KIRK-ANDREWS-upon-ESK, a parish in ESKDALE
ward, county of CUMBERLAND, comprising the
chapelry of Nichbl-Forest, and the townships of Middle
Kirk-Andrews, Nether Kirk-Andrews, and Moat, and
containing 2235 inhabitants, of which number, 624 are
in the township of Middle Kirk-Andrews, 3 miles (N.byE.)
from Longtown. The living is a discharged rectory, in
the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle, rated in the
king's books at £3. 11. 5., endowed with £200 royal
bounty, and in the patronage of Sir James Graham,
Bart. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a very
picturesque object, standing alone on the western bank
of the Esk: it was erected by Sir Richard Graham upon
the site of a more ancient structure, in 1637, at which
period Kirk-Andrews was made a distinct parish, having
previously been only a chapelry in that of Arthuret, or
Easton. Here are four charity schools, with endowments
of £ 5 each bequeathed by Lady Widdrington, in 1754.
This parish, which is separated from Scotland by the
jvers Liddel, Kershope, and Sark, and by the Scots'
dyke, forms a large portion of the English border, and
was the scene of almost constant warfare before the
union of the two crowns. Near the church is one of
the ancient tower fortresses erected for the defence of
the border; and on the steep banks of the Liddel is a
moated place, called Liddel's Strength, believed to have
been the site of the castle of the ancient barons of Liddel.
William, King of Scotland, took this castle in 1174;
and David Bruce captured it by assault in 1346. About
a mile from the church is a quarry of good freestone;
over the Esk is a bridge, where many of the rebels, in
1745, were slaughtered by the army of the Duke of
Cumberland. There is a cast-iron bridge across the
same river at Garristown, also two of stone over the
Sark. In this parish is Solway Moss, celebrated for the
victory obtained there over the Scots in the reign of
Henry VIII., and for its extraordinary irruption in November
1771, when a large tract of land was inundated,
though it was afterwards recovered and brought
again into cultivation.