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Difino
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Melling with Wrayton, Lancashire, in the United Kingdom, is a small settlement with a motte - as with Arkholmeand Whittington - but no surviving bailey.
Melling motte is located central in the village, on the edge of the first terrace above the Lune floodplain. This is some distance from the present course of the river. It is noticeable that the course of the Lune here has varied considerably over time, and that former channels can still be detected on the Melling side of the flood plain. The mound of the motte sits some 6m high within the St Wilfridࢀ&#-2509; vicarage garden and has been damaged by landscaping activities.
There may be indications of a bailey in the raised ground of the church and churchyard - as are the cases in Arkholme and Whittington. If the site of the bailey is correct, then it would appear that the parish church originated as a manorial chapel within the castle bailey. This lovely old church has been known to many generations of locals as 'The Cathedral of the Lune Valley'.
Prehistoric activity in the Melling area is indicated by the discovery of a stone axe, which may be Neolithic (c 4000 ࢀ&#-2976;2000 BC) in date. Fragments of Anglo-Saxon and Norse sculpture have also been discovered here. Documentary evidence of a 10th century preaching cross, which once stood in the churchyard, suggests that Christians have worshipped at this site for over 1000 years. The first church was Norman but it was destroyed in 1322 by a Scots raiding party. The present church was rebuilt in the mid 14th century and has 18th century additions.
It has been suggested that the cluster of sites along the Lune valley perhaps indicates a former frontier zone. Indeed, this is the densest distribution of Norman castles outside of the Welsh border.
Unusually, the church has not always been called St Wilfrid's. In the C16 it is recorded with this dedic
Source: [wikipedia: melling, lancashire]
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