ASKHAM, a parish in WEST ward, county of WESTMORLAND, comprising the townships of Askham and Helton, and containing 517 inhabitants, of which number, 355 are in the township of Askham, 4 miles (S.) from Penrith. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle, rated in the king's books at £6, and in the patronage of the Earl of Lonsdale. The church is a small ancient building, dedicated to St. Peter. Limestone abounds in the parish. A school was endowed, in 1813, with subscriptions amounting to £420, a great part of which has been vested in the purchase of land.