Moreby, with Stillingfleet
MOREBY, with Stillingfleet, a township, in the
parish of Stillingfleet, wapentake of Ouse and Derwent, union, and E. riding, of York, 5¾ miles (S.) from
York; containing 418 inhabitants, of whom 56 are in
the hamlet of Moreby. The township comprises by
computation 2214 acres, of which about 200 are woodland. Moreby Hall, a magnificent mansion in the
Elizabethan style, is seated in a fine lawn on the east
bank of the Ouse, and surrounded with trees of gigantic
growth; it was commenced in 1827 by Henry Preston,
Esq., the present owner of the estate, and is of white
freestone from the quarries at Park Springs, near Leeds.
The tithes have been commuted for £80 payable to the
Dean and Chapter of York, and £48 to the vicar of the
parish.
Moredon
MOREDON, a tything, in the parish of RodborneCheney, union of Highworth and Swindon, hundred
of Highworth, Cricklade, and Staple, Swindon and
N. divisions of Wilts; containing 239 inhabitants.
Moreleigh, or Morley (All Saints)
MORELEIGH, or Morley (All Saints), a parish,
in the union of Totnes, hundred of Stanborough,
Stanborough and Coleridge, and S. divisions of Devon,
5½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Totnes; containing 202
inhabitants. It comprises 1392 acres, of which 300
are common or waste. A weekly market and an annual
fair were formerly held here. The living is a discharged
rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 8. 1.; net
income, £145: patron, Sir H. P. Seale. Within the
parish is Stanborough, the site of an ancient fort from
which the hundred is named. The parish gives the
title of Earl to the family of Parker.
Moresby (St. Bridget)
Moresby (St. Bridget), a parish, in the union
of Whitehaven, Allerdale ward about Derwent, W.
division of Cumberland; containing, with the township of Parton, 1175 inhabitants, of whom 93 are in the
township of Moresby, 2 miles (N. by E.) from Whitehaven. It is evident this was the site of a Roman
station, from the numerous foundations of buildings,
the caverns, and Roman inscriptions, which have been
discovered. Horsley thinks that it was Arbeia, where,
according to the Notitia, the Numerus Barcariorum Tigritensium was in garrison. The parish is bounded on the
west by the Irish Sea. There is an iron-foundry. The
living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books
at £6. 2. 3½.; net income, £105; patron, the Earl of
Lonsdale. The church has been rebuilt. A school was
endowed by Joseph Williamson, Esq., with lands now
producing about £42 per annum.
Morestead
MORESTEAD, a parish, in the union of Winchester, hundred of Fawley, Winchester and N. divisions
of the county of Southampton, 3¼ miles (S. E. by S.)
from Winchester, on the road to Bishop's-Waltham;
containing 86 inhabitants. It comprises 1318 acres,
of which 90 are common or waste. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6, and
in the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester: the tithes
have been commuted for £157; there is half an acre
of glebe.
Moreton
MORETON, a liberty, in the parish of Dinton,
union of Aylesbury, hundred of Desborough, county
of Buckingham, 4 miles (S. W. by S.) from the town of
Aylesbury; containing 14 inhabitants. It is situated
upon a small tributary of the river Thame.
Moreton, with Alcumlow
MORETON, with Alcumlow, a township, in the
parish of Astbury, union of Congleton, hundred of
Northwich, S. division of Cheshire, 3 miles (S. W.
by S.) from Congleton; containing 148 inhabitants. It
comprises 791 acres, the soil of which is partly clay
and partly sand. The tithes have been commuted for
£123. 10.
Moreton, With Lingham
MORETON, with Lingham, a township, in the parish of Bidstone, union, and Lower division of the
hundred, of Wirrall, S. division of the county of Chester, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Birkenhead; containing
330 inhabitants. It comprises 1169 acres, of a clayey
soil, and is situated in a dreary flat, close to the shore
of the sea; most of it is below high-water mark, and
the sea is kept out by embankments, at the expense of
the corporation of Liverpool and the landowners conjointly. Robert Vyner, Esq., is proprietor of the whole
township, with the exception of about 300 acres belonging to John Ralph Shaw, Esq., of Arrowe Hall.
Moreton (St. Magnus the Martyr)
MORETON (St. Magnus the Martyr), a parish,
in the union of Wareham and Purbeck, hundred of
Winfrith, Wareham division of Dorset, 8 miles
(E. by S.) from Dorchester; containing 294 inhabitants.
It comprises 2311 acres, of which 801 are common or
waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £9. 19. 2., and in the gift of James Frampton,
Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £262, and the
glebe comprises 38 acres. The church was rebuilt by
James Frampton, Esq., in 1776.
Moreton (St. Mary)
MORETON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and
hundred of Ongar, S. division of Essex, 3 miles (N.
by W.) from Ongar; containing 513 inhabitants. The
parish is separated from the parishes of Great and Little
Laver by a brook which flows into the river Roden at
Ongar, and over which a bridge of brick was built by
subscription in 1762. The situation is elevated, in
many parts commanding extensive and richly-varied
prospects. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £20, and in the gift of St. John's College,
Cambridge: the tithes have been commuted for £375, and
the glebe comprises 68 acres. The church is a small
neat edifice, with a tower of brick surmounted by a
shingled spire. The eminent Edmund Calamy, afterwards a nonconformist, was rector here.
Moreton
MORETON, a chapelry, in the parish, union, and
Lower division of the hundred, of Thornbury, W.
division of the county of Gloucester, 2 miles (N. by
E.) from Thornbury; containing 577 inhabitants. It is
situated near the road to Berkeley.
Moreton
MORETON, a chapelry, in the parish of Llanyblodwell, hundred of Oswestry, N. division of Salop,
3¼ miles (S.) from Oswestry. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £669; patron, the Bishop of St.
Asaph. The impropriate tithes have been commuted
for £190, and £21 are paid to the vicar of Oswestry.
The chapel is dedicated to St. Michael, and is supposed
to have been erected by an ancestor of the Earl of Bradford's. Here is a mineral spring.
Moreton
MORETON, a township, in the parish of Colwich,
S. division of the hundred of Pirehill, union, and N.
division of the county, of Stafford, 4 miles (N. W. by
N.) from Rugeley; containing 42 inhabitants. It contains a few scattered houses, and lies about a mile north
of the village of Colwich. Moreton House is a modern
brick mansion, on a lofty eminence.
Moreton
MORETON, a township, in the parish of Gnosall,
union of Newport, W. division of the hundred of
Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford,
4 miles (E. S. E.) from Newport. It lies on the road
from Shiffnall to Stafford, and comprises 3478 acres, of
which the soil is various, a good deal of it being sandy;
the scenery is prettily diversified with hills and woodlands, and the views are extensive: there are quarries
of stone for building. In the township are the hamlets
of Coley, Bromstead, Wilbrighton, Outwoods, and Chatwell, extending between two and four miles south-west
of Gnosall, and bordering upon Shropshire: Chatwell,
the most distant hamlet, is said to have its name from
St. Chad's Well, formerly in some repute. A church,
now a district church, dedicated to St. Mary, and in
the Norman style, was erected under the auspices of
the late Bishop Ryder, in 1835, by means of subscription: a parsonage-house, of stone, was built by the late
Bishop Butler. The living is in the gift of the Bishop
of Lichfield. Vaults have been discovered near a farmyard here, which strengthen a traditionary notion that
a church anciently existed. A meeting-house for Congregational Dissenters was built by the Rev. George
Burder, author of The Village Sermons. The Ducie
family were formerly seated here, and a member of it,
Matthew Ducie Moreton, was created Lord Ducie,
Baron of Moreton, in 1720; on the death of his successor, without issue, that title became extinct.
Moreton
MORETON, a hamlet, in the parish of Hanbury,
union of Burton-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 1 mile
(N. W.) from Draycott; containing 34 inhabitants.
Moreton-Corbet (St. Bartholomew)
MORETON-CORBET (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the union of Wem, Whitchurch division of the
hundred of North Bradford, N. division of Salop,
5¼ miles (S. E.) from Wem; containing 226 inhabitants.
This parish, which is on the road from Wellington to
Drayton, comprises about 2000 acres; the soil is light
and sandy, and a stiff clay, in nearly equal portions.
The surface is generally flat, but intersected by a ridge
of elevated land, and is watered by the small river
Roden, which in its course through the parish turns
several mills. The living is a discharged rectory, valued
in the king's books at £5. 3. 6., and in the gift of Sir
A. Corbet, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for
£330, and the glebe comprises 39 acres. The church
is a neat structure, containing some fine monuments of
the Corbet family, whose magnificent mansion here,
built in the time of Elizabeth, was burned in the civil
war, by a detachment from Cromwell's army stationed
at Wem.
Moreton-Hampstead (St. Andrew)
MORETON-HAMPSTEAD (St. Andrew), a market-town and parish, in the union of Newton-Abbott,
hundred of Teignbridge, Crockernwell and S. divisions
of Devon, 11 miles (W. S. W.) from Exeter, and 184
(W. S. W.) from London; containing 2037 inhabitants.
The town is romantically situated on the verge of Dartmoor Forest, and occupies a gentle eminence environed
by lofty hills; it consists of several streets. The houses
in general are ancient, and built in the cottage style,
with thatched roofs. Fifty houses were consumed by
fire in 1845. The appearance of the surrounding district is somewhat peculiar, the surface being strewn with
fragments of rock, while the barren heights of Dartmoor on the west are strikingly contrasted with the
cultivated slopes of land more immediately adjacent to
the town. The parish comprises 6512 acres, of which
1766 are common or waste. The woollen-trade was
formerly extensive, but only a few blankets and stockings are now made: there are some tanyards, and a
rope-manufactory, and in the vicinity are quarries of
excellent granite. A market is held on Saturday; and
there are great cattle-markets, on Whitsun-eve and the
first Saturday in October. Fairs take place on the third
Thursday in July and the last Thursday in November,
principally for cattle. A new market-house and shambles were built, at the expense of the Earl of Devon, in
1827. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £49. 19. 7.; net income, £401; patron, the
Earl. The church occupies the summit of the elevation
on which the town is situated, and is an ancient edifice
consisting of a nave, aisles, transeptal porch, and chancel, the last being separated from the body by a carved
wooden screen. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians; and a free school
with a small endowment. Some Druidical remains and
Roman antiquities have been found in the immediate
vicinity of the town.
Moreton-In-The-Marsh (St. David)
MORETON-IN-THE-MARSH (St. David), a market-town and parish, in the union of Shipston-uponStour, Upper division of the hundred of Westminster,
E. division of the county of Gloucester, 28½ miles
(E. N. E.) from Gloucester, and 83 (W. N. W.) from
London; containing 1345 inhabitants. The town is
situated in a pleasant valley, and on the road from
London to Worcester, which is here crossed by the
Roman Fosse-way: the manufacture of linen-cloth furnishes employment to about fifty persons. A railway
passes hence to Stratford-upon-Avon, chiefly used for
the conveyance of coal. In the reign of Henry III.,
the abbot of Westminster, lord of the manor, procured
a charter for a market, which, though on the decline, is
still held on Tuesday; and there are small fairs on
March 25th and November 1st. The living is annexed
to the rectory of Burton-on-the-Hill: the tithes were
commuted for land and corn-rents in 1821. There is a
place of worship for Independents. A national school
was endowed in 1813, with £4000, by Lord Redesdale
and Dr. Winford; the income is about £140 per annum.
On a heath here is a modern pillar, marking the point
where the counties of Oxford, Gloucester, and Warwick,
and a detached portion of the county of Worcester,
unite, and near which a memorable battle was fought
between the English and the Danes.
Moreton-Jeffries.—See Morton-Jeffries.
MORETON-JEFFRIES.—See Morton-Jeffries.
Moreton, Maids' (St. Edmund)
MORETON, MAIDS' (St. Edmund), a parish, in
the union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 1¼
mile (N. E.) from Buckingham; containing 570 inhabitants. It comprises 1260 acres, of which 590 are
arable, 650 pasture, and about 20 woodland; the soil is
clay, alternated with gravel. The river Ouse, and a
branch of the Grand Junction canal, pass through the
parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's
books at £18 2. 11.; net income, £294; patron, the
Rev. J. L. Long. The church, built in 1450 by two
maiden sisters, daughters of the last male heir of the
family of Peyvre, is a handsome structure in the later
English style, containing some stalls highly enriched;
the porch and belfry have groined roofs. Dr. George
Bate, chief physician to Charles II., was born here.
Moreton, North (All Saints)
MORETON, NORTH (All Saints), a parish, in the
union and parliamentary borough of Wallingford,
hundred of Moreton, county of Berks, 4¼ miles (W.)
from Wallingford; containing 397 inhabitants. It comprises 1037 acres, of which 730 are arable, 257 pasture,
and about 50 orchard and garden. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 17. 8.;
net income, £83; patron, the Archdeacon of Berks;
impropriator, J. T. Wasey, Esq. In the south aisle of
the church, called Stapleton's chantry chapel, founded
before 1467, are two old tombs of ecclesiastics, with
processional crosses; also two ancient mutilated tombs,
with Saxon inscriptions.
Moreton Sea or Say (St. Margaret)
MORETON SEA or SAY (St. Margaret), a parish,
in the union of Drayton, Drayton division of the hundred of North Bradford, N. division of Salop, 3¼
miles (W.) from Drayton; containing 770 inhabitants,
of whom 262 are in the township. The parish comprises 4804a. 1r. 30p. The living is a perpetual curacy,
in the gift of the Rector of Hodnet: the appropriate
tithes have been commuted for £550, and the incumbent's for £89. 13.; the glebe comprises 48 acres. The
church contains a monument to a member of the Vernon family, whose ancient mansion in the parish is now
a farmhouse; the first lord Clive was interred here.
Moreton, South (St. John)
MORETON, SOUTH (St. John), a parish, in the
union and parliamentary borough of Wallingford,
hundred of Moreton, county of Berks, 3 miles (W.
S. W.) from Wallingford; containing 417 inhabitants.
It comprises 1419a. 1r. 22p., of which 878 acres are
arable, 370 pasture and meadow, and about 30 woodland; the surface is generally level, and the meadows
are watered by a small stream which falls into the
Thames at Wallingford. The Great Western railway
intersects the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £12. 15. 5., in the patronage of the
University of Oxford, in trust for the Principal and
Fellows of Magdalen Hall; net income, £199. The
tithes were commuted for land and money payments in
1818.
Moreton-Valence (St. Stephen)
MORETON-VALENCE (St. Stephen), a parish,
in the union of Wheatenhurst, Upper division of the
hundred of Whitstone, E. division of the county of
Gloucester, 7¾ miles (N. W. by W.) from Stroud; containing 344 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises
about 1000 acres, is bounded on the north-west by the
river Severn, and the Gloucester and Berkeley canal
passes through it. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £90; patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and
Bristol. The impropriate tithes have been commuted
for £355, and the glebe comprises 40 acres. The church
is a neat ancient structure.
Morland (St. Lawrence)
MORLAND (St. Lawrence), a parish, in West
ward and union, county of Westmorland; comprising the chapelry of Bolton, and the townships of King'sMeaburn, Morland, Newby, Sleagill, Great and Little
Strickland, and Thrimby; and containing 1923 inhabitants, of whom 426 are in the township of Morland,
7 miles (S. E.) from Penrith. The parish comprises by
computation 28,000 acres, of which about 500 are woodland, 500 common, and the remainder arable and pasture; the soil is chiefly a red loam, in some parts resting
on clay, and in others on limestone. The surface is
gently undulated; the river Eden bounds the parish on
the east for some miles, and the low grounds are watered
by the river Lyvennet and two small streams. Limestone and freestone of good quality are quarried extensively, and an inferior kind of coal is obtained. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £11. 18.; income, £200; patrons and appropriators,
the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. The tithes were
chiefly commuted for land in 1779. The church is a
large edifice, originally of Norman architecture of the
period of Henry II.; the old cross aisles remain, but
the chancel was rebuilt about two centuries since in a
more modern style, and the body of the church 80 years
ago. The townships of Bolton and Thrimby have each
a chapel; and there are places of worship for Wesleyans
and the Society of Friends. A free school has been endowed by the Dean and Chapter with about 30 acres of
common. At Chapelgarth formerly stood a chapel, dedicated to St. Mary; and within the parish are the
remains of a monastic building, and several old halls
now converted into farmhouses.