Mettingham (All Saints)
METTINGHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Wangford, E. division of Suffolk, 2 miles (E.) from Bungay; containing 409 inhabitants. In the 17th of Edward III., Sir John de Norwich had a licence to make a castle of his house here,
in which he founded a chantry dedicated to God and the
Virgin Mary. He also established a college at Raveningham, in Norfolk, in 1343, for a master and eight chaplains, which, in the 11th of Richard II., was removed to
Norton-Subcourse, where the number of chaplains was
augmented to thirteen, and which was again removed,
in 1395, to the chapel of the Virgin in Mettingham
Castle: at the Dissolution, the revenue amounted to
£202. 7. 5. The parish is bounded on the north by the
river Waveney, and situated on the road from Bungay
to Beccles; it comprises 1401a. 1r. 4p. The living is a
discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£6. 17. 3½.; net income, £140; patron, the Rev. J. C.
Safford. The church is chiefly in the later English style,
with a circular tower; the font is curiously sculptured,
and the entrance on the north is by a richly-decorated
Norman doorway. About a mile southward of the
church stand the stately remains of the castle, which
appears to have been of great strength.
Metton (St. Andrew)
METTON (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of
Erpingham, hundred of North Erpingham, E. division of Norfolk, 3¼ miles (S. S. W.) from Cromer;
containing 71 inhabitants. It comprises 662 acres, the
property of W. H. Windham, Esq., of Felbrigg Hall,
who is lord of the manor; 440 acres are arable, and
190 meadow and pasture. The living is a discharged
rectory, united to the rectories of Felbrigg, Aylmerton,
and Runton, and valued in the king's books at £7: the
tithes have been commuted for £115, and there are 79
acres of glebe. The church is partly in the early English
style, with a square embattled tower; the nave is separated from the chancel by a carved screen.
Meux, or Meaux
MEUX, or Meaux, a township, in the parish of
Waghen, union of Beverley, Middle division of the
wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 5½
miles (E.) from Beverley; comprising 1390 acres, and
containing 95 inhabitants. A Cistercian abbey was
founded here in 1150, by William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle, and dedicated to the Virgin; it stood in the
vale of the Melsa, was adorned with stately pinnacles
and towers, and enriched with sculpture and tessellated pavements. The establishment consisted of fifty
monks, whose revenue, at the Dissolution, amounted to
£445. 10. 5. The only remains are an outer wall and
arched gateway, but many of its ornaments are in the
collections of antiquaries, and a fine tessellated pavement,
removed from the foundation of the abbey church in
1833, now fronts the mansion of Mr. Wise.
Mevagissey (St. Mevan and St. Issi)
MEVAGISSEY (St. Mevan and St. Issi), a parish,
in the union of St. Austell, E. division of the hundred
of Powder and of the county of Cornwall, 6 miles
(E. S. E.) from Grampound; containing 2310 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which is derived from
its patron saints, borders on a bay of the same name in
the English Channel, and comprises, according to measurement, 1222 acres. The population is chiefly employed in the pilchard-fishery, for which the place is
celebrated. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £6. 4. 2.; net income, £186; patron, the Rev.
F. Carlyon; impropriator, the Duke of Buckingham.
The vicarage is endowed with a portion of the great
tithes, and the glebe comprises 18 acres. The church,
a very ancient structure, had formerly a tower. There
are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and
Bryanites.
Mewan, St.
MEWAN, ST., a parish, in the union of St. Austell, E. division of the hundred of Powder and of the
county of Cornwall, 1 mile (W. by S.) from St. Austell; containing 1146 inhabitants. It comprises 2240
acres, whereof 640 are common or waste land. At
Polgooth, which is partly in the parish, is a celebrated
tin-mine. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £10, and in the gift of the family of Taylor:
the tithes have been commuted for £275, and the glebe
comprises 35 acres.
Mexborough
MEXBOROUGH, a parish, in the union of Doncaster, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth
and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (N. E. by
N.) from Rotherham; containing, with the township of
Dennaby, 1425 inhabitants, of whom 1258 are in the
township of Mexborough. This place, called by Matthew
of Westminster Maisebel, was the scene of a memorable
battle between the Saxons and the Britons under Aurelius Ambrosius, in which the latter were victorious. The
parish is situated on the north and south sides of the river
Don, and comprises, according to a recent survey, 2190a.
1r. 35p., of which 1169a. 1r. 2p. are in the township of
Mexborough; of these latter, 630 are arable, 275 pasture,
and 200 common. The soil is fertile, and there are two
quarries of durable stone, of good quality for building,
and also in some request for grindstones. The village
is near the junction of the river Don and the Dearne and
Dove canal; here are a glass-house, two potteries for
the manufacture of glass and earthenware, and a yard
for boat-building. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £120; patron, the Archdeacon of the West
riding. The tithes have been commuted for £600, and
the glebe comprises 39 acres. The church is an ancient
structure, with a tower surmounted by a spire, and
contains some remnants of stained glass; two galleries
and an organ have been lately erected, and the whole of
the interior has been repaired and restored. There are
places of worship for Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists,
and Kilhamites. The parish has several aggers, supposed
to have been raised by the Romans for strengthening
their works at Templeborough.
Michael, St., or Midshall
MICHAEL, ST., or Midshall, formerly a representative borough and a market-town, partly in the parish
of St. Enoder, and partly in that of Newlyn, union of
St. Columb Major, hundred of Pyder, W. division of
Cornwall, 36 miles (S. W. by W.) from Launceston;
containing 107 inhabitants. The ancient name of this
place was Modeshole, under which appellation John de
Arundell, in 1301, certified his right to a market and
fair here, which had been previously granted to Walter
de Raleigh. The village is inconsiderable, consisting
only of a few houses: a fair is held on October 25th,
chiefly for sheep, of which from 3000 to 4000 are generally offered for sale. The borough, which first sent
members to parliament in the reign of Edward VI., was
disfranchised by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap.
45: among its representatives, were Sir Walter Raleigh,
and Carew, the historian.
Michael, St.
MICHAEL, ST., a parish, partly in the borough of
St. Alban's, but chiefly in the hundred of Cashio, or
liberty of St. Alban's, union of St. Alban's, county of
Hertford, ¾ of a mile (W. by N.) from St. Alban's;
containing 1999 inhabitants, of whom 1140 are in the
borough. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in
the king's books at £10. 1. 3.; net income, £300;
patron and impropriator, the Earl of Verulam. The
church, though situated in the town of St. Alban's, and
within the walls of the ancient city of Verulam, is without the limits of the borough. It was erected by Ulsinus,
the sixth abbot, and has a square embattled tower; the
chancel is built principally of Roman tiles from the
ruins of Verulam, and attached to the south side of the
nave is a chapel.
Michael, St., Hants.—See Winchester.
MICHAEL, ST., Hants.—See Winchester.
Michael, St., Bedwardine
MICHAEL, ST., BEDWARDINE, a parish, in the
Lower division of the hundred of Oswaldslow, union
of Worcester, W. division of the county of Worcester; locally forming part of the city of Worcester, and
containing 476 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 1.; net
income, £90; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. Here is an endowed school.
Michael, St., Caerhays (St. Michael)
MICHAEL, ST., CAERHAYS (St. Michael), a
parish, in the union of St. Austell, E. division of the
hundred of Powder and of the county of Cornwall,
3¾ miles (S. E. by E.) from Tregoney; containing 208
inhabitants. The parish is situated on the shore of
the English Channel, by which it is bounded on the
south, and includes a small port called Luny Bay;
the area by computation is 815 acres, and the surrounding scenery is finely varied. The living is a rectory and
vicarage, with the livings of St. Dennis' and St. Stephen's
annexed, valued in the king's books at £27. 10. 7½., and
in the gift of Lady Grenville: the tithes of St. Michael's
have been commuted for £150, those of St. Dennis' for
£260, and those of St. Stephen's for £780; the glebe
of St. Michael's comprises 23 acres. In the church are
handsome monuments to the Trevanion family. There
are some remains of an ancient chapel in the parish.
Michael's, St., Mount
MICHAEL'S, ST., MOUNT, an extra-parochial
liberty, in the hundred of Penwith, W. division of
Cornwall, ¼ of a mile (S.) from Marazion; containing
163 inhabitants. This place obtained the name of Cara
Cowz in Clouze, in the Cornish language signifying "the
grey or hoary rock in the woods," from its supposed
situation, in the remoter ages of antiquity, in the centre
of a wood; and to this supposition the recent discovery
of a submarine forest extending for some miles around
the base of the mount lends weight. Its present appellation, which extends to the whole bay, is derived from
its patron saint, who, according to tradition, appeared
to some hermits living in devotional retirement in this
sequestered spot. The mount is thought to have been
the island Ictis, noticed by Diodorus Siculus as the place
to which the tin, when refined and cast into ingots by
the Britons, near the promontory of Belerium, was conveyed in carts over an isthmus dry only at low water. A
priory of Benedictine monks, afterwards exchanged for
Gilbertines, was founded here prior to the year 1044,
when Edward the Confessor granted to the community
the whole of the mount, with its buildings and appendages, among which there appears to have been a castle.
The priory, being a cell to the abbey of St. Michael, in
Normandy, was seized as an alien priory during the war
with France, in the reign of Henry V., and given first
to King's College, Cambridge, and subsequently to the
nunnery of Sion, in the county of Middlesex, with which
it remained till the Dissolution, when its revenue was
£110. 12. The place has at various times been the
scene of martial operations: during the civil war of the
17th century, it was fortified for the king, and the Duke
of Hamilton, who had been taken prisoner by the royalists, was confined here; but in 1646 it was surrendered
to the parliament. After the Restoration it became the
property of the St. Aubyns, its present proprietors.
This mount, which has more the character of a work
of art than of nature, is connected with the main land
by an isthmus 40 yards in width, formed of fragments
of rock and pebbles seemingly compacted by two currents of the sea sweeping round the base of the mount:
at high water it has the appearance of an island. Its
circumference is about one mile at the base, gradually
diminishing to the summit, which is 250 feet above the
level of the sea. The surface is exceedingly rugged,
consisting of large masses of granite overhanging the
base, and threatening to precipitate themselves into the
sea; the views are highly interesting, and the aspect of
the rock is bold and striking. On its summit stands
the castle, or fortified monastery, at present one of the
residences of the family of St. Aubyn. The refectory of
the monks is now the dining-room, and the chapel in
the centre of the castle has lately been repaired. At
the base of the rock is a wharf, near which is a small
village inhabited by fishermen: there is also a harbour
capable of affording shelter to about 40 vessels, with a
pier, which was rebuilt by Sir John St. Aubyn, in 1727;
and the rock is defended by three batteries mounting
18 guns. The business consists principally in the importation of timber from Norway, and coal; and in the
exportation of copper-ore, china-clay, and pilchards.
Among the minerals found are, mica, apatite, antimony,
lead, malachite, and the triple sulphuret of copper:
topazes have been discovered; and, at low water, on
the south side of the rock, wolfran also; and several
lodes of copper and tin have been observed.
Michael, St., On Wyre
MICHAEL, ST., ON WYRE, a parish, in the union
of Garstang, hundred of Amounderness, N. division
of Lancashire, 3¾ miles (S. W. by S.) from Garstang;
including the chapelry of Plumpton-Wood, and the
townships of Great Eccleston, Elswick, Inskip with
Sowerby, Out Rawcliffe, and Upper Rawcliffe with
Tarnacre; and containing 4786 inhabitants. This place
is manifestly of as high antiquity as the heptarchy, and
St. Michael's church is one of the three sacred edifices
erected in Amounderness soon after the introduction of
Christianity into the north of England, Preston and
Kirkham churches being the other two. Dr. Whitaker
supposes the parish of Garstang, from its contiguity, to
have been severed from St. Michael's at a later date;
but the Domesday survey does not favour that opinion,
for Michelescherche is therein returned as containing
only one carucate of land. The name of the parish is
derived from the church, and the distinctive term Wyre
is meant to distinguish it from the number of other
St. Michaels in various parts of the kingdom. Nothing
is known of the church from the time of the Domesday
survey until the reign of John, when that monarch
presented Master Macy; Henry, Earl of Lancaster, was
patron in 1345, and the benefice ceased to be a rectory
soon after the foundation of the college of Battlefield, in
1403. Since the dissolution of monastic establishments,
the advowson has passed into the hands of various persons, most of whom have been incumbents.
The northern and eastern boundaries of the parish
are formed by the parish of Garstang, the south boundary
by the parish of Preston, and the west by that of Kirkham. The length from Plumpton-Wood, on the southeast, to Out Rawcliffe, on the north-west, is eleven
miles; and the breadth, from Elswick, on the southwest, to Tarnacre, on the north-east, nearly four miles;
forming an area of 19,532 acres. The land is in nearly
equal portions of arable and pasture, with a small quantity of wood. The river Wyre, rising in the hills of
Wyresdale and Bleasdale, passes Garstang and Garstang
Church-Town, and arrives at St. Michael's, within artificial banks, which are in some parts thirty feet high,
and extend about six miles, four of which lie to the
west, and two to the east, of St. Michael's. A little to
the east of the village, the Wyre is increased by the
Brock rivulet, bringing with it the waters of the New
Draft, a rivulet formed by the Plumpton-Wood and
Barton brooks.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the
king's books at £10. 17. 6.; net income, £700, with a
house, and a glebe of 24 acres; patron and impropriator,
the Rev. Hugh Hornby. The vicarial tithes were commuted under a private act, 56th George III., cap. 11.
The church, supposed to be a re-erection of the age of
Henry VIII., is situated in the township of Upper Rawcliffe with Tarnacre, in which, also, is the village of St.
Michael's. The edifice consists of a tower, nave, aisles,
and chancel, and a chapel on the north side; the tower
is a low firm structure with castellated parapets, and,
like the greater part of the building, is cemented with
white plaster. The roof is of blue slate, with excellent
pointing; and this, and the white walls, give the church
an air of neatness. At Great Eccleston, Inskip, OutRawcliffe, and Plumpton-Wood, are other churches.
There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents,
Wesleyans, and Roman Catholics; and various daily
and Sunday schools. A large part of the moss of Pilling
is in the parish, and beneath it are discovered great
quantities of trees.
Michael, St., Penkevil
MICHAEL, ST., PENKEVIL, a parish, in the union
of Truro, W. division of the hundred of Powder and
of the county of Cornwall, 5 miles (W. S. W.) from
Tregoney; containing 175 inhabitants. The living is a
rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 14. 2.; net income, £156; patron, the Earl of Falmouth. The
church, an ancient edifice, contains a handsome monument by Rysbrach to the memory of Admiral Boscawen,
the distinguished naval commander, who died in 1761.
Michael-Church
MICHAEL-CHURCH, an ancient parish, in the
union of Ross, Lower division of the hundred of Wormelow, county of Hereford, 7 miles (W. N. W.) from
Ross. The living is a rectory, united to that of Tretire:
the tithes have been commuted for £22.
Michael-Church, St.
MICHAEL-CHURCH, ST., a parish, in the union
of Bridgwater, hundred of North-Petherton, W.
division of Somerset, 5¼ miles (S.) from Bridgwater;
containing 29 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £80; patron, Sir P. Acland, Bart.;
impropriator and incumbent, the Rev. J. A. Templer.
Michael-Church-Eskley (St. Michael)
MICHAEL-CHURCH-ESKLEY (St. Michael), a
parish, in the union of Dore, hundred of Ewyaslacy,
county of Hereford, 16 miles (W. S. W.) from Hereford; containing 404 inhabitants. The river Eskley
runs through the parish. The surface is hilly, and ornamented with wood in various parts; the Black mountains are seen at the distance of about three miles, forming a bold back-ground in the landscape. The number
of acres is 3840; the land consists of arable and pasture,
in general of inferior quality, the soil being partly a red
clayey earth, and partly a stony loam. Stone of a lightgreen colour is quarried, supplying flagstones of a
superior kind. A few of the inhabitants are employed
in making woollen goods. The living is a perpetual
curacy, annexed to that of St. Margaret's; impropriators, the Cornwall family.
Michaelstone-Le-Vedw (St. Michael)
MICHAELSTONE-LE-VEDW (St. Michael), a
parish, in the union and division of Newport, partly in
the hundred of Wentlloog, county of Monmouth, and
partly in the hundred of Caerphilly, county of Glamorgan, 5¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Newport; containing
541 inhabitants, of whom 204 are in the English part.
The parish comprises 3556 acres, of which 1014 are
arable, 2124 pasture, and 400 woodland. The living is
a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 3½.; net
income, £400; patron, C. Kemeys Tynte, Esq.
Michaelstow (St. Michael)
MICHAELSTOW (St. Michael), a parish, in the
union of Camelford, hundred of Lesnewth, E. division of Cornwall, 3¼ miles (S. W. by S.) from Camelford; containing 225 inhabitants. It is intersected in
the north-eastern part by the river Camel, and comprises by measurement 1613 acres, of which 793 are
arable, 250 meadow and pasture, and 30 woodland and
plantations; the soil is light but very fertile, and the
surface is generally undulated. The road from Camelford to Bodmin passes through the parish. The living
is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at
£10. 13. 9., and in the patronage of the Crown, in right
of the duchy of Cornwall; net income, £270. At Helsbury are the mount and other earthworks of an ancient
castle called the Beacon.
Mickfield (St. Andrew)
MICKFIELD (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Bosmere and Claydon, E. division of
Suffolk, 1 mile (E.) from Stonham; containing 263
inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1300 acres,
of which about three-fourths are arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture: the soil is a strong fertile
loam on blue and white clay; the surface is elevated,
but level. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £9. 11. 0½.; patron and incumbent, the Rev.
Maltyward Simpson: the tithes have been commuted
for £390, and the glebe comprises 25 acres. The church
is a handsome structure in the decorated English style,
with a tower on the south side.
Micklefield
MICKLEFIELD, a chapelry, in the parish of Sherburn, Upper division of the wapentake of BarkstoneAsh, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (N. N. W.) from
Ferry-Bridge; containing 474 inhabitants. The chapelry
comprises 1755 acres, of which 25 are common or waste
land; it abounds in limestone, under which are strata of
sand and grit stone. A pit was sunk in 1835, to a bed
of coal four feet in thickness. The village is on the
great north road, about 2½ miles westward of Sherburn;
and a station on the line of the Leeds and Selby railway
is situated here, close to the road to Wetherby. The
tithes have been commuted for £76, of which £6 are
payable to the vicar. The chapel was built in the year
1700. There is a place of worship for a congregation
of Wesleyans.
Mickleham, or Littleborough (St. Michael)
MICKLEHAM, or Littleborough (St. Michael),
a parish, in the union of Dorking, Second division of
the hundred of Copthorne and Effingham, W. division of Surrey, 2 miles (S. by E.) from Leatherhead;
containing 787 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2849
acres, of which 175 are common or waste land: it includes the beautiful demesne of Norbury. The village
is pleasantly situated in a valley, on the road from
London to Dorking, and consists principally of one
street of respectable and well-built houses, sheltered by
surrounding eminences, among which, Box Hill, so called
from the box-trees planted on its southern declivity by
the Earl of Arundel in the reign of Charles I., is remarkable for the beauty of its views. The river Mole runs
through the parish, and is crossed by Burford bridge.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£13, and in the gift of Sir G. Talbot, Bart.: the tithes
have been commuted for £425, and the glebe comprises
35 acres. The church was partly rebuilt, and restored
in an elegant manner, in 1823, at a cost of £2254, the
interior now forming a faithful and curious specimen of
early Norman architecture; the chancel was fitted up
with stalls, at an expense of £500, by the Rev. A. Burmester. The Roman Stane-street from Sussex passed
over Mickleham Downs; and there are remains of an
ancient chapel at a place called Chapel Farm. Madame
D'Arblay resided in the parish.
Micklehurst
MICKLEHURST, a hamlet, in the township of
Tintwistle, parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale,
union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester. It consists of a large tract of moorland, purchased in 1845
from John Tollemache, Esq., by the Earl of Stamford
and Warrington.