Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/821

MJELTON-CONSTABLE. 813 MELTON MOWBHAY. of the wap. of Harthill, East Hiding r,o. York, 2 miles X.V. of Pocklington, its post town and railway station. villains, which are small, and about 1 mile distant friini each other, are wholly agricultural. The soil con- sists of clay and sand. The living is a cur. annexed to the vie. of Pocklington, in the dioc. of York. The chapel is a small edifice with a bell-turret containing one bell. MELTON-CONSTABLE, a par. in the hund. of Ilult, co. Norfolk, 5 miles S.W. of Holt, its post town, and 8 N.E. of Fakenham. The river Thurne, which is navigable from Aylshum to Yarmouth, has its source in this parish. At the time of the Domesday Survey it was held by the bishops of Thetford, to whom it was granted by William the Conqueror. It afterwards passed to Roger-de-Lyons, whose descendants assumed the name of Mealtou, and occasionally De-Constable, from the office which they held under the bishop. The surface, which is undulating, is well cultivated and richly wooded. The soil is generally a sandy loam. The tithes have Deen commuted for a rent-charge of 235. The living is a rcct. annexed to the rect. of Little Burgh, joint val. 2W. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a cruci- form structure with a tower. There is a small house of industry for the poor of this and the Brinton parishes, which is entirely independent of any Poor-law Union. Melton Hall is the principal residence, and has been the scat of the Astleys for many centuries. It is a brick and stone mansion, having four fronts, and was erected in 1680 by Sir J. Astley, with Belle Vue tower in the grounds, which are extensive. The interior of the mansion contains a chapel, and a choice collection of pictures. Both the exterior and interior have been restored and improved at different periods. Lord Has- tings is lord of the manor and sole landowner. M KLTON, GREAT. See MELTON-MAGNA, co. Nor- folk. MELTON-HIGH, a par. in the lower div. of the wap. of Strafforth, West Biding co. York, 4 miles S.W. of Doncaster, its post town, and 1 from Mexborough railway station. It is a small agricultural village, situ- ated on an eminence near the river Don, affording varied views of the surrounding country. Nearly a third of the parish is woodland, the remainder arable and .pas- ture. The living is a porpet. cur. in the dioc. of York, val. 97. The church, dedicated to St. James, is an ancient structure with a tower containing a clock and three bells. The church has some stained windows, . also monuments of the Wilson and Fountayne families. The register dates from 1538. The Independents have a place of worship. The parochial charities produce about .8 per annum. Melton Hall is the principal HBsidenee. MELTON-MAGNA, a par. in the hund. of Humble- yard, co. Norfolk, 6 miles W. of Norwich, its post town, N.E. of Wymondham, and 3 N. of the Hethersett railway station. The village, which is small, is situated near the river Yare, and is wholly agricultural. Tho tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 748 10.?. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Norwich, val. 652, in the patron, of Gonville andCaius College, Cambridge. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, has a small square tower containing three bells. The church of All Saints adjoining is in ruins, with a tower completely clothed in ivy. Tho parochial charities produce about 2 per annum. A commodious village school was erected in 1850 fit the expense of Charles Lombe, Esq., by whom it is supported, with the Rev. Charles Eyres, M.A. The hall is the principal residence. It is a noble mansion, ii extensive lawn. MELTON MOWBRAY, a par. and market town in the huncl. of Framland, co. Leicester, 15 miles N.E. of 12 N.W. of Oakham, in Rutlandshire, with connected by a canal, and 105 miles N.V. nf London by road, or 1M| by the Great Northern rail- 1 18 by the Midland railway, on the 8yston and Peterborough section of which it is a chii-f station. It is situated in a I rtilo valley near the junction of the rivers Kyc and Wreak, the former of which was made VOL. II. navigable in 1800 from this point to the Soar naviga- tion near Syston, and is crossed by three bridges. It is mentioned in Domesday Survey as Medeltune, and was given by William the Conqueror, with 26 lordships, to Goisfrid de Wirce, from whom it came through the Albinis and Mowbrays to the Hudson and Lamb fami- lies. In the reign of Edward III. it sent members to the parliament held in the llth year of that king's reign, but never subsequently. In the civil war of Charles I. the parliamentarians under Colonel Rossiter were defeated here by Sir M. Langdale. Besides the town of Melton Mowbray, the par. includes the small vil. of Freeby, and the chplries. and tnshps. of Burton Lazars, Freeby, Sysonby, and Welby. ' The town is well built, and the streets are paved and lighted with gas, the cost being defrayed out of the rental of the town estate, consisting of property worth 800 per annum, which is administered by twelve feoffees and two town wardens, annually chosen by the inhabitants. It contains several public buildings, including the new corn exchange, erected in 1855, with magistrates' rooms, savings-bank and reading-room ; a police station, built in 1843 ; a literary institution, and museum ; a mecha- nics' institution, established in 1845 ; Athenaeum, with library attached ; assembly rooms, two branch banks, and union workhouse. Stables to accommodate 500 horses have been provided for the convenience of sports- men ; and to the S. of the town is a railway station, with extensive warehouses adjoining. The principal attraction of Melton is the celebrated fox-hunt, to which it gives name. The town is thronged with visitors during the hunting season, which commences at tho beginning of November, and closes with the Croxton Park races at the end of March. The chief manufac- tures are bobbin-net, lace, and stocking-weaving. A considerable trade is also carried on in Stilton cheese and pork pies, for the latter of which this town is so celebrated that upwards of two tons are manufactured i weekly and sent to London, Manchester, and Leeds. Petty sessions are held every alternate Tuesday, and a county court monthly, in the town. It is a polling place for the northern division of the county, and the seat of a Poor-law Union, embracing fifty-four parishes and townships. At a short distance from the town is Egerton Lodge, tho seat of the Earl of Wilton, sur- rounded by gardens. The living is a vie. * in the dioc. of Peterborough, val. with the curs, of Burton Lazars, Freeby, Sysonby, and Welby annexed, 580. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a cruciform structure, 164 feet by 117, with a tower rising from the intersec- tion. It once was a cell to Lewes Abbey, and ia still considered one of the finest churches in the county. At the western end is an entrance porch, and immediately above it a window, with tracery, divided into five lights. The church was considerably heightened in the reign of Elizabeth, and since 1850 has been entirely restored by G. G. Scott. It contains an organ, and tombs of a knight in the Digby aisle, and of a Hudson. The Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists have places of wor- ship, and the Roman Catholics a Gothic chapel, built by Pugin, with a rich E. window, representing St. John the Baptist holding a lamp, and two figures kneeling before him. The grammar school was closed in 1848, hut there are at present two schools supported out of the town revenues, viz. the Church free school and British free school, open to children of all denominations ; also an infant school, built in 1853 by subscription. There are besides a Roman Catholic free school and a Church Sunday-school. The parochial charities, including the revenues of the almshouses and school endowments, pro- duce annually 365, exclusive of the town estate, worth about 800 per annum. Among tho distinguished natives of Melton were, John de Kirkby, Bishop of Ely and lord treasurer, who built Ely House ; William de Melton, Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England; and Orator Henley, a divine who acquired considerable notoriety in the last century. Market daj is Tuesday, when much business is done in corn, hort^s, cattle, and provisions. Fairs are held on the Monday 5 L