KIRKBY-STEPHEN, a parish in EAST ward, county
of WESTMORLAND, comprising the market-town of
Kirkby - Stephen, the chapelries of Mallerstang and
Soulby, and the townships of Hartley, Kaber, Nateby,
Smardale, Waitby, Wharton, and Winton, and containing
2712 inhabitants, of which number, 1312 are in the
town of Kirkby-Stephen, 11 miles (S. E. by S.) from Appleby,
and 268 (N.N.W.) from London. This town, which
derives the adjunct to its name from the saint to whom
its church is dedicated, is pleasantly situated in a fertile
plain, on. the western bank of the river Eden, opposite
the hills which separate this county from Yorkshire on
the north and south; it consists of one good street,
the houses in which are well built, and the inhabitants
abundantly supplied with water; but the town is neither
paved nor lighted. Races are held annually, on Hartley
Ings, about the middle of April. The inhabitants are
partly employed in the woollen manufacture, and in knitting
stockings, of which a great quantity was formerly
exposed for saje at the market, but the trade in this article
is on the decline; a silk manufactory has lately
been established on a limited scale, and there is a manufactory
for spinning and carding wool. In the parish
are mines of lead, copper, and coal, which are all worked,
though the coal mines are not very productive; a kind
of spotted stone is also found here, which is polished to
make watch-seals and other ornaments. The market
is on Monday, for corn, flour, oatmeal, and provisions.
Fairs are held on the first Monday in Lent, the Monday
before March 20th, April 25th, and October 2nd,
for horned cattle, horses, woollen cloth, blankets,
cotton goods, &c.; on the 29th of September chiefly
for horses, and on the 29th. of October for cattle and
sheep: there are statute fairs for hiring servants on
the last Monday in June and the first Monday in
July. On the north side of the market-place, which is
spacious and convenient, is a market-house, with a
piazza, called the cloister: the upper part of the edifice is
supported on eight stone pillars, the whole having been
erected in 1810, in pursuance of the will of Mr. John
Waller, who left a sum of money for the express purpose.
The county magistrates formerly held petty sessions
here, which, although of late discontinued, it is in
contemplation to revive.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and
diocese of Carlisle, rated in the king's books at
£48. 19. 2., and in the patronage of the Rev. T. P.
Williamson. The church, which is dedicated to St.
Stephen, is an ancient and spacious building, surmounted
by a lofty square tower; the interior is divided
into three principal aisles, by two rows of plain
round-shafted columns which support the roof: there
are sepulchral chapels belonging to Smardale hall,
Wharton hall, and Hartley castle; in the second of
these is a fine alabaster monument, with the effigies of
Thomas, Lord Wharton, and his first and second wives;
and in the last a monumental figure of a man in armour,
supposed to have been erected to the memory of Sir
Andrew Harcla, Earl of Carlisle, and governor of
Hartley castle, who was beheaded for treason in the
reign of Edward II. Here are places of worship for
Independents and Wesleyan Methodists. The free grammar
school, which stands eastward from the church, was
founded, in the 8th of Elizabeth, by Thomas, Lord
Wharton, and endowed with property producing £52. 3.
per annum: there are two exhibitions, of £3.6. 8. each,
to either of the Universities, and one especially to St.
John's College, Cambridge, for a scholar from this
school, or that at Appleby, but these have not been
claimed for several years. The school is held in an ancient
edifice, formerly the rectory house, and is under
the direction of eight governors, who appoint the master;
it is open to the boys of Kirkby-Stephen and the
vicinity, at a small quarterage. Several poor children
are instructed in the Sunday school, which is held at
the poor-house, and is supported by voluntary contributions.
There are divers small bequests for the poor
of this parish.