SKELTON, a parish in LEATH ward, county of
CUMBERLAND, comprising the townships of Lamonby,
Skelton, and Unthank, and containing 858 inhabitants,
of which number, 332 are in the township of Skelton,
6 miles (N.W. by w.) from Penrith. The living is a
rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle,
rated in the king's books at £43. 3. 6., and in the patronage
of the President and Fellows of Corpus Christi
College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Mary,
is an ancient structure; it was thoroughly repaired in
1794, and formerly contained a richly-endowed chantry.
Freestone and limestone are obtained in the parish. A
free school, erected in 1750, by Isaac Milner, was endowed
in 1817, by the Rev. Joseph Nelson, with £1000,
now producing upwards of £32 a year, for which
twenty-eight children are instructed.