ORTON, a market-town and parish, in EAST ward,
county of WESTMORLAND, 9 miles (S. W. by S.) from
Appleby, and 275 (N.W. by N.) from London, containing,
with part of Birbeck Fells and Fawcet Forest, 1525
inhabitants. The town is pleasantly situated near the
river Lune, and consists chiefly of one irregular street,
which is neither paved nor lighted; it is supplied with
water by two small rivulets, which unite at, its extremity.
The knitting of hose was formerly carried on
to a considerable extent, but has now fallen into decay.
There is a copper mine in the neighbourhood,
which also abounds with limestone; at Coalflat, about
a mile from the town, is a small mill for spinning flax.
A small market is held on Friday, the grant of which
was confirmed by Cromwell, in 1653; and there are
fairs on May 3rd, Friday before Whit-Sunday, and on
the second Friday after Old Michaelmas, for horned
cattle and sheep. The land is freehold, the manorial
rights being vested in the landowners; the freeholders
elect four nominal lords, who hold a court occasionally
for the enrollment of the names of purchasers of land,
and for other matters. The living is a vicarage, in
the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle, rated in the
king's books at £16. 17 3., and in the patronage of
the Landowners. The church, which is dedicated to
All Saints, stands upon rising ground on the north
side of the town; it is a neat edifice, in .the ancient
style of English architecture, with a low embattled
tower: in the interior is a monument in memory
of Dr. Richard Burn, vicar of Orton, chancellor of the
diocese, author of treatises on " The Office of a Justice
of the Peace," and on "Ecclesiastical Law," and, conjointly
with Joseph Nicholson, of the History of
Westmorland and Cumberland. The free school,
which was founded by subscription, about 1730, was rebuilt
on a different spot in 1S09; Mrs. Frances Wardale,
in 1781, bequeathed the sum of £400, which with
other benefactions produces annually £21. 15.; from
seventy to eighty children are instructed, those who
can afford it paying a small quarterage. At Tebay,
within this parish, is a free grammar school, endowed
by Robert Adamson, in 1672, with land in Kendal parish,
producing £ 45 per annum; about sixty children
are instructed gratuitously; another, at Greenholme,
was endowed by George Gibson, Esq., in 1733, with
£400 original Bank stock; the master receives a small
quarterly payment from some of the children. On the
highest, part of Orton Scar there was formerly a beacon,
communicating with those of Penrith, Staumore, and
Whinfell, in Kendale; and behind the Scar, to the east,
is Castle-Folds, a place of safety for cattle, in case of
incursions from the Scottish borderers, before the union
of the two kingdoms. Near Raisgill hall is a circular
tumulus of loose stones, one hundred yards in circumference,
on digging beneath which, a human skeleton
and several bones were found. In a field, called " Gamelanes,"
is a number of large granite stones, considered
to be the remains of a Druidical temple. Near
the church is Our Lady's Well, with a small chapel,
formerly appropriated to the reception of offerings niade
by pilgrims. Dr. Thomas Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln
and a writer of some eminence, was born in this parish
in 1607; he died in 1691.