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BOOTLE, Cumberland - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

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[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)]
"BOOTLE, (anciently Bothill), a parish and small town in the ward of Allerdale-above-Derwent, in the county of Cumberland, 8 miles to the S. of Ravenglass, and 24 from Whitehaven. It is a station on the Whitehaven and Furness Junction railway. The parish is situated in the southern extremity of the county, in a district abounding in fine scenery, and extends about 8 miles along the coast, from Whitbeck to the mouth of the Esk, and is about 4 miles in breadth. To the S.E. is Black Combe, a mountain above 1,900 feet in height, from whose summit the prospect extends in favourable weather over 14 counties of England and Scotland, to the isle of Man, and the mountains of North Wales and Ireland. Seaton, in this parish, was the site of a nunnery of the Benedictine order, founded before 1413, which was dedicated to St. Leonard, and had a revenue at the Dissolution of about £14. The site was given to Sir Henry Askew. Bootle is among the smallest market towns in England, consisting chiefly of one long street, situated on the small river Anna, about two miles from the Irish Sea. Formerly a market was held on Wednesday and Saturday, but it has long become obsolete. The district is highly cultivated, and the pursuits of the people are mostly agricultural. The principal trade is in corn, pork, and hams. Bootle is a polling place for the western division of the county, and is the seat of a Poor-law Union for 12 parishes. It contains the Union poorhouse, which was erected in 1856, for the accommodation of 100 inmates. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Carlisle, of the annual value of £160, in the patronage of the Earl of Lonsdale. The church is dedicated to St. Michael. Part of the building is very ancient, the chancel being of Saxon origin, but the greater portion is in the early English style. The body of the church is built of rubble and red sandstone, and was entirely repaired in 1837, when two new transepts were added. There is a magnificent tower in course of erection, which will be 90 feet in height, surmounted with battlements and crocketed pinnacles. It contains a monumental brass of Sir Hugh Askew, of Seaton Hall, who died in 1560, and a fine old font of red sandstone. The latter, sufficiently large for immersion, is octagonal in form, and adorned with shields. It is supposed to have been presented by the Huddlestones in the 13th century. There is an endowed chapel belonging to the Independents, and at the adjoining hamlet of Hycemoor is a free school, founded in 1713 by Henry Singleton, which has an income from several endowments of £24 a year. There are other charities of trifling value. A National school was built in 1830, by Captain Shaw, R.N., who, at his death, in 1849, left the sum of £300 for the repairs of the school-house, any surplus to go to the master. The rectory is a handsome Gothic building of stone, adjoining the church, and not far from it are the remains of the ancient market cross, still bearing traces of the arms of the Huddlestones. At Esk Meals, in the vicinity, are traces of an ancient camp, where Roman relics have been found. Some remains of the chapel of the nunnery still exist. Seaton Hall, formerly the seat of the Askews, is a farmhouse. Fairs are held on the 26th April, and the 24th September; and statute fairs for hiring servants on the Friday before Whitsuntide, and the Friday before the 11th November." "BECKSIDE, a village in the ward of Allerdale-above-Derwent, in the county of Cumberland, 8 miles to the S. of Ravenglass. [Ed: Not found on any map: I have placed in Bootle as that is also 8 miles S. of Ravenglass.]"

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]