A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848.
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'Smalesmouth - Smisby', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 123-125. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp123-125 [accessed 26 April 2024]
In this section
Smalesmouth
SMALESMOUTH, a township, in the parish of Greystead, union of Bellingham, N. W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of the county of Northumberland, 8 miles (W. by N.) from Bellingham; containing 159 inhabitants. It is situated on the Smales burn, near its junction with the river Tyne; and includes the hamlets of Greystead and Holt. Dalby Castle is also in the township.
Smallbridge
SMALLBRIDGE, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish and union of Rochdale, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 2 miles (N. E.) from Rochdale, on the road to Halifax; containing 5875 inhabitants. This district comprises the greater part of the township of Wuerdale with Wardle: the soil is generally clay, the surface undulated, and the scenery wild and romantic. There are coal-mines and good stonequarries, which, with two woollen-mills and three cottonmills, chiefly employ the population. Great Howarth, the property of J. S. Entwisle, Esq., stands on a fine eminence, and commands an extensive view. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Rochdale; net income, £150, partly derived from the interest of £2000 left in 1840 by Jonathan Fildes, Esq., of Quarry Hill. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was erected in 1833, at a cost of £3071, and is in the later English style, with a campanile turret; the eastern window is of painted glass. There are excellent national schools.
Smallburgh (St. Peter)
SMALLBURGH (St. Peter), a parish, in the Tunstead and Happing incorporation, hundred of Tunstead, E. division of Norfolk, 5¼ miles (N. E. by E.) from Coltishall; containing 634 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the Cromer and Yarmouth road, and bounded on the north-east by the navigable river Ant. It comprises 1247a. 32p., of which 922 acres are arable, 197 meadow and pasture, and 127 fen and marsh. Petty-sessions are held here at the house of industry for the incorporated hundreds of Happing and Tunstead. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 4., and in the gift of the Bishop of Norwich: the tithes have been commuted for £420, and the glebe comprises 28 acres. The church is an ancient structure in the later English style; the tower fell down in 1677, and has not been rebuilt. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.
Smalley
SMALLEY, a chapelry, in the parish of Morley, union of Belper, hundred of Morleston and Litchurch, S. division of the county of Derby, 7 miles (N. E.) from Derby; containing 826 inhabitants. The area is 1570a. 2r. 38p. Here is a small colliery, and some extensive collieries in the neighbourhood afford employment to many of the population. The village is well built, and has been lately much improved. Pettysessions are held every Monday. The tithes have been commuted for £343. 4., and there are 27¼ acres of glebe in the township. The chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a modern building, consisting of a nave and transepts. The Anabaptists have a place of worship in the village. John and Samuel Richardson, in 1712, conveyed property of which the annual income is £88, for the support of a school, and the relief of decayed colliers; 28 boys receive a gratuitous education, with a small pension during the period they attend school, and 16 colliers have a quarterly allowance.
Smallford
SMALLFORD, a ward, partly in the parish of St. Stephen, and partly in the parish of St. Peter, St. Alban's, hundred of Cashio, or liberty of St. Alban's, union of St. Alban's, county of Hertford; containing 245 inhabitants.
Small-Hythe
SMALL-HYTHE, a chapelry, in the parish, union, and hundred of Tenterden, Lower division of the lathe of Scray, W. division of Kent, 2 miles (S. by E.) from Tenterden. The living is a donative, in the patronage of the Householders of Dumborne; net income, £107. The chapel is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
Smallridge
SMALLRIDGE, a tything, in the parish, union, and hundred of Axminster, Honiton and S. divisions of Devon; containing 207 inhabitants.
Smallwood
SMALLWOOD, a township, in the parish of Astbury, union of Congleton, hundred of Northwich, S. division of the county of Chester, three miles (E. by S.) from Sandbach; containing 606 inhabitants. The manor was successively in the families of Mainwaring, Audley, Hawkestone, Egerton, and Willoughby; it was sold by the last to Sir William Brereton, and afterwards came by purchase to the Powis family. Thomas Jelph Powis, Esq., sold it to the late Mr. Holland Ackers, of Manchester. The township lies on the road from Knutsford to Newcastle-under-Lyme, and comprises an area of 1955 acres, of which the soil is partly clay, and partly sand. A church was erected in 1845, at a cost of £1500, on a site given by R. B. Levitt, Esq.; it is a small edifice in the early English style, with a bell-turret, and will accommodate 300 persons. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector of Astbury, who has endowed it with £25 per annum: there is a parsonage-house, built by subscription, on half an acre of land. The rents of an estate called Pinfold House, situated near Brookhouse-Green, within the township, left by William Furnival, of Sandbach, in 1760, are for the most part distributed among indigent housekeepers and other poor inhabitants; a portion of them is expended in apprenticing children.
Smannell or Swanhill
SMANNELL, or Swanhill, a hamlet, in the parish, poor-law union, and hundred of Andover, Andover and N. divisions of the county of Southampton; containing 65 inhabitants.
Smardale
SMARDALE, a township, in the parish of KirkbyStephen, East ward and union, county of Westmorland, 2¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Kirkby-Stephen; containing 35 inhabitants. It comprises 1735 acres, of which 643 are common or waste land. Smardale Hall, an ancient manor-house formerly belonging to the Warrop and Dalston families, proprietors of the township, is now a farmhouse.
Smarden (St. Michael)
SMARDEN (St. Michael), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of West Ashford, hundred of Calehill, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 9 miles (N. E. by E.) from Cranbrooke, containing 1141 inhabitants, and comprising 5379a. 3r. 15p., of which 1240 acres are in wood. The old markethouse is yet remaining; and a fair, chiefly for pleasure, is held on the 10th of October. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £24. 2. 6.; net income, £501; patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. There are places of worship for Baptists and Wesleyans; also a free school founded in 1716, by Stephen Dadson, who endowed it with property now producing upwards of £65 a year.
Smeaton, Great
SMEATON, GREAT, a parish, in the union of Northallerton, partly in the wapentake of Allertonshire, and partly in Gilling-East, N. riding of York, 6½ miles (N. by W.) from Northallerton; containing, with the township of Hornby, 517 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the Tees, and comprises 3219 acres, of which 1828 are arable, 1333 grass, and 58 woodland: the soil is a strong stiff clay. The surface is varied; the lower grounds on the south are watered by the river Wisk, the scenery is open, and of pleasing character. Part of the township of Great Smeaton is in the parish of Croft. The great north road passes through the village. The living is a rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Appleton-upon-Wisk annexed, valued in the king's books at £13. 13. 4.; net income, £472; patron, Robert Barry, Esq. The church is an ancient edifice.
Smeaton, Kirk (St. Mary)
SMEATON, KIRK (St. Mary), a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (S. E.) from Pontefract; containing 326 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1800 acres. The soil is light but fertile, and the substratum generally limestone, well adapted for building, though not for agricultural purposes. There are also quarries of freestone, some of which was sent to London; but the quality varied so greatly that the quarries were abandoned, and a tramroad that had been laid down for the conveyance of the stone to Heckbridge was taken up, and the ground it occupied restored to a state of cultivation. A considerable quantity of teasel is grown. The great north road intersects the parish, and the new Doncaster and Leeds road skirts it. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 1. 0½., and has annexed to it 333 acres of land, for which the tithes were commuted in 1808, and which is worth from 21s. to 22s. per acre; patron, Earl Fitzwilliam. The church is a small neat structure in the early English style.
Smeaton, Little
SMEATON, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Birkby, union of Northallerton, wapentake of Allertonshire, N. riding of York, 5½ miles (N. by W.) from Northallerton; containing 71 inhabitants. This is a township of scattered houses, situated on the south side of the river Wisk, opposite Great Smeaton, and comprising about 1000 acres of land. The manor belongs to the Hewgill family.
Smeaton, Little
SMEATON, LITTLE, a township, in the parish of Womersley, Lower division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Pontefract; containing 233 inhabitants. The township comprises by computation 1100 acres of land, chiefly the property of Lincoln College, Oxford, and of which the soil is a rich loam. The river Went passes on the south, in a direction nearly from east to west, and is sometimes swollen so as to flood the pastures. The tithes were commuted for land and money payments in 1786.
Smedley
SMEDLEY, a hamlet, in the township of Cheetham, parish and union of Manchester, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 2 miles (N.) from Manchester. On the river Irk, at this place, are some dye-works and a paper-mill. Smedley Hall is the property of Edward Loyd, Esq., banker, of Manchester.
Smeeth (St. Mary)
SMEETH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of East Ashford, franchise and barony of Bircholt, lathe of Shepway, E. division of Kent, 4 miles (E. S. E.) from Ashford; containing 489 inhabitants. This was formerly a market-town; and fairs are still held on May 12th and Michaelmas-day, for toys and pedlery. The living is annexed to the rectory of Aldington. The church is principally in the Norman style of architecture. Timothy Bedingfield, in the year 1691, bequeathed an estate now producing £111. 10. per annum, for education.
Smeeton-Westerby
SMEETON-WESTERBY, a township, in the parish of Kibworth-Beauchamp, union of Harborough, hundred of Gartree, S. division of the county of Leicester, 5¼ miles (N. W.) from the town of Harborough; containing 567 inhabitants.
Smerrill, Derbyshire.—See Middleton.
SMERRILL, Derbyshire.—See Middleton.
Smethcott (St. Michael)
SMETHCOTT (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Church-Stretton, hundred of Condover, S. division of Salop, 9½ miles (S. by W.) from Shrewsbury; containing, with the townships of Betchcott and Picklescott, and the hamlet of Walk-Mills, 371 inhabitants, and an area of about 1500 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 9.; net income, £276; patrons, the Trustees of Hulme's charity, Manchester. The church is ancient.
Smethwick, Cheshire.—See Brereton.
SMETHWICK, Cheshire.—See Brereton.
Smethwick
SMETHWICK, a hamlet and manufacturing district, in the parish of Harborne, union of King's-Norton, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Birmingham; containing 5020 inhabitants. This hamlet is situated on the road from Birmingham, through Oldbury, to Dudley; and comprises by measurement 1830 acres of arable, pasture, and meadow land. The substratum in the northern part appears to contain a good supply of coal. J. W. Unett, Esq., a proprietor of land in the parish, after boring to the depth of 220 yards, at an expense of £1200, has found coal-measures corresponding with those of a pit sunk by Joshua Horton, Esq., about a mile from the spot, and also with the measures of one belonging to Lord Dartmouth, about a mile and a half distant, in the parish of West Bromwich. There are likewise pits of good gravel, which is used for the roads. The scenery is pleasingly diversified, in some parts beautifully picturesque, and is enlivened with numerous good residences. Of these the principal are, the Lightwoods, a handsome mansion built in 1780; the Firs, the Woodlands, Smethwick House, GaltonBridge House, Shireland Hall; and Smethwick Hall, built about a century since, on the site of an ancient Hall.
Among the manufactories established in the district, are some very extensive works in which more than 700 persons are employed in the manufacture of various kinds of glass, and of the several chemical products connected with glass-making, upon a larger scale than in any other establishment in Great Britain. The chief articles are, the British window-glass called crown-glass; the ordinary foreign window-glass, called German sheetglass, introduced into this country within the last few years, by Mr. Robert Lucas Chance, the senior partner of the firm; and French shades, also of his introduction, which are blown into oval, square, or circular forms of large dimensions, some exceeding three feet six inches in height, and one foot nine inches in diameter. A new description of plate glass, made by grinding and polishing German sheet-glass, by a process invented by one of the partners, is exclusively made here; and among the other articles produced in the works, are stained and ornamental glass, glass for optical purposes, and sulphate and carbonate of soda in different states. A manufactory for railway-carriages affords occupation to 650 persons. The Smethwick soap, soda, and red-lead works, which have been established more than thirty years, employ about 100 persons; in the Smethwick foundry 230 men are constantly engaged, and some ironworks belonging to Messrs. Jones, Aspinal, and Co., are likewise extensive. The District Steel and Iron works employ 150 men in the manufacture of steel and iron, also of spades and shovels, and of gun-barrels under contract with the East India Company and the Board of Ordnance. The Crown Works for the manufacture of boilers, and plate and sheet iron, employ about sixty men. Smethwick is intersected by the Old Birmingham canal with its greatly improved line of navigation, over which are six bridges, and an aqueduct of cast-iron. One of the bridges, called the Summit or Galton bridge, is a stately structure, having a span of 150 feet.
A chapel, with a house for the minister, was erected in 1732, by Mrs. Dorothy Parkes, who endowed it: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of her Trustees, and incumbency of the Rev. Edward Dales, who resides in a handsome parsonage-house near the chapel. A church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was erected in 1838, at a cost of £4000, raised by subscription, aided by a grant of £400 from the London ChurchBuilding Society, and £750 from the Diocesan Society. It is in the early English style, with a square embattled tower crowned by pinnacles and surmounted by a lofty spire, and contains 786 sittings, of which 400 are free. By order of council dated the 11th of August, 1842, the district attached to this church was erected into a separate ecclesiastical parish, under the designation of North Harborne; the benefice has been constituted a vicarage, and endowed with the tithes over 830 acres, and with other funds. The Dean and Chapter of Lichfield are patrons of the living. The parsonage-house, situated behind the church, is a handsome residence of appropriate style; and opposite to it are the North Harborne national schools, erected in 1840. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans; and, near the chapel, a school endowed by Mrs. Parkes with property producing £8. 9. per annum. In the hamlet six almshouses, and some land, is vested in trustees for the benefit of the poor.
Smisby
SMISBY, a parish, in the union of Ashby-de-laZouch, hundred of Repton and Gresley, S. division of the county of Derby, 2½ miles (N. N. W.) from Ashby; containing, with Bondary, extra-parochial, 337 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £58; patron and impropriator, the Marquess of Hastings. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1820.