Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/777

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769

MAHOEOWEN. 769 MANSFIELDSTOWN. strength. It now belongs to Earl Leitrim. Manor- Hamilton Poor-law Union has 10 electoral divisions in the co. Leitrim. Thursday is market day. Fairs are held on the 18th May, 1st July, first Thursdays in August and November, and 7th October, and a great cattle market on the 12th of every alternate month. JIANOROWEN, a par. in the hund. of Dewisland, CO. Pembroke, 1 mile W. of Fishguard, its post town. The parish, which is of small extent, is situated on the bay. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of St. David's, val. 86, in the patron, of Subchanter and Vicars-Choral of St. David's. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. Manorowen House, situated near the old Beat of Lewis, the antiquary, is the principal residence. MANSELFIELD, a hmlt. in the par. of Nicholaston, CO. Glamorgan, 6 miles S.W. of Castell Llwchur. It is situated near Oxwich Bay. MANSELL-GAMAGE, a par. in the hund. of Grims- worth, co. Hereford, 8J miles from Hereford, its post town, and 4J S. of Woobley. The village, which is of small extent, is situated near the Hereford and Hay turnpike road, and is chiefly agricultural. The soil consists of stiff loam and gravel. There are lime and freestone quarries. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Hereford, val. 100. The church, dedicated to St. Giles, is a stone structure with a square tower containing three bells. Gartons is the principal residence. MANSELL-LACY, a par. in the hund. of Grims- worth, co. Hereford, 7 miles W. of Hereford, its post town, and 6 S.E. of Weobley. It is a small agricultural village situated in a sheltered valley between the woody heights belonging to the Foxley estates. The parish extends along the Hereford and Kington turnpike road. The soil is of a loamy and gravelly nature. The land is nearly evenly divided between arable and pasture, with about 70 acres of woodland. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Hereford, val. 162. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a stone structure of great antiquity, with a square tower containing a clock and four bells. There is a largo school for the children of Mansell-Lacy, Bishopstonc, and Yazor. Mansell House, adjoining the church, is the principal residence. Sir R. Price is lord of the manor. MANSERGH, a tnshp. and chplry. in the par. of Kirkby-Lonsdale, ward of Lonsdale, co. Westmoreland, 3J miles N. of Kirkby-Lonsdale, its post town and railway station, and 7 E. of the Burton and Holme railway station. It is situated on the river Lune, and is wholly agricultural. An Act was passed in 1837 for enclosing 5,000 acres of waste land, of which 16 were appropriated for the recreation of the inhabitants. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Carlisle, val. 85, in the patron, of the Vicar of Kirkby-Lonsdale. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is an ancient stone struc- ture containing one bell. Rigmaden Park, the principal residence, is situated near the road from Kirkby-Lonsdale t" s.'.lbcrgh. There is a parochial school for both sexes. MANSFIELD, a par., post and market town, in the N. div. of the wap. of Broxtow, co. Nottingham, 12 miles K.W. of Southwell, 9 N.E. of Alfreton, and 14 N.W. of Nottingham. It is a station on the Mansfield line of railway. It is situated on the N. bank of the small river Maun, or Mann, from which it takes its name, and which rises about 3 miles to the westward. The town, which is of great antiquity, is supposed to have been of British or Roman origin, and was the occa- sional residence of the Mercian kings, who had a lodge for the convenience of hunting in the Royal Forest of vood. Until the year 1715, the courts for the Forest of Sherwood, celebrated in ballad story as the scene of the exploits of Robin Hood and his company, were held at Man.ifield. The par. is intersected by the ancient Byknield Street, or Leeming Lane, and contains the hmlt. ^ley Hill. In the Saxon and Norman times, it was a royal demesne, and so continued till the time of Eliza- beth, when it was ultimately granted away by lotters- nt, and came through the earls of Chester, Hast- ings, &c., to the dukes of Newcastle. The town, which stand.-; in a deep vale near the centre of the forest, has considerably improved of late years. It is well paved and lighted with gas, and consists of three principal streets, besides others branching from them, which arc narrow and irregular. The houses are principally built of grey stone, and are of handsome elevation. The shops are well supplied and large. The town contains three banks, a savings-bank, mechanics' institution, gas works, theatre, townhall, and a market place, this last being a square in connection with five of the principal streets. In the centre is a monument to the late Lord George Bentinck, erected in 1850, at a cost of 1,000, defrayed by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Petty sessions are held every alternate Thursday in the townhall, which is a stone building with an illuminated clock in the centre. It was erected in 1836 by a com- pany of shareholders. Mansfield is the centre of the hosiery and lace trade, and the cotton mills give employ- ment to the greater part of the inhabitants. There are numerous corn mills, iron foundries, brush manufactory, tanyard, and a mustard mill. An extensive trade is also done in malting, and in cutting and working into archi- tectural ornaments the freestone obtained from the adjacent quarries. There are cavalry barracks situated at High Oakham. The forest land has recently been enclosed under the General Enclosure Act. The par. is watered by the flood-dykes and the rivers Maun and Meden. The soil consists of a rich sand, and is very fertile. Water communication is obtained by means of the Cromford Canal, which was connected with the town by a double line of railway, constructed under an Act of Parliament in 1817, at a cost of 33,000. The town is the place of election, and a polling-place for the northern division of the county. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Lincoln, val. 360, in the patron, of the bishop. The parish church, dedicated to St. Peter, is an ancient structure with an embattled tower, containing eight bells, and a quarter-chime clock. The interior of the church contains several ancient monuments and brasses, also an organ, erected in 1795 at a cost of 1,000. In 1304 the church was partly destroyed by fire. There is also the district church of St. John's, the living of which is a perpet. cur.,* val. 100. A new church has been erected at the upper end of Westgato, at an outlay of 7,000, mainly owing to the generosity of the late Henry Gaily Knight, Esq. The charities are numerous. Among them is the endowment of Mr. Samuel Brunt, consisting of houses and land, which realise 1,000 per annum, and supplies upwards of 200 persons with an annuity of 4. In addition to the above charity, Mr. Charles Thompson left 600, and 400 3 per cent. Consols for providing 1 poor men and women with coats and petticoats. In the will of this eccentric gentleman was a request that he should bo buried in Sherwood Forest. In the churchyard is the Free Gram- mar school, founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1561; Also, other endowed schools for both sexes. There are places of worship for the Independents, Baptists, Society of Friends, Primitive Methodists, Wosleyans, and Unita- rians. The Duke of Portland is lord of the manor. Market day is Thursday for corn and provisions, and the 2nd Thursday in every month for fat cattle, sheep, and pigs. Fairs are held on the 2nd Thursday in April, July 10th, and the 2nd Thursday in October, for cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs ; also an extensive cheese fair. The second Thursday in November is a statute fair for the hiring of servants. Races are held on the llth and 12th July in Sherwood Forest. MANSFIELD., a vil. in the par. of New Cumnock, co. Ayr, Scotland, 2 miles N.E. of New Cumnock town. MANSFIELDSTOWN, a par. in the bar. of Louth, co. Louth, prov. of Leinster, Ireland, 2 miles W. of Castle-Bellingham, its post town. The par. is 2J miles long by 1 J mile broad. The soil is mostly of good quality. The road from Castle-Bellingham to Tallonstown tra- verses the parish, and the river Glyde flows along its southern boundary. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of Armagh, val. 215, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, which stands in the village, is an old structure. There is a day school.