Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/862

WITTON. 850 WIVELISCOMBE. years the residence of Home Tooko, and Charles James Fox was married here in September, 1795. The living ia a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Ely, val. with the rect. of Houghton, 650. The church is dedicated to St. Margaret or to All Saints. There is a National school. WITTON, a tnshp. and ecclesiastical district in the par. and borough of Blackburn, co. Lancaster, 2 miles N.AV. of Blackburn. It is situated on tho river Darwen and Liverpool canal. WITTON, EAST, a par. in the wap. of West Hang, North Riding co. York, 2 miles S.E. of Middleham, 4 S.E. of Leyburn, and 10 S.W. of Bedale. The village is situated near the confluence of the rivers Cover and Ure. The par. comprises tho tnshps. of Witton Within and Witton Without, including the limits, of Colster- dale, Cover Bridge, where ia an extensive brewery, Newstead, Jerveaux Abbey, and Kilgram Bridge. The soil is generally light, consisting of sand and gravel. At Braithwaite is a lead mine, and in tho neighbourhood are quarries of excellent freestone well adapted for grind- stones. About a mile E. of the village are the ruins of Jerveaux Abbey, founded in 1 141, in honour of the Virgin Mary, which at the Dissolution had a revenue of 455 10s. 5d. These remains, having been cleared from rub- bish at the commencement of the present century when a tosselated pavement was uncovered, but which has since perished by exposure to the air are now surrounded by a wall and sunk fence. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Ripon, val. 100. The church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist or to St. Ella, was built in 1812, at the ex-pense of the late Earl of Aylesbury, in commemo- ration of the 50th anniversary of the accession of George III. Divine service is also performed at the school- house in Colsterdale. There are schools for boys and girls, erected and partially endowed by the Marquis of Aylesbury, in 1817. The charities produce about 20 per annum. Fairs are held on the 3rd May and 20th November for cattle and sheep. The Marquis of Ayles- bury is lord of the manor. WITTON-GILBERT, a par. and tnshp. in the W. div. of Chester ward, co. Durham, 3 miles N.W. of Durham, and 4J S.W. of Chester-le-Street. It is situ- ated in a sheltered valley on the road from Durham to Lanchester, near the river Wear and the Lanchester Valley railway, on which it is a station. The par. con- tains the collieries of Findon Hill, Sacristan, and Char- law. At an early period Gilbert De la Ley founded here a hospital for five lepers, the only fragment of which is a pointed window in a farmhouse occupying its site. The par. includes the hmlts. of Edmonsley, Fulforlh, Finden Hill, Kimblesworth, and Sacristan, chief! y inhabited by colliers. About 1,083 acres are church land tithe-free. The chief landowners are the Dean and Chapter of Durham, the Ecclesiastical Com- missioners, the University of Durham, and the Earl of Durham. Bear Park is now in ruins. The soil is gene- rally light, consisting of sand and gravel. The living is both a rect. and perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Durham, val. 332, in the patron, of the dean and chapter. The church is dedicated to St. Michael. The register com- mences in 1570. Divine service is also performed at the schoolhouse at Sacristan. The Wcsleyans, Primi- tive Methodists, and United Free Methodists, have chapels both at Witton and Sacristan. There are two National schools, and Sunday schools. The charities produce about 5 per annum, exclusive of the school endowment. AVITTON-LE-WEAR, a par. chplry. in the hund. of Darlington, co. Durham, 4 miles N.W. of Bishop Auck- land, and 12 from Durham, and is a junction station on the North-Eastern railway. The village occupies a site on the southern acclivity of a hill rising from tho N. bank of the river Wear, which is here crossed by a bridge. On the river is Witton Castle, originally built by the Lords de Eure about 1410, and during the civil war of Charles I. held by Sir William D' Arcy, for the king, till besieged and taken by the parliamentarians under Sir Arthur Hasle- rigg. The castle, having been subsequently burnt, was rebuilt. The par. chplry. comprises the tnshps. of Witton-le-Wear and North Bedburn, with the hmlts. ot Howden and Witton Park, at which last place are ex- tensive ironworks. Coal is extensively worked, giving employment to the greater part of the population. The Raby hounds meet here. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Durham, val. 100. The church is dedi- cated to SS. Philip and James. Tho Primitive Metho- dists have a chapel at Witton, and the Wesleyans ono at Howden. There are schools for boys and girls at Witton, and a colliery school at Howden. The Bishop of Durham is lord of the manor. WITTON, LONG. See LONG WITTON, co. Northum- berland. WITTON, NETHER, a par. chplry. in the AV. div. of Morpeth ward, co. Northumberland, 8 miles N.W. of Morpeth, its post town, and 3 N.E. of Hart- burn. The village is situated at the confluence of the river Font and the Ewesleybourn. The par. includes tho tnshps. of Coat- Yards, Ewesley, Healey, and Comb- Hill, Nether Witton, Nunnykirk, Ritton, and Colt Park. There is a woollen manufactory of small extent. The living is a perpet. cur.* in the dioc. of Durham, val. 150, in the patron, of the Vicar of Hartbum. The church is dedicated to St. Giles. There is a National school, with a free lending library under the supervision of government. AVITTON SHIELDS, a tnshp. in the par. of Long Horslcy, Morpeth ward, co. Northumberland, 7 miles N.AV. of Morpeth. AVITTON, UPPER, a hmlt. in the par. of Aston, co. Warwick, 3i miles N.E. of Birmingham. WITTON, AVEST, a par. in the wap. of West Hang, North Riding co. York, 4 miles AV. of Middleham. The village is situated on tho northern slope of Pen- hill in Wcnsleydale, near the river Ure, or Yore. The par. includes the hmlt. of Swinethwaite, and the vestiges of an ancient castle, once belonging to Ralph Fitz- Randal. The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Ripon, val. 105. The church is supposed to have been built in the reign of Henry I. The Roman Catholics and Wesleyans have chapels. There is a National school. The charities produce about 30 per annum. WITTON- WITH-TWAMB HOOKS, a tnshp. and ' par. chplry. in the par. of Great Budworth, hund. of Northwich, co. Chester, a quarter of a mile E. of Northwich, of which it forms a suburb. WFVELISCOMBE, a par. and market town in the hund. of Kingsbury AVest, co. Somerset, 15 miles S.AV. of Bridgwater, 11 AV. of Taunton, and 6 N. of AVelling- ton railway station. It is situated in a comb, or valley, from which circumstance it takes its name, under tho Maundown hills, and includes the chplry. of Fitzhead, tho town of AViveliscombe, and the hmlts. of Croford, Ford, Langley, West Town, and AVhitfield. It was a place of importance under the Saxons, and had a palace in the 15th century, belonging to the Bishops of AVells, to whom the manor was originally given by Edward the Confessor. It is a polling place for the county elections, and is governed by a bailiff, portreeve, and other officers, but is under the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold petty sessions on the third Tues- day in each month. The population is close upon 3,000. The town is lighted with gas, and contains a townhall, police station, dispensary, reading-rooms, and branch hank. Here is situated the largest brewery in the AV. of England. In the western part of the parish the underlying rock is slate, which is extensively quarried, and in the E. and S. Red sandstone. The soil is a mixture of Red sandstone and shillet. The land produces good crops of wheat and barley. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Bath and AVells, val. 480, in the patron, of the pre- bendary of Wiveliscombo in Wells cathedral. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, was rebuilt in 1829. The register commences in 1536. The AVesleyans and Independents have chapels. There are National, infant, and Sunday schools. The charities produce about 90 per annum. There are 8 almshouses, besides 19 cot- tages bequeathed by Jerome Brooks for reduced rate- payers. At Courtneys in this parish are traces of a