Sleaford, New - Slyne

Sleaford, New (St. Denis)

SLEAFORD, NEW (St. Denis), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the wapentake of Flaxwell, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 18 miles (S. S. E.) from Lincoln, and 116 (N. by W.) from London; containing, with the hamlet of Holdingham, 3382 inhabitants, of whom 3184 are in the town. The name in ancient records is written La Ford, and Eslaforde. A castle appears to have been erected here at an early period, but of its history there are few records, and of the building only some trifling remains. The town is situated on the road from London to Lincoln, is of respectable appearance, and gradually improving in buildings and in importance; it is well paved, and lighted with gas, and the inhabitants are supplied with water from an adjacent spring, called Bully or Boiling wells. There is a small theatre, erected in 1824. A canal connects the town with Boston, Lincoln, and the Trent navigation, and greatly promotes the trade. The market is on Monday; and fairs take place on PloughMonday, Easter-Monday, Whit-Monday, August 11th, and October 20th, for horses, cattle, sheep, and provisions. The quarter-sessions for the parts of Kesteven are held here, by adjournment from Bourne. The powers of the county debt-court of Sleaford, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Sleaford. The old town-hall, being greatly dilapidated, has been pulled down, and a handsome edifice in the later English style erected. The parish comprises by measurement 2000 acres; the substratum abounds with stone, of good quality for building, and which is also burnt into lime.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8; net income, £170; patron, the Bishop of Lincoln. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1794; the glebe comprises about 100 acres. The church exhibits some fine specimens of almost every period of English architecture, and consists of a nave, aisles, a large transept on the north side, and a chancel. At the west end is a tower, erected about 1150, which is by far the most ancient part of the building; it is in the early English style, and surmounted by a spire of later date. In the chancel are three stalls, in the later style, and at the entrance to it are the screen and canopy of the old rood-loft; the edifice also contains several ancient monuments, chiefly to the family of Carr, formerly lords of the manor. There are places of worship for the Connexion of the Countess of Huntingdon, Independents, and Wesleyans. The free grammar school was founded in 1604, by Robert Carr, who endowed it with £20 per annum, subsequently increased to £80, with a handsome dwelling-house: the master is appointed by the Marquess of Bristol, as owner of the "late fair castle of Sleaford," for which he pays to the crown £40 per annum. An hospital for a chaplain and twelve men, was founded and endowed by Sir Robert Carr, Bart., in 1636, and an appropriate chapel was erected in 1823, in which the chaplain officiates twice in the week. A school was endowed with land by William Alvey, in 1729. The poor-law union of Sleaford comprises 56 parishes or places, and contains a population of 23,234. The bishops of Lincoln had anciently a magnificent palace here, in which King John sojourned for one night on his route to Newark; but no part remains except the foundations. A branch of the Ermin-street passes through this parish and that of Old Sleaford.

Sleaford, Old (St. Giles)

SLEAFORD, OLD (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Flaxwell, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 1 mile (S. E.) from the town of New Sleaford; containing 345 inhabitants. The church has been demolished upwards of 200 years, for which period there has been no presentation, the vicarage being supposed to have merged into the impropriation, and the inhabitants attending divine service at Quarrington. The vicarage is valued in the king's books at £4. 10.

Sleagill

SLEAGILL, a township, in the parish of Morland, West ward and union, county of Westmorland, 2½ miles (S. W.) from the village of Morland; containing 153 inhabitants. Coal is obtained here. The tithes were commuted for land, under acts of inclosure, in 1779 and 1803. The sum of £6 per annum, the produce of land, is paid to a schoolmaster.

Sleap

SLEAP, a township, partly in the parish of Wem, Whitchurch division of the hundred of North Bradford, and partly in the parish of Middle, hundred of Pimhill, union of Wem, N. division of Salop, 1¾ mile (W. S. W.) from Wem; with 57 inhabitants.

Sleckburn, or Sleeburn, East

SLECKBURN, or SLEEKBURN, EAST, a township, in the parish and division of Bedlington, union of Morpeth, county of Northumberland, 6¾ miles (E. S. E.) from Morpeth; containing 72 inhabitants. This township, which is the property of the see of Durham, has the ocean at a short distance on the east; and the tide covers a low piece of ground of considerable extent. The Sleek burn rises a little to the west of Tranwell, in the parish of Morpeth, where it is called Catch burn, and pursues its course to the river Blyth; it is for some distance very narrow and sluggish, and throws down much slake or mud, from which the township derives its name. There is a small village. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £12. 12.; and the appropriate for £127. 6., payable to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

Sleckburn, West

SLECKBURN, WEST, a township, in the parish and division of Bedlington, union of Morpeth, county of Northumberland, 5¾ miles (E. by S.) from Morpeth; containing 225 inhabitants. This place is situated not far from the sea, the spring tides flowing up to it, and near the Sleek burn, which runs across the parish from Morpeth common to the river Blyth. A moiety of the manor was anciently held by William de Dunum, in capite, by fealty, and the payment of £4. 10. rent, besides suit at the three courts of Bedlington, and "grinding his corn at the bishop's mill, now known as Bebside mill, at a sixteenth mulcture." The township is at present in great part the property of the see of Durham. The tithes have been commuted for £16. 13. 6. payable to the vicar, and £177. 8. to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

Sleddale, Long

SLEDDALE, LONG, a chapelry, in the parish, union, and ward of Kendal, county of Westmorland, 8 miles (N. by W.) from Kendal; containing 160 inhabitants. It comprises 5085 acres, nearly half of which consists of pasture and woodland. Here are quarries of fine blue slate, situated amid mountain scenery of the most romantic character. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £80; patron, the Vicar of Kendal. The chapel was rebuilt in 1712.

Sledmere (St. Mary)

SLEDMERE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Driffield, wapentake of Buckrose, E. riding of York, 12 miles (S. E. by E.) from Malton; containing 435 inhabitants. This parish comprises, with the hamlet of Croom, about 6650 acres of land, rising in bold acclivities, on which are numerous plantations of beech, ash, larch, and fir. It is divided between arable and meadow, and sheep-walks, the former of which preponderate. Sledmere House, a spacious mansion of stone, the seat of Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., is seated near the foot of an acclivity, in a beautiful and finely-wooded park, south of the village; it was built by Sir Christopher, the second baronet, from his own designs, and was improved and enriched by his son, the late Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, brother of the present baronet. Sledmere Castle, on the east side of the park, is a modern edifice. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Sir Tatton. The church, which stands within the park, is a neat fabric, consisting of a nave, chancel, and square tower, and containing some handsome monuments to the Sykes family.

Sleep

SLEEP, a hamlet, in the parish of St. Peter, St. Alban's, poor-law union of St. Alban's, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, county of Hertford; containing 751 inhabitants.

Sleningford

SLENINGFORD, with North Stainley, West riding of the county of York.—See Stainley, North.

Slimbridge (St. John the Evangelist)

SLIMBRIDGE (St. John the Evangelist), a parish, in the union of Dursley, Upper division of the hundred of Berkeley, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 4 miles (N. by W.) from Dursley; containing 866 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the Severn, and comprises by measurement 3392 acres, of which the greater part is the property of the Berkeley family. The Gloucester and Berkeley canal and the Gloucester and Bristol railroad intersect it. The manufacture of iron was formerly carried on; the site of the works is now occupied by a saw-mill. Fairs are held on the 3rd of April and the first Tuesday in October. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £28. 2. 11.; net income, £601; patrons, the President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1801 and 1813. The church is a handsome structure in the decorated English style, with a lofty and well-proportioned spire: it was lately restored, at a cost of nearly £1000. There is a place of worship for Independents.

Slindon

SLINDON, a township, in the parish of Eccleshall, union of Stone, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill and of the county of Stafford; containing 115 inhabitants. The appropriate tithes have been commuted for £70. 1., payable to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, and the vicarial tithes for 18s. 1d.

Slindon (St. Mary)

SLINDON (St. Mary), a parish, in the hundred of Aldwick, rape of Chichester, W. division of Sussex, 4¼ miles (W. by N.) from Arundel; containing 544 inhabitants. The parish comprises 2504a. 2r. 6p., of which 777 acres are arable, 475 meadow and pasture, 968 woodland, and 237 common: the surface is varied. Slindon House, the seat of the Countess Dowager of Newburgh, was originally built by one of the archbishops of Canterbury, and was for some time the residence of the celebrated Archbishop Langton, who died here in the reign of Henry III.; the present mansion, erected by Sir George Kemp in the reign of Elizabeth, is a handsome structure, on a bold eminence. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 13. 1½., and in the patronage of the Countess: the tithes have been commuted for £270, and the glebe comprises 43 acres. The church is in the later English style. There is a Roman Catholic chapel.

Slinfold (St. Peter)

SLINFOLD (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Horsham, partly in the hundred of East Easwrith, rape of Bramber, but chiefly in the hundred of West Easwrith, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Horsham; containing 691 inhabitants. It is intersected by the road from Horsham to Guildford, and comprises about 3550 acres. The soil in some parts is light and fertile, but is generally a deep stiff clay; the surface is hilly, and the substratum contains good building-stone, which is quarried in blocks of large dimensions. Two branches of the river Arun unite in the parish. The living comprises a sinecure rectory and a vicarage united, valued jointly in the king's books at £12. 14. 2.; net income, £472; patron, the Bishop of Chichester. The church is an ancient edifice, with a low tower. The Roman road from Regnum to London passed for about two miles through the parish; and Roman swords and ornaments of brass have been found. The Rev. James Dallaway, author of the Topography of the Rape of Arundel, was rector of Slinfold.

Slingley.—See Seaton, Durham.

SLINGLEY.—See Seaton, Durham.

Slingsby (All Saints)

SLINGSBY (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Malton, wapentake of Ryedale, N. riding of York, 6 miles (N.) from Whitewell, and 6 (W. N. W.) from Malton; containing 609 inhabitants. This place, at the time of the Conquest, belonged to the Lacy family; and afterwards to the Mowbrays, who had a castle here. The Wyville family, the Knights Templars, and others, held lands under the Mowbrays; and the castle subsequently became the property of the noble family of Hastings, who are supposed to have rebuilt it. William, the great Lord Hastings, was beheaded by Richard III., and was succeeded here by his son Edward, who by will in 1497 directed Slingsby to be sold. The castle and manor were purchased, some time previously to 1619, by Sir Charles Cavendish, whose son took down the castle, and in 1643 erected on its site a large and elegant mansion of quadrangular form, with towers on the eastern and western sides, in the style of Inigo Jones. This mansion afterwards became the property of the poet, Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham. Not being inhabited, however, it fell into decay; and after the death of the duke, was purchased, along with the estate, in 1735, by an ancestor of the Earl of Carlisle, the present proprietor, by whom the dilapidated remains are carefully preserved.

The parish comprises by measurement 2300 acres, of which 1850 are arable, 400 pasture, and 50 wood. The southern portion is chiefly a moorland valley in the bosom of the Howardian hills; advancing northward, the surface abruptly rises to an elevated natural terrace, forming a portion of the boundary of those fine hills, flanked on the east and west with ancient woods of stately oak. Towards the south, the terrace commands a view of Castle-Howard, with its princely domain; towards the north, a view of the whole range of the eastern moors from Whitestone cliff to Seamer Beacon, with the richly-cultivated vale of the river Rye in the foreground. The soil in the middle part of the parish is a rich hazel loam, producing turnips, oats, and barley; and in the northern portions, which are marshy, a strong clay, well adapted for wheat. The hills are of the oolite limestone formation, and in the lower grounds are extensive beds of fine blue clay: the stone is quarried for building, for burning into lime, and for the roads; and some kilns have been established for the manufacture of bricks and tiles from the clay. The village is spacious and well built, pleasantly situated at the base, and partly on the acclivity, of the northern ridge of the Howardian hills, and watered by the Wathbeck rivulet. It is one of three villages in Yorkshire that retain their rustic maypole. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 1. 10½., and in the patronage of the Earl of Carlisle, with a net income of £548: there are 100 acres of glebe. The church is a neat structure, partly Norman, and partly in the later English style; it contains several ancient monuments, including one of a templar in the full costume of a Norman knight, recorded by Dodsworth to be a member of the Wyville family. Here is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Slipton (St. John the Baptist)

SLIPTON (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Thrapston, hundred of Huxloe, N. division of the county of Northampton, 3¼ miles (W. by N.) from Thrapston; containing 159 inhabitants. It comprises 768a. 2r. 35p., including roads, cottage-gardens, and the glebe farm: the substratum contains limestone, which is quarried for road-making, and for building tenements and walls. The river Nene is about 3 miles eastward of the place; at Thrapston is a station of the Blisworth and Peterborough railway, and the Northampton road is about a mile distant. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £5. 12. 3½.; net income, £104: the patronage and impropriation belong to Mrs. William Stopford. The tithes were commuted for land in 1771; the glebe comprises about 112 acres, with a glebe-house, which is let with the farm. The church is an ancient structure. A school of industry for girls, and a Sunday school for both sexes, are supported by Mr. and Mrs. William Stopford.

Sloley (St. Bartholomew)

SLOLEY (St. Bartholomew), a parish, in the Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of Tunstead, E. division of Norfolk, 1 mile (E.) from Scottow; containing 291 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 719 acres, of which 640 are arable, 20 meadow and pasture, and 50 wood: the lands are chiefly the property of the Rev. B. Cubitt. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8., and in the gift of the Rev. B. Cubitt: the tithes have been commuted for £240. 10., and the glebe comprises 24 acres. The church is in the Norman style, with later additions, and a square embattled tower; it was thoroughly repaired in 1841.

Sloothby

SLOOTHBY, a hamlet, in the parish of Willoughby, union of Spilsby, Wold division of the hundred of Calceworth, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln; containing 242 inhabitants.

Slough

SLOUGH, a village, partly in the parish of StokePoges, and partly in that of Upton, union of Eton, hundred of Stoke, county of Buckingham, 21 miles (W.) from London; containing 1189 inhabitants. A cattle-market is held on Tuesday. Here is a station of the Great Western railway, much frequented by visiters to Windsor Palace and Eton College: a handsome hotel has been erected. Sir William Herschell, the astronomer, resided at this place, where he constructed his powerful telescope.

Slyne

SLYNE, with Hest, a township, in the parish of Bolton-le-Sands, hundred of Lonsdale south of the Sands, N. division of Lancashire, 3 miles (N. W.) from Lancaster; containing 316 inhabitants. Slyne with Hest forming one manor, has always appertained to the duchy of Lancaster. From the reign of Henry VII. to that of Mary, Slyne was held by the Singletons of Brockholes, and there is little doubt that it included Hest: the manor was afterwards held by a family named Gervise. The late John Fenton Cawthorne, Esq., sold the property to the Greene family about the year 1817. The township comprises 1105a. 3r. 39p., whereof 723 acres are meadow and pasture, 341 arable, and the remainder woodland and waste. The views comprise the Lake mountains, Morecambe bay, and the district of Furness. A breakwater was constructed at Hest Bank in 1820, alongside of which Liverpool and Glasgow vessels load and unload their cargoes; and by means of a canal extending to within a short distance of the shore, a considerable trade is carried on with Kendal and other inland towns. Hest has become a place of resort for sea-bathing, being delightfully situated on the east side of Morecambe bay: from this point travellers commence crossing the sands to Ulverston, a guide being always in attendance at the channel of the river Kent. The Lancaster and Carlisle railway runs through the township, near the shore; and the great road to Kendal, Carlisle, and Glasgow passes through the village of Slyne. Courts leet and baron are held. The great tithes, amounting to £200, are payable to the lessees of the Bishop of Chester. There are traces of salt-works in the neighbourhood.