Parishes: Renwick - Stapleton

Renwick

RENWICK, in Leath ward, lies 11½ miles from Penrith. The manor belonged at an early period to the family of Staveley, who continued to hold it in the reign of Edward I. It was afterwards parcel of the possessions of Andrew de Hercla, Earl of Carlisle, and having been vested in the Crown by his attainder, was given to Robert de Eglesfield by King Edward III. in exchange for the manor of the Hide, in Laleham, (Middlesex). Eglesfield, in 1341, settled it upon his newly founded college at Oxford, to which, in compliment to Queen Philippa, he had given the name of Queen's College. The church of Renwick was appropriated to the monastery of Hexham; but it afterwards belonged to the abbey of St. Mary at York.

Mr. William Lowson is said to be the patron of the perpetual curacy, but the patronage appears to be in the Crown, and the Crown has generally presented to it by lapse; indeed the advowson appears to have been reserved to the Crown by the patent of 20 Eliz. unless there has been any subsequent grant. The benefice is very small, although it has been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, aided by a benefaction of 200l. from the Countessdowager Gower. The church was rebuilt in 1733.

An act of parliament was passed in 1814 for inclosing this parish. Allotments were made in lieu of tithes to Mr. William Lowson the impropriator, and to persons entitled to certain portions of tithes.

There is an endowment of 10s. per annum for a school.

Rocliffe or Rockliffe

ROCLIFFE or ROCKLIFFE, (sometimes spelt Rowcliff), in Cumberland ward, lies five miles from Carlisle. It is divided into the townships of RocliffeChurch and Rocliffe-Castle, containing together, in 1811, 116 houses and 588 inhabitants. The manor was successively in the families of Bray, Hardrigill, and France, before the reign of Edward I. who granted it to Vernon. In the reign of Edward III. the heiress of Daniel brought it to the Radcliffes, by whom it was sold to the Dacres, and by them united to the barony of Burgh, now belonging to the Earl of Lonsdale. The Dacres built a small castle on the banks of the Eden, of which there are now no remains (fn. n1). This castle was garrisoned by Leonard Dacre when he was in rebellion against Queen Elizabeth in 1570, and was taken possession of by Lord Hunsdon, in the Queen's name, on the 21st of February in that year (fn. n2). The demesne lands and the castle were sold by Henry Howard Duke of Norfolk, in 1692, to the Rev. Charles Usher; this estate having passed by devise, is now the property of the Rev. Thomas Strong.

In the church-yard is the tomb of the Rev. William Robinson, who died in 1779, aged 81, with an epitaph beginning

"I living planted trees: of one is made
This chest wherein my body now is laid."

The rectory was appropriated to the priory of Carlisle, afterwards to the dean and chapter, who nominate a perpetual curate. In 1753 this church, which is in the deanery of Carlisle, had an allotment of 200l. from Queen Anne's bounty.

Great-Salkeld, or Salkeld-Regis

GREAT-SALKELD, or SALKELD-REGIS, in Leath ward, lies five miles from Penrith. The manor was granted by King Richard I. to Adam Le Sauser, and confirmed by King John. It was afterwards in the Crown again, and always considered as ancient demesne. It was granted to Alexander King of Scots with Penrith, and from that time the history of the two manors is exactly the same.

Hunter Hall, an old mansion belonging to the late William Randall Ricardson, Esq. is now the property and residence of Edward Bachelor Harraden, Esq. Nunwick Hall is the property and residence of Miss E. Wilkinson.

The tower of the parish church is a regular fortress (fn. n3), and no doubt was so constructed in consequence of the inroads of the Scots, to which this parish was particularly liable by reason of their King's claims upon the manor. It is probable that it was so constructed about the time that Penrith Castle was built by the Nevils.

The rectory of Salkeld, which is in the deanery of Allerdale, is attached to the archdeaconry of Carlisle. Bishop Law was archdeacon of Carlisle and rector of this parish from 1743 to 1756: here he resided several years, during which he published most of his works. His son Lord Ellenborough, the present Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, was born during his residence at this place, in the month of December 1750. The late celebrated Dr. Paley was archdeacon of Carlisle and rector of this parish from the year 1782 till his death in 1805, but never resided here except occasionally.

Dr. George Benson, a very eminent nonconformist divine and biblical critic, was a native of this parish. He was born on the 1st of September 1699, as appears by the parish register.

A free school was founded at Great-Salkeld in 1515, endowed with certain rents, &c. Its revenues were the subject of a long litigation; and, upon inquiry, we are informed that it has now no endowment. The school-house was built by subscription in 1686, Archdeacon Nicolson having been the chief contributor to it.

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

Scaleby

SCALEBY, in Eskdale ward, lies six miles from Carlisle. The parish is divided into the townships of East and West-Scaleby, containing together, in 1811, 100 houses and 557 inhabitants. The manor was given by King Edward I. to Richard Tylliol or Tilliol. Robert de Tilliol had the King's licence for castellating his mansion at Scaleby in 1307 (fn. n4). Robert de Tilliol, the last of this ancient family, died without issue in 1435. The elder sister and coheiress brought this estate to John Colvill, whose son William left two daughters, coheirs (fn. n5), who both married into the Musgrave family; the younger, Margaret, brought Scaleby to Nicholas Musgrave. His descendant Sir Edward Musgrave, Bart. who was a zealous royalist, garrisoned Scaleby Castle in 1648 (fn. n6); but it was not of sufficient strength to stand a siege, and surrendered, after firing one shot, to a detachment of General Lambert's army, who are said to have set fire to the. Castle (fn. n7). Sir Edward, in consequence of the losses he sustained by the war, was obliged to sell a great part of his estates. The manor of Scaleby was conveyed to Richard Gilpin, Esq., who repaired the Castle, and fitted it up for his own residence (fn. n8) : his descendant of the same name sold it in 1741 to Edward Stephenson, Esq. some time governor of Bengal: it is now the property of Edward Stephenson, Esq. of London, grandson of the governor's first cousin. The Castle is in the occupation of Mr. Rowland Fawcett.

The late Rev. William Gilpin, vicar of Boldre in Hampshire, author of the Lives of the Reformers, Commentaries on the Holy Scriptures and the Church Catechism, and of several popular tours, was born at Scaleby Castle in 1724: his brother, Sawry Gilpin, Esq. R. A. an eminent artist, who excelled in the drawing of animals, was born at Carlisle.

The church of Scaleby is in the deanery of Carlisle. The Bishop is patron of the rectory, which has been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty.

Sebergham

SEBERGHAM, in Cumberland ward, is ten miles from Carlisle. The parish is divided into the townships of Sebergham-Church and SeberghamCastle, containing together, in 1811, 143 houses and 781 inhabitants. The greater part of Sebergham is held under the Duke of Devonshire, as parcel of the forest of Inglewood. In the latter part of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth century, one William Wastall or De Wastedale, a hermit, lived in this parish, and having had a grant from King John of some inclosed ground called Sebergham Hill, bequeathed it to the prior and convent of Carlisle, who possessed the manor of Langholme, in this parish, by the gift of Sir John de Sebergham. These estates are now vested in the dean and chapter. The manor of Sebergham belongs to the Duke of Devonshire, as parcel of the forest of Inglewood.

The manor of Warnell was given by King Edward II. to Andrew de Hercla, after whose attainder it was granted to Ralph Lord Dacre. William Lord Dacre gave it in exchange to John Denton, Esq. of Denton-hall, in exchange for Denton, in the year 1496: his immediate descendant, of the same name, sold it in the year 1774 to Sir James Lowther, afterwards Earl of Lonsdale: it is now the property of the present Earl. The old mansion of Warnell-hall is occupied as a farm-house: it had formerly one of the large square towers common to many of the Cumberland mansions, and intended for defence against the inroads of the Scots.

The little manor of Hartrigg, which belonged formerly to the Dalstons, is the property of Thomas Benson, Esq. of Carlisle.

In Sebergham Church are some monuments of the Denton family. There are some English and Latin verses by Bernard Ellis, partly defaced, to the memory of Thomas Denton, Esq. who died in 1616; a monument for the Rev. Josiah Relph, 1743; and one for the father and mother of Mr. Faulder, the late bookseller in London. In the church-yard is a monument for the family of the late James Robson, Esq. many years an eminent bookseller in Bond-Street, and late high-bailiff of Westminster. There is an epitaph to the memory of a son of Mr. Robson's, who died by a fall from his horse in 1785.

The dean and chapter of Carlisle are appropriators of the tithes of this parish, which belonged formerly to the priory, and are patrons of the perpetual curacy. This benefice was augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, aided by a benefaction of 200l. by J. Simpson, Esq.; it has been benefited also by an inclosure of the common. Mr. Thomas Denton, who was proprietor of Warnell-hall, in his MS. History of Cumberland, written in 1688, and frequently quoted in this work, says that the common prayer was read in Sebergham church "in all the late times of trouble;" and he adds, "we never had a fanatick in this parish, neither then nor since."

The Rev. Josiah Relph, a native of Sebergham, who was curate of the parish from 1733 till his death in 1743 (fn. n9), was called the Cumberland poet. His poems, consisting of fables, pastorals in the Cumberland dialect, &c. were published by his successor, the Rev. Thomas Denton, who was himself author of two poems, entitled "Immortality, or the Consolation of Human Life, a Monody," and "The House of Superstition, a Vision;" he also compiled the Supplemental Volume of the Biographical Dictionary. Mr. Denton died in 1777.

Skelton

SKELTON, in Leath ward, is about six miles from Penrith. The parish is divided into the townships of Skelton, Lamonby, and Unthank, containing together, in 1811, 142 houses and 756 inhabitants.

The manor belonged, about the reign of Henry I., to the Boyvills, lords of Levington, and was divided among six coheiresses; each of their portions is to be traced through various proprietors: some of them were eventually sold to the tenants and inhabitants. The greater part, which remained unsold, became at last vested in the Dacres, and in the year 1565 was conveyed by Sir Thomas Dacre and his wife to Thomas Dawes and others. In 1688 the Fletchers had this estate and a manor here (fn. n10), which now belongs to Sir Frederick Fletcher Vane, Bart. One of the six portions which had been forfeited by Christopher Seaton, and granted to Robert Lord Clifford (fn. n11), passed from the latter by inheritance to the Duke of Devonshire, who is the present proprietor. The manor of Lamonby included the estate of the Seatons, in Skelton, and passed by the same title; but the demesne called Lamonby-hall was separated and sold to Leonard Wilkinson about the year 1680 (fn. n12). It is now the property of Mrs. Ann James, (widow of the Rev. Dr. James, rector of Arthuret,) whose father, Mr. Thomas Grayson, purchased it of the Wilkinsons.

Sir F. F. Vane has two ancient mansions in this parish: Hardrigg-hall, which has a large square tower, formerly the seat of the family of Southaic or Southaik, descended from Patrick Southaik (fn. n13), who married one of the coheiresses of Boyvil; and Allonby-hall, now a farm-house, where the manorcourts are held. Hardrigg was purchased by the Fletchers of John Southaic, Esq. the last of that ancient family, in the early part of the seventeenth century (fn. n14). Scales-hall, which was many years a seat of the Broughams, having passed by marriage to the families of Lamplugh and Dykes, is now a farm-house, the property of J. D. Ballantine Dykes, Esq.

The rectory of Skelton was long attached to the manor: in 1607 it was sold to Corpus Christi College, in Oxford. There was a chantry in the church of Skelton, amply endowed, the lands belonging to which were granted by King Edward VI. to Thomas Dalston and William Denton. The commons of this parish were inclosed by act of parliament in 1767.

Castle-Sowerby

CASTLE-SOWERBY, in Leath ward, lies about fifteen miles from Carlisle: it was formerly parcel of St. Mary's parish in that city (fn. n15). This parish is divided into the townships of Bustabeck, Howbound, Rowbound, Southernbybound, and Stocklewath-bound; containing collectively, in 1811, 169 houses and 974 inhabitants. The manor (fn. n16) lies wholly within the forest of Inglewood: its history is the same as those of Penrith and Great-Salkeld, except that in the year 1214 we find a grant of Sowerby to Robert de Ros (fn. n17). In 1256, Margaret Queen of Scotland, who had the manors of Penrith, &c. for her marriage-portion, had a licence from King Henry III. to inclose certain waste land in the manor of Sowerby within the forest of Inglewood. (fn. n18)

King Edward I. gave the church of Sowerby (which is in the deanery of Allerdale) to the priory and convent of Carlisle, to which monastery the great tithes were appropriated. After the Reformation, the dean and chapter became appropriators and patrons. In 1766 an act of parliament passed, under which allotments were made in lieu of tithes to the appropriators and to the vicar.

Raughton-head chapel, in this parish, having then been long in ruins, was rebuilt in 1678: it was again rebuilt by subscription in 1760. This chapel has been augmented by Queen Anne's bounty, aided by 200l. given by Countess-dowager Gower. The minister is nominated by the trustees. In this chapelry is a small manor called Thackwood, belonging to William Blamire, Esq. who inherited it from his father of the same name. The school-house at Raughton-head was built by Mr. John Head in 1744, and rebuilt in 1806 with the money left for its endowment, amounting to 50l.

In 1750 a rent-charge of 5l. per annum was given by Mr. John Sowerby to a school in Rowbound quarter, for teaching Latin, English, writing, and accounts.

Southernby-hall was the seat of Mr. J. Fallowfield, (author of Essays and Poems); now of his son, John Fallowfield, Esq.

In the district of How-bound is a hill called Castle-hill, the site of an ancient castle, from which the parish took its name; the land on which it stood is part of one of ten estates, whose owners held them by the service of riding through Penrith on Tuesday in Whitsun-week brandishing their spears. Both the estates and their owners appear to have been called Red Spears. The custom is obsolete; but the spears, till within the last century, remained in several of the proprietors' houses. (fn. n19)

Stanwix

STANWIX, in the wards of Cumberland and Eskdale, lies scarcely a mile from Carlisle, on the opposite bank of the Eden. It is divided into the townships of Cargo, or Craghow, and Stainton, in Cumberland ward, and Etterby, Houghton, Linstock, Rickerby, Stanwix, and Tarraby, in Eskdale ward, containing collectively, in 1811, 271 houses, and 1435 inhabitants.

Stanwix is parcel of the manor of the socage of the castle of Carlisle. Linstock was granted by King Henry I. to his chaplain Walter, and by him given to the prior and convent of Carlisle. After the creation of the see, the bishop and the convent held their lands in common, till a partition was made by Gualo, the pope's legate, by which, among other manors, Linstock was appropriated to the bishop, and Linstock Castle was for a long time the only seat of him and his successors. Bishop Irton died at this castle in 1292, and the next year Bishop Halton, entertained Johannes Romanus and his suite. In the year 1307 King Edward I. was at Linstock Castle with his Queen Margaret and his court, from the 6th of March till the 12th, when he removed to Carlisle (fn. n20). The manor of Linstock still belongs to the see, but the castle has not for many centuries been the residence of the bishops. It was repaired and modernized in 1768 by John Nicolson, Esq. then lessee of the estate; the ancient square tower remains. The present lessee of this estate is John Nicolson Watts, Esq. The mansion is occupied as a farm-house.

Rickerby, or Richardby, a mesne manor under Linstock, formerly belonged to the Tilliols, afterwards to the Pickerings and Westons; Sir Edward Musgrave purchased it of the latter. From the Musgraves it passed by sale to Studholme, then to the Gilpins, in whose family it continued three generations, Mr. Richardson afterwards purchased what had not been sold off to the tenants. Rickerby is now the property and seat of James Graham, Esq. who inherited from the late William Richardson, Esq.

Drawdykes Castle is a mansion of the Aglionbys, on the site of an ancient castle, which was taken down in the seventeenth century, and rebuilt in its present form by John Aglionby, Esq. Recorder of Carlisle. This castle, which had been among the earliest possessions of the Aglionby family in Cumberland, upon the death of Christopher Aglionby, Esq. the last heir male in 1789, passed under a decree of chancery to John Orfeur Yates, Esq. of Skirwith Abbey, who married Mary, the youngest of the coheiresses, and is the present proprietor: it is occupied as a farm-house.

The manor of Tarraby, was conveyed by John Aglionby, Esq. in exchange to Sir John Lowther (fn. n21), who again exchanged it with the Dalstons for an estate in Westmorland: it was sold to the tenants about the year 1764, by Sir William Dalston.

Etterby belongs to the Earl of Lonsdale, as parcel of the barony of Burgh. Stainton, formerly parcel of the manor of West-Linton, belongs also to the Earl of Lonsdale: it was sometime in the Musgraves of Crookdake, one of whose coheiresses sold what had not been previously enfranchised, to Sir John Lowther, in 1686.

The manor of Cargo belonged to John Lacy, constable of Chester; from him it passed by conveyance to William de Vesey, and from the latter to Sir Ewan Carlisle. Robert de Ros died seised of it in 1273; the heiress of this family, brought it to the Parrs. Ellen, Marchioness of Northampton, widow of William Parr, gave it in exchange to Queen Elizabeth; King James granted it to the Whitmores; Sir William Whitmore possessed it in 1688; it was afterwards sold to the Dacres, of whom it was purchased in 1793, by Joseph Lamb, Esq. of Newcastle upon Tyne: it is now the property of Humble Lamb, Esq. of that place. In the parish church is the monument of William Richardson, Esq. of Rickerby, who died in 1807.

The church, which is in the deanery of Carlisle, was given by Walter, Chaplain to King Henry I. to the prior and convent of Carlisle, to which monastery the tithes were appropriated. The great tithes are now divided between the bishop and the dean and chapter. The bishop is patron of the vicarage. The celebrated Dr. Paley was vicar of this parish from 1793 to 1795.

Stapleton

STAPLETON, in Eskdale ward, lies about seven miles from Brampton, and about 15 from Carlisle. The parish is divided into the townships of Belbank, Solport, Stapleton, and Trough, containing collectively, in 1811, 166 houses, and 891 inhabitants. The manors of Stapleton and Solport belonged to the Lords of Levington, and were divided among the coheirs. Stapleton became at an early period the property of the Stapleton family: it was afterwards successively in the Dacres and Howards, and is now the property of the Earl of Carlisle.

The manor of Solport passed successively to the Tilliols, Colvills, and Musgraves. Sir Edward Musgrave sold it to Lord Preston, from whom it descended to Sir James Graham, Bart. the present proprietor. The demesne lands of this manor are called the Shank, where are the ruins of a castle. Mr. T. Denton says, that Sir William Hutton built a neat house here for his own habitation, when steward to George, Earl of Cumberland, in the reign of James I. and that he dwelt at Shank to subdue the moss-troopers.

In the parish church is the monument of Mrs. Margaret Milbourne, wife of J. Milbourne, Esq. of Denton-Holme, who died in 1790. The advowson of the rectory, which is in the deanery of Carlisle, has long been in moieties, one of which was sold by the Stapletons to Thomas Lord Dacre; this moiety now belongs to the Earl of Carlisle, the other to Sir James Graham, Bart. The Rev. William Graham, rector of this parish from 1771 till his death in 1796, published a translation, in verse, of the Eclogues of Virgil, and some Sermons. Mr. Edward Irwin, in 1778, gave the sum of 1l. 10s. per annum to a master, for teaching the poor children of Stapleton Quarter, and 10s. to buy books.