Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/784

MARGARET, ST. 776 MARGATE. MARGARET, ST., a par. in the bar. of Coolook, co. Dublin, prov. of Leinster, Ireland, 3 miles S.W. of Swords. The par. is 2 miles long by 2 broad. The surface consists of a middling soil. It is touched on the V. by the road from Dublin to Drogheda. The living is a cur. in the dioc. of Dublin, val. with Finglass, 283, in the patron, of the archbishop. The Roman Catholic chapel is united to that of Finglass. Several seats sur- round the village. St. Margaret's "Well is enclosed, and affords a soft and pleasant bath. Here are ruins of Dunsaghly Castle and of St. Margaret's Church. MARGARET, ST., or STREET, a hmlt. in the par. of Ivinghoe, co. Bucks, near Ivinghoe. It is situated on the Roman way, Icknield Street, and formerly had a Bene- dictine nunnery, founded by Henry do Blois, Bishop of Winchester, in 1160. The revenue of the nunnery at the Dissolution was returned at 22 6. There is neither church nor village, only a few farmhouses. MARGARET, ST., AT-CLIFFE, a par. in the hund. of Bewsborough, lathe of St. Augustine, co. Kent, 3 miles N.E. of Dover. This place received the adjunct to its name from its high situation on the chalk cliffs overlooking the English Channel. It contains St. Margaret's Bay, where is a small wooden pier or jetty, chiefly used by the fishing craft. The village, which is small but neatly- built, commands a sea-view, and is noted for its lobsters, which are said to be the finest-flavoured in England. The appropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 380, and the vicarial for 105. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Canterbury, val. 160, in the patron, of the archbishop. The church is an old Norman edifice. The charities produce about l per annum, of which 1 is for ringing the curfew bell. MARGARET, ST., ISLAND, an ext. par. place in the par. of Tenby, co. Pembroke, 2 miles S. of Tenby. M ARGARETTING, a par. in the hund. of Chelmsford, co. Essex, 2 miles E. of Ingatestono, its post town, and 4 S.W. of Chelmsford. It is situated on the river Wid. The Roman and modern road from London to Colchester, and the Great Eastern railway, traverse the parish. It contains the hmlt. of Margaretting Street. The inhabi- tants are chiefly engaged in agriculture. The impro- priate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 430, and the vicarial for 189 15*. The living is a vie.* in the dioe. of Rochester, val. 168. The church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is a neat edifice with a wooden belfry, surmounted by a shingled spire, and containing four bells. The charities produce about .9 per annum, and a house for the poor. There is a National school for both sexes. A moated house, called Killigrew's Farm, was formerly a favourite resort of Henry VIII., and, until recently, was approached by a drawbridge, with two watch towers. MARGATE, a seaport, market town, municipal boro' and watering-place, in the par. of St. John's, hund. of Ringslow and Isle of Thanet, lathe of St. Augustine, co. Kent, 15 miles N.E. by E. of Canterbury, and 72 S.E. of London. It has stations on the South-Eastern, and London, Chatham, and Dover railways ; also, a branch line to Ramsgate. Steamboats run to London, Graves- end, Herne-Bay, Ramsgate, and Tilbury. Its name was originally Her-gate, or Meregate, signifying an opening or gate into the sea, the town being built in a hollow or break in the cliffs. In Leland's time it had a pier, and was the landing-place of William III., George I., George II., Marlborough, and Duncan after the battle of Camperdown. It was, however, an inconsiderable fishing town, till towards the close of the last century, when it came into vogue as a favourite watering-place. The first steamer ran from here to London in 1815, from which date the town rapidly increased, till 1841, when its population was above 11,000, or 40,000 at the height of the season. In 1861 it had declined to 10,152. After the formation of railways to the watering-places on the south coast, the popularity of Margate somewhat de- clined, but it is now gradually recovering its position, and many houses have recently been erected at West- brook, known as the Royal Crescent. The shore is well adapted to sea-bathing, and the air remarkably salubrious, as the motto of the borough arms implies, "Forta mans portus taluta." The town is situated on the N. coast of Kent, in 61 24' N. lat. and 1 22' E. long, about 3 miles W. of the North Foreland, and opposite the Margate Sands, which extend 4 miles in length by 2 broad, and are dry at low water, dividing Margate Roads from the Queen's Channel. It is a member of Dover Cinque Port, and a subport to Ramsgate, and has a harbour between the Nayland and Fulsam chalk reefs. The pier, constructed in 1815 by Messrs. Rennie and Jessup, at the cost of 100,000, is of Whitby stone, 900 feet long, and 60 feet wide, having at the head the Jarvis pillar, Droit Office, &c., with a lighthouse on it, from which a fine view is obtained. At the foot of the pier is a new landing-place, constructed in 1854, and supported by iron pillars, to enable passengers to land at all times of the tide. The Marine Parade fronting the terrace has recently been widened, and is protected from the action of the sea by a stone wall. It extends about 2,500 feet in length, including the new-made portion in front of the Royal Crescent. The Esplanade, which is parallel to the Parade, is a quarter of a mile in length. The town is irre- gularly laid out, but many of the streets are wide and well paved. That portion of it to the W. of the harbour is called Buenos Ayres. It is abundantly supplied with good water by the Margate and Broadstairs Waterworks, situated at Tivoli, and completed in 1859. The principal buildings are the townhall, containing several portraits, where the town commissioners hold their meetings, and petty sessions are held weekly; the market, enclosed by Tuscan porticoes and iron railings ; the Droit Office at the end of the pier, with an illuminated clock and wait- ing-room; the theatre, built in 1787 ; the custom-house in Fort-place ; the post-office in Cecil-square ; the Royal National Hospital, or Sea-Bathiug Infirmary, at West- brook, founded in 1796 for 250 patients, but since con- siderably enlarged ; the literary and scientific institution in Hawley-square, to which are attached a library of near 3,000 volumes, and a museum, containing specimens of many rare British birds and plants, and news-rooms ; a sailors' room and observatory on the Fort ; the assembly rooms, with a colonnade of coupled Doric columns, the principal room of which is 87 feet long by 43 wide, and is open daily during the season for concerts and balls. There are, besides, a bank, savings- bank, circulating libraries, bazaars, and several bathing establishments, of which the principal are the Clifton Baths, excavated out of the chalk cliff, with billiard and . news-rooms attached ; bathing-rooms in the High-street, and at the Lower Marine-terrace. In the vicinity are the Tivoli, Shallows, and Chapel Hill public gardens. Near the pier is a patent slip for the repair of ships ; there are also a brewery for Cobb's ale, a ropery, and several flour-mills, one called Hooper's Mill, famed for its horizontal sails. The chief trade consists in corn, timber, and coal, and some little trade with the Nether- lands. There is still a rather considerable fishery for skate, haddock, soles, and flat fish, and the fishermen add to their earnings by assisting vessels in distress. For municipal purposes, the borough, which was consti- tuted in 1857, is divided into four wards, and is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 1 2 councillors. It is the seat of a county court, which is held once a mouth. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Canterbury, val. about 500, in the patron, of the archbishop. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a very ancient struc- ture, having been begun in 1050, but has suffered greatly from the many alterations made in it. It is built of rough flint and rubble, and has a square tower containing a peal of eight bells. It contains several interesting monu- ments and six brasses, two of priests, the earliest bearing date 1431. There is also the district church of the Holy Trinity, the living of which is a perpet. cur.,. val. 221. It is a modern edifice, with a lofty tower 135 feet high, which serves as a sea-mark, and for this pur- pose the Trinity House contributed largely towards its erection. The Wesleyans, Independents, Baptists, Cal- vinistic Methodists, Countess of Huntingdon's Con-