Piddinghoe

PIDDINGHOE, a parish, in the union of Newhaven, hundred of Holmstrow, rape of Lewes, E. division of Sussex, 5½ miles (S. by E.) from Lewes; containing 263 inhabitants. It is intersected by the road from Lewes to Newhaven, and bounded on the east by the Ouse river, and on the south by the English Channel. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 14. 2.; net income, £157; patron, the Rev. James Hutchins; impropriator, the Earl of Chichester. The church, which is principally of flint, with a circular tower, is in the early English style.

Piddington (St. Mary)

PIDDINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Hardingstone, hundred of Wymmersley, S. division of the county of Northampton, 5 miles (S. E. by S.) from Northampton; containing, with the hamlet of Hackleton, 981 inhabitants, of whom 545 are in Piddington hamlet. The parish comprises 2653 acres, of cold clayey land, in equal portions of arable and pasture; and is intersected by the road from Northampton to London, which passes through Hackleton. Shoes are manufactured by a large number of the men, and lace by the women. The living is a perpetual curacy, united to that of Horton: the church was erected about 1500, and has a tower and spire. There is a place of worship for Baptists at Hackleton; and schools are supported, on the national plan. Mrs. Judith Willoughby, in Queen Anne's reign, left £14 yearly for apprenticing boys. About 1781 were discovered the remains of a Roman building, among which was a handsome tessellated pavement.

Piddington (St. Nicholas)

PIDDINGTON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Bicester, hundred of Bullingdon, though locally in that of Ploughley, county of Oxford, 2½ miles (W. N. W.) from Brill; containing 427 inhabitants. It comprises 2228a. 3r. 26p., and is bounded on the south by Musvill Hill, at the bottom of which the village is situated; the land from the village to the northern boundary is rather flat, and subject to occasional floods. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £173; patrons, the Parishioners.

Piddle, North (St. Michael)

PIDDLE, NORTH (St. Michael), a parish, in the union, and Upper division of the hundred, of Pershore, Pershore and E. divisions of the county of Worcester, 5 miles (N. by E.) from Pershore; containing 158 inhabitants. This parish appears from time immemorial to have been called by its present name; but in some of the oldest writings it is styled North Pidlet. It is intersected by the road from Worcester to Alcester, and comprises by measurement 791 acres: there are several quarries of stone for the repair of roads. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 1. 3., and in the gift of Earl Somers: the income arises from 151 acres of land, assigned in 1813 in lieu of tithes, and now valued at £1 per acre. The church, a small plain edifice, appears to have been erected about the twelfth century.

Piddlehinton (St. Mary)

PIDDLEHINTON (St. Mary), a parish and liberty, in the union of Dorchester, Dorchester division of Dorset, 5¼ miles (N. N. E.) from Dorchester; containing 394 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 2264 acres of land with a substratum of chalk: the village lies in a valley, watered by the small river Piddle, and surrounded by downs. The valley is cultivated in water-meadows and orchards, while on the hilly grounds corn is grown, and flocks of sheep are fed; there are also large dairy-farms, supplying butter and cheese to the London market. The manor anciently belonged to a religious house in France, but eventually escheated to the crown, and was given by Henry VI. to Eton College. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17. 3. 9., and in the gift of the College: the tithes have been commuted for £373, and the glebe comprises 47 acres. The church, which is small and neat, was built about the early part of the fifteenth century.

Piddletown (St. Mary)

PIDDLETOWN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Dorchester, hundred of Piddletown, Dorchester division of Dorset, 5 miles (N. E. by E.) from Dorchester; containing 1168 inhabitants. The parish comprises 7653 acres, of which 752 are common or waste land; it is situated on the road from London to Exeter, and bounded on the north by the river Piddle. Bricks are made. Here was formerly a market, long since disused; and two fairs, originally granted by Henry VIII., are still held on April 8th and October 29th, for horses, oxen, hogs, and sheep. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £31. 2. 11.; patron, the Marquess of Hastings; impropriator, the Earl of Orford. The great tithes have been commuted for £908, and the vicarial for £520: there are 12½ acres of glebe. The church is a large structure with an embattled tower, partly in the decorated and partly in the later English style; the south cross aisle contains some fine tombs of alabaster of the Martin family: part of the edifice was erected about 1505. There is a place of worship for Independents.

Piddletrenthide (All Saints)

PIDDLETRENTHIDE (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Cerne, liberty of Piddletrenthide, Cerne division of Dorset, 7½ miles (N. by E.) from Dorchester; containing 671 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £19. 10. 5.; net income, £211; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Winchester. The great tithes have been commuted for £420, and the vicarial for £88; the glebe comprises 3 acres. John Harding, in 1750, left the sum of £431. 13., the interest to be applied in teaching children.

Pidley cum Fenton (All Saints)

PIDLEY cum Fenton (All Saints), a parish, in the union of St. Ives, hundred of Hurstingstone, county of Huntingdon, 2 miles (W. N. W.) from Somersham; containing 516 inhabitants. The living is annexed, with that of Colne, to the rectory of Somersham: the tithes have been commuted for £478. A school is endowed with £20 per annum.

Piecombe, or Pycombe

PIECOMBE, or Pycombe, a parish, in the union of Cuckfield, hundred of Poynings, rape of Lewes, E. division of Sussex, 6 miles (N. N. W.) from Brighton; containing 564 inhabitants. The parish lies wholly on the South Downs, including, at the northern extremity, the fort of Wolstonbury, from which the prospects are very extensive. The road from London to Brighton, by way of Hixted and Cuckfield, and the London and Brighton railway, both pass through the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £15. 8. 9., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £321, and there are nearly 30 acres of glebe. The church is in the later English style. On excavating for the railway, Roman urns, coins, &c. were discovered.

Pierre, St.

PIERRE, ST., a parish, in the union and division of Chepstow, hundred of Caldicot, county of Monmouth, 3 miles (S. W. by S.) from Chepstow; containing, with Runston, 84 inhabitants. The parish is beautifully situated at the mouth of the Severn, between the new and old ferries across that river; and comprises 455a. 2r. 28p., whereof 313 acres are arable, 113 pasture and meadow, and 29 woodland. The road from Chepstow to Newport passes through it. St. Pierre House, the seat of Thomas Lewis, Esq., and for many centuries the residence of his ancestors, is surrounded by a wellwooded park. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £3. 12. 3½., and in the patronage of Mr. Lewis: the tithes have been commuted for £119, and the glebe comprises one acre. The church, an ancient edifice, stands close to St. Pierre House.

Pierse-Bridge

PIERSE-BRIDGE, a township, in the parish of Gainford, union of Darlington, S. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 5½ miles (W. by N.) from Darlington; containing 224 inhabitants. This place occupies the site of a considerable Roman station, the Ad Tisam, probably, of Richard's Fourth Iter. The north and west sides of the vallum, and part of the south side, are still conspicuous: the Watling-street passes on the east, at the distance of a few yards; and many coins and other antiquities, including a fine altar and several urns and inscriptions, have been found. The place is noticed by Leland, who mentions "a prati chapel of our Lady, hard by Persebrige, of the foundation of John Balliol, King of Scottes;" of this chapel, which was dedicated to the Virgin, and valued at the Dissolution at £2. 2. 4., there were some remains at the close of the last century. Here was likewise, it is said, a chapel in honour of St. Helen. The township is chiefly the property of the Duke of Cleveland, and comprises 920a. 1r. 12p., of which the soil is fertile, and the scenery picturesque, especially on the Tees, over which is a stone bridge of three arches. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £90. 10., payable to Trinity College, Cambridge; and the vicarial tithes for £97. 8. 5. About 200 yards below the present bridge, foundations of a more ancient one were visible in 1771, but every vestige was swept away by the floods of that year. In December, 1642, the Earl of Newcastle, retreating from the north for the purpose of relieving York, forced the passage over the bridge, which was disputed by Capt. Hotham; and cannon-balls and other relics have been since found at different times.

Pigburn

PIGBURN, a hamlet, in the parish of Brodsworth, union of Doncaster, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York; containing 244 inhabitants. This place is in Domesday book called Picheburn, and derives the latter syllable of its name from a small brook. It was at an early date the seat of a family who took their name from it, and who, being distinguished by the title armiger, must have been of some consideration. The family of Awston afterwards held the estate, and from them it passed to the Rawsons, who in 1699 disposed of their interest here, since which the lands have accompanied Brodsworth in the descent.

Pigdon

PIGDON, a township, in the parish of Mitford, union of Morpeth, W. division of Morpeth ward, N. division of Northumberland, 3¾ miles (W. N. W.) from Morpeth; containing 50 inhabitants. This place was anciently called Pikeden or Pike-Dun, a name descriptive of the sharply-pointed hill on the acclivity of which the hamlet is situated. It was at an early date the property of the St. Peter family, and the lands have been subsequently held by the families of Eure, Heron, Milbank, and Surtees. The township comprises 1093a. 2r. 23p., whereof 208 acres are woodland, chiefly oak, and the remainder divided into two farms. The village overlooks the valleys of the Font and Wansbeck, and commands an extensive prospect to the east, south, and west. The great tithes have been commuted for £50.

Piglesthorne (St. Mary)

PIGLESTHORNE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Berkhampstead, hundred of Cottesloe, county of Buckingham, 1 mile (S. by W.) from Ivinghoe; containing, with part of the hamlet of Frithsden, and part of the chapelry of Nettleden, 522 inhabitants, of whom 424 are in the township of Piglesthorne. The parish comprises 2416a. 2r. 11p., of which 1053 acres are arable, meadow, and park, 885 open field, 279 common, roads, &c., and 198 woodland; the soil is clay, and the surface undulated. The Grand Junction canal passes through the parish, and the London and Birmingham railway runs a short distance to the southwest of the church. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £66; patrons, the Trustees of the Earl of Bridgewater, whose tithes have been commuted for £322. At Nettleden is a separate incumbency.

Pile of Fouldrey.—See Ramsyde.

PILE of Fouldrey.—See Ramsyde.

Pilham (All Saints)

PILHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, wapentake of Corringham, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 5 miles (N. E. by E.) from Gainsborough; containing 96 inhabitants. The parish is intersected by the road from Kirton to Gainsborough, and comprises 1053 acres; the soil is in general a cold clay. A hard blue stone is quarried for the repair of roads. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6. 3. 4.; net income, £200; patron, the Crown. 150 acres of land, and a rent-charge of £12, were assigned in lieu of tithes in 1763.

Pilkington

PILKINGTON, a township, in the parish of Prestwich cum Oldham, union of Bury, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 6 miles from Manchester; containing 11,186 inhabitants. The township is bounded on the north-west and south-west by the river Irwell, and is divided into the three hamlets of Unsworth, lying on the east, Outwood on the west, and Whitefield in the centre. It comprises 5238 acres. In Unsworth, the soil was chiefly of a boggy nature; but extensive drainage has been for some time in progress, and the extent of productive land is gradually increasing. In Whitefield and Outwood hamlets the soil is more light and sandy. The surface of the township is considerably varied as to elevation, and fine views are obtained of Blackstone-Edge, on the north-east, and the Welsh mountains contiguous to the Vale of Clwyd, on the south and west. Collieries in Whitefield and Outwood produce engine-coal of excellent quality, which is sent in considerable quantities by canal to Manchester, the consumption being also very great at the print and dye works, factories, &c., in the vicinity. Numerous buildings have of late years been erected in the several hamlets in connexion with the cotton-trade, which is here coeval with the earliest time of Sir Richard Arkwright: the inhabitants are also employed in hand-loom weaving. Here are the print-works of Messrs. Felkin and Company, those of Messrs. Cousil and Company, the bleach and finishing works of Messrs. Turner and Company, and the cotton and linen mill of Messrs. William Richardson and Sons. In 1846 an act was passed for the formation of a gas company. The tithes have been commuted for about £390. There are churches at Unsworth, at Stand in Whitefield, and at Ringley in Outwood; and in the two former hamlets are places of worship for various denominations of dissenters: in each of the three is an endowed school. The fee-simple of the manor of Pilkington, with few and not important exceptions, vests in the Earl of Derby.

Pillaton

PILLATON, a parish, in the union of St. Germans, Middle division of the hundred of East, E. division of Cornwall, 3½ miles (S.) from Callington; containing 434 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1754 acres of cultivated land, besides 200 of wood and coppice, and 40 of common; the surface is very hilly. The small river Lyner runs through one of the valleys, and bounds the parish on the west; on the east it is bounded by the river Tamar, which divides it from the county of Devon. A fair is held on Whit-Tuesday. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £16. 15. 7½.; net income, £203; patron, E. Collins, Esq. The church consists of two aisles, and has a tower more than sixty feet high.

Pillerton-Hersey (St. Mary)

PILLERTON-HERSEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Shipston-upon-Stour, Kineton division of the hundred of Kineton, S. division of the county of Warwick, 3¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Kineton; containing 217 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1389 acres, and is situated to the west of the lofty range called Edge-Hill, of historical celebrity. The soil is mostly stiff, resting upon clay alternated with flat blue rock to a considerable depth; in some parts it is light and sandy, with a substratum of white limestone. The Roman fosse-road intersects the parish. The living is a vicarage, with that of Pillerton-Priors annexed, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £130; patron and impropriator, the Rev. Francis Mills. Land and a money payment were assigned as a commutation of tithes and moduses for the commons of Lower Pillerton, in 1794. The church is ancient: the chancel, the oldest part, is supposed to be of the date of Edward I.; the rest of the edifice bears the architectural character of Queen Mary's time.

Pillerton-Priors (St. Mary Magdalene)

PILLERTON-PRIORS (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Shipston, Kineton division of the hundred of Kineton, S. division of the county of Warwick, 4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Kineton; containing 183 inhabitants. This place is called Pillerton Parva in the Domesday survey. The manor, which had been given to a monastery, came to the crown at the Dissolution, and was granted by Henry VIII. to Geoffrey Sackerley; it subsequently passed to other families, and was sold by William Compton to the Earl of Rutland. The parish is intersected by the road from Banbury to Stratford-on-Avon, and also by the Roman fosse-way; and is computed to contain 1566 acres. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Pillerton-Hersey: the church was burnt down in 1666.

Pilley

PILLEY, with Warborne, a tything, in the parish of Boldre, union of Lymington, E. division of the hundred of New-Forest, S. division of the county of Southampton; containing 435 inhabitants.

Pilling

PILLING, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Garstang, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of Lancashire, 7½ miles (W. by N.) from Garstang; containing 1232 inhabitants. "Pilyn" was possessed by the abbey of Cockersand until the Dissolution, when Henry VIII. granted lands here to the Kitchin family of Hatfield, Herts, whose heiress conveyed them by marriage to Robert Dalton, of Thurnham, Esq. Frances, daughter of John Dalton (who died in 1777), brought Pilling by marriage to Humphrey Trafford, Esq., of Croston, from whose family it passed to several owners: the present lords of the manor are, Edmund Hornby, Esq., of Dalton Hall, near Burton-in-Kendal, and John Gardner, Esq., of Sion Hill, Bonds, near Garstang. The chapelry is on the shore of Morecambe bay, and comprises 2066 acres of arable land, 2062 acres meadow and pasture, 4 wood, 875 uncultivated moss, 381 green marsh, and 1500 acres sands occasionally overflowed by the tide. The surface is nearly level, and the soil of the improved land siliceous, with a clayey subsoil. A considerable portion of land has been reclaimed from the moss within the last forty years; and since Richard Cardwell Gardner, Esq., became the owner of the Brickhouse estate, Priest Cottage, and other valuable property in the neighbourhood, the township has been much improved, that gentleman having laid out a large amount with this object. Agriculture is the chief support of the inhabitants: a few families employ themselves in fishing. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £107, with a parsonage-house, built in 1830; patrons, E. Hornby, and John Gardner, Esqrs.; impropriators, Messrs. Standish and Benison, whose tithes, arising from 4598 acres of land, have been commuted for £665. The chapel is a plain structure, erected in 1719-21. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Robert Carter, in 1710, gave some property towards the support of a school, of which the income is now about £20 per annum. In the moss is some bog-iron ore; and considerable organic remains of the red-deer have been found in the silt under the clay here: many of these are in the possession of Mr. J. D. Banister.

Pilsdon

PILSDON, a parish, in the union of Beaminster, hundred of Whitchurch-Canonicorum, Bridport division of Dorset, 4½ miles (W. by S.) from Beaminster; containing 122 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises by measurement 647 acres, is intersected by the road from Axminster to Beaminster. Pilsdon Hill abounds in flintstone suitable for building and other purposes: there are remains of a Roman encampment on it. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7, and in the gift of the Rev. Gregory Raymond: the tithes have been commuted for £68. 10., and the glebe comprises 21 acres. The church, which is very ancient, was repaired by the patron in 1830. The former manorial mansion is now a farmhouse.

Pilsgate

PILSGATE, a hamlet, in the parish of Barnack, union of Stamford, soke of Peterborough, N. division of the county of Northampton, 2½ miles (E. S. E.) from Stamford; containing 131 inhabitants.

Pilsley

PILSLEY, a township, in the parish of Edensor, union of Bakewell, hundred of High Peak, N. division of the county of Derby, 2½ miles (N. E.) from Bakewell; containing 369 inhabitants.

Pilsley

PILSLEY, a hamlet, in the parish of North Wingfield, union of Chesterfield, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 6 miles (S. S. E.) from Chesterfield; containing 325 inhabitants.

Pilsworth

PILSWORTH, a township, in the chapelry of Unsworth, parish of Middleton, union of Bury, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 3 miles (S. E.) from Bury; containing 414 inhabitants. This township is bounded on the west by the river Roche, and comprises 1470 acres of land, wholly the property of the Earl of Wilton, whose grandfather, Thomas Egerton, the first earl, obtained the estate by marriage with one of the co-heiresses of Sir Ralph Assheton, of Middleton. The surface is undulated; the soil is a strong loam, retentive of moisture, but draining has been successfully introduced of late years, the Earl of Wilton having erected a manufactory for making tiles. Coal is obtained from a colliery lately opened; and stone also is found. There are several bleaching and printing establishments, situated on a stream tributary to the Roche; yet the population of the township shows a decrease of four persons since 1801 (when the number was 418), which is the more remarkable as various new branches of industry have sprung up in the districts around. The tithes have been commuted for £125. On the banks of the Roche is a spot called the Castle, supposed to have been the site of a "peel," or fortified house; hence the name of the township, Peelworth or Pilsworth, "the district of the fortified house."

Pilton (St. Margaret)

PILTON (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Barnstaple, hundred of Braunton, Braunton and N. divisions of Devon; containing 1805 inhabitants. A Benedictine priory, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was founded here by King Athelstan, and flourished, as a cell to the abbey of Malmesbury, till the Dissolution, when its revenue amounted to £56. 12. 8. In 1345, the prior obtained for the inhabitants of the place a weekly market and an annual fair, now discontinued. A hermitage is said to have been also founded here; and an hospital, instituted before the year 1191, in honour of St. Margaret, is still in existence: the inmates are a prior and a brother and sister. Pilton communicates with Barnstaple by a bridge over the river Yeo, 800 feet in length, and by a causeway: part of it, including the hamlet of Bradiford, was, by the Reform act, comprised within the borough of Barnstaple. The woollen-trade and lace manufacture are carried on. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £105; patron, W. Hodge, Esq.: the glebe consists of 22 acres, and there is a glebe-house. The church contains a carved oak screen, a stone pulpit, and a handsome monument to Sir John Chichester, dated 1569.

Pilton (St. Mary)

PILTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Oundle, hundred of Navisford, N. division of the county of Northampton, 3 miles (S. S. W.) from Oundle; containing 133 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1500 acres, and the navigable river Nene flows on the east: there are some quarries of oolite stone. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £11, and in the gift of Lord Lilford: the tithes have been commuted for £160, and the glebe comprises 3½ acres. The church is principally in the early English style, with a tower and spire.

Pilton (St. Nicholas)

PILTON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Uppingham, hundred of Wrandike, county of Rutland, 4¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Uppingham; containing 74 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises about 330 acres, is bounded by the small river Charter on the north. The soil on that side is a strong clay, and on the south is found an abundance of limestone; the surface is undulated. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 17. 3½., and in the gift of Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for £84. 10., and the glebe comprises 18 acres of land.

Pilton (St. Mary)

PILTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Shepton-Mallet, chiefly in the hundred of Whitestone, but partly in that of Glaston-Twelve-Hides, E. division of Somerset, 3 miles (S. W.) from SheptonMallet; containing 1116 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises by measurement 5473 acres, is intersected by the road between Shepton-Mallet and Glastonbury, and by the Roman fosse-way. Excellent stone is quarried for building purposes. A fair is held in September. The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of North Wootton annexed, in the patronage of the Bishop of Bath and Wells; it is valued in the king's books at £7. The great tithes of Pilton have been commuted for £245, and the vicarial for £185; the glebe comprises 29 acres. The church, which was formerly remarkable for its beautiful early English architecture, has been enlarged. There are places of worship for Ranters and Wesleyans. An old building here, now used as a barn, belonged to Glastonbury Abbey.