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Cumwhitton, Cumberland

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Description from T. Bulmer & Co's History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, 1884

History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, comprising Its Ancient and Modern History; A General View of its Physical Features; Agricultural Condition, Mines and Minerals; Statistics, &c., &c.
by T.F. Bulmer, T. Bulmer & Co., Manchester, 1884. Transcription by Don Noble © 1997


CUMWHITTON.

Lies on the east side of the river Eden, and is bounded on the north by Great Corby, on the south by Leath Ward, on the east by Cumwhitton and Carlatton, and on the west by the above-named river. In 1847, and for some years subsequently, there were 5,670 acres in the parish subject to assessment; at present the rateable acreage is only 5,170, of which the gross estimated rental is £4,875 15s. 6d., and assessment value £4,388. This, like many other purely agricultural parishes, has witnessed a decrease in its population during recent years; in 1841 there were 533 inhabitants, and in 1881, 497. The soil is light and stony, producing barley, oats, a little wheat, and excellent potatoes. The climate is cold but invigorating and healthy. In the southern part of the parish is a tract of dreary treeless waste, commonly called King Harry, where, according to tradition, one of the kings of England who bore that name encamped with his army. Tradition has not preserved any distinguishing feature to enable us to indicate the king alluded to, but we know that the unfortunate Henry VI., after the battle of Hexham, fled into Cumberland, and may probably have had with him a remnant of his army, and encamped here. A stone is pointed out from which, it is said, King Harry mounted his charger. A portion of this moor has, during recent years, been brought into cultivation, but still there remains a large extent of unattractive and uninviting waste, from which the traveller recoils. Upon an eminence near the centre of this moor are the remains of a Druidical circle, which formerly consisted of eighty-eight stones, and was fifty-two yards in diameter. It is designated in the locality Grey Yauds, from the colour of the stones, of which there now remains only one, and yaud, a north country name for a horse. At Cairn Head, on the eastern side of King Harry, and within a space of twelve yards, are three springs, from which issue volumes of water sufficiently large to form, when united, a brook of considerable mag- nitude. These springs are not only the most copious, but also the purest in the county. The parish is divided into two townships, viz., Cumwhitton and Northsceugh-with-Moorthwaite. CUMWHITTON township comprises 2,634 acres, of which the rateable value is £2,340, and the gross estimated rental, £2,607. The manor of Cumwhitton was given by Ranulph de Mesehines to Hildred de Carlisle. It appears subsequently to have been granted to the Abbey of Lanercost. This grant did not include the rectory, which was held by the prior and convent of Carlisle, but neither the name of the donor nor the time of the transfer is known. After the dissolution of religious houses this manor, with other possessions of the suppressed abbey, was granted to the Dacres, and is now held by the Earl of Carlisle, as a dependent manor of the barony of Gilsiand. Hornsby constituted a separate lordship, also belonging to the monks of Lanercost. It was sold by Henry Dacre before 1688 to John Atkinson, and the manorial rights and privileges were subsequently purchased by the landowners, whose estates it comprehended. The village is about seven miles S. by W. of Brampton. There were formerly on the village green two artificial mounds, which had been used as butts in the good old days, when the stout yeomen of Cumberland prided themselves upon their skill in archery. These mounds were known as High and Low Willy Wastel, "probably from the great archer recorded in song." An estate in this township, known as Nunfield, belonged in pre-Reformation times to the nunnery of Armathwaite. A singlular and curious custom formerly appertained to this estate ; the owner paid yearly to the lord of Armathwaite manor, a goose and a cart-load of coals, and was toll-free throughout England. The Nunfield estate is now divided into two, and the old customary payment of a goose and cart-load of coals has been converted into a money payment of 10s.- that is 5s. for each owner, who are both toll-free over the whole country. ( See Ainstable Parish for the origin of this privilege.) NORTHSCEUGH with MOORTHWAITE form a joint township, of which the area is 2,536 acres, the rateable value £2,047, and the gross estimated rental £2,268. The soil is owned by the following - Exors. of the Richard Leach, William Parkins, Esq., Westmoreland; John Bell, Scarrow Hill; John Hewitson, High Northsceugh; Messrs. Hewitson, Knott and King Harry; John Lee, West Hill, Brampton; Joseph Fisher, Hornsby Gate; John Robinson, Scarrow Hill; John Dodd, Mrs. E. Snowden, Moorthwaite; and Joshua Earl Ion, Low Holme. The following hamlets are within the township - Moorthwaite, 1 mile S. ; Hornsby, 1½ miles S. by E. ; Northsceugh (High), 3 miles S. by E.; and Northsceugh (Low), 2 miles S. by E. of Cumwhitton.
Extract from History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, T. Bulmer & Co., Manchester, 1884.
[Transcribed by Don Noble on 15 Nov 1997. ]