Parishes: Castle-Carrock - Cumwhitton

Castle-Carrock

CASTLE-CARROCK, in Eskdale ward, lies about four miles from Brampton, which is the post-office town, and about ten from Carlisle. The manor was given in the reign of Henry II. by Hugh de Vallibus, Lord of Gilsland, to Eustace de Vallibus, whose posterity seem to have taken the name of Castle-Carrock, and inhabited probably the castle, from which the parish takes its name (fn. n1). Robert de Castle-Carrock, the fourth in descent of that name, died in the reign of Edward I. and left three daughters, among whose posterity this manor having been divided, it long continued in severalties; the whole is now vested in the Earl of Carlisle, whose ancestors purchased the several parts at sundry times. Some lands in this parish are held under Robert Sanderson Milbourne, Esq. of Armathwaite Castle.

The rectory is in the patronage of the dean and chapter of Carlisle, having formerly belonged to the priory. An act of parliament passed in 1801, for inclosing the moors, &c. in the manor and parish of Castle-Carrock, under which an allotment was made to the rector in lieu of tithes, and an allotment of twenty acres for the endowment of a school.

Cleator

CLEATOR, in the ward of Allerdale above Derwent, lies about two miles from Egremont, and four and a half from Whitehaven. Cleator is spoken of in an ancient chronicle as a manor belonging to the monastery of St. Bees in 1315, at which time James Douglas, with a party of Scots, burned the manor-house (fn. n2); the manor is said to have been enfranchised before the reign of Henry VIII.

The church of Cleator, which is in the diocese of Chester, archdeaconry of Richmond, and deanery of Copeland, was appropriated to the abbey of Calder; the present impropriator and patron is Wilson Braddyl, Esq. who has a good mansion in the parish, which belonged to his father, the late John Gale, Esq., but it has not been for many years past inhabited by its owners; part of it is occupied by Mr. James Williamson, the other part by the farmer who rents the estate.

There are two large iron manufactories at Cleator, for spades and other edge tools; there is a large manufactory also for spinning flax and tow, making sewing thread, &c. which employs about 400 hands.

Corney

CORNEY, in the ward of Allerdale above Derwent, lies within two miles of Bootle, which is a post-office town. The manor belonged at an early period to Michael the Falconer, whose posterity took the name of Corney; the heiress of this family brought it to the Penningtons, ancestors of the Right Hon. Lord Muncaster, who is the present proprietor. The manor house, which is gone to decay, stood at a hamlet called Middleton Place. The rectory of Corney, which is in the diocese of Chester, archdeaconry of Richmond, and deanery of Copeland, belonged formerly to the abbey of St. Mary in York; it is now in the patronage of the Earl of Lonsdale, the advowson having been purchased of the late Lord Muncaster in 1803.

Croglin

CROGLIN, in Leath ward, lies about thirteen miles from Penrith, which is the post-office town. The manor belonged at an early period to the family of Hastings, whose heiress brought it in the reign of Edward I. to the Whartons; on this occasion the Whartons adopted the arms of Hastings, Sable, a maunch, Argent. Croglin was purchased of the Duke of Wharton's trustees, by Charles, Duke of Somerset, from whom it descended to the Earl of Egremont, the present proprietor, who possesses also the manors of Newbiggin and Brackenthwaite, in this parish. The advowson of the rectory was attached to the manor of Croglin, till the Duke of Wharton sold it to Matthew Smales, Gent.; it is now the property of Mr. William Clarke of Wall's-end. Croglin is in the diocese of Carlisle and deanery of Allerdale; an act of parliament for inclosing this parish, passed in 1808, under which lands were allotted to the rector in lieu of tithes.

There is a school at Croglin, endowed with the interest of 50l. given by the Rev. T. Hunter, rector, in 1723, and twenty acres of land now let at 24l. 2s. per annum, allotted by consent of Lord Egremont and the tenants, at the time of the inclosure above mentioned.

Crosby

CROSBY, in Eskdale ward, lies four miles from Carlisle, and contains the townships of Brunstock, High-Crosby, Low-Crosby, and Walby.

According to the returns of 1811, this parish then contained 70 houses and 410 inhabitants. The military road to Newcastle passes through the village of Crosby. The manor or barony of Crosby belongs to the bishop, having been always annexed to Linstock, which was assigned to the bishop and his successors, on a partition of the estates of the bishopric and the priory by Gualo, the pope's legate. Linstock and its dependencies were sometimes called the Barony of Linstock, and sometimes the Barony of Crosby. William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, held a moiety of this manor, in right of his wife Elizabeth, under the bishop, in the reign of Edward II. (fn. n3) The bishop has the appropriation of the great tithes of Crosby, (which is in the deanery of Carlisle,) and is patron of the vicarage. A school-house was built by subscription at Crosby in the year 1803; the school is not endowed.

Crosthwaite

CROSTHWAITE, a large parish, extends into two wards, containing the townships of Crosthwaite, Borrowdale, Braithwaite, Newlands, Portingscale, and Thornthwaite (fn. n4), in the ward of Allerdale above Derwent, and those of St. John's, Castlerigg, Wythburn, Under-Skiddaw, and Keswick, in Allerdale below Derwent. The collective number of houses in these townships (exclusive of Keswick) was in 1811, 362, that of inhabitants 1973, according to the return then made to parliament.

Borrowdale, well known for its romantic scenery and its wad-mines, (already noticed,) was parcel of the ancient manor of Castlerigg, which belonged to the Derwentwater estate. The Lawson family had also a manor in Borrowdale, which, after the death of the late Sir Wilfred Lawson, passed with his other estates; it has lately been enfranchised by Wilfred Lawson, Esq. who has retained the royalties and woods; within this manor is the vill of Watenlath, in which is a small tarn, abounding with trout and other fish.

Braithwaite, Portingscale, and Newlands, are parcel of the Earl of Egremont's manor of Derwent-Fells: the latter gives name to a beautiful and rich vale, well known by the descriptions of tourists; the manor of Thornthwaite belongs also to Lord Egremont. A sheep fair is held in Borrowdale on the first Wednesday, and in the vale of Newlands on the first Friday in September.

In the chapelry of St. John are two vales, separated by the mountain of Naddle-Fell, called the Vale of Wanthwaite and the Vale of St. John; the former, which is most admired for its scenery, has been often taken for the latter.

The manor of St. John and Castlerigg was part of the Derwentwater estate, now belonging to Greenwich Hospital. Hill-top House, overlooking the vale of St. John, was for several generations the property and residence of the Gaskarth family, it is now a farm house, the property of Lord Lonsdale, who purchased it of the late Rev. John Gaskarth, the last heir male of the family. Lowthwaite House, in this township and manor, now the property and residence of Mr. Williamson, has been some time in his family.

The manor of Wythburn belonged to the Brathwaites of Warcop. Sir Thomas Brathwaite, who died in 1640, was seised of the manors or hamlets of Wythburn, Armeboth, Smarthwaite, and Naddle, held of the Earl of Northumberland; this estate was sold by Richard Brathwaite, Esq. to Sir George Fletcher, of Hutton-Hall, ancestor of Sir Frederick Fletcher Vane, Bart. the present proprietor.

In the township of Wythburn is Dalehead, an ancient seat of the Leathes family, now the property and summer residence of Thomas Stanger Leathes, Esquire, who has a manor here called Legberthwaite, inherited from the late Mr. Leathes. (fn. n5)

The manor of Brundholme, in the townships of Great-Crosthwaite and Under-Skiddaw, was part of the possessions given by Henry Earl of Northumberland, to King Henry the Eighth, who granted it to Thomas Dalston, Esq.; it was afterwards in the Tolsons, who sold to Relph; this manor now belongs to the Bishop of Llandaff, who purchased it of the Hasells of Dalemain. The celebrated mountain of Skiddaw, said to be 1100 yards in heighth, extends into several parishes and townships; that part which is in Crosthwaite, is within the manor of Brundholme and the townships of Great-Crosthwaite and Under-Skiddaw. This has lately been inclosed under an act of parliament, passed in 1810, for inclosing the manor of Brundholme, and divided chiefly between the Bishop of Llandaff, Sir John Benn Walsh, Bart. and John Spedding, Esq. of Mirehouse. The summit belongs to Sir Frederick Fletcher Vane, Bart.

Ormathwaite, within the manor of Brundholme, was the property, and in the latter part of his life, the residence of Doctor William Brownrigg, a very eminent provincial physician, (at Whitehaven) and a learned chemist, who appears to have been the real father of many of the modern discoveries in that science, particularly those relating to the properties of air. Dr. Brownrigg died at Ormathwaite January 7th 1800, in the 89th year of his age. He published a treatise on the art of making common salt, now become very scarce, and another on the means of preventing pestilential contagion. Ormathwaite is now the property of his nephew Sir John Benn Walsh, Bart. and in the occupation of Lieutenant Ponsonby of the Royal Navy.

Monk-hall, in the township of Great-Crosthwaite, spoken of by Mr. T. Denton, as a small manor, and the site of a cell or chantry, formerly belonging to the monks of Carlisle, was in 1688 the property of Sir Daniel Fleming, Bart. and now belongs to his descendant the present baronet, of the same name.

The manors of Castlerigg and Keswick, alias Derwentwater, belonged to the ancient family of De Derwentwater, before the reign of Edward the First. The heiress of Sir John De Derwentwater, in the reign of Henry the Sixth, married Sir Nicholas Radcliffe of Dilston, in the county of Northumberland, Knight, whose descendant, Sir Francis Radcliffe, was created by King James II. Earl of Derwentwater. James, the second Earl, having been engaged in the rebellion of 1715, lost his head on Tower-Hill, and the above manors, with other estates, becoming thereby forfeited to the crown, were settled upon Greenwich Hospital by act of parliament. The Derwentwater family are said to have had a seat at Castlerigg, overlooking the fine lake from which they took their name; their successors, the Radcliffes, built a house for their residence, on the island called Lords Island, now belonging to Greenwich Hospital. Leland, who was in Cumberland in 1539, calls this "the Head Place" of the Radcliffes. The beautiful scenery of this well known lake, said to be about ten miles in circumference, has often been described. Saint Herbert's Island, late the property of Sir Wilfred Lawson, Bart. now of Mr. Wilfred Lawson, (late Wybergh,) is so called from a hermitage there dedicated to Saint Herbert. It appears by the registers of the see of Carlisle, that Bishop Appleby granted an indulgence of forty days penance to all the inhabitants of the parish of Crosthwaite, who should go thither to celebrate mass yearly on the 13th of April, in memory of Saint Herbert. Leland speaks of a chapel as remaining there in 1539. (fn. n6) Sir Wilfred Lawson kept a garrison in this island in the civil war. (fn. n7)

Vicar's Island, which belonged formerly to Fountain's Abbey, was granted by King Henry the Eighth to John Williamson: it was afterwards in the Ponsonbys of Hale. Mr. T. Denton says that Vicar's Island was inhabited by the Dutch mineral men; and sold by a coheir of Joseph Hechstetter, the most experienced miner that England ever bred. Joseph Pocklington, Esq. having some years ago purchased Vicar's Island, built a house on it for his occasional residence; he afterwards sold it to the present proprietor, General Peachey, who sometimes resides there during a part of the summer season. Mr. Pocklington still possesses a good house at the Barrow (fn. n8), a beautiful situation on the eastern side of the lake; but it has for some years been inhabited only by servants. On the western side of the lake is the seat of Lord William Gordon.

The town of Keswick lies about 18 miles from Penrith, 25½ from Whitehaven, and 302 from London. It contained, in 1811, 352 houses and 1,633 inhabitants.

In the year 1300, Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Albemarle, being summoned to prove by what right she held a market at Crosthwaite, denied that she held any market there, but that the men of the neighbourhood met at the church on festival-days, and there sold flesh and fish, but that she, as lady of the manor, viz. Derwent-Fells, took no toll (fn. n9). At the same time Thomas de Derwentwater proved his right to a market at his manor of Keswick on Saturday, and a fair for five days at the festival of Saint Mary Magdalen (fn. n10). Saturday is still the market-day for corn and provisions. The ancient chartered fair, now held on the 2d of August, is almost dwindled to nothing: it was formerly noted chiefly for the sale of leather (fn. n11), and a few years ago for wool. Cattle fairs are now held on the first Thursday in May, and on every Thursday fortnight for six weeks; on the Saturday before Whitsunday, and on the Saturday nearest to the festivals of St. Michael and St. Martin, or on those festivals when they happen on a Saturday. The Martinmas fair is now the chief fair in the year, and noted for the sale of rams and cheese. On the Saturday nearest to the 2d of February, money is lent out in Keswick, and the interest paid. A new market-house, with a turret, was built at Keswick in 1813.

There are manufactories at Keswick of coarse woollen goods, blankets, kerseys, &c. Sir John Bankes, chief justice of the King's Bench, who was born at Keswick in 1589, gave 200l. to build a manufactory-house, and 30l. a-yeartowards raising a stock for the employment and maintenance of the poor.

The late Mr. Peter Crosthwaite, an ingenious native of this parish, in the year 1780 established a museum of antiquities and natural curiosities at Keswick: it is now shewn by his daughter. Mention has already been made of several antiquities, found in the neighbourhood or in the county, deposited in this museum, and in that of Mr. Hutton, which has since been formed and exhibited.

The parish church of Crosthwaite, a handsome structure, with a ring of bells, stands about a quarter of a mile from the town of Keswick. In this church is the monument of Sir John Radcliffe, Knight, who died in 1527, and a memorial for one of the ancient family of Leathes: in the churchyard are memorials for the family of Gaskarth of Hill-top. The church of Crosthwaite, which is in the diocese of Carlisle and deanery of Allerdale, was given to Fountain's Abbey. The tithes were purchased after the Reformation by the land-owners. The Bishop of Carlisle is patron of the vicarage. The vicarage-house, situated on an eminence between the church and the town, commands a beautiful view of the lake and the surrounding mountain scenery.

There are chapels of ease at Borrowdale, Thornthwaite, Newlands, Wythburn, and St. John's, in this parish. These chapels have all been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty; the sums of 200l. each were given in aid by the Countess-Dowager Gower, for Borrowdale, Thornthwaite, and Wythburn. The ministers, with the exception of Saint John's, are appointed by the vicar. The minister of St. John's is appointed by Lord Lonsdale, and the landholders and occupiers. At Keswick is a meeting-house for the Independents, and another for the Wesleyan methodists; adjoining the town is a Quakers' meeting-house, but it has at present no congregation.

There is a school at Keswick, endowed with lands now let at 118l. per annum, purchased with the amount of voluntary contributions, (to which it appears that the Company of the Mines Royal gave 20l. in the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth,) and an assessment on each fire-house. The cockfights at this school mentioned in Hutchinson's History of Cumberland, have been abolished.

The circle of stones on the summit of the hill near the road to Penrith has been already spoken of.

Cumrew

CUMREW, in Eskdale ward, is about seven miles from Brampton, which is the post-office town, and about twelve from Carlisle. It is divided into the townships of Cumrew-Inside and Cumrew-Outside, containing together in 1811, 41 houses and 194 inhabitants. The manor belongs to the Earl of Carlisle. The church, which is in the deanery of Carlisle, was formerly appropriated to the priory, now to the dean and chapter, who are patrons of the perpetual curacy. It has been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty. An act of parliament passed in 1796, for inclosing the commons of Cumrew and Cumwhitton: this benefice was, in consequence, much injured by the sheep-heaths being converted into grazing-ground for black cattle.

About a quarter of a mile from Cumrew church, under the Fell, are the ruins of a castle, of which we find no mention in history or record. It is probable that it was the residence of some of the family of Vaux, lords of the barony of Gilsland.

Cumwhitton

CUMWHITTON, in Eskdale ward, is nine miles from Carlisle, and seven from Brampton, which is the post-office town. It comprises the townships of Cumwhitton, Moorthwaite, and Northsceugh, containing collectively, in 1811, 91 houses and 478 inhabitants. Cumwhitton was given by Ranulph de Meschines to Hildred de Carlisle. In King John's reign it belonged to the Bavins, who, after possessing it for three generations, gave the manor to the priory of Lanercost, and the rectory to the priory of Carlisle (fn. n12). The Earl of Carlisle is now lord of the manor. The small manor of Hornby, given also by the Bavins to the priory of Lanercost, came after the reformation to the Dacres, and was sold by Henry Dacre before the year 1688, to John Atkinson (fn. n13); it has lately been purchased by the several proprietors of the small estates which it comprehended. At Scarrow-hill is a freehold estate, which in 1688 belonged to the Scarrows, a family of great antiquity at that place (fn. n14), since extinct; it is now in severalties.

The church of Cumwhitton was appropriated to the priory of Carlisle, now to the dean and chapter, who are patrons of the benefice, and pay a stipend of 10l. per annum out of the great tithes to the perpetual curate. The benefice has been twice augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, the first time by lot, the second time with the aid of a benefaction of 200l. given by Countess-Dowager Gower: the lands purchased produce now about 80l. per annum. The dilapidated cottage, called the Parsonagehouse, has by Mr. Anderson the present incumbent, who was instituted in 1809, been improved into a comfortable habitation. Leland mentions the chapel of the Moore, in this parish, of which there are no remains.