M
Mabe (St. Mabe)
MABE (St. Mabe), a parish, in the union of Falmouth, E. division of the hundred of Kerrier, W.
division of Cornwall, 4½ miles (W.) from Falmouth, on
the road to Penryn; containing 594 inhabitants. It
comprises 1963a. 7p., of which 770 acres are common,
and the remainder arable and pasture. The substratum
is principally granite of very excellent quality, of which
considerable quantities are shipped at Penryn, and which
was raised for the erection of Waterloo bridge over the
Thames. The surface is generally elevated, and the
scenery picturesque. The living is a vicarage not in
charge, consolidated with that of Mylor: the tithes
have been commuted for £139. The church is a very
ancient structure in the early English style, with a lofty
tower of granite, embattled, and crowned by pinnacles.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. At Hellind
is an old cross.
Mablethorpe (St. Mary)
MABLETHORPE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Louth, Marsh division of the hundred of Calceworth, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 7 miles
(N. E. by N.) from Alford; containing 261 inhabitants.
This place is supposed to have obtained its name from
the great number of maple-trees with which it formerly
abounded, and the stumps of which are still to be seen
at low water. The parish is bounded on the east by the
ocean, and comprises by computation 2700 acres of
good land. The air is remarkably salubrious; and from
its excellent sands, which extend for miles along the
beach, the village is resorted to from June to October
by numerous visiters, for whose accommodation a spacious hotel has been opened at a short distance from
the shore, containing every arrangement for sea-bathing,
and also for warm sea-water baths. The living is a
rectory, with that of Stane united, valued in the king's
books at £17. 10. 2½.; net income, £1000; patron and
incumbent, the Rev. Lovick Cooper.
Mablethorpe (St. Peter)
MABLETHORPE (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
of Louth, Marsh division of the hundred of Calceworth, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln; containing 62 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory,
united in 1745 to that of Theddlethorpe St. Helen, and
valued in the king's books at £7. 10. 2.
Mabyn, St.
MABYN, ST., a parish, in the union of Bodmin,
hundred of Trigg, E. division of Cornwall, 3¼ miles
(E. by N.) from Wadebridge; containing 870 inhabitants. The parish comprehends some richly varied
scenery, with a fine view of the river Camel, whose
lofty banks are clothed with wood to their summit. A
fair is held on Feb. 14th. The living is a rectory, valued
in the king's books at £36; net income, £712; patron,
the Earl of Falmouth. The church is a handsome
structure, with a lofty embattled tower crowned by pinnacles, and has been repaired and entirely repewed at
the expense of the Rev. G. L. Gower. At Trevisquite
and Colquite were formerly chapels. There is a place
of worship for Wesleyans. The Rev. C. Peters, author
of a dissertation on the Book of Job, was for some years
rector.
Macclesfield
MACCLESFIELD, a
market-town, parochial chapelry, and newly-enfranchised borough, having separate jurisdiction, locally in
the parish of Prestbury,
and hundred of Macclesfield, and the head of a
union, in the N. division of the
county of Chester, on the
road from London to Manchester, 36 miles (E. by N.)
from Chester, and 167 (N.
W. by N.) from London; the township containing 24,137
inhabitants, of whom 11,192 are in the east, and 12,945
in the west, division. Previously to the Norman Conquest, this place constituted a portion of the demesne
of the earls of Mercia, who held a court here for the
ancient hundred of Hamestan; thus, in the record of
Domesday, it is represented to have been one of the
seats of Earl Edwin. At the time that survey was made,
it was comprised within the earldom of Chester, of
which it continued to form part until the abolition of
the jurisdiction, when the hundred, manor, and forest of
Macclesfield lapsed to the crown. The forest was anciently
protected by the same laws, and entitled to the same
rights, as other royal forests, and a few of the executive
offices under these laws survive; the grand serjeantcy of
the hundred, and the mastership of the forest, have long
been hereditary in the family of Davenport, and the office
of bailiff of the manor and forest is vested in the noble
family of Cholmondeley. After the territory came to the
crown, parcels of the forest were granted away at different
times, and the whole is now under cultivation; the last
portion of the common and waste land having been inclosed under an act obtained in 1796, when an allotment was assigned to the king as lord of the manor,
which, with the mineral contents of the soil, has since
been alienated.
Seal and Arms.
An ecclesiastical council was held at Macclesfield in
1332, and another in 1362, by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whilst the town continued to be the residence
of the earls of Chester, it was surrounded by a rampart,
or walled fence, which had three principal gates, viz.,
Back-wall gate, Church gate, and New gate; and part of
the wall and doorway of one of the gates is still remaining. In 1508, Thomas Savage, a native of the town,
who became successively Bishop of London and Archbishop of York, founded a college of secular priests, of
which the chapel, once communicating with the church
of St. Michael by a door now blocked up, still remains,
as the sepulchral chapel of the family. During the great
civil war in the 17th century, the town experienced
much injury from the parliamentarians, by whom it was
besieged and taken, and who retained possession of it,
under Sir William Brereton, commander-in-chief of the
republican forces of this county, after an obstinate
attempt on the part of Sir Thomas Acton to gain it for
the king. On a hill to the east are vestiges of an encampment constructed by the parliamentarians, from
which, during the siege, the spire of St. Michael's church
was battered by the cannon of the assailants. After the
decapitation of Charles I., a council was held here, at
which it was resolved to raise four regiments, of 700 men
each, for the service of Charles II., who was then at the
head of an army in Scotland. In 1745, a party of 100
cavalry seized the town for the Pretender, who, on the
evening of the same day, arrived with 5000 men and his
whole train of artillery: after passing the night here, he
held a council of war, and the day following marched
towards Derby; but being alarmed at the approach of
the forces under the Duke of Cumberland, he fell back
upon Macclesfield, to which place he was pursued by the
duke, whom the inhabitants received with every demonstration of joy.
The town is pleasantly situated near the southern
extremity of the forest. The greater part stands on the
acclivity of an eminence rising gradually from the western bank of the river Bollin, which flows through the
lower part, hence denominated "the Waters;" these
parts are connected by two bridges of stone, and one of
wood. The rapid increase of population has created a
proportionate augmentation of the number of buildings,
and an extension of the town in every direction within
a short period. Many improvements have been made,
under the provisions of an act obtained in 1814, by the
introduction of police regulations, by widening the streets,
and removing unsightly objects; the streets are well
paved, and lighted with gas, and the inhabitants are
amply supplied with water. A public subscription
library, established for more than half a century, contains a valuable collection of works, and a commodious
house has been taken for the accommodation of the
subscribers, and fitted up with reading and other rooms.
A public newsroom is supported; there are a neat
theatre, and a handsome suite of assembly-rooms.
Macclesfield is noted for the manufacture of silk, which
is carried on in all its branches to a considerable extent;
the first mill here was erected in 1756, since which
period the trade has rapidly increased, and at present
there are not less than 70 mills for throwing silk, which
is here manufactured into handkerchiefs and broad silks,
the weaving of these articles, with the manufacture of
twist, sewing-silk, and buttons, being the principal
source of trade. In 1823, there were 3000 looms in the
town, and the number has now increased to about
10,000. The cotton manufacture was introduced about
the same time, and has progressively increased; there
are several large dye-houses, and other establishments
connected with these branches of manufacture. In the
neighbourhood are extensive mines of coal; also quarries of slate, and of stone of a superior quality for building, of which great quantities are sent to Stockport, Manchester, Staffordshire, and other parts of the
country. A canal passes by the east side of the town,
and joins the Peak-Forest canal at Marple. The Macclesfield branch of the Manchester and Birmingham railway, opened in November, 1845, diverges from the main
line about three miles south of Stockport, and pursues a
picturesque and tolerably direct course of nearly eleven
miles to Macclesfield. In 1846, an act was passed for
a railway from Macclesfield to Congleton and the potteries of Staffordshire; and another act was obtained in
the same year, for a railway to Uttoxeter and Burtonon-Trent. The market is on Tuesday; a market for
vegetables is held on Saturday: the fairs are on May
6th, June 22nd, July 11th, October 4th, and November
11th, for cattle, woollen-cloth, hardware, and toys.
Macclesfield, which was constituted a borough by
Ranulph, third earl of Chester of that name, was first
incorporated in the 45th of Henry III., by Edward,
Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, who conveyed
additional privileges, but imposed the usual obligation
of grinding at the king's mill, and baking at his oven;
and various other charters were subsequently granted
till that of Charles II., according to which the town was
until recently governed. The corporation now consists
of a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors, under the
act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76; and the
borough is divided into six wards, including the townships of Sutton and Hurdsfield. The freedom is inherited by all the sons of a freeman, or acquired by servitude. The borough sends two representatives to parliament, the boundaries comprising 3145 acres; the
mayor is returning officer. The mayor and other magistrates hold meetings three times a week; and the county
justices meet as often at the police-office, for offences
committed out of the borough. The powers of the
county debt-court of Macclesfield, established in 1847,
extend over the registration-district of Macclesfield. A
court of record for debts to any amount arising within
the hundred, and a similar court called a halmote court
for the manor and forest, are held twice a year by the
Earl of Derby, as hereditary steward; and courts leet
for these several jurisdictions occur within a month of
Michaelmas, when constables are appointed for the different townships. The guildhall, taken down in 1826,
and rebuilt in the Grecian style, at the expense of the
corporation, is a spacious edifice, containing, in addition
to the court-rooms, handsome assembly and concert
rooms.
The parochial chapelry consists of the nine townships
of Hurdsfield, Kettleshulme, Macclesfield, MacclesfieldForest, Pott-Shrigley, Rainow, Sutton, Wildboar-Clough,
and Wincle. The township of Macclesfield comprises
2210 acres. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a
net income of £214, in the patronage of Simeon's Trustees. The parochial chapel, dedicated to St. Michael, is
an ancient structure, founded by Eleanor, queen of Edward I., about 1278, and made dependent on the mother
church at Prestbury: the tower was formerly surmounted by a spire, which was battered down in the
parliamentary war; the north side of the edifice was
rebuilt in 1740, and the whole has recently undergone
a thorough repair and embellishment. Christchurch, a
spacious structure of brick, with a square tower, was
erected in 1775, at the expense of Charles Roe, Esq.,
who endowed it with £100 per annum, and to whose
memory is a monument on the south side of the chancel:
the living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £259, exclusively of rents of pews; patron, C. S. Roe, Esq. St.
George's church, in Sutton, erected as a dissenters' place
of worship, was purchased for the service of the Established Church, and consecrated on the 8th of June,
1834: the same township contains a church dedicated
to St. James. A neat church of stone was lately built
in the township of Hurdsfield; and there are other incumbencies at Macclesfield-Forest, Pott-Shrigley, Rainow,
and Wincle. In the year 1844, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners endowed two church districts under the act
6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37, namely, St. Paul's and St.
Peter's, Macclesfield; churches were subsequently consecrated, and the districts then became ecclesiastical
parishes, St. Paul's being the first parish, though not
the first district, formed under the act. The church of
St. Paul, consecrated October 10th, 1844, is built of
white stone, and has a tower 71 feet high, surmounted
by a spire of 70 feet; the interior is 120 feet in length,
and has a fine organ by Nicholson: the cost of the edifice was £5500. St. Peter's church, raised in 1847,
was erected at an expense of about £2600, and is in the
early English style: corresponding with it is a beautiful
school-house, completed at a cost of £1200. Each of
the two livings is a perpetual curacy, with a net income
of £150; St. Paul's is in the gift of the Bishop of Chester,
and St. Peter's in that of the Crown and the Bishop,
alternately. There are places of worship for the Society
of Friends, Independents, Primitive Methodists, Socinians, and Roman Catholics.
The free grammar school was founded in 1502, by
Sir John Percival, lord mayor of London, who was
born near the town; but the endowment lapsing to the
crown, the school was refounded by Edward VI., in
1552, and more amply endowed, under the designation
of the "Free Grammar School of King Edward VI.:"
the income exceeds £1100 per annum. The school
enjoys a high reputation, and in the list of masters
appear the names of Brownswerd, a celebrated grammarian and Latin poet, and Brancker, a philosopher and
mathematician, both of whom lie interred in the chapel
of St. Michael. In 1838, an act was passed enabling
the governors to establish a commercial school. An
almshouse was founded in 1703, by Mrs. Stanley, for
three widows; and various bequests have been left for
the poor. The union of Macclesfield comprises 41 parishes or places, containing a population of 56,018.
Near the road to Congleton is the Castle-field, supposed
to have been the site of the palace of the earls of Chester;
and some slight vestiges still exist of an ancient mansion
said to have been the residence of the celebrated Duke
of Buckingham. Macclesfield gives the title of Earl to
the family of Parker.
Macclesfield-Forest
MACCLESFIELD-FOREST, a township and chapelry, in the parish of Prestbury, union and hundred
of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester,
4 miles (E. by S.) from Macclesfield; containing 256 inhabitants. The township comprises 2152 acres, light
land, and mossy in some parts. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £60; patron, the Earl of Derby.
Macefen
MACEFEN, a township, in the parish of Malpas,
union of Nantwich, Higher division of the hundred
of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester,
2 miles (E.) from Malpas; containing 58 inhabitants.
It comprises 300 acres, partly sand, and partly clay. The
tithes have been commuted for £32. 4.
Machen (St. Michael)
MACHEN (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of
Newport, partly in the hundred of Wentlloog, county
of Monmouth, in England, and partly in the hundred
of Caerphilly, county of Glamorgan, South Wales,
5½ miles (W. by N.) from Newport; the English part
containing 1371 inhabitants, of whom 803 are in Lower,
and 568 in Upper, Machen. The parish is bounded on
the north by the river Ebba, and on the south by the
Rhymney, and contains by computation 3156 acres, of
which 349 are common or waste. The soil is generally
gravel, alternated with clay; the surface is hilly. The
substratum abounds with coal, ironstone, calamine, and
tin; there are extensive quarries of limestone, and a
woollen-factory affords employment to a small part of
the population. The Monmouthshire canal, and the
Rhymney and Tyrhowey railways, afford facility of conveyance to Newport. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £10. 16. 5½., and in the gift of Sir
Charles Morgan, Bart.: certain impropriate tithes have
been commuted for £14, and the incumbent's for
£469. 3. 9.; there is a glebe-house, with about an acre
of garden. The church is an ancient structure, of the
early English style. The Wesleyans have a place of
worship. Here are several mineral springs; also the
remains of an old building, called "the Castle."
Mackworth (All Saints)
MACKWORTH (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Belper, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch,
S. division of the county of Derby, 2¾ miles (W. N. W.)
from Derby; containing, with the township of MarkEaton, 561 inhabitants. The lands, consisting of 3400
acres, are chiefly in pasture, and considerable quantities
of cheese are sent to market. The surface is pleasingly
varied, and richly wooded; the principal timber is oak
and ash, which thrive well. The parish is the property
of William Mundy, Esq., and Lord Scarsdale. The
living is a discharged vicarage, with the perpetual curacy
of Allestree annexed, valued in the king's books at £9. 3.;
net income, £161; patron and impropriator, Mr. Mundy.
The church is a venerable structure partly in the decorated style, consisting of a nave, chancel, a fine tower,
and an octagonal spire; the chancel, built about the time
of Edward I., is much older than the other parts, and the
details of the whole are very correct. Schools are supported by the Mundy family; and among the charities
is a payment of twelve guineas annually, the gift of
German Pole, of Redbourn, for apprenticing a boy.
Here is the gateway of a castle, anciently the seat of the
De Mackworths, and said to have been demolished
during the parliamentary war.
Maddington (St. Mary)
MADDINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Amesbury, hundred of Branch and Dole, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 5¾
miles (W. N. W.) from Amesbury; containing 445 inhabitants. The parish comprises 3973 acres, of which
629 are common or waste land. The manor belonged
to Sir Stephen Fox, ancestor of the earls of Ilchester
and lords Holland. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £60; patron and impropriator, James Maton, Esq.
Madehurst (St. Mary Magdalene)
MADEHURST (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish,
in the union of West Hampnett, hundred of Avisford, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 3¾
miles (N. W. by N.) from Arundel; containing 150 inhabitants. It is situated in a rich and fertile district,
and comprises 1870a. 3r. 8p. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 8. 10.; patron, the Bishop of Chichester; impropriator, John
Smith, Esq. The vicarial tithes have been commuted
for £81. 4., and the glebe comprises 23 acres. The
church is a plain structure.
Madeley (All Saints)
MADELEY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of
Newcastle-under-Lyme, N. division of the hundred
of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 5 miles
(W. by S.) from Newcastle; containing, with the township of Onneley, 1492 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the roads from Whitchurch and Nantwich to
Newcastle, and comprises by estimation 5734a. 24p., of
which 2070 acres are arable, 2850 meadow and pasture,
630 woodland, and the remainder waste. Its surface is
hilly, and the prevailing timber, oak and ash; the soil
is very various, in some parts loam, clay, gravel, and
sand, and in others peat-bog. The substratum abounds
with coal, which has been raised here for more than a
century; several mines are in operation, and the works
of Thomas Firmstone, Esq., employ 500 hands. Ironstone is also obtained, and two blast-furnaces for smelting the ore were erected in 1841. The Liverpool and
Birmingham railway passes for more than four miles
through the parish, and has a station here. The living
is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£4. 16., and in the patronage of the Hon. Mrs. Cunliffe
Offley, who is also impropriator: the great tithes have
been commuted for £333. 8. 5., and the vicarial for
£192; the glebe comprises 12 acres. The church is an
ancient stone structure, and a fine specimen of the later
English style. Free schools for boys and girls were endowed in 1645, with a rent-charge of £60, by Sir John
Offley, who in the same year founded almshouses for
ten persons, and endowed them with £45 per annum.
Madeley-Market (All Saints)
MADELEY-MARKET (All Saints), a markettown and parish, and the head of a union, within the
liberties of the borough of Wenlock, S. division of
Salop, 4½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Shiffnall, 15 (S. E.)
from Shrewsbury, and 148 (N. W.) from London; containing 7368 inhabitants. The name of this town indicates its situation between two rivers, and the adjunct
arose from the grant of a market here, in the time of
Henry III., to a community of Cluniac monks at Wenlock, to whom Madeley belonged. After the disastrous
battle of Worcester, in 1651, Charles II. obtained temporary shelter in a house near the church, then occupied by Mr. Wolfe, and which is still remaining. Madeley stands on rising ground, and extends to Colebrookdale, which is environed by lofty hills and hanging
woods, and in which are most extensive iron-works.
Across the Severn, here, is a cast-iron bridge of one
arch, erected in 1779, the span of which is 100 feet 6
inches, and the height from the base line to the centre,
40 feet; the total weight of iron being 378 tons: all
the principal parts were erected in three months. Part
of the parish derives the name of Iron-Bridge from this
stupendous undertaking. About two miles south-eastward from Madeley, at the junction of the Shropshire
canal with the Severn, is Coalport, where coal is landed
from the mines in the neighbourhood, and whence it is
conveyed to different parts of the counties of Gloucester
and Worcester. Here are likewise a porcelain manufactory, a rope-yard, timber-yard, and mill for extracting
linseed-oil. A neat iron bridge was constructed across
the river at this point, in 1817, instead of a former
bridge of wood; and not far distant, a tunnel about one
mile in length, and partially arched with brick, was begun, as a more direct conveyance for coal, but was never
completed. The market of Madeley having fallen into
disuse, it was revived about 1763, when a new markethouse was erected near the foot of the iron bridge in
Colebrook-dale: the market is on Friday; and fairs are
held on January 26th, May 29th, and October 12th.
The powers of the county debt-court of Madeley, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of
Madeley and Shiffnall.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £4. 17. 10.; net income, £241; patron,
Sir J. R. Kynaston, Bart.; impropriator, Sir J. Hawley,
Bart. The ancient church, which exhibited several
early Norman specimens, was pulled down in 1796,
when the present edifice was erected. An additional
church was built in 1834, to which a district, called St.
Luke's, Iron-Bridge, was assigned in 1845; it contains
1060 sittings, 660 of which are free: the living is a
perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Madeley.
There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Roman
Catholics. The house of industry here was completed
in 1797, at an expense of £1086, of which £806 were
raised by subscription, and £235 by the sale of certain
property previously held in trust for the poor. The
union of Madeley comprises 12 parishes or places, containing a population of 26,253. In the different strata
of coal, iron-ore, and sandstone, which abound in the
neighbourhood, numerous petrifactions, with impressions of animal and vegetable substances, of various
kinds, have been found. The Rev. John William
Fletcher, a native of Switzerland, whose Checks to Antinomianism is a standard theological work, and whose
character is so deservedly admired, was appointed to the
vicarage of Madeley in 1760, and held it until his death
in 1785; he was interred in the churchyard.
Madingley (St. Mary)
MADINGLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union
of Chesterton, hundred of Northstow, county of
Cambridge, 3½ miles (W. N. W.) from Cambridge;
containing 282 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 9. 7., and in
the patronage of the Bishop of Ely, the appropriator:
the bishop's tithes have been commuted for £395, and
those of the vicar for £74. 1.; the former has 9, and
the latter nearly 10, acres of glebe.
Madley (St. Mary)
MADLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Dore, hundred of Webtree, county of Hereford, 7
miles (W. by S.) from Hereford; containing 932 inhabitants. The parish consists of 5037 acres of productive
land, and is intersected by the road from Hereford to
Hay. The living is a vicarage, with that of Tiberton
annexed, valued in the king's books at £16. 1. 8., and
in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Hereford:
the tithes of the two parishes have been commuted for
£1327, of which £750 are payable to the Dean and
Chapter; there are 3 acres of glebe. The church is a
large and handsome edifice, principally in the decorated
style, with an embattled tower. Here is a place of
worship for Baptists.
Madresfield
MADRESFIELD, a parish, in the union of Uptonupon-Severn, Lower division of the hundred of Pershore, Upton and W. divisions of the county of Worcester, 7 miles (S. S. W.) from Worcester; containing
180 inhabitants. This parish, which is partly bounded
on the east by the river Severn, comprises by admeasurement 1192 acres, whereof 356 are arable, 688 pasture, 98 woodland, and 9 in hop plantations. The surface is varied, and the soil is a rich deep loam, producing
abundant crops of wheat and beans, and apples and
pears in profusion. Madresfield Court, a fine old mansion approached by an avenue of trees of gigantic
growth, is the seat of Earl Beauchamp. The living is a
rectory, with the chapelry of Clevelode annexed, valued
in the king's books at £3. 13. 11½., and in the gift of
the Earl: the tithes have been commuted for £222, and
the glebe comprises 15 acres. The church, a stone
structure, exhibits some portions of ancient architecture,
and contains 200 sittings.
Madron (St. Madern)
MADRON (St. Madern), a parish, in the union of
Penzance, W. division of the hundred of Penwith
and of the county of Cornwall; containing, with the
market-town of Penzance, 11,144 inhabitants. The
parish is situated on the coast, and comprises by measurement 6000 acres, whereof 2440 are common or
waste; the surface is boldly undulated, and the higher
grounds command a delightful view of Mount's bay and
the adjacent country. The substratum is rich in mineral produce, but no mines are worked. Stone of suitable quality for the roads is quarried, and granite of a
superior kind is found in abundance; clay, also, of a
peculiar sort, is obtained for making bricks for smelting-houses and furnaces, being capable of enduring an
intense degree of heat. The living is a vicarage, with
that of Morvah annexed, valued in the king's books at
£21. 5. 10.; patron, the Rev. M. N. Peters; impropriators, the Rev. C. V. Le Grice, and D. P. Le Grice, Esq.
The great tithes have been commuted for £431. 10. 10.,
and the vicarial for £660; the vicarial glebe contains
half an acre. The church is partly in the decorated and
later English styles, with a square embattled tower. At
Penzance is a district church; also the chapel of St.
Paul; and the Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans
have places of worship. A school was founded by Mr.
George Daniel, and endowed with lands now let for
about £106 per annum. Here is a stone with an ancient
British inscription, stating it to be a sepulchral monument to Rialobran, son of Cunoval; the parish likewise
contains the once celebrated well of St. Madern.
Maer (St. Peter)
MAER (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Newcastle-under-Lyme, N. division of the hundred of
Pirehill and of the county of Stafford, 7 miles
(S. W.) from Newcastle; containing 559 inhabitants,
of whom 287 are in the township of Maer, and 272 in
the hamlet of Maerway-Lane. This place derives its
name from a natural lake or mere, which occupies about
22 acres, at the foot of the village, and is the source of
the Tern. The parish comprises by measurement 2614
acres. On the north side are several rocky hills, rising
abruptly to a considerable elevation, and rendered
highly picturesque by their summits being covered with
plantations. Maer heath, an extensive rugged moor
lying west of the village, was inclosed, and divided
among the freeholders, upwards of twenty years ago;
but a large portion of it is still in a state of nature, and
much of it is planted with trees. There are two sandstone-quarries, which are worked for rough building.
The Whitmore station on the Liverpool and Birmingham
railway is within half a mile. The living is a perpetual
curacy, in the gift of Josiah Wedgwood, Esq., who is also
impropriator: the great tithes have been commuted for
£45, and the small for £160; the glebe comprises about
an acre, with a house. The church, mostly rebuilt in
1610, is a neat structure in the later English style, with
an embattled tower; in the chancel is a handsome
monument to Sir John Bowyer, Knt., and his lady.
Maesbury
MAESBURY, a township, in the parish, hundred,
and union of Oswestry, N. division of the county of
Salop; containing 484 inhabitants.
Magdalene-Stocklinch, in the county of Somerset.—See Stocklinch, Magdalene.
MAGDALENE-STOCKLINCH, in the county of
Somerset.—See Stocklinch, Magdalene.
Maghull
MAGHULL, a chapelry, in the parish of Halsall,
union of Ormskirk, hundred of West Derby, S. division of Lancashire, 8 miles (N. by E.) from Liverpool,
on the road to Ormskirk; containing 1032 inhabitants.
The family of Maghull, which derived its name from
this place, were for many ages connected with it; the
Hulmes, originally of the Fylde, were afterwards proprietors. The chapelry comprises 2073 acres of good
land, chiefly arable; it stands elevated, is of level surface, and is separated from Sefton by the river Alt.
Here is a station on the Preston, Ormskirk, and Liverpool railway; and the Leeds and Liverpool canal passes
through. Maghull Hall, built in 1760, a large mansion
of brick, with bay-windows, is the seat of Gillibrand
Unsworth, Esq. Moss-Side House, with forty acres of
land, is the property of Thomas Harrison, Esq. Bank
House belongs to Mrs. Matthew Ford, and is the residence of her mother, Mrs. Massey; Woodland Mount
is the residence of Peter Bretherton, Esq., and Maghull
Cottage that of R. P. Collison, Esq. The chapel, which
contains a Norman arch, has been repaired and enlarged: the living is a perpetual curacy, with a net
income of £155, and a parsonage-house; patron, the
Vicar of Halsall, whose tithes here have been commuted
for £630. A school is endowed with £12 per annum;
the premises were rebuilt in 1839.
Magor (St. Mary)
MAGOR (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Newport, division of Christchurch, hundred of Caldicot, county of Monmouth, 8 miles (E. by S.) from
Newport; containing, with the chapelry of Redwick,
641 inhabitants, of whom 386 are in Magor township.
The parish is bounded on the south by the Bristol
Channel, and consists of about 1300 acres of land; the
soil is of a sandy and loamy quality, with a basis of
limestone. A fair for cattle, &c., is held on the 11th of
October. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued
in the king's books at £7. 1. 0½.; net income, £285;
patron and impropriator, the Duke of Beaufort. The
church, which exhibits combinations of the early, decorated, and later English styles, is a cruciform structure, with a tower rising from the intersection of the
transepts. Near it are the remains of a religious house.
There is a place of worship for Baptists.
Maidenhead
MAIDENHEAD, a market-town, partly in the parish of Bray, and partly in
that of Cookham, having
separate jurisdiction, though
locally in the hundred of
Bray and Cookham, union
of Cookham, county of
Berks, 13 miles (N. E. by
E.) from Reading, and 26
(W.) from London; containing 3315 inhabitants.
The ancient name of this
place was South Aylington or Elington, to distinguish
it from a manor called North Elington, now North Town.
The town consists principally of one street, which extends to the bottom of Folly Hill, and separates the two
parishes, the north side being in Cookham, and the
south in Bray; the street is lighted with gas and paved,
and is on the great thoroughfare from the metropolis to
Bath, Bristol, and the west of England. Tradition
states that at the house formerly known as the Greyhound inn, the unfortunate Charles I. had his last interview with his family. A bridge of timber was erected
over the Thames here previously to the year 1297, and
a tree was allowed annually out of Windsor Forest for
its repair. This bridge was succeeded in 1772 by the
present substantial edifice, consisting of seven semicircular arches of stone, with three smaller arches of brick
at each end, the whole built by the corporation from a
design of Sir Robert Taylor's, at an expense of about
£20,000; by an act of parliament the corporation were
authorised to transfer the tolls received from vessels
passing under the bridge, to the traffic on the road over
it. The adjacent country is in a high state of cultivation, and is richly adorned with woodland scenery,
interspersed with elegant villas; the banks of the river
are enlivened by the crowning heights of Taplow, and the
dark belting wood of Clifden, the respective seats of the
Earl of Orkney and Sir George Warrender, Bart., and
the latter celebrated by Pope.
Corporation Seal.
The trade is chiefly in malt, corn, meal, and timber,
which are conveyed to London. The Great Western
railway has a station here, and the line is carried across
the Thames by a handsome bridge of 10 brick arches,
of which the two principal, each spanning 128 feet, are
perhaps the widest, considering the smallness of the
elevation, of any brick arches ever built; the others,
which serve to lighten the abutments, are from 15 to 25
feet in span. The market, established by Henry VI., is
on Wednesday, and the trade in corn is of the best description. There are three fairs, each of which continues
for three days, commencing respectively on the Wednesday in Whitsun-week, for horses, horned-cattle, and pigs;
September 29th, for horses, cattle, and the hiring of servants; and November 30th, for horses and cattle.
The principal inhabitants of the town, with a priest
from the adjacent priory of Hurley as warden, were
constituted a guild or fraternity, so early as 1452, by
letters-patent of Henry VI., with permission to elect
brethren and sisters into it, and to use a common seal;
the chief object being to keep the bridge in repair and
uphold a chantry, for which purpose a toll was granted
on the river, and on all commodities sold in the market.
These privileges were suspended at the Reformation;
but in 1577 an inspeximus was issued, and it is a curious
fact that, in the reign of Elizabeth, new letters-patent
were bestowed upon the fraternity, confirming all former
liberties, with its ancient Roman Catholic rights. This
revival, however, continued only for four years, when
the guild was abolished, and a lay corporation substituted; for, in the 24th of Elizabeth, was conferred the
first charter of incorporation, which was renewed by
James I., and, with still further powers, by Charles II.
A charter subsequently granted by James II. was the
governing one previously to the passing of the act of
the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, by which the
corporation now consists of a mayor, four aldermen, and
twelve councillors; the total number of borough magistrates is seven. Petty-sessions for the division are
held here by the county justices, on the second and
fourth Monday in every month. The town-hall is a
commodious structure, under which the market is held;
there is a small gaol.
The chapel here, dedicated to St. Andrew and St. Mary
Magdalene, was built in 1826, by subscription, aided by
a grant of £500 from the Incorporated Society, nearly
on the site of a former edifice; it is a neat structure in
a chaste and simple style, from a design of the late Mr.
Busby's, and contains 400 free sittings. The living is a
perpetual curacy; net income, about £200; patron, S.
F. Maitland, Esq. The chapel first erected was commenced about 1269, by some of the inhabitants, on the
boundary line of the two parishes. A commodious
parsonage-house has been erected by the corporation.
There are places of worship for the Society of Friends,
the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Wesleyans,
and Independents. A national school is supported,
partly by £30 per annum from an estate given by Abraham Spoore. A school for girls was established and
endowed by Lady Pocock; and every two years a bounty
of £100, in sums of £10 each, is given to ten female
servants of good character who have lived in the same
family for a period of seven years. An almshouse for
eight men and their wives, founded in 1659 by James
Smyth, has an endowment of £48 per annum. Sir Isaac
and Lady Pocock bequeathed property for supplying
poor persons weekly with bread, and 100 families with
bread, meat, and coal, at Christmas; together with £50
in small sums to the aged and infirm, at the commencement of every year.
Maiden-Newton (St. Mary)
MAIDEN-NEWTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union of Dorchester, hundred of Tollerford, Dorchester division of Dorset, 8¼ miles (N. W.) from Dorchester; containing 729 inhabitants, and comprising by
measurement 2853 acres. The manufacture of twine
gives employment to about 70 persons. A market formerly held under charter of Henry III., has been long
discontinued; a fair for cattle is still held on the 22nd
of November, The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £30. 5., and in the gift of the Wyndham
family, and the Earl of Ilchester, alternately: the tithes
have been commuted for £496, and the glebe comprises
111 acres. The church is an ancient cruciform structure, in the Norman style, with a large embattled tower
rising from the intersection. Near it is the rectoryhouse, a spacious antique building, the windows of which
exhibit the arms of Wadham, Wyndham, &c., in stained
glass. There are places of worship for Independents.
At the southern extremity of the parish is a fine specimen of Roman tessellated pavement.
Maiden-Well
MAIDEN-WELL, a parish, in the union of Louth,
Wold division of the hundred of Louth-Eske, parts of
Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 5½ miles (S.) from Louth;
containing 59 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
vicarage, with the rectory of Farforth, united in 1753 to
the rectory of Ruckland; appropriators, the Dean and
Chapter of Lincoln.
Maidford (St. Peter and St. Paul)
MAIDFORD (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish,
in the union of Towcester, hundred of Green's-Norton, S. division of the county of Northampton, 6¾
miles (N. W. by W.) from Towcester; containing 339
inhabitants. The parish comprises 1051a. 2r. 16p., of
which 74 acres are woodland, and the remainder arable
and pasture in about equal portions. There are extensive quarries of limestone of excellent quality, which
supply the adjoining parishes with lime for manure; also
some veins of good freestone. The manufacture of silk
stockings is carried on to a moderate extent, and many
of the females are employed in making lace. The living
is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 8. 9.;
net income, £300; patron, W. Grant, Esq. The greater
portion of the tithes has been commuted for land, under
an act of inclosure; the glebe altogether comprises 172
acres, with a house. The church is an ancient structure, with a lofty well-built tower surmounted by a
pyramidal roof of tiles. There is a chalybeate spring,
formerly in high repute.
Maids'-Moreton.—See Moreton, Maids'.
MAIDS'-MORETON.—See Moreton, Maids'.
Maidstone (All Saints)
MAIDSTONE (All
Saints), a borough, markettown, and parish, having
separate jurisdiction, and the
head of a union, locally in
the hundred of Maidstone,
lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, of which it
is the county town, 8 miles
(S.) from Rochester, and 34½
(S. E. by E.) from London;
containing, with the hamlet of Loddington, 18,086
inhabitants, of whom 9206 are in East, and 8880 in
West, Maidstone. Some writers have thought this
to be the Caer Meguiad or Megwad enumerated by
Nennius among the principal cities in Britain. Camden
considers it to be the Vagniacæ mentioned in the second
Itinerary of Antoninus; but more modern authors are
doubtful as to the accuracy of this opinion, on a supposition that that celebrated antiquary confounded the
Watling-street with another Roman road passing by the
town to London, from the Portus Lemanis, the landing-place for the Romans after the Portus Rutupensis
and Dubris had fallen into disuse. All, however, allow
Maidstone to have been occupied by the Romans, and
that it was at an early period of considerable note;
and several Roman coins and urns have been found in
the neighbourhood. The Saxons named it Medwegestun,
a town on the Medwege or middle river, now Medway;
in Domesday book it is written Meddestane, and in records of the time of Edward I., Maydenestane, from
which the transition to its present appellation is easy.
Among the historical events that contribute to distinguish the place, may be mentioned the celebrated meeting
on Penenden Heath, about a mile north-eastward from
the town, for the purpose of adjusting the differences
that had arisen between Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Odo, Earl of Kent, brother of the Conqueror, in consequence of the appropriation by the earl
of various lands and privileges previously enjoyed by
the primate, and which this assembly decided should be
restored. During the reign of Mary, Maidstone was
deprived of its charter, in consequence of the firmness
the inhabitants evinced in support of the Protestant
cause by opposing the queen's marriage with Philip of
Spain; many of the townspeople were put to death, and
Sir Thomas Wyat, who had excited them to make a
stand in favour of their religious principles, was executed on Hay Hill, London, and his estates confiscated.
In 1648 the town was stormed by Fairfax, at the head
of 10,000 of the parliamentary forces, and taken after a
most obstinate resistance.
Seal and Arms.
The town, which is well paved, and lighted with gas,
consists chiefly of four large streets, and stands principally on the eastern bank of the river Medway, over
which is a bridge of five arches. The inhabitants are
plentifully supplied with water, conveyed from a reservoir at Rocky Hill, about half a mile distant, by means
of pipes laid across the bed of the Medway. Among the
improvements of late years, is the formation of a new line
of road from Trinity church, past the infirmary, into the
Queen Anne road, where are several good houses; also
the erection of some handsome houses, near the London
road, called Rocky-Hill Terrace; and of some respectable residences on the Bower-road. Pleasantly situated
on the bank of the river are the barracks, used as a depôt for the king's regiments of cavalry serving in the
East Indies and at the Cape of Good Hope, and for drilling recruits previous to embarkation. Opposite, on the
other side of the road, are the county ball-rooms, built
in 1819; and a theatre, a small neat building in the
High-street, is opened every third year for a limited
number of nights. The Medway being navigable up to
the town for large hoys, Maidstone enjoys the advantages of a cheap communication by water with the
metropolis. In 1843 an act was obtained to enable the
South-Eastern Railway Company to make a branch
railway to the town, which was completed and opened
in September following; the branch is ten miles in
length, and passes along a remarkably picturesque valley,
joining the main line at the Paddock-Wood station, 46
miles from the London terminus. Here are mills for
the finer sorts of paper: many of the inhabitants are
employed in the manufacture of blankets, thread, hopbagging, ropes, linseed-oil, and oil-cakes; and a considerable trade is carried on in corn, timber, grocery,
orchard-fruit, and hops, for the production of which two
last the soil in the neighbourhood is particularly favourable. The market for corn and hops is held on Thursday, in a magnificent room lately erected; and at the
back of the premises, that for provisions takes place on
Thursday and Saturday. The market for cattle is on
the second Tuesday in each month; and the fairs are on
February 13th, May 12th, June 20th, and October 17th,
for cattle and pedlery, and the last also for hops.
The town was incorporated in 1549, by Edward
VI., but it appears that the charter was not in force in
the 2nd year of the reign of Elizabeth, who bestowed a
new one, which was confirmed and extended by James I.
and George II. The charter of the last named monarch,
bearing date 17th of June, 1747, was that whereby the
town was governed until the passing of the Municipal
act. The government is now vested in a mayor, six
aldermen, and eighteen councillors; and the borough is
divided into four wards, called High-street, King-street,
Stone-street, and Westborough: the number of magistrates is eleven. The freedom is obtained by birth or
apprenticeship. Maidstone returns two members to
parliament; the parliamentary borough is co-extensive
with the parish, comprising an area of 4232 acres (of
which 170 are woodland), and the mayor is returning
officer. The corporation hold quarter-sessions for the
trial of persons charged with offences not capital; pettysessions take place twice a week; and the assizes for
the county, and the quarter-sessions for the western
division, are held here. The powers of the county debtcourt of Maidstone, established in 1847, extend over the
registration-districts of Hollingbourne and Maidstone,
and part of the district of Malling. The shire-hall, on
that part of Penenden Heath which is in the parish of
Boxley, is a neat edifice of stone, built in the year 1830:
the Heath is the place of election for the western division
of the county. The county gaol, situated at the north
end of the town, contains seventeen wards for males;
the house of correction for males has twelve wards: the
common gaol for females consists of four classes, and
the house of correction for females comprises three.
New courts, in which the assizes are held, have been
built adjoining the gaol. The entire structure occupies
fourteen acres of ground inclosed within walls, and is
built of Kentish ragstone.
The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of
the Archbishop of Canterbury, the appropriator; net
income, £720. The church, situated at the south-western end of the town, is the largest in the county: the
time when it was built, is not with certainty known.
Archbishop Courtenay obtained leave of Richard II. to
convert the parochial edifice into a collegiate one, for
the warden, chaplain, &c., of a college which he had
established here; and the church had formerly two
chantries, one founded in 1366, by Robert Vintner, of
the parish of Boxley, and the other about 1405, by
Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. On the
dissolution of the college, the church was again used
for its original purpose. The altar-piece, painted by
Mr. William Jefferys, a native of the town, justly excites
admiration. In the vestry-room is a parochial library,
considerably augmented in 1735 by a collection left by
Dr. Bray. The district church dedicated to the Holy
Trinity, containing 1200 free seats, and 800 other seats,
was built at an expense of about £13,000: the living is
a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Archbishop. Another district church, with a neat parsonage-house, in the
hamlet of Tovil, was erected on a site given by the Earl
of Romney, and consecrated by the archbishop in August, 1839; it is of Kentish ragstone: the living was
endowed by the Archbishop, and John Charlton, Esq.,
lord of the manor of Pimps-Court, who exercise the
patronage alternately. There are places of worship for
Wesleyans, Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Unitarians. The Free Grammar school was
founded in 1548, by the corporation, who purchased
the lands belonging to the fraternity of Corpus Christi
for the sum of £205, given by the crown for a school;
it has two scholarships in University College, Oxford,
of £15 per annum each, founded agreeably to the will,
dated December 15th, 1618, of the Rev. Robert Gunsley.
The Blue-coat school was founded in 1711, by the Rev.
Dr. Woodward, for girls; and Sir Charles Booth's school,
endowed by Sir Charles, in 1795, with the interest of
£2000 (now augmented to more than £3000), affords
instruction to boys. An excellent infirmary and dispensary was built in 1832, and there are several societies
for the relief of the indigent. The almshouses are, six
founded and endowed by Sir John Banks, Bart., a native
of the town, and one of its representatives in several
parliaments, who in 1697 bequeathed the yearly income
of £60; six by Edward Hunter, Esq., in 1748; four by
John Brenchley, Esq., in 1789; and three by Mrs. Duke,
for decayed gentlewomen of the Presbyterian denomination: in 1826 another house was added. The poor-law
union of Maidstone comprises 15 parishes or places,
containing a population of 32,310.
The palace here, which was the residence of the archbishops of Canterbury, was commenced in 1348, by
Archbishop Ufford, and finished by Simon Islip; it now
forms two dwelling-houses. An hospital for pilgrims,
or travellers, was founded in 1244, or, according to some,
in 1260, by Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, and dedicated to St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Thomas the Martyr: the chapel of the house, called St.
Peter's, was consecrated in 1839, and is now used for
the district of Westborough, the patronage belonging to
Mrs. T. T. Baker. The foundation was called the Hospital of the New Work of Prestes Helle, and a dwellinghouse erected on part of the site is still known by the
name of Newark. The college founded by Archbishop
Courtenay, which possessed various lands, was dissolved
about 1546, and is now a farmhouse. The house of the
fraternity of Corpus Christi, at present used as the grammar school, was founded by a few of the inhabitants;
the religious professed the rules of St. Benedict, and
their number was from 120 to 130. A small part of
St. Faith's Church, considered by some parochial, though
more probably a free chapel, is still remaining; it was
at successive periods used as a place of worship by the
Walloons who settled in the town in the reign of Elizabeth, and by English Presbyterians. In digging the
foundation for a soap-manufactory, near the ground on
which the chapel stood, several human skeletons were
found. The Rev. William Newton, who published the
History and Antiquities of Maidstone; and William Woollett, engraver to the king, to whose memory a monument
was erected in Westminster Abbey, were natives of the
town; and in the churchyard are deposited the remains
of William Shipley, Esq., founder of the Society of Arts.
Maidstone gives the inferior title of Viscount to the
Earl of Winchilsea.