Norton
NORTON, a township, in the parish and union of
Runcorn, hundred of Bucklow, N. division of the
county of Chester, 4½ miles (N. E.) from Frodsham;
containing 294 inhabitants. A priory of Augustine
canons, originally founded in 1133 at Runcorn by William Fitz-Nigell, was removed hither by his son William,
constable of Chester; the establishment was dedicated
to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and at the Dissolution had
a revenue of £258. 11. 8. It was subsequently a private
residence, and was besieged by the royalists in the early
part of 1643. A modern mansion, called Norton Priory,
built on the same site, is the property and seat of Sir
Richard Brooke, Bart.: the vaults of the ancient
priory are the base of the mansion. The township comprises 2047 acres, the soil of which is partly clay, and
partly sand, with moss. The Mersey and Irwell and
the Duke of Bridgewater's canals pass through. The
great tithes have been commuted for £112.
Norton (St. James)
NORTON (St. James), a parish, in the union of
Ecclesall-Bierlow, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 4 miles (S. by E.) from
Sheffield; containing 1908 inhabitants. The parish is
on the road to Chesterfield, and comprises by measurement 4255 acres, of which about 3000 are arable, 464
woodland, and the remainder meadow and pasture; the
surface is undulated. Norton House, an ancient mansion,
one room of which bears date 1623, is situated in a park
of fifty acres, surrounded with beautiful scenery. The
population is partly engaged in the making of files, and
stone is quarried for building. The living is a discharged
vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4., and in
the patronage of the Rev. Henry Pearson, incumbent;
net income, £270; impropriator, Offley Shore, Esq. The
vicarial tithes have been commuted for £20, and the
impropriate for £14. 8.; there are nearly 26 acres of
glebe. The church contains a Norman font, and among
the several monuments is an altar-tomb to the memory
of the parents of John Blythe, Bishop of Salisbury, and
Geoffry Blythe, Bishop of Lichfield, both which prelates
were born here; the former died in 1500, and the latter
in 1534. There are places of worship for Wesleyans
and Unitarians. A free school was founded and endowed in 1654, by Edward Gill, and subsequent benefactions have been added, making the total income £67
per annum. Story Wingfield, in 1725, devised a farm
in the parish of Dronfield for the establishment of a
lectureship here, now producing £115 per annum. Sir
Francis Chantrey, the celebrated sculptor, was born in a
farmhouse a little out of the village, in 1781; he died in
London in 1841, and was buried here, beside the remains
of his father, mother, and grandfather. He left £50 for
the instruction of 10 boys, £10 each per annum to 10
men and women, and £50 per annum to the vicar.
Norton (St. Mary)
NORTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Stockton, S. W. division of Stockton ward, S. division
of the county of Durham, 2 miles (N.) from Stockton;
containing 1628 inhabitants. The parish comprises by
computation 4000 acres of land, in its general aspect
level. The soil immediately surrounding the village is
of a light but rich loamy nature, and well adapted for
market-gardens, for which this place is celebrated, while
to the north and west is a strong red clay, producing in
favourable seasons excellent wheat: the substrata are
beds of sand and gravel. The portion of woodland is
very small, and the scenery presents little of a striking
character, but embraces in the distance fine views of the
Cleveland hills. There are some brick and tile manufactories, a glue factory, and a tannery. The road from
Stockton to Durham used to run through the village,
but was diverted a mile to the west about 1830; the
main line of the Clarence railway passes on the north,
and the Stockton branch diverges from it at the tollgate, in its course to the river Tees. By an act of the
12th of Queen Anne, the townships of Stockton, East
Hartburn, and Preston were separated from this parish,
and formed into the parish of Stockton. The living is
a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £31. 11. 5½.;
patron, the Bishop of Durham; impropriators, William
Wharton, Esq., of Durham, and others. The rectorial
tithes have been commuted for £271, the vicarial for
£80; and there are about 260 acres of glebe valued at
£289, exclusively of the vicarage-house and gardens
valued at £40. The church which was collegiate, and
from 1227 till the Dissolution had eight prebendaries, stands upon elevated ground, and is partly Norman,
and partly in the early English style, bearing traces of
its antiquity and former importance, particularly in its
square central tower springing from four circular arches.
The south transept was called Pettie (or little) porch,
and by some was named Pity porch, from an altar of
the Virgin Mary; in Blakiston porch, which forms the
north transept, was a well-carved recumbent figure in
armour, now removed to the south side of the communion-table, and supposed to be a memorial of the Blakiston family. The edifice was repaired, and two galleries
were added, in 1826. There are places of worship for
Wesleyans and the Society of Friends. Norton enjoys
the privilege, with Stockton, of one of the scholarships
founded in the university of Oxford, in 1536, by John
Claymond, vicar of the parish, and first president of
Corpus Christi College. A free grammar school, which
has an income of £40 a year, appears to have existed
since the year 1600. Bernard Gilpin, "the Apostle of
the North," was instituted to the vicarage on his return
from the continent, in 1552. Jeremiah Moore, who
had in early life been made a slave to the Turks by the
cruelty of his brother, and who was subsequently distinguished for his philanthropy and benevolence; Christopher Middleton, the first navigator employed by the lords
of the admiralty to discover a North-West passage;
Admiral Policarpus Taylor, eminent for his naval services; and the Rev. John Wallis, author of the History
of Northumberland, all died here.
Norton (St. Mary)
NORTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the Upper division of the hundred of Dudstone and King's-Barton,
union and E. division of the county of Gloucester,
4 miles (N. E. by N.) from the city of Gloucester; containing 427 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual
curacy; net income, £51; patrons and appropriators,
the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The tithes were
chiefly exchanged for land in 1806, and the remainder
have since been commuted for a rent-charge of £50;
the glebe comprises 238 acres. The church is a small
structure, principally in the later English style.
Norton
NORTON, a township, in the parish and union of
Bromyard, hundred of Broxash, county of Hereford,
3 miles (N. E. by E.) from the town of Bromyard; containing 588 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from
Bromyard to Stourport. The rectorial tithes have been
commuted for £147, and the vicarial for £124. 18.;
there is one acre of glebe.
Norton (St. Nicholas)
NORTON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of
Hitchin, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's,
county of Hertford, 1 mile (W. N. W.) from the town
of Baldock; containing 403 inhabitants, and comprising 1800 acres. The living is a discharged vicarage,
valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8.; net income,
£96; patron, the Rev. J. Burges Watson; impropriator,
G. Hicks, Esq. The glebe comprises 6 acres. A school
is supported by an endowment of £16 per annum.
Norton (St. Mary)
NORTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and
hundred of Faversham, Upper division of the lathe of
Scray, E. division of Kent, 3¼ miles (W.) from Faversham; containing 107 inhabitants. It comprises 902
acres, of which 113 are meadow, 79 wood, and 16 in
hop-grounds. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £10. 18. 4., and in the gift of the Bishop
of Rochester: the tithes have been commuted for £375,
and the glebe contains 31½ acres, with a house. The
church is principally in the early English style.
Norton (All Saints)
NORTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of
Daventry, hundred of Fawsley, S. division of the
county of Northampton, 2½ miles (E. N. E.) from
Daventry; containing, with the hamlets of Muscott
and Thrupp, 582 inhabitants. The parish comprises
2926a. 2r. 10p.; the substratum is gravel, of which
great quantities are dug for the roads and other purposes. The Grand Junction canal and the London and
Birmingham railway are within less than a mile of the
village. The living is a vicarage; net income, £270;
patron and impropriator, Beriah Botfield, Esq. The
church is an ancient structure, and contains the remains
of a daughter of the Duke of Somerset, Protector during
the reign of Edward VI. There is a place of worship for
Wesleyans; also a parochial school.
Norton
NORTON, a township, in the parish of Cuckney,
union of Worksop, Hatfield division of the wapentake
of Bassetlaw, N. division of the county of Nottingham, 4¾ miles (S. by W.) from Worksop; containing
362 inhabitants. It comprises 1297 acres; the village
is situated in a fertile vale, near the confluence of the
river Poulter with the lake in Welbeck Park.
Norton (St. Andrew)
NORTON (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of
Stow, hundred of Blackbourn, E. division of Suffolk,
3½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Ixworth; containing 879
inhabitants, and comprising by admeasurement 2422
acres. In the reign of Henry VIII. a search was made
here for gold, under the directions of that monarch,
upon whom an imposition had been practised; the excavations still remain. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £14. 3. 9., and in the gift of St.
Peter's College, Cambridge: the rectorial tithes have been
commuted for £605, and there are 21 acres of glebe.
The Rev. Cox Macro, D.D., in 1776 bequeathed £600
stock, since exchanged for £724. 8. 8., three per cents.,
the dividends on which are distributed in coats and
gowns to poor men and women.
Norton (St. Egwin)
NORTON (St. Egwin), a parish, in the union of
Evesham, Lower division of the hundred of Blackenhurst, Pershore and E. divisions of the county of
Worcester, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Evesham; containing, with the tything of Chadbury and the chapelry
of Lenchwick, 385 inhabitants. The abbey of Evesham
had lands here before the Conquest. The parish is
situated on the right bank of the navigable river Avon,
and is intersected by the road from Evesham to Alcester; the number of acres is 2636. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 17. 8½.; net
income, £157; patrons and appropriators, the Dean
and Chapter of Worcester. The church, with the exception of two curious doorways of transition Norman
character, is in the later English style. The nave,
which more than a century past had fallen down, was
restored in 1844 to its ancient state, under the superintendence of the vicar, the Rev. William Brown: the
interior is fitted up with open seats, adorned with carved
oak finials, and presenting an antique, uniform, and
pleasing appearance. The adjoining chapel, built at
first for a north transept, was at the close of Henry
VIII.'s reign used as a mortuary chapel, and contains
the remains of members of the family of Biggs, highly
distinguished for military services at that period; the
monuments are in excellent preservation, and consist
of recumbent figures, and others in a kneeling posture.
In this chapel are also suspended the banners and
armour of the Craven and Seymour families, of which
it is the burial-place: a window of stained glass has
been painted and presented by the Rev. Mr. Brown.
The whole cost of repairing the church, with the chapel,
amounted to £700, one-half of which sum was raised
by a church-rate, and the remainder by subscription.
Norton
NORTON, a parish, in the union of Malton, wapentake of Buckrose, E. riding of York, ¼ of a mile
(E. S. E.) from Malton; containing, with the hamlets
of Sutton and Welham, 1644 inhabitants. This parish,
which is separated from that of Malton by the river
Derwent, comprises about 3076 acres; the soil is light
and gravelly, the surface level, and the substratum
abounds with freestone of good quality. The road from
York to Scarborough passes through the village, and a
handsome stone bridge over the river connects it with
the town of Malton. The living is a perpetual curacy;
net income, £100; patron, the Rev. Edmund Day, B.D.
The church, a neat structure in the Grecian style, was
erected in 1820, at an expense of £2500, raised by subscription, and contains 350 sittings, of which 150 are
free. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. At
the foot of the bridge was formerly an hospital, founded
early in the reign of Henry II. by Roger de Flamville,
and made subordinate to the priory of Malton. Many
Roman coins have been discovered.
Norton
NORTON, a township, in the parish of Campsall,
union of Doncaster, Upper division of the wapentake
of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 8½ miles (N. by
W.) from Doncaster; containing 628 inhabitants, and
comprising an area of about 2200 acres. In the winter
time a large portion of the township was frequently
flooded, but it has been effectually drained within the
last fifteen years. The Fellows of Catherine Hall, Cambridge, are lords of the manor, and owners of certain
lands which belonged to a priory here. The village is
situated in the vale of the river Went, about two miles
north of Askerne. The tithes were commuted for land
in 1814. Here is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Norton-Bavant (All Saints)
NORTON-BAVANT (All Saints), a parish, in the
union and hundred of Warminster, Warminster and
S. divisions of Wilts, 2¾ miles (S. E. by E.) from Warminster; containing 285 inhabitants. It is situated on
the road from Bath to Salisbury, and comprises by
computation 2162 acres, of which about 1000 are arable, and the remainder pasture and downs. The living
is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£6. 0. 10., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £150; impropriator, S. Bennett, Esq. The
church has been rebuilt in a neat style, and the interior
is handsomely arranged.