Bygone Cumberland and Westmorland
-f Kr^.O'-X J (-:-■■ ')■■: r^V-^'':' '.■'■'■'. ■■ - '^-^\'P'^;^ -'>C''- '^^yy } ■:[ ■ V '■'■' '^ ' ■ ■■ ^ ■■'■ %-'':'\:-\ ']/'<:' \'.j' ■[■■ -::'''■''■■ '-;^<.-ry-'j',:ii:V--.-:- '/.'■-: -^ -'\ ::■-":■*:,:' \_ ■■',:■■■ yt> py.:; Un'r vf iifl'..v; f-' .V.-.- 1 ' .-f.p^' THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES mm- w^- ';;^-- ' iei ^ I BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2007 witii funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/bygonecumberlandOOscotiala QS^^gone Cumkvfm^ ant D^tBtmovhn^. . .. (§2 ©antef ^cott. . .. LONDON : WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO., 5, FARRINGDON AVENUE, E.C, 1899. DA TO EMMA. preface. I "HE information contained in the following -*■ pages has been derived from many sources during the last twenty years, and in a considerable number of cases I have examined old registers and other documents without being then aware that some of their contents had already been published. Few districts in the United Kingdom have been more thoroughly " worked " for antiquarian and archaeological purposes than have Cumberland and Westmorland. The Antiquarian Society and the numerous Literary and Scientific Societies have, during the last thirty years, been responsible for a great amount of research. I have en- deavoured to acknowledge each source — not only as a token of my own obligation, but as a means of directing others wishing further information on the various points. I also desire to acknowledge the help received in various ways from numerous friends in the two counties. Daniel Scott. Penrith, June ist, i8gg. Contenta^ PAGE An Unparalleled Sheriffwick i Watch and Ward 9 Fighting Bishops and Fortified Churches ... 22 Some Church Curiosities 38 Manorial Laws and Curiosities of Tenures - - - 64 Old-Time Punishments 91 Some Legends and Superstitions 130 Four Lucks 148 Some Old Trading Laws and Customs - 155 Old-Time Home Life 169 Sports and Festivities 188 On the Road 209 Old Customs 223 Old School Customs . - - .... 240 Index 257 B^egone Cumberlanb anb Mestmorlanb. -•alOln" Hn innparallclcb Sberiffwicl^. FOR a period of 645 years — from 1204 to 1849 — Westmorland, unlike other counties in England (excluding, of course, the counties Palatine), had no Sheriff other than the one who held the office by hereditary right. The first Sheriff of the county is mentioned in 11 60, and nine or ten other names occur at subsequent periods, until in 1202, the fourth year of the reign of King John, came Robert de Vetripont, Very soon afterwards the office was made hereditary in his family " to have and to hold of the King and his heirs." The honour and privileges were possessed by no less than twenty-two of Robert's descendants. Their occupation of the office covers some very exciting periods of county history, the tasks committed to the Sheriffs in 2 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. former centuries being frequently of an arduous as well as dangerous character. The Sheriff had very important duties of a military character to carry out. Thus in the sixth year of Henry the Third we have the command from the King to the Sheriff of Westmorland that without any delay he should summon the earls, barons, knights, and freeholders of his bailiwick, and that he should hasten to Cockermouth and besiege the castle there, afterwards destroying it to its very foundations. This order was a dupli- cate of one sent to the Sheriff of Yorkshire concerning Skipton Castle and other places. It is not known, however, whether the instructions respecting Cockermouth were carried out or not. The powers of Sheriff not being confined to the male members of the family, the histories of Westmorland contain the unusual information that at least two women occupied, by right of office, seats on the bench alongside the Judges. The first of these was Isabella de Clifford, widow of Robert, and, wrote the historian Machell, " She sate as is said in person at Apelby as Sheriff of the county, and died about 20 of Edward I." The other case was that of the still more power- ful, strenuous, and gifted woman, Anne, Countess AN UNPARALLELED SHERIFFWICK. 3 of Pembroke. Of her it is recorded that she not only took her seat on the bench, but " rode on a white charger as Sheriffess of Westmorland, before the Judges to open the Assizes." It will not be forgotten that territorial lords and ladies in bygone times held Courts of their own in con- nection with their manors and castles. The Rev. John Wharton, Vicar of South Stainmore, in a communication to the writer some time ago said : " From documents shown me by the late John Hill, Esq., Castle Bank, Appleby, the great but somewhat masculine Anne, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, seemed partial to Courts of her own. She sat upon many offenders as a judge, and it is handed down that she executed divers persons for treasonous designs and plotting against her estate." The Memoranda Rolls belonging to the Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, show the mode of presenting or nominating the Sheriff for West- morland in the time of the Cliffords, his admittance to the office by the Barons of the Exchequer, and his warrant for executing it. From the Rolls of the 15th, 19th, and 23rd years of Edward the First, when the Sheriffwick passed into the family of the Cliffords, it seems that the right of appoint- 4 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. ment was the subject of litigation between the two daughters and heiresses of the last of the Vetriponts. This ended in an agreement that the elder sister should " present" to, and the younger should ''approve" the appointment. In this way Robert de Moreville was admitted to the office of Sheriff in the fifteenth year of Edward's reign, Gilbert de Burneshead three years later, and Ralph de Manneby in 1 295, each swearing faithfully to execute his office and answer to both daughters. On the death of the sisters the Sheriffwick became vested in Robert de Clifford, son and heir of the eldest, and continued in the possession of his descendants until the attainder in 1 46 1. The list of Sheriffs is, of course, a very long one, and even allowing for the large number of individuals who have left nothing more than their names, there is much material for interesting study in the histories of the others. The actual work was rarely done by the holders of the office. *' The functionaries who performed the duties were simply deputies for the Sheriff, and although we find them attesting many ancient charters and grants relating to the county, recording them- selves as Vice-Comites (or Sheriffs), they AN UNPARALLELED SHERIFFWICK. 5 simply executed the office as Pro-Vice-Comites (or Under - Sheriffs). The attainder of the CHffords during the Wars of the Roses, until its reversal in the first year of Henry the Sixth, causes a void as regards their family, their places being filled from among the supporters of the House of York."^ For a considerable period Westmorland was treated as part of Yorkshire, the Sheriff of the latter county ren- dering an account of the two places jointly. From the time of John, however, the accounts rendered for Westmorland by Yorkshire Sheriffs would have been as Sub-Vice-Comites for the Vetriponts. The High Sheriffs and their connections lived in considerable state when the country was sufficiently peaceable to permit of it. This is proved by the arrangement and size of their castles, while Sir Lancelot Threlkeld, half-brother of Henry Clifford, used to boast that he had three noble houses. One, at Crosby Ravensworth, where there was a park full of deer, was for pleasure ; one for profit and warmth wherein to reside in winter, was the house at Yanwath ; and the estate at Threlkeld was "well stocked * Paper communicated by Sir G. Duckelt, July, 1879. 6 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. with tenants ready to go with him to the wars." The various "progresses" of the Countess Anne also afford evidence of the state kept up, for she frequently speaks of her journeys from one castle to another "escorted by my gentlemen and yeomen." Among the numerous pieces of patronage which became the prerogative of the High Sheriffs of Westmorland, was that of the Abbey of Shap, but there does not appear to be any record when this and other privileges passed from them, the property being granted by Henry the Eighth to the Whartons. Where so much power lay in the hands of one person, or of one family, differences with other authorities was perhaps inevitable. The interests of the burgesses of Appleby would seem to have clashed at times with those of the Sheriff, and for very many years the parties kept up a crusade against each other, especially during the reigns of the first three Edwards. What the cost of those proceedings may have been to the Sheriff cannot be told, but on the other side the result was the forfeiture of rights for a considerable time, because the fee farm rent had got into arrear. The Hereditary High Sheriff had the privilege of appointing the AN UNPARALLELED SHERIFFWICK. 7 governor of the gaol at Appleby, but he had to pay ^15 per annum towards the salary, while the magistrates appointed the other officials and made up from the county rates the remainder of the cost of the institution. The long period during which the holders of the Sheriffwick held the privilege is the more remarkable — as Sir G. Duckett, Bart., reminded the northern archaeologists in 1879 — because of the way in which ancient grants and statutes have in almost all cases become a dead letter and obsolete. A singular incident in connection with the Sheriffwick happened about seventy years ago, and is recorded in the life of Baron Alderson, father of the Marchioness of Salisbury. The Baron went to Appleby to hold the half-yearly assizes, but on arriving there found that he could not carry out his work because Lord Thanet was in France, and had omitted to send the documents for obtaining juries. The Judge had therefore to spend his time as best he could for several days, until a messenger could see the High Sheriff in Paris and obtain the necessary papers. When the eleventh and last Earl of Thanet 8 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. died in June, 1849, the male line of the family ceased, the estates passing by will to Sir Richard Tufton, father of the present Lord Hothfield. The office of Hereditary High Sheriff was claimed by the Rev. Charles Henry Barham, of Trecwn, nephew of the Earl, but a question arising as to the validity of a devise of the office, Mr. Barham relinquished his claim in favour of the Crown. An Act was afterwards passed — in July, 1850 — making the Shrievalty in Westmorland the same as in other counties. Match ant) Mar&. THE geographical position of the two counties rendered an extensive system of watching essential for the safety of the residents. In the northern parts of Cumberland, along the Border, this was particularly the case ; but there watch and ward was more of a military character than was necessary elsewhere, while as it was a part of the national defence it passed into the care of the Government for the time being. From the necessity for "watching and warding" against the northern incursions, came the name of the divisions of the two counties. Cumberland had for centuries five wards ; more recently for pur- poses of local government these were increased to seven ; and Westmorland also has four wards. The regulations of the barony of Gilsland, in a manuscript volume belonging to the Earl of Lonsdale, are very explicit as to what was required of the tenants in the way of Border service. These stipulated for good horses, efficient armour and weapons for the bailiffs, and a rigid supervision of those of lower rank. The lo BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. tenants' nags were ordered to be "able at anye tyine to beare a manne twentie or four-and-twentie houres without a baite, or at the leaste is able sufficientlye to beare a manne twentie miles within Scotlande and backe againe withoute a baite." Every tenant, moreover, had to provide himself with " a jacke, steale-cape, sworde, bowe, or speare, such weapons as shall be thought meatest for him to weare by the seyght of the baylife where he dwelleth or by the land- serjeante." The rules as to the watch required that every tenant should keep his night watch as he should be appointed by the bailiff, the tenant breaking his watch forfeiting two shillings, which in those days was a formidable amount. The tenants had to go to their watch before ten o'clock, and not to return to a house till after cock-crow ; they were also required to call twice to all their neighbours within their watches, once about midniofht, and "ones after the cockes have crowen," Detailed instructions were drawn up for the guidance of the men during their watches. These were even less emphatic, however, than those which referred to the maintenance and keeping of the beacons, of which fourteen public WATCH AND WARD. ii ones (including Penrith and Skiddaw) are named in Nicolson and Burn's History. Modernising the spelling, one of the paragraphs runs as follows : — "The watchers of a windy night shall watch well of beacons, because in a wind the fray cannot be heard, and therefore it is ordered that of a windy night (if a fray rise) beacons shall be burnt in every lordship by the watchers. One watcher shall keep the beacon burning and the other make speed to the next warner, to warn all the lordships, and so to set forwards. And if the watchers through their own default do not see the beacons burn, or do not burn their own beacons, as appointed, they shall each forfeit two shillings. If the warners have sufficient warning by the watchers, and do not warn all within their warning with great speed, if any fault be proved of the warner he shall forfeit i8d." The "Orders of the Watch" made by Lord Wharton in October, 1553, are of considerable local interest in connection with this subject, and the following extracts may for that reason be quoted : — "Ainstable, Armathwhaite, Nunclose, and Flodelcruke to keep nightly Paytwath with four persons ; William Skelton's bailiffs and constables to appoint nightly to set and search the said watch. Four fords upon Raven, to be watched by Kirkoswald, Laisingby, Glassenby, Little Salkeld, Ullesby, Melmorby, Ranwyke, and Harskew : at every ford nightly four persons ; and the searchers to be 12 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. appointed by the bailiffs and constables, upon the over- sight of Christopher Threlkeld, the King's Highness's servant. Upon Blenkarn Beck are five fords, to be watched by Blenkarn, Culgaith, Skyrwath, Kirkland, Newbiggin, Sourby, Millburn, Dufton, Marton, Kirkby- thore. Knock, and Milburn Grange ; bailiffs and constables to appoint searchers : Overseers, Christopher Crackenthorp, and Gilbert Wharton, the King's Highness's servants. Upon the water of Pettrel : From Carlisle to Pettrelwray ; bailiffs and constables there, with the oversight of the late Prior of Carlisle for the time being, or the steward of the lands. And from thence to Plompton ; overseer of the search and watch nightly John Skelton of Appletreethwayt, and Thomas Herrington, Ednal and Dolphenby ; Sir Richard Musgrave, knight, overseer, his deputy or deputies. Skelton and Hutton in the Forest ; overseers thereof, William Hutton and John Suthake. Newton and Catterlen, John Vaux, overseer, nightly. For the search of the watches of all the King's Highness's lands, called the Queen's Hames, the steward there, his deputy or deputies, nightly. From the barony of Graystock ; the Lord Dacre, his steward, deputy or deputies, overseers. This watch to begin the first night of October, and to continue until the i6th day of March ; and the sooner to begin, or longer to continue at the discretion of the Lord Warden General or his deputy for the time being. Also the night watch to be set at the day-going, and to continue until the day be light ; and the day watch, when the same is, to begin at the day light, and to continue until the day be gone." Penrith Beacon had an important place in the system of watch and ward in the south-eastern From a Photo by\ PENRITH BEACON. \Mr. John Bolton, Pinrith. WATCH AND WARD. i^^ parts of Cumberland and North Westmorland. As a former local poet wrote : — " Yon grey Beacon, like a watchman brave, Warned of the dreaded night, and fire-fed, gave Heed of the threatening Scot." The hill before being planted as it now appears, was simply a bare fell, without enclosures of any kind. The late Rev. Beilby Porteus. Edenhall, in one of his books,"* after mentioning the uses of Penrith Beacon, added: — "Before these parts were enclosed, every parish church served as a means of communication with its neighbours ; and, while the tower of Edenhall Church bears evident tokens of such utility, there yet exist at my other church at Langwathby, a morion, back, and breast-plate, which the parish were obliged to provide for a man, termed the 'Jack,' whose business it was at a certain hour in the evening to keep watch, and report below, if he perceived any signs of alarm, or indications of incursions from the Border." South Westmorland had as its most important look-out station, Farleton Knott, where " a beacon was sustained in the days of Scottish invasion, the ruddy glow of which was responded to by * "Sir Ewain ; or, the Giant's Cave." Penrith, i860. 14 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. the clang of arms and the war notes of the bugle." Wardhole, now known as Warthol, near Aspatria, was once an important protection station, watch and ward being kept against the Scots; from this place "the watchmen gave warning to them who attended at the beacon on Moothay to fire the same." The ancient beacon of Moota is about three miles from Cockermouth. Dealing with the natural position of Bothel, Nicolson wrote over a century ago : — " The town stands on the side of a hill, where in old time the watch was kept day and night for seawake, which service is performed by the country beneath Derwent at this place, and above Derwent, in Copeland, at Bothil, in Millom. It is called servicium de bodis in old evidences, whereupon this hill was named the Bode-hill, and the village at the foot of it Bode-hill-ton (Bolton), or Bodorum Collis. The common people used to call a lantern a bowet, which name and word was then in use for a light on the shore to direct sailors in the night, properly signifying a token, and not a light or lantern, as they call a message warranted by a token a bode- word, and the watchmen were called bodesmen, because they had a bode, or watchword given WATCH AND WARD. 15 them, to prevent the enemy's fraud in the night season." There was a noted beacon near Bootle, from which that town took its old name — " Bothill " — the beacon being fired, upon the discovery of any ships upon the Irish Sea which might threaten an invasion, by the watchmen who lay in booths by the beacon. For the support of this service the charge or payment of seawake was provided. This payment occurs in connection with various manors ; thus on an inquisition of knights' fees in Cumberland it was found that Sir William Penning- ton held the manor of Muncaster " of the King as of his castle of Egremont, by the service of the sixth part of one knight's fee rendering to the King yearly for seawake 12^ and the puture of two Serjeants." At the same inquiry it was certified that William Kirkby held the manor of Bolton, in the parish of Gosforth, of the King " by knight's service, paying yearly 10/- cornage, and seawake, homage, suit of court, and witness-man." He also paid two shillings seawake for other lands in the district. Many other instances of this tax for watch and ward in old days might be quoted, but diligent search and inquiry during the last few months have failed to show that it is now exacted i6 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. in any form, or when the payments were allowed to lapse. Of watch and ward as applied to town and village life as distinct from Border service there may be found in Cumberland and Westmorland records many very interesting and suggestive reminders. By the famous statute of Winchester it was provided that from Ascension Day to Michaelmas in every city six men should keep watch at every gate, in every borough twelve men, and in every other town six or four, ac- cording to the number of the inhabitants, and that these should watch the town continually all night from the setting to the rising of the sun. This was but one of three kinds of watches, the others being kept by the town constable, and the other set by authority of the justices. Every inhabitant was bound to keep watch in his turn, or to find another. It was specially provided that the watching and warding should be by men able of body and sufficiently weaponed, and therefore a woman required to watch might procure one to watch for her. While the person thus chosen had to bear sundry punishments in default of carrying out a duty which was neither pleasant nor safe, there was the wise provision that if a WATCH AND WARD. 17 watchman were killed in the execution of his duty, as in endeavouring to apprehend a burglar, his executors were entitled to a reward of ;^40. In the standard work by Orton's best known former Vicar may be found two copies of West- morland warrants, one for the keeping of watch, and the other for the commitment of a person apprehended by the watch, while there is also a copy of an indictment for not watching. This was no mere matter of form ; for hundreds of years after King Edward instituted the system it was the chief safeguard against robbery, and in a great many places against incursions of the enemy. At Kendal watch and ward was strictly main- tained, not for the purpose of keeping out marauding Scots or other undesirable characters, but for the maintenance of quiet and order in the streets. In 1575 the Mayor and burgesses of Kendal made the following order with reference to the watching of the borough : — " It is ordered and constituted by the Alderman and head burgesses of this borough of Kirkby Kendal, that from henceforth nightly in the same borough at all times in the year, there shall be kept and continued one suffici- ent watch, the same to begin at nine of the clock of the night, and to continue until four of the clock in the morning, in which watch always there shall be six persons, viz., 2 r8 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. two for Sowtergate, two for Marketstead and Strickland- gate, and two for Stramagate, to be taken and going by course in every constablewick one after the other, and taking their charge and watchword nightly off the con- stables or their deputies, severally as in old times hath been accustomed ; which six persons so appointed watch- men nightly shall be tall, manlike men, having and bear- ing with them in the same watch every one a halberd, ravenbill, axe, or other good and sufficient iron bound staff or weapon, sallett or scull upon every one his head, whereby the better made able to lay hands upon and apprehend the disordered night walkers, malefactors, and suspicious persons, and to prevent and stay other incon- veniences, and shall continually use to go from place to place and through street and street within the borough during all the time appointed for their watch, upon pain to forfeit and lose to the Chamber of this borough for every default these pains ensuing, that is to say, every householder chargeable with the watch for his default 3s. 4d., and every watchman for his default such fine and punishment as shall be thought meet by the Alderman and head burgesses." Shortly before the end of 1582 the foregoing order was repealed and another regulation sub- stituted. The material part was in the following quaint terms, the original spelling being observed : " And shall contynnally goo and walk fifrome place to place in and throughe suche streete within the same boroughe as they shal be opoyntyd and assigned by the ConstabuU or his deputy then settinge the watch that is to say ij of them in everie suche streete in companye together WATCH AND WARD. 19 as they may be apoynted ffor their sayd watche vpon payne to forfeyte and losse to the Chamber of this Bourgh for everie fault dewly pved theis payns ensuinge that is to say everie householder and wedow and bachler Charge- able wth the watche for his default xijd and every watch- man ffor his default such ffyne and punnyshmt as shal be thought mete by the Alderman or his deputye ffrome tyme to tyme beinge." At Carlisle and several other places the rules for the watch were among the most interesting and important items in the whole of the rules concerning local government. Fortunately the precautions were not put to the test. 20 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. Coming down to a much later period, but still connected with the protection of the two counties, a curious incident may be recalled, if for no other reason than that it is impossible for such a contre- temps ever to occur again. In 1807, after a ballot for the Cumberland Militia, Penrith being the headquarters, an order arrived for the recruits to be marched up to the regiment. They were, wrote an eye witness, accordingly mustered for that purpose in marching order, and, followed by many of the populace, arrived at Eamont Bridge, where the sister counties of Cumberland and Westmorland divide. Here there was a sudden halt. They would not cross the bridge without their county guinea. After some altercation, and promises by Colonel Lacy and other gentlemen that they should be paid on joining the regiment, which promises were of no avail, they were counter-marched to Penrith. For three successive days they were thus marched, and still halted at the division of the counties. The lower orders of the populace took part with the soldiers, and a riot ensued, in which Colonel Lacy, the commanding officer, was very roughly handled. The conse- quence was that a troop of Enniskillen Dragoons was sent for from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and WATCH AND WARD. 21 arrived in Penrith on the morning of the third day. A hard black frost was set in at the time, and the horses being "slape shod," they were falling in every direction. They were marched along with the recruits, who again stopped at the bridge. The populace was still unruly ; the dragoons loaded their firepieces ; the Riot Act was read, and the word "March" was given; but it was of no avail. A general cry was then raised that they would be satisfied with the promise of Colonel Hasell of Dalemain, but of no other man. Mr. Hasell came forward, and in a short, manly address, gave his promise that they should be paid on joining the regiment, and with cheers for the Colonel, they at once marched off IfiGbtiuG Bishops ant) jfortifieD Churches. THE ecclesiastical history of Cumberland and Westmorland is curiously interwoven with that of secular affairs. This to a large extent arises from the geographical position of the diocese of Carlisle — and particularly of the diocese before its extension in 1856, up to which year it was the smallest in England. The Bishop of Carlisle in bygone centuries had always to take a leading part in fighting schemes, and as the churches would be the only substantial struc- tures in some villages, they naturally came to be put to other uses than those of worship. The bishopric was indeed a unique district. Carlisle was the great Border fortress of the West Marches ; the Bishop was invariably a Lord Marcher, and often Captain of the Castle. In copies which Halucton (Halton) caused to be extracted from the Great Roll of the Exchequer, frequent references are made to expenses incurred during a siege. These are believed to refer to 1295-6, when the Earl of Buchan and Wallace assailed the city, and when the Bishop was FIGHTING BISHOPS. 23 apparently Warden. The ecclesiasts during many hundreds of years must have been almost as familiar with the touch of armour as with that of their sacred robes. Writing on this subject over a century ago a Cumberland authority said : — "As an example of the prevailing humour of those martial times, what sort of priest must we suppose Cressingham to have been, who never wore any coat that is accounted characteristic of a profession, but that in which he was killed, namely, an iron one. Beck, the fighting Bishop, was so turbulent a mortal that the English King, in order to keep him within bounds, was obliged to take from him a part of those possessions which he earned in battle, and in particular the livings of Penrith and Symond-Burne. But not to mention Thurstan, who fought the battle of the Standard, there are sufficient reasons for believing that most of the priests in the northern parts of England had a double profession, and they are so often mentioned as principals in these continual wars that one cannot help concluding that the martial one was more attended to. When the pastors are such, what must the people be ? " There was a very interesting quarrel — the facts being too numerous to be stated here — concerning the manor of Penrith, and those in some other parts of East Cumberland. They were in the possession of John de Baliol, by virtue of an agreement come to between the Kings of England and Scotland, but afterwards Edward the First quarrelled with Baliol, seized his lands, and 24 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. granted them to Anthony Beck, the military Bishop of Durham already mentioned. That prelate had assisted the King at the battle of Falkirk, with a considerable number of soldiers, and was greatly instrumental in obtaining the victory. When the Parliament met at Carlisle, however, the grant was disapproved, and as the Bishop did not attend to show by what title he had taken the lands, they were adjudged to belong to the Crown. The manuscripts of the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle contain many references to the knowledge of war required by the early Bishops. When Linstock was the episcopal residence, it lay exposed to the incursions of the Scots, whose respect of persons, as Mr. C. J. Ferguson has reminded us, was small. In April, 1309, Bishop Halton excused himself from obeying a summons to Parliament, pleading both fear of a Scots invasion and bad health as reasons. Later correspondence showed that the Bishop had been employed by the King as his deputy in suppressing outrages in the West March, and desired to be freed from some of his duties. The King there- fore absolved the prelate from the duties to which he objected, but begged him to assume the FIGHTING BISHOPS. 25 remainder of the offices in his commission, so as to restrain the lawlessness prevailing on both sides of the Border. The difficulties of defence, or the constant annoyance, became so great that in 13 18 Edward the Second obtained from the Pope the appropria- tion to the bishopric of Carlisle of the church of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, to be a place of refuge for the Bishop and his successors during the ravages of the northern enemy. Thomas de Lucy, upon the invasion of the Scots in 1346, "joined his strength with the Bishop of Carlisle [Welton], and so alarmed the enemy in the night- time, by frequent entering into their quarters, that at length they fled into their own country. And a truce shortly after ensuing, he was again joined in commission with the same Bishop and others to see the same duly observed." The Bishop was soon afterwards constituted one of the com- missioners for the arraying of men in the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland for the defence of the Borders, the French then threatening an invasion. With the gfrowth of these troubles from abroad, pressure was put upon those who could raise funds, of whom Bishop Appleby was not the least important. ''' Brevia de privato sigillo 26 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. quickly succeed one another at this time," wrote the Rev. J. Brigstocke Sheppard, in 1881,* when he had gone carefully through the muniments of the Dean and Chapter. " The King, in an agony of apprehension, occasioned by the threat of invasion, backed by a large fleet collected in the northern ports of France, begs the Bishop again and again to raise a defensive militia, to cause prayers to be offered in all churches, and finally to advance him as much money as he can upon security of the clerical disme which would soon be due." In a further letter, the King being deter- mined to borrow from such of his subjects as could best afford to lend, ordered the Bishop to send for six of the richest clergy and six of the most affluent laymen in each county, and upon these twenty-four to impose a loan of fifty marks on an average — more upon those who could afford it, and less upon those less able to bear the tax. In 1373 Bishop Appleby was enjoined by the King to reside continually in his diocese upon the Marches, and to keep the inhabitants in a state of defence as a protection to the rest of the kingdom against the Scots. And so through all the long list of Border * Historical Manuscripts Commissioners' Ninth Report. FIGHTING BISHOPS. 27 troubles the Bishops had to take a conspicuous share in the proceedings, until the ludicrous incident on Penrith Fell, which was the last occasion on which a Bishop took part in fighting on English soil. Various local chroniclers have given different versions, but there seems to be no room for doubt that the one by Chancellor Ferguson is accurate. When in 17 15 the Jacobites marched from Brampton to take Pen- rith, the people from all the country side (though whether the number was 4,000 or 14,000, as variously stated, is not material), armed with guns, scythes, pitch-forks, and other handy if not always military weapons, went on to the fell to meet the rebels. The '^ posse comitatus were under Lord Lonsdale and Bishop Nicolson, the latter seated in his coach, drawn by six horses. So soon as the Highlanders appeared, the posse comitatus went away ; in plain words they skedaddled, leaving the two commanders and a few of their servants. Lord Lonsdale presently galloped off to Appleby, and the Bishop's coach- man, whipping up his horses, carried off his master willy nilly to Rose Castle. It is said the prelate lost his wig, while shouting from the carriage window to his coachman to stop." The 28 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. result of this ignominious retreat was that the Jacobites took possession of Penrith for the time being, but behaved well, their most serious action being the proclamation of James the Third, and the capture of a lot of provisions. From fighting prelates to fortified churches is not a long step. Three or four of these structures have come in for more notice than the o^est, although the latter cannot thereby be considered as lacking some of the most interesting features of the others. During the last thirty years the changes necessitated by restorations of churches have caused some of these relics of turbulent times to be somewhat altered ; there are still, however, numerous village structures which tell their own story much more vividly, to the trained eye, than could be done by written record. When the late Mr. John Cory, county architect for Cumberland, read his paper on the subject at Carlisle a quarter of a century ago, he pointed out some of the characteristics of these ancient ecclesiastical strong- holds : " The distance from each other tells of a scanty population ; the deficiency of architectural decoration shows that the inhabitants of the district were otherwise engaged than in peaceful otcupations ; while traces of continual repairs in FIGHTING BISHOPS. 29 the fabric are evidently not to be attributed to the desire shown in the churches of many southern counties to make good buildings better, but have resulted from the necessity occasioned by the partial destruction of churches through hostile aggressions. In many instances it may be said that the church had been erected scarcely less for the safety of the body than for the benefit of the soul." That the abbey of Holme Cultram was once both a fortress and a church is shown to this day by the remains of earthworks which once served for its defence. Curious entries in the parish books also indicate the bitter hatred of the Cumbrians for those from over the Border. The value of the abbey is shown by a petition of the inhabitants of the lordship to Cromwell in 1538, when they asked " for the preservation and standynge of the Church of Holme Cultrane before saide ; whiche is not onlye unto us our parish Churche, and little ynoughe to receyve all us, your poore Orators, but also a great ayde, socor, and defence for us agenst our neghbours the Scots, witheaut the whiche, few or none of your Lordshipp's sup- plyants are able to pay the King his saide Highness our bounden dutye and service, ande 30 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. wee shall not onelye praye for his graciouse noble estate, but also your Lordshipp's prosperitie with increase of honour long to endure." The tower of Burgh-by-Sands Church, close to the Solwav, was built at the west end of the structure, with walls six feet to seven feet in thickness. A further indication of the desire for security is found in the bottoms of the windows of the church, which were placed eight feet from the ground. Entrance to the fortified tower could only be obtained through a ponderous iron door six feet eight inches high, with two massive bolts, and constructed of thick bars crossing each other, and boarded over with oak planks. As only one person at a time could gain access to the vaulted chamber, there was every possibility of offering effective opposition to attacks, while the ringing of the bells would be the signal for bringing any available help. What was true of one side of the Solway was equally true of the other, there being still traces of fortified churches on the Scottish side of the Firth. Newton Arlosh Church is another noteworthy example of a building " Half house of God, half castle 'gainst the Scots," though here the bulk of the attention would seem FIGHTING BISHOPS. 31 to have been paid to bodily danger. The door- way was made only two feet six inches wide, and as at Burgh the lowest parts of the windows were placed above the reach of a man's hand — in this case the sills were seven feet from the ground. Light was of less consequence than security, and so the windows were only one foot wide, with a height of three feet four inches. Though further away from the Border than either of the other churches mentioned, that at Great Salkeld was peculiarly liable to attack by the Scottish raiders, as it occupies a strong position near the river Eden, whose banks seem to have been much used by the undesirable visitors. The tower is in a splendid state of preservation, although necessarily much altered, in detail, from its former condition. There were five floors, that on the ground level being a vaulted room, with a strong door of iron and oak leading into the church. Three small apertures afforded light and opportunities for watching from the first floor, and that room also contained a fireplace. In a footnote in their " Cumberland " volume of " Magna Britannia," the brothers Lysons suggest that Great Salkeld Church might have been fortified about the time that Penrith Castle was 32 BYGONE CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND. built. There is, however, no direct evidence on the point. Dr. Todd, the former Vicar of Penrith, who was noted for his encounters with his superiors, says in his account of Great Salkeld Church, that in his time there was a place " called the Corryhole, for the correction and imprison- ment of the clergy, while the Archdeacon had any power within the diocese." Prior to the restoration of Dearham Church, the structure possessed numerous features of interest to the antiquary, some of which have necessarily been removed or altered. The lower storey of the tower consisted of a barrel-vaulted chamber, originally enclosed from the church, and entered only by a small and strongly-barred doorway, similar to that at Burgh. When the Antiquarian Society visited Dearham some twenty years ago, the late Canon Simpson drew special attention to this part of the church. He said it had un- questionably "been one of the old massive fortified towers peculiar to the Border district : from it, whilst the parishioners were being besieged, a beacon fire at the top would alarm their friends in the surrounding country." Some oak beams then seen in the tower showed signs of fire, one of them being charred half through. FIGHTING BISHOPS. 33 The lower part of the tower of Brigham Church, only a few miles from Dearham, is strongly vaulted with stone, access being obtained to the chamber above by means of a narrow door and winding- stairs. From these features it has been concluded by archaeologists that this was one of the old Border fortified churches. Further away from the Border, into Mid Westmorland, the searcher may still meet with evidences of old-time church builders having a much keener eye for the defensive qualities of their structures than for architectural beauty. 