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Methley, Yorkshire, England. Geographical and Historical information from 1868.

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METHLEY:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1868.

"METHLEY, a parish in the lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding county York, 5 miles N.E. of Wakefield, its post town. It has stations on the Lancashire and Yorkshire and North Midland railways. The parish, which is 3 miles in extent, is situated near the confluence of the rivers Aire and Calder. The village is well built though irregular. Some of the houses are ancient. A considerable trade is carried on in malt. There are collieries producing coal of a fine quality. The soil is generally fertile, and the lands are in a high state of cultivation, chiefly arable. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Ripon, value £908, in the patronage of the Duchy of Lancaster. The church, dedicated- to St. Oswald, is a stone edifice, with a square embattled tower, crowned with pinnacles and a well-proportioned spire, and contains three bells. Over the S. door is a statue of King Oswald, which is of great antiquity. The interior of the church contains an old register chest, font, and several monuments of the Saville family and of the Earl of Mexborough. The parochial charities produce about £12 per annum. There are National and Sunday schools for both sexes; also places of worship for the Wesleyans, Wesleyan Reformers, and Primitive Methodists. Methley Hall, originally a castellated edifice surrounded by a moat, was rebuilt by the late Earl of Mexborough, and now is a noble mansion. The Earl of Mexborough is lord of the manor. At the enclosure of the parish the tithes were commuted for land."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2013