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Orton in Westmorland County England History and GeographyORTON, a market town and parish, in EAST ward, county of WESTMORLAND, 9 miles (S.W. by S.) from Appleby, and 275 (N.W. by N.) from London, containing, with part of Birbeck Fells and Fawcet Forest, 1525 inhabitants. The town is pleasantly situated near the river Lune, and consists chiefly of one irregular street, which is neither paved nor lighted: it is supplied with water by two small rivulets, which unite at its extremity. The knitting of hose was formerly carried on to a considerable extent, but has now fallen into decay. There is a copper mine in the neighbourhood, which also abounds with limestone: at Coalflat, about a mile from the town, is a small mill for spinning flax. A small market is held on Friday, the grant of which was confirmed by Cromwell, in 1653; and there are fairs on May 3rd, Friday before Whit-Sunday, and on the second Friday after Old Michaelmas, for horned cattle and sheep. The land is freehold, the manorial rights being vested in the landowners; the freeholders elect four nominal lords, who hold a court occasionally for the enrollment of the names of purchasers of land, and for other matters. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle, rated in the king's books at £16. 17. 3½., and in the patronage of the Landowners. The church, which is dedicated to All Saints, stands upon rising ground on the north side of the town; it is a neat edifice, in the ancient style of English architecture, with a low embattled tower: in the interior is a monument in memory of Dr. Richard Burn, vicar of Orton, chancellor of the diocese, author of treatises on 'The Office of a Justice of the Peace,' and on 'Ecclesiastical Law,' and, conjointly with Joseph Nicholson, of the History of Westmorland and Cumberland. The free school, which was founded by subscription, about 1730, was rebuilt on a different spot in 1809; Mrs. Frances Wardale, in 1781, bequeathed the sum of £400, which with other benefactions produces annually £21. 15.; from seventy to eighty children are instructed, those who can afford it paying a small quarterage. At Tebay, within this parish, is a free grammar school, endowed by Robert Adamson, in 1672, with land in Kendal parish, producing £45 per annum; about sixty children are instructed gratuitously: another, at Greenholme, was endowed by George Gibson, Esq., in 1733, with £400 original Bank stock: the master receives a small quarterly payment from some of the children. On the highest part of Orton Scar there was formerly a beacon, communicating with those of Penrith, Stanmore, and Whinfell, in Kendale; and behind the Scar, to the east, is Castle-Folds, a place of safety for cattle, in case of incursions from the Scottish borderers, before the union of the two kingdoms. Near Raisgill hall is a circular tumulus of loose stones, one hundred yards in circumference, on digging beneath which, a human skeleton and several bones were found. In a field, called 'Gamelanes,' is a number of large granite stones, considered to be the remains of a Druidical temple. Near the church is Our Lady's Well, with a small chapel, formerly appropriated to the reception of offerings made by pilgrims. Dr. Thomas Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln, and a writer of some eminence, was born in this parish in 1607; he died in 1691. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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