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Wortley

WORTLEY, a chapelry, and the head of a union, in the parish of Tankersley, wapentake of Staincross, W. riding of York, 8 miles (N.) from Sheffield; containing 990 inhabitants. This place, which had been for many generations the property and residence of the Wortley family, was, on the demise of Sir Francis Wortley, Bart., the last male heir, conveyed, by marriage with his daughter and heiress, to the Hon. Sidney Montagu, second son of the first Earl of Sandwich, and ancestor of the present owner, Lord Wharncliffe. The chapelry is situated on the road from Sheffield to Halifax, and is separated from Bradfield and part of the parish of Penistone by the river Don, which forms its western boundary. It comprises about 6278 acres, of which 2000 are woodland; of the remainder, one-third is arable, and two-thirds meadow and pasture: the soil is a mixture of clay and grit. The surface is boldly undulated, and rises from the banks of the Don to a considerable elevation, commanding extensive prospects over the surrounding country; the hills are finely wooded, and the scenery in many parts beautifully picturesque. Wortley Hall, the seat of Lord Wharncliffe, is an elegant mansion, situated in grounds tastefully laid out, and enriched with flourishing plantations. Wharncliffe Lodge, built by Sir Thomas Wortley in 1510, is seated on the brow of a rocky cliff, rising from a precipitous and thickly-wooded acclivity 1800 acres in extent, at the base of which flows the river Don. It was the occasional residence of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who, in her description of the beauties of foreign countries, takes occasion to celebrate the romantic views of Wharncliffe; which is also identified as the scene of the ancient ballad of the Dragon of Wantley.

The district abounds with coal and ironstone. The latter was smelted here from a very early period till after the reign of Charles I., when the furnaces were taken down, and a forge erected on their site, which has been considerably enlarged, and is at present an extensive manufactory for bar, rod, hoop, and sheet iron. There are quarries of excellent building-stone, and a soft grit for grindstones is found. The coal-pits abound with fossils peculiar to the coal formation, and though now only on a small scale, will no doubt be more extensively wrought owing to the completion of the Manchester and Sheffield railway, which passes through the chapelry, and has a station here. The village is pleasantly situated, and consists of neat cottages, to each of which the late Lord Wharncliffe attached a portion of land, rent-free, for warden-ground, as a stimulus to industry and economy. The chapel was thoroughly repaired in 1815: the living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £105; patron, Lord Wharncliffe. The tithes have been commuted for £240. A national school, in which are about 80 children, is principally supported by his lordship; and the poor have a farm producing £29 per annum, given to them in the reign of Charles I., by the widow of Sir Richard Wortley, second wife of the Earl of Devonshire. The union of Wortley comprises 13 townships, containing a population of 23,214. Wharncliffe gives the title of Baron to the Wortley family.


Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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