Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/894

MOELEY ST. PETER. 886 MOEPETH. 580. The living is a rect.* with the our. of St. Peter annexed, in the dioo. of Norwich, val. 585. The church, dedicated to St. Botolph, has a square em- battled tower. The parochial charities produce ahout 35 per annum, 8 of which goes to Brown's school for the education of children of this parish, and that of Morley St. Peter. MORLEY ST. PETER, a. par. in the hund. of Fore- hoe, co. Norfolk, 3J miles S.W. of Wymoudham, its railway elation and post town. The village, which is straggling, is wholly agricultural. The only residence of note is Morley House, a white brick mansion. The living is a cur. annexed to the rect.* of Morley St. Botolph, in the dioo. of Norwich. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small edifice, with a low square tower. It contains a monument to the Sedley family, who resided at the old hall. MORMOND, or STRICHEN, a yil. in the par. of Strichen, co. Aberdeen, Scotland, 4 miles N. of Deer, and 33j N.W. of Aberdeen. It is situated under Hor- mond Hill, which rises 810 feet in height, and on the road from Peterhead to Banff. The village is neatly built, and consists of several well-formed streets, with a townhouse erected in 1816. There is also an office of the North of Scotland Bank. Annual fairs are held on the first Tuesday in January, and the Tuesday following the 4th March, on the Wednesday following the 19th May, Wednesday following the 12th July, Wednesday following the 9th August, and the Wednes- day after the 12th November. MORNINGSIDE, a vil. in the par. of St. Cuthbert's, co. Edinburgh, Scotland, 2 miles S. of the city of Edin- burgh. It has a station on the Caledonian railway. It is situated under Blackford hills, near Tipperlin, and con- tains the Edinburgh lunatic asylum. The " Bore Stone," in which James IV. placed his standard when on his march to Flodden in 1513, is still to be seen in the wall by the public road. There is a Free church, also a chapel-of-ease ; the former was erected in 1844, and the latter in 1837. MORNING STAR, a river of co. Limerick, Ireland. It rises in the Galtee mountains, near Ballylanders, and joins the river Mague, near Bruree. MORNING-THORPE, a par. in the hund. of Dep- wade, co. Norfolk, 11 miles S. of Norwich, 3 E. of the Forncett railway station, and 1 mile E. from Long Stratton, its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is chiefly agricultural. The greater part of the land is in good cultivation, with a small extent of wood- land and common. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 300. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Norwich, val. 242, in the patron, of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a small structure, with a round tower. The chancel has a stained window, and the font is elaborately sculptured. The register dates from 1558. The paro- chial charities produce about 33 per annum. There is a small school. Boyland Hall, the principal residence, is situated about 1 J mile N.E. of the village ; it is an Elizabethan mansion, with extensive pleasure grounds, near to which is a bust of Queen Elizabeth, which was formerly kept at Tilbury House. The park is well wooded, and of large extent. There are two manors, viz. Morningthorpe and Boyland ; E. Howes, Esq., is lord of the former, and F. W. Irby, Esq., of the latter. MORNINGTON, a vil. in the par. of Colpe-cum- Mornington, in tha bar. of Lower Duleek, co. Meath, Jrov. of Leinster, Ireland, 2 miles N.E. of Drogheda. t is situated on the right bank of the river Boyne, at the Bridge of Boyne. The village was formerly called Weisley, and was a possession of Colpe Abbey. Here is an ancient church, and the Maiden Tower, which stands conspicuously on the strand. MOROE, a vil. in the par. of Abington, bar. of Owneybeg, co. Limerick, prov. of Munster, Ireland, ? miles E. of Barringtonsbridge. It stands on the road from Cahirconlish to Newport Tip, among the Slieve Phelim mountains. Fairs are held on the 25th March. 29th April, 27th October, and 26th December. MORPETH, a ward in two divs., E. and S., occu- pying the eastern section of co. Northumberland. Mor- peth East ward contains the pars, of Bothal, Ulghum- with-Morpeth, Widdrington, Woodhorn, and parta of Feltoii aud Warkworth ; Morpeth South ward contains the pars, of Hebburn, Long Horsley, Nether Witton, and parts of Bolam, Brinkburn, Hartburn, Mitford, and Morpeth ; together comprising 93,530 acres. MORPETH, a par., market town, municipal and par- liamentary borough, in Castle and Morpeth wards, co. Northumberland, 15 miles N. by W. of Newcastle by road, or 16| by railway, and 289 miles N.N.W. of London by road, or 291J viu the Great Northern, or 320^ vid the Midland railway. The North-Eastern and Blyth and Tyne railways have stations here. The town stands in a healthy valley, on a sort of peninsula formed by the windings of the river Wans- beek, which is here joined by the Cottingburn rivulut, and across which are three bridges: the one which carries the Newcastle road is a stone structure of three arches, designed by Tel ford; that on the W. is a sus- pension bridge, and the third is of wood, the two last being only for pedestrians. In ancient records it is called Morpathia and Morepath, signifying the town or path over the moor, and at the time of the Norman conquest was given to William de Merlay, whose descen- dants were lords of Morpoth. In the 14th century it passed to the Greystocks, who built the castle, the ruins of which occupy an elevated site on tho other side of the river a little S. of the town, and having a deep natural valley to the N. and S. Some portions of the outer walls fronting the brow of the hill to the E., and the entrance gateway, which has recently been restored, are the only portions of this once strong fortress now remaining. From the Greystocks the lordship passed to the Dacre and Howard families, the latter of whom are the present barons of Morpeth, and bear the title of viscount from this place, in addition to that of earls of Carlisle. Morpeth is a borough by prescription, and returned two members to parliament from the reign of Edward VI., who conferred on it a shield of arms, with the appropriate motto, "Inter sylvas et Jlumina habitans." Since tie passing of the Reform Bill it returns only one member, at which time its boundaries were extended so as to include the tnshps. of Morpeth, Buller's Green, Catchburu-with-Morpeth- Castle, Hepscott, Newminster Abbey, Stobhill, and Tranwell-with-Highchurch, and the par. of Bedling- ton. The area of the old borough was 270 acres ; that of the new borough 147,670, with a population in 1851 of 10,012, and in 1861 of 13,794. The municipal borough, which received its first charter of incorporation from Charles II., contained, in 1851, 4,096, and in 1861, 4,296 inhabitants. Under the Municipal Corporations Act, passed in 1835, it is governed by a mayor, 4 alder- men, and 12 councillors, with the style of the " mayor and burgesses of the borough of Morpeth." Its revenue is about 760. Morpeth is the head of a Poor-law Union containing 72 parishes and townships, and the seat of a new County Court district, also of a superintendent registry. It is a polling-place for the northern division of the county. The appearance of the town, which is almost surrounded by the windings of the Wansbeck, has been much improved of late years. The streets are irregularly laid out, but contain several good residences, and two convenient hotels, besides many inns and shops. It is paved, lighted with gas, and supplied with water from a spring at Stobhill. The principal public buildings are the townhall, a atone edifice, with rustic piazza and turrets, situated on the S. side of the market-place ; it was erected in 1714, at the expense of the Earl of Carlisle, from a design by Vanburgh, and faces the old market cross erected in 1099. The new gaol or county house of correction is a spacious stone edifice, resembling a baronial castle, and occupying a commanding site on the S. bank of the river Wansbeck ; it was finished in 1828, at a cost of nearly 80,000, and is reckoned one of the most secure and commodious gaols in the kingdom. The gateway