Parishes: Hale - Hutton

Hale

HALE, in the ward of Allerdale above Derwent, lies about two miles from Egremont, seven from Whitehaven, and two and a half from Calder-bridge, where there is a post-office. The manor belonged at an early period to a family who took their name from the place. One of the coheiresses brought a moiety of it to the Ponsonby family in the early part of the fourteenth century, and they eventually became possessed of the remainder, which, in Richard the Second's time, continued in the representatives of the other coheiress (fn. n1). Miles Ponsonby, Esq. died lord of this manor in 1814; it is now the property of his third son, William Ponsonby, Esq. of Gray's Inn. Sir John Ponsonby, ancestor of the Earl of Besborough, who went into Ireland with Oliver Cromwell, was of this family.

The church of Hale was appropriated to the priory of Conishead in 1345. This parish has been inclosed under an act of parliament passed in 1811, by which lands were allotted to the Earl of Lonsdale, as impropriator of the tithes. His Lordship is patron of the perpetual curacy.

Harrington

HARRINGTON, in the ward of Allerdale above Derwent, lies about four miles and a half from Whitehaven. This place was the inheritance and gave name to the ancient and baronial family of Harrington, which became widely branched and settled in various counties. The manor of Harrington is said to have been granted soon after the Conquest to the Talebois family; but at an early period it passed to that of Harrington. The only daughter of William Lord Harrington married Thomas Grey Marquis of Dorset. On the attainder of his son, Henry Duke of Suffolk, the manor of Harrington was granted by Philip and Mary to Henry Curwen, Esq. ancestor of John Christian Curwen, Esq. the present proprietor. The demesne is within the inclosure of Workington Park.

The church which is rectorial was given by the Talebois family to the abbey of St. Mary in York. Mr. Curwen is the present patron. It is in the diocese of Chester, archdeaconry of Richmond, and deanery of Copeland.

The port of Harrington has a considerable trade, chiefly in coals and lime, exported to Ireland and Scotland. There are at present about 40 vessels belonging to this port, averaging 122 tons. In the summer months about 500 sloops take in lime at Harrington: the lime is burnt at Dissington, and brought down in carts.

A school-house has been lately built at Harrington by J. C. Curwen, Esq. The school has no endowment.

Hayton

HAYTON, in Eskdale ward, lies three miles from Brampton. It is divided into the townships of Faugh and Fenton, Hayton, and Talkin; containing together, in 1811, 205 houses and 977 inhabitants. The manors of Hayton and Talkin both belong to the Earl of Carlisle, as parcel of the barony of Gilsland. Mr. T. Denton says that Hayton formerly belonged to the Denton family, and was given by John Denton to Lord Dacre, in exchange, in the reign of Henry VII. The manor of Little-Corby, in this parish, belongs to Henry Howard, Esq. of Corby.

The church was given by Robert de Vallibus to the prior and convent of Carlisle, and became appropriated to that monastery. The dean and chapter are now appropriators and patrons of the perpetual curacy, which has been twice augmented, by lot, by Queen Anne's bounty. An act of parliament for inclosing lands in this parish passed in 1807.

Hesket

HESKET, sometimes called Higher-Hesket, and sometimes Hesket in the Forest, to distinguish it from Hesket-Newmarket, lies in Leath ward, on the road from Penrith to Carlisle, at the distance of about nine miles from each. It is divided into the townships of Upper and Nether-Hesket, Petterell Crook, and Plumpton Street and Cawthwaite; containing together, in 1811, 227 houses and 1,205 inhabitants. The greater part of the parish is within the Duke of Devonshire's manor of the Forest of Inglewood, purchased in 1787 of the late Duke of Portland, whose ancestor acquired it by grant from the Crown.

The forest courts are held yearly on St. Barnabas Day in this parish, in the open air, at a tree called Court-Thorn, by the road-side between Upper and Nether-Heskett. At this place the inhabitants of above twenty townships (fn. n2) attend, out of whom a jury is ballotted and sworn. Here are paid the annual dues to the lord of the forest, and other customary payments. The commons of this parish have been inclosed under the act of 1803, for inclosing the forest of Inglewood.

Armathwaite Castle, in this parish, was for several generations the seat of the Skeltons, who appear to have been originally of Skelton, and frequently represented the county and the city of Carlisle in parliament. John Skelton, who had been several times sheriff, and had represented the county in parliament in the reign of Henry VI. had a grant from the crown in the first year of Edward IV.'s reign, of 100 acres of the forest at a place called Armathwaite Bank (fn. n3). It is not certain whether the Skeltons became possessed of the Castle estate before or after this grant. The two estates are mentioned separately in an inquisition taken in the reign of Henry VIII. John Skelton, poet-laureat to that monarch, is said to have been a younger brother of this family, and to have been born at Armathwaite (fn. n4). The Skeltons enjoyed this estate till the year 1712, when it was sold by Richard Skelton, Esq. to William Sanderson, Esq. collateral ancestor of Robert Sanderson Milbourne, Esq. the present proprietor. Armathwaite Castle is the seat of Mr. Milbourne, who possesses also the manors of Aiketgate and Nun-close. The latter, which belonged to the nuns of the neighbouring monastery of Armathwaite, in the parish of Ainstable, was granted by King Edward VI. to William Græme, in whose family it continued several descents. Sir John Lowther having become possessed of it by purchase, exchanged it for other lands in 1695 with Christopher Dalston, Esq. of Acornbank, of whose descendant, Sir William Dalston, it was purchased in 1762 by William Milbourne, Esq. of Armathwaite Castle.

Near Aiketgate is a small lake or tarn called Tarn Wadling, covering about 100 acres of land, belonging to Mr. Milbourne. On a lofty eminence near this tarn were, some time ago, the remains of a fortress, called Castle Hewen, thus spoken of by Leland: "In the forest of Ynglewood, about six miles from Carluel, appere ruines of a castle call'd Castel Lewen." The neighbouring tenants pay a yearly rent to Mr. Milbourne as lord of the manor, called Castle Hewen rent. (fn. n5)

In the parish church is the monument of Bernard Kirkbride, of Ellerton, Esq. the last of an ancient family, who died in 1677.

This parish was formerly part of that of St. Mary's (fn. n6) in Carlisle. The prior and convent were before the Reformation, and now the dean and chapter of Carlisle are appropriators of the tithes, and patrons of the curacy, which has been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, aided by a benefaction of 200l. given by Mr. John Brown, who died in 1763. Mr. Brown gave also to the school at Heskett 200l.; to the school at Wreay 200l.; to Armathwaite chapel, 100l. The income of the school is now 11l. 5s.

The chapel at Armathwaite was rebuilt by Richard Skelton, Esq. (fn. n7) who died in 1668, and left 100l. towards its endowment; and it has been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, aided by 100l. given by Mr. Brown as before-mentioned, and 100l. by Countess-dowager Gower.

Holme-Cultram

HOLME-CULTRAM, in the ward of Allerdale below Derwent, is divided into the townships of Abbey Quarter, East-Waver Quarter, Low Quarter, and St. Cuthbert's Quarter; containing collectively, in 1811, 451 inhabited houses and 2,438 inhabitants. Abbey-town, in which is situated the parish church, is six miles from Wigton.

In the year 1150, Henry, son of David King of Scots, being at that time Prince of Cumberland, founded at Holme-Cultram an abbey for monks of the Cistertian order, to whom he gave two-thirds of the manor of HolmeCultram, having given the other third to Alan, son of Waldieve, as a chase for hunting; this third part Alan soon afterwards gave to the Abbey. King Henry II. being possessed of the county of Cumberland, by the cession of Malcolm, took the abbey into his protection, and having confirmed the grant of Holme-Cultram and other lands, was recognized by the monks as their patron. Ample revenues were afterwards given to this abbey by various persons; and its abbot, though not mitred, was occasionally summoned to parliament (fn. n8). It was at this abbey, in the month of October 1300, that King Edward I. in person released the Bishop of Glasgow from his imprisonment, and received his allegiance with much solemnity, in the presence of the Bishop of Carlisle, the abbot, and the French envoys (fn. n9). This abbey was pillaged by the army of Alexander, the Scottish King, in 1216 (fn. n10); and again in 1322 by Robert Bruce, notwithstanding, as the historian observes, his father's body was there interred (fn. n11). In or about the year 1383, during an inroad not mentioned by any of the historians, the abbot and convent of Holme-Cultram were obliged to pay the sum of 200l. to the Earl of Douglas to save their monastery from being burned (fn. n12). This abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII. in 1538 by Abbot Borrowdale; its revenues being then valued at 427l. 19s. 3d. clear yearly income. The celebrated Michael Scott, an abstruse mathematician, reputed by the common people to be a necromancer, was a monk of this house about the year 1290. The conventual buildings which were of freestone were taken down in the time of the civil wars in the 17th century, except the abbey church, which was reserved for the use of the parishioners (fn. n13). It appears that the manor of Holme-Cultram continued in the Crown till after the restoration of King Charles II. It was purchased of William Burton, Esq. of South-Luffington, in the county of Suffolk, in the year 1732, by Edward Stephenson, some time governor of Bengal, and is now the property of Edward Stephenson, Esq. of London, grandson of his first cousin.

The rectory, which had been appropriated to the monastery, was granted by Queen Mary (after the death of Abbot Borrowdale, to whom it had been given in lieu of a pension,) to the university of Oxford, by whom it is granted out on lease. The university are patrons of the vicarage. An act of parliament for inclosing the parish of Holme-Cultram was passed in 1806. The parish church, which formed part of the conventual church, has undergone sundry repairs since the dissolution, in consequence of accidents which are recorded in the parish-register. In the year 1600, the steeple being 19 fathoms in height, suddenly fell to the ground, and by the fall destroyed great part of the chancel; Sir Edward Mandeville, the vicar, and another person, being in the church, escaped unhurt. The chancel was rebuilt, but had scarcely been completed, when it was set on fire by accident, and both that and the body of the church burnt down. When Dr. Waugh was appointed chancellor, in 1727, he found both church and chancel in a very ruinous condition, and by his exertions both were put in a complete state of repair in 1731. In the church-yard are some memorials of the family of Chamber, the inscriptions on which are nearly obliterated (fn. n14). There is a Quakers' meeting-house at Beck-foot.

At the Abbey-town is a weekly market for butchers' meat on Saturday, from Whitsuntide till Martinmas; and there are two annual fairs for horses and cattle, the Tuesday before Whitsuntide, and October 29. Twenty acres of land for holding the fairs were allotted to the lord of the manor of Holme-Cultram in 1806, under the inclosure act.

Skinburness, a small fishing town (fn. n15) and bathing place in this parish, was formerly a place of considerable consequence. It had a market and fair, for which the abbot paid the King a fine of 100 marks (fn. n16), and was the chief place for the King's magazines for supplying the army employed against the Scots. In 1301 the abbot procured a grant from the bishop for building a church there, and making it a separate parish, but soon afterwards, most probably before 1303, the town was washed away by the inroads of the sea. In 1303 Bishop Halton granted a licence to the abbot to build a church or chapel within their territory of Arlosh, which in consequence of the removal of the town thither, acquired the name of Newton-Arlosh, and in 1304 the abbot petitioned parliament that he might have at this place the market and fair which had been granted him at Skinburness; this petition was granted (fn. n17). The church, then built, in consequence of the frequent hostile invasions of the Scots, which are spoken of in the bishop's charter, was constructed so as to answer the purpose of a fortress (fn. n18). The building still remains, but has not been for many years used for divine service. There is a cemetery adjoining. By the bishop's charter of 1303, this church was to be parochial, the abbot was to nominate the priest, and to allow him 4l. per annum with a house and curtilage. Mr. T. Denton mentions a chapel called Chapel-Cooper in Holme-Cultram, which had been demolished before 1688.

Wulstey Castle, in this parish, was the ancient seat of the Chamber family, who were settled there in the reign of Edward I. (fn. n19) There are scarcely any remains of the mansion, which was in ruins in Camden's time (fn. n20). The Chamber family, of whom was Robert Chamber, some time Abbot of HolmeCultram, resided at a later period at Raby-coat in this parish, as appears by their monuments. They afterwards removed to Hanworth in Middlesex.

Hutton

HUTTON, in Leath ward, called by way of distinction Hutton-in-the-forest, lies about six miles from Penrith; it is divided into two townships, Hutton, and Thomas-Close, containing both together in 1811, 47 houses, and 236 inhabitants.

The manor of Hutton, which was holden by the service of keeping the forest in the Hay of our Lord the King in Plumpton, and by the further service of holding the King's stirrup when he should mount his horse in the castle at Carlisle, belonged as early as the reign of Edward I. to the family of de Hoton afterwards spelt Hutton, who took their name from the place (fn. n21). Sir Richard Hutton, of this family, was one of the justices of the Common Pleas in the reign of James I. In this reign the manor of Hutton was sold to Sir Richard Fletcher of Cockermouth, who removed his residence to Hutton; his son, Sir Henry, created a baronet in 1640, was killed at the battle of Rowton-heath, near Chester, fighting on the King's side, in 1645; his widow and family were all sent prisoners to Carlisle, but were after a time released, and his heir suffered to compound for his estate. Sir Henry Fletcher, grandson of the first baronet, embraced the Roman catholic religion, and died a bachelor in the early part of the last century, in a convent of English monks at Douay: the title by this event became extinct. Sir Henry bequeathed Hutton to Thomas Fletcher, Esq. of Moresby, a remote relation, (and first cousin on the mother's side.) Sir Henry's sisters commenced a suit in chancery for the estate, which was at length compromised, it being agreed that Thomas Fletcher should enjoy Hutton and some other estates for life, and if he died without issue, (which was the event,) that Henry Fletcher Vane, Esq. second son of Catherine, eldest sister of Sir Henry Fletcher, by her deceased husband Lionel Vane, Esq. should have and enjoy the whole. Henry Fletcher Vane dying without issue, his brother Walter succeeded to the estate, and took the name of Fletcher: in the year 1786 his son Lionel Wright Vane Fletcher, Esq. was created a baronet, and was father of Sir Frederick Fletcher Vane, the present baronet, and possessor of the Hutton estate. The hall is the occasional residence of Sir Frederick Fletcher Vane, Bart.

The small manor of Morton, in the northern part of this parish, belongs to the Duke of Devonshire.

In the parish church is an ancient gravestone for one of the Hutton family, and some monuments of the families of Fletcher and Vane (fn. n22). The dean and chapter of Carlisle are patrons of the rectory of Hutton, which is in the deanery of Allerdale. The church was rebuilt about the year 1714; it had been given to the priory of Carlisle by Robert de Vallibus.

The commons of this parish were inclosed under the act of 1803, for inclosing the forest of Inglewood.

There was anciently a chantry chapel at Bramwra, in this parish (fn. n23); it was purchased of King Henry III. by Thomas de Capella, who endowed it with lands, and gave the advowson to the Bishops of Carlisle (fn. n24). This chapel having gone to decay before the year 1361, the revenues were given with additional lands to the chantry of St. Mary, in the church of Hutton, then newly founded. These chantry lands were granted by King Edward VI. to Thomas Brende.

There is a school at Hutton, called Mar-school, built in 1715 by Thomas Fletcher, Esq. then lord of the manor, and others, and endowed with lands, now worth about 30l. per annum.

The parish of St. John's, in the ward of Allerdale above Derwent, lies about one mile and a half from Calder-bridge, where is a post-office, and about eight miles from Whitehaven.

The manor of Little Beckermet, or Beckermont, in this parish, has belonged for several centuries to the Fleming family, and is now the property of Sir Daniel Fleming, Bart. of Rydall, in Westmorland.

Yerton-hall, in this parish, is the property of Mr. Henry Gaitskell, and is now occupied as a farm-house.

The church was given by the Flemings to Calder Abbey, and in 1262 was wholly appropriated to that monastery. The Rev. Henry John Todd is the present impropriator and patron of the perpetual curacy.

Carleton-Moore and Grange-brow, in this parish, have been inclosed under an act of parliament passed in 1813.