Lusby (St. Peter)

LUSBY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Horncastle, E. division of the soke of Bolingbroke, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 4 miles (W. N. W.) from the town of Spilsby; containing 148 inhabitants, and comprising about 900 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 14., and in the patronage of Mrs. Brackenbury; net income, £200. The tithes were commuted for land, at the inclosure of the fens; the glebe altogether contains 116 acres, with a house. Here is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Lushill

LUSHILL, a tything, in the parish of CastleEaton, union of Highworth and Swindon, hundred of Highworth, Cricklade, and Staple, Cricklade and N. divisions of Wilts; with 43 inhabitants.

Lustleigh (St. John the Baptist)

LUSTLEIGH (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Newton-Abbott, hundred of Teignbridge, Crockernwell and S. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (N. W.) from Bovey-Tracey; containing 311 inhabitants. It comprises by admeasurement 2939 acres, of which 654 are common or waste; the surrounding country is celebrated for its rich and varied scenery, and the parish itself has a beautifully romantic appearance, including the singularly fine and picturesque rocky valley called Lustleigh Cleve. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 7. 6., and in the gift of the Rev. Frederick Ensor: the tithes have been commuted for £200, and the glebe contains 36 acres, with a house, lately rebuilt in a costly manner, and in the antique style. The church is one of the most ancient in the county, and has a very curious stone at the entrance, covered with characters which have attracted much attention; the interior contains three stone figures, one of which, in the style of a crusader, is supposed to represent Sir William le Prouz, and the other two, Lord Dynham and his lady. There is an endowed parochial school. In a lane near the church is "Bishop's Stone," a block of granite, five feet high, the remains of an ancient cross.

Luston

LUSTON, a township, in the parish of Eye, union of Leominster, hundred of Wolphy, county of Hereford, 2½ miles (N.) from Leominster; containing 445 inhabitants. It consists of 1667 acres of a fertile soil, and the road from Ludlow to Leominster passes through the village. Here are some hop and fruit plantations. The tithes have been commuted for £220, of which £215 are payable to the governors of Lucton free school, and £5 to the vicar of the parish.

Luton (St. Mary)

LUTON (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Flitt, county of Bedford; containing, with the hamlets of Hyde, Leegrave, Limbury with Biscott, and Stopsley, 7748 inhabitants, of whom 5827 are in the town, 20 miles (S. by E.) from Bedford, and 31 (N. W. by N.) from London. The name of this place is a corruption either of LeaTown, derived from the river Lea, which takes its rise in the neighbourhood; or of Low-Town, descriptive of the position of the town relatively to the gentle eminences by which it is surrounded. At the Conquest it was held in royal demesne; and in 1216 came into the possession of Baron Fulk de Brent, who built a strong castle here. In the reign of Henry VI., the manor belonged to John, Lord Wenlock, a celebrated partisan in the contest between the houses of York and Lancaster, who erected a handsome sepulchral chapel on the north side of the church, and commenced building a stately mansion, the portico belonging to which is still standing in the park of Luton Hoo. Luton Loo House, late a seat of the Marquess of Bute's, now belongs, with the manorial rights, and 3555 acres of land, to John Shaw Leigh, Esq., of Childwall Hall, Lancashire: in the private chapel is some fine carved screen-work in the later English style, which originally formed the interior decoration of a chapel erected at Tittenhanger, by Sir Thomas Pope, Knt., about the middle of the sixteenth century.

The town is situated between two hills, and on the Lea: from the market-house, which stands in the centre, three streets diverge obliquely. The inhabitants are well supplied with water from the river. The manufacture of straw-plat is carried on to a very great extent, and the town is said to produce a greater portion of that article than any other place in the county: the proprietor of one of the establishments obtained a patent for making Tuscan grass-plat, which is here wrought into hats and bonnets. There are two good maltinghouses. The market, which is plentifully supplied with corn and with straw-plat, is on Monday; fairs are held on April 18th and Oct. 18th, for cattle, and there is a statute-fair in September. A court leet is held annually under the lord of the manor, at which a high and two day constables are appointed. The powers of the county debt-court of Luton, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Luton.

The parish comprises 15,194a. 3r. 27p., of which 11,317 acres are arable, 2220 pasture, 831 wood, and 99 waste or common. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £35. 12. 1.; net income, £830; patron, John King, Esq., of Southampton. The church exhibits some fine specimens of the decorated and later English styles; it has at the west end a handsome embattled tower of flint and freestone in chequers, with an hexagonal turret at each angle, and a doorway, the mouldings of which are peculiarly beautiful. There are some curious monuments; a monumental chapel; and a baptistry chapel of decorated character, with pointed arches that terminate in elegant tabernacle work, and containing a stone font supported on five pillars. A church was erected in 1840 at East Hyde; and there are places of worship in the parish for Baptists, the Society of Friends, and Wesleyans. Benefactions for instruction, amounting annually to the sum of £36, are applied towards the support of a national school; and a Lancasterian school is maintained by subscription. At the principal entrance to the town are twelve almshouses, erected in 1808, for twenty-four widows. The union of Luton comprises 15 parishes or places, 12 of which are in the county of Bedford, and 3 in that of Herts; with a population of 19,010. The Rev. John Pomfret, author of The Choice and other poems, was born here in 1668.

Lutterworth (St. Mary)

LUTTERWORTH (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Guthlaxton, S. division of the county of Leicester, 13 miles (S. by W.) from Leicester, and 89½ (N. W. by N.) from London, on the high road to Lichfield, Chester, and Liverpool; containing 2531 inhabitants. This place was formerly noted for the peculiar vassalage of the tenants of the manor, who were obliged to grind their corn at one particular mill of the lord, and their malt at another, so lately as the year 1758, when they obtained a decision at the Leicester assizes empowering them to grind where they pleased. The town is situated on the small river Swift, which falls into the Avon; and at Gills corner, not far distant, the Midland railway is carried through a tunnel 66 yards long, 25 feet wide, and 24 feet high. It is regularly built, and consists principally of one street, from which some minor ones diverge; the elevation of its site, and dry gravelly nature of the soil, render it peculiarly healthy. The town is lighted by subscription, and paved out of the proceeds of an ancient benefaction of land, producing about £200 per annum, under the management of two officers called "Town Masters," who are annually chosen at the manorial court leet. The cotton and tammy manufactures were formerly carried on to a considerable extent, but the latter was discontinued many years ago, and the former declined about 1816; the present staple article is coarse worsted hose, and a few ribbons are also made. The market is on Thursday; and fairs are held on the Thursday after Feb. 19th, on April 2nd, Holy-Thursday, and Sept. 16th, for horses, cattle, and sheep: the last is also for cheese. The powers of the county debt-court of Lutterworth, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Lutterworth.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £26, and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £585. The church is a spacious and handsome structure, with a tower surmounted by four lofty pinnacles; it was repaired and beautified about the year 1740, and the whole interior renovated, with the exception of the pulpit, which is a fine specimen of the early English style, and possesses great interest, being that from which the reformer Wycliffe first openly promulgated his doctrines. He was rector from 1375 to 1384, when he died, and was interred in the church; but in the year 1428, his bones were disinterred pursuant to a decree by the council of Constance, and publicly burnt, and the ashes thrown into the river. His portrait is preserved in the church, as well as the chair in which he died, also the purple-velvet communion-cloth used by him; and a handsome monument has been erected of late years in honour of the great reformer. The late Dr. Ryder, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, who was rector from 1801 to 1814, appropriated a library for the use of the parishioners, to be deposited in the church; where is a tablet to his memory. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. A free school and some almshouses were founded and endowed by means of a bequest of £200 from the Rev. Edward Sherrier; a school for girls was endowed with £12 per annum, by the late bishop, and another, called "Mr. Pool's," is partly supported by endowment. Richard Elkington, of Shawell, by will dated May 29th, 1607, devised the sum of £50, afterwards vested in land which on sale produced £1000, now lent in sums of £50 to tradesmen. The union of Lutterworth comprises 36 parishes or places, 30 of which are in the county of Leicester, 5 in that of Warwick, and one in that of Northampton; the whole containing a population of 16,039. In the reign of John, an hospital for a master and brethren, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was founded and endowed by Roise de Verdon, and Nicholas, her son: at the Dissolution it was valued at £26. 9. 5. per annum.

Luttley

LUTTLEY, a hamlet, in the parish of Hales-Owen, union of Stourbridge, Lower division of the hundred of Halfshire, Stourbridge and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 1¼ mile (W.) from Hales-Owen; containing 137 inhabitants. It lies south of the road from Hales-Owen to Stourbridge, and north of the road from Hales-Owen to Hagley; and comprises 427a. 1r. 38p., of a fertile soil.

Lutton, or Luddington-in-the-Wold (St. Peter)

LUTTON, or Luddington-in-the-Wold (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Oundle, partly in the hundred of Norman-Cross, county of Huntingdon, and partly in that of Willybrook, N. division of the county of Northampton, 5½ miles (E.) from Oundle; containing 187 inhabitants. It comprises 1479 acres, of which 93 are common. The living is a rectory, with that of Washingley united, valued in the king's books at £21. 11. 5½., and in the patronage of the Earl Fitzwilliam: the tithes of Lutton have been commuted for £220. 2. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Lutton, East and West

LUTTON, EAST and WEST, a township, in the parish of Weaverthorpe, union of Driffield, wapentake of Buckrose, E. riding of York, 3 miles (N.) from Sledmere; containing 405 inhabitants, These places, called also Luttons Ambo, comprise together 2130 acres: the villages, which are pleasantly situated, are distant from each other about a mile. At West Lutton is a chapel of ease; also a place of worship for Wesleyans. The tithes were commuted for land in 1801.

Luxborough (St. Mary)

LUXBOROUGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Williton, hundred of Carhampton, W. division of Somerset, 5 miles (S. S. W.) from Dunster; containing 485 inhabitants. It comprises 3600 acres, of which 910 are common or waste. There are several quarries, the produce of which is converted into lime for agricultural purposes, or applied to the repair of roads. Iron-ore is found at Brendon Hill, where mining operations have been commenced by Sir Thomas Lethbridge. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Cutcombe: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £141, and the vicarial for £115. Within the parish are many tumuli, containing urns, human bones, and ashes.

Luxulyon (St. Syricus and Julieta)

LUXULYON (St. Syricus and Julieta), a parish, in the union of Bodmin, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 7 miles (N. E. by N.) from St. Austell: containing 1512 inhabitants. The parish comprises by admeasurement 5354 acres, of which 555 are common or waste; the higher grounds command extensive views of the Channel and St. Blasey bay. Granite is extensively quarried; large quantities were conveyed from this place for completing the breakwater at Plymouth, and for the construction of Cardiff pier. Fairs are held in June and October. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £10; patron and impropriator, Sir J. C. Rashleigh, Bart. The great tithes have been commuted for £120, and the vicarial for £230; the glebe contains about 5 acres, with a good house, built by the Rev. R. Gerveys Grylls. Here is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The stannary records were deposited in the turret of the church tower during the parliamentary war. At Rideaux is a Roman encampment.

Lydbury, North (St. Michael)

LYDBURY, NORTH (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Clun, hundred of Purslow, S. division of Salop, 3 miles (S. E.) from Bishop's-Castle; containing 908 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 9000 acres, and is intersected by the road from Ludlow to Bishop's-Castle; the soil is rich, the surface undulated, and the scenery picturesque. Good stone is quarried for building. The living is a vicarage, with that of Norbury annexed, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; net income, £551; patron and incumbent, the Rev. J. Bright Bright; impropriator, E. Plowden, Esq.: the glebe contains 45 acres, principally situated at Norbury, and there is a glebe-house. The church is a very ancient structure. In Lower Down are the remains of a strong encampment, the trenches of which are still very perfect; and a castle anciently stood here, belonging to the bishops of Hereford, one of whom was presented by a jury, in the reign of Henry III., for suffering the escape of a prisoner thence. Plowden, the distinguished lawyer, and author of the Commentaries, resided at Plowden Hall, in the parish.

Lydd (All Saints)

LYDD (All Saints), a decayed market-town, and a parish, in the union of Romney-Marsh, hundred of Longport, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 3½ miles (S. S. W.) from New Romney; containing 1509 inhabitants. The town is situated at the extremity of the county, near the point of land which forms the bay of Dengeness. The market was on Thursday; a fair for pedlery is held on the last Monday in July. Lydd is a corporation by prescription, being a member of Romney, one of the cinqueports, and is governed by a bailiff, jurats, and commonalty; the bailiff is coroner, and the jurats are justices of the peace, with exclusive jurisdiction, and hold a general court of session. There is a small common gaol and house of correction. On the point Dengeness, a lighthouse, 110 feet in height, was built, in lieu of an ancient one, and partly on the model of the Eddystone lighthouse, under the direction of the late Mr. James Wyatt, architect. The parish comprises by admeasurement 6700 acres, of which about 750 are arable, and the rest pasture and sea-beach. Denge Marsh, with Southbrooks, is situated wholly within the parish, and contains nearly 3000 acres; lying to the south of Walland Marsh, which comprises about 16,500 acres. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury (the appropriator), valued in the king's books at £55. 12. 1.: the great tithes have been commuted for £389. 11., and the vicarial for £1210. 9.; the glebe comprises 28 acres, with a house. The church is a spacious edifice of different dates, but principally in the early English style, with a fine tower in the later style, having crocketed pinnacles; it contains several monuments with brasses. There is a place of worship for Independents; also a school on the national plan, for the children of the poor.

Seal and Arms.

Lydden (St. Mary)

LYDDEN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Dovor, hundred of Bewsborough, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of the county of Kent, 5 miles (N. W.) from Dovor; containing 248 inhabitants. It is situated on the road between Canterbury and Dovor; and comprises 1396a. 1r. 4p., of which 582 acres are arable, 308 meadow and pasture, 188 grass, and 273 wood. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 6.; net income, £104; patron and appropriator, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is principally in the early English style. There are some traces of a monastery in a farmhouse called Swenton, in the parish.

Lyde, county of Hereford.—See Pipe.

LYDE, county of Hereford.—See Pipe.

Lydeard, Bishop's (St. Mary)

LYDEARD, BISHOP'S (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Taunton, W. division of the hundred of Kinsbury and of the county of Somerset, 5 miles (N. W.) from Taunton; containing, with the hamlet of Kenley-Bottom, 1295 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the Minehead and Bridgwater road. Hard red sandstone is quarried; the church was built of it. A fair is held on the 5th of April. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20. 10.; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Wells: the great tithes have been commuted for £730, and the vicarial for £200. In the church are memorials to the families of Grobham and Lethbridge, and a monument to Mary, wife of Dr. Palmer, Warden of All Souls' College, and afterwards wife of Dr. Ralph Bathurst, President of Trinity College, Oxford. In the churchyard is an elegant cross. There is a place of worship for Independents; and a national school is attended by about 100 children An almshouse, built in 1616, and having about £100 per annum, was given by Richard Grobham for aged persons.

Lydeard (St. Lawrence)

LYDEARD (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Taunton, hundred of Taunton and Taunton-Dean, W. division of Somerset, 8 miles (N. W.) from Taunton; containing 641 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Taunton to Dunster and Minehead, and comprises 2678a. 3r. 37p.; the surface is hilly, and the soil consists of sand, occasionally mixed with clay. Limestone is quarried for agricultural purposes. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £22. 6. 8., and in the gift of Robert Harvey, Esq.: the incumbent's tithes have been commuted for £400, and £42. 14. are paid to certain impropriators; the glebe contains about 70 acres, with a house.

Lydeway

LYDEWAY, a tything, in the parish of Urchfont, union of Devizes, hundred of Swanborough, Devizes and N. divisions of Wilts; with 45 inhabitants.

Lydford (St. Petrock)

LYDFORD (St. Petrock), a parish, in the union of Tavistock, hundred of Lifton, Lifton and S. divisions of Devon, 7¾ miles (N. by E.) from Tavistock; containing, with Dartmoor Forest, 1213 inhabitants, of whom 933 are in the Forest. This place, anciently of some consequence, in 997 sustained severe injury from the Danes, who, after the destruction of Tavistock Abbey, burnt forty of the houses in the town of Lydford. In the reign of Edward the Confessor it is recorded as a borough, and had eight burgesses within the walls, and forty-one without: at the time of the Conquest, these had increased to 140; the town was fortified, and was considered of such importance as to be taxed on an equality with London. In 1238, the Forest of Dartmoor, and the castle of Lydford, were bestowed by the king upon Richard, Earl of Cornwall; and the manor now belongs to the duchy. Situated in the centre of a mining district, Lydford was the great mart for tin, then the staple commodity of the county; and there are still extant a few pieces of money coined at the mint here, which is said to have existed in the time of Ethelred II. In the reign of Edward I. the place twice sent members to parliament; in 1267, a weekly market was granted, with an annual fair for three days. The stannary courts were held in the town till the close of the last century, and offenders against the stannary laws were imprisoned in a castle here, the dungeons of which have been considered scarcely less frightful than those of the Spanish inquisition: until the reign of Edward III., a gaol delivery took place only once in ten years. The village now consists merely of a few cottages; the scenery which surrounds it is of the most beautiful description, and about a quarter of a mile southward is a small bridge of one arch, near which is a romantic fall of the river Lyd, the water rushing over the rugged bed of a narrow chasm of the depth of 80 feet. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 13. 9., and in the patronage of the Crown, in right of the duchy of Cornwall: the tithes have been commuted for £144, and there is a glebe-house. The only remains of the castle consist of the shell of the keep, situated on a mound at the eastern end of an area formerly surrounded by a wall and a ditch; the western side overlooks a narrow dell of considerable depth. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, the foundations of the town gates, and vestiges of the trenches, were visible.

Dartmoor Forest, a dreary but interesting waste, is said to comprise not less than 130,000 acres. Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, about the year 1800, built a mansion at Tor Royal, in its very heart, made extensive plantations, and much improved the land in the vicinity; and in 1808, at his instigation, a prison was erected for the reception of the numerous French captives that had previously crowded the prison ships at Plymouth. This immense building comprises, besides an hospital and dwellings for the petty officers, five rectangular edifices, each capable of holding 1600 men. The governor's house adjoins the prison; and at the distance of a quarter of a mile are the barracks for the guards. For the supply of the prison, numerous tradesmen established themselves in the vicinity; a small town, called Prince Town, was soon formed, and a chapel built; but at the close of the war the place was almost deserted. The minister of the chapel, however, retains his appointment, and divine service is performed weekly. In 1819, an act was obtained for making a tramway from Dartmoor to Plymouth. From the granite works with which the line is connected, great quantities of stone are forwarded to the port; and the rail-wagons, on their return, are chiefly loaded with lime, manure, and coal. At Two Bridges, east of Prince Town, a cattle-fair is held on the first Wednesday after August 16th.

Lydford, East (St. Peter)

LYDFORD, EAST (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Shepton-Mallet, hundred of Somerton, E. division of Somerset, 4½ miles (W.) from Castle-Cary; containing 194 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises by admeasurement 707 acres, is situated near the river Brue; and the road from Bath to Exeter skirts the village. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 9. 7., and in the patronage of Mrs. Rhoda Harbin: the tithes have been commuted for £106. 16, and the glebe comprises 31 acres, with a house. The Old Roman Fosse-way skirts the western boundary of the parish.

Lydford, West (St. Mary)

LYDFORD, WEST (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Shepton-Mallet, hundred of Catsash, E. division of Somerset, 5½ miles (W.) from Castle-Cary; containing 368 inhabitants. The parish is watered by the river Brue, and comprises 1802 acres by admeasurement. The manor and estates, with the exception of a few acres, are the property of E. F. Colston, Esq., in whose family they have been for several generations. Fairs are held in May and August. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17. 13. 4.; net income, £125; patron, Mr. Colston: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1827, and a glebe-house has been erected by the Rev. Dr. Colston. The church, rebuilt at the cost of Mr. Colston, was consecrated in August, 1846. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. There is a fine chalybeate spring called Hunt's Well. The Old Roman Fosse-way passes through the parish.

Lydgate

LYDGATE, an ecclesiastical district, in the parochial chapelry of Saddleworth, parish of Rochdale, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Oldham, and 9 miles (N. E.) from Manchester. It is situated on the Stockton and New-Houses road, and on the line of the Huddersfield and Ashton canal; the surface is very hilly, the soil fertile in the valleys, and the scenery generally bold and romantic. There are numerous quarries of stone. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the spinning of cotton, for which there are several mills in the neighbourhood, and one in the village. The chapel, erected by subscription in 1788, and dedicated to St. Ann, is a plain but substantial building, with a campanile turret: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Rochdale, with a net income of £150.