Cuerdale
CUERDALE, a township, in the parish, and Lower
division of the hundred, of Blackburn, union of Preston, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 3¾ miles
(E.) from Preston; containing 106 inhabitants. This
place belonged to a family of the same name from the
earliest times. About the reign of Richard II. it passed
by marriage to the Molyneuxs, and since 1582 it has
been the property of the Asshetons, of Downham, who
formerly resided at Cuerdale Hall, a fine building of
red brick with stone dressings, erected in a beautiful
situation by William Assheton, in 1700. The township
lies on the river Ribble, and comprises 660 acres of
richly cultivated land, the property of William Assheton, Esq. The road from Preston to Samlesbury passes
through. A few years ago, in digging earth here, a large
mass of silver, consisting of ingots or bars of various
sizes, was found by the workmen, together with silver
armlets, tolerably entire, and several antique ornaments
of different kinds, cut into pieces, the whole amounting
to upwards of 1000 ounces; also about 6000 coins of
various descriptions, but chiefly Anglo-Saxon pennies.
This treasure had been deposited, it is supposed, about
the year 910, in a leaden chest, which was so decomposed that only small portions of it could be secured.
Cuerden
CUERDEN, a township, in the parish and hundred
of Leyland, union of Chorley, N. division of the
county of Lancaster, 4½ miles (S. S. E.) from Preston;
containing 573 inhabitants. The manor was given by
Roger de Poictou to Vivian Molinaux or Molyneux, who
had followed him from Normandy; and afterwards devolved to various families, among whom were the
Banastres, Charnocks, Langtons, and more recently, the
Fleetwoods. The township comprises 800a. 1r. 19p.
of land, of various soil; and is situated on the Lostock
river, on the banks of which are two cotton-mills,
one belonging to William Clayton, Esq., and the other
to William Eccles, Esq., together employing more than
700 persons. The Preston and Parkside railway, and
the Preston and Wigan road, pass through. Cuerden
Hall is the seat of Robert Townley Parker, Esq., whose
family and tenantry attend Bamber-Bridge church, on
the opposite side of the Lostock. The vicarial tithes
have been commuted for £55; and the impropriate,
payable to Mr. Parker, for £39. 12. 4. A school is
endowed with land of the annual value of £6, and is
further supported by £7 per annum from the Lostock
Hall estate, and £5 from Crooke's bequest.
Cuerdley
CUERDLEY, a township, in the parish of Prescot,
union of Warrington, hundred of West Derby, S.
division of the county of Lancaster, 4½ miles (W. by S.)
from Warrington; containing 221 inhabitants. This
place was early in the possession of the barons of Manchester, from whom it appears to have reverted to the
crown. The lordship was sold by Edward VI. to
Richard Brooke, of Norton, in the county of Chester;
ancestor of Sir Richard Brooke, Bart., the present chief
owner of the soil. The township lies on the north side
of the river Mersey, and south of the road from Warrington to Liverpool; and comprises 1425 acres of
land. Marks of an encampment were formerly visible
on Cuerdley marsh, near the edge of the Mersey. The
impropriate tithes have been commuted for £128, payable to King's College, Cambridge, and the vicarial for
£81. 11.
Cugley
CUGLEY, a tything, in the parish and union of
Newent, hundred of Botloe, W. division of the county
of Gloucester, 8 miles (W. N. W.) from Gloucester;
containing 490 inhabitants.
Culbone, or Kilner (St. Culbone)
CULBONE, or Kilner (St. Culbone), a parish, in
the union of Williton, hundred of Carhampton,
W. division of Somerset, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Porlock; containing 34 inhabitants. This parish, which
is bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, and exhibits the most romantic scenery, comprises 1502 acres,
whereof 760 are common or waste. The village, from
the steepness of the surrounding hills, was until within
the last few years scarcely approachable, except on foot.
The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's
books at £3. 18. 11½., and in the gift of the Earl of
Lovelace: the tithes have been commuted for £35, and
the glebe comprises 32 acres, with a glebe-house.
Culcheth
CULCHETH, a township, in the parish of Newchurch, union of Leigh, hundred of West Derby, S.
division of the county of Lancaster, 6 miles (N. E. by
N.) from Warrington; containing 2139 inhabitants. It
comprises 5362 acres of land, whereof 3384 are meadow
and pasture, 924 arable, 100 wood, and 954 road and
waste; the surface is undulated, and the soil partly moss
and partly clay. At Bury Lane, in the township, is a
cotton-mill; also a station on the Liverpool and Manchester railway. Holcroft Hall, here, was formerly the
abode of the Holcrofts, the traffickers in monastic property in the reign of Henry VIII.; and Hurst Hall, now
a farmhouse, was the residence of Thomas Holcroft, a
member of this family, in 1692. There are places of
worship for Dissenters. A school at Twiss Green, founded
by John Guest, was endowed by Henry Johnson in 1727
with about £25 per annum, to which other bequests
have been added; and sixteen boys belonging to the
township, who are occasionally clothed, receive instruction on this charity. Ambrose Yates, in 1772, bequeathed
a house and about three acres of land, the rent now
producing about £14, to be given to the poor annually
on the 2nd of February; and several small benefactions are distributed on St. Thomas's day.—See Newchurch.
Culford (St. Mary)
CULFORD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Thingoe, hundred of Blackbourn, W. division of
Suffolk, 4¾ miles (N. N. W.) from Bury St. Edmunds;
containing 352 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on
the south by the river Lark, which is navigable for
small craft from Lynn to Bury; and comprises 2209
acres, whereof 106 are common or waste. The surface
is undulated, and the scenery diversified; the soil is
generally light and sandy, but clay is found in some
parts, and also a strong earth well adapted for making
white bricks. Culford Hall, the seat of R. B. De Beauvoir, Esq., lord of the manor, is an elegant mansion,
situated in a spacious park. The living is a discharged
rectory, consolidated with the livings of Timworth and
Ingham, valued in the king's books at £8. Lord Cornwallis, who for his brilliant achievements as commanderin-chief in India, was created a marquess in 1792, and
to whom parliament voted a monument in St. Paul's
Cathedral, was born here.
Culgaith
CULGAITH, a chapelry, in the parish of Kirkland,
union of Penrith, Leath ward, E. division of Cumberland, 7 miles (E.) of Penrith; containing 361 inhabitants. It comprises 2697a. 2r. 26p., the whole
arable, except 150 acres of woodland. From the Crowdundle quarries, here, is raised red freestone of excellent quality for building, of which blocks of immense
size are obtained for pillars and other uses. The living
is a perpetual curacy; net income, £80; patron, the
Vicar of Kirkland; impropriator, the Rev. R. Rice.
The chapel is dedicated to All Saints.
Culham (St. Paul)
CULHAM (St. Paul), a parish, in the union of
Abingdon, hundred of Dorchester, county of Oxford,
1 mile (S. S. E.) from Abingdon; containing 404 inhabitants. This place, which is nearly surrounded by
the river Isis, was the occasional retreat of the abbots
of Abingdon; and in the ancient manor-house, now
occupied as a farmhouse, is a room still called the Abbot's chamber. The living is a vicarage not in charge;
net income, £100; patron and appropriator, the Bishop
of Oxford.
Cullercoats
CULLERCOATS, a township, in the parish and
union of Tynemouth, E. division of Castle ward, S.
division of the county of Northumberland, 2 miles
(N. by W.) from Tynemouth; containing 738 inhabitants. This is a small sea-port, artificially constructed,
inhabited chiefly by fishermen, and remarkable for
being, perhaps, the smallest township and manor in England, not extending further than the village and a plot
of adjoining ground, and the whole of the land, exclusive
of that covered by houses, not exceeding seven acres. It
is a mesne manor, and is included in the parliamentary borough of Tynemouth. In the bathing season
the village is much frequented; the beach is a firm
sand, and suitable accommodation is afforded by lodging houses for visiters. A school is used on Sundays
as a place of worship by dissenters: there is a small
burial-ground belonging to the Society of Friends.
Cullingworth
CULLINGWORTH, a hamlet and church district,
in the township of Bingley cum Micklethwaite,
parish of Bingley, union of Keighley, Upper division
of the wapentake of Skyrack, W. riding of York,
7 miles (N. W.) from Bradford. The lands have been
inclosed, and afford good crops of corn, and excellent
pasturage: stone is quarried for building. The village
is pleasantly situated on an eminence commanding fine
views of the vale below, and is chiefly inhabited by persons employed in worsted-spinning and the Heald-yarn
manufacture, for which there are large mills established
in 1810. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed by
the ecclesiastical commission, and in the gift of the
Crown and the Bishop of Ripon, alternately. There
are places of worship for Baptists, Wesleyans, and
Primitive Methodists; and a school endowed with £10
per annum, under the inclosure act. At Spring-head is
a Roman encampment.
Cullompton (St. Andrew)
CULLOMPTON (St. Andrew), a market-town and
parish, in the union of Tiverton, hundred of Hayridge, Cullompton and N. divisions of Devon, 12
miles (N. E. by N.) from Exeter, and 166 (W. by S.)
from London; containing 3909 inhabitants. This
place, which derives its name from its situation on the
river Culme, or Columb, was held in royal demesne
during the heptarchy; and a collegiate church was
founded here by one of the Saxon monarchs, which was
annexed by William the Conqueror to the abbey of
Battle, in Sussex. In 1278 the inhabitants obtained
from Edward I. the grant of a market, which was confirmed by his successor in 1317, with the addition of an
annual fair. The town is pleasantly situated in an
extensive vale, surrounded by a large tract of level
country, and consists of one principal street, roughly
paved, from which some smaller streets diverge; the
inhabitants are amply supplied with water, and the
environs abound with pleasant walks. It suffered severely by an alarming fire that broke out July 8th, 1839,
from the roof of a thatched tenement on the western
side of the main street; 132 houses and cottages were
reduced to ashes, including the whole of New-street.
The chief articles of manufacture are broad and narrow
woollen-cloth, kerseymere, and serge, the production of
which affords employment to several hundred persons:
on a stream between the river and the town are two
flour-mills, a paper-mill, and a mill for spinning yarn;
and there are other manufacturing establishments, and
four tanneries. The Bristol and Exeter railway passes
through. The market is on Saturday; the fairs are on
the first Wednesdays in May and November, and are
large marts for bullocks and sheep. The county magistrates hold a petty-session here monthly for the division.
Three high constables are chosen for the hundred, of
whom one acts for this and the adjoining parish of
Kentisbeare; and six petty constables are annually appointed by the parishioners, three for the town, and
three for the rest of the parish.
The parish comprises about 9000 acres: the surface
is greatly diversified with hill and dale, and the lower
lands are subject to occasional inundation from the river
Columb; the soil comprehends almost every variety.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £47. 4. 2.; net income, £351; patron, R. B. De
Beauvoir, Esq.; impropriators, the proprietors of estates.
The church is an elegant and spacious structure, in the
later English style, with a lofty tower, strengthened
by highly enriched buttresses, and crowned with pierced
battlements and crocketed pinnacles: opening into the
south aisle is a beautiful chapel, erected in 1528, in the
richest style of that period, by John Lane, whose remains are deposited in it: the roofs of the nave and
aisle of the church are of oak, finely carved, and decorated with gilding. There are places of worship for
Baptists, Bryanites, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians. A fund of nearly
£70 per annum arising from land bought with a donation from George Spicer, in 1624, is appropriated to the
apprenticing of children; and £54. 10. per annum,
arising from land purchased with a donation from John
and Henry Hill, Esqrs., are given in clothing to aged
men. There are several other benefactions, by means
of which £100 are annually distributed among the poor.
At Langford-Barton are to be seen the remains of an
ancient chapel.
Culm-Davey
CULM-DAVEY, a hamlet, in the parish and hundred of Hemyock, union of Wellington, Cullompton
and N. divisions of Devon. Here is a chapel of ease
to the rectory of Hemyock.
Culmington (All Saints)
CULMINGTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Ludlow, hundred of Munslow, S. division of Salop,
5½ miles (N. by W.) from Ludlow; containing 541 inhabitants. It lies on the road from Ludlow to Wenlock, and comprises 3500 acres, whereof two-thirds are
arable land, and the remainder pasture: stone is obtained for building, and for the roads. The river Corve
flows through the parish. The living is a rectory,
valued in the king's books at £18. 9. 2.; patron and
incumbent, the Rev. W. Johnstone: the tithes have
been commuted; and there are 40 acres of glebe and a
glebe-house. The church, built about two centuries
ago, is in the early English style, with a tower surmounted by a spire, which has a pleasing effect in the
scenery. Near the church are vestiges of a moat and a
keep.
Culmstock (All Saints)
CULMSTOCK (All Saints), a parish, in the union
of Wellington, hundred of Hemyock, Cullompton
and N. divisions of Devon, 7 miles (N. E.) from Cullompton; containing 1446 inhabitants, several of whom
are employed in the woollen manufacture. The parish
comprises 3365 acres, of which 417 are common or
waste. Fairs for cattle are held on the 21st of May,
and the Wednesday after the 29th of September. The
living is a discharged vicarage, in the patronage of the
Dean and Chapter of Exeter, the appropriators, and
valued in the king's books at £16: the great tithes
have been commuted for £320, and the vicarial for
£355; the glebe contains 4¼ acres, with a glebe-house.
The church contains a handsome stone screen, with
a doorway enriched and canopied with foliage; it was
enlarged in 1824. There are meeting-houses for Baptists, the Society of Friends, and Wesleyans.
Culpho (St. Botolph)
CULPHO (St. Botolph), a parish, in the union of
Woodbridge, hundred of Carlford, E. division of
Suffolk, 3½ miles (W. by N.) from Woodbridge; containing 70 inhabitants. The living is a discharged perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £5. 7. 11.;
income, £55; patron and impropriator, T. T. Gurdon,
Esq., whose tithes have been commuted for £15.
Culverlands.—See Tilford.
CULVERLANDS.—See Tilford.
Culverley
CULVERLEY, an extra-parochial district, adjacent
to the parish and liberty of Dibden, union of NewForest, Southampton and S. divisions of the county of
Southampton; containing 46 inhabitants.
Culverthorpe
CULVERTHORPE, a chapelry, in the parish of
Haydor, union of Sleaford, wapentake of Aswardhurn, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 5½ miles
(S. W. by W.) from Sleaford; containing 139 inhabitants. The chapel is dedicated to St. Bartholomew.
Culworth (St. Mary)
CULWORTH (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of
Brackley, hundred of King's Sutton, S. division of
the county of Northampton, 7¾ miles (N. E.) from
Banbury; containing 713 inhabitants. It is situated
near the borders of Oxfordshire, and comprises 2214
acres of a rich and productive soil. The living consists
of a rectory and vicarage, valued in the king's books
at £10, and in the gift of the Rev. John Spence: the
rectorial tithes have been commuted for £509, and the
vicarial for £191; the rectorial glebe contains nearly 24
acres, and there is a glebe-house. The church has a
new chancel, built in 1845, by the rector. A school
built by Mrs. Danvers was endowed in 1795, with an
annuity of £65, by Martha and Frances Rich; it is in
union with the National Society.
Cumberland
CUMBERLAND, the extreme north-western county
of England, occupying a maritime situation, bounded
on the east by Northumberland and Durham; on the
south-east by Westmorland and Lancashire, from the
former of which it is partly separated by Ulswater and
the river Eamont, and from the latter by the river
Duddon; on the west by the Irish Sea; and on the
north by Scotland, from which it is divided by the
Solway Firth and the rivers Sark, Liddell, and Kershope. It extends from 54° 12ft to 55° 10ft (N. Lat.),
and from 2° 19ft to 3° 37ft (W. Lon.), and contains 1478
square miles, or 945,920 statute acres: within its limits
are 34,574 inhabited houses, 2386 uninhabited, and
200 in the course of erection; and the population
amounts to 178,038, of whom 86,292 are males.
This county, in Saxon orthography Cumbra-land, signifying "the land of the Cumbrians," derives its name
from having been occupied, after the settlement of the
Saxons in Britain, by a remnant of the ancient Britons,
styled Cumbri or Cymry. It was also designated Caerleyl-schire, or Caerlielleshire, from its chief town Caerleyl,
now Carlisle. At the time of the Roman invasion, it
was, according to Whitaker, inhabited by the Volantii
or Voluntii, a "people of the forests," and the Sistuntii, both tribes of the Brigantes, whose territory was
not subjugated by the Romans until the reign of the
Emperor Vespasian. In the division of the island by
the victorious Romans, Cumberland was chiefly included
in the great province of Maxima Cæsariensis, which
was separated from that of Valentia by the fortified
wall crossing the northern part of the county. During
the heptarchy it formed part of the kingdom of Northumbria, composed of the two smaller states of Bernicia
and Deira. About the middle of the tenth century, it
was ceded to the Scots, together with the greater part
of Bernicia; and from that period it was sometimes
under the dominion of their monarchs, and sometimes
under that of the English sovereigns, till the year 1237,
when it was finally annexed to the crown of England by
Henry III.
Its border situation has caused it to be the subject of
many remarkable transactions, and the scene of numerous interesting historical events. Even after the
Scottish dominion over the northern counties of England
had finally ceased, the feuds between the two kingdoms
raged with unabated violence for more than three
centuries, during which this county was seldom long
exempted 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 for
this object. 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; and the latter
for the punishment of private rapine and murders committed by individuals of either nation on those of 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 being nominated in 1296. The
English borders were divided into three districts, called
Marches, namely, the Eastern, Middle, and Western;
and Cumberland was included in the last. The wardens
held courts, but offenders were frequently executed
without trial. The union of the two kingdoms, under
James VI. of Scotland and I. of England, having put
an end to the devastating inroads and sanguinary retaliations which defile the border annals, that monarch
took active measures for ensuring the peace of the
harassed district; and to abolish as much as possible
the distinction between the 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 Græmes or Grahams, a
numerous clan occupying what was called "the debateable ground," near the river Esk, who had long been
an annoyance both to their own countrymen and the inhabitants of Cumberland. Notwithstanding these precautionary measures, outrages and robberies continued
to be perpetrated for some time after James' accession
to the English throne, which caused him to issue several
special commissions, under which various beneficial
regulations were adopted. All persons, "saving noblemen and gentlemen unsuspected of felony or theft, and
not being 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 50s., on pain of imprisonment. Slough-dogs,
or blood-hounds, for pursuing the offenders through the
mosses, sloughs, or bogs, were ordered to be kept at the
charge of certain districts; and the laws were enforced
against the moss-troopers, as they were called, with the
utmost severity: nevertheless, they were not finally extirpated until the reign of Queen Anne.
Cumberland is in the diocese of Carlisle, and province
of York, and contains 104 parishes. For purposes of
civil jurisdiction it is divided into five wards (a term
peculiar to the border counties), respectively denominated Allerdale above Derwent, Allerdale below Derwent,
Cumberland, Eskdale, and Leath. It comprises the city
and inland port of Carlisle; the ancient borough and
market-town of Cockermouth; the sea-port, markettown, and newly-enfranchised borough of Whitehaven;
the market and sea-port towns of Maryport, Ravenglass, and Workington; the small but thriving sea-port
of Harrington; and the market-towns of Alston-Moor,
Aspatria, Bootle, Brampton, Egremont, Hesket-Newmarket, Keswick, Kirk-Oswald, Longtown, Penrith, and
Wigton. By the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap.
45, the county sends four representatives to parliament,
and for that purpose is divided into two portions, called
the Eastern and Western divisions; the former composed
of the wards of Cumberland, Eskdale, and Leath; and
the latter of those of Allerdale above and below Derwent.
Carlisle and Cockermouth each return two members;
and Whitehaven, by the act, is invested with the privilege of sending one. Cumberland is included in the
Northern circuit: the assizes and the Easter and Midsummer quarter-sessions are held at Carlisle, where
stands the common gaol and house of correction; the
Epiphany sessions, at Cockermouth; and the Michaelmas sessions, at Penrith.
The surface of the county is beautifully diversified
with level plains and swelling eminences, deep sequestered vales and lofty mountains, open heathy commons
and irregular inclosures, in some parts richly decorated
with tufted groves and thriving plantations, and the
whole enlivened with almost innumerable streams and
extensive lakes. The mountainous and the level districts form its marked natural divisions. The latter
occupy chiefly the northern and western parts, and
though well cultivated and fertile, do not afford any
interesting scenery, except along the courses of the
several rivers. The mountainous lands, between which
and the plains there are generally lower ranges of
smooth hills, may be divided into two extensive districts, equally incapable of agricultural improvement,
but differing considerably in character. The entire
eastern and north-eastern sides of the county, bordering on Durham and Northumberland, form the highest
part of the mountainous chain that runs through the
centre of the island from Staffordshire to Linlithgow,
and are chiefly comprised under the designations of
Cross Fell, Hartside Fell, Geltsdale Forest, and Spadeadam Waste, amongst which, Cross Fell rises preeminently to the height of 2902 feet, and though steep
on its western side, has a very gentle declivity eastward. These mountains, to the south-east, are separated
by the level tracts bordering on the rivers Eden, Eamont,
Petterill, and Caldew, from those occupying the southern
part of the county, which are among the most elevated
in Britain, and present a great variety of grand and picturesque forms, their sides being steep and rugged, and
in some places ornamented with woods; while the deep
vales, mostly rich and in a high state of cultivation, and
in many parts well wooded, contain, in numerous instances, lakes of considerable extent; the whole forming
some of the most romantic scenery in the kingdom,
deservedly eulogized in the descriptive tours of several
ingenious writers, and comprehending a pleasing variety
of subjects for the pencil.
The most valuable of the minerals are coal and lead;
in addition to which, the county produces the singular
mineral substance called wad or black-lead, slate, copper,
iron, and lapis calaminaris. The coal district is supposed
to occupy an extent of about 100 square miles: the
principal collieries on the coast are those at Whitehaven
and Workington, which supply by far the chief portion
of the coal imported into Ireland. The singular species
called "cannel coal" is procured in different parts, particularly in the parishes of Caldbeck and Bolton. The
most important lead-mines are those at Alston-Moor,
which were discovered and worked by Francis, first
earl of Derwentwater; and, on the attainder of the
third earl, were, together with the manor and his other
estates, forfeited to the crown, and appropriated to
the endowment of Greenwich Hospital. The ore contains a proportion of silver, averaging from eight to ten
oz. per ton: copper-ore has sometimes been found in
the same vein with the lead, and this metal was formerly exported from the county in large quantities,
being likewise found at Caldbeck, Melmerby, and Hesket. It is also in the lead-mines that the lapis calaminaris is found. Iron-ore of a rich quality is procured in
the mines of Whitehaven, and exported to South Wales:
there are iron-mines at Crowgarth, in the parish of
Cleator, and at Bigrigg, in that of Egremont; and on
the sea-shore, near Harrington, ironstone is collected,
and a few hundred tons annually sent to Ulverston. The
celebrated mine of "wad" at the head of Borrowdale, is
described in the account of that place.
The limestone near the sea-coast is burned in great
quantities for exportation, particularly at Over-end, near
Hensingham, and at Distington, from each of which
places about 350,000 bushels are sent every year to
Scotland. At Allhallows, Brigham, Cleator, Hodbarrowin-Millom, Ireby, Plumbland, Sebergham, Uldale, &c.,
are lime-works for inland consumption; and the barony
of Gilsland is supplied from the parishes of CastleCarrock, Denton, and Farlam. Gypsum, or alabaster,
is more especially abundant in the parishes of Wetheral,
St. Cuthbert (Carlisle), and St. Bees, on the sea-coast,
about a mile from Whitehaven, whence 500 or 600 tons
are annually exported to Dublin, Glasgow, and Liverpool,
where it is principally used in the composition of stucco.
Of the freestones, which abound and are worked in most
parts of the county, there are two quarries producing
some of an excellent quality, both red and white, in the
neighbourhood of Whitehaven, from which place much
of their produce is shipped for Ireland, Scotland, and the
Isle of Man. At Negill and Barngill, near the same port,
are export quarries of grindstones; and in the townships
of Bassenthwaite, Borrowdale, Buttermere, Cockermouth,
and Ulpha, are quarries of excellent blue slate: that
obtained in Borrowdale is of the best quality. Numerous mineral substances of minor importance, and a
great variety of spars and metallic fossils, are found;
and divers extraneous fossils, also, are discovered imbedded in the limestone strata in several places.
The Manufactures are various. That of cotton, at present the principal, was first established at Dalston, and
soon extended to Carlisle and Penrith, at all which
places are large works: the spinning of cotton, which is
nearly of equal magnitude, is carried on at Carlisle, and
has been the means of greatly increasing the population.
At Cleator, Egremont, and Whitehaven, sailcloth is
manufactured; and at Keswick, coarse woollen cloths
and blankets. Coarse earthenware is made at Dearham
and Whitehaven, and bottles at the Ginns, near that
town; and there are iron-foundries at Carlisle, Dalston,
and Seaton near Workington; paper-mills at Cockermouth, Egremont, and Kirk-Oswald; and several yards
for ship-building at Maryport, Whitehaven, and Workington, besides every kind of manufacture necessary for
the shipping. The Fisheries, too, are of some importance:
there are herring-fisheries at Allonby, Maryport, and
Whitehaven, the last on a very extensive scale; and a
great quantity of cod is taken on this coast. In the Esk,
Eden, and Derwent are valuable salmon-fisheries, the
produce of which is sent from Carlisle and Bowness to
London, to which place the char caught in the lakes is
also forwarded, after being potted at Keswick. The pearls,
still occasionally found in the muscles of the Irt, were
once highly esteemed.
The two principal Rivers are the Eden and the Derwent, the former of which, after being augmented in different parts of its course by the Eamont, Irthing, Caldew,
and Petterill, empties itself into the Solway Firth. In its
lower reaches it was made navigable up to Carlisle bridge,
to which the tide ascends, a distance of somewhat more
than ten miles, under the authority of an act of the 8th
of George I.; but the passage was so much impeded by
shoals as to form a very imperfect line of navigation, and
its use is now almost wholly superseded by the Carlisle
Canal, which was constructed under an act obtained in
1819, and, commencing at Carlisle, communicates with
the Solway Firth at Fisher's Cross, near Bowness. There
are also the Esk, the Liddell, the Levon or Line, and a
vast number of smaller streams. The county is furnished with excellent Railway communication. Four
lines have their termini at Carlisle; namely, the Newcastle, which runs eastward, by Brampton, and quits the
county for Northumberland near the great Roman wall;
the Caledonian, which runs northward into Scotland;
the Maryport, which runs south-westward, by Wigton,
to the coast; and the Lancaster, which proceeds southward, by Penrith, into Westmorland. Other railways
connect the coast towns of Maryport, Workington,
Whitehaven, and Ravenglass; and there is a line from
Workington, inland, to Cockermouth.
The remains of distant ages are numerous and interesting. There is a considerable number even of the
rude memorials of the aboriginal inhabitants, the largest
and most complete of which is the circle of stones
vulgarly called "Long Meg and her Daughters," in the
parish of Addingham. About a mile and a half southeast of Keswick is a smaller circle, having an oblong
inclosure on the east side; another, named the "Grey
Yawd," is in the parish of Cumwhitton, and a third at
a place designated Swinside, near Millom, with part of
another near it. Kistvaens, and rude weapons and
tools of the ancient British inhabitants, have been found
in various places, especially in the south-western part of
the county, near the sea-coast. Cumberland is thought
to have contained several British cities, of which Carlisle
is enumerated by Richard of Cirencester as one; and it
was formerly crossed by a great trackway, probably of
British construction, that extended from the banks of
the Eamont through Carlisle, nearly in the line of the
present turnpike-road. The "Maiden-way," from KirbyThore to Bewcastle, which seems to have been another
British road, may still be traced across the moors in the
eastern and north-eastern extremities of the county, in
its course into Scotland.
The celebrated Roman wall, constructed by the
Emperor Severus, nearly in the line of a vallum of earth
previously raised by Adrian, to check the incursions of
the northern barbarians, crossed the northern portion
of the county, and may yet be traced in different parts
of its course, particularly near Burdoswald, Lanercost
Priory, and within about a mile of its termination on the
shore of the Solway Firth. Of the stations along the
line of this barrier, the first that occurs in following its
course westward from the border of Northumberland is
that at Burdoswald, which, from the numerous inscriptions and other relics, appears to have been the one
called in the Notitia Amboglana, occupied by the Cohors
Prima Œlia Dacorum, and the remains of which evince
its former extent and importance. The next is at Castlesteads, or Cambeck Fort, six miles and a quarter further, which is supposed to have been the Petriana of
the Notitia; three miles beyond is Watchcross, conjectured to have been Aballaba. The next was that of
Congaveta, at Stanwix, just opposite Carlisle. At Burghon-the-Sands, about four miles and a half further, was
the station Axelodunum, on the site of which urns,
altars, and inscriptions have frequently been found: at
Drumburgh are evident remains of another station, probably Gabrocentum; and the last remains of the wall
point to a spot supposed to be the site of the station
Tunnocelum, the last on this line of defence. Of the
stationes per lineam valli, placed so as to afford support
to the garrisons of the stations on the wall, Cumberland
contained six, whereof that at Ellenborough, the name
of which is doubtful, was one of the most important:
on its site the greatest number of Roman antiquities has
been found. At Papcastle, near Cockermouth, was
another, supposed to have been called Derventio. At
Old Carlisle was one more considerable, of which there
are extensive remains; as also of that at Old Penrith,
or Plumpton-wall, the Voreda of Antonine and Richard
of Cirencester: at Moresby was one, thought to have
been Arbeia; and the sixth was the station Bremetenracum,
the site of which has not been ascertained. There are
likewise remains of two advanced stations on the north
side of the wall; one at Bewcastle, and the other at
Netherby, on the Esk. Carlisle was the Luguballium of
the Romans; and, from the great number of military
stations, no county in England, except Northumberland,
has produced so many Roman altars and inscribed
stones as Cumberland, besides a profusion of miscellaneous Roman antiquities.
The principal Roman road across the county, which
has been designated "the larger road of Severus," ran
nearly parallel with the wall, a little to the south of it;
and is yet visible from Willowford across the Irthing to
Walbours, a little beyond which place, after being for
some distance very conspicuous, all trace of it is lost
for some miles until near Watchcross, where it reappears for a short distance. Both the British trackways above-mentioned were subsequently important
Roman roads, especially the first, which passed by the
stations at Plumpton-wall and Carlisle, and crossed the
Roman wall at Stanwix, whence it proceeded by Longtown and Solway Moss into Dumfries-shire: from Longtown a branch diverges north-eastward, towards the
station at Netherby, thence to a Roman post at the
junction of the Esk and Liddell, and onward to that of
Castle-Over, in Dumfries-shire. No fewer than three
Roman roads diverged from the station at Ellenborough,
one along the coast towards Bowness, another to Papcastle, and the third north-eastward to the station at
Old Carlisle, which it passed to the left, proceeding in a
direct line towards Carlisle cathedral. A Roman road
that connected the stations at Ambleside (in Westmorland) and Plumpton-wall, is still visible in various
places, especially near the Whitbarrow camp, which was
a post of some consequence between the two Roman
towns: at this point terminates a road from the station
at Brougham, situated near the town of Penrith, but in
the county of Westmorland. Another Roman road,
formed of pebbles and freestone, extends from the parish
of Egremont through Cleator, Arlochden, and Lamplugh,
towards Cockermouth.
Prior to the Reformation, there were eleven Religious
Houses, besides two collegiate establishments and two
hospitals, within the limits of the county. Of these,
there yet remain the churches of the monasteries of St.
Bees, Carlisle (now the cathedral), and Lanercost; part
of the church of Holme-Cultram; and various ruined
buildings of Calder Abbey, the priories of St. Bees,
Carlisle, and Wetheral, and the nunnery of Seaton.
The remains of Holme-Cultram, and of Lanercost, exhibit specimens of the earliest English architecture,
having the pointed arch united with the massive Norman pillar; those of Seaton have lancet-shaped windows
and slender pillars. The ancient Castles, owing to the
border situation, are remarkably numerous; but most
of them are now either in ruins or in a state of considerable dilapidation. Independently of these, few of
the ancient mansions present any remarkable feature,
except the large square tower of three or four stories
attached to most of them, intended to afford refuge for
the family on any sudden predatory inroad of the Scots.
The most remarkable Mineral water is the sulphureous
spring at Gilsland, celebrated for the cure of cutaneous
disorders, and long resorted to on account of its valuable properties: besides a considerable portion of sulphur, its waters contain a small quantity of sea-salt, and
a slight admixture of earthy particles. There is also a
strong sulphureous spring in the township of Biglands,
in the parish of Aikton; and a saline spring at Stanger,
two miles north of Lorton, nearly resembles the Cheltenham water, turning white on the infusion of spirit of
hartshorn, and precipitating particles, chiefly saline, on
the application of oil of tartar. There are many other
mineral springs, but their properties have not been
accurately ascertained. Cumberland gives the title of
Duke to the King of Hanover, fifth son of George III.,
who was created Earl of Armagh, and Duke of Cumberland and Tiviotdale, in the year 1799.