Marlcliff - Marsham

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

This free content was digitised by double rekeying. All rights reserved.

'Marlcliff - Marsham', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, (London, 1848) pp. 260-263. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp260-263 [accessed 24 April 2024]

In this section

Marlcliff

MARLCLIFF, a hamlet, in the parish of Bidford, union of Alcester, Stratford division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 5 miles (S.) from Alcester; with 159 inhabitants.

Marldon (St. John the Baptist)

MARLDON (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Totnes, hundred of Haytor, Paignton and S. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (W.) from Torquay; containing 470 inhabitants. It comprises 2158a. 2r., of which 789 acres are arable, 1097 meadow and pasture, and 193 woodland; the surface is undulated, and the soil of the long and well-wooded vale in which the district is situated, is rich and fertile. The living is annexed to the vicarage of Paignton: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £215, and the vicarial for £235. The church is a handsome edifice, lately fitted up with new and substantial pews. In the village of Compton are considerable ruins of an extensive castellated mansion once occupied by the family of Gilbert, of whom Sir Humphry Gilbert, the great circumnavigator, was brother, by his mother's side, to Sir Walter Raleigh, who accompanied him in some of his voyages.

Marlesford (St. Andrew)

MARLESFORD (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Plomesgate, hundred of Loes, E. division of Suffolk, 2 miles (N. E. by N.) from Wickham-Market; containing 424 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 6. 8., and in the patronage of A. Arcedeckne, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £352, and there are 30 acres of glebe. A school is chiefly supported by the rector.

Marlingford (St. Mary)

MARLINGFORD (St. Mary), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Forehoe, E. division of Norfolk, 6½ miles (W.) from Norwich; containing 195 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the south and west by a stream tributary to the Yare, and comprises 674a. 3r. 38p., of which 459 acres are arable, 136 pasture and meadow, 22 woodland, and 44 common. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 8½., and in the gift of the Rev. T. Greene: the tithes have been commuted for £151. 2., and the glebe comprises about 36 acres, with a small parsonage-house. The church is in the early and later English styles, with a rich Norman doorway on the south, and a square embattled tower.

Marlow

MARLOW, a township, in the parish of Leintwardine, union of Ludlow, hundred of Wigmore, county of Hereford; containing 66 inhabitants.

Marlow, or Great Marlow (All Saints)

MARLOW, or Great Marlow (All Saints), a borough, market-town, and parish, in the union of Wycombe, hundred of Desborough, county of Buckingham, 35½ miles (S. by E.) from Buckingham, and 31 (W. by N.) from London; containing 4480 inhabitants. The ancient name of this place was Merlaw, supposed to be derived from the Saxon word Mere, a marsh, and Law or Low, a hill. The town is situated on the bank of the Thames, and consists of two streets, which cross in the market-place; the surrounding scenery is replete with variety and beauty. Here is a good newsroom. The river is crossed by an iron suspensionbridge, erected at an expense, including the approaches, of £20,000, of which sum the county of Bucks paid twothirds, and that of Berks one-third: it is a handsome structure, and a great ornament to the town. Races are held in August. There are two paper-mills, and some copper-works at Temple, which, with rope-making and the manufacture of baby-linen, caps, lace, and covered wire, furnish considerable employment to the working classes: a trade in corn, timber, and malt is likewise carried on. The market is held on Saturday, and the market-house is a spacious building: fairs take place on May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, for horses and cattle, and October 29th, for cheese, butter, and hops.

The town first sent representatives to parliament in the 28th of Edward I., and continued so to do till the 2nd of Edward II., when the privilege ceased for upwards of 400 years; the right was restored upon petition to the house of commons in the 21st of James I., and has since been exercised without intermission. The borough includes also the parishes of Little Marlow and Medmenham, in the county of Buckingham, and the parish of Bisham, in Berks: the high constable is returning officer. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; net income, £172; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The church, erected in 1835, at an expense of £10,000, is an elegant structure in the later English style, with a tower surmounted by a lofty spire. A second church has been built at Lane-End, principally at the expense of Mr. Elwes. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. In 1628, Sir William Borlace bequeathed estates, now producing £118 per annum, for purposes of instruction, and for the maintenance of a workhouse or house of correction. In the 7th of James I., John Brinkhurst devised almshouses for six widows, who have an income of £79. 9.; and about £140, arising from bequests by William Lofton, Esq., and others, are annually distributed to the poor.

Marlow, Little (St. John the Baptist)

MARLOW, LITTLE (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the borough of Marlow, union of Wycombe, hundred of Desborough, county of Buckingham, 1½ mile (E. N. E.) from Marlow; containing 927 inhabitants. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 5. 10.; patron, S. Birch, Esq.; impropriator, Sir G. Nugent, Bart. The great tithes have been commuted for £55, and the small for £200; the vicar has a glebe of 24 acres. The church is principally in the later English style. Here was a small convent of Benedictine nuns, founded in honour of the Virgin Mary, by Geoffrey, Lord Spencer, before the reign of John, and the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was estimated at £37. 6. 11.

Marlston

MARLSTON, a tything, in the parish of Bucklebury, union of Bradfield, hundred of Reading, county of Berks, 7 miles (E. N. E.) from Newbury; containing 66 inhabitants. A rent-charge of £225 has been awarded as a commutation for the vicarial tithes, and there is a glebe of about 7 acres. The tything has a chapel, an ancient building, erected by Sir Jeffrey Martell, lord of the manor.

Marlston, with Leach

MARLSTON, with Leach, a township, in the parish of St. Mary, Chester, union of Great Boughton, Lower division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester, 2¾ miles (S. by W.) from Chester; containing 148 inhabitants. The township comprises 966 acres of a clayey soil. The tithes have been commuted for £50.

Marnham (St. Wilfrid)

MARNHAM (St. Wilfrid), a parish, in the union of East Retford, N. division of the wapentake of Thurgarton, S. division of the county of Nottingham, 4¾ miles (E. by S.) from Tuxford; containing, with the township of Grassthorpe and the hamlet of Skegby, 350 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the west bank of the Trent, and comprises by measurement 2452 acres: the village is near the river, over which is a ferry. A cattle-fair is held on the 12th of September. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 19. 2.; net income, £298; patron and impropriator, Earl Brownlow. The vicarial tithes, exclusive of Skegby, have been commuted for £246, and the glebe consists of 16 acres. The church, a small fabric with a tower, has been restored at a cost of £1000.

Marnhull (St. Gregory)

MARNHULL (St. Gregory), a parish, in the union and hundred of Sturminster-Newton-Castle, Sturminster division of Dorset, 6 miles (W. S. W.) from Shaftesbury; containing 1464 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Stour, and comprises 3751 acres, of which about one-third is arable, and the remainder pasture, with 146 acres of common or waste land. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £31. 6. 10½., and in the gift of the Rev. H. J. Place: the tithes have been commuted for £1024, and the glebe comprises 22 acres. The church is an ancient structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Roman Catholics.

Marple

MARPLE, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Stockport, hundred of Macclesfield, N. division of the county of Chester, 4¾ miles (E. S. E.) from Stockport; containing 3462 inhabitants. This chapelry, anciently called Merpull, is situated on the river Goyt, which separates the counties of Chester and Derby; and comprises by measurement 3030a. 3r. 37p. of land, of a clayey soil: about one-eighth is wood, and the remainder arable and pasture. The scenery is of the most extensive, varied, and romantic character, and perhaps unrivalled in this part of the kingdom. The banks of the river, which from the higher points may be seen for several miles, are rocky, precipitous, and finely wooded: the ancient name of the chapelry is in allusion to an expanse of the waters, in the vale. The view from the churchyard includes the mountains of the Peak on one side, and the Welsh hills on the other. The road from London to Manchester through Buxton, the Peak-Forest and the Macclesfield canals, and the Whaley branch of the Manchester and Sheffield railway, pass through the township. Some coal-mines and stone-quarries are in operation; and the cotton manufacture is carried on in three large mills.

The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150, with a house; patron, the Rector of Stockport: the glebe comprises about 24 Cheshire acres. The chapel, dedicated to All Saints, was rebuilt in 1812, and is a neat edifice with a tower. It contains some good monuments, particularly one by Flaxman to the Rev. Kelsall Prescot, a former minister of Marple, and a mural monument by Chantrey to Samuel Oldnow, Esq., who projected the Peak-Forest canal, and was a great benefactor to the neighbourhood: the latter was interred here. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists; and two national schools. John Bradshaw, president of the court that condemned Charles I., was born at Wyberslegh Hall, in the chapelry, and was baptised at Stockport on the 10th December, 1602; he bequeathed £700 for a free school at Marple, but the confiscation of his estates, on the Restoration, rendered the gift unavailable. Marple Hall, a good specimen of the architecture of the period, beautifully overlooking the river Goyt and the vale of Chad-Kirk, was the residence of Bradshaw.

Marr (St. Helen)

MARR (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Doncaster, N. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill, W. riding of York, 4 miles (W. N. W.) from Doncaster; containing 206 inhabitants. This place was formerly part of the parish of Adwick, and its church is of comparatively modern foundation. It was once the residence of the family of Metham, of whose spacious and handsome mansion considerable remains existed some years since; and was afterwards occasionally the residence of members of the house of Granville, and especially of George Granville, the poet, subsequently Lord Lansdowne. The parish comprises about 2140 acres of land, held chiefly by the trustees of the late Peter I. Thellusson, Esq. The village is pleasantly situated on the road from Doncaster to Barnsley. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £128; patrons and impropriators, the Trustees. The church is principally in the early English style, with a tower surmounted by a small spire.

Marrick (St. Andrew)

MARRICK (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Richmond, wapentake of Gilling-West, N. riding of York, 7½ miles (W. S. W.) from Richmond; containing, with the hamlet of Hurst, 648 inhabitants. The parish comprises about 6000 acres, and includes some high moors extending from three to six miles north of the village, which is pleasantly situated on the northern acclivities of Swaledale, and south of the road from Richmond to Reeth. At Hurst are extensive lead-mines and smelt-works, the former supposed to be among the oldest in the kingdom. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £98; patron and impropriator, F. Morley, Esq. The church occupies part of the site of a Benedictine nunnery founded in honour of the Blessed Virgin, by Roger de Asc, about the close of the reign of Stephen, and which at the Dissolution had a revenue of £64. 16. 9. There is a place of worship for dissenters at Hurst.

Marrington

MARRINGTON, a township, in the parish and hundred of Chirbury, S. division of the county of Salop; containing 92 inhabitants.

Marrish, East and West

MARRISH, EAST and WEST, a township, in the parish, union, and lythe of Pickering, N. riding of York, 3¾ miles (S. S. E.) from Pickering; containing 243 inhabitants. It comprises about 1500 acres of low marsh land, of a rich alluvial soil, the property of various persons. The inhabitants mostly reside on the north bank of the river Rye, near Howe-Bridge.

Marsden

MARSDEN, a chapelry, partly in the parish of Huddersfield, but chiefly in that of Aldmondbury, union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 7 miles (S. W. by W.) from Huddersfield; containing 2403 inhabitants. This chapelry is situated on the river Colne, and comprises about 8670 acres, of which 4050 are in the parish of Huddersfield; the surface is diversified with hill and dale, and the scenery generally characterised by a boldness of aspect, to which the lofty hills of Saddleworth, immediately adjoining, materially contribute. The village, which is extensive, is on the road from Huddersfield to Manchester, at the confluence of the rivers Colne and Wessenden, and near the base of Pule and Standedge. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of woollen-cloth, which is carried on to a considerable extent in mills, the machinery of which is put in motion by numerous copious and rapid streams; there are also factories for spinning cotton and one for twisting silk, an iron-foundry, and a steam-engine manufactory. The Manchester and Huddersfield canal at this place enters a tunnel under the Standedge mountain, more than three miles in length, opening into the hilly district of Saddleworth; and near the mouth of the tunnel is a reservoir for the canal, which, from its beauty, has obtained the appellation of the Windermere of Marsden. The present chapel, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, was erected at the expense of the inhabitants, in 1758, on the site of a building which had become dilapidated; it is a neat structure in the Norman style, and contains about 650 sittings. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Almondbury, endowed by Edward IV., in 1462, with four marks payable out of the manor, which grant was confirmed by Queen Elizabeth, and is still received by the minister; net income, £150. Here are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. At Highgate are some remains of the ancient manor-house.

Marsden, Great

MARSDEN, GREAT, a township, in the parochial chapelry of Colne, parish of Whalley, union of Burnley, Higher division of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division of Lancashire, 3½ miles ( N. E. by N.) from Burnley; containing 1987 inhabitants. This place was anciently called Merclesden, and Merlesden. In the 35th of Henry III., Edmund de Lacy obtained a charter for free warren in "Great and Little Merlesden;" and in the 4th of Edward II., a fishery existed here, by grant from Henry de Lacy. Richard Merclesden was master forester of Blackburnshire to Isabella, dowager queen, in the reign of Edward III.; and in the same reign, Henry, Duke of Lancaster, granted a tract of land in Merclesden to Richard de Walton. The township is within the manor of Ightenhill Park, and is a pleasant and flourishing locality, containing some good mausions, among which are Marsden Hall and Catlow, the latter a modernised seat. At Cattover is an extensive quarry of fine grit, producing 150 tons per diem of flag and other stone; it is leased from the lord of the manor to Messrs. Thomas and Benjamin Chaffer, by whom the produce is sent by canal, chiefly to Manchester and Liverpool. A church district was endowed in 1845 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: the living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £150, and in the patronage of the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester, alternately. The church is dedicated to St. John. The Wesleyans have a place of worship.

Marsden, Little

MARSDEN, LITTLE, a chapelry, in the parochial chapelry of Colne, parish of Whalley, union of Burnley, Higher division of the hundred of Blackburn, N. division of Lancashire, 3 miles ( N. N. E.) from Burnley; containing 3171 inhabitants. Little Marsden was anciently in the possession of the Walton family. It comprises by measurement 1200 acres, the whole in pasture. The road from Burnley to Colne, and the Liverpool and Leeds canal, pass through the western portion of the township, nearly in a parallel direction. The chapel existed prior to the Reformation; it was rebuilt in the beginning of the present century, and has since been enlarged: the living is a perpetual curacy; gross income, £150; patrons, the Hulme Trustees.

Marsh-Benham

MARSH-BENHAM, a tything, in the parish of Speen, union of Newbury, hundred of Faircross, county of Berks; containing 316 inhabitants.

Marsh-Chapel (St. Mary)

MARSH-CHAPEL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Louth, wapentake of Bradley-Haverstoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 10 miles ( N. N. E.) from Louth; containing 503 inhabitants. It comprises 3067 acres, of which 127 are common land or marsh: the canal which connects the town of Louth with the river Humber, forms one of the boundaries of the parish. The surface is flat, and the scenery of uninteresting character. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £76; patrons and impropriators, the Floyer family. The church is a handsome edifice, consisting of a nave, aisles, chancel, and chantry chapel, with a tower, and has been much improved of late by the incumbent and the family of Floyer.

Marsh-Gibbon (St. Mary)

MARSH-GIBBON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union, hundred, and county of Buckingham, 4½ miles ( E. by N.) from Bicester; containing 863 inhabitants. The parish is situated upon the eastern border of Oxfordshire, and comprises 2821 acres, of which 560, previously common, were inclosed under an act passed in 1841: there are some good stone-quarries. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £21. 9. 4½., and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £500; the glebe comprises 127 acres. Here is a place of worship for Independents; and a national school has been established. Near the manorhouse are vestiges of earthworks, said to have been thrown up by the parliamentarians in the year 1645.

Marshall, Red.—See Redmarshall.

MARSHALL, RED.—See Redmarshall.

Marsham (All Saints)

MARSHAM (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Aylsham, hundred of South Erpingham, E. division of Norfolk, 2 miles (S.) from Aylsham; containing 698 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1819a. 1r. 28p., of which 1230 acres are arable, 154 meadow and pasture, and 187 heath and waste inclosed in 1801, and allotted to the poor. The manufacture of worsted and bombasin is carried on. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 12. 9., and in the gift of the Blake and Yates families: the tithes have been commuted for £30 payable to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich, and £330 to the rector; the glebe comprises 65 acres. The church is in the early and later English styles, with a low tower; the nave is separated from the chancel by a carved oak screen, and the font is richly sculptured. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists. The poor receive £16. 5., the rent of land purchased with £100 bequeathed by Thomas Bulwer, Esq., and subsequent donations.