A. D. 1852 Manufac ture. Lord Ilkley. the immediate neighbourhood are several gentlemen's seats, delightfully placed; the principal are Farnley hall, the residence of F. H. Fawkes, Esq.; Newall-hall, of F. Billam, Esq; Denton park, of Edward Ackroyd, Esq., (late Sir C. H. Ibbetson, Bart.); Middleton lodge, of W. Middelton, Esq.; besides Ashfield-house, Westbornlodge, and Weston-hall, the property of a descendant of the ancient family of Vavasour, who came from Normandy with William I. The woollen manufacture was anciently carried on to a very considerable extent; but the inhabitants are now principally occupied in worsted, paper, and other mills, or in agricultural pursuits. The market, held on Friday, is well supplied with fat calves, a large number of which are sent to Leeds, as well as butter and eggs. An extensive market for cattle and sheep is held on every alternate Friday. The parish, which comprises several chapelries, contains 23,060 acres, of which 3000 are moorland, including part of Romalds Moor, and abounding in stone. The township consists of about 2310 acres, and is principally pasturage, with 150 acres of arable, and 150 of wood. The Church has undergone many alterations, so that, with the exception of the doorway, which has a fine arch, little of its original character remains. It contains numerous monuments of the families of Fairfax, Fawkes, Vavasour, and others. The Free Grammar School was founded by Thomas Cave, Esq.,, who, in 1602, bequeathed £250 for its endowment; it was established by James I., and styled in honour of the then Prince of Wales—“The Grammar School of Prince Henry." The school-room was enlarged a few years ago, at an expense of £400, and the scholars of the church Sunday school, and of an Infant school, are taught here. Lord Fairfax, the parliamentary general, was born at Denton Park, in 1611; and Colonel Fairfax, his brother, resided at Menstone-hall, in 1640, whence many interesting relics, including a stone table, at which Oliver Cromwell dined the day before the battle of Marston Moor, have been removed to Farnley hall, the seat of F. H. Fawkes, Esq. The population of the parish, including the chapelries, in 1851, was 28,644, composed of 14,668 males, and 13,976 females. The number of houses at the same period was 5,926. Six miles from Otley, is ILKLEY, a place of great antiquity, and the Olicana of the Romans. The church is the funeral place of the Middelton family, and the tomb of Sir Adam de Middleton, which is of the date of 1312, stands in it. In the church yard, there are three ancient Saxon crosses, supposed to have been early objects of religious reverence, and also that their number had allusion to the mystery of the Trinity The Roman fortress, of which the outline on three sides is still entire, is situated on a steep and lofty bank overlooking the river Wharfe, the original altar to Verbeia, the nymph of the Wharfe, is still in existence at Middleton-lodge, though time has effaced the inscription, A. D. 1852 Within a mile of Ilkley, and on the face of a bold and picturesque eminence, near the banks of the Wharfe, stands the spacious edifice of Ben Rhydding Hotel, devoted to the application of the Ben Rhydding. Water Cure. The extensive and varied scenery of the district, its salubrious springs and exhilarating mountain air, have, from a very early period rendered this district a very favourite retreat of invalids. On the spot thus favoured, a Hydropathic Establishment was formed a few years ago, by gentlemen of the neighbourhood, at an expense of £26,000. The estate, which consists of sixty-five acres of hilly and wooded ground, is laid out with the view of increasing the pleasure of the patients, and affording them opportunities for varied exercise; and access is at all times open to the extensive adjoining tracts of wood and upland moors. The mansion itself is furnished with every convenience, and as luxuriantly as is consistent with the system of cure; nor have any means been neglected to obtain for the invalid, so far as they are attainable in such an institution, the comforts, usages, and attentions of a private home. Accommodation can be provided for about eighty patients, with their friends; the latter, as well as general visitors, having apartments in the hotel which forms the centre of the building. The public dining room and drawing room are each 40 feet by 24. There are twelve private sitting rooms, varying in size, but all commanding exquisite views; the patients' bed-rooms are 15 feet by 12, and 10 feet high; they are fitted each with its separate bath and unlimited supply of water; besides which, there is a large bath room on each of the three floors, containing a plunge bath and a douche bath. On the ground floor of each wing are hot water, hot air, and vapour baths; and in the adjoining room, steam apparatus for local application in cases of stiffened joints from gout or rheumatism, affections of the nerves, different states of acute and chronic sciatica, &c. In the adjoining woods are two very powerful douches, one for ladies, and another for gentlemen, with dressing rooms attached. On a large terrace, levelled for the purpose, an extensive gymnasium has been lately erected, and furnished with apparatus suited to all degrees of strength, and to all descriptions of muscular action. A bowling green has also been added. On the general merits of hydropathy, Dr. Macleod, the resident physician, offers one important practical remark. "It is not to be doubted," he says, "that the indiscriminate use of baths without regard to the strength and peculiar condition of the individual, Baths. A. D. 1852 Antiquity. has been frequently productive of injury at once serious and PICKERING. The origin of this place is of very remote antiquity, being dated 270 years before the commencement of the Christian era. According to local tradition, its name is derived from the circumstance of a ring having been lost by the founder whilst washing in the river Costa, and subsequently found in the belly of a pike. An ancient Castle of great strength, erected here, was the prison of Richard II. after his deposition, previously to his removal to Pontefract Castle, where he was murdered. This fortress was dismantled by the parliamentary forces during the Civil War. Pickering is situated on a declivity, at the bottom of which flows a stream called Pickering Beck. The Castle Hill commands a fine view of a fertile vale; on one side is a barren mountainous district called Black or Blake Moor, which furnishes materials for making brooms; on the river Costa, and the old beck stream, are several flour mills. Vestiges of two Roman encampments of great strength are to be found on the moor, and there are several others between the barrows and the town. Pickering was formerly of more importance than it is at present, having been the chief town of the district; and in the 23rd of Edward I. it sent members to parliament. The township comprises 12,152 acres, of which 4,500 are common or waste land. The Church is an ancient and spacious edifice; and in addition to a Chapel of Ease, there are places of worship for dissenters. A free school is supported for the instruction of poor children. The Poor Law Union of Pickering comprises twenty-eight Population parishes or places; and in 1851 contained a population of 9.978, of which 4,995 were males, and 4,983 females: the number of houses at the same period was 2,223. a POCKLINGTON. Pocklington is pleasantly situated at the foot of the Wolds, in the East-riding. It consists chiefly of two streets, which are paved and lighted with gas. The town carries on a good trade in corn, flour, timber, and other articles of merchandise, and the neighbourhood is amply supplied with coal, lime, and manure, by a canal nine miles in length, communicating with the river Derwent, and terminating within a mile of the town. The parish comprises about 4,600 acres; the surface is in some places pleasingly varied, and the soil is mostly a rich loam. The substratum is usually limestone; and the Chapel Hill, which overlooks the town, is principally a shelly limestone rock, which has been used for the roads, though flints and gravel are chiefly applied to that purpose. A. D. 1852 The Church is a venerable structure in the early English style; Church. the chancel, which is the most ancient portion of the edifice, has several finely carved stalls. Among the monuments is one to the memory of Robert Denison, Esq. and his lady, on the pedestals of which are representations, exquisitely carved in oak, of the Bearing of the Cross, the Crucifixion, and the Descent from the Cross. In addition to a Free Grammar School, founded in the reign of Schools. Henry VIII., by Dr. Dowman, Archdeacon of Suffolk, there is a national school, erected at the expense of Robert Denison, Esq., and supported by subscription. Two large barrows, or tumuli, probably of Druidical origin, were formerly conspicuous on the West Green, and a large tract of land now inclosed, retains the name of the Barrow Flat. In 1763, four human skeletons were dug up in Barmby Field, one of which was inclosed in a coffin, with an urn at the head, exhibiting several ancient inscriptions. The Poor Law Union comprises 47 parishes or places, and in Population. 1851, the population was 16,096, composed of 8,287 males, and 7,809 females. The number of houses at the same period was 3,386. PONTEFRACT. This is a place of great antiquity, and is principally celebrated for the memorable events which occurred during the existence of the Castle, an account of which is given in the first volume. Pontefract is pleasantly situated on dry and elevated ground, near the confluence of the rivers Aire and Calder; the streets are spacious and well paved, and the houses, mostly of brick, are commodious and well built, and abundantly supplied with excellent water from springs. Gas works were erected in 1832, at an VOL. II. A. D. expense of upwards of £4,000; the two gasometers being capable of containing 5,000 cubic feet of gas. 1832 West-riding 1822 1831 The town is famous for a superior kind of liquorice, which is cultivated extensively, and the making of which into cakes forms an article of manufacture carried on to a considerable extent. It has also a good market for corn. The Aire and Calder Canal affords a conveyance from the ports of Hull and Goole to Ferrybridge, from which there is direct land carriage to Pontefract; and the York and North Midland railway has a station at Castleford, about two miles distant. The Great Northern Railway has also a station at the lower end of the town. The General Quarter Sessions for the West-riding are held here at Easter. The Court House, erected at the expense of the county, is a handsome structure of freestone, in the Grecian style, and of the Ionic order, and is in every respect adapted to the county business. The late Lord Wharncliffe was chairman of these sessions for many years; but that responsible office is now filled by rotation. The Town Hall is a plain unpretending building; one portion is appropriated to the borough courts and assemblies, and the other to the purposes of a prison. The town could formerly boast of a theatre, but some years ago it was converted into a British school. The Races, once of considerable importance, and beneficial to thei nhabitants, were held in the Park, in the month of September, but they, too, have been discontinued. At a short distance, a neat monument was erected in 1818, in commemoration of the battle of Waterloo; and in the environs, which are pleasant, and abound with pleasant and diversified scenery, are numerous seats of the nobility and gentry. On the 25th of March, 1822, as two labourers were trenching the land for liquorice at Paper-mill Field, near St. Thomas's Hill, one of them struck his spade against a stone coffin, which weighed about a ton and a half, and, on examination, was found to contain the skeleton of a man, with the head between the legs, in good preservation; these were supposed to be the decapitated remains of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, who suffered on the 22nd of March, 1322, exactly 500 years previously. The coffin and its contents were removed into the grounds of R. P. Milnes, Esq., Frystone Hall, where they now remain, inclosed within a palisade. Near a windmill, which now occupies the site of St. Thomas's Chapel, great quantities of beautiful carved stones were dug up in 1841, and were removed by the Earl of Mexborough, as owner of the soil; from the sculpture of the stones, the building to which they belonged seems to have been of Gothic architecture. The old Parochial Church, dedicated to All Saints, was nearly demolished in the parliamentary war, and is partly in ruins, but the north and south transepts and the tower were restored in 1831, at an expense of £4,300, raised by subscription. The Church of |