Morley (St. Matthew)

MORLEY (St. Matthew), a parish, in the union of Belper, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby; containing, with Smalley chapelry, 1128 inhabitants, of whom 302 are in the township of Morley, 4½ miles (N. E.) from Derby. In Domesday survey this place is described as one of the manors of Henry de Ferrers. In 1235 the manors of Morley and Smalley were held by the abbot of Chester as of the fee of Hugh, Earl of Chester; and Morley was afterwards held by a family who took their name from the place. Their heiress brought it to Ralph Statham, who died in 1380; and an heiress of that family brought it to John Sacheverell, who was slain at the battle of Bosworth, in 1485: the last male heir of the Sacheverells died in 1714. The parish comprises 3381a. 2r. 37p., of which 1811 acres are in the township of Morley, and are partly of a clayey and partly of a sandy soil. Stone of good quality for building is quarried extensively, and a fine gritstone is found in one of the quarries, of which scythe-stones are made. The British road called the Rykneld-street, which the Romans repaired for their own use, passed through the township, and is easily traceable in many spots.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; net income, £822; patrons, alternately, certain Trustees, and E. D. Sitwell, Esq. The tithes have been commuted for £320. 14. 4., and there are 111 acres of glebe in Morley township. The church is a large structure, built at different periods between the 12th and 15th centuries; the nave is a good specimen of Norman architecture, and the spire, which is lofty, was built by Goditha, the widow of Ralph Statham, and her son Richard Statham, in 1403. There are several interesting brasses of the Stathams and Sacheverells, and some monuments of more recent date of the latter family. The stained glass which adorned the cloisters of Dale Abbey, and after the Dissolution was transferred to this church (being presented by Francis Pole, Esq.), has been recently restored by the skill of Mr. Warrington. The principal subjects are, a legendary history of Dale Abbey, a history of the Holy Cross, and fulllength figures of St. Mary the Virgin, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Ursula, St. Elizabeth, the Four Evangelists, St. Peter, St. James, St. Robert of Dale, St. John of Bridlington, and William, Archbishop of York. Previously to their restoration, the figures were much mutilated, and many portions were misplaced; they now form perfect pictures, and the ancient glass has been so successfully imitated that the new parts can scarcely be distinguished from the old. The windows of the church are now highly interesting to the antiquary, and do great credit to the labour of Mr. Warrington and the liberality of Mr. Osborne Bateman, by the latter of whom the entire expense has been defrayed. At Smalley is a chapel of ease. A national school is supported by a small endowment, and by subscription. Almshouses for six men were founded in 1656, by Jacinth Sacheverell. There is a tumulus, apparently of Roman origin.

Morley (St. Botolph)

MORLEY (St. Botolph), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Forehoe, E. division of Norfolk, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Wymondham; containing 328 inhabitants. The parishes of Morley St. Botolph and Morley St. Peter comprise 1860a. 3r. 5p., of which 1409 acres are arable, and 397 pasture and meadow, and 30 woodland. The living is a rectory, with the living of St. Peter's annexed, valued in the king's books at £14. 11. 5½.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. C. B. Cooper: the tithes have been commuted for £580, and the glebe comprises 44 acres, with a handsome house, nearly rebuilt by the present incumbent. The church is in the early and later English styles with a square embattled tower.

Morley (St. Peter)

MORLEY (St. Peter), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Forehoe, E. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Wymondham; containing 191 inhabitants. The living is annexed to the rectory of Morley St. Botolph. The church is a small ancient structure, with a low tower, and contains a neat monument to the Sedleys, who resided here.

Morley

MORLEY, a township and ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Batley, union of Dewsbury, Lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 4½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Leeds; the township containing 4087 inhabitants. This place was anciently the head of the wapentake to which it gives name, and one of the principal towns in the county; but on the invasion of England by the Scots in the reign of Edward II., it suffered such devastation from the forces of the invaders, who took up their winter quarters here, that it was reduced to a mere village. In the war during the reign of Charles I., Howley Hall, here, for eighteen generations the seat of the Saville family, was garrisoned for the parliament; and the church of the ancient parish of Morley was let on lease by Saville, Earl of Sussex, to the Presbyterian party for 500 years: the building is still in possession of trustees as an Independent meetinghouse, forming a solitary exception to the general restitution which took place at the Restoration. The township comprises by measurement 2643 acres of land, chiefly the property of the Earl of Dartmouth: the soil is generally fertile, and the scenery pleasingly picturesque; the substratum abounds with coal and freestone of excellent quality. Howley Hall was demolished in 1730, by order of the Earl of Cardigan, and the park, comprising nearly 1000 acres, has been brought into cultivation; some ruins only of the mansion remain, which, from their elevated site, form a conspicuous feature in the landscape. The village, which is large and irregularly built, occupies the base and acclivities of an eminence rising from a deep valley; the inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of woollen-cloths. The present church, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected in 1830, at an expense of £2593, partly by grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners, and partly by subscription, towards which the Earl of Dartmouth contributed £200, together with the site, an acre of ground for a parsonage-house, the sites for two schools, and all the stone for the respective buildings. The edifice is handsome, in the early English style, with a tower surmounted by a well-proportioned spire, and contains 1000 sittings, of which 500 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Batley, with a net income of £150. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists, and a second meeting-house for Independents. On the east side of the ruins of Howley Hall is Lady Anne's Well, which is much resorted to on Palm-Sunday.

Morningthorpe (St. John the Baptist)

MORNINGTHORPE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union and hundred of Depwade, E. division of Norfolk, 1 mile (E.) from Long Stratton; containing 192 inhabitants. It lies a little to the east of the road between Norwich and Ipswich, and comprises an area of 1001a. 13p., of which 970 acres are land in good cultivation, with a moderate portion of wood, and the remainder common and roads. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £300, and the glebe comprises 8 acres, with a house. The church is a handsome structure, in the later English style, with some earlier details: the chancel has been beautified, and the altar enriched with carved oak; the font is elaborately sculptured. The Rev. Thomas Howes, a learned divine, and author of Critical Observations on Books, Ancient and Modern, was rector of Morningthorpe.

Morpeth (St. Mary)

MORPETH (St. Mary), a parish, a borough, and the head of a union, partly in the E. and partly in the W. division of Castle ward, S. division, and partly in the W. division of Morpeth ward, N. division, of Northumberland; containing 4415 inhabitants, of whom 3441 are in the town, 15 miles (N.) from Newcastleupon-Tyne, and 289 (N.) from London. This town is supposed to derive its name from Mor-path, or "the road past the small hills, or Mors," so called in the north. The first certain account preserved of it, is in the grant by the Conqueror of the manor to one of his followers, William de Merlay, whose son Ranulph added largely to his paternal estates by his marriage with Julian, daughter of Cospatrick, Earl of Dunbar; ultimately the family became one of the most powerful in the north of England, and were owners of about a fourth of the county of Northumberland. In 1266, their possessions were vested in two coheiresses, Mary and Isabel, to the elder of whom, wife of William, Baron of Greystock, the manor of Morpeth was allotted. In 1483, it came to Elizabeth, Baroness Greystock and Wemm, who intermarried with Thomas, Lord Dacre, of Gilsland, distinguished as Lord Dacre of the North, from whom it passed to his son and grandson; and the latter dying in 1566, it once more became vested in two coheiresses. These were, Anne, who married Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, and Elizabeth, who married Lord William Howard, third son of the Duke of Norfolk; the manor fell to the share of the latter nobleman, and is now the property of his lineal descendant, the present Earl of Carlisle. In 1215, the town was set on fire by the barons, in order to obstruct the military operations of King John; in 1689 it was nearly destroyed by an accidental conflagration.

Arms.

Morpeth is agreeably situated in a valley on the northern bank of the river Wansbeck, on the great road from London to Edinburgh; it is in a richly-cultivated district, and in the midst of beautiful and romantic scenery. The river is crossed at the east end of the town by an elegant bridge of three arches, from a design by Mr. Telford, erected in 1831 a little below the old bridge, which was an inconvenient structure of two arches, one of them built about the time of the Conquest, the other at a later period, both being improvements upon the original wooden bridge. The town consists chiefly of one long street, paved, and lighted with gas, by the corporation, out of the borough funds; and an abundant supply of water is obtained from a spring at Stobhill: the houses are of an inferior description. Races are held in September, on Cottingwood. A subscription library was established in 1817, and in 1825 a mechanics' and scientific institute was founded. Little trade is carried on: the principal business is tanning, the ancient staple trade. Here is a station of the Newcastle and Berwick railway. The market-cross, built in 1699, and rebuilt in 1783 at the expense of the corporation, stands in the centre of the town, and is a small edifice, supported by eight stone pillars and arches. Near the market-place is a square tower of freestone, called the Clock-House, which contains a clock and a peal of bells; and there were formerly gates at the several entrances to the town. The market, granted by King John in 1199, is on Wednesday; it is one of the principal markets in the north of England for live cattle, and is generally well supplied with corn and provisions. Fairs are held on Wednesday-week before Whitsuntide, and the Wednesday before July 22nd, for sheep and cattle; two fairs for horses have been lately established, and there is a statute-fair for hiring servants on the Wednesday before Martinmas-day.

Morpeth, an ancient borough by prescription, received a charter of confirmation from Charles II.; but the government is now vested in a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors, agreeably with the provisions of the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76. The mayor and late mayor are justices of the peace, having concurrent jurisdiction with the county magistrates. There were formerly seven aldermen, one belonging to each of seven companies; also two descriptions of burgesses, freemen and brothers, the former being entitled to superior privileges, as voting for members of parliament, and filling corporate offices. The freemen were appointed by the seven companies, who elected from among their own free brothers, the full number of twenty-four; viz., the Merchant Tailors four, the Tanners six, the Fullers and Dyers three, the Smiths three, the Cordwainers three, the Weavers three, and the Butchers two; the whole being sworn and admitted freemen at the ensuing court leet, after which the companies elected twenty-four more. The free brothers became, and are now, such by servitude, or by being sons of freemen, the brothers of some particular company. The companies were trading and benefit societies, sanctioned by many religious observances. They had one common fund for the purchase of materials, which were divided among the several members to be manufactured: bye-laws regulated their trade, punished fraud, and inflicted penalties; their fines were either money or wax, which was rendered to some shrine in the parish church. Each company had its feast day, and the members were supported in sickness. The annual revenue of the corporation, before the passing of the Municipal act, was £300; it is now upwards of £700. On the south side of the town are about 400 acres of common land, the property of the corporation, on part of which each of the freemen and free brothers is entitled to turn two head of cattle. The borough first returned representatives to parliament in 1553, and continued to send two members until the 2nd of William IV., when it was deprived of one by the act then passed to amend the representation, and the boundaries were enlarged: the mayor is returning officer. The county magistrates preside at a petty-session on the first Wednesday in every month, for county business; the borough justices hold monthly sessions; and the Easter quarter-sessions for the county take place here. The powers of the county debt-court of Morpeth, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Morpeth. The town-hall is a plain structure of hewn stone, with a piazza and turrets, erected in 1714, by Sir John Vanbrugh, at the expense of the family of Howard. The castle at Morpeth was formerly used as the prison for Northumberland; and afterwards a tower in Bridgestreet, adapted for a gaol, was sold by Lord Carlisle to the county, when it was extensively repaired and enlarged. In 1824 a new prison and court-house were erected on the south side of the river. They form an octagonal outline inclosing three acres; the dwellinghouses of the governor and other officers are in the centre, and are surrounded by the cells and airing-yards, which are built of stone, vaulted, and groined. A grand staircase leads to the sessions-house, an heptagonal semicircular building, the internal arrangements of which are very convenient.

Corporation Seal.

The parish includes the townships of Buller's-Green, Hepscott, Newminster-Abbey, Shilvington, Tranwell with High Church, and Twizell. It comprises 7430 acres, the soil of which varies much in quality; in the vale of the Wansbeck it is light, and suitable for the growth of turnips and barley, while the higher grounds are stronger, some of them poor, and others fruitful. The living is a rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Ulgham annexed, valued in the king's books at £32. 16. 8., and in the patronage of the Earl of Carlisle, with a net income, exclusively of glebe land, of £1475. The church is situated upon an eminence called Kirk Hill, at a considerable distance from the town, and is a plain structure in the early English style, with a low tower; in the chancel is a fine window, which was formerly of painted glass throughout. On the north of the bridge is a small chapel of ease, built of freestone, now in a ruinous state and disused. A new church, called St. James' the Great, was consecrated in October 1846; it stands in the centre of the town, on a site given by the Earl of Carlisle, and is a substantial edifice in the Norman style, 130 feet long, and containing 1000 sittings: the cost of erection was £5000. There are places of worship for Independents, Presbyterians, Wesleyan Methodists, and Roman Catholics.

At a remote period the chantry of All Saints and the chapel of St. Mary were founded here, having the bridge over the Wansbeck attached to them as a source of revenue, and it was the duty of the chaplain to instruct in a school the children of the burgesses; but the institution was swept away at the Reformation. In 1552 Edward VI. restored the free grammar school, and endowed it with the lands of this and some other dissolved chantries, the rental of which amounts to £220 per annum; the master, who must be of the degree of M.A. or B.A., and the usher, are both appointed by trustees, in whom the management is vested, subject to the approval of the Bishop of Durham. The institution was lately divided into two departments, one for classical instruction, and the other for English and mathematics on the system of the British and Foreign School Society. The corporation have established, and entirely support, an infants' school and a girls' school. The poor-law union of Morpeth comprises 72 parishes or places, of which 71 are in the county of Northumberland, and one in that of Durham; the whole containing a population of 14,995.

The ancient baronial castle was in existence during the Saxon heptarchy; it was strengthened by Ranulph de Merlay, and demolished by the parliamentary army in the time of the commonwealth. The remains consist of the gateway, having two exploratory turrets, built in 1358, together with the outer wall. Near the gateway, towards the north, but separated from it by a moat with a drawbridge, is a large mound of earth on a natural elevation; here have been found an ancient cairn, or tumulus, and some ruins of Norman architecture. In former times the elevation was, doubtless, the aula, or place in which the lords of Morpeth held their courts in the open air; it may have been afterwards converted into a defence for the castle, or an enemy may have used it for a malvoisin. At the distance of a quarter of a mile to the west of the town, are the ruins of Newminster Abbey, of which an account will be found under the article Newminster. William Turner, M.D., the first English writer on botany, who died in 1568; and the late Dr. Robert Morrison, the celebrated Chiness linguist and missionary, and author of a Chinese dictionary, were natives of the place: John Horsley, author of the Britannia Romana, was for some time minister of the Presbyterian chapel, in the parish, where he died in 1731. Morpeth gives the title of Viscount to the family of Howard, earls of Carlisle.

Morrell-Roothing, in the county of Essex.—See Roothing, Morrell.

MORRELL-ROOTHING, in the county of Essex.— See Roothing, Morrell.

Morrick

MORRICK, a township, in the parish of Warkworth, union of Alnwick, E. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 9 miles (S. E. by S.) from Alnwick; containing 79 inhabitants. This place was the head of the barony of Morwick, held by Hugh de Morwick in the reign of Edward I.; his ancestors were of considerable note, and distinguished for their wealth and power. The township stands on the south bank of the Coquet, and possesses a mansionhouse, the grounds around which are laid out with much taste; the general effect being heightened by the banks of the river, which are beautifully picturesque. Rentcharges amounting to £113. 11. have been awarded as commutations for the tithes; £28. 8. are payable to the vicar, and £85. 3. to the Bishop of Carlisle.

Morridge

MORRIDGE, a township, in the parish of Ipstones, union of Cheadle, S. division of the hundred of Totmonslow, N. division of the county of Stafford, 2 miles (N. E.) from the village of Ipstones; containing 235 inhabitants. The name is a corruption of Mooredge. The township contains several scattered farmhouses, and includes the small village of Botham-House, on the Leek and Ashbourne road.

Morston (All Saints)

MORSTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Walsingham, hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 1½ mile (W.) from Blakeney; containing 173 inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by Blakeney harbour, and comprises 2110a. 2r. 36p., of which 1305 acres are arable, 40 meadow and pasture, about 80 open common, and more than 400 a salt-marsh abounding with various kinds of shell-fish. The living is a rectory, annexed to that of Stiffkey St. John, and valued in the king's books at £18: the tithes have been commuted for £280. 8. The church is a handsome structure, in the decorated and later English styles, with a square embattled tower; the chancel is separated from the nave by a carved screen, in the lower compartments of which are paintings of the Apostles.

Morthoe (St. Mary)

MORTHOE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Barnstaple, hundred of Braunton, Braunton and N. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from IIfracombe; containing 379 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 4470 acres; the substratum contains stone of a slaty and inferior quality, quarried for building purposes. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 19. 3.; net income, £128; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The appropriate tithes have been commuted for £380, with a glebe of 30 acres; and the vicarial glebe consists of 16 acres. The church contains an altar-tomb, said to be that of Sir William de Tracy, who founded a chantry here, and, after the murder of Thomas à Becket, ended his days in a hermitage in the parish. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists. Off the coast is a large isolated rock, termed Mortstone, from the numerous deaths, by shipwreck, which have been occasioned by vessels striking against it.

Mortimer, West

MORTIMER, WEST, a tything, in the parish of Stratfield-Mortimer, union of Bradfield, hundred of Holdshott, Basingstoke and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 8 miles (N.) from the town of Basingstoke; containing 334 inhabitants.

Mortimer's-Cross

MORTIMER'S-CROSS, a township, in the parish of Aymestry, union of Leominster, hundred of Wigmore, county of Hereford; with 40 inhabitants.

Mortlake

MORTLAKE, a parish, in the union of Richmond, W. division of the hundred of Brixton, E. division of Surrey, 6½ miles (S. W. by W.) from London; containing 2778 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1168 acres, of which 150 are common or waste. The village is pleasantly situated on the south bank of the Thames, and on the road from London to Richmond; in the neighbourhood are several seats and villas. About the year 1616 a manufactory of tapestry was established, but it was destroyed in the time of the civil war: there are a small pottery for stone-ware, and a brewery; and the making of malt is carried on very extensively. The cultivation of asparagus is considerable; a great part of the land is occupied by market-gardeners. A farm of eighty acres, on the Richmond side of the parish, was the private property of George III.; and a portion of Richmond Park is in the parish. The Richmond railway has a station here, seven miles distant from NineElms, London. The living is a perpetual curacy; net come, £230; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Worcester, whose tithes have been commuted for £400. The church was founded in the fourteenth, and rebuilt in the sixteenth, century, and has undergone many modern repairs; the tower, which is very ancient, is of stone and flint, square, and embattled. The font, ornamented with rich tracery, was the gift of Archbishop Bourchier. Sir Philip Francis, supposed by some to be the author of the Letters of Junius, is buried here; also Dr. John Dee, and John Partridge, celebrated astrologers, the latter of whom was a native of Mortlake: the late Viscount Sidmouth was buried in the churchyard, in 1844. There is a place of worship for Independents. A free school founded in 1700, and endowed by the will of Dorothy, Lady Capel, in 1719, with part of the rental of an estate, from which it now receives about £35 per annum, was enlarged by subscription in 1815, when the national system was introduced. Edward Colston built almshouses in the parish for eight persons; John Juxon, in 1828, founded a house for four widows; and there are several small bequests for apprenticing children, and the benefit of the poor generally. An ancient house here belonged to General Ireton, where, it is said, Cromwell often held his councils; it was subsequently the residence of Edward Colston, the great benefactor to the city of Bristol, who, during his lifetime, expended more than £70,000 in the support of charitable institutions. The only remaining vestige of Mortlake House, anciently the residence of the archbishops of Canterbury, is the foundation of a single wall: Archbishops Peckham and Reynolds died here. Edward III. resided in the parish in 1352, and Queen Elizabeth frequently visited Dr. Dee at Mortlake.

Morton (Holy Cross)

MORTON (Holy Cross), a parish, in the union of Chesterfield, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 3½ miles (N.) from Alfreton; containing, with the township of Brackenfield, 646 inhabitants, of whom 187 are in the township of Morton. The manor, previously given to Burton Abbey, belonged at the Domesday survey to Walter Deincourt, and Roger Deincourt, in 1330, claimed a park here, and the right of having a gallows for the execution of criminals. The estate passed, with other lands, to the Leakes; and on the death of Nicholas Leake, Earl of Scarsdale, in 1736, the earl's trustees sold it to Henry Thornhill, of Chesterfield, from whom it was purchased in 1749, by the Sitwells; from them it passed, by will, to Richard Staunton Wilmot, who assumed the name of Sitwell. The parish comprises 2714 acres, of which 1157 are in the township of Morton; of the latter number, 449 acres are arable, 674 meadow, and 34 woodland. The surface is elevated, the soil a cold clay, and the surrounding scenery is diversified: chamomile is extensively grown. The village, which is pleasant, lies on the Matlock and Mansfield road. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £11. 10., and in the alternate patronage of St. John's College, Cambridge, and Gladwyn Turbutt, Esq.; net income, £360: the glebe comprises 67 acres, with a house. In the church are handsome monuments to the Turbutt family. Brackenfield has been formed into an ecclesiastical district. There are a few small bequests for the benefit of the poor.

Morton (St. John the Baptist)

MORTON (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Bourne, wapentake of Aveland, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 2½ miles (N.) from Bourne; containing, with the hamlet of Hanthorpe, 952 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Hacconby united in 1732, valued in the king's books at £9. 1. 10½.; net income, £280; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Lincoln. The tithes were commuted for land in 1768. The church, a handsome cruciform structure with a lofty and finely-groined tower rising from the intersection, has portions in the Norman, and in the early, decorated, and later English styles. A school is endowed with £10 per annum.

Morton

MORTON, an extra parochial liberty, in the Higher division of the wapentake of Boothby-Graffo, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 8 miles (S. W. by W.) from Lincoln; containing 6 inhabitants. This liberty is situated in the vale of a rivulet, and comprises about 500 acres; the surface is undulated, and the soil a sandy loam and clay. It formerly belonged to the Disneys, and is now the property of the Solly family, of London, and occupied in two farms.

Morton

MORTON, a township, in the parish and union of Gainsborough, wapentake of Corringham, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 1¾ mile (N. by W.) from Gainsborough; containing 569 inhabitants. A church, in the pointed style, with a tower, was erected in 1845–6, partly by the Church Commissioners: the living is in the gift of the Bishop of Lincoln. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans; and a school endowed with £15 per annum.

Morton (St. Denis)

MORTON (St. Denis), a parish, in the union of Southwell, Southwell division of the wapentake of Thurgarton, S. division of the county of Nottingham, 2½ miles (S. E.) from Southwell; containing 131 inhabitants. It comprises 502a. 1r. 30p. The living is a perpetual curacy, held with the vicarage of Bleasby, and has a net income of £81; the glebe comprises 42 acres. The church is a small brick edifice.

Morton

MORTON, an extra-parochial liberty, in the union of Helmsley, wapentake of Birdforth, N. riding of York, 5 miles (N. W. by W.) from Helmsley; containing 31 inhabitants. This liberty comprises about 1600 acres of land, and is part of the manor and constablewick of Newbrough, formerly held by the family of Belasyse. It is situated two miles westward of the river Rye, and a mile and a half north-north-west of Old Byland.

Morton

MORTON, a township, in the parish of AinderbySteeple, union of Northallerton, wapentake of Gilling-East, N. riding of York, 3½ miles (W. S. W.) from Northallerton; containing 252 inhabitants. It comprises 1533a. 25p.: the Earl of Harewood is lord of the manor, and part owner of the soil. The village, which is long and scattered, is on the eastern acclivities of Swaledale: the river Swale is crossed here by a good bridge of four arches. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £241. 5., and there is a glebe of 3 acres. The Wesleyans have a place of worship.

Morton

MORTON, a township, in the parish of Ormesby, union of Guisborough, E. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 4¼ miles (N. N. E.) from Stokesley; containing 34 inhabitants. This place was probably called Morton or Moor-town from its position on the skirts of Barnaldby Moor, which lies north-west of the town of Guisborough: at the time of the Norman survey the lands were the property of Robert de Brus. The township is at the southern extremity of the parish, and comprises by computation 990 acres. The tithes have been commuted for £41. 8., payable to the vicar, and £94 to the Archbishop of York.

Morton, Abbot's (St. Peter)

MORTON, ABBOT'S (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Alcester, Lower division of the hundred of Blackenhurst, E. division of the county of Worcester, 5½ miles (W. S. W.) from Alcester, and 12 (E.) from Worcester; containing 234 inhabitants. This place was the residence of Ranulf, brother of Walter, abbot of Evesham, in the reign of the Conqueror; and the site of some conventual buildings here, now called Court Close, with traces of the moat by which they were surrounded, and the remains of gable-fronted buildings of timber frame-work still in the village, are objects of antiquarian interest. The parish is situated on the road from Worcester to Alcester, and on the confines of the county of Warwick; it comprises about 1400 acres, of which two-thirds are arable and the remainder pasture, all fertile land in high cultivation. The surface is elevated; the soil a marly clay, producing good wheat; and the parish is intersected by the river Piddle, its course adding much to the beauty of the scenery. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £146; patron, G. J. A. Walker, Esq., of Norton Villa. The tithes were commuted for land in 1802; the glebe altogether comprises 167 acres, with a house. The church, which belonged to Evesham Abbey, is a cruciform structure of stone, with an embattled tower. In its late restoration and enlargement, the rector, the Rev. Thomas Walker, who is also prebendary of Wolverhampton, expended nearly £500. The east window, which was the gift of the present patron, contains some beautiful stained glass, of the date 1590, representing the history of David and Goliath, &c.; the window of the north transept contains the armorial bearings of the Walker family. The residence of the rector is on the summit of Goom's Hill, adjoining the turnpike-road, and commands fine views of the Morton and Lench woods, Broadway Hill, and other interesting objects. A national schoolroom was built by subscription in 1844, under the auspices of the rector, who presented its site, and who has set out more than 30 acres of land on the allotment system.

Morton-Baggott (Holy Trinity)

MORTON-BAGGOTT (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the union of Alcester, Alcester division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick; 3½ miles (W. S. W.) from Henley-in-Arden; containing 170 inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by a portion of Worcestershire, and consists of 1113 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £6; net income, £188; patron, Sir F. L. H. Goodricke.

Morton, East and West

MORTON, EAST and WEST, a township, in the parish of Bingley, union of Keighley, Upper division of the wapentake of Skyrack, W. riding of York, 2 miles (N. by W.) from Bingley; containing 1693 inhabitants. The township comprises by computation 3290 acres. The soil is fertile, particularly on the west of the hill named Morton Banks; the surface is varied, and the grounds near East Morton are watered by a stream called Morton Beck, on the banks of which are a cotton-mill, some paper-mills, and four considerable worsted-mills. The village of East Morton is large and well built, and finely situated on an eminence; that of West Morton is chiefly a cluster of houses on the north bank of the river Aire, and near the Leeds and Liverpool canal. The substratum abounds with coal, of which two mines are in operation; and there are quarries of very durable stone, which is raised for paving the streets of Leeds and other places. A church district has been formed under the 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 37: the living is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Ripon, alternately. Here are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans. Some Roman coins were found near East Morton about 1770.

Morton-Grange

MORTON-GRANGE, a township, in the parish and union of Houghton-le-Spring, N. division of Easington ward and of the county of Durham, 6 miles (N. E. by N.) from Durham; containing 185 inhabitants. This place formerly belonged to the family of Belasyse, to whom Cardinal Wolsey, in 1525, granted a lease of the manor and grange, and of whom was Sir William Belasyse, Knt., of Morton, high sheriff of the county under the see of Durham from 1628 until his death in 1641. The family were remarkable for their loyalty, and suffered much in the civil war. The township lies in the vale of Houghton, and comprises 505a. 1r. 20p., of which 300 acres are arable, 192 grass, 3 wood, and 10 waste. The Durham and Sunderland railway attains its highest elevation at this place, where is a fixed engine of seventy-horse power to work the trains of wagons over an inclined plane 2427 yards in length; the Haswell and Durham branches, also, diverge here, the former connecting Morton with the Hartlepool railway, and the latter proceeding to Sherburn.

Morton-Jeffries

MORTON-JEFFRIES, a parish, in the union of Bromyard, hundred of Radlow, county of Hereford, 5½ miles (S. W.) from Bromyard; containing 53 inhabitants. It comprises by admeasurement 647 acres, of which about 20 are woodland, and the remainder arable and pasture: freestone is quarried for inferior kinds of building. The parish is intersected by the road from Bromyard to Hereford. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £45; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Hereford. The church is a small neat structure.

Morton-Morrell (Holy Cross)

MORTON-MORRELL (Holy Cross), a parish, in the union of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, 3¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Kington; containing 253 inhabitants. It comprises 1573 acres, and is bounded on the east and south-east by the old Roman Fosse-way. Limestone is quarried for burning into lime, and also for the roads. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £55; patron and impropriator, W. Little, Esq. There is a small petrifying spring.

Morton-On-The-Hill, or Helmingham (St. Margaret)

MORTON-ON-THE-HILL, or Helmingham (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of St. Faith, hundred of Eynsford, E. division of Norfolk, 8 miles (N. W.) from Norwich; containing 165 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 977 acres, of which 508 are arable, 202 pasture, and 265 woodland; the surface is varied, and the scenery of pleasing character. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 14. 7.; patron, T. Berney, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £179, and the glebe comprises 4 acres. The church is chiefly in the early English style, with a circular tower of ancient date.

Morton-Palms

MORTON-PALMS, a township, in the parish of Haughton-le-Skerne, union, and S. E. division of the ward, of Darlington, S. division of the county of Durham, 3 miles (E. by S.) from Darlington; containing 73 inhabitants. It comprises 1316 acres; 749 only are tithable, and of this number 427 are arable, and 322 grass-land: the surface is nearly level, the soil a strong clay. The township is intersected by the Stockton and Darlington railway, and also by the road between those two towns. The tithes have been commuted for £101. 16. There are the remains of an old manor-house of the Tudor era.

Morton-Pinkney (St. Mary)

MORTON-PINKNEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Brackley, hundred of Greens-Norton, S. division of the county of Northampton, 8 miles (W. by N.) from Towcester; containing 565 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2318a. 2r. 33p.; the soil is partly clay, and the substratum contains some ironstone and sandstone. The living is a rectory; net income, £167; patrons, the Provost and Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford; the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1761. There is a mineral spring.

Morton-Tynemouth

MORTON-TYNEMOUTH, a township, in the parish of Gainford, union of Teesdale, S. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 8½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Darlington; containing 28 inhabitants. This was one of the twenty-five vills given up by Bishop Aldhune to the earls of Northumberland. The estate was for some time the property of the prior of Tynemouth, from which circumstance the addition to its name is derived; and it afterwards reverted, probably by exchange, to the see of Durham. Among the families who have held lands here, occur those of Graystaynes, Alwent, Phillip, Birkbeck, and Craddock. The township comprises about 399 acres of land. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £30. 12. 3.; and the impropriate for £68. 2. 10., payable to Trinity College, Cambridge.

Morton-Upon-Lug (St. Andrew)

MORTON-UPON-LUG (St. Andrew), a parish, in the hundred of Grimsworth, union and county of Hereford, 4¼ miles (N.) from Hereford; containing 81 inhabitants. The parish comprises by computation 850 acres of land, chiefly rich meadow, on the banks of the river Lug; it is intersected by the road from Hereford to Leominster. The living is a rectory not in charge, in the patronage of the Prebendary of Morton Magna in the Cathedral of Hereford; net income, £144, with a house and half an acre of garden. The church is a neat plain structure.