Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/22

NAZE, THE. 10 NEATH. brewery, and throe largo flour mills. A court-leet is held on Easter Monday, at which the steward of the manor presides. The impropriate tithes have heen com- muted for a rent-charge of 220, and the incumbent's for 50 10s. The living is a perpet. cur.* in the dice, of Ely, val. 139. The church, dedicated to St. Stephen, is an ancient structure, with a tower containing six bells. The interior of the church contains five doubled cano- pied and other brasses, bearing date from 1430 ; also a good painting of our Saviour, and several ancient marblo monuments. The parochial charities produce about 200 per annum, chiefly arising from land, which is appropriated for the benefit of the clergyman and various charitable purposes. There are British and National schools for both sexes. The Independents have a place of worship. NAZE, THE, a headland on the N.E. coast of Essex, 5 miles S. of Harwich. It is crowned by an ancient tower nearly opposite Landguard Fort, in Suffolk, and off the coast is a rocky ledge near 2 miles long, with only fl feet water in some places. NAZEING, or NASING, a par. in the hund. of "VValtham, co. Essex, 4 miles N.E. of Waltham Abbey, its post town, and 3^ W. of Broxbourne railway station. The river Lea is here crossed by a bridge connecting this parish with Hertfordshire. The parish, which is wholly agricultural, is bounded on the W. by the river Lea, a favourite resort for anglers during the season. Near the village are extensive ornamental flower gardens, which are a groat attraction during the summer season. The land is principally meadow and pasture, with a considerable extent of common, of which about 450 acres have been recently enclosed. The surface is un- dulating, in some parts rising into hills commanding a varied prospect. The living is a vie* in the dioc. of Rochester, val. 255, in the patron, of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is situated on an eminence. It has a square embattled tower of brick containing five bells. There is a National school. At the eastern end of the parish are traces of an ancient fortification, called Ambcrsbank, supposed to be British. The living was once held by Dr. Joseph Hall, Bishop of Norwich, and subsequently by Dr. Thomas Fuller, the Church historian. NEAGH, LOUGH, a lake in the prov. of Ulster, Ireland. It ranks fourth among European lakes in point of size, and is by far the largest in the British isles. Its length from N. to S. is 15 miles, and its breadth about 11 miles, covering an area of above 150 square miles, or 98,255 acres. An abundance of fish are caught, and many beautiful pebbles are found on the banks. Notwithstanding its groat extent, it is a very uninteresting expanse of water, being almost destitute of islands to diversify its surface, and surrounded by low moorland shores often flooded or swampy. Its principal feeders are the Upper Bann, Blackwater, Maine, Six- mile, and Ballinderry, and it discharges its superfluous waters at its northern extremity, through Lough Beg, by the Lower Bann. Its waters are celebrated for their petrifying properties. A considerable traffic is carried on by means of steamers, but the sudden squalls to which it is subject render the navigation dangerous for sailing vessels. Several schemes have been devised for deepening its outlet, the surface of the lake being only 46 feet above the sea-level, and by this means about 25,000 acres of land, now annually flooded, might be iimle available for culture. NEALE, a vil. in the par. of Kilmolara, .bar. of Kil- maino, co. Mayo, prov. of Connaught, Ireland, 4 miles S. of Ballinrobe. Here is a police station. The Ncale is the demesne of Lord Kilmaihe. Fairs are held on 5th February, Cth May, 4th August, and 5th November. NEASDON, a hmlt. in the par. of Hendon, co. Middlesex, 3 miles W. of Hampstead. It wa ancient seat of the Attewood family, and was purchased by the Nicholls, who have rebuilt the mansion. NEASHAM, or NYSAM, a tnshp. in the par. of Hurworth, S.AV. div. of Stockton ward, co. Durham, 1 mile E. of Ilurworth, and 4 miles S.E. of Darlington. It is a small village situated at the ferry on the river Tees. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agriculture, and in the linen manufacture. There are traces of a Bene- dictine nunnery founded by the Dacres prior to the reign of Henry II. Its revenues at the Dissolution were returned at '2.6 9s. Sd. Neasham Hall, the princi- pal residence, is situated in a commanding position on the N. bank of the river, affording varied and extensive views of the surrounding county. Thomas Wrighton, Esq., is lord of the manor. NEAT-END-STONE, a hmlt. in the par. of Enstone, hund. of Chadlington, co. Oxford, half a mile S. of Church-Enstone, and 5 miles S.W. of Chipping-Norton. It is sometimes called Hoad-Enstone, on account of the high road to Birmingham and Worcester passing through it. The waterworks constructed here by Thomas Bushel are now extinct. There is a place of worship for the Methodists. NEATH, a hund. in the co. of Glamorgan, contains the pars, of Abcravon, Baglan, Briton Ferry, Cadoxtoii, Glyncorrwg, Kilybebill, Lower-Lantwit, Michaelstone- super-Avon, and Neath. NEATH, a par., market town, seaport, municipal and parliamentary borough, in the hund. of Neath, co. Glamorgan, 8 miles from Swansea, 30 N.E. of Cardiff, and 208j from London by the South Wales section of the Great Western railway, on which it is a station ; it has also a station on the Vale of Neath line. A steamer runs to Bristol twice a week. Though small in size, Neath is a very active port, being the vent for all the produce of the busy and prosperous vale in which it ia situated. It is placed on the eastern bank and near the mouth of the river Neath, or Nedd, which hero opens out to a considerable breadth, and has likewise water communication by means of the Abcrnant and Swansea canals. Though vessels of fiom 300 to 400 tons can get up the river to the quays at high tide, the trade is chiefly carried on by barges on the canal between the town and Briton Ferry, or Giant's Grave, which lies about 2 miles lower down towards Swansea Bay, of which it is a subport. The harbour, though* capacious, is obstructed by a bar at its mouth having from 11 to 17 feet water. It enjoys much prosperity, being placed in the heart of the great coal-field of South Wales, by the resources of which many extensive copper, tin, and iron-works, and other works of a similar character, have been set going. The town is of great antiquity, occupying the site of the ancient Nidus, or Nidum, mentioned by Antonine, on tho Via Julia and Sarn Helen Roman roads. It was given by Robert Fitzhamon, the Anglo-Norman baron, who first conquered the country from the AVelsh princes, to his brother, Richard do Granville, ancestor of the noble families of Granville, Marquis of Bath ; Granville, Duko of Buckingham ; and Lord Granville. He rebuilt the castle of Jestyn-ap-Gwrgan, of which there are now but scanty remains, and subsequently founded the Cister- cian abbey called Abbaty Glijn Ncdd, or, the " Abbacy of the Vale of Nedd." This latter structure, once "tho fairest abbey in all Wales," as described by Leland, is now a ruin defaced by the smoke and coal dust of the neighbouring extensive copper and iron works. Its history is fully given in Tanner's " Notitia Monastica," but all that now remains are tho external walls with parts of the chapel, vaulted chapterhouse, refectory, and abbot's houso. The architect was one Lalys, who also built Margam and Laleston. It became the sanctuary of the unfortunate Edward II., who took refuge here after escaping from Caerphilly, but his retreat being dis- covered, he was compelled by the monks to quit, and one of them, as the tradition goes, betrayed him into his enemies' hands at Llantrissant Castle. At the Dissolu- tion its revenues were returned at 132, and the site granted to the Cromwells, from whom it comes to Lord Dynevor. The town is not remarkable for the neatness of its appearance, the spirit of trade having not diffused itself in well paved streets, these being in general narrow, budly paved and pitched. Tho principal public buildings are the townhall, having a corn market in its basement story ; a new market-house, commercial branch bank,