A. D. 1618 Church. and sailing vessels are built. The Church, formerly belonging to the abbey, was made parochial, by letters patent of James I., dated March 20th, 1618. The appearance of this venerable pile is strikingly impressive, and the magnificence, with comparative simplicity, of the west front, renders it deserving of particular notice, as its proportions and decorations merit remark from their singularity and elegance. The nave is a massive and and simple design, and the choir, of which the east window is highly enriched with tracery, is a perfect and splendid example of the early English style; on both sides of the choir are several stalls of wood, enriched with tabernacle work. The upper part of the central tower fell down in March, 1690, occasioning considerable damage; and the present tower was probably re-built about the year 1700, but in a style by no means corresponding with the original. The chapter-house is a beautiful building; and among the other striking architectural peculiarities which this magnificent edifice exhibits, are two clusters of columns, or piers, supporting arches in the gallery, on the north side of the nave. The font has a beautiful and lofty cover of carved wood suspended from the second arch, on the north side of the nave. In 1826, a fine toned organ was erected by private subscription, which adds considerably to the elegance of the choir. There are places of worship for dissenters; a blue-coat school for boys, a school for girls, almshouses for widows, an estate of feoffees for pious and charitable purposes, left by various individuals in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., and several other considerable bequests. Thomas Johnson, a botanist, who published the first local catalogue of plants in the kingdom, and an improved edition of Gerard's Herbal, and who fell in a skirmish with a body of parliamentarian forces, in 1644, was a native of this town. The Poor Law Union of Selby comprises twenty-four parishes or places, of which sixteen are in the West-riding, and eight in the Population. East-riding. The population, according to the last census, was 15,476, of whom 7,763 were males, and 7,713 females. By the same return, the number of houses amounted to 3,559. SETTLE Is a small well-built market and post town, in the district of Craven, in the parish of Giggleswick, in the wapontake of Staincliffe, in the West-riding; it is supposed to have derived its name from the Saxon Selt, a seat descriptive of its singular situation at the base of an almost perpendicular limestone rock called Castlebergh, which rises immediately behind it, to the height of two hundred feet. The town is on the eastern bank of the river Ribble, and consists of two principal streets, which are partially paved, and of some smaller avenues; the houses are well built, chiefly of stone obtained in the neighbouring quarries, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water from wells and numerous springs. In the market place, is a handsome Town Hall, erected in 1832, at a cost of £5,500, by a proprietary of £10 shareholders. It contains a court-room, assembly-rooms, library and news room, apartments for a literary institution, and a savings' bank. The cotton manufacture is carried on to some extent, and there are several roperies, and a paper manufactory. The various provision and cattle markets are well attended, and a large amount of business is constantly transacted. The township comprises 4,370 acres of grazing land; the pastures extend along the eastern acclivities of the vale, which is inclosed on each side by a continuous range of rugged limestone rocks, of mountainous elevation, terminated by the lofty eminences of Pendle-hill on the south, Pennigant on the north, and Ingleborough on the north-west. The scenery, especially on the hills near Attermire, is strikingly romantic, and in some parts, beautifully picturesque; the pastures are rich, and of those near the town, some are rented at from £5 to £8 per acre. A district church, dedicated to the Ascension, was erected in 1839, at an expense of £3,000, raised by subscription, towards which William Wilkinson, Esq., contributed £500; it contains 700 sittings, of which 250 are free. Mr. Swale endowed the living with £1000. The dissenters have places of worship, and there is a national school and a girls' school, supported by subscription. Thomas Proctor, an eminent sculptor, who died in his youth, was born here. The population of the Settle Union, by the census of 1851, was 13,762 of which 6,915 were males, and 6,847 females. This exhibits a decrease, as compared with the returns of 1841, of 334, the number being at that period, 14,096. A. D. 1832 A mile to the north-west of Giggleswick, is a remarkable ebbing and flowing well, which issues from the face of a long ridge of rock, flowing Ebbing and skirting the road from Settle to Clapham. The habits of this sin- well. gular spring are extremely irregular; it has been observed to rise and fall nineteen inches in the space of five minutes. The time of its flux and re-flux is apparently unconnected with rain or drought, or any other external cause. Sometimes it is completely dry, and then, on a sudden, is heard to issue from the recesses of its native rock with a hollow gurgling sound. The water, which is received into a stone cistern, is limpid, cold, and wholesome, and has no peculiar taste. The phenomenon of the ebb and flow was formerly accounted for upon the principle of the simple siphon, but that doctrine was so full of difficulties, as applied to their regular reciprocations of the Giggleswick spring, that it is now exploded, and the venerable John Gough, the keen perception of whose mental eye compensates the loss of natural vision, has broached the very plausible theory that the ebb and flow of this extraordinary well is produced by the A. D. 1852 Jennet's Yorda's agency of a natural compound siphon, formed in the recesses of the limestone mountain from which the water issues. About five miles from Settle, at the head of the dale, is MALHAM COVE, a gigantic mass of limestone rock, nearly three hundred feet in height, extending across the valley, and at the foot of which issues a rivulet, that in times of flood, not finding vent for its accumulated waters, rises to the summit of this stupendous barrier, and precipitates itself with resistless fury into the vale beneath, forming a truly magnificant cataract. Near the village, is Jennet's Cave, a dark and gloomy recess, overhung with ivy; and about a mile to the east is Gordale Scar, a huge cluster of limestone rocks, nearly three hundred feet in height, apparently torn asunder in some parts as if by a great natural convulsion, and projecting several yards over the line of their base. Malham Tarn is a lake, long celebrated for its trout and perch, weighing from three to ten pounds, and which, on one side overflowing its barrier, or forcing its way through some fissures in the rock, forms a picturesque cascade thirty yards in height. "The en At THORNTON IN-LONSDALE, ten miles north-west by west of Settle, is the celebrated natural curiosity, called Yorda's Cave. trance to this cave," says Mr. Allen, in his history of the county, "is through a rude arched opening, four yards by seven, like the gateway of some ancient castle; which soon opens into an apartment, so spacious and extensive, that, with all the blaze of candles, neither the roof nor the walls can be clearly discerned. No cave, in romance; no den of lions, giants, or serpents; nor any supposed haunts of ghosts or fairies, were ever described more dreary or terrific than is this gloomy and dismal cavern. After crossing a little brook, and proceeding thirty or forty yards further, the high roof walls are seen distinctly, as well as the curious petrifactions hanging therefrom. On the right are several other curiously incrusted figures; a projecting one is called the Bishop's throne, from its great resemblance to that appendage of a cathedral; another confused mass of incrusted matter bears some resemblance to a large organ. After entering a narrow passage of five or six yards, where the roof is supported by seven pillars, there is only room for one person in breadth, but the height is very considerable. At a small distance hence, a cascade issues from an opening in the rock, and falls four or five yards into a circular apartment, roofed with a fine dome; this apartment some visitants have named the Chapterhouse. The whole length of this singular cavern is between fifty and sixty yards; its breadth thirteen yards, and height forty-seven feet. The principal part here described lies to the right; but it extends also on the other hand, and unfolds some wonderful closets, called Yorda's bedchamber, Yorda's oven, &c. On the upper side of Yorda's Cave, is a quarry of black marble, from which elegant monuments, chimney-pieces, slabs, and various other ornaments, are dug." SHERBURN Is a small market town, in the parish of that name; it is in the direct road from Tadcaster to Ferrybridge, from each of which it is about six miles distant, and four from Selby. A. D. 1852 Sherburn was anciently a place of considerable importance, and Antiquity. king Athelstan had a palace here, which he bestowed, with a considerable part of the town, upon the Archbishop of York, but it was subsequently alienated by Archbishop Holgate, in exchange for certain lands at Cawood and Bishopthorp. The palace has now disappeared, except a few inequalities in the hall garth may be considered as remains, and the Church, which is a handsome and spacious structure, dedicated to All Saints, was, it is said, erected out of its ruins. The nave of the Church exhibits a beautiful specimen of architecture, at once rare and magnificent. A detached chapel formerly stood near the south-east corner of the church-yard, but it has long since fallen into decay, and in digging among the rubbish some years ago, a very rich and elegant cross was found. A Roman road runs from hence to Aberford, which is still very distinct. There are here a Grammar School and Hospital, founded in the year 1619, by Robert Hungate, Esq., counsellor, and endowed with £120 per annum, for the clothing and maintaining the boys in the hospital, and £12 per annum to the master, payable out of lands in the parish, now belonging to the Gascoigne family, of Parlington. A subsequent endowment was awarded to the master on a late inclosure, and £10 has been added, making the annual stipend £34. There are eight boys upon the foundation, who are admitted at the age of eight years, and superannuated at fifteen. About thirty day scholars attend the school, who pay a small quarterage. The English language and arithmetic are taught here, in addition to the classics. This school has four exhibitions of £7 10s. each, at St. John's College, Oxford, and it is one of the eight grammar schools in Yorkshire which are entitled to send candidates for Lady Elizabeth Hastings' exhibition at Queen's College, Oxford. The farmers in the neighbourhood of Sherburn are largely Produce. concerned in the cultivation of flax, for which the land is well adapted, and the town and its vicinity are famed for fine orchards. Winesours, a species of plum, of peculiarly fine flavour as a preserve, are grown at Sherburn in great perfection. The winesour tree is raised from suckers; it is a hardy plant, of a large production, and grows upon any soil; but limestone is its element, and on other soils the fruit soon degenerates. Friday is the market day. Sherburn derives its name from the pure and clear, though diminutive stream, by which it is watered and refreshed. A. D. 1832 SKIPTON. Skipton, which is the head of the richly-fertile grazing district of Craven, in the West-riding, and was called, in the Domesday Survey, Scepton and Sceptune, signifying the town of sheep, from the numerous sheep walks with which it was anciently surrounded, and which, afterwards being stocked with deer, formed the spacious forest of Skipton, extending from the river Wharfe on the east, to the river Aire on the west, and including an area of more than fifteen thousand acres. Skipton is a place renowned in history; and its castle with the noble families inhabiting it, have shed over Craven the venerable lustre of antiquity. At the time of the Norman Conquest Skipton formed a part of the possessions of Earl Edwin, one of the Saxon barons; it was afterwards granted to Robert de Romille, one of the followers of the Conqueror, who built the castle, as the seat of his barony, about the end of the reign of William the Conqueror. The erection of this baronial residence elevated Skipton from a village to a town, but it never had a municipal government, nor was it ever represented in parliament. Afterwards the barony of Skipton came by marriage into the Albemarle family, but by the intrigues of an officious priest, it was obtained from its rightful owner and vested in the crown; and Edward II. bestowed this valuable inheritance on his ill-fated favourite, Piers de Gaveston, who became so obnoxious, by his pride and insolence to the ancient barons, that they rose in rebellion against his royal master, captured the favourite in the castle of Scarborough, and executed him in the castle of Dedington. The next alienation transferred it in the year 1311, to a family who, with the exception of a single attainder, have held it five hundred years, during the larger part of which time they resided at Skipton castle in great wealth and honour. The grant was made to Robert Lord Clifford, by Edward II., in the fourth year of his reign, at which time the annual rent of arable land in Craven was tenpence, and pasture land fourpence per acre. Thomas Lord Clifford next succeeded to the barony of Skipton, and he had a daughter, Elizabeth, who was married, as Dodsworth says, "at six yeares olde, being carried to the chappel in Skipton castell, in the armes of John Garthe, to Robert, son of Sir William Plumpton; he dying, shee was, at xii. yeares of age, mar'd to Wm. the bro. of Rob't, Sir Win. Plumpton, promising that they shold not ligg together (detur hæc venia antiquetati) till she was xvi. yeares olde, and at xviii. she was mother of Margaret Lady Rowcliffe." The Cliffords were amongst the first noble families in the kingdom who engaged in the memorable Civil wars between the house of York and Lancaster. They were zealous Lancasterians; and Thomas Lord Clifford fell in the first battle of St. Alban's, fought on the 22nd of May, 1454, when the Yorkists triumphed and left |