Dalton

"BURTON-IN-KENDAL, a parish and market town, partly in the wards of Lonsdale and Kendal, in the county of Westmoreland, but chiefly in the hundred of Lonsdale South of the Sands, in the county palatine of Lancaster, 11 miles to the N. of Lancaster, and 251 miles to the N.W. of London. It gives name, with Holme, to a station on the Lancaster and Carlisle railway, from which it is distant about 1 mile. The parish is situated in the valley of the river Ken, and is crossed by the Kendal and Lancaster canal, which opens a communication with the west coast, through the Mersey and the Dee, and with the cast through the Humber. The parish comprises the market town of Burton-in-Kendal, the chapelries of Holme and Preston-Patrick, the township of Dalton, and the hamlet of Claythorpe. This place is of considerable antiquity, and is mentioned in the Norman survey by the name of Borton (Boro'-town). Farlton Knot and Haverbrack Fell are lofty eminences within this parish. There is a tract of peat, but of less extent than formerly, part having been brought under cultivation. The pursuits of the inhabitants are chiefly agricultural, a few only being employed in flax dressing. Many of the houses are old, but the town is well built. There is a large market-place, with a stone cross in the centre, surrounded by spacious shops. Petty sessions are held, and polling for the county election takes place in the town. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle, worth £199, in the patronage of the trustees of the Rev. C. Simeon. The church, an ancient edifice with a square tower, is dedicated to St. James. It has two side chapels, the burial places of the Dalton and Preston families. The church was restored a few years ago. The churchyard contains a monument to William Cockin, author of a book called the "Rural Sabbath." There are also two district churches, one at Holme and the other at Preston-Patrick; both livings are perpetual curacies, value respectively £120 and £67.