Harlow - Harraton

A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848.

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'Harlow - Harraton', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 413-416. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp413-416 [accessed 23 April 2024]

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Harlow (St. Mary)

HARLOW (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Epping, hundred of Harlow, S. division of the county of Essex, 17 miles (W. by N.) from Chelmsford, and 23 (N. N. E.) from London; containing 2315 inhabitants. The parish comprehends an area about eighteen miles in circumference. The village, which was anciently the chief town in the hundred, is pleasantly situated on the road to Newmarket, and consists mainly of one street of considerable length, containing many neat and wellbuilt houses. A considerable woollen-manufacture was formerly carried on, but the chief trade at present is spinning. A market on Saturday, after having been long discontinued, was recently revived, the day being changed to Wednesday. A fair is held on the 9th of September, upon Harlow-Bush Common, nearly in the centre of which is Harlow-Bush House, where the Essex Archery Society hold their meetings: there is also a fair for horses and cattle, on the 8th of November, in the village; and the petty-sessions for the division are held here every Monday. The Eastern Counties railway was opened from London to this place August 9th, 1841, and has been since extended. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £15. 7. 11.; net income, £383; patron and impropriator, the Marquess of Bute. The church was partly destroyed by fire in 1711, but was rebuilt, and its windows adorned with stained glass, at the expense of the Rev. Mr. Taylor, then vicar, and the gentry in the neighbourhood: the ancient tower, which rose from the centre of the original cruciform structure, has been replaced by a cupola. Two other churches, dedicated respectively to St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalen, are in the gift of the Vicar. There is a place of worship for Baptists. Several small bequests have been left for the benefit of the poor.

Harlow-Hill

HARLOW-HILL, a township, in the parish of Ovingham, union of Castle ward, E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 10½ miles (W. N. W.) from Newcastle-upon-Tyne; containing 137 inhabitants. This place, the name of which is a corruption of Hare-law, "the hill or station of the army," stands on an eminence commanding an extensive prospect; it comprises 993 acres of land, and is the property of the Duke of Northumberland. The village adjoins the military road, and is three miles north of Ovingham; it is tolerably well built. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £48.

Harlthorpe

HARLTHORPE, a township, in the parish of Bubwith, union of Howden, Holme-Beacon division of the wapentake of Harthill, E. riding of York, 7½ miles (N. by W.) from Howden; containing 103 inhabitants. The township comprises about 800 acres.

Harlton, Cambridge.—See Harleton.

HARLTON, Cambridge.—See Harleton.

Harmby

HARMBY, a township, in the parish of Spennithorn, union of Leyburn, wapentake of Hang-West, N. riding of York, 2 miles (N. by W.) from Middleham; containing 237 inhabitants. It is on the northern acclivity of Wensleydale, and comprises by computation 860 acres: the village is situated on the road from Spennithorn to Leyburn. Certain tithes were commuted for land, under an act of inclosure, in 1775; and a rentcharge of £10. 16. is payable to an impropriator.

Harmondsworth (Virgin Mary)

HARMONDSWORTH (Virgin Mary), a parish, in the union of Staines, hundred of Elthorne, county of Middlesex, 2½ miles (E. by N.) from Colnbrook; containing 1330 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, with that of West Drayton united, valued in the king's books at £12; net income, £530; patron, H. De Burgh, Esq., who, with the family of Byng, is impropriator: the tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1805. The church has a Norman door, and a tower with angular turrets, On Hounslow heath, in the parish, is a square intrenchment, each side measuring 100 yards, supposed to have been the work of Cæsar in his war with Cassivelaunus.

Harmston (All Saints)

HARMSTON (All Saints), a parish, in the Higher division of the wapentake of Boothby-Graffo, parts of Kesteven, union and county of Lincoln, 6 miles (S.) from Lincoln, on the road to Sleaford; containing 429 inhabitants. This place has been for more than four centuries the property and residence of the family of Thorold. The parish is skirted on the west by the rivers Witham and Brant, and comprises 2560 acres: limestone of good quality for building, and for burning into lime, is quarried extensively. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 6. 8.; net income, £108; patrons and impropriators, Benjamin Thorold, Esq., and Mrs. A. E. Thorold. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1759; when, also, an allotment of 12 acres was made to the poor. The church, with the exception of the tower, was rebuilt in 1717, by Sir George Thorold, Bart., lord mayor of London in 1720, to whom, and to his family, it contains many splendid monuments. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The free school, originally founded by Sir Charles Thorold, was endowed for 99 years, which term expired long since; the present schools are supported by subscription. The poor have the produce of some small bequests.

Harnham

HARNHAM, a township, in the parish of Bolam, union of Castle ward, N. E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 12 miles (W. S. W.) from Morpeth; containing 75 inhabitants. The name of this place is supposed to be a corruption of Horn-ham, or "Corner house." It was a ville and manor in the Bolbeck barony, of which it was holden by knights' service by the Bolams, and half of it by their successors, the Bekerings, till 1412, since which time property has been possessed here by the families of Strevelyn, Grey, Carnaby, Wrinkles, Babington, Dawson, and Leighton. The fortalice was the residence of Babington, a major in the republican army, and governor of Berwick, who married a daughter of Hazlerigg, the well-known adherent of Cromwell. The township comprises 680 acres. The village, occupying the site of an ancient fortress, a place of great strength, is well built; its situation is altogether peculiar, and its appearance on every side striking. It is seated on the brow of a precipice of coarse sandstone; the north, west, and south sides are defended by an abrupt rock of freestone slate, and the neck of land which connects with high ground to the east, was girt with a wall which was passed by an iron gate. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £18. 11. 2., and the vicarial for £10. 3. 5.

Harnham, East

HARNHAM, EAST, a tything, in the parish of Britford, union of Alderbury, hundred of Cawden and Cadworth, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 1½ mile (S. E. by S.) from the city of Salisbury; containing 411 inhabitants.

Harnham, West (St. George)

HARNHAM, WEST (St. George), a parish, in the union of Alderbury, hundred of Cawden and Cadworth, Salisbury and Amesbury, and S. divisions of Wilts, 1½ mile (S. W. by W.) from Salisbury; containing 256 inhabitants. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Coombe-Bisset; the tithes were partly commuted for land and money payments, under an inclosure act, in 1783; and the remainder have been commuted for a rent-charge of £50.

Harnhill (St. Michael)

HARNHILL (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Cirencester, hundred of Crowthorne and Minety, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 3 miles (E. S. E.) from Cirencester; containing 97 inhabitants. The parish comprises by computation 700 acres, about half of which is arable, and the rest pasture, with 10 acres of woodland; the soil is in general clayey, the surface slightly undulated, and the hedge-rows are thickly wooded with oak and elm. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 16. 5½., and in the gift of George Bengough, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £120, and the glebe contains 20 acres. The church is a small neat edifice, in the later English style.

Harom

HAROM, a township, in the parish and union of Helmsley, wapentake of Ryedale, N. riding of York, 2¼ miles (S. E. by E.) from Helmsley; containing 422 inhabitants. It is situated near the Rye and Rical rivulets, which here emerge after a subterraneous passage of about a mile; and comprises 2300 acres of arable and pasture land, all the property and manor of Lord Feversham. There is a chapel of ease; and the Wesleyans have a place of worship.

Harp, South

HARP, SOUTH, a tything, in the parish and hundred of South Petherton, union of Yeovil, W. division of Somerset; containing 211 inhabitants.

Harpenden (St. Nicholas)

HARPENDEN (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of St. Alban's, hundred of Dacorum, county of Hertford, 4½ miles (N. by W.) from St. Alban's; containing 1872 inhabitants. The parish comprises 5010 acres, of which 253 are waste land or common; the soil is loamy for the most part, and set with flints. The road from St. Alban's to Bedford, by Luton, Silsoe, and Ampthill, runs through the village; and the river Lea passes on the east at the distance of about three-quarters of a mile. A fair for horses and cattle is held on the 16th of May. The living is annexed to the rectory of Wheathampstead: a rent-charge of £479. 10. is paid to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, who hold a glebe of 2a. 2r. 23p. The church is an ancient cruciform structure, composed of flint and stone, and is in the Norman style, with a square embattled tower. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans.

Harpford (St. Gregory)

HARPFORD (St. Gregory), a parish, in the union of Honiton, hundred of East Budleigh, Woodbury and S. divisions of Devon, 3½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Sidmouth; containing 305 inhabitants. The parish is situated near the road from Exeter to Lyme-Regis, and is divided into two nearly equal parts by the river Otter, which flows through a pleasant vale, from the sides of which, slopes, undulations, and hills rise in great variety, and extend throughout the district. The eastern portion contains an extensive wood of very fine oak and beech. The whole comprises by admeasurement 1702 acres, of which about 800 are arable, 259 meadow, pasture, and orchard, 383 wood, and 210 common and waste; the soil is chiefly a sandy loam, but in some parts is gravelly, and in others consists of marl, and of land rock. The living is a vicarage, with that of Venn-Ottery annexed, valued in the king's books at £18. 11. 3.; net income, £221; patrons, Lord Clinton and others; impropriator, John Lee Lee, Esq. The great tithes have been commuted for £130. 15., and the vicarial for £146. 15.; the glebe comprises about 8 acres. The church belonged to the abbey of St. Michael de Monte, and was subsequently given to Sion College, London; it is in the early English style, with some good later English windows. The parish was the residence of the lords Dinham, remains of whose mansion still exist.

Harpham

HARPHAM, a parish, in the union of Driffield, wapentake of Dickering, E. riding of York, 5½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Driffield; containing 239 inhabitants. It comprises about 1970 acres of land. The village is neatly built, and pleasantly situated a short distance south of the road from Driffield to Bridlington; east of the village is St. John's Well, so called from St. John of Beverley, who is said to have been born here. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Burton-Agnes. The church is the burial-place of the family of St. Quintin, whose founder came over with the Conqueror; their pedigree, from 1080 to 1777, showing an uninterrupted succession of twenty-eight generations in the male line, is beautifully represented in stained glass in the windows. On the western side of the churchyard are vestiges of the ancient family mansion and fish-ponds. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Harpley (St. Lawrence)

HARPLEY (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union and hundred of Freebridge-Lynn, W. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (N. W. by N.) from Rougham; containing 376 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 2153 acres, of which 1747 are arable, 183 pasture and meadow, 11 woodland, and 212 acres sheep-walks, common, and heath. A fair is held on July 25th, by charter of Edward I. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £22, and in the gift of A. Hamond, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £460, and the glebe comprises 90 acres. The church is an ancient structure in the early and later English styles, with a square embattled tower; the wall of the south aisle has three sedilia of stone and a double piscina of elegant design, and in the windows of the church are some fragments of stained glass.

Harpole (All Saints)

HARPOLE (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Northampton, hundred of Newbottle-Grove, S. division of the county of Northampton, 4 miles (W.) from Northampton; containing 699 inhabitants. It is situated on the road to Daventry, and consists of 1834 acres. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8. 13. 4.; net income, £529; patron, Earl Fitzwilliam: the glebe consists of 382 acres, with a glebehouse. The church is partly Norman and partly in the early English style, with a square tower. There is a place of worship for Baptists. The tithes were commuted for land, under an act of inclosure, in 1778, when, also, an allotment was made for the support of a school; the rental of the allotment is £50 a year: the school-houses were rebuilt in 1835.

Harpsden (St. Margaret)

HARPSDEN (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Henley, hundred of Binfield, county of Oxford, 1¾ mile (S.) from Henley; containing, with the merged parish of Bolney, 211 inhabitants. It comprises 1991a. 1r. 32p., of which 1332 acres are arable, 253 beech wood, and the rest grass, underwood, &c. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 10. 5., and in the gift of All Souls' College, Oxford: the tithes have been commuted for £586, and the glebe comprises 102 acres. Bolney Court is said to have been a monastery, and was surrounded by a moat, of which there are still some vestiges. To the south-west of Harpsden Court are some remains of a small circumvallation, near which Roman coins are reported to have been found.

Harpswell (St. Chad)

HARPSWELL (St. Chad), a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, W. division of the wapentake of Aslacoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 7¾ miles (E. by S.) from Gainsborough; containing 98 inhabitants. The living is a donative curacy; net income, £41; patrons, the Whichcote family.

Harpton, Lower

HARPTON, LOWER, a township, in the parish of Old Radnor, hundred of Wigmore, union of Kington, county of Hereford, 1½ mile (S. S. E.) from Radnor; containing 93 inhabitants, and comprising 634 acres. It is on the borders of Wales.

Harptree, East (St. Lawrence)

HARPTREE, EAST (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Clutton, hundred of Winterstoke, E. division of Somerset, 12 miles (S. by W.) from Bristol; containing 772 inhabitants. The parish takes its name from the family of Harptree, to whom it anciently belonged, and of whose baronial residence, Richmond Castle, there are still some considerable remains near the church. In the year 1138, this castle was garrisoned by Sir William Harptree, in aid of the Empress Matilda, against King Stephen, by whom, after the reduction of Bristol, it was besieged and taken. It was demolished in the reign of Henry VIII., when Sir John Newton, to whom it then belonged, dug up the foundations to furnish materials for the erection of a mansion. The parish comprises 2596a. 3r. 18p., of which about 300 acres are arable, 140 in plantations and woodland, 40 orchard, and the rest pasture, &c.; the southern parts, on the top of the Mendip hills, are bleak and wild, but the northern parts are beautifully diversified with woods, coppice, and garden, and contain the chief residences, interspersed with trees. The substratum is rich in mineral wealth, and that portion of the Mendip range called Harptree Hill contains several mines of lead, in which are found manganese and quartz crystal. The village is situated in a rich valley, and there are also two small hamlets, both watered by the river Chew. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the patronage of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, valued in the king's books at £8. 15. The great tithes have been commuted for £72, and the vicarial for £126; the impropriate glebe consists of 72 acres, and the vicarial of 4½ acres. The church is a spacious structure, chiefly in the early and later English styles, with a handsome embattled tower, and a southern doorway in the Norman style: at the east end of the chancel is a curious monument to Sir John Newton, with his recumbent effigy in armour and that of his lady, and in two panels in front of the tomb are the effigies of his eight sons and twelve daughters kneeling; the whole within a recess, under a richly sculptured canopy, supported by Ionic columns. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Harptree, West (St. Mary)

HARPTREE, WEST (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Clutton, hundred of Chewton, E. division of Somerset, 10 miles (S. by W.) from Bristol; containing 571 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the old road from Bristol to Wells, and comprises by computation 2903 acres, of which 510 are arable, 2293 pasture, and 100 wood and orchard. The scenery is rich and beautiful, and the lands in the upper part, on the Mendip hills, are well wooded with oak and elm; the soil is a red loam, resting on a limestone rock which abounds with lapis calaminaris and contains in some places ironore and lead. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 19. 4½., and the patronage and impropriation belong to the Crown: the great tithes have been commuted for £159. 10., and the vicarial for £220; the glebe contains upwards of 12 acres. The church has been partly destroyed, and the manor-house, which displays several marks of antiquity, converted into a farmhouse. Ralph Buckland, a Roman Catholic priest and a learned theological writer in the reign of James I., was born here.

Harpurhey

HARPURHEY, a township, in the parish of Manchester, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 2½ miles (N. N. E.) from Manchester, on the road to Rochdale; containing 438 inhabitants. It stands elevated, with an undulated surface; the soil is clay and peat, and there is a sandstone-quarry. The Queen's Park, of 35 acres' extent, one of the public parks of Manchester, is in the township: it was opened in 1846. In the village is a silk-mill. The river Irk separates Harpurhey from Crumpsall. The Hall is the seat of John Barrett, Esq.; and Green-Mount Hall, that of Charles F. Thompson, Esq. The ecclesiastical district of Harpurhey is eight miles in circumference, and comprises the whole of this township and the township of Moston, and part of Collihurst; having a population of 3500. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of five Trustees; income, £170, with a house. The church is in the early English style, with a square tower and a spire, and was built in 1838, at a cost of £4000. In connexion with the Church are five schools. On the road to Manchester is the General Cemetery, occupying nearly eleven acres: it was opened in September 1837; is beautifully arranged; and is for all denominations.—See Manchester.

Harraby

HARRABY, a township, in the parish of St. Cuthbert, Carlisle, Cumberland ward, union of Carlisle, E. division of Cumberland, 1¾ mile (S. E.) from the city of Carlisle; containing 55 inhabitants. It is on the road to Penrith.

Harraton

HARRATON, a township, in the parish and union of Chester-le-Street, Middle division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 3 miles (N. E.) from Chester-le-Street; containing 1601 inhabitants. This place, anciently called Harvertune, was the property of the Hedworths, in whose possession it remained undivided until the 17th century, when, through the mismanagement of Sir John Hedworth, Knt., and the seizure of the lands, with the collieries of Harraton, the district passed to other owners, with the exception of a small portion: the whole now belongs to the Lambton family, partly by marriage, and partly by purchase. The township is situated on the north bank of the Wear, and comprises 1991 acres of land, whereof two-thirds are strong arable ground, producing wheat. Valuable and extensive coal-mines are in operation, in one of which, in 1708, an explosion took place that caused the death of 69 persons; and in 1817 another mine exploded by which 38 individuals lost their lives. Here stands Lambton Castle, situated in a beautiful park, and occupying the site of the old Hall of Harraton. There are several staiths for shipping coal on the Wear, across which was once a ferry at the village of Fatfield-Staiths.