Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/719

Rh CUMBERLAND. 709 CUMBERLAND. very mountainous, rising to a height of 2,236 feet above the sea-level, at Mount Sawel, part of the Sperrin range, living is a rect. in the dioc. of Deny, val. 1,225, in the patron, of the bishop. It forms the corps of a prebend in Uerry Cathedral. The church, erected in 1757, is a commodious structure, and has a small tower. In 1831 the district of Learmount was founded, and eight townlands were detached from this parish for thu purpose. There is a Roman Catholic chapel at Gortscreagau and Claudy, where is also a meeting-houso for Presbyterians. In the Roman Catholic arrangement a part of the parish is united to Banagher and a part to Lower Cumber. Here are several schools, both parochial and private, two of which are endowed by the Fish- mongers' Company. The seats are Learmount and Cum- ber House. There is much valuable timber in the grounds of the former. CUMBERLAND, the extreme N.W. co. of England, bounded on the N. by Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire, on the E. by Northumberland and Durham, on the S.E. by Westmoreland, Lancashire, and the estuary of the Dii'lden, and on the W. by the Irish Sea and the Solway Frith. Its greatest length from S.W. to N.E. is 74 miles, and its breadth 31 miles. It contains 1,565 square miles, or 1,001,273 acres, being about 215 miles in circuit. It lies between 54 11' and 55 12' N. lat., and between 2 17' and 3 37' W. long. In form it is an irregular rhom- bfiid, with the acute angles at the N. and S. extremities. During the Roman occupation of this island, Cumber- land was inhabited by the Voluntii and the liriyantei, a brave and independent race, who gave very great trouble to the invaders. Ostorius Scapula, and Didius, who suc- ceeded him, A.D. 55, defeated them several times, but they again revolted during the reign of Vespasian, under Venutius, the principal British leader after the capture of Caractacus. This revolt was quelled by Petilius Cerealis, but the country was not entirely subdued till Hadrian's expedition in A.D. 121, when he built the " Picts' Wall," to protect them and the other British tribes from the incessant forays of the Picts and Cale- donians. This wall, which connected a few forts built about 40 years previously by Agricola, was rebuilt in 210 by Severus, who added a stone wall close to it, the former one being merely a mound of earth. Traces of it are seen in many places, from its commencement at Bowness, on the Solway Frith, to the point where it leaves the county near the Rose Hill station. There are also many remains of Roman camps and stations, espe- cially at Old Carlisle, Old Penrith, Maryport, Bewcastlc, Salkeld, and Lazonby ; the two latter were connected by a road. On the withdrawal of the Romans, the whole country was devastated by the Scots and Picta, and during the early Saxon period by the Danes. At that time it formed part of the kingdom of Northumbria, but retained the right of having a separate ruler. In 945, Edmund I. granted it to Malcolm, King of Scotland, but at the Norman Conquest it was considered as part of England, although, owing to the repeated raids of its northern neighbours, it was so poor that William I. remitted all the taxes, and the county is not rated in Domesday Book. Henry I. granted it to Ranulph do Meschines, Earl of Chester, on condition of his defending the borders ; and in a conference at York (1237) Henry 111. assigned lands to the value of 200 to the Scots, iu satisfaction of all their claims on the county, but a large tract was still considered as debatable ground, and was subject to the alternate ravages of the Scots and English. Edward I. died at Burgh-by-Sands, while passing through the county on his way to Scotland. During the contest between the house of Stuart and the parliament, Cumberland took the royalist side, and also espoused the cause of the Pretender in 1715. In 1745, the city of Carlisle surrendered to Charles Edward, and being retaken by the Duke of Cumberland, the leaders in the movement wore severely punished by him. The scenery of the whole of this county is very beautiful, and affords considerable variety. The northern portion, around Carlisle, is generally flat or undulating, tho soil consisting principally of dry loam, suitable for the culti- vation of grain and turnips ; but as the S. is approached the country becomes more and more rugged and barren, and instead of corn and turnip fields, and pasture-lauds surrounded by hedges, nothing is seen but short green turf, with grey rooks cropping out here and there, and where enclosure is attempted, the only fences are " stone dikes," that is, walls of loose stones, about 5 feet high. In the S.W. portion are tho highest mountains, and some of the largest and most beautiful lakes and waterfalls in England. There the soil is frequently boggy, alternating with mossy gravel, covered to a largo extent with heather. On the sides of the smaller hills, however, there is a fair proportion of good, dry, brown loam, very suitable for cultivation. The more elevated districts are used mostly for pasturage. The cattle are of both the long and short horned and the Galloway breeds ; the sheep chiefly belong to the native class, called " Herdwicks," of a rather small size, with speckled faces and legs, and short coarse wool. Excepting a few of tho rams, they are all polled. Some of the farmers in these parts have, withia the last few years, turned their attention to the cultivation of the high lauds, and the moors in the lowland districts, and many acres have been reclaimed, which before would grow no crops. Much of the pro- duce is exported from Whitehaven, Workington, Port Carlisle, and Maryport. It consists chiefly of cattle, sheep, poultry, potatoes, grain, butter, and bacon. The dairy produce is not very abundant, as the dairies are all on a small scale, but it is of a very high quality, and always fetches a good price. Many of the farms belong to the occupiers, and iu some cases have been for several generations in the same families. The owners of such farms are called " Estatosmen," or sometimes by the Scotch name, " Lairds," and hold them under the lords of manors by customary tenure, subject to fines and heriots. The farming has been much improved since the forma- tion of the various agricultural societies, the first of which was founded at Workington by Mr. Curwen. At Carlisle, Penrith, and Whitehaven thereare horticultural societies, which are doing all in their power to encourage the cultivation of fruit and flowers. The principal moun- tains are Sea Fell, 3,166 feet; Helvellyn, 3,055; Skid- daw, 3,022; Bow Fell, E. of Sea Fell, 2,911 ; Cross Fell, 2,901; the Pillar, 2,893; Red Pike, 2,850 ; Saddle- back, 2,787; Grisdale Pike, 2,756; High Pike, near Hesket-Newmarket, 2,101 ; Causey Pike, 2,040; Black Comb, near Bootle, 1,919; and Dent Hill, near Egre- mont, 1,110. From Skiddaw, ScaFell, and Helvellyn can be seen, iu clear weather, the Irish Sea, the mountains of Wales and Scotland, with the Isle of Man, and the Irish coast beyond. Snow is frequently seen on these three mountains until the months of May and June. On the Cross Fell ridge a body of clouds is frequently seen half way down the fells, quite stationary. This is called by tho people the " helm," and opposite to it is usually seen another cloud, called the " helm bar," in a state of agitation, caused by a partial wind. When this is dis- persed, the helm also is broken up, and the wind rushes down into the valley, frequently inflicting great damage on the crops. Grouse and a few black game are to be found on all the mountains. The principal lakes are, Ullcswater, Thirlemere, Bassenthwaite Water, Der- wentwater, Buttermere, Crummock Water, Lowes- water, Ennerdale, and Wastwater. UUeswater is the largest of these, and measures y miles in length, by 1 mile in breadth. The others vary from 1 mile to 4 miles in length, and from half a mile to 1 mile in breadth. All are very deep; Wastwater, tho deepest, being 270 feet. En- iierdale, Ulleswater, Buttermere, and Crummock Water contain char, as well as trout, pike, and perch. The three last-named species are to be found iu all the tarns and lakes of the county. Chub are also to be found in Ulles- w.-iti.T, but in no other lake in England. The best known of the numerous mountain tarns are, Overwater, near Uldale; Tarn Ayadling, near High Hesket; TalkmTarn, in Hayton parish ; Martin Tarn, in Wigton parish ; BurnmoorTarn, between Sea and Screes fells ; and Sty- head Tarn, near Borrowdale. These all abound in trout and eels, some containing also perch and pike. Tarn