In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hornby like this:
HORNBY, a village, a township, and a chapelry, in Melling parish, Lancashire. The village stands at the confluence of the Wenning and the Lune rivers, adjacent to the Little Northwestern railway, 8½ miles NE by E of Lancaster; is neatly built; commands beautiful scenery along the valleys; is sometimes visited by tourists; has a station on the railway, a post office under Lancaster, and an inn; is a seat of petty sessions; was formerly a market town; and has still cattle fairs on every alternate Tuesday of the summer months.-The township comprises 2, 115 acres. ...
Real property, £4, 066. Pop., 317. Houses, 75. The manor belonged, in the 12th century, to Nicholas de Montbegon; passed to the Stanleys, Lords Monteagle; and belongs now to John Foster, Esq. Hornby Castle, the manorial seat, was founded by N. de Montbegon; retains two towers built by one of the Lords Monteagle and by Lord Wemyss; has undergone recent extensive renovations and improvements; and stands on an eminence, overlooking the rich surrounding scenery. The estate was the subject of a famous litigation, called "the Great Will Cause, " begun in 1826. Hornby Hall is the seat of John Murray, Esq. A Roman mound is near the Lune. A Premonstratensian priory, a cell to Croxton abbey, was anciently here; and was given, at the dissolution, to the Stanleys; and the remains of it are now a farm-house.—The chapelry was constituted a parish in 1859, and is larger than the township. Pop., 455. Houses, 98. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Manchester. Value, £130. * Patron, John Foster, Esq. The church is ancient; has a chancel, and an octagonal tower, built by the first Lord Monteagle, after the battle of Flodden; and contains a tablet to Dr. Lingard, the historian. The shaft of an ancient cross is in the churchyard. A small Roman Catholic chapel, to the W of the church, was served by Dr. Lingard.
Hornby through time
Hornby is now part of Lancaster district. Click here for graphs and data of how Lancaster has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hornby itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hornby, in Lancaster and Lancashire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/10349
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
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