Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/830

WIGSTON PARVA. 818 WIGTON. in the patron, of the Haberdashers' Company and Christ's Hospital, London. There are two churches : that dedicated to All Saints is known as the New Church ; the other church, long in ruins, has recently teen restored, and now serves for the cemetery chapel. The Independents, Wesleyans, Primitive and Calvin- istic Methodists have chapels, and there are National, British, and Sunday schools. The charities produce about 220 per annum, including 160, the endowment of B. Clarke's almshouses for eight aged persons. WIGSTON PARVA, a chplry. in the par. of Clay- brooke, hund. of Guthlaxton, co. Leicester, 6 miles N.W. of Lutterworth. The village is situated at the crossing of the Watling Street and Fosse Way. There is a chapel-of-ease, dedicated to St. Mary. WIGTOFT, a par. in the wap. of Kirton, parts of Holland, co. Lincoln, 3 miles S.E. of Swineshead, 7 S.W. of Boston, and 2 from Algarkirk railway station. The vil. and par. include the hmlts. of Burtoft and Hoffleet, or Hoftlot Stow. The soil is a rich loam, and the lands are under excellent cultivation. The livirg is a vie. in the dioc. of Lincoln, val. with that of Quadring annexed 412, in the patron, of the bishop. The church is dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have chapels. There is a free school, founded by W. Blisbury in 1714, which has an endowment of 60 per annum, and was rebuilt in 1830. The other charities consist of poor's land, producing 30 per annum. WIGTON, a par. and market town in the ward of Allerdale - below - Derwent, co. Cumberland, 10 miles S.W. of Carlisle, and 305 N.W. of London. It is a station on the Maryport and Carlisle railway. This place was a manor or barony before the Norman Con- quest, when it was given by William de Meschines to Waltheof, Lord of Allerdale, and by him to Odoard, surnamed De Wigton. It was burnt by the Scots in 1322, when they plundered the abbey of Holme-Cultram, and during the civil war was occupied by the van of the Duke of Hamilton's army in 1648. The manor or barony now belongs to Lord Leconfield, who holds a court leet and baron annually in September, at which constables are appointed, but the government of the town is vested in the county magistrates, who hold petty sessions fortnightly on Tuesday. It is likewise a polling place for the county elections, and the seat of a New County Court, superintendent registry, and Poor- law Union, embracing 31 parishes or places. The par., measuring more than 5 miles in length by 3 in breadth, contains, besides the town of Wigton, the tnshps. of Oul- ton, Waverton and Woodside, and the hmlts. of Akehead, Waterside, Lesson-hall, Wood-row, Howrigg, and East and West Woodside. The population in 1861 of the parish was 6,023, and of the town 4,011. The town consists principally of one spacious street, crossed by a narrower one at the lower end. It is pitched with peb- bles, and contains some good houses. The principal public institutions are the mechanics' institute, recently erected, containing a library and news-rooms; gas works, erected in 1831 ; 3 branch banks, union poor- house, clerical library, attached to the church, and townhall. At a short distance from the town pass the rivers Waver and Wampool, upon which are several corn-mills. The principal articles manufactured are checks, ginghams, muslins, and other cotton goods,- also print and dye works, tanneries, breweries, nail-making, and the timber trade. Coal is obtained about 3 miles from the town, and there are traces of copper and other metals within 5 miles. The land is generally level, and lies low, but is dry and fertile. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Carlisle, val. 300, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is said to have been originally erected by Odoard, shortly after the Conquest, with materials brought from a neighbour- ing Roman station, Olenacum, or Old Carlisle, and sub- sequently belonged to the abbey of Holme-Cultram, but was taken down in 1788, and the present edifice erected on its site. A stained-glass window, the gift of William Banks, Esq., of Highmoor House, has lately been put in the E. end of the parish church. Christ Chur capable of accommodating 160 persons, was built in 1865 at Waverton, as a chapel-of-ease to the mother chuvc" It contains two stained-glass windows. The E. wine" has in the centre a figure of our Saviour on the cross ; two side figures are St. Peter and St. Paul. The W. window is circular, containing 7 circular lights, one being in the centre, containing 7 symbols of Christ the lily, the rose, the lion, the apple or citron, the eagle, vine, and the "morning star" in the centre. There are chapels for Wesleyans, Independents, United Presbyterians, and Society of Friends, and a Gothic chapel, designed by Bonoini, belonging to the Roman Catholics. The free grammar school at Market-hill, near the entrance of the town, was founded in 1730, and has an income from endowment of about 70 per annum. There are also National, British, and denominational Sunday schools, and a school at Brook- field House belonging to the Society of Friends. Ewau Clarke, the Cumberland poet ; R. Smirke, R.A., the his- torical painter ; George Barnes, the mathematician ; Joseph Rooke, the self-taught weaver ; and John Rooke, the writer on political economy and geology, were born here. Market day is on Tuesday. Fairs are held on the 20th February for horses and cattle, 6th April for cattle and merchandise, St. Thomas's Day for meat, apples, and honey, and statute fairs on the Tuesdays after Whit Sunday and Martinmas for hiring servants. WIGTON, a tnshp. in the par. of Harewood, upper div. of Skyrack wap., West Riding co. York, 5 miles N.E. of Leeds. It includes the hmlts. of Brandon and Alwoodley Gate. WIGTON, a par., post and market town, seaport, royal and parliamentary burgh, and the chief town of Wigtonshire, Scotland. The par., which is situated near the eastern border of the county, contains, besides the town of Wigton, the post-office vil. of Bladenoch. It is bounded on the N. by Penningham, on the E. by Wigton Bay, or the estuary of the Cree, which is from 1^ mile to 2f miles broad, but dry at low water, and on the S. and S.W. by the river Bladenoch, which divides it from Kirkinner. Its length from E. to W. is 5 miles, and its greatest breadth about 4 miles. The land in the north-eastern part of the parish is an almost uninter- rupted level, but the more inland districts both to the N. and S., are hilly, and in parts covered with moor and moss. The soil of the low grounds near Wigtou Bay is a kind of indurated silt intermixed with marine shells, and is in part boggy, but a great portion has been re- claimed, and is now good arable land ; while the soil of the upland portions is light and dry, and has recently been much improved by drainage. The irreclaimable lands are principally in the north-western district. The prevailing rocks are graywacke and graywacke slate. The prin- cipal landowners are the Earls of Galloway and Stair. The town of Wigton occupies a small table-land near the beach of Wigton Bay, and about 3 furlongs N. of the mouth of the river Bladenoch. It is 7 miles S. of Newton-Stewart, and 11 N. of Whithorn, and has steamboat communication with Garlieston and Liver- pool by means of the Galloway Steam Navigation Com- pany's vessels, while a short branch line of rail com- municates with the Port Patrick railway. The streets are clean, and many of the houses modern. Its prin- cipal locality is a parallelogram about 250 yards long, laid out in walks and drives, with an artificial circular bank at the upper end cut into a series of terraces or concentric sward seats. Diverging from this central green or park arc three main streets, straight, and well kept, besides three minor streets. The principal public buildings are the market cross, the townhall, or county buildings, containing the court-room, assembly room, and subscription library, and the county gaol. The Wigton Academy and the Wigton Normal School are also good edifices. The town has offices of the British Linen Company's Bank, the City of Glasgow Bank, and the Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank. The population of the municipal burgh in 1851 was 2,232, and of the par- liamentary 2,121, but in 1861 it had decreased to 2,025,