MAIDEN HOUSE. 748 MAIDSTOXE. residences. Wednesday is market day. Fairs are held on the Wednesday in Whitsun-week, 29th September, and 30th November. MAIDEN HOUSE, an ext. par. place in the wap. of Loveden, parts of Kesteven, co. Lincoln, 7 miles N.W. of Slcaford. MAIDEN-NEWTON, a par. in the hund. of Tollor- ford, co. Dorset, 8 miles N.W. of Dorchester, its post town, and 9 S.E. of Beaminster. It is situated on the river Fromo, and is a station on the Great Western line of railway, which, from here, has a branch to Bridport. The par. includes the hmlts. of Cruxton and Notion. This place, which is now an inconsiderable village, was formerly a market town. Some of the people are em- ployed in the manufacture of twine, and in an iron foun- dry and brewer}'. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of 496. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Salisbury, val. 400. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient Norman edifice, built in the form of a cross, with a large embattled tower rising from the intersection. There are charities of about 10 pei annum arising from a bequest of Jane Charming in 183o. The Independents have a chapel. There is a National school, with a small endowment. Near the end of the last century, some portions of Roman tesse- lated pavement were found on the lands of Mr. Sheridan at the southern extremity of the parish. The ancient rectory house is an antique building, with stained-glass windows, emblazoned with the arms of Wadham, Wynd- ham, and others. MAIDEN PAPS, the name of several hills in Scot- land, one in co. Caithness, near Dunbeath, and another in co. Roxburgh, near Hawick. MAIDEN ROCKS, a dangerous reef about one mile long, off the coast of Antrim, Ireland, 7 miles N.E. of Larno. It is marked by two lighthouses, built in 1828, and is situated in N. lat. 54" 56', and W. long., 5 45'. MAIDENWELL, a hmlt. in the par. of Farforth, Wold div. of the hund. of Louth-Eske, parts of Lindsey, co. Lincoln, 5 miles S. of Louth. It was formerly a separate par., but was united to Farforth in 1753. The impropriation belongs to the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln. MAIDFORD, a par. in the hund. of Greens-Norton, co. Northampton, 6 mDes N.W. of Towcester, its post town, and 8 S.E. of Daventry. A tributary of the river Tow flows through the parish, and the Weedon station on the London and North- Western line of railway is about 6 miles N. of the village. The manu- facture of silk stockings was formerly carried on, and many of the women are employed in making lace. There are quarries of building-stone and limestone. The greater portion of the tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act. There is a chalybeate spring, formerly in high repute. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Peterborough, val. 289. The church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, is a stone edifice, with a square tower surmounted with a pyramidal roof of tiles. The parochial charities produce 21 per annum, chiefly arising from 10 acres of land let in allotments, one half the rental of which is for church repairs, and the other for the poor. The Wesleyans have a chapel. William Grant, Esq., is lord of the manor. MAIDS' MORETON, a par. in the hund. and co. of Bucks, 1 mile N.E. of Buckingham, its post town, and 6 miles S.W. of Stony Stratford. It is situated on the river Ouse, and a branch of the Grand Junction canal. This place d.c-rives the first part of its name from the circumstances under which the church was erected. The land is nearly evenly divided between arable and pasture. The soil is a mixture of clay and gravel. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of Oxford, val. 294. The church was built in the middle of the loth century by two maiden sisters, daughters of Lord Peover or Pegore. It has a tower, and is dedicated to St. Edmund. The interior was much defaced during the civil wars of Charles I., but retains still traces of its former beauty. It contains several stalls highly enriched, and some very old tombs and brasses. Tho parochial charitie for the poor and other purposes produce nearly 90 annum. MAIDSTONE, a huud. in the lathe of Aylesford, co. Kent, contains the borough of Maidstone, with the pars, of Banning, Boxloy, Debtling, East Farleigh, Lii and Loose, comprising an area of 12,830 acres, exclusive of the borough of Maidstone. MAIDSTONE, a par., post and market town, mu cipal and parliamentary borough, in the lathe of Ay ford, co. Kent, 8 miles from Rochester and Chath 24 W. of Canterbury, and 34 by road from 4 London, i 44 by the North Kent railway. It is also a station c the South-Eastern railway. The town is situated on i declivity near the foot of a range of chalk hills on eastern bank of the river Medway. This town, wh consists of four principal streets, is of great antiquitr and was ranked by the Britons as their third cifr According to Nennius, it was called Caer Mcgwiid Medwig, from the name of the river Medway ; it ? afterwards called Medwagston or Medwegestan, and is 1 Meddestane of Domesday. At a very early period Ma stone formed part of the possessions of the see Canterbury, and so remained until Archbishop Cranm transferred it to Henry VIII. It was given by Edwa VI. to Sir Thomas Wyatt, who raised the insurrectio against Queen Mary, when it was confiscated to : crown. Charles I. presented the town to the Hattons, and it ultimately came into tho possession of Roinney family. In 1648 it was stormed by Fairfax, | but steadfastly maintained its loyalty during the civil j war. Edward VI., Elizabeth, James I., Charles II., and George II., successively granted charters to town. Maidstone is remarkable for the excellcne. its water, and the drynees of its soil. It has many li MI! orchards and innumerable hop gardens. It is well pa 1 . 1 and lighted, and supplied withwaterfromrescrvoirsonthe opposite bank of the Medway, the navigation of which bus been greatly improved, and the traffic increased, by tho construction of a lock 2 miles below the town. It returns two members to parliament, the old boundaries re- maining unaltered by the Reform Bill ; and is one of the polling places for West Kent. In 1851 the number of j inhabited houses was 3,676, and tho population 20,801, I which in 1861 had increased to 23,058, while the nun. of houses had in the decennial period increased to 4,1 19. The cemetery is an extensive enclosure about a mile | from the town. Maidstone by the new Act was divi into three wards, and is governed by a mayor, nl men, and 18 town councillors. It has a large trade in hops, corn, and timber ; numerous paper-mills ; exten- sive stone quarries, from which the Kentish rai 1 obtained ; and a few calico printers. In .the town also an extensive oil-mill, iron foundries, manufact" of felt, blankets, and hop bags, breweries, malt-hou tan-yards, timber and coal wharves, and corn-n: The chief public buildings are the assize court county gaol, which was erected in 1818, at a COM 200,000 (it covers 14 acres, and has 34 wards upwards of 450 cells) ; the county lunatic asylum at Banning Heath, which has accommodation for nearly 700 inmates ; the townhall, and, nearly opposite, a spacious corn exchange ; cavalry barracks ; the Vi Kent Infirmary, on the left bank of the river ; and Charles Museum. Tho bridge, which has sev< is very old. There are also gas-works, and butter fish markets, besides assembly, rooms, two lianl. savings-bank, mechanics' institute, and other benevi : institutions. There is a statue of the Queen by the late Mr. Thomas, under a stone canopy, by the side nf w; are drinking fountains erected in the Hipl ing the inscription "Alexander Randall to lii^ nal town." The living is a perpct. cur. * in the dine, oi i terbury, val. 650, in tho patron, of the archbishop, church, dedicated to All Saints, is one of the lar parish churches in the kingdom, and was built r) 1395 by Archbishop Courtenay. It is an cxo.-llent example of the perpendicular stylo, 227 feet loug 9 1 feet, and has four stone stalls and several old woode
