button to main menu Bowen 1763
   back to object record
Descriptive Text
Spare space around the county maps is filled with panels of descriptive text, and a vignette.

Westmorland The County of Westmoreland is 36 miles long, 34 broad, & 140 in Circumference, contains about 510000 Acres, 4 Wards, 7 Markets, and 1 Burough Town, 32 large Parishes, & about 6500 Houses. The Air is sharp clear and healthy. The Country is Mountainous, & the hilly soil barren, yet affordiong Pasture for Store of Sheep. The Vallys are fruitful in Corn, & Fertile in Grass. Winander Mere & Ulles Lake are famous standing Waters in this County. Stockings, Cloth and Stuffs, are its Manufactures.

Ambleside Ambleside is conjectur'd by some to be the Amboglana of the Romans, from the ruins of an Old Roman Fortification & Coins &c. found there.

Appleby-in-Westmoreland APPLEBY the Aballaba of the Romans; Tis the County Town & the Assizes are held in its Castle. It has the best Corn Markets in these Northern parts.

Dunmail Raise Stones Dunmail-Raise-Stones, are suppos'd to have been erected by Dunmail, King of Cumberland.

Kendal Kendal so call'd from its situation on the River Ken, is a large well built and populous, driving a considerable Trade in Coarse Cloths, Druggets, Serges, Hats, Worsted Stockings &c. It was made a Corporation by Queen Elizth. & its privileges inlarg'd by King Jas. 1st. conisting of a Mayor, 12 Aldermen, Common Council men, a Recorder &c. Here is a good Free School well endow'd with Exhibitions, for Schollars to Queen's College Oxford.

Milnthorpe Milnthorp is the only Sea Port Town in Westmoreland and the commoditys which are imported are brought hither in small Vessells from Grange in Lancashire.

Windermere lake Winander Mere is reckon'd the largest Lake in England, and affords great plenty of Fish, which belong to Applethwate in Winander Mere Parish. All the Isles of this Lake (or the Holmes as they are call'd) are parts of the County of Westmoreland.


Cumberland The County of Cumberland is 84 Miles long, 40 Miles broad, & 230 Miles in Circumference, contains about 1,040,000 Acres, is divided into 5 Wards, in which are 1 City, 8 Market Towns, 58 Parishes, & about 14825 Houses. The Air in this Country is Sharp & Cold, the soil is tolerably fruitful. It yields plenty of Fish, Flesh, Grain & Fowl. It has several Mines of Coal, Lead, Copper, Silver & Lapis Caliminaris; also Black Lead in abundance. In this County many Roman Antiquitys have been discover'd.

Carlisle CARLILE, 302 miles from London, is pleasantly situated, populous & well built. It is a City of great Antiquity, said to have been built long before the coming of the Romans. It was ruin'd by the Incursions of the Caledonians, & other barbarous Nations. About the Year 680, it was rebuilt & wall'd round with Stone by Egfrid K. of Northumberland. In the Year 700, & 800, it was Sacked & laid in Ashes by the Danes, and remained in a desolate Condition, till the time of Willm. Rufus, who having made a Peace with the Scots visited Carlile, and order'd the Walls & Castle to be repair'd. King Hen. 1st. repair'd & much augmented its Fortifications. The Castle is a well fortified building; as is the Citadel, which receieved several additions from K. Hen. 8th. The Cathedral is a very Magnificent Structure. The Corporation is very antient by Charter, from King Edwd. 3d. Richd. 2d. Hen. 4th. & Hen. 6th. and consists of a Mayor, chosen Yearly out of 12 Aldermen a Recorder &c. The Livings at Carlile are St. Cuthbert c. Wrea, Hesketh, & Armathwait Chapels; and the Knave of the Cathedal is Parochial.

Carlisle Cathedral Lower left is a vignette, an engraving of:-
The North Prospect of the Cathedral Church of St. Mary at CARLILE.

Carlisle Diocese The Diocese of Carlile contains the better half of Cumberland & Westmoreland under the Government of the Archdeacon of Carlile, which has these Deaneries belnging to it, vizt. Allerdale, Carlile, Penrith Co. Cumberland, and Westmoreland Deanery Co. Westmoreland. It was once one part of it Subordinate to the See of Durham, & the other to York; from which Dioceses it was taken Anno 1133. Here are 93 large Parishes, 18 of which are Impropriate; but according to Brown Willis Esq. here are 131 Churches and Chapels. The Clergy's Tenths amount to no more than 161l. 1s. 7d. the least of any of the English Bishopks.

Cockermouth Cockermouth is an Antient Burough. Tis Govern'd by a Bailiff, chosen Yearly by a Jury of 16 Burghers at the D. of Somerset's Court. It sent Burgesses to Parliament so early as 23d. K. Edwd. 1st. which it afterwards omitted till this antient Privilege was restor'd by order of Parlt. Decr. 4th. 1640.

Eden, River The Eden after having receiv'd several other considerable Rivers, empties itself into the Itunian Bay or Solway Frith, where we meet with Burgh upon Sands. About 6 miles further is Boulness, the old Balt[iun] Bulg[ia]n a Roman Station now a little Village; having the conveniency of a Harbour & a Fort for its defence. Near this begins the Picts Wall, erected by the Romans, for the defence of the Britains against the Picts, & afterwards repair'd by Theodosius, father & son. It was begun by the Emperor Adrain, & inlarged by Severus: Tis made of Turf, & fortified wth. a Ditch, extending to Newcastle upon Tyne, about 80 miles in length. Upon this Wall where Castles & Towers, where Soldiers where Garrison'd, and in the inside where fix'd Brazen Trumpets or Pipes, laid along to call from one Station to another. Here are frequently found Roman Coins, Pavements &c. and not long since was discover'd a figure of a Victory, or a Mercury.

Egremont Egremond is noted for its stately Castle, the ancient Seat of the Ld. Copeland. This Town was represented in Parliament 23d. Edwd. 1st. but never since.

Keswick Keswick was formerly a Town of Note: This place has been for many Ages famous for its Mines; the Miners have a convenient Smelting House by the Darwentside, the Streams of which they manage so ingeniously, as to make them Work the Bellows, Hammers, & Forge; likewise for sawing Boards. Sr. John Banks Kt. Attorney General to King Charles 1st. erected a Work House here, for employing the Poor of this, & the Parish of Crosthwate.

Penrith Penrith is a large & well built Town, esteemem'd the 2d. in the County for Trade. The Church is a very spacious and fine Structure. In King Henry 8th. time it was honour'd with the Title of a Suffragen Bishop. Here are two Charity Schools, the one for 20 Boys, and the other for 30 Girls. Two thousand two hundred & sixty Persons died here of a Plague, in 1598.

Whitehaven Whitehaven carrys on a very extensive Foreign as well as Home Trade; & is by far the most considerable in tha respect, of all the Sea Port Towns in the North West parts of England; especially for the Coal Trade, from whence some Hundreds of Ships are freighted for Ireland, and other parts every Year.

button to lakes menu   Lakes Guides menu.