LANERCOST, Cumberland - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"LANERCOST, (or Abbey-Lanercost), a parish in the ward of Eskdale, county Cumberland, 2½ miles N.E. of Brampton, its post town, and 14 from Carlisle. The parish, which is very extensive, being 10 miles in length from E. to W., and 9 from N. to S., is situated on the river Irthing, and is intersected by the Kingwater and several streams, also by the Carlisle and Newcastle railway. It contains the townships of Askerton, Burtholme, Kingwater, and Waterhead, with Gilsland Spa. About two-thirds of the land is in pasture, the remainder arable and woodland. The vales of Kingwater and Irthing produce rich crops of grain. The soil in the lowlands is a rich loam, alternated with sand, and resting on a substratum of limestone. The village, which is of considerable antiquity, is identified as the site of the Roman station Amboglana, where was posted the Cohors Prima Ælia Dacorum. At Harehill a fragment of the Roman wall is yet standing, about 5 yards in length and 10 feet high, and on the site of the encampment several votive altars, dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Mars, and other Roman deities, have been found. In 1169 Robert de Vallibus, Lord of Gillesland, founded the abbey of Lanercost for a prior and monks of the order of St. Augustine, and dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. It was frequently visited by Edward I., and was partly burnt in 1296. In 1311 Robert Bruce encamped here for three days with his whole army. At the Dissolution the revenue of the priory was returned at £79 19s., and the site granted to Thomas Lord Dacre, a descendant of the original founder. The remains of the priory, now covered in ivy, form a ruin on the N. bank of the river Irthing. They consist chiefly of the conventual church of which the nave has been appropriated as the parish church, part of the cloisters, refectory, and other conventual buildings. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1802. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Carlisle, value £93. The church, which consists of the W. end portion of the ruined priory, is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, whose statue stands in a niche above the gateway. The tower, chancel, and transept, all of which are roofless, are covered with ivy. There are ancient tombs of the Dacres and Howards. There is also a district church at Gilsland, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £30. There are parochial schools situated at Kircumbeck, Midgeholme, Crowsgate, and the Island. The Dissenters have a meeting-house at Nickies Hill. The Earl of Carlisle is lord of the manor and principal landowner." "ASKERTON, a township in the parish of Lanercost, Eskdale ward, in the county of Cumberland, 6 miles to the N.E. of Brampton. The Cambock, a branch of the river Irthing, runs through the township A small castle was erected here for protection against the borderers, at which Lord Dacre, Warden of the Marches in the reign of Henry VIII., resided. It is still in existence as a farmhouse. There was also a church, named after the stream Kirk Cambec, but it was destroyed by the Scots." "BANKS, a constablewick, in the township of Burtholme, and parish of Lanercost Abbey, Eskdale ward, in the county of Cumberland. 2 miles from Brampton." "BURTHOLME, a township in the parish of Lanercost, ward of Eskdale, in the county of Cumberland, 3 miles to the N.E. of Brampton. It is seated on the banks of the river Irthing." "GILSLAND, a village and watering-place in the parish of Lanercost Abbey, ward of Eskdale, county Cumberland, 7 miles N.E. of Brampton, its post town, and 18 N.E. of Carlisle. It is situated on the river Irthing, near the borders of Northumberland. The Rose Hill station, on the Carlisle and Newcastle railway, is about 1 mile S. of the village. The Howards of Naworth had a seat here. There are sulphur springs, and the place is much frequented on account of the medicinal properties of its waters. It has good hotel accommodation for visitors. Here is a district church, the living of which is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Carlisle, value £30. Orchard House is the principal residence." "KINGWATER, a township in the parish of Lanercost, ward of Eskdale, county Cumberland, 9 miles N.E. of Brampton. It contains the hamlet of Westhall. It is situated in a vale extending over 7 miles in length, and watered by several rills issuing from the mountains which unite to the northward of Gilsland. The Earl of Carlisle and John Ramshay, Esq., are the principal landowners." "MIDGEHOLM, an extra parochial place in Eskdale ward, county Cumberland, 7 miles E. of Brampton. This place gives name to the coal pits across the borders of Northumberland." "ROSE HILL, a hamlet in Gilsland, county Cumberland, 5 miles from Haltwhistle. It is the station for Gilsland Spa on the Newcastle and Carlisle railway. It is situated in the vale of the river Irthing." "WATERHEAD, a township in the parish of Lanercost-Abbey, ward of Eskdale, county Cumberland, 1 mile N. of Rosehill station on the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, and 6 miles N.E. of Brampton."

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