 14. 4½.; income, £177; patron, S. P. Bruce Chichester, Esq.

Loxley

LOXLEY, a liberty, in the parish and union of Uttoxeter, S. division of the hundred of Totmonslow, N. division of the county of Stafford, 2¾ miles (S. W.) from Uttoxeter. This is a district of fertile farms, including Loxley Hall and park, the latter anciently one of the forest haunts of the freebooter Robin Hood. He is said to have been born here, to have been heir to the earldom of Huntingdon, and to have married Clorinda, a shepherdess of Tutbury; but the principal scene of his life was Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire.

Loxley (St. Nicholas)

LOXLEY (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Stratford-upon-Avon, Snitterfield division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 4¼ miles (E. S. E.) from Stratford; containing 318 inhabitants. In the Domesday survey this parish is written Locheslei. It is bounded on the south by a detached portion of the county of Worcester, and comprises 1840 acres, mostly arable; the surface is in general hilly, and the soil red marl, and clay resting upon limestone. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £254; impropriator, J. Milward, Esq. The glebe contains 100 acres. A national school is supported by subscription; the school-house has been rebuilt by the present vicar. British and Roman coins have been frequently found. Charles I. slept at the old mansion-house of Loxley the night before the battle of Edge-Hill, and many of those who were slain in the engagement were buried in the churchyard here.

Loxton (St. Andrew)

LOXTON (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Axbridge, hundred of Winterstoke, E. division of Somerset, 3¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Axbridge; containing 168 inhabitants. It comprises by admeasurement 1149 acres, of which 95 are arable, 741 pasture, 94 woodland, and 155 common; the soil is to a considerable extent a strong clay, and the principal article of traffic is Cheddar cheese. The village is situated close to the Mendip range of hills, from which fine views are obtained. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 15. 5., and in the gift of the family of England and the Rev. D. S. Moncriefe, the latter of whom is incumbent: the tithes have been commuted for £183, and the glebe contains 65 acres.

Loxwood-End

LOXWOOD-END, a hamlet, in the parish of Wisborough-Green, union of Petworth, partly in the hundred of Rotherbridge, but chiefly in that of Bury rape of Arundel, W. division of the county of Sussex, 9½ miles (W. by N.) from Horsham; containing 218 inhabitants. The chapel here, erected about 1540, was nearly rebuilt in 1822. The Arun and Wey Junction canal passes near the village.

Loynton

LOYNTON, a hamlet, in the parish of Norbury, union of Newport, W. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, N. division of the county of Stafford, ½ a mile (N.) from the village of Norbury; containing 50 inhabitants. It consists of a few scattered houses, a short distance west of the road between the towns of Eccleshall and Newport.

Lozells, Warwickshire.—See Aston.

LOZELLS, Warwickshire.—See Aston.

Lubbesthorpe

LUBBESTHORPE, an ancient chapelry, in the parish of Aylestone, union of Blaby, hundred of Sparkenhoe, S. division of the county of Leicester, 3¾ miles (S. W. by W.) from the town of Leicester; containing 83 inhabitants. The chapel is demolished.

Lubenham (All Saints)

LUBENHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Market-Harborough, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester, 2 miles (W.) from Harborough; containing 578 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Lutterworth to Harborough, and comprises 2700 acres: the Union canal passes along the eastern boundary. Part of the population is engaged in the manufacture of silk plush. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 5.; net income, £84; patron, Thomas Paget, Esq. Here is a national school; and £26 per annum, the produce of a portion of Gabriel Newton's charity at Leicester, are appropriated to the clothing of children.

Luccombe, or Luckham (St. Mary)

LUCCOMBE, or Luckham (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Williton, hundred of Carhampton, W. division of Somerset, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Minehead; containing, with the hamlets of Doverhays and Horner, 580 inhabitants, of whom 40 are in the hamlet of West Luccombe. The parish comprises 3564 acres, of which 1343 are common or waste; the soil of the cultivated lands is richly fertile, the surface is finely undulated, and the lower grounds are watered by the river Horner, which flows through a romantic dell into the sea about a mile to the east of Porlock. The hill of Dunkerry, here, which belongs to the greywacke formation, rises to the height of 1700 feet. The substratum of the parish is chiefly a coarse red sandstone, much of it conglomerate, and in many places intersected with veins of limestone, sometimes in large masses, and frequently containing iron-ore: beautiful specimens of marble are found in the limestone-quarries. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 3. 6½., and in the gift of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £365, and the glebe comprises 60 acres, with a house. The church, an ancient edifice in the later English style, has been completely restored; and contains some monuments to the family of Worth, of Worth, near Tiverton (who have a manor-house near the church), and a monument to the Rev. Henry Bryan, rector of the parish, and chaplain to Charles II.

Lucker

LUCKER, a parochial chapelry, in the union of Belford, N. division of Bambrough ward and of Northumberland, 4 miles (S. E. by E.) from Belford; containing 210 inhabitants. This chapelry, anciently Locre, comprises about 1300 acres of good land; the surface is generally level, and the soil various: there are quarries of excellent limestone and sandstone. The village is pleasantly situated on the west bank of the Waren rivulet, which empties itself into the sea at Waren Mills. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £62, with a parsonage-house; patron, the Duke of Northumberland; impropriator, Thomas Foster, Esq. The church, built in the year 1760, is a plain edifice with a bell tower.

Luckington

LUCKINGTON, a hamlet, in the parish and hundred of Kilmersdon, union of Frome, E. division of the county of Somerset; containing 76 inhabitants.

Luckington (St. Mary)

LUCKINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Malmesbury, hundred of Chippenham, Chippenham and Calne, and N. divisions of Wilts, 7½ miles (W. S. W.) from Malmesbury; containing 329 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1625 acres: stone of good quality is quarried for building and for the roads. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 7. 8½., and in the gift of the Lords of the manor: the tithes have been commuted for £292. 15., and the glebe comprises 51 acres. The church, a neat structure in the later English style, has been enlarged by the formation of an aisle, and the tower has been raised higher since its original erection. Here is a spring possessing medicinal properties, and in the neighbourhood are some barrows.

Lucton (St. Peter)

LUCTON (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Leominster, hundred of Wolphy, county of Hereford, 5 miles (N. W.) from Leominster; containing 183 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the left bank of the river Lug, and intersected by the road from Ludlow to Presteign. It comprises by measurement 1011 acres, of which about one-third is woodland, and the rest nearly equally divided between arable and pasture; the soil is partly clay and partly loam, and limestone is quarried. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Governors of Lucton Free Grammar School (the impropriators), with a net income of £88: the tithes have been commuted for £135. The free school was founded in 1708, by John Pierrepont, Esq., a native of the place, who endowed it with land and tithes producing an income which, in 1835, amounted to £1736. By appointment of the founder, eight individuals holding official situations in London are constituted governors of the school, viz.: the preacher of Gray's Inn, the preacher and the head master of the Charter-House, the head master of Merchant-Tailors' school, the president of Sion College, the rector of Bishopsgate, the rector of St. Peter's, Cornhill, and the common-sergeant. The principal gentlemen in the neighbourhood act as assistant governors (being elected by the corporation in London), and visit the school at the close of each half-year, for the purpose of examining the pupils: the head master is appointed by the governors. The course of education pursued comprises the study of the Bible; the English, Latin, Greek, and French languages; and history, geography, arithmetic, and mathematics. An exhibitioner is annually chosen from among those scholars who are qualified to proceed to the university; he is allowed by the statutes to reside at any college in Oxford or Cambridge, and has fifty guineas per annum for four years. The exhibitions are open to all the master's boarders after two years' residence in the house, provided they enter the school before their sixteenth birthday; the number of boarders is limited to twenty-five. The Rev. Charles Collyns Walkey is the present head master. Twenty acres of land here belong to the school.