Morvah

MORVAH, a parish, in the union of Penzance, W. division of the hundred of Penwith and of the county of Cornwall, 6 miles (N. W.) from Penzance; containing 407 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, and comprises 1120 acres, of which 738 are common or waste land: the cliffs on this part of the coast are extremely fine. The living is a vicarage, annexed to that of Madron. The church was rebuilt in 1828. There are places of worship for Bryanites and Wesleyans; and a boys' school, chiefly supported by subscription. At Tregominion are the remains of an ancient chapel. Castle Chun, in the neighbourhood, is the most regular Danish fortification in the county; near it is a cromlech.

Morval (St. Wenn)

MORVAL (St. Wenn), a parish, in the union of Liskeard, hundred of West, E. division of Cornwall, 2¾ miles (N.) from East Looe; containing 733 inhabitants. The parish comprises by computation 3000 acres. The substratum abounds with limestone, of which great quantities are raised for the supply of the neighbouring district, and sent to Liskeard by a canal which joins the Looe river near its termination at this place. The scenery is strikingly romantic; and the higher grounds, especially Tregarlin Torr, command a fine view of the winding vale of Morval, terminated in the distance by Bindown, the loftiest point of land in the neighbourhood. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 14. 9½., and in the patronage of the Crown; impropriator, J. Buller, Esq. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £214, and the glebe comprises 121 acres; the great tithes have been commuted for £260. A free school is endowed with £20 per annum. The late Sir Francis Buller, eminent for his ability as a judge, was a native of the place.

Morvill (St. George)

MORVILL (St. George), a parish, in the union of Bridgnorth, hundred of Stottesden, S. division of Salop, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Bridgnorth; containing, with the chapelry of Aston-Eyre, 542 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £204; patron and impropriator, Lord Sudeley. The tithes of Morvill were commuted for land in 1773. The church is chiefly a Norman structure of the 12th century; it consists of a nave and north and south aisles of that period, and a chancel of the 17th century. The arch dividing the chancel from the nave has an elaborately carved moulding; and the capitals of the shafts supporting the arches that divide the nave from the aisles, are enriched with foliage of fine workmanship: the original font, which is bell-shaped, still remains. At Aston-Eyre is a chapel of ease. A benefaction of £20 per annum, arising from property bequeathed by Thomas Burte, in 1631, is regularly distributed, one moiety to the minister for preaching twelve sermons, and the other moiety to the poor. In the church was originally a society of Secular canons, and subsequently one of Benedictine monks.

Morwick, Northumberland.—See Morrick.

MORWICK, Northumberland.—See Morrick.

Mosborough

MOSBOROUGH, a township, in the parish of Eckington, union of Chesterfield, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 6 miles (S. E. by E.) from Sheffield; containing 1044 inhabitants. This place stands on an elevated site, on the road from Sheffield to Worksop, by Barlborough, and commands very extensive views. Good building-stone is quarried: the inhabitants are partly employed in collieries; and sickles are made here. The Midland railway has a station at Mosborough. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists.

Mosedale

MOSEDALE, a township, in the parish of Caldbeck, union of Wigton, Allerdale ward below Derwent, W. division of the county of Cumberland; containing 58 inhabitants.

Moseley

MOSELEY, a hamlet, in the parish of Bushbury, union of Penkridge, N. division of the hundred of Seisdon, S. division of the county of Stafford, 4 miles (N. by E.) from Wolverhampton; containing 53 inhabitants. It forms a separate manor of about 500 acres. Moseley Hall, then the residence of Thomas Whitgreave, to whose memory there is a marble tablet in the parish church, was the place of temporary concealment for Charles II. on his way to Bentley. Here is a Roman Catholic chapel.

Moseley

MOSELEY, a chapelry, in the parish and union of King's-Norton, Upper division of the hundred of Halfshire, E. division of the county of Worcester, 2 miles (S.) from Birmingham; containing 238 inhabitants. The Birmingham and Gloucester railway passes on the east. Moseley Park is the seat of James Taylor, Esq., D.L.: the mansion is surrounded by a fine demesne. The village, which is of respectable appearance, is in the northern part of the chapelry, close to the railway. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £94; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, was enlarged in 1822: at the west end is a tower with three bells. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans; and a national school.

Moss

MOSS, a township, in the parish of Campsall, union of Doncaster, Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 6¾ miles (W. by N.) from Thorne; containing 301 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 2283 acres: the village, which is straggling, is about two miles east of Askerne.

Mosser

MOSSER, a chapelry, in the parish of Brigham, union of Cockermouth, Allerdale ward above Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 4½ miles (S.) from Cockermouth; containing 107 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; income, £44; patron, the Earl of Lonsdale. The chapel is dedicated to St. Philip.

Mossley

MOSSLEY, a chapelry, in the division of Hartshead, parish and union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 3 miles (N. E.) from Ashton-under-Lyne, and 9½ (E.) from Manchester; containing, in 1841, 1081 inhabitants. This is a large village, prettily situated in a valley surrounded by the Saddleworth and Cheshire hills. About the year 1773 it was a small place; in 1794 it had increased to 100 houses; and in 1841 the number was 500, including the portion called Brook-Bottom. Formerly, the staple trade consisted of coarse woollens; cotton has been latterly introduced, and the inhabitants are now employed in both manufactures. Mr. James Buckley's cotton-mill, built in 1817, employs 250 hands; his residence at Quick-Edge, on the side of a hill, commands beautiful and extensive views. The mills of Mr. G. Mayall and Mr. J. Mayall are also in this vicinity. Several stone-quarries and collieries are in operation in the chapelry. The Huddersfield canal passes through it; and here is a station on the Manchester and Huddersfield railway: the river Tame separates Cheshire and Lancashire at Mossley. Fairs for cattle are held on June 21st and the last Monday in October. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150, with a house; patron, the Rector of Ashton. The chapel, dedicated to St. George, was built in 1755, on land given by Sir Joseph Pickford, and was enlarged in 1789. The Methodists of the New Connexion have a place of worship. Excellent national schools were erected in 1843, and there are schools in the neighbourhood built in the same year.

Moss-Side

MOSS-SIDE, a township, in the parish of Manchester, union of Chorlton, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 2 miles (S.) from Manchester; containing 436 inhabitants. Victoria Park, of which part is in this township, and other portions in the townships of Rushulme and Chorlton, is likely to become at no distant time one of the most interesting places in the vicinity of Manchester. It is comprised in a ring fence, extending from the London road, on the north, to the Oxford or Rushulme road, on the south, and contains 140 acres of land. Several villas have been erected in its neighbourhood.

Mosterton

MOSTERTON, a parish, in the union of Beaminster, hundred of Beaminster-Forum and Redhone, Bridport division of the county of Dorset, 4 miles (N. N. W.) from Beaminster; containing 391 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Bridport to Taunton, and comprises 958a. 31p.: the river Axe passes near. The living is annexed to the rectory of South Perrot: the tithes have been commuted for £169, and the glebe comprises 5 acres. The church was rebuilt, on a different site, in 1833.

Moston

MOSTON, a township, in the parish of St. Mary, Chester, union of Great Boughton, Lower division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester, 3 miles (N. by W.) from Chester; containing 11 inhabitants. The manor, in old records "Moreston," was given about 1125 to the convent of St. Werburgh, under which an estate was held here by a family who took their name from the township. After the Reformation it was granted by Queen Elizabeth to the Rogersons and Astons, of whom both moieties were purchased by John Morgell, in whose family the property continued until 1718, when the heiress of William Morgell sold it to Methusalem Jones. It afterwards passed by sale to Henry Bennet, Esq., whose representatives sold it in 1790 to William Massey, Esq. The township comprises 272 acres, the soil of which is clay. The road from Chester to Birkenhead passes through it. The Chester and Birkenhead railway, also, is here carried over the Ellesmere canal by a viaduct of 11 arches, and is continued by an embankment containing 365,000 cubic yards of clay and sand; the central arch of the viaduct has 50 feet span, and the others a span of 20 feet each.

Moston

MOSTON, a township, in the parish of Warmingham, union of Congleton, hundred of Northwich, S. division of the county of Chester, 2¼ miles (W. by N.) from Sandbach; containing 224 inhabitants. It comprises 663 acres, partly of a clayey and partly a sandy soil. The Grand Trunk canal passes through the township.

Moston

MOSTON, a township, in the parish of Manchester, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 4 miles (N. E.) from Manchester; containing 671 inhabitants, being an increase of only 53 persons in 40 years, although surrounded by populous manufacturing districts. The township is situated west of the road from Manchester to Leeds, and the Manchester and Leeds railway passes in the vicinity. A colliery is in operation. The ecclesiastical district of Harpurhey includes the township. William Langley, in 1821, bequeathed £100, the interest to be distributed to the poor in bread.

Moston

MOSTON, a township, in the parish of Stantonupon-Hine-Heath, union of Wem, Whitchurch division of the hundred of North Bradford, N. division of Salop; containing 61 inhabitants. The vicarial tithes of this township and that of Stanton have been commuted for £89, and the impropriate for £27. 15.

Motcomb

MOTCOMB, a parish, in the union of Shaftesbury, liberty of Gillingham, Shaston division of Dorset, 1½ mile (N. N. W.) from Shaftesbury; containing 1538 inhabitants. The living is annexed, with the livings of East and West Stower, to the vicarage of Gillingham: the rectorial tithes have been commuted for £350, and the vicarial for £700; the glebe contains 2½ acres. The present parish church is in the later English style, and contains 460 sittings: the first stone was laid by Lord Robert Grosvenor in August, 1846. At Enmore Green is a church consecrated in August, 1843; it is a Norman cruciform structure, with a tower at the intersection of the nave and transepts. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Motherby, with Gill

MOTHERBY, with Gill, a township, in the parish of Greystock, union of Penrith, Leath ward, E. division of Cumberland, 6½ miles (W. by S.) from the town of Penrith; containing 85 inhabitants.

Mottingham

MOTTINGHAM, a hamlet, in the poor-law union of Lewisham, partly in the parish of Chiselhurst, hundred of Ruxley, but chiefly in the parish of Eltham, hundred of Blackheath, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, W. division of Kent, 8 miles (S. E.) from London; containing 124 inhabitants. It comprises 637 acres, of which 70 are laid out in wood.

Mottisfont (St. Andrew)

MOTTISFONT (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Romsey, hundred of Thorngate, Romsey and S. divisions of the county of Southampton, 4¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Romsey; containing 578 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, with the livings of Lockerley and East Dean annexed, valued in the king's books at £14. 18. 11½.; net income, £900; patron and incumbent, the Rev. O. D. St. John. The tithes of Mottisfont have been commuted for £500, and the glebe comprises 28½ acres. Mottisfont House, a spacious and venerable edifice, occupies a portion of the site of a priory of Canons regular of the order of St. Augustine, founded in the beginning of the reign of King John, by William Briwere, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. In 1494, the establishment being reduced from eleven, its original number of religious, to three, Henry VII. procured a bull from Pope Alexander for its suppression; but it nevertheless continued till the Dissolution, at which period its revenue was valued at £167. 15. 8.

Mottiston (St. Peter and St. Paul)

MOTTISTON (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the liberty of West Medina, Isle of Wight division of the county of Southampton, 9 miles (W. S. W.) from Newport; containing 176 inhabitants. It comprises 1140 acres, of which 52 are common or waste. The village is beautifully situated in the south-western part of the island, on the road which runs along the coast; and commands extensive views of the adjacent country, and the English Channel. The living is a rectory, with the vicarage of Shorwell united, valued in the king's books at £11. 16. 3.; patron, the Rev. Ebenezer Robertson. The tithes of Mottiston have been commuted for £200, and the glebe comprises 42 acres. The church is principally in the later English style.

Mottram St. Andrew

MOTTRAM ST. ANDREW, a township, in the parish of Prestbury, union and hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 4¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Macclesfield; containing 380 inhabitants. It comprises 1521 acres, partly of a clayey, and partly of a sandy, soil. Here is a national school.

Mottram-in-Longdendale (St. Michael)

MOTTRAM-IN-LONGDENDALE (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Ashton-under-Lyne, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester; comprising the townships of Godley, Hattersley, Hollingworth, Matley, Mottram, Newton, Stayley, and Tintwistle; and containing 21,215 inhabitants, of whom 3247 are in Mottram township, 10 miles (E. by S.) from Manchester. This place, which was anciently called the lordship of Tintwistle, was in the reign of Edward II. granted by Thomas de Burgh to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, on whose attainder for high treason, in the 15th of that reign, it became forfeited to the crown. The parish comprises 32,000 acres, of which 970 are in the township of Mottram; the soil in the higher parts is rocky, and in the lower a rich loam alternated with clay and gravel. It is separated from the county of Derby, on the south, by the river Etherow, or Mersey, which has its source near the north-eastern extremity of the parish; and from Lancashire on the north by the river Tame. The township is situated on a steep hill at the western extremity of Longdendale; the surrounding scenery is diversified, combining features of picturesque beauty with objects of romantic grandeur. Among the hills in the township is Cat Tor, a precipitous elevation, more than 100 feet in perpendicular height; the sides and summit are planted with trees, and the faces of the precipices exhibit various strata of rock, coal, slate, and freestone, disposed with great regularity. Above this is Mottram Hill, commanding a delightful and extensive prospect up Longdendale, including the beautiful windings of the Mersey, the banks of which are embellished with trees of stately growth.

Till the commencement of the present century, the parish was wholly agricultural, but since that period it has become one of the most flourishing manufacturing districts in this part of the kingdom. About a mile and a half from the village or town, which consists of one broad and well-paved street, the Mersey expands into a broad stream, on which are extensive cotton-mills, built in the excavation of a rock protruding into the river, over which, at a small distance below, is a stone bridge of one arch. There are several large manufactories of cotton and woollen goods, paper, and machinery; also works for the spinning of cotton and the printing of calico, and a foundry for smelting iron. Collieries are worked in the immediate neighbourhood; and stone abounds in various parts, which is soft in the quarry and very easily cut, but, upon exposure to the air, becomes as hard as flint. Within the parish are three stations on the Manchester and Sheffield railway, viz.: one distant about a mile from Mottram, one at Newton, and the third at Woodhead, where a tunnel commences, which is upwards of three miles long. Over the Etherow is a splendid viaduct on the line, having three arches, the centre of which is of 150 feet span; the first stone was laid by John Chapman, Esq., deputy-chairman of the company: the cost was £25,000. Fairs for cattle take place on the 27th of April and the 31st of October. A court leet is held on Michaelmas-day, at which a constable is appointed for each of the townships in the parish; and a court baron is held under J. Tollemache, Esq., as lord of the manor.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books, as a rectory and vicarage, at £32. 3. 9.; net income, £219; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Chester. The church is in the later English style, with a lofty embattled tower; it contains some ancient and interesting monuments, and sepulchral chapels belonging respectively to the manors of Hollingworth and Stayley. In the churchyard is the tomb of Lawrence Earnshaw, distinguished by his mechanical genius, and as the inventor of some of the earliest machinery introduced into the cotton factories; he was born at this place, and was buried here in 1767. The vicarage-house, near the church, is surrounded with intrenchments resembling those of a Roman station. At Godley, Newton, Stayley, Tintwistle, and Woodhead are separate incumbencies. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The free grammar school, founded in 1612 by Robert Garsett and Sir Richard Wilbraham, is endowed with land, the proceeds of which, with other benefactions, amount to £65 per annum. John Chapman, Esq., in 1845, gave a library of 400 volumes for the use of the town. Here are some remains of Bucton Castle, supposed to be of British origin.