CUMBERLAND, a county (extreme north-western),
bounded on the east by the counties of Northumberland
and Durham; on the south-east by Westmorland
and Lancashire, being partly separated from
the former by Ullswater lake and the river Eamont,
and from the latter by the river Dudden; on the west
by the Irish sea; and on the north by Scotland, from
Which it is separated by the Solway Firth, and the rivers
Liddel and Sark: it is situated between 54° 6' and
55° 7' (N. Lat.), and between. 2° 13' and 3° 3d'
(W. Lon,), and contains one thousand four hundred and
seventy-eight square miles, or nine hundred and fortyfive
thousand nine hundred and twenty acres: the
population, in 1821, amounted to 156,124. Cumberland,
or, according to the Saxon orthography, Cumbra-land,
signifying the land of the Cumbrians, derived its name
from having been inhabited, at the time of the Saxon
conquests in Britain, by a remnant of the ancient
Britons, called Cambri, or Cumbri. At the time of th'e
Roman invasion it was, according to Whitaker, occupied
by the Volantii, or Foluntii (people of the forests), a
tribe of the Brigantes, whose territory was not subjugated
by the Romans until the reign of the Emperor
"Vespasian. It was also called Caerleyl-schire, or
Caerlielleshire, from its chief town Cae.rle.yl, now Carlisle.
On the first division of the island by the victorious
Romans, this county was included in the province of
Britannia Inferior; and on the second, in the northern
district, which they named Valentia. During the Saxon
Octarchy it formed part of the kingdom of Northumberland.
About the middle of the tenth century
Cumberland was ceded to the Scots, from which period
it was sometimes under the dominion of their monarchs,
and sometimes under that of the English kings, till the
year 1237, when it was finally annexed to the crown of
England by Henry III. The earliest event of importance
which historians concur in authenticating, with respect
to this province, is the conquest of the whole kingdom
of Northumberland by the Danes under Halfden, in the
year 875, who, however, were sqon expelled. The
accounts given by the English and Scottish writers
respecting other historical transactions are contradictory
and uncertain, up to the period when King
Athelstan obtained at Bruningfield, or Brunford (a corruption
of the Saxon Brunan-burh), a victory over the
king of Scotland, and his ally, the king of Northumberland,
whereby he acquired possession of Cumberland
and Westmorland; but these counties were ceded to
the Scottish king by his successor Edmund, by treaty;
and it was agreed that the heir apparent of Scotland
should possess Cumberland, as before, rendering homage
for it to the king of England: accordingly Indulph, son
of King Malcolm, was proclaimed Prince of Cumberland.
The insurrectionary inhabitants having shortly
afterwards set up an independent sovereign, named
Dunmaile, apparently of British origin, King Edmund
marched against them in 945, laid waste their territory,
and restored it to Malcolm on the condition of his firm
alliance. About the year 1000, King Ethelred invaded
Cumberland, because the Scottish prince had refused to
pay his quota of the contributions levied for prosecuting
the war against the Danes. In the early part of the
eleventh century, Othred, Earl of Northumberland, in
alliance with the Danes, began to commit depredations
in this county, but was defeated by Malcolm, after a
desperate engagement, near Burgh upon the Sands:
the Danes and Northumbrians afterwards made an irruption,
and were defeated by Duncan, grandson of
Malcolm, who had been invested with the princedom of
Cumberland. Canute, having ascended the English
throne, summoned the Scottish prince to do homage,
which the latter refused, on the plea that he was
not the lawful sovereign of England: Canute, in consequence,
marched northward with his army in 1033, but
it is very uncertain whether an engagement or an accommodation
ensued, so little are the contradictory
statements of the ancient historians to be relied on.
Duncan succeeded to the crown of Scotland in the next
year; and after his murder, Malcolm, his son and heir,
finding himself unable to resist the usurper Macbeth,
retired with his brother Donald Bain to his principality
of Cumberland, and, having remained there some time,
repaired subsequently to the English court. In the
year 1053, Edward the Confessor gave Cumberland and
the other northern counties to Siward, Earl of Northumberland,
who thereupon invaded Scotland, defeated
Macbeth, and placed Prince Malcolm on the throne.
Shortly after the Norman Conquest, a war broke out
between King William and Malcolm of Scotland, who
had granted an asylum to the English refugees. In
1069, or the following year, the Scottish monarch passed
through this county, which then belonged to him, and
ravaged Tees-dale; Gospatrick, Earl of Northumberland,
retaliated in Cumberland, where his soldiers committed
the most wanton cruelties. About this period
the Conqueror bestowed the county on Ranulph de
Meschines, who allotted it among his followers, dividing
it into eleven baronies, the lords of which granted numerous
manors to their dependents, most of which,
having passed through various hands, continue to be
held under such baronies as still exist; but on William's
return from Scotland, in 1072, he revoked the grant,
and gave the earldom of Chester in its stead. William
had just then concluded a peace with the king of Scots,
to whom a tract of land between Cumberland, Stainmore,
and the Tweed, was ceded in lieu of this county.
When William Rufus was at Carlisle, in 1092, as he
came back from Scotland, he gave orders for rebuilding
the city (which had lain in ruins since its destruction
by the Danes two centuries before), and for erecting a
castle: these works advanced but slowly, for when
Henry I. was there, thirty years afterwards, he ordered
more money to be disbursed for their completion.
David, King of Scotland, took possession of Carlisle
and all the fortresses in Cumberland and Northumberland,
except Bambrough castle, in the year 113 5, for
the Empress Matilda; tidings of this having reached
Stephen, he marched with his army towards the north,
but a treaty being shortly after concluded, Carlisle was
given to David, and some time after the county of Cumberland.
In 1138, the king of Scots occupied that city
with a strong garrison; and in the same year, on the
25th of September, Alberic, the pope's legate, arrived,
and found him attended by the barons, bishops, and
priors of Scotland. David being defeated the following
year in the battle of the Standard, near York, fled to
Carlisle, where he was joined by his son three days afterwards.
In 1142, a dispute arose between the Scottish
prince, Henry, and Ralph, Earl of Chester, respecting
the county of Cumberland, the latter claiming it as his
inheritance under King William's grant to Ranulph de.
Meschines, but it was agreed that the earl should have
the honour of Lancaster in lieu, and espouse one of
Henry's daughters. The English and Scottish monarchs
again took up arms, in 1149, Stephen lying at
York, and David at Carlisle, but they both retired
without coming to an engagement. In the following
year a league was entered into against Stephen, at the
latter city, between King David, Henry Plantagenet
(afterwards Henry II. of England), and the Earl of
Chester, on which occasion Henry was knighted by the
king of Scotland, and swore that when he came to the
throne he would confirm to him and his heirs the territories
which the Scots possessed in England. In
1152, David, and his son Henry (who died in that year),
met John, the pope's legate, at Carlisle: in the next, or
the following year, the king expired, in that city, and
was succeeded by his grandson, Malcolm IV. When
Henry II. ascended the English throne, disregarding
the oath made to- David, he demanded the counties of
Cumberland and Northumberland of Malcolm, who, being
unable to withstand against so powerful an adversary,
yielded them in the year 1157, receiving in lieu a confirmation
of the county of Huntingdon. During the
contest between Henry II. and his son, William (surnamedthe
Lion), King of Scotland, availing himself of
so favourable an apportunity to recover possession of
Cumberland, invaded it in 1173, and laid siege to Carlisle;
but on hearing that Richard de Lucy, the justiciary
and regent during the king's absence in Franco,
was advancing with a large army, he raised the siege.
William again invaded Cumberland in the following
year, and regularly invested Carlisle: during the siege,
which lasted some months, Liddell castle and other fortresses
were captured by the Scots; the garrison, being
at length reduced to great extremities, agreed to surrender
the castle at Michaelmas, if not previously relieved,
but before that period arrived, William was
made prisoner at Alnwick. King Henry, in order
to assist the Scottish king in subduing Roland, a
rebellious subject in Galloway, stationed himself at
Carlisle with a strong force, in the year 1186. Eight
years afterwards, William demanded Cumberland
and the other English possessions, which had been
held by the ancestors of Richard I., bat the statements
of the historians of that period are greatly at
variance regarding his having been put in possession
of them. Prince Alexander succeeded to the throne of
Scotland in 1214, and two years after, during the war
with the barons, he invaded Cumberland, pillaged the
abbey of Holme-Cultram, and besieged Carlisle, which
was surrendered to him on the 8th of August, by order
of the barons. He then repaired to Louis, the Dauphin
of France, who was in possession of the greater part of
England, and received from him and the barons of his
party a recognition of his claim to the counties of Cumberland,
Northumberland, and Westmorland, for which
he did homage.
Soon after the accession of Henry III. a general
pacification ensued, and Carlisle was given up to the
English in 1217: it was then agreed that the sovereignty
of Cumberland should remain with Alexander, but
Henry appears to have retained firm hold of it, for in
1235 and 1237 the Scottish monarch demanded that
county and those of Northumberland and Westmorland,
as his lawful inheritance; however, at a conference held
at York in the last mentioned year, he was induced to
relinquish his claim, and to accept in lieu lands then
of the yearly value of £ 200. The Scottish dominion
over the northern counties of England thus finally
ceased, but the feuds between the two kingdoms raged
with unabated violence for more than three centuries,
during which Cumberland was seldom long exempt from
the horrors of invasion, or the cruelties and depredations
of border warfare. Life and property could only
be preserved by a most vigilant system of watch and
ward, and the construction of numerous fortresses;
almost every gentleman's residence, particularly on the
sea-side, or near the border, had its fortified tower,
sufficiently capacious to afford refuge to the inhabitants
of the domain, and in some parishes the church towers
were so constructed as to serve this purpose. The border
service and laws were instituted in the reign of
Edward I.; the former, for the purpose of keeping a
strict watch, establishing beacons, and regulating the
musters in time of war; the latter, for the punishment
of private rapine and murders committed by individuals
of either nation on the other, in time of peace. A
Lord Warden of the Marches, whose authority was
partly civil, and partly military, was appointed on each
side of the borders; the first English Lord Warden
having been appointed in 1296. The English borders
were divided into three districts, called Marches, the
Eastern, Middle, and Western, Cumberland being included
in the last. The wardens held courts, but offenders
were frequently executed without trial. On the
attempt of Baliol, who had been acknowledged King of
Scotland, to emancipate himself from the English yoke,
Edward I. immediately seized on Penrith, Salkeld, and
the other manors belonging to the crown of Scotland,
which became the object of contention in subsequent
wars, but were never afterwards restored. The Scottish
troops, commanded by the Earl of Buchan, made
an inroad into Cumberland, in 1296, and invested
Carlisle, before which they remained four days, and
burned the suburbs; but meeting with the most
vigorous resistance from the inhabitants, they raised
the siege and retreated. The same army, in its career
of devastation, arrived at Lanercost on the 8th of
April, and burnt the priory, but retired on receiving
intelligence that the English forces were advancing.
In October of the following year, William Wallace
entered Cumberland with his victorious army, and summoned
Carlisle, but finding that the garrison resolutely
held out, he marched forward, and laid waste the
Forest of Inglewood, and the whole of Allerdale, as
far as Cockermouth. Shortly after the battle of Falkirk,
in 1298, in which the Scots under Wallace were
defeated, King Edward proceeded with his army to
Carlisle, and there held a parliament on the 15th of
September. Two years afterwards, about Midsummer,
he set out on a new expedition against Scotland, and,
passing through that city, marched with his army to
the western border. In the year 1306, Robert le
Brus, Earl of Carrick, having been crowned King of
Scotland, Edward ordered his army to assemble at Carlisle
on Midsummer-day, to accompany his son to that
kingdom; he had been for some time in Northumberland,
and arrived at Carlisle with the queen about the
end of August, where they stayed; till the 10th of September.
On the 12th of March following, the court removed
to Carlisle, where the parliament was then sitting.
The king, though. daily declining in health, did
not relax in his efforts against Scotland, and ordered
all his vassals to assemble at Carlisle on the 8th of
July 5 he qxiitted that city on the 28th of June, being
then in so weak a state as to be unable to travel more
than two miles a day, and reached Burgh on the Sands
on the 5th of July, where he expired two days afterwards.
An express having been sent to Prince Edward,
he reached Carlisle on the 11th, and two days afterwards
received the homage of almost all the principal
men in the kingdom. He then returned into Scotland,
but having abandoned the vigorous prosecution of the
war against that nation, he arrived at the above-mentioned
city in the month of September.
In the year 1311, two inroads were made into Cumberland
by Robert le Brus, King of Scotland, who ravaged
Gilsland; during his second incursion he stayed
three days at Lanercost with his army, and imprisoned
several of the monks, but set them at liberty before
his departure. In the autumn of the year 1314, Edward
le Brus, brother of the Scottish monarch, attended
by Sir James Douglas, advanced into England as far
as Richmond in Yorkshire, after the battle of Bannockburn,
and on his return burnt Kirk-Oswald. About
Christmas the Scots made another inroad into Gilsland,
and exacted large tributes from the inhabitants. The
following year, King Robert le Brus again devastated
the county and invested Carlisle, which was so obstinately
defended by its governor, Andrew de Hercla,
that the siege was raised on the eleventh day, when
the garrison sallied out on the besiegers, and made
some of them prisoners. The whole country from Carlisle
to York was at this time overrun, and there was
no safety for the inhabitants but in the principal fortified
towns; the western part of Cumberland was also
ravaged during this invasion, the monastery of St. Bees
pillaged, and the manor-houses of Cleator and Stainburn
destroyed. The Scots under James Douglas and
Thomas Randolf laid waste Gilsland and other parts of
Cumberland in 1319: three years afterwards, England
was again invaded by Robert le Brus, who burnt Rose
castle (the bishop's palace), plundered the abbey of
Holme-Cultram, in which the remains of his father, had
been deposited, laid waste all the western side of Cumberland,
as far as Dudden sands, and entered Lancashire;
on his return he encamped near Carlisle, and
there remained five days. Edward II. retaliated upon
Scotland, but was compelled to retire in consequence of
the scarcity of provisions, and a dysentery which raged
in his army; whereupon Le Brus again entered Cumberland,
and lay with his army for five days at Beaumont,
whence he sent forth detachments to ravage the
surrounding country.
Shortly after the accession of Edward III., in 1327,
the lords Ufford and Mowbray were sent with a reinforcement
to Lord Lucy, the governor of Carlisle; in
July, the Earl of Murray and Lord Douglas entered
England with a large army, and marched through Cumberland,
devastating the country. Edward Baliol having,
in 1332, made an attempt to recover his father's
crown, after narrowly escaping assassination at Annan,
fled to Carlisle, where he was hospitably received by
Lord Dacre, the governor. The following year that
nobleman's estates in Gilsland were ravaged by Lord
Archibald Douglas, who stayed four days with his army
in Cumberland. When Edward III. was in Scotland,
at the close of the year 1334, he sent Edward Baliol
and the Earls of Oxford and Warwick to defend Carlisle
against the Scots; large reinforcements having
joined them from the northern counties, they made a
successful incursion into Scotland, and returned to that
city: the next year, on the 11th of July, the king quitted
it .with his army, on his way to Scotland. The Scots
entered England at Arthuret in 1337, and, marching
eastward, destroyed and sacked about twenty villages:
during a subsequent invasion in the same year, they
surrounded Carlisle, and fired the suburbs, with the
hospital of St. Nicholas; they also burnt Rose castle,
and pillaged the surrounding country. Five years after
this they invaded Gilsland, and, having penetrated as
far as Penrith, burnt that town, with several of the villages
in its neighbourhood. Carlisle and Penrith were
again burnt by them in 1345. In the next year, David
le Brus invaded Cumberland in person, and took Liddell
castle by assault; the Scots then plundered the monks
of Lanercost of their money and jewels, and, after committing
great destruction, marched by way of Naworth
to Ridpath.
Although a truce had been established between the
two nations, the borderers continued their hostilities.
In the summer of 1380, the Scots laid waste the forest
of Inglewood, and having surprised the town of Penrith
during the time of the fair, they slew a great number of
the people, and carried off several prisoners, besides a
large booty; for which, however, they paid very dearly,
as they became infected with a pestilence then raging,
of which vast numbers of the inhabitants of Scotland
died. On their return, they made an attempt on Carlisle,
and set fire to one of the streets by discharging
burning arrows, but were deterred from prosecuting the
siege by a report that a numerous army was coming to
the relief of the city. Three years after this, the abbot
of Holme-Cultram paid a large sum of money to the
Earl of Douglas, to prevent the monastery from being
burned. The Scots, assisted by the French, invaded
Cumberland in 1385, ravaged the estates of the Lord of
Greystock and the Musgraves, and made an unsuccessful
attack on Carlisle. Two years after this, the Earls
of Douglas and Fife, with other Scottish noblemen, invaded
Cumberland, devastated the country, surprised
Cockermouth, where they remained three days, and
carried off Peter Tilliol, sheriff for the county; during
this inroad another attack was made on Carlisle,
and the suburbs burnt. In 1388, the Scots entered
Gilsland, and, on Lord Dacre's demesne, barbarously
set fire to some houses, in which they had shut up
more than two hundred decrepid persons, women,
and children. No further mention is made of this
county till the year 1461, when an army of Scots, in the
interest of Henry VI., besieged Carlisle, and burnt the
suburbs. In 1522, the Duke of Albany marched to
the borders with a large army, and approached within
four miles of Carlisle, with an intention to besiege it;
but having received intelligence that it was well defended,
and in every respect prepared for a siege, he retired,
and made proposals to Lord Dacre for a truce. The
next year, Lord Maxwell, having made an inroad into
Cumberland, a skirmish took place, in which, after a
sharp conflict, he overcame his opponents, and returned
with three hundred prisoners to Scotland. Nicholas
Musgrave and others, having excited an insurrection in
1537, besieged Carlisle, b,ut were repulsed by the inha*
bitants, and afterwards defeated by the Duke of Norfolk,
who ordered seventy-four of their officers to be
hanged on the walls of that city; Musgrave, however,
escaped. Lord Maxwell, Lord Warden of the Marches,
passed the Eske in 1542, and burnt some houses on the
borders. The battle of Solway-moss was fought soon
afterwards, in the parish of kirk-Andrews, when the
Scots, notwithstanding their superior numbers, were
defeated by the English army, commanded by Sir
Thomas Dacre, who took above a thousand prisoners,
among whom were two hundred noblemen, esquires,
and gentlemen. In the year 1569, Lord Scrope,
the Lord Warden, held Carlisle against the Earls of
Northumberland and Westmorland, who were then in
open rebellion; these noblemen advanced from Northumberland
as far as Naworth, but, after a conference
with Leonard Dacre, finding that their cause was hopeless,
disbanded their forces in the month of December.
Early in the following year, Dacre, who laid
claim to the baronies of Gilsland and Greystock, having
raised from among the tenants of those baronies a
force of two thousand infantry and six hundred cavalry,
garrisoned Naworth and Rockcliffe castles. Lord
Hunsdon was sent against him, and on the 20th of
February approached Naworth, but instead of investing
the castle, passed on towards Carlisle; Dacre thereupon
made a sally with one thousand five hundred foot and
six hundred horse, and attempted to intercept Hunsdon's
progress, but was repulsed, and fled with his
cavalry to Scotland; Lord Hunsdon proceeded to
Carlisle, and immediately took possession of Naworth,
Rockcliffe, and Greystock castles for the queen.
The last hostile inroad, prior to the union of the
two kingdoms, was immediately after the accession of
James I., when a party of Scots, amounting to between
two and three hundred, entered Cumberland,
and penetrated as far as Penrith, committing various
depredations. James, who was then at Berwick, on his
way to London, immediately despatched the governor,
Sir William Selby, against them, with a detachment of
the garrison, who soon defeated these freebooters, and
sent all the prisoners he took to the castle of Carlisle.
As the two countries were now united under James VI.
of Scotland and I. cf England, and frontier garrisons
were no longer necessary, the king reduced those at
Carlisle and Berwick; he also took active measures
for ensuring the peace of the borders, and appointed
George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, Lord Warden
of the Marches. In order to abolish as much as possible
the distinction between the two kingdoms, he ordered
that the counties of England and Scotland, which had
been called the Borders, should be styled the Middle
Shires, and thus described them in his proclamation.
He soon after banished the Grammes, or Grahams, a numerous
clan, occupying what was called the debateable
ground, near the river Eske, who had long been an annoyance
both to their own countrymen and the inhabitant's
of Cumberland; they embarked at Workington,
some being sent to the Netherlands, but the greater
number to Ireland, and, in 1606, there was an
assessment on the county to defray the expense of
their removal: some of them having returned from
exile, the king issued a proclamation for apprehending
them in 1614. For some time after the accession of
James, outrages and robberies continued to be perpetrated
on the borders; as a further check to them, the
king issued several special commissions, under which
various regulations were adopted. All persons, "saving
noblemen and gentlemen unsuspected of felony or theft,
and not being of broken clans," in the counties lately
called the Borders, were forbidden to wear any armour,
or weapons offensive or defensive, or to keep any horse
above the value of fifty shillings, on pain of imprisonment.
Slough-dogs, or blood-hounds, for pursuing the offenders
through the mosses, sloughs, or bogs (who thus acquired
the name of moss-troopers), were ordered to be kept at
the charge of the inhabitants of certain districts; and
Lord William Howard maintained a small garrison at
Naworth, in order to check their marauding, enforcing
the laws against them with the utmost severity} his
great grandson, the Earl of Carlisle, was not more
lenient, but they were not finally extirpated until the
reign of Queen Anne.
Carlisle arid Bewcastle -were garrisoned in 1639, in
consequence of the commotions in Scotland: in the
month of June of the following year, the Scottish army
being daily expected to enter Cumberland, necessary
precautions were taken; orders were issued for keeping
strict watch, and for preparing the beacons. The garrison
at the former place was kept up till the month
of October, 1641, when, in pursuance of a treaty with
the Scots, it was disbanded. Soon after the commencement
of the war between Charles I. and the parliament,
at the end of 1642, the northern counties associated and
raised forces for the king, but Cumberland was not often
the scene of action: during the following year, the
troops levied in this county distinguished themselves in
Lancashire, under the command of Col. Hudleston.
The royalists had an army in Cumberland and Westmorland
in 1644, which was joined by Prince Rupert,
after the battle of Marston Moor 3 and in that year a
force was first raised in this county for the parliament,
which menaced Carlisle, but, being pursued by the posse
comitat&s towards Abbey-Holme, quickly dispersed and
fled. At this period the Marquis of Montrose, being
hard pressed by the Earl of Calendar, retreated from
Scotland to that city; a skirmish took place in the town
on the 17th of May, when Montrose retired to the
castle, where he was besieged; but it does not appear to
have been surrendered,, as the earl, five days afterwards,
was employed in the siege of Morpeth. After the capture
of York, in July, Sir Thomas Glenham, with the garrison,
retired to Carlisle, where he assumed the command;
and about the end of September, Sir Philip Musgrave
and Sir Henry Fletcher, being defeated near Great
Salkeld by the Scottish army under General Lesley,
escaped with difficulty to the same place: as Lesley did
not then stay to invest it, the townsmen were enabled to
lay in a stock of provisions;' but after the storming of
Newcastle, in October, he returned with part of his
forces and laid siege to the city. About the end of February,
it being found necessary to put the garrison
and inhabitants on short allowance, they experienced
the most severe distress; bnt nevertheless held out till
all hopes of relief had vanished by the fatal issue of
the battle of Naseby, and did not surrender till the 25th
of June, 1645, when the most honourable terms were
granted them. In the month of October, Lord Digby
and Sir Marmaduke Langdale were defeated by Sir
John Brown, governor of Carlisle, at Carlisle sands,
and, their forces being dispersed, were obliged to
take refuge in the Isle of Man. Carlisle had been garrisoned
by the Scots from the time of its- capture by
General Lesley, but on the general evacuation of fortified
towns by the Scottish garrisons, it was relinquished
in February 1647. An army was raised in Scotland
for the service of the king, in 1648, under the Duke of
Hamilton, and, about the end of April in the same year,
Sir Thomas Glenham and Sir Philip Musgrave surprised
Carlisle: shortly after that event, a force of about three
thousand infantry and seven hundred cavalry, raised in
Cumberland and Westmorland, assembled, under the
command of Sir Marmaduke Langdale, upon a heath
five miles from that city, where they were joined by
five hundred cavalry from the bishoprick of Durham.
General Lambert, who commanded the parliamentary
army in the north, took Penrith on the 15th of June, and
established his head-quarters there for a month; detachments
from his army captured Grey-stock, Rose, and
Scaleby castles. Langdale retreated towards Carlisle,
on which the citizens, dreading the recurrence of a famine,
petitioned Sir Philip Musgrave not to admit his
army within the walls. The Duke of Hamilton arrived
there early in July, and superseded Musgrave, conferring
the command of the garrison on Sir William Levingston:
his forces, which were quartered in the neighbourhood
of the city and at Wigton, having joined those
under the command of Langdale, at Rose castle, making
together a body of about twelve thousand men, he
marched to the south; on his approach, General Lambert
quitted Penrith, on the 15th of July, and retreated
into Westmorland.
Cumberland was much harassed and plundered by
General Munroe, who followed the Duke of Hamilton out
of Scotland with six thousand men, both on his march
to the south, and in his way home after the battle of
Preston. Sir Philip Musgrave, returning-about this time
with his forces to Carlisle, -was refused admittance by the
governor. Cockermouth castle was besieged by a body of
five hundred Cumberland royalists, in August 1648, and
relieved on the 29th of September by Lieutenant-Colonel
Ashton, who had been despatched from Lancashire by
Cromwell for that purpose. On the 1st of October, Carlisle
was surrendered to Cromwell, and garrisoned by
eight hundred infantry and a regiment of cavalry: a garrison,
consisting of six hundred infantry and one thousand
two hundred cavalry, was afterwards established
there for the purpose of suppressing the insurrections of
the moss-troopers. The county was at this time in a
deplorable state; people of the highest rank had scarce
ly bread enough for their consumption, and no better
beverage than water; many died on the highways for
want of sustenance, and there were thousands of families
in a state of utter destitution: parliament ordered a
collection to be made for their relief, but it proved very
inefficient.
In the month of November, 1715, a large force
under the command of Mr. Forster, who had received a
general's commission from James Steuart, entered
England, marched to Brampton, where they proclaimed
him, and, advancing to Penrith, took possession of the
town, the posse comitatds, amounting to twelve thousand
men, fleeing at their approach. This county was once
more the scene of military operations in 1745, when the
young chevalier, as he was styled, made an attempt to
regain the crown, which had been forfeited by his grandfather:
the van-guard of his army entered Cumberland
on the 8th of November, near Longtown, and encamped
the next day within four miles of Carlisle, which was
garrisoned by the militia of Cumberland and Westmorland;
the main body having joined them on the 10th,
they summoned the town, but the siege was not commenced
till the 13th, two days after which it surrendered.
A garrison having been left there, the advanced guard
marched on the 21st to Penrith, on their route to the
south, and the next day, Charles arrived there with the
remainder of his army. He proceeded as far as Derby,
but, after holding a council of war, made a hasty retreat
towards the north, followed by the Duke of Cumberland.
The main body of the Highland army reached Penrith
on its retreat, on the 17th of December, and a skirmish
took place on the following day between the rear and
a part of the duke's forces at Clifton. On the 20th the
Highlanders quitted Carlisle, after leaving a garrison in
the castle, and fled towards Scotland; the Duke of Cumberland
arrived before the place the next morning, but,
being obliged to wait for cannon from Whitehaven, did
not erect his batteries till the 28th, two days after which
the city was surrendered at discretion. In 1778, during
the American war, a daring attempt was made on the
port of Whitehaven by the famous Paul Jones; but one
of his men having deserted, gave timely notice to the
inhabitants of his intentions, who were thus fully prepared
to repel the attack.
Cumberland is chiefly in the archdeaconry and diocese
of Carlisle, which include also part of Westmorland,
but that part of Allerdale ward which is above the river
Derwent is in the deanery of Copeland, archdeaconry
of Richmond, and diocese of Chester, and in the province
of Canterbury: it comprises the deaneries of Allendale
and Carlisle, and part of that of Cumberland,
the remainder being in Westmorland. It contains one
hundred and four parishes, of which thirty-eight are
rectories, twenty-nine vicarages, and thirty-seven perpetual
curacies. For civil purposes it is divided into four
districts, called wards (a term peculiar to the border
counties), which have always borne the same appellation;
Allerdale (above and below Derwent), Cumberland,
Eskdale, and Leath wards. It comprises the city
of Carlisle, the borough and market-town of Cockermouth,
and the market-towns of Alston Moor, Bootle,
Brampton, Egremont, Hesket - Newmarket, Keswick,
Kirk-Oswald, Longtown, Maryport, Penrith, Ravenglass,
Whitehaven, Wigton, and Workington. This
county returns six members to parliament; two knights
of the shire, two burgesses for Carlisle, and two for
Cockermouth, at which latter place the election of the
county members takes place. It is in the northern
circuit: the assizes and the spring and summer quarter
sessions are held at Carlisle, where stands the county
gaol and house of correction; the autumnal session at
Penrith, and the Epiphany session at Cockermouth.
There are fifty-five acting magistrates. The rates raised
in the county for the year ending March 25th, 1829,
amounted to £57,888, and the expenditure to £ 55,920,
of which £43,783 was applied to the relief of the poor.
The manufacture of calico and gingham was first
established at Dalston, and soon extended to Carlisle
and Penrith, where there are large cotton works. The
cotton-printing is chiefly carried on at Carlisle, and the
population has, in consequence, greatly increased. At
Cleator, Egremont, and Whitehaven, sail-cloth is manufactured
on an extensive scale, and coarse woollen
cloths and blankets at Keswick. Coarse earthenware is
made at Dearham and Whitehaven, and bottles are manufactured
at the Ginns. There are iron-foundries at
Carlisle, Dalston, and Seaton near Workington: papermills
at Cockermouth, Egremont, and Kirk-Oswald; and
several yards for ship-building at Maryport, Whitehayen,
and Workington, as well as every kind of manufacture
for the supply of the shipping.
The climate is extremely salubrious, the county
being throughout remarkable for the longevity of its
inhabitants. The surface is much diversified; .the
northern and western parts are generally level, and
do not afford any interesting scenery, except in the
courses of the several rivers. The eastern and southwestern
parts are chiefly occupied by mountains, many
of which are of considerable height: between these and
the level district are lower ranges of smooth hills,
most of which are denominated fells. The mountainous
tract which forms the eastern boundary is a long
continued range of mountains and hills, none of them
picturesque, the summits being for the most part very
little broken. The numerous mountains in the southwest
part of the county present a great variety of
grand and picturesque forms, and are interspersed with
lakes of considerable extent, and highly cultivated vallies,
in many parts well wooded; forming altogether
some of the most remarkable and beautiful scenery hi
the kingdom. The principal mountains are Black-Comb,
Skiddaw, Saddleback, Bow-fell, Grasmere-fel],Helvellyn,
Hardknot, Wry-nose, High-pike, Pillar, Sea-fell, and
the Screes, of which several are very rugged and precipitous.
The principal elevations, as computed from
the observations made in the course of the
trigonometrical survey of the kingdom, are as follows:- Sea-fell
(high point), three thousand one hundred and sixty-six
feet; Sea-fell (low point), three thousand and ninetytwo
5 Helvellyn, three thousand and fifty-five; Skiddaw,
three thousand and twenty-two; Bow-fell, two thousand
nine hundred and eleven; Cross-fell, two thousand nine
hundred and one; Pillar, two thousand eight hundred
and ninety-three; Saddleback, two thousand seven
hundred and eighty-seven; Grasmere-fell, two thousand
seven hundred and fifty-six; High-pike, two thousand
one hundred and one; Black-Comb, one thousand nine
hundred and nineteen; Dent-hill, one thousand one
hundred and fifteen. The largest of the lakes is Ulswater,
which for about six miles forms the boundary
between Cumberland and Westmorland: its whole
length somewhat exceeds eight miles, and, its breadth
being in no part quite a mile, it has much the appearance
of a wide river: its scenery is remarkably beautiful and
picturesque; the most prominent feature of it is the
mountain Helvellyn, which, with some lower ones, being
seen over Patterdale, with sharp peaks, are said to resemble
the Alpine forms more than any others in this
country. The same mountain is also the most conspicuous
amongst the rugged and barren masses seen from
the lake of Thirlemeer, or Leatheswater, which is long
and narrow, like Ulswater, but of smaller dimensions,
and is situated at the entrance of the small but beautir
ful vale of St. John's. Amongst the finest scenery is
the Vale of Keswick, containing the lakes of Derwentwater
and Bassenthwaite, or Broad-water, connected by
a small stream. The borders of Derwentwater, consisting
of fine oak woods and rich enclosures, over which
are seen the mountain Skiddaw at the northern extremity,
and Borrowdale at the southern, present a great
variety of magnificent and beautiful scenes, a considerable
addition to which is made in rainy seasons by the
Lowdore waterfall, the height of which is two hundred
feet. Borrowdale itself, a narrow valley, bounded on
each side by steep rocky mountains, presents a great
diversity of picturesque scenery, among the most remarkable
objects of which are the conical hill called
Castle-Cragg, and the immense and singularly detached
rock, called the Bowder-stone. The lake of Buttermere
lies a short distance north-west of Borrowdale, surrounded
by rugged mountains; and a little further
northward lie Crummock-water and Lowes-water, connected
with each other and with Buttermere by a small
stream. At the western extremity of this group of
mountains are those called Hard-knot, Wry-nose, Seafell,
and the Screes; the three first form the eastern
boundary of Eskdale, and, as seen from its opposite
extremity, present one of the finest of the Cumberland
views; the precipitous side of the Screes forms the
southern boundary of Wast-water, and, by descending
quite into the lake, gives its scenery a peculiar character.
Besides the lakes already mentioned, the principal
are Ennerdale-water and Devock lake. There is also
a number of smaller lakes, or tarns, as they are provincially
termed. The lakes abound with trout, and with
the giviniad, or schelly, as well as pike and other fish:
there are char in Ulswater, Crummock-water, Buttermere,
and Ennerdale-water, and abundance of carp in
Tarn-Wadlin. Among the mountains are several interesting
waterfalls, the principal of which are, Stock-
Gill Force; Rydal Waterfalls; the Force, on the river
Brathay, above Skelwith bridge; Lowdore cascade, near
the south-east corner of Derwentwater, one of the most
magnificent scenes in England; Barrow cascade; Scale
Force; and Airey Force.
The soil may be classed under four different heads:
first, rich strong loam, which covers but a small portion
of the county, and produces excellent crops of grain.
Second, dry loams, which occupy a larger portion of it
than any other, and prevail, not only in the lower districts,
bat on the steep sides of the mountains, and even
then1 summits are sometimes covered with a dry sound
earth, producing green sward and a little heath. It is
estimated that one-half of the lower district is covered
with this valuable soil, which is well adapted to the culture
of turnips, artificial grasses, and the various species
of grain, and for breeding and feeding the best kinds
of stock, particularly sheep. Third, wet loam, generally
on a clay bottom, the fertility of which varies greatly,
as it depends on the depth of the soil, and the nature of
the clay beneath; although unsafe for sheep, cows for
the dairy maybe kept upon it with advantage, and young
cattle and horses bred; it is also well suited to the
culture of wheat, oats, clover, and ray-grass. Fourth,
black peat earth, which prevails on the mountainous
districts bordering on Northumberland and Durham,
and occasionally on commons in the lowlands, in some
places only a few inches thick, reposing on a bed of
white sand. The crops commonly cultivated are barley,
oats, peas, turnips, and potatoes; those less commonly
cultivated are beans, cabbages, carrots, and flax: the
artificial grasses are red and white clover, common hay
seeds, with a little rib-grass, and ray-grass. The land
is ploughed by horses yoked abreast, and guided by the
ploughman with cords; oxen are never employed for
this purpose: the swing plough, in which no improvement
has been made, is used in this and all the northern
counties. The carts are drawn by a single horse, three
of them, and sometimes more, being driven without difficulty
by a man or a boy: the women are frequently
employed in the labours of the field. This county, until
lately, did not produce much more corn than was sufficient
for the consumption of its inhabitants, but since
the large enclosures which have been made within the
last five and thirty years, considerable quantities of flour
and oatmeal have been sent coastwise to other parts of
the kingdom: the chief exports are from Whitehaven,
but smaller shipments of flour and oatmeal are also made
from Maryport and Ravenglass. Wheat is chiefly grown
in the north-west part of. the county; Gilsland also, in
the north-east, is a corn district, where the turnip and
barley system is very prevalent. The north-east, southeast,
and southern parts of the county are chiefly appropriated
to grazing, and a great deal of butter is sent
in firkins to distant markets. Cranberries grow in great
profusion on the moors, and form an article of trade:
besides those which are sent in barrels to the metropolis,
the sale is very extensive at Longtown and other
markets. The fisheries are of some importance, a
great quantity of cod being taken on the coast; there
are herring-fisheries at Allonby, Maryport, 'and Whitehaven,
the last on a very extensive scale. There are
valuable salmon-fisheries in the Eske, Eden, and Derwent;
the produce is sent from Carlisle and Bowness
to London, to which place the char taken in the lakes is
also forwarded, having been first potted at Keswick.
The pearls, still occasionally found in the muscles of the
Irt, were once highly esteemed.
Copper was formerly exported to a large amount,
and a considerable quantity of silver extracted from the
mines; lead and coal are now the most valuable subterranean
productions. The principal lead mines are
those at Alston Moor, discovered and worked by
Francis Radcliffe, the first earl of Derwentwater;
upon the attainder of the third earl, they were vested
in Greenwich Hospital, with the manor and his other
estates: the number of mines held under that establishment,
in the year 1814, amounted to one hundred
and two. Lead mines have been worked with tolerable
success for some years on Cross-fell, in the parish of
Kirkland, and there are three in operation at Newlands,
but they are not profitable. The principal collieries
on the coast are at Whitehaven and Workington, the
former being by far the most extensive in the kingdom,
and there is one at Scalegill, worked only for inland
sale. Howgill on the west, and Whingill to the east, of
Whitehaven, are the largest collieries; there are three
entrances to the former, and four to the latter, called
Bear-mouths, or Day-holes, by which both men and
horses descend to the bottom. Thwaite pit, which in
the year 1816 was one hundred and fifty fathoms in
depth, and King pit, which -was one hundred and twenty,
both in Howgill, are the deepest pits that have yet been
sunk j the former was at that period one hundred and
twelve fathoms below the sea; the greatest distance to
which workings had then been carried in a direct line
from the shore was one thousand yards. The first steamengine
for raising water at Whitehaven was erected
early in the last century, at the Ginns; the first for
raising coal was used at George pit, in Whingill
colliery, in 1787; others were soon afterwards erected
for the same purpose. Howgill and Whingill have each
two- steam*engines for pumping water, and three for
raising coal: these collieries produce, on an average,
about two hundred and twenty-five thousand tons annually.
The coal was formerly conveyed from the works
to the sea-side in packs on horseback, but, about the
year 1720, small wagons were introduced; in 1813, the
wagon-ways, which were before of wood, were laid with
cast-iron, and on the Howgill side, a self-acting inclined
plane was constructed, two hundred and ninety yards
long, with a perpendicular altitude of one hundred and
fifteen feet. About nine hundred persons are employed
in the works at Whitehaven. The next colliery in point
of extent on the coast is at Workington, which affords
employment to four hundred persons; there are four
pits now in operation from sixty-five to ninety-five
fathoms in depth, and six steam-engines are at work in
this colliery.
At Crowgarth, in the parish of Cleator, and Bigrigg,
in the parish of Egremorit, there are iron mines. Some
years ago a considerable quantity of a ferruginous sort
of limestone was sent from the parish of Arlochden
to the iron-works at Carron } and a black stone, called
Catscalp, raised at Braithwaite, in the parish of Dean,
was used in the iron works at Seaton, for the purpose
of making pig-iron: upon the sea-shore near Harrington
iron-stone is collected, and a few hundred tons
annually sent to Ulverstone. The celebrated mine of
wad, or black lead, is at the head of Borrowdale (under
which place an account of it is given). Limestone is
very abundant in various parts of the county, and near
the sea-coast is burnt in great quantities for exportation,
particularly at Overend, near Hensingham,
and at Distington, from each of which places about
three hundred and fifty thousand Winchester bushels
are annually sent to Scotland. At All-hallows, Brigham,
Cleator, Hodbarrow in Millom, Ireby, Plumbland,
Sebergham, Uldale, &c., there are limeworks for inland
consumption, and the barony of Gilsland is supplied
from the parishes of Castle-Carrock, Denton, and Farlam.
Gypsum, or alabaster, abounds in the parishes of
Wetherall, St. Cuthbert, and in St. Bees, on the seacoast,
about a mile from Whitehaven, whence five or six
hundred tons are annually exported to Dublin, Glasgow,
and Liverpool, where it is principally used in the composition
of stucco. There are several quarries of excellent
freestone, both red and white, in the neighbourhood
of Whitehaven, where a great deal is shipped
for Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. At Ivegill
and Barngill, near that port, there are quarries for
grindstones, which are also exported in considerable
quantities; and in the townships of Bassenthwaite,
Borrowdale, Buttermere, Cockermouth, and Ulpha, are
quarries of excellent blue slate.
The cattle are small, with long horns, but the Galloway
breed is sometimes intermixed, particularly along
the coast from Whitehaven to Carlisle: the native breed
is not distinguished by any particularly good qualities,
little attention being paid to its improvement, but it
appears better adapted to this county than any other
kind: the Galloway polled cattle also thrive well.
The dairies are generally small; the butter which they
produce is of excellent quality; the cheese, however, is
very indifferent, being mostly made of skimmed milk.
The sheep (except the Herdwicks, a breed peculiar to
the mountainous district, known as Hardknot, Sea-fell,
Wry-nose, &c.) are descended from a race with black
faces and coarse wool, but, by crossing with some other
kind, many of them have acquired a large portion of
white on their faces and legs? they have thick, rough,
hairy legs, and coarse long wool. The management of
sheep is very similar all over the county; during the
summer the flock is turned on the commons and allowed
to range at large; in Autumn they are driven in and
salved, when the old sheep are turned loose again, but
on the first appearance of snow are brought to the
enclosures and daily foddered with hay. Swine are
bred in considerable numbers, as every farmer fattens
one or more of them, and most labourers rear and
feed a pig;, their weight is from fifteen to twenty stone.
The Eden and the Derwent are the principal rivers:
the former rises in Westmorland, and enters this county
about a mile south of Edenhall, flowing by Kirk-Oswald,
Warwick-bridge, Carlisle, and Rowcliffe, at a short distance
from the latter place it falls into the sea, its course
through Cumberland being about thirty-five miles.
The Derwent rises in Borrowdale, five miles south-west
from Derwentwater, and, after feeding that lake, flows
on to Bassenthwaite water, which it also feeds, then
passes by Cockermouth (where it is joined by the
Cocker), and Workington, near which it runs into the
sea; its course from Derwentwater being about twenty
miles. The other rivers are the Bleng, the Calder, Caldew,
Cocker, Croglin, Dudden, Eamont, Ellen or Elne,
Enn, Esk, Gelt, Greeta, Irt, Irthing, Kershope, King-
-water, Levon, or Line, Liddell, Lowther, Mite, Nent,
Petterell, Sark, Tees, Tyne, Wampool, and Waver. A
ship canal connects Carlisle with the Solway Frith at
Bowness, and a rail-road is about to be commenced
from Carlisle to Newcastle upon Tyne.
The main roads are remarkably good, limestone having
beeii employed in their construction; but the cross
roads are usually narrow and bad. The great road from
London to Glasgow enters the county at the bridge over
the Eamont, near Penrith, passing through Carlisle and
Longtown, and four miles beyond the latter place runs
into Scotland, crossing the Sark to Springfield and
Gretna-Green. The road from Carlisle to Edinburgh
branches oif at Longtown, and crosses the borders a
little beyond Kirk-Andrews. That from Carlisle to
Newcastle passes through Crosby to Brampton, and
about six miles further on enters Northumberland.
The road from Carlisle to Cockermouth, Workington,
and Whitehaven, runs through Wigton, thence by
Cockbridge to Cockermouth, and, in the direction of
Great and Little Clifton, proceeds to Workington; at
Little Clifton it turns off through Distington and
Moresby to Whitehaven.
Athough remains of early Norman architecture are to
be seen in many of the churches of Cumberland, few of
them are entitled to particular notice, except the nave
and south transept of Carlisle cathedral (the style of
which is plain and massy), and the churches of Aspatria
and Torpenhow: the great arch and south doorway of the
former are profusely adorned with braids and chevron
mouldings, and some of the original small round-headed
windows are still remaining in the north wall of the
nave and of the belfry. The great arch in Torpenhow
church is enriched with chevron mouldings: the ornaments
of the capitals of the half pillars on each side are
very singular, consisting of an assemblage of grotesque
heads and human figures with interlaced arms. The
great arches and the doorways of Bridekirk, Irthington,
Isell, and Kirk-Bampton churches are in the same
style, but less decorated; there is a bas-relief of indifferent
execution within the arch of the north doorway
of the latter, representing three grotesque figures,
one of which is an abbot. Kirldinton is a complete
Norman church, not having undergone any alteration.
Warwick church is in the same style, and very plain.
The great west door of the church of St. Bees is ornamented
with grotesque heads and chevron mouldings;
and the churches of Bromfield, Burgh on the Sands,
Dearham, Edenhall, Grinsdale, and Great Salkeld, have
doorways with circular arches and Saxon ornaments.
The remains of the churches of Holme-Cultram abbey
and of Lanercost priory exhibit specimens of the eaj>
liest English architecture of the middle and latter part
of the twelfth century, having the pointed arch united
to the massy pillars of the Norman style. The east end
of the church of St. Bees, now dilapidated, and the aisles
of the choir of Carlisle cathedral, are early English with
lancet-shaped windows and slender shafts between
them; the east end of Egremont church, and the remains
of Seton priory, are in the same style. The large clustered
pillars in the choir of Carlisle cathedral, the capitals
of which are much enriched with sculptured foliage,
are the work of the latter part of the thirteenth century:
the roof of the choir, and the east end of it, which was
rebuilt in the reign of Edward III., after the clrarch had
been partially destroyed by fire, and a fine window at
the east end of the south aisle of Brigham church,
are the only remains of ecclesiastical architecture of the
fourteenth century in this county. The only example
of later English architecture occurs at the west end
of Abbey-Holme church, where there are two niches,
the arches and pinnacles of which are ornamented
with crockets. There are some remarkable churches
on the borders of Scotland, which have hitherto been
little noticed; the towers of two of these, Newton-Arlosh,
near the western coast, and Burgh on the Sands,
near the Solway Firth, appear to have been very strong,
and capable of affording protection to the inhabitants
of the villages upon any sudden invasion. The tower
of the church of Burgh on the Sands is strongly fortified,
the walls on three sides being from six to seven
feet thick. The tower of Great Sallceld church was also
strongly fortified: at the entrance from the nave is a
massy grated iron door, lined with oak; the chamber on
the ground-floor is vaulted, like those of Newton-Arlosh
and Burgh on the Sands. The Augustine monks had a
priory at Carlisle, and another at Lanercost; the Benedictines
had priories at St. Bees and Wetherall, both
cells to the abbey of St. Mary at York, and nunneries
at Armathwaite and Seton; the Cistercians had abbeys
at Calder and Holme-Cultram; the Black friars had a
convent in Carlisle; and the Grey friars had one in the
same city, and another at Penrith. The churches of
Greystock and Kirk-Oswald were collegiate. At Carlisle
there was an .hospital for thirteen lepers, dedicated
to St. Nicholas, and at Wigton. an hospital and free
chapel, dedicated to St. Leonard.
A great trackway, probably of British construction,
extended from the banks of the Eamont to Carlisle,
nearly in the line of the present turnpike road; and the
Maiden-way, from Kirby-Thore to Bewcastle, seems to
have been another British road. The principal Roman
way, called the larger road of Severus, may be traced
very distinctly in the neighbouring county of Northumberland,
but disappears at Foultown, near the borders:
it soon after becomes visible at Willowford, in Cumberland,
to the south of the works of Severus and Adrian.
On approaching the Irthing, the road descends the steep .
bank to the river, and ascends on the other side; between
High House and Walbours it is very conspicuous,
but a little way beyond the latter, where the ground has
been ploughed, it is completely lost for some miles; on
approaching Watchcross, it is again discerned in the
direction from Cambeck fort towards High Crosby, as
if bearing for Stanwix, and soon afterwards finally disappears.
A second Roman road, and one of the most
considerable in the north, crosses the county from Westmorland
to the Roman wall, in the line of a great British
trackway, passing the Eamont on the spot traversed
by the present turnpike road, and proceeding, in the
same direction due north, to the stations at Plumptonwall
and Carlisle: it approaches the former within two
hundred yards, being in that part at least twenty-two
feet broad, passes the wall at Stanwix, and runs by the
village of Blackford to Longtown on the Eske, where
another large road branches off to the north-east, bearing
evidently for the r+ation at Netherby, and thence to a
Roman post at the junction of the Eske and Liddell; after
passing these rivers it may be traced to Castle-Over,
which was originally a British, and afterwards a Roman,
city. The principal road, having crossed the Eske at
Longtown, runs through the centre of Solway moss,
passes the Sark at BaiTowslacks, and through the Procestrium
of the Roman camp at Barrens, in its course to
the northern vallum. A third road, called the Maidenway,
may be traced among the moors on the eastern
border of the county: it leaves the Roman road at
Kirby-Thore, passes between Crossfell and Kirkland,
crosses Blackburn, and, running-within two miles west
of Alston-Moor, enters Northumberland, bearing for
Whitley castle, a well known station in that county, and
thence to Carvorran: it passes the Roman wall at Deadwater,
and, re-entering Cumberland, proceeds towards
the station at Bewcastle, which it leaves a little to the
left j then, under the name of the Wheel causeway,
crossing the Kirksop, enters Scotland.- No less than
three Roman roads diverge in different directions from
Ellenborough, the station above Maryport; one of these
is very distinct two or three miles beyond Allonby, and
again near Old Mawburgh, and, where last seen, evidently
points for Bowness. A second military way from
the same station has been traced with more certainty to
the Roman town at Papcastle, near Cockermouth. The
third crosses the road from Crosby to Cross-Cannonby,
traverses Allerby, passes over Outerside common,
through Baggray, Bolton pasture, and Shaking bridge,
and by Red Dial to the station at Old Carlisle, which it
leaves to the left, and, from the village beyond Thursby,
proceeds in a direct line towards Carlisle cathedral. A
Roman road, which connected the stations of Ambleside
and Plumpton-wall, is visible at Kirkstone hill, and again
at Gowbarrow-park-head, near Ulswater; it runs thence
between two hills, called Mill-fells, to the camp at Whitbarrow,
near the eighth milestone on the turnpike road
from Keswick to Penrith, which was a station between
the two Roman towns: it crosses this road in a direction
frond south-west to north-east, and was entire a few
years ago upon Greystock low moor, till it was converted
into a modern road leading to Greystock; then, after
having made an inclination to the left, it continues in a
straight line towards Blencow, and is still visible in a
field two hundred yards north of Little Blencow, pointing
at Couch-gate: leaving Kulbarrow to the south, it
runs through Cow-close and over Whitrigg, becomes
again visible at the edge of the road on Fair-bank, in
Low-street, and through the enclosures, to the south
gate of the station at Plumpton-wall. A Roman road
came from the station at Brougham, through Stainton
to Whitbarrow, which was a post of some consequence.
Another of these roads passed in a direct line through
the Town-head and Wood-end estates, in the parish of
Egremont, the Cleator hall property, and close by the
village of Cleator; the estate of Todholes, and part of
that of Warth, in the parish of Cleator; across the parish
of Arlochden, and the township of Frisington; the
parish of Lamplugh, close by Lamplugh-Cross, and
Street-gate, whence it approached Cockermouth in a
straight line: this road is eighteen feet wide, and formed
of cobbles and freestone.
The celebrated wall, constructed by the Roman legions,
which crosses the northern part of this county,
commences on the west side of a small stream, called
Poltross-Burn, at the distance of about two miles from
the station at Carvorran, in Northumberland, but is
only seen occasionally as a green bank until it reaches
the station at Burdoswald, a little to the west of which
the face of the wall appears in some places to the height
of about three feet and a half, consisting of five courses
of hewn stone, one of which is nine inches thick, and the
others eight. A great deal of the wall was laid open in
1807 and the following year, when Banks-Fell was enclosed,
and the lower parts of several of the watch towers
were discovered at Banks-head, but it was destroyed
for the sake of the materials, except in a few places,
where some of the lower courses of stone, serving as
the foundations of some modern fences, have been preserved.
At Hare Hill, half a mile north of Lanercost
priory, a part of it remains, ten feet in height, and
fifteen in length, but no further traces are to be seen
above ground, till within about a mile of its termination
on the Solway Firth, where a piece, several
hundred yards in length, and about three feet high, is
standing at Kirkland, with a hedge on it; the facing
stones, however, have been removed. In following the
course of the wall from Northumberland through this
county, the station of Burdoswald, one- of the most
remarkable on the whole line, first occurs, its northern
side being formed by the wall, so that the garrison
could enter the country beyond by sallying out at its
northern gate: the ditch, gates, and rampart, enclose a
square of five or six acres, within which are the remains
of several buildings: the turrets on each side
of the south gate are still visible. Six miles and a
quarter further on is Castlesteads, or Cambeck fort,
about fout hundred yards south of the wall; the situation
is convenient, owing to its proximity to the river,
an advantage of which the Romans always availed themselves.
Three miles west of this is Watchcross: the
next station is at Stanwix, just opposite to Carlisle.
Burgh on the Sands, about four miles and a half from'
Stanwix, was the Axelodunum of the Romans; urns,
altars, and inscriptions of that people have been frequently
found there. These stations were placed much
closer together on the west than on the east side of
the wall; most probably with the view of preventing
the incursions of the Irish.
The castle of Carlisle, which stands at the northwest
angle of the city, is of an irregular form; it Was
originally erected by William Rufus, but parts of it are
of much more recent date, considerable additions and
repairs having been made in the reigns of Richard III.,
Henry VIII., and Elizabeth. Egremont castle, which
was built by William de Meschines, soon after the Conquest,
is in a very dilapidated state, the gateway being
the only part remaining. Cockermouth castle, the
greater part of which is in ruins, does not appear
to be older than the fourteenth century, though it
has been referred to a much earlier period. The
castle which stands within the site of the Roman
station at Bewcastle is a plain square tower, apparently
of great antiquity, but nothing certain is known
of its founder, or the period of its foundation. Naworth
castle, which is in a very perfect state, was
erected in the reign of Edward III., when Ralph, Lord
Dacre, obtained the king's license to castellate the
mansion: it is chiefly in the style of the early part of
the sixteenth century, and built round a court of irregular
form. At the south-east angle stands a tower,
evidently part of the original edifice; the upper story
contains the private apartment of Lord William Howard,
who resided here in the reign of Elizabeth and
her successor, consisting of a library, chapel, and bedchamber,
all of very small dimensions; the entrance is
by a very strong door, well secured with iron-grating
and bolts. Nothing now remains of Kirk-Oswald castle,
except a ruined tower and some fragments of walls
on a hill above the church. A great part of Millom
castle, which was fortified and embattled by Sir John
Huddlestone, .in the year 1335, in pursuance of the
king's license, is still standing, but is not worthy of
particular notice. Of Rose castle, the residence of the
bishops of Carlisle, which was first castellated in 1336,
little of the ancient edifice now exists, except a gateway
and a large square tower. Scaleby castle was erected
about the year 1307, by Robert de Tilliol. The ruins
of Penrith castle excite but little interest. High-head
castle stands on the rocky precipitous bank of the Ivebeck;
the embattled gate-house, which serves as an
entrance to the more modern mansion, is all that remains
of the original structure. Dacre castle is a plain
square building, with four square turrets at the corners.
Askerton castle, of small dimensions, erected as a protection
against the inroads of the borderers, contains
nothing remarkable; the stables are vaulted. Greystock
castle was constructed soon after the year 1353,
when William de Greystoke had the king's license to
castellate his manor-house.
The sulphuretted spring at Gilsland, so celebrated
for the cure of cutaneous disorders, has long been resorted
to on account of its valuable properties; it contains
a considerable proportion of sulphur, a small
quantity of sea-salt, and a very little earth. There is a
strong sulphureous spring in the township of Biglands,
in the parish of Aikton, which is much weakened in
the winter by its mixture with fresh water. At Stanger,
two miles north of Lorton, is a saline spring,
nearly resembling the Cheltenham water, which turns
white on the infusion of spirit of hartshorn, and precipitates
considerably on the application of oil of tartar:
a gallon of it will yield one thousand one hundred
and seventy grains of sediment, of which one thousand
and eighty are sea-salt. Many other springs exist, but
the nature of some of them has not been accurately
ascertained. On Newyear's-day, in many parts of this
county and that of Westmorland adjoining, the common
people assemble, carrying stangs (poles) and baskets,
and hoist up every man, who refuses to join them, on
the pole, or woman on the basket, and carry them to
the next public-house, where they must pay a fine. In
the parish of Cumwhitton they hold the wake on St.
John's eve, with lighting fires (called the bel-tien), dancing,
&c.: in that of Whitbeck, newly-married peasants
beg corn to sow for their first crop, and are called cornlaiters;
and here, as well as in several other places
in the county, the people keep wake with the dead.
The bride-ale (here called a bridewain), and usually observed
towards an industrious couple in the decline of
life in reduced circumstances, prevails in several parts
of the county.