Thorn (St. Margaret)
THORN (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of
Wellington, hundred of Milverton, W. division of
Somerset, 3½ miles (W.) from Wellington; containing
136 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 900
acres, of which the soil in some places rests upon limestone. The Western Canal, from Taunton to Tiverton,
passes through. The living is a perpetual curacy; net
income, £113; patron, the Archdeacon of Taunton: the
great tithes have been commuted for £108, and the
incumbent's for £54. The church was built about the
year 1570.
Thorn-Coffin (St. Andrew)
THORN-COFFIN (St. Andrew), a parish, in the
union of Yeovil, hundred of Tintinhull, W. division
of Somerset, 2½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Yeovil;
containing 87 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 5. 2½.; net
income, £200; patron, the Rev. W. Sabine.
Thorn-Gumbald
THORN-GUMBALD, a chapelry, in the parish of
Paul, union of Patrington, S. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York, 2 miles (S. E.)
from Hedon; containing 271 inhabitants. It comprises about 1450 acres, and is partly the property of
Sir T. A. C. Constable, Bart., who is lord of the manor:
the village, which is of neat appearance, lies on the road
from Hedon to Patrington. The Independents have a
place of worship.
Thornaby
THORNABY, a district, in the parish of Stainton,
union of Stockton, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 1¾ mile (S. S. E.) from
Stockton; containing 1485 inhabitants. This district,
which forms part of Cleveland, is bounded on the north
and west by the river Tees, and comprises about 1800
acres; the soil is generally a rich loam resting on clay,
and the substratum is intersected by a dyke of whinstone
which is continued across the river. Since the extension
of the Darlington railway, which now passes through
the township to Middlesbrough and Redcar, Thornaby
has much improved: its population in 1831 was only
301 persons. In connexion with some potteries and a
glass-bottle manufactory established here, a new village
called Stockton-south-of-the-Tees has arisen, which promises to become of more importance; on the river are
wharfs belonging to these works, and some large shipbuilding yards. The living, till 1844 a perpetual curacy
united to the living of Stainton, is now distinct; it is in
the gift of the Archbishop, and has a net income of
£120. The church is ancient.
Thornage
THORNAGE, a parish, in the union of Erpingham,
hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 2½ miles
(S. W. by W.) from Holt; containing 325 inhabitants.
It comprises 1266a. 1r. 39p., of which 1035 acres are
arable, 98 pasture and meadow, and 17 woodland and
common. The living is a rectory, with that of Brinton
annexed, valued in the king's books at £6. 18. 4., and
in the gift of Lord Hastings: the tithes of the parish
have been commuted for £321, and the glebe comprises
nearly 37 acres, with a house. The church is chiefly in
the early style, with a square tower; the chancel contains an altar-tomb to Sir William Butt, who died in
1583. There is a place of worship for Baptists.
Thornborough (St. Mary)
THORNBOROUGH (St. Mary), a parish, in the
union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 3½ miles
(E.) from Buckingham; containing 762 inhabitants.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's
books at £8. 17.; net income, £187; patron, Sir H.
Verney, Bart.; impropriator of a portion of the great
tithes, the Duke of Buckingham, the remainder having
been given to the different proprietors on the inclosure
of the waste lands in 1804. The chancel of the church
belongs to W. F. Lowndes Stone, and John Clark, Esqrs.,
who keep it in repair. On opening a barrow about
twenty-five feet high, at Thornborough field, in November 1839, various bronze ornaments were discovered
near the base, on a layer of rough limestone.
Thornborough
THORNBOROUGH, a township, in the parish of
Corbridge, union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale
ward, S. division of Northumberland, 5¾ miles (E.)
from Hexham; containing 60 inhabitants. It is the
property of Greenwich Hospital. Considerable quantities
of limestone are quarried and burned: a lead-mine
which had been anciently wrought was re-opened in
1801, but the speculation proving unsuccessful, was soon
after abandoned. A little to the north-west of the
village is an eminence called Camp Hill, where was formerly a fortified station; and to the south of the hill
was Sheldon lough, which was completely drained on
the inclosure of the common.
Thornbrough
THORNBROUGH, a township, in the parish of
South Kilvington, poor-law union of Thirsk, wapentake of Birdforth, N. riding of York, 2¾ miles (E.
N. E.) from Thirsk; containing 27 inhabitants. It comprises about 550 acres.
Thornbury (St. Peter)
THORNBURY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union
of Holsworthy, hundred of Black Torrington, Holsworthy and N. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (N. E. by E.)
from Holsworthy; containing 524 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 2500 acres, of which 240 are
common or waste. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £11. 3. 11½., and in the patronage
of Mrs. Edgecombe: the tithes have been commuted for
£225, and the glebe consists of 90 acres. The church
has a Norman door, and contains a memorial of an
armed knight and his lady. There is a place of worship
for Wesleyans.
Thornbury (St. Mary)
THORNBURY (St. Mary), a market-town and
parish, and the head of a union, in the Lower division
of the hundred of Thornbury, W. division of the
county of Gloucester, 24 miles (S. W.) from Gloucester, and 124 (W. by N.) from London; containing, with
the tything of Kington, and the chapelries of Falfield,
Moorton, Oldbury, and Rangeworthy, 4706 inhabitants,
of whom 1862 are in the town. This place, which is
of considerable antiquity, is situated on the banks of
a small rivulet, two miles distant from the Severn, in the
vale of Berkeley, and consists principally of three streets.
The chief object worthy of notice is the remains of an
old castle at the end of the town, begun by Edward,
Duke of Buckingham, in 1511, but left in an unfinished
state; the outer wall is still in good preservation, and
over the arched gateway, which formed the main entrance, and is greatly admired, is an inscription in raised
letters, recording the date of its erection. These ruins
command a fine view of the river Severn, which flows
on the western side of the parish. Henry VIII. and
Anne Boleyn were sumptuously entertained here for ten
days, in 1539. The clothing business formerly flourished
in the town, but has been long discontinued, and there
is at present no particular branch of trade. The market
is on Saturday; and fairs are held on Easter-Monday,
August 15th, and the Monday before December 21st,
for cattle and pigs. The corporation, now merely nominal, consists of a mayor and twelve aldermen, with a
sergeant-at-mace and two constables. The powers of
the county debt-court of Thornbury, established in 1847,
extend over part of the registration-district of Thornbury. A hundred court for the recovery of debts under
40s. occurs once in three weeks, on Thursday; and a
court of record for pleas to any amount, for the honour
of Gloucester, takes place every three weeks, on Tuesday. The parish comprises 10,508 acres, of which 179
are common or waste land.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£25. 15. 10., and in the gift of the Dean and Canons of
Christ-Church, Oxford: the great tithes have been commuted for £450, and the vicarial for £621; the impropriate glebe contains 1½ acre, and the vicarial 3 acres.
The church is a spacious and handsome cruciform structure, principally in the later English style, with a lofty
tower ornamented by open-worked battlements and eight
pinnacles; the north and south doors are of much
earlier date. At Falfield and Oldbury are chapels of
ease, and at Rangeworthy a separate incumbency. There
are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends,
Independents, and Wesleyans. A free grammar school
was established and endowed in 1648 by William Edwards, and its funds having been augmented, the income
is now £57. Another free school, instituted in 1729 by
means of a bequest of £500 from John Atwells, and
endowed with certain lands in 1789, possesses a revenue
of £70 per annum. The poor-law union of Thornbury
comprises 21 parishes or places, and contains a population
of 16,466.
Thornbury
THORNBURY, a parish, in the union of Bromyard,
hundred of Broxash, county of Hereford, 4¼ miles
(N. N. W.) from Bromyard; containing, with the hamlet
of Netherwood, 227 inhabitants; and consisting of 1437
acres, but with an extra-parochial place of a similar
name, of 2029 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in
the king's books at £5. 6. 8.; net income, £183;
patron, W. L. Childe, Esq. Wall Hill camp, in the
parish, has a triple intrenchment, almost perfect, and
is supposed to be a work of the ancient Britons under
Caractacus. At Netherwood, Robert Devereux, Earl of
Essex, who was beheaded in 1601, and Roger Mortimer,
the last earl of March, were born.
Thornby (St. Helen)
THORNBY (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of
Brixworth, hundred of Guilsborough, S. division of
the county of Northampton, 3½ miles (S. E. by S.)
from Welford; containing 229 inhabitants. This place
is named in Domesday book Torneberie. At the Dissolution, the monasteries of Sulby and Pipewell appear to
have had lands here; and in the reign of Elizabeth, a
part of the property which had belonged to the former
institution was granted to Sir Christopher Hatton.
The parish comprises about 1200 acres, and is intersected by the road from Northampton to Leicester.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at
£13, and in the gift of the Rev. J. Couchman: the tithes
have been commuted for £329, and the glebe contains
48 acres. The poor have 24 acres of common land.
Thorncombe (St. Mary)
THORNCOMBE (St. Mary), a parish, and formerly
a market-town, in the union of Axminster, county of
Dorset, 6½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Axminster; containing 1425 inhabitants. At Ford, in this parish, an
abbey was founded about the year 1141 for monks of the
Cistercian order, by Adelicia, daughter of Baldwin de
Brioniis, of Normandy. The remains of the foundress
were interred here. The institution soon became highly
celebrated, and some of the greatest men of the time
were connected with it: Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, who flourished in 1184, was at one time a monk
here; Devonius, or John of Devonshire, chaplain and
confessor to King John, was abbot, and, about 1217, was
buried in the conventual church. Dr. Thomas Chard,
abbot, surrendered the establishment to Henry VIII. in
1539, when its annual income was estimated at £381.
10. 8½. The remains are considerable, including the
entrance tower, the old abbey walls, and various other
portions now occupied as a private mansion; the chapel
has a groined roof in the early English style, and some
arches of late Norman character. Ford Abbey, the seat
and estate of the Gwyn family, was sold in Sept. 1846,
for £52,650. Jeremy Bentham resided here a few years.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£15. 18. 9., and in the gift of John Bragge, Esq.: the
vicarial tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of
£491. 13., and the glebe contains 48 acres. At Holditch, in the parish, was formerly a church, of which
scarcely any remnant exists. A free school was founded
by the Rev. Thomas Cooke, in 1734, with a small endowment. A fair is held on Easter-Tuesday.
Thorncote
THORNCOTE, with Brookend and Hatch, a
hamlet, in the parish of Northill, poor-law union of
Biggleswade, hundred of Wixamtree, county of Bedford, 3¼ miles (N. W.) from Biggleswade; containing
214 inhabitants. Brookend lies on the road from Hitchin
to St. Neot's.
Thorndon (All Saints)
THORNDON (All Saints), a parish, in the union
and hundred of Hartismere, W. division of Suffolk,
3 miles (S. by W.) from Eye; containing 732 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 2651a. 3r. 3p., of
which 51 acres are common or waste land. The living
is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £24. 11. 10½.,
and in the gift of the Rev. Thomas Howes: the tithes
have been commuted for £705, and the glebe contains
79¾ acres. The church, said to have been built by
Robert de Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, in 1358, is chiefly in
the later English style, with an embattled tower on the
south side. John Bale, Bishop of Ossory, was rector of
the parish.
Thorne (St. Nicholas)
THORNE (St. Nicholas), a market-town and parish,
and the head of a union, in the wapentake of Strafforth
and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 29 miles (S. by E.)
from York, and 165 (N. by W.) from London; containing 3507 inhabitants. This place is situated on the
Bawtry and Selby turnpike-road, upon the verge of the
moors, and in Hatfield Chase: the inclosure of the
latter tract, comprehending 180,000 acres, was commenced in 1811, and completed in 1824. Henry, Prince
of Wales, on his visit to Yorkshire in 1609, was entertained by Roger Portington, Esq., of Tudworth, in the
parish, with an aquatic stag-hunt of a novel and extraordinary kind: the party, numbering about 100 persons, embarked in boats; and 500 stags driven out of
the woods and grounds where they had been collected
on the previous evening, taking to the water, were pursued by the royal party to the lower part of the levels
called Thorne Mere. King Charles I., during the civil
war, is said to have twice passed the level of Hatfield
Chase. On the latter occasion, when travelling from
York to Nottingham, he crossed the ferry at Whitgift,
proceeded to Goole, and thence advanced along the great
bank to Hatfield, where he refreshed himself at an alehouse. The fenny parts of Hatfield Chase, which is
supposed to have been formerly a forest, from the number of fossil-trees discovered in it, were drained in the
reign of this king with great perseverance and skill, at
an expense of £400,000, by Sir Cornelius Vermuyden,
who had purchased the estate in order to convert it into
good arable and pasture land.
Thorne, which in Leland's time was only a small
village with a fort near it, has become a neat and flourishing town; it is lighted with gas, and many of the
houses are well built. The scenery throughout the neighbourhood, from the flatness of the ground and its numerous wide drains, resembles that of Flanders and the
other Low Countries. The inhabitants carry on a considerable trade in grain, coal, and timber; and a small
number of hands are employed in making sacking and
ropes, and in weaving. On the east bank of the river Don,
about a mile distant, is a quay, where the merchandise is
shipped and landed; vessels for the coasting-trade are
built, and on being launched at spring tides, are sent
down the river to Hull, to be rigged and otherwise completed. A canal from this river to the Trent, called the
Stainforth and Keadby canal, by which the trade of the
town is greatly promoted, was constructed in 1793; it
is 13 miles in length, and joins the Don at Stainforth,
about three miles south-west of Thorne. Large quantities of peat are obtained on the moor, and conveyed to
the town and other places. The market, originally
granted by Richard Cromwell, and renewed by Charles
II., is on Wednesday; and fairs, chiefly for horses,
cattle, and pedlery, are held on the Monday and
Tuesday next after June 11th and October 11th. The
powers of the county debt-court of Thorne, established
in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Thorne.
The parish comprises 11,900a. 2r. 1p., of which 5300
acres are arable, 2474 pasture, and 3976 barren peatlands; the Waste contains about 7000 acres, and is
bounded on the south by the canal, from which it
extends northward five miles. A portion of the peat
moors in the district has been converted into productive
land by the process of "warping." Among the various
botanical specimens growing on the moors is the Scheuzeria palustris, a plant of the rush tribe so exceedingly
rare as to be found elsewhere in England only upon
Lakeby Carr, near Boroughbridge; it was first discovered
by Linnæus in Lapland, and on Thorne Waste by Harrison, the Canadian botanist.
The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income
of £100; the patronage and impropriation belong to
Lady Coventry, whose tithes have been commuted for
£1640. 15. The church, which was erected in the reign
of Edward III., is principally in the later English style,
with a square tower surmounted by pinnacles. There
are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Unitarians. Two charity schools are established, one of which
was endowed with land by William Brook, in 1705, for
the instruction of ten boys, and has an annual income of
about £118. The other was founded in 1706, by Henry
Travis, who bequeathed estates now producing £338 per
annum, for the endowment of schools at this place, Hatfield, and Wroot in Lincolnshire: the master of the
school here has an income of £80. The poor-law union
comprises thirteen places, the greater number of which
are in Lincolnshire, and contains a population of 15,316:
the workhouse cost £3000. The Rev. Abraham de la
Pryme, F. R. S., the antiquary and historian, was for some
time minister of Thorne; he died in 1704, at the early
age of 34.
Thorne-Falcon (Holy Cross)
THORNE-FALCON (Holy Cross), a parish, in the
union of Taunton, hundred of North Curry, W.
division of Somerset, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Taunton; containing 266 inhabitants. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 10., and in the
gift of J. Batten, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted
for £140, and the glebe comprises 73 acres.
Thorner (St. Peter)
THORNER (St. Peter), a parish, in the Lower
division of the wapentake of Skyrack, W. riding of
York; containing, with the townships of Scarcroft and
Shadwell, 1426 inhabitants, of whom 930 are in Thorner
township, 7 miles (N. E.) from Leeds. The parish comprises 4400 acres of land, mostly the property of Edward
Jowitt, Esq., and the Earl of Mexborough, who is lord
of the manor. The soil is various; the substratum
abounds with limestone, of which great quantities are
burnt into lime, and with flagstone and slates, which are
also extensively quarried. The surface is boldly varied,
and the scenery in some parts picturesque: Eltofts, the
seat of Mr. Jowitt, is a handsome residence. The village,
situated on the Tadcaster road, consists of one long
street; some few of its inhabitants are employed in
weaving bed-ticking, for the Knaresborough trade. The
living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £8. 3. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown; net
income, £143; impropriator, the Earl of Mexborough.
The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1777; the glebe comprises 60 acres. The
church is in the later English style, with a square
embattled tower: in the churchyard is the grave of
John Philips, who lived to the advanced age of 118
years. At Shadwell is a separate incumbency. There
is a place of worship for Wesleyans; also a school
erected by subscription in 1787, and endowed with
14 acres of land, the income from which is £15. 10. In
the neighbourhood is a fine spring of water called
Sykes's Well.
Thornes
THORNES, an ecclesiastical district, in the township
of Alverthorpe, parish and union of Wakefield,
Lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding
of York, 1 mile (S. by W.) from Wakefield. The
surface is boldly undulated, rising into hills of considerable eminence. Low Hill, or Law Hill, appears to have
been of some importance; its height is equal to that of
Sandall Castle in the neighbourhood, and most probably
it was crowned with a battery for protecting the pass
here of the river Calder. Several cannon-balls have been
found at different times near this mound, which in ancient times might have been raised for a signal station
communicating on the east with Castleford, and on the
west with Almondbury. The village is pleasantly situated and neatly built. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in spinning worsted; in the woollen manufacture, connected with which are several large dyeing establishments; and in malting. The church, dedicated
to St. James, was erected in 1830, at an expense of
£2038; it is a neat structure of the Doric order, with a
cupola, and contains 570 sittings, of which 250 are free.
The living is a perpetual curacy; patron, the Vicar of
Wakefield; net income, £150. The glebe-house was
erected in 1841, at an expense of £1500, the proceeds of
Royal Bounty and private donations.
Thorney (St. Helen)
THORNEY (St. Helen), a parish, in the union, and
N. division of the wapentake, of Newark, S. division
of the county of Nottingham, 14 miles (N. N. E.) from
Newark; containing 342 inhabitants, This is the extreme parish in the tongue of land in Nottinghamshire
which runs into Lincolnshire. It comprises, with the hamlets of Wiggesley and Broadholme, 3931a. 8p.; the soil
of the higher grounds is clayey, but in the lower parts
sandy and poor. The Fosse-Dyke canal, running from
the Trent to the Witham, passes for a short distance
along the northern boundary of the parish. The living
is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at
£4. 7. 6., and in the gift of C. Neville, Esq.: the tithes
have been commuted for £70, and the glebe contains
about 112 acres. The church is ancient, and has a
piscina in the southern wall of the chancel; the southern door is Norman, and the nave is separated from the
aisle by Norman arches.
Thorney
THORNEY, a hamlet, in the parish of KingsburyEpiscopi, union of Langport, E. division of the hundred of Kingsbury, W. division of Somerset; containing 83 inhabitants.
Thorney-Abbey, (St. Botolph)
THORNEY-ABBEY, (St. Botolph), a market-town
and parish, in the hundred of Wisbech, Isle of Ely,
county of Cambridge, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Peterborough, and 86 (N.) from London; containing 2159
inhabitants. This place derived its original name of
Ankeridge from a monastery for hermits, or anchorites,
founded here in 662 by Saxulphus, abbot of Peterborough, who became its first prior. The buildings
were destroyed by the Danes, and the site lay waste
until 972, when Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, established upon it a Benedictine abbey in honour of the
Virgin, which became so opulent that, at the Dissolution, its revenue was valued at £508. 12. 5. Of this
abbey, which was a mitred one, the only remains are,
portions of the parochial church, a gateway, and some
fragments of the old walls. The town is situated on
the road from Wisbech to Peterborough, and possesses
a canal navigation to the river Nene. The market,
granted in 1638, is on Thursday; fairs are held on July
1st and September 21st, for horses and cattle, and on
Whit-Monday is a pleasure-fair. Upwards of 3000 sheep
are sent annually from the district to the London
market. The petty-sessions are held here. A literary
society was established in 1823. The living is a donative, in the patronage of the Duke of Bedford, the impropriator; net income, £220. The church, originally
the nave of the conventual church, was built about 1128,
and is in the Norman style, with portions in the later
English: in the churchyard are several tombs of French
refugees, of whom a colony settled here about the
middle of the 16th century, being employed by the Earl
of Bedford in draining the fens.
Thorney, West
THORNEY, WEST, a parish, in the union of West
Bourne, hundred of Bosham, rape of Chichester,
W. division of Sussex, 7½ miles (W. by S.) from Chichester; containing 128 inhabitants. This place, called
also Thorney Island, is situated nearly in the centre of
the great estuary termed Chichester harbour, and communicates with the small port of Emsworth, on the main
land, by a causeway passable at low water for horses
and carriages. It comprises about 1500 acres of arable,
meadow, and pasture land; the soil is rich, and highly
favourable for the production of wheat. About a furlong
to the south is Pilsey Island, comprising 18 acres,
within the parish, and which has for many years been
the resort of almost every species of wild-fowl that frequents the English Channel. By an act in 1812, about
960 acres of open land were inclosed, of which one-fifth
part of arable and one-eighth of pasture were allotted to
the rector in lieu of tithes, besides the old glebe, which
amounts to about 48 acres. The living is a rectory, valued
in the king's books at £10. 8. 4.; net income, £330;
patron, P. Lyne, Esq. The church is an ancient edifice,
chiefly in the early English style, with a fine Norman
tower at the west end; the chancel is separated from
the nave by a screen and rood-loft. The interior was
wholly restored in 1839, chiefly at the expense of the
Rev. C. P. Lyne, rector. On the exterior of the north
wall are three large circular arches, now stopped up,
evidently part of an aisle or chantry chapel, supposed to
have belonged to a religious house near the church, the
remains of which are now incorporated in a farmhouse.
Cædmon, a celebrated Saxon poet, was born here in
660.
Thorneyburn
THORNEYBURN, a parish, in the union of Bellingham, N. W. division of Tindale ward, S. division
of Northumberland; containing, with the township
of West Tarset, 359 inhabitants, of whom 186 are in
Thorneyburn township, 24 miles (N. W. by N.) from
Hexham. This place, which is one of the five new
parishes until lately forming part of the extensive parish
of Simonburn, is a wild and mountainous district, extending from the North Tyne river to Redesdale, and
bounded on the east by the Tarset burn. If comprises
20,133a. 13p., of which about 518 acres are arable, 68
woodland, and the remainder meadow and pasture: the
surface is hilly, the soil on the low grounds sandy; and
coal is obtained. The living is a rectory, valued in the
king's books at £4. 5., and in the gift of the Governors
of Greenwich Hospital, who in 1818, at the expense of
£4000, erected the church, a neat structure situated in a
field formerly called Draper Croft: a good rectory-house
has also been built. The tithes have been commuted
for £200, and the glebe contains 20 acres.
Thornford (St. Mary Magdalene)
THORNFORD (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in
the union and hundred of Sherborne, Sherborne division of Dorset, 3 miles (S. W.) from Sherborne; containing 394 inhabitants, and comprising 1300 acres.
The road from Sherborne to Evershot runs through the
parish. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the
king's books at £6. 17. 3.; net income, £200; patron,
Earl Digby: the glebe contains about 28 acres, with a
house. The church was anciently a chapel dependent
on Sherborne Abbey. The Wesleyans have a place of
worship.
Thorngrafton
THORNGRAFTON, a township, in the parish and
union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward,
S. division of Northumberland, 5 miles (E. by N.)
from Haltwhistle; containing 272 inhabitants. The
township is bounded on the south by the river Tyne, on
the west by Bardon burn, to Craig lough, and on the
north by the Roman Wall. It comprises 2891 acres, of
which 1710 are common or waste. The surface rises
gradually from the Tyne; and the highlands, with five
fine lakes in the vicinity, render the prospects in many
places varied and beautiful: the soil is rather gravelly,
and produces good barley and turnip crops. The
common, which contained about 1500 acres, was inclosed
pursuant to an act passed in 1793. A small land-sale
colliery is in operation; and there are excellent limestone and freestone quarries, from which latter large
blocks were taken for the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, in the immediate vicinity. Chesters-Holme, a
beautiful cottage-ornee, situated at the western verge of
the township, in a lovely and sequestered spot, on the
Chinely burn, was built in 1832 by the late Rev. Anthony
Hedley, a friend of Sir Walter Scott's, and well known
in the county as an antiquary and a scholar. It stands
on the margin of a stream dashing over a rocky bed, and
at the foot of Barkham, a high and steep hill covered
with black heath, and which ranges west to east behind
the long and straggling hamlet of Thorngrafton. On the
top of this hill is a lofty pillar, commanding extensive
views of the Tyne vale, Ridley, and the Roman Wall.
In the township is House Steads, the site of the remarkable Roman station Borcovicus, near which the Wall
passed. It occupies the brow of a rocky eminence, on
whose western declivity are several terraces, one above
another; the area of the fort, on the north side, is level,
but on the south exhibits vast and confused heaps of
ruins. In the neighbourhood are foundations of houses,
and traces of streets, squares, baths, &c., extending over
several acres, and to the distance of two miles and a
half. On Chapel Hill, a little to the south, are the remains of a temple of the Doric order, among which have
been discovered altars, sepulchral inscriptions, and
curiously-carved figures in relief. Near House Steads is
a place of worship for Independents.