BLENCOW (GREAT), a township in the parish
of DACRE, LEATH ward, county of CUMBERLAND, 5
miles (W. N. W.) from Penrith. The population is returned
with the parish. A grammar school, of high
repute, was founded in 1576, by Thomas Burbank, who
endowed it with property now producing about £200
per annum: it is free, with the exception of a small
entrance-fee, to children from all parts of the world,
for instruction in the classics. A new school-room,
with a writing-school added to it, and a house for the
master, affording extensive accommodation for boarders,
were built in 1793. The late Lord Ellenborough received
a small portion of his early education at this
school, which has also produced several distinguished
clergymen.