BHO

The parish of Dalton

Pages 304-319

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1914.

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DALTON

Daltune, Dom. Bk.; Dalton, 1160. Chiluestreuic, Dom. Bk. Cliuerton, Dom. Bk.; Criuelton, 1155. Fordebodele, Dom. Bk.; Fordebotle, 1155; Fortebothle, 1190. Hietun, Dom. Bk. Meretun, Dom. Bk.; Merton, 1160. Ouregriue, Dom. Bk.; Oregrave, Houegrave, 1235. Rosse, Dom. Bk.; Ros, 1155. Sourebi, Dom. Bk. Suntun, Dom. Bk. Warte, Dom. Bk.

The parish of Dalton occupies the south-west corner of Furness, having at its outside limit the Isle of Walney as a breakwater to protect the harbour of Barrow from the storms of the Irish Sea. This long island seldom attains a height of 50 ft. above sea level, though Beacon Hill rises to 78 ft.; it serves as a pleasure resort for the people of Barrow, the beach facilitating sea-bathing. The James Dunn Park, opened in 1902, is in private ownership. At Hawes Point, at the south-east end, is a lighthouse, built in 1790. Opposite Barrow is Vickerstown, a model town constructed by the Vickers Maxim Company for their workmen.

The entrance to the harbour at the south-east is guarded by Piel Island, formerly called Foudray, with the ruins of its castle. (fn. 1) Nearer the mainland is Roa Island, the original terminus of the Furness railway in 1846, the pier there being the place of discharge and loading of the trading steamers. Later the terminus was fixed at the south-east end of the town, opposite St. George's Church. Several coasting services are maintained — to Liverpool, Fleetwood, Morecambe, and daily to Belfast. Further up the harbour are other islands. The most considerable of them, Old Barrow, has now, like the small outlying Ramsey, been connected with the mainland, the intervening waters having been formed into docks and the land utilized for great shipbuilding works. The huge cantilever cranes are a characteristic feature. On Old Barrow in 1842 was the residence of the owner, T. Y. P. Michaelson, who died in 1855; the family had lived there from 1746, but sold it in 1862 to the Furness Railway Company. (fn. 2) The artificial harbour was accordingly constructed in 1863; Devonshire Dock and Buccleuch Dock were opened in 1867 and 1873, a graving dock in 1872 and Ramsden Dock in 1879. On Old Barrow is Cavendish Park.

The town of Barrow lies on the mainland, on the comparatively level surface of this corner of the parish. Being of recent origin, it is laid out with regularity, its streets being wide and straight. Through the shore side of the town Duke Street runs from south-east to north-west, having at the lower end the town hall, distinguished by a tall clock tower, and in the centre Ramsden Square (fn. 3); from this square Abbey Road ascends north-east through the residential suburb of Newbarns towards the Furness Abbey ruins, which are some 2 miles from the water side. At the south end of Duke Street, in the open space called Schneider Square, (fn. 4) stand the post office, built in 1891, (fn. 5) and the government offices, 1903. From this point a street leads in one direction across the high level bridge to Old Barrow, and in the opposite direction, as Dalton Road, it curves round to Abbey Road. A bridge from Old Barrow across the channel to Walney Island was opened in 1908. The primitive passage was by fords, passable at low water, from Barrow to Biggar (the Doufa Haw ford) (fn. 6) and to North Scale. The ford, assisted by a small bridge, is still in use. There is also a steam ferry.

Among the chief buildings of the town are the two banks, two clubs, and the Working Men's Institute, built in 1870. The Ramsden Hall, built in 1871, is now used for educational purposes, and the Temperance Hall (1860) is now the St. George's Institute. A theatre was built in 1862; the present Royalty Theatre dates from 1894, and there are music-halls.

The ruins of Furness Abbey, as already stated, are on the northern boundary of the town in a ravine or gill, beautifully clad with trees. A little above them stands Abbot's Wood, the seat of the late Sir James Ramsden and now of his son Mr. F. J. Ramsden. An adjacent seat is Millwood. (fn. 7)

DALTON

Nearly 2 miles further north is the little town of Dalton, which gives a name to the parish and was till sixty years ago the only town in it. It is built mainly upon a long and wide street, running east and west and having side-streets going off on the north. The west end is the older part; it stands upon a slight hill, rising to about 200 ft. above the sea, and is crowned by the tower, the court-house for the lordship of Furness; the parish church is close by. To the north a range of hills begins, which before reaching the boundary of Kirkby Ireleth attains 850 ft. above sea level. Down the valley at the east side of this range flows the beck, known as Poaka Beck at first and later by various other names as it passes by Dalton and the abbey on its way south. The upper portion of the valley has been formed into a large reservoir for the Barrow waterworks.

The total area of Dalton is 17,961½ acres, (fn. 8) of which the modern borough and township of Barrow has 11,023, (fn. 9) and the rest forms the new township of Dalton. The population in 1901 numbered 70,606, the greater part—viz. 57,586 persons—being in Barrow. In 1911 the figures were 74,540 and 63,775 respectively. Formerly the parish was not divided into townships, though there were four wellrecognized quarters called bierleys (fn. 10) —Above Town in the north; Hawcoat, including Walney, on the south-west; Yarlside, which embraced the abbey, on the south-east; and Dalton proper, round the town and extending to the eastern boundary.

Above Town, 5,362 acres, had two parts—viz. Ireleth and Lindal with Marton, separated to west and east by the beck above mentioned. Ireleth, or Kirkby Ireleth as it was called in the 17th and 18th centuries, (fn. 11) had the central hamlet and chapel; the area measured 4,196 acres, and it contained Marsh Grange and Dunnerholme on the north-west, Stewnor on the north-east, Greenscow and Mousell on the north, Askam on the west, Roanhead and Park in the south-west and Elliscales on the southern border, close to Dalton. In the other portion ot the bierley Marton was at the north end and Lindal on the south-east, while Titeup or Tytup lay near the middle of the western border.

Dalton proper had an area of 1,045 acres. The turning point at the eastern border, between Dalton, Lindal and Urswick, is marked by Standing Tarn. To the south of Dalton town is Anty Cross.

Yarlside includes many ancient sites, as Billingcote, Waltoncote and Parkhouse, Newton (anciently Crivelton), Stank, Holebeck, Roose, Roosecote, Newtown and Rampside. The last-named hamlet was in 1825 resorted to for sea-bathing; 'the accommodations,' it was stated, 'are good but not sumptuous, and the expense nearly as moderate as in the Isle of Man.' (fn. 12) Yarlside had an area of 4,010½ acres, including a small detached part west of Dalton.

Hawcoat took its name from a hamlet a mile and a half to the west of the abbey. It had Cocken, Ormsgill and Sowerby close to it, to south, southwest and north-west; Sandscale further to the north, with the sandy district of Sandscale Haws to the north-west of it; Barrow, Hindpool and Salthouse to the south and south-east on the shore. Hawcoat also included Walney Island, of 3,065 acres extent, with two parts—North Scale (including North End), 1,598 acres, and Biggar (including South End), 1,467 acres; and the various islets in the harbour. The total area of Hawcoat was 7,544 acres. Considerable changes have taken place in the area and shape of Walney Island owing to the action of the tides. Field plans have been published of Cocken (fn. 13) and North Scale. (fn. 14) 'Tangling' was the local word for getting the sea-weed for manure; at one time it was used for making kelp. A curious field-name was Jowle or Jowel, to the west of North Scale. (fn. 15)

The district is now well supplied with roads. A century ago the chief roads were those from Dalton and Ireleth to Ulverston, minor trackways diverging from Dalton to west and south. Of the existing roads, one of the chief extends from Barrow to Dalton and goes on to Ulverston, with branches to Kirkby Ireleth in the north and to Aldingham and Bardsea in the east. Another begins at Roa Island, and goes by Rampside and Roose to Dalton. The history of the Furness railway has already been told in outline. Its terminus is at the side of Walney Channel, where passengers land and embark on the various steamers plying to Fleetwood and other places. The line then crosses Barrow Island, and passing the south end of the town, where was the former terminus, turns north to Furness Abbey and Dalton, and thence north-east to Ulverston and Cartmel; there are stations at Roose, the Abbey, Dalton and Lindal. The Whitehaven branch, coming from the north, enters the parish near Marsh Grange and proceeds south by Askam, where there is a station, until about a mile from Dalton, at Park (fn. 16); there it turns westward, and, going south through Sowerby, inclines more to the east so as to skirt the town of Barrow. Here is the Central Station (1882), now the principal one for the town. The line is thence continued east to join the older line (described above) near Cavendish Dock. A loop-line goes round the town on the shore side to serve the docks and the iron and steel works, and there is a single-line branch to Roa Island, representing the first railway constructed here. There are also several mineral railways for the use of the iron mines. For Barrow a tramway service began in 1885; steam was at first used as motive power, but electricity was adopted in 1904. The tramways are in the hands of a private company.

The iron mines are scattered all around Dalton, but the principal workings now are at Lindal to the north-east of that town and at Askam to the west. These last were discovered in 1851. In 1836 there were no manufactures in the parish except hand-loom weaving at Dalton, at which place there was also some malting. (fn. 17) The Haematite Iron and Steel Works at Barrow were constructed to utilize the local ore on the spot; they were founded in 1859, and have been greatly enlarged from time to time. The existing Haematite Steel Company was founded in 1864, and purchased the iron works in 1866. The Naval Armaments Company was established in 1888, and this has been absorbed since 1897 by the Vickers Maxim Company, so that Barrow has become famous as the place of construction of great battleships. Many other industries have, with more or less success, been attempted at Barrow, such as flourmilling, flax and jute works (now partly closed) and the chemical wood-pulp works. Grain, timber and petroleum are imported and stored. Ship-repairing, ropemaking and brewing are also carried on. There is some brewing at Dalton also. The valuable saltbeds at Walney are not at present worked.

Low Furness has long been famous for its fertility. A writer in 1825 stated that 'a rich corn country intervenes between Hawcoat and the Isle of Walney,' and on this island 'the land is well cultivated; sea sand, or rather ooze, is used for manure; and plentiful crops of wheat and other grain are produced. . . . Many of the fresh water wells . . .are intermitting and have their flow and their ebb regulated by the advance and recession of the tide.' (fn. 18) Agriculture is still important. The soil and subsoil are clay in the north, sandy and loamy in the south. The land is now occupied as follows (fn. 19) :—

Arable land ac. Permanent grass ac. Woods and plantations ac.
Dalton 295 1,013 48
Above Town 874 3,685 151
Yarlside 1,700 1,598½ 35
Barrow 407 1,143 272
Walney 665 769½
3,941 8,209 506

These figures account for two-thirds of the area.

There were several ancient crosses and wells in and near the town of Dalton. (fn. 20)

The older history of the parish is largely that of Furness Abbey, to which it belonged. The Romans are said to have made a road across Furness through Dalton, but this is doubtful. Martin Schwartz landed at Piel in 1487 with soldiers who were to assist the Yorkists to place Lambert Simnel on the throne. The Civil War was marked by brief conflicts near Dalton and Hawcoat in 1643–4. Some thirty years later the laws proscribing the Roman Catholic religion were used to divert the abbey estate from the purpose intended by its owner.

Hunting was a favourite recreation in the district, and the hunt at Dalton led in the 18th century to an annual festival called the Rout, a day occupied by sports being ended by a ball in the assembly rooms which were built for the purpose. The Rout was discontinued in 1789. (fn. 21)

At funerals there was a curious custom called the Arval. A full meal of bread and cheese and ale was served at the house of mourning before the interment. Afterwards the company met at a publichouse appointed, sitting down by fours. A cake was supplied to each guest, to be taken home, and another cake to each four, to be divided equally and eaten with the ale supplied at the same time. (fn. 22)

In 1624 the county lay, founded on the older fifteenth, ordained that the parish should raise £5 14s. 4¾d. towards each £100 levied upon the hundred. (fn. 23)

The Territorials are represented by battalions at Dalton and Barrow.

Three newspapers are published at Barrow: the Herald (founded in 1863) on Tuesday and Saturday, the News (1881) on Saturday, and the North-Western Daily Mail (1898) each evening. (fn. 24)

Apart from the creators of its modern industries, the most famous name connected with the parish is that of George Romney the painter. He was born at Beckside, Dalton, in 1734, and afterwards lived at High Cocken, working with his father, a cabinetmaker and farmer. In 1745 he became apprentice to an itinerant portrait painter named Steele, and ultimately settled in London, where in time he acquired fame and fortune as a portrait painter. In 1798, in poor health and almost mad, he settled in Kendal, dying there on 15 November 1802. He lies buried at Dalton. (fn. 25) Margaret Fell (1614–1702), wife of Judge Fell of Swarthmoor and then of George Fox, was a daughter of John Askew of Marsh Grange. (fn. 26) Thomas Lawson, a herbalist and botanist, was born at Rampside in 1630 and became minister at the chapel there. He became a Quaker in 1653 and published some religious works. He died in 1691. (fn. 27)

Manors

Before the Conquest the district of Dalton comprised a number of manors, assessed in all from 31 to 37 ploughlands. All were held by Earl Tostig in 1066 as part of Hougun, as follows:—DALTON, 2 plough-lands; 'Chiluestrewic' or Killerwick, 3; Sowerby, 3; 'Hietun,' 4; 'Fordebodele' or Fordbootle, 2; Roose, 6; 'Clivertun' or Crivelton (now Newton), 4; Orgrave in Lindal, 3; and Marton, 4. Possibly Ireleth, 2; 'Warte,' 2; and 'Suntun,' 2, should be added. (fn. 28) Some of these names are lost altogether, and others have long ceased to be used. (fn. 29) Afterwards they were united to the honour of Lancaster, and it would seem that Dalton was chosen as the head or manor seat. (fn. 30) Part was granted to Michael le Fleming of Aldingham, and the remainder was in 1127 given in alms to found the abbey at Furness. Afterwards, in part by an exchange, the Fleming vills of Fordbootle, Roose and Crivelton were acquired by the monks, (fn. 31) who thus secured the whole of the later parish of Dalton. (fn. 32) The courts were held at Dalton, where there was a fortified manorhouse as well as the parish church, and a borough was formed there; the abbey was about 2 miles to the south. The history of the manor of Dalton or Plain Furness has been given with that of the liberty of Furness, and the customs have been described. So far as a difference has grown up in the use of the terms, the manor of Dalton refers to the town with burgage or copyhold tenure, and Plain Furness to the rest of the parish with customary freehold tenure.

Surveys (fn. 33) and ministers' accounts (fn. 34) made just before and after the Dissolution show what rents were received. The abbot occupied the site and several adjacent granges; other lands were in the hands of customary tenants. In Hawcoat there were on Walney the hamlets of Biggar and Northscale and tenements called North End and South End, yielding money rents and provisions amounting to about £44 a year; and on the mainland Hawcoat itself and Newbarns, with the hamlets of Cocken, Salthouse and Barrowhead, yielded over £47. In Yarlside, Roose House, Rampside and dependencies, the hamlets of Roosecote, Newton and Stank gave about £65. Above Town yielded £36 from the hamlet of Ireleth, the vill of Lindal, Scalebank and Martin, Ireleth Park, Marsh Grange, Irelethside Cote and Elliscales. There were four ancient water-mills and eight herdwicks and sheepcotes for the flocks. (fn. 35)

DALTON TOWER stands at the west end of the town on high ground immediately to the north-east of the parish church. It is a rectangular structure of 14th-century date, 44 ft. long by 29 ft. 6 in. wide externally, the greater length being from north to south, built of rough rubble limestone with red sandstone quoins and dressings, a good deal restored and the interior entirely modernized. Whether the building was originally part of a larger structure it is impossible to say, the evidence of the walling not being conclusive. It is often called 'Dalton Castle' locally. (fn. 36) On the west side at the height of about 16 ft. 9 in. is an external row of stone corbels, probably marking the position of a lean-to building; the plinth, however, is carried round the building on this side as well as on the north and south, but the door and window openings are later than the walling. The building had originally three floors above the ground level, the positions of which are indicated inside by stone corbels and by the doorways opening from the stone staircase in the west wall, which is thickened out at its north end. The walls are 5 ft. thick in the lower story, giving an internal space of 34 ft. by 19 ft. 6 in., which was divided into two by a cross wall immediately south of the stairs. (fn. 37) The entrance is at the south-east corner facing south, the staircase being originally approached only from the inside; but at a later date, probably early in the 18th century, an external door to the staircase was cut through the wall on the west side. In 1545–6 the tower was in 'great ruin,' and was reported likely to fall into ' still greater ruin if speedy remedy be not shortly provided.' (fn. 38) It was then described as consisting of' three several chambers from the ground, one above another, all the floors whereof have been made of timber.' The floors and joists were, however, then rotten with water that had rained on them, 'the roof was decayed for lack of thatch,' the lime of the walls washed out, and the walls themselves partly decayed at the corners and other places. (fn. 39) The tower was repaired with material from Furness Abbey, (fn. 40) and was afterwards used as a prison. At the beginning of the 18th century the ground floor was converted into a stable, the original doorway to the staircase being then made up and the outer one inserted. About this time also the first and third floors were raised and the second floor partly taken out, the remainder at the north end being raised and made into a gallery with access from a doorway in the staircase. From the evidence of the corbels the height of the ground story was originally 7 ft. 4 in. and that of the first and second floors respectively 7 ft. 10 in. and 9 ft. 3 in.; the upper floor, which was probably the original courtroom, being 11 ft. 3 in. to the ceiling. The 18th century alterations, however, raised the height of the ground story to 9 ft. and introduced a middle room 16 ft. high. The top floor remained unchanged, but before the end of the century all its windows had been built up. The new middle story was used till 1856 as the court-room, and was lit at the south end by a large new window of three lights with semicircular head. In 1856 it underwent a thorough restoration when the interior was practically gutted, the three stories being further reduced to two by the insertion of a single floor at mid-height. The ground floor was reconstructed, a wooden staircase being inserted at the north and approached by a corridor from the main entrance, and a new slated gabled roof erected, the building then assuming its present appearance. The 18th-century window on the south side was done away with and the upper window, which is of four lights with elliptical traceried head and external hood mould, was lengthened 3 ft. (fn. 41) At the same time a new pointed two-light window with traceried head was inserted on the west side to the ground floor, two squareheaded windows on the north side to the ground and first floor were restored, an elliptical-headed window at the south end of the east front to the top floor was replaced by a new pointed one of two lights, and other parts of the stonework, including the parapet, were renewed. The parapet, which is of red sandstone and 5 ft. in height, is quite plain except for a roughly carved human figure at each corner, with a quarter-round moulding below and setting back in three receding courses at the top, the height of which is 40 ft. above the ground. On the north and west sides is a string course at half height below the parapet, but the south and east sides are unbroken horizontally, the east being quite plain in the lower portion. This side of the building had, however, for some years previous to 1856 built up against it two rough-cast gabled houses carried on columns, probably of 18th-century date, the open lower part of which served as a covered market hall. The original aspect of the tower on this side can therefore only be conjectured. (fn. 42) The upper part of the wall, however, retains an original pointed window of two trefoiled lights with quatrefoil over which lit the original top floor, and two square-headed lights below. The houses on the south side were pulled down in 1850 and in 1851 their place was taken by a new building, used subsequently down to 1885 by the Dalton Local Board, and in its turn demolished in 1896, since when the tower has been open on the south side. The south door has a semicircular head of two chamfered orders with external label and doublechamfered jambs, the lower parts of which are new. The ground floor is now used as an armoury for the local Territorial force. The lower interior doorway to the old stone staircase has a pointed arch with chamfered jambs and head, but the heads of those above, now built up and showing in the walls of both rooms, are ogee in shape, and there are fireplace openings with segmental heads in the east wall, one above another. At the foot of the staircase is an arched passage 3 ft. 6 in. wide in the thickness of the wall running northwards to a doorway now built up. In December 1906 another passage 2 ft. 4 in. wide was found in the north wall immediately above the dungeon, extending about 3 ft. on either side of the window, but it was not explored. A number of houses which formerly stood against the north side of the tower were pulled down after 1858. The roof was reconstructed with hipped ends in 1907. The upper room is used by a Masonic lodge, and is approached by the wooden staircase at the north-east corner of the building.

Plan of Dalton Tower

PIEL CASTLE was a stronghold of much more importance. It was in 1537 described as standing on 'a little island hard upon the seaside and on the mouth of a fair haven that draweth 6 fathom deep at a low water, and at a full sea the water environeth the same isle and eight other isles thereto adjoining, so that there may be landed in the said isles at a full sea a great number of men and the country not able to withstand them except the said peel be kept and furnished with men and ordnance for the purpose; which castle and peel is now sore decayed.' On Foulney, one of the neighbouring isles mentioned, there were 'bred innumerable fowl of divers kinds, upon the earth, among the grass and stones, for there is neither tree nor bush growing there, and the nests in the breeding time are so thick and so near together that neither man nor beast can pass through it without great destruction of the eggs; and at such time as they be feathered and able to go a man or two entering the same isle shall drive afore him thousands of the same fowls, whereof he may take with his hands what he will at his pleasure at all times during the breeding time.' (fn. 43)

Piel Castle, (fn. 44) or the Pile of Fouldray, standing at the south end of Piel Island, has perished to a large extent by the encroachment of the sea. Enough remains to show that it was an Edwardian castle of the concentric type, consisting of a keep with inner and outer baileys surrounded by ramparted walls, towers and broad ditches. The building agrees in all respects with the date of the licence to fortify (1327), and is of one period, except perhaps for the chapel, but it probably replaces an earlier fortification. (fn. 45) The walling consists of boulder stones from the beach grouted with liquid mortar and forming an almost solid concrete mass. The ground, however, on which the castle stands, being of boulder clay, yielded readily to the action of the sea, which has encroached on the island at the south-east and reduced the area originally occupied by the castle to a very considerable extent, finally attacking the keep itself, the whole of the eastern side of which has fallen. The amount of destruction that has taken place within the last 150 years may be estimated to some extent from old drawings. Buck's view (1727), for instance, shows the north-east tower complete on its sea side and an outer entrance which has entirely disappeared, while a drawing by T. Hearne in 1781 shows the extent of the destruction of the keep at that date. Another drawing dated 1822 (fn. 46) shows the north-east corner of the keep still standing, but a later one by Philips in 1824 indicates that a considerable portion more had fallen in the interval, and before 1860, the date of another rough sketch, the entire east wall of the keep had gone, as well as part of the northern end.

Until 1856 the walls gradually crumbled away, but in that year the Duke of Buccleuch constructed outworks which have since effectually protected the building from further inroads by the sea, and during 1877–8 other works of preservation and restoration were carried out in the fabric itself.

The curtain wall to the outer bailey is 8 ft. thick, but exists now only on the north and west sides, with the ruins of three towers upon it, one at each of the two extremities and one at the angle. The ditch outside this wall is higher at the north-east than at the north-west tower, so that unless the formation of the ground has undergone considerable change it could scarcely have been intended to hold water. The north-east tower has lost its sea wall, but was originally 15 ft. 6 in. square internally with walls 5 ft. 6 in. thick, and was of two stories, the floor being of wood. The upper story communicated with the north rampart walk, from where another stair, protected by a thin parapet wall, led up to the roof. There was an ascent to the rampart by narrow flights of steps in the thickness of the curtain wall, and about midway in its length are the foundations of some buildings that stood within the curtain.

The north-west tower, the quoins of which have all been removed, is also of two stories and about 15 ft. 6 in. square internally, but the walls are 8 ft. thick and are without plinth or offset of any kind. The entrance to the ground floor is on the south side, and from the first floor a door with a garderobe leading from the south-west jamb communicates with the west rampart. Only the foundations of the curtain wall remain on the west side, and the southwest tower is similar in almost every respect to that at the north-west corner, the entrance, however, being on the east side, and some 20 ft. of the south curtain wall runs from it at an angle to the southeast.

Close to the south side of the north-east tower are the ruins of a small chapel 31 ft. long by 15 ft. in width. Only three of the walls are left standing, but the foundations of the west wall can still be traced, and at the east end the base of the altar and its two steps can still be seen. The walls are 2 ft. 8 in. thick, but all the red sandstone dressings are gone, and the mortar contains a very much larger admixture of shells than in any other part of the castle.

There is no sign of a gateway in either of the existing curtain walls, so that it seems probable that the castle was entered by a water-gate direct from a landing on the east side.

The wall to the inner bailey is 8 ft. thick with a ditch 25 ft. wide on the outside, and upon it are the remains of three towers. That at the north-west corner is an irregular pentagon with a doorway, but no window, in the lower story, its walls above being set back and pierced with cross-shaped loopholes towards the outer bailey. From the upper floor a doorway leads to the north rampart, from where a stair leads to the battlements of the tower. The south tower has lost its sea side, but there are still three 14th-century doorways left and a portion of a corbelled parapet. The north-east tower, on the extreme edge of the cliff, has a wide splayed loop through the west wall of the ground floor, and from the room above there is a mural passage leading to the ramparts and to a garderobe in the south-west angle. The gateway to the inner bailey is on the west side, opposite which the stone abutment upon which the drawbridge rested when down may still be seen. Above the gateway is a room with a fireplace and a door on either side leading to the rampart walks, from which stairs led to the battlements above.

The entrance to the keep faces north through a long porch raised a little above the ground level, with a gate at each end in which is a groove for a portcullis. The keep itself, which measures externally 76 ft. by 74 ft. and has a total height of 45 ft., has been divided longitudinally into three compartments of three stories each; but the whole of the east side of the building has fallen, so that only two of the compartments now remain. At the south-east angle there was a projecting bay 33 ft. long, the west part of which still stands, in which a series of rooms about 27 ft. by 9 ft. in size, one above another, seem to have been constructed, the floors of which do not correspond with those of the keep proper. The three compartments into which the building is divided vertically are each 60 ft. 3 in. long, the two outer ones being 24 ft. wide and the middle one 20 ft., but their original use can now only be conjectured. The west one may have contained the principal living and guest rooms, there being a fireplace to each floor, that in the lower room being a good specimen of 14th-century work. In the north-west corner there is a vice 5 ft. in diameter leading from the basement to the top floor, but missing the ground floor, and to the angle turret above. There is also a vice from the top floor to a south-west turret on the battlements, the doorways at the bottom of both staircases being of the shouldered or Carnarvon type. All the floors have been of wood, and the basement was lighted by narrow loopholes with wide internal splays. The upper floors have each four two-light pointed windows with quatrefoil tracery and a stone seat on either side. Externally the building has diagonal angle and intermediate buttresses, with a double splayed plinth and a bold ogee string at the first floor level. The battlements have disappeared, but upon them were four corner and two intermediate octagonal turrets corbelled out from the buttresses, with groined roofs. The turret at the north-west corner now alone remains in its original state.

Plan of the Keep, Piel Castle

The porch or gateway projects 25 ft. on the north side and is 16 ft. in width externally, with an outer pointed archway flanked by octagonal corner turrets. On the keystone of the arch is a carved grotesque female figure, which, before it was so much worn away, was seen to be holding a human head, and may have represented Salome dancing before Herod. The entrance between the two portcullises is 20 ft. by 10 ft., and is lighted by two slits on each side, beyond which in the thickness of the wall within the inner doorway is a vaulted bay, from the east side of which a doorway opens to a vice leading to the various rooms on the east side of the keep and to a vaulted ante-chamber over the inner doorway, from which access is gained by a passage to a guard-room over the porch.

The site of Furness Abbey and various portions of the land (fn. 47) were before 1549 leased to John Preston of Preston Patrick. (fn. 48) He and his descendants resided there. (fn. 49) The estate was known as THE MANOR. His son Thomas Preston died in 1604, leaving a son and heir John, who recorded a pedigree in 1613. (fn. 50) He about 1608 acquired the abbey estate in fee. (fn. 51) In religion he was an avowed Roman Catholic (fn. 52) and founder of the Preston charity still surviving in part in Urswick. His son John, who succeeded in 1643, took an active part on the king's side in the Civil War and was in 1644 created a baronet. (fn. 53) As being 'a Papist in arms' (fn. 54) his estates were sequestered and by a Parliamentary ordinance in 1646 were assigned to raise £10,000 to discharge the debts of the late John Pym, and £4,000 for his two younger children. (fn. 55) Sir John is said to have died of wounds received in a conflict in Furness. (fn. 56) His son John, born about 1642, had part of the estates released to him in 1653; if he were not brought up a Protestant he was to be convicted of recusancy as soon as he became sixteen, (fn. 57) when of course two-thirds would be sequestered. He died in April 1663, (fn. 58) soon after the Restoration, and was succeeded by his brother Thomas, aged twentyone in 1665, when he recorded a pedigree. (fn. 59) He had made a settlement of his manor of Furness, the rectory of Dalton, &c., in 1664. (fn. 60) Sir Thomas was twice married and had a son Francis, who died unmarried in 1672. His wife died a few months afterwards. Leaving his two daughters, he determined to enter the religious life, and in 1674, then aged thirty-one, was received into the Society of Jesus at Watten in Holland as a novice. Though well qualified, he would never receive the priesthood, having scruples arising from his double marriage, in spite of the assurance that a dispensation from the impediment of bigamy would be granted without difficulty. He was employed in teaching and died abroad in 1709. (fn. 61)

Preston of Preston Patrick, baronet. Argent two bars gules on a canton of the second a cinquefoil or.

Having provided for his daughters, (fn. 62) he had before leaving England given the Furness Abbey estate, probably in consideration of its ancient consecration, to trustees for the Jesuits for the endowment of an English novitiate. This could not be carried out in the circumstances of the time, and a very few years later, during the excitement of the Oates Plot, the trust was revealed to the government and the estate was declared forfeit. (fn. 63) It was afterwards granted on lease and then in fee to Thomas Preston of Holker, as the nearest Protestant heir (fn. 64); it has since descended with Holker, Lord Richard Cavendish being the present owner.

The other families in Dalton were mostly customary tenants of the lord of the liberty, and ranked as yeomen. (fn. 65) The following, however, were summoned to receive knighthood and in 1631 compounded by fines of £10 each for their refusal: John Askew of Marsh Grange, Miles Brownrigg, William Garner of Bankend, John Rawlinson of Sandscale, and Matthew Richardson of Roanhead. (fn. 66)

In 1648 Captain Leonard Rawlinson, who had been in the Parliament's service and, having been captured at Liverpool by Prince Rupert, had sustained great losses, asked to be allowed to compound for the estate of his uncle, Robert Rawlinson of Marsh Grange, sequestered for recusancy. (fn. 67)

A Joseph Carter of Furness had his estate confiscated and sold by the Parliament in 1652, (fn. 68) as also had John Roscoe of Barrow. (fn. 69) The Prisoe or Presow family, as recusants, came under notice about the same time. (fn. 70) John Knipe of Rampside had two-thirds of his estate sequestered for his recusancy and about 1653 desired to contract therefor. (fn. 71)

RAMPSIDE HALL is a late 16th or early 17thcentury threestory rough-cast building, now a farmhouse, roofed very simply with end gables east and west and overhanging eaves to front and back. It stands near the beach, and is rather quaintly described by Dr. Close in a MS. written about 1810 as 'built upon a square plan with the sides towards the four cardinal points and the angle [ridge] of the roof with its corners surrounded by a long row of twelve square chimneys very near each other and its front originally perforated by fourteen windows of which ten have been walled up in some recent alterations.' There are now five windows in the front of the building, each of two lights, with mullions and transoms of grey sandstone, two to the lower and middle stories and one to the top floor. The doorway has a good ornamental head of a type common in the district, but is without date or initials. Built into the attic walls are some moulded red sandstones of debased Gothic form, pointing to the existence of an older building probably on the same site. The four windows formerly in the east and west walls would also be built up shortly before 1810, at which time the building was reroofed and a parapet which then existed removed. The original red sandstone floors were boarded over or reflagged in 1885. The most remarkable feature of the building is the row of twelve chimneys (fn. 72) referred to by Close, which extend the full length of the roof along the ridge and are set diagonally. A thick wall runs across the house from west to east, in which were originally twelve fireplaces, two for each of the front rooms and one each for the six back rooms. The wall varies in thickness from 7 ft. in the kitchen to 3 ft. 6 in. in the attics. (fn. 73)

Plan of Rampside Hall ground floor plan

Hilton of Millwood. Sable three annulets, two and one, argent, in chief two saltires couped of the second.

In 1665 George Hilton of Millwood registered his pedigree. (fn. 74)

Boroughs

The ancient borough of DALTON (fn. 75) may have been founded before the creation of the monastery. No charter has been preserved, as might have been the case had the monks granted it. A royal charter was in 1239 obtained for a fair there on 31 October and 1 and 2 November, (fn. 76) and in 1246 for another fair 12–14. October. (fn. 77) The burgages are mentioned from time to time, but the borough as such never seems to have acquired any independence and sank out of notice. In 1646 it was recorded that a tenant in the town of Dalton on succession or alienation paid 3s. 4d. as fine on admission for each whole burgage with its appurtenant lands, and 1s. 8d. for each halfburgage. (fn. 78) The name of burgage tenure still remains, but practically the customary freehold tenure prevails here as elsewhere in Furness. (fn. 79) For the modern township of Dalton, comprising the old town and the northern half of the parish, a local board was formed in 1873 (fn. 80); this became an urban district council in 1894. There are four wards—East, with two members, Central, North and South, (fn. 81) with six members each. The council has control of the cemetery, formed in 1860, and of the free library, 1900. The library building was given by Mr. Carnegie in 1905, and there are branches at Askam and Lindal. A school board was formed in 1876. (fn. 82) The county police-station, built in 1878, contains the courtroom for the district. Fairs are held on 28 April, 6 June and 23 October. (fn. 83)

The growth of BARROW, now a county borough, has already been noticed. (fn. 84) The place received a charter of incorporation on 13 June 1867, and was made an independent township in 1871. (fn. 85) The bounds were afterwards altered, and the borough and civil parish in 1881 made conterminous. (fn. 86) The town is now divided into eight wards, each with an alderman and three councillors: Central, Ramsden, Hindpool, Salthouse, Newbarns, Hawcoat, Yarlside and Walney. (fn. 87) In 1885 Barrow became a Parliamentary borough, returning one member. A commission of the peace was granted in 1890, and there are a borough police force and a fire brigade. A school board was formed in 1872. The Free Libraries Act was adopted in 1881; the library is accommodated in the town hall, (fn. 88) and there are technical schools, opened in 1903. A market and town hall had been built in 1866 and were afterwards purchased by the new corporation; a fish market, now used for fruit, was added in 1903, and a new cattle market in 1908. In 1869 the gas and water works were purchased from a private company. (fn. 89) The water works supply various places outside the borough, as Dalton and Ulverston. There are public baths, a park in Abbey Road and a recreation ground on Walney Island called Biggar Bank. A cemetery was opened in 1873 and infectious diseases hospitals in 1882 and 1903. The North Lonsdnle Hospital, founded in 1866, is supported by subscriptions, (fn. 90) and there are other charities. A coat-of-arms was granted in 1867. Barrow was made a separate port in 1872.

Borough of Barrow. Gules on a bend between in chief a serpent nowed and in base a stag trippant or an arrow pointing to a bee volant proper, on a chief argent on waves of the sea a steamboat proper.

Church

ST. MARY'S, Dalton, stands on high ground on the edge of a steep brow at the west end of the town, and is a handsome building of red sandstone in the style of the 14th century erected in 1885. The former church, which stood on the same site, is described by Close in 1805 (fn. 91) as 'a plain edifice neatly finished in the inside,' but before its demolition it had been much altered and modernized, the north side being rebuilt in 1826 and additions made in 1830. Glynne in 1833 states that the church then consisted of a chancel and nave without distinction, with north and south aisles, the latter extending 'quite to the east end,' west tower and north porch of two stories containing a plain Norman doorway. (fn. 92) The exterior was covered with rough-cast and all the windows were new, apparently of 1830 date, and illustrations of the building shortly before its demolition show a comparatively modern-looking structure under three parallel gabled roofs of equal length and a low embattled tower.

The present building (fn. 93) consists of a chancel, with north organ chamber and vestry and south chapel, nave of five bays with north and south aisles, lofty west tower, and north and south porches at the west end. The interior is lined with red sandstone, and is a good example of modern Gothic work. Some of the windows of the former building are retained in the south side of the quire setting a smaller scale to the morning chapel, which is under a low lean-to roof separate from the lofty gabled roof of the nave aisle.

The font is a relic of the old church, and is of late 15th or early 16th-century date, octagonal in shape and of red sandstone. It is very much weathered, and has two blank shields with quatrefoils above on each face, except on the east side, where there is a larger single shield with the arms of Furness Abbey. A number of mural tablets from the old church have also been preserved, including an inscribed brass plate at the west end of the north aisle to George Hilton (d. 1669) and one in the chancel to the Rev. W. Lodge, vicar (d. 1756).

There are a few fragments of old glass, probably of 16th-century date, in the north porch.

The churchyard is principally on the south and east sides, the ground falling towards the south. The road passes close to the building on the north, and the principal entrance to the churchyard from the town is at the north-east corner, close to which is an octagonal sundial shaft on a square base with three steps, probably used as a mounting block. The plate is broken and half is missing, but it is apparently of 18thcentury date. On the south side is the grave of George Romney.

There is a ring of six bells (fn. 94) by John Warner & Sons, 1866.

The plate consists of a chalice and cover paten of 1570–1, with the date 1571 engraved on the button of the paten; a chalice and cover paten of 1716–17, the chalice inscribed 'Dalton 1717,' and the paten with the maker's mark of James Smith; a paten of 1819–20 given in 1820 by Mr. William Atkinson of Dalton; a chalice of 1846–7 inscribed 'Vir Reverendus Joannes Baldwin A.M. Ecclesiae de Dalton hoc Poculum in Coenae Dominicae celebratione utendum D. D. A.D. 1848'; a flagon of 1843–4 inscribed 'Ecclesiae de Dalton in agro Furnescensi hoc Œnophorum D. D. Vir Reverendus Joannes Baldwin A.M. Coll. Chr. Cant.: olim Socius A.D. 1844'; and a paten of 1868–9, 'presented to the Parish Church of Dalton by Wm. Baldwin esq. A.D. 1868.' There is also a rat-tailed spoon of 1728–9, 'The gift of E. Morgan to Dalton Parish Church. Vicarage, Easter, 1888.' (fn. 95)

The registers begin in 1565. The tithe maps are in the vicar's custody.

The remains of St. Helen's Chapel near Furness Abbey have been turned into a cottage, and the only architectural feature left is a built-up pointed window of 14th-century date in the end wall. It is of two lights with the mullion bifurcating in the head, but the lights are uncusped and there is no hood mould. (fn. 96)

Advowson

The church of Dalton was from the first record of it in the hands of the monks of Furness. (fn. 97) It was formally appropriated in 1228 and a vicarage was ordained. (fn. 98) Accordingly in 1291, while the rectory was estimated as worth only 12 marks a year, the vicar had the regulated stipend of 15 marks; after the destruction made by the Scots in 1322 the rectory estimate was reduced to 40s., and the vicarage was excused altogether on account of its poverty. (fn. 99) In 1341 the ninth of the sheaves, wool, &c., was returned as 6 marks; the glebe was in addition worth 1 mark, and the destruction by the Scots accounted for the remainder of the decline—5 marks. (fn. 100) A fresh ordination of the vicarage was made in 1423 by which the vicar was allowed the vicarage-house, the churchyard, tithes of bread and ale, the candles offered at Candlemas, and a yearly pension from the abbey of £17 6s. 8d. The vicar was bound to reside and provide for all the services of the church and pastoral offices. Nothing is mentioned concerning chapels of ease. The abbot had all the tithes and other revenues of the church, and was bound to maintain the chancel and pay all civil and ecclesiastical charges. (fn. 101) In 1527 the rectory was said to be worth £40 a year (fn. 102); in 1535 it was valued at £33 4s. 4d., (fn. 103) and the vicarage at £17 6s. 8d., in which sum the house and garden were included as worth 13s. 4d. (fn. 104)

St. Mary's Church, Dalton-in-Furness

At the suppression of the abbey Roger Peel, the abbot, in consideration of his exertions in securing the surrender of it to the king, was rewarded with the rectory of Dalton. (fn. 105) At his death in 1541 (fn. 106) the rectory was treated as a lay fee, being sold in 1610 to Joseph Hudleston, (fn. 107) and a vicar was appointed to be paid out of the rectory; his stipend was fixed in 1577 at the old amount, £17 6s. 8d. (fn. 108) The rectory was acquired by the owner of Furness Abbey, and has descended with it. (fn. 109) The advowson of the vicarage was retained by the Crown in right of the duchy of Lancaster, but was in 1872, by an exchange, granted to the Bishop of Carlisle, the present patron. (fn. 110) The value of the benefice has greatly augmented, (fn. 111) the net income being now £334 a year, (fn. 112) while the district in the direct care of the vicar has been reduced to small proportions.

The following have been vicars:—

Instituted Name Patron Cause of Vacancy
c. 1200 William de Norhamton (fn. 113)
Andrew (fn. 114)
1243 Robert de Wath (fn. 115) Furness Abbey d. Andrew
oc. 1309 William de Cockerham (fn. 116)
oc. 1359 John Sharp (fn. 117)
12 Jan. 1369–70 Thomas Hansey (fn. 118) Furness Abbey
William Golding
5 Oct. 1376 John Sharp (fn. 119) Furness Abbey exch. W. Golding
oc. 1423 Richard Spofforth (fn. 120)
1 Mar. 1450–1 Robert Harrington (fn. 121) Furness Abbey d. R. Spofforth
c. 1535 Roger Walker (fn. 122)
1551 Roland Wright (fn. 123)
5 Jan. 1558–9 Thomas Besbrowne (fn. 124) The Crown d. last incumbent
17 Feb. 1573–4 James Leece (fn. 125) " d. T. Besbrowne
29 Apr. 1577 Richard Gardner (fn. 126)
9 June 1617 William Bowett, B.A. (fn. 127) The Crown d. last incumbent
26 Mar. 1631 Richard Tomlinson (fn. 128) "
12 Aug. 1663 Anthony Turner "
4 Sept. 1707 William Lodge, B.A The Crown d. A. Turner
23 June 1756 John Walker " d. W. Lodge
2 Aug. 1772 Christopher Couperthwaite " d. J. Walker
5 July 1823 Joseph Thompson Kirkbank, M.A. (fn. 129) " d.C. Couperthwaite
1849 James Morrison Morgan " d. J. T. Kirkbank
1898 Frank Byard, M.A. (fn. 130) Bishop of Carlisle d. J. M. Morgan
28 Nov. 1905 John Grainge Leonard, M.A. (fn. 131) " res. F. Byard

In addition to the abbey and parish churches the monks appear to have provided other chapels, the originals of those at Walney, Ireleth and Rampside, (fn. 132) so that four priests would be required for the service of the parish. No endowed chantry is known. The visitation list of 1548 contains five names; those of 1554 and 1562 three each. (fn. 133) After this time it is probable that any regular ministrations ceased at the three chapels, for there was no maintenance, (fn. 134) and even in 1650 there was no minister in the parish except the vicar, Walney having apparently a 'reader' paid by the inhabitants. (fn. 135) There appear to have been curate-schoolmasters usually at Ireleth and Walney. (fn. 136) In 1717 two of the chapels seem to have had resident curates. At Ireleth, where the people paid £3, the only settled maintenance, the curate, chosen by them, was also schoolmaster; at Walney the inhabitants had 'time out of mind' paid £9 14s. by a tax of 13½d. on each tenement; at Rampside too the inhabitants had 'time out of mind' taxed themselves to provide £8 3s. 4d., and a curate nominated by the vicar and the people taught some children freely, though there was no school. (fn. 137) The school at Ireleth was founded in 1612 and that at Dalton in 1622. (fn. 138)

In 1699 the church seems to have been decently furnished; the stone font had a cover, and the communion table its carpet and linen cloth; there was 'a large communion cup of silver with a cover, and one large flagon of pewter.' The vicarage-house was in good repair; the minister had lately built it. In 1702 there were four schools—at Dalton, Ireleth, Rampside and Walney. In 1717 the vicar celebrated the Lord's Supper every month; the three chapels were supplied by curates nominated by the vicar, prayers being read every Sunday and sermons preached once a quarter. In 1793 a 'small parochial library' is mentioned. (fn. 139)

The affairs of the parish were managed by the Twenty-four, i.e. the sidesmen.

More recently, under the new conditions of secular life shown by the rise of Barrow, the ecclesiastical conditions have changed also. Dalton parish church has two chapels of ease—St. Margaret's, Ulverston Road, 1904, (fn. 140) and St. Barnabas, Newton, 1900. St. Mary's, Ireleth, rebuilt on a new site in 1865, had a district assigned to it in 1874 (fn. 141); the incumbents are presented by the vicar of Dalton. St. Peter's, Lindal, built in 1885, is in the gift of five trustees. (fn. 142)

Within the borough of Barrow the old chapel of St. Michael at Rampside did not have an independent parish granted to it until 1887; the vicar of Dalton is patron. The present church was built in 1840 and a porch and vestry added 1866. The previous chapel is supposed to have been erected in 1621, the date being found on a stone when the building was pulled down. (fn. 143) The bell is by Luke Ashton of Wigan, and is inscribed 'The gift of Iohn Gardner to St. Michall's Chappell Sepr 26th 1739.' In the town proper the first place of worship for the Church of England was a school at Newbarns, built in 1843. (fn. 144) St. George's, at the south-east end, was built in 1861, and is in the gift of the Bishop of Carlisle. It has been attached to the archdeaconry of Furness, the archdeacon being its vicar, and the vestry contains a library open to the clergy of the archdeaconry. (fn. 145) St. James's, at the other end of the town, followed in 1867; it is in the gift of trustees. (fn. 146) In 1877 districts were assigned to four new churches built at that time, and named after the Evangelists (fn. 147); trustees present to these— St. John's, Barrow Island; St. Luke's, Salthouse Road, with a chapel of ease called St. Andrew's, and another at Roose, St. Perran's; St. Mark's, Rawlinson Street, with a mission room (1897); and St. Matthew's, Harrogate Street. At Newbarns St. Paul's had a district assigned to it in 1869. (fn. 148) The old chapel of St. Mary on Walney Island was rebuilt in 1853, and became a parish church in 1899; a new and larger building has recently been erected to replace it. There is a chapel of ease at Biggar.

Barrow gives a title to the suffragan or assistant Bishop of Carlisle, appointed in 1889. (fn. 149) The Church Congress was held there in 1906. (fn. 150)

In 1872 there was a branch of the Free Church of England at Barrow; it still meets in the Temperance Hall.

The Presbyterian Church of England had a lecture hall in Barrow in 1868; Trinity Church succeeded in 1875. (fn. 151) There is also a meeting-place at Vickerstown (1902). The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists formerly met at Dalton, and built a chapel in Barrow in 1863. (fn. 152)

English Methodism secured a hold at Dalton by 1823, when a chapel was built in Skelgate, replaced by that in Wellington Street in 1860. (fn. 153) In addition the Primitive Methodists (1868) and Bible Christians (United Methodist Church) have now chapels there. (fn. 154) The same three branches have chapels at Askam, built about 1875–80, and the Wesleyan Methodists are represented also at Lindal, Marton and Newton. In Barrow town the Wesleyans opened their first church in 1862, having previously occupied a room in Church Street; they have now six, the latest being a large one in Abbey Road, built in 1899; and there is another in Vickerstown (1905). There are mission rooms at Hawcoat and Piel. The Primitive Methodists have three chapels, the first built in 1866; and the United Methodist Church three, viz. the Bible Christians in Roose Road (1877), the Free Church (1895), the New Connexion in Barrow (1875). (fn. 155)

Congregationalism at Dalton is comparatively recent, originating from Ulverston in 1867; a chapel was opened there in 1869. (fn. 156) At Barrow a chapel in Hindpool Road was opened in 1857, replaced by a larger one in 1862–3. (fn. 157) Ten years later services in the old town hall led to the erection of a schoolchurch in Ainslie Street, opened in 1877, (fn. 158) and this has been followed by Emmanuel Church. There is a mission room at Vickerstown.

The Baptists have churches at Dalton (1868–73), Askam and Barrow. (fn. 159) The other places of worship include those for the Plymouth Brethren at Dalton, 'Christians' at Lindal, and for the Salvation Army, the 'Church of Christ,' and Catholic Apostolic (or Irvingite) Church at Barrow. In this town also are a Gospel hall and meeting-places for the Sailors' Home and Mission.

The Society of Friends has an ancient interest in the parish, the families of Askew and Lower of Marsh Grange being connected with it through the Fells of Swarthmoor. (fn. 160) George Fox preached in the district in 1652, and Thomas Lawson, the minister of Rampside, (fn. 161) above-mentioned, was one of his adherents. The Society does not seem to have had any meeting-place nearer than Swarthmoor.

No records seem to have been preserved of those, if any, who remained faithful to Roman Catholicism at the Reformation. (fn. 162) Some revival took place under the Prestons; in 1629 it was reported that 'Mr. Preston of the Manor hath two priests at his house, viz., Michitt and Sefton,' (fn. 163) and Fr. Hudleston, a Benedictine, is said to have ministered there about 1640. (fn. 164) After the Restoration the Jesuits had charge, one of them (Anderton) being searched for at the time of the Oates Plot. (fn. 165) The story of another at the time of the Revolution may be recited:—

In December last the house in which Fr. Clement Smith lived was beset by a mob of nearly 300 men out of whose hands he managed to escape through the special providence of God. . . . He passed that night in a little hut. At daybreak, however he betook himself to the woods, where he remained fasting the whole of that day, suffering much from intense frost and the snow which covered the ground. Night coming on the people of the neighbourhood refused through fear, or from the reviving hatred towards Catholics, to allow him to take shelter in their barns or hovels. Compelled therefore to seek some other place of refuge for the night he crept into a little deserted hut, and at early dawn next morning betook himself again to the woods, his pursuers still following close upon his track. . . . Frequently in the darkness of the night he was obliged to cross on foot through fords or passes rendered exceedingly dangerous by reason of the ebb tide, so that even travellers on horseback were unable to make the passage by daylight without considerable risk of life. (fn. 166) . . . For three months he was compelled to lie so closely hidden that he was unable even to pace about his room, nor durst he for a whole year together use either fire or candle, lest he should be betrayed by the light. Indeed for the space of two years he was unable to leave the house where he was charitably harboured. (fn. 167)

The later seat of the mission was Titeup Hall, north of Dalton, one of the farms given by Sir Thomas Preston for the benefit of the Jesuits. Here lived Fr. Thomas West, vere Daniel, the author of The Antiquities of Furness, published in 1774, and of a Guide to the Lakes, first issued in 1778 and frequently republished. He was of Scottish origin, born in 1720, and for some time acted as a commercial traveller. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1751, and was sent on the mission about 1770, labouring in 1773 in Furness (after the suppression of the order) and then at Sizergh, where he died in 1779. (fn. 168) He was much esteemed by the people of the district, and Lord George Cavendish, then owner of the Abbey, is said to have offered him the use of a 'crypt' there for the accommodation of the Roman Catholics of the neighbourhood; but, however tempting it must have been, he was not able to accept it. (fn. 169) The seat of the mission was removed to Ulverston in 1779, and Titeup was afterwards sold. (fn. 170) Returns made to the Bishops of Chester show that in the whole parish there were only seven 'Papists' in 1717 and twenty-three in 1767. (fn. 171)

A new beginning was made when Barrow was growing to a port. About 1858 the priest at Ulverston said mass occasionally in rooms of private dwellings, and from 1865 a large room over a shop was used till St. Mary's, Duke Street, was opened in 1867. Ten years later St. Patrick's mission was begun on Barrow Island; the school-chapel was enlarged in 1885, and a resident priest took charge in 1900. In 1902 the Sacred Heart school-chapel was opened in Roose Road At Dalton itself the school-chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, opened in 1879, became an independent mission in 1893, and an attempt has been made from 1896 to establish a mission of the Holy Family at Askam, mass being said once a month in the public school. At Barrow is a house of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary, who teach in the schools. (fn. 172)

The Jews had for a time a synagogue in Barrow. There are meeting-places for Spiritualists.

Charities

For the old schools at Dalton and Ireleth the endowments amount to £81 a year, and for religious purposes £46 a year is available. Official inquiries into the charities were made in 1819 and 1900, and the report of the latter, issued in 1901, contains a reprint of the earlier report. The great benefaction is that known as the Billincoat Charity, founded by Richard Gaitskill (1626) and Sir Thomas Preston (1674), which now yields £331 13s., applicable under schemes made in 1825 and 1899 as to a moiety for the benefit of the poor, as to a fourth part for apprenticing boys and giving marriage portions to poor girls, and as to the other fourth for pensions. The whole parish, including Barrow, shares in it. Richard Gaitskill's endowment consisted of land at Newbiggin in Hutton Roof and a little house at Bowbridge in Dalton; this last was to be given to the use of three poor people, and was known as the Bowbridge Hospital till at last it fell down, and the land was sold in 1804. The Newbiggin estate was sold in 1792 and the money invested in the purchase of a moiety of the estate at Billincoat (or Billingcote), from which the charity derives its name. The other moiety was purchased with £650 given for the use of the poor by Sir Thomas Preston of the Manor. The charity appears to have been in danger in 1819, but was secured to the poor by means of the inquiry. At that time Billincoat was let at a low rent to the master of the poor-house, which was built on the estate, on condition that he charged for the paupers there at no more than £3 per head. Of the rent about £26 was distributed to the poor, and the remainder given to the rates. A scheme was made by the Court of Chancery in 1825, which was varied in 1899 by a modification of the governing body. Part of the land was sold to Sir James Ramsden in 1873 for £4,200, which was invested in consols; for the remainder a customary rent of £2 11s. 2d. is paid to the Duke of Buccleuch, and a 'greenhew rent' of 4d. The money for the poor is distributed half-yearly to thirty-six 'pensioners,' who receive £1 to £5 each. The use of the apprenticeship and marriage-portion fund is unsatisfactory. (fn. 173) The fourth part applicable to pensions, in lieu of the old Hospital, is divided among three aged persons.

John Preston's charity failed about 1810, as explained in the account of Urswick. Gabriel Fell in 1638 left 10s. a year to the poor of Dalton; it was to be distributed at his house door each Christmas Eve. The money is now paid by the Furness Railway Company, which owns the land, and is on Easter Monday given by the churchwarden to twenty poor widows who have attended church. One Robert Sudgener left £10 for the poor of the bierleys of Above Town, Hawcoat and Yarlside, but this has been lost long since. William Matson about 1760 left 20s. a year, half for the vicar for a sermon on Whit Monday and half for poor people of Above Town bierley who 'should resort to the church and receive the sacrament.' William Atkinson in 1819 left £50, half the interest for the vicar, who was to preach a sermon on Easter Monday, and half for bread to poor housekeepers of Dalton Town attending service on that day. The two charities are now administered together, bread being given on Easter Monday. No inquiry is made as to the religious beliefs of the recipients, nor are they now required to take the sacrament.

George Banks Ashburner of Elliscales in 1873 bequeathed £300 for the poor of Dalton (excluding Barrow), to be distributed on Easter Monday in money or bread. The gross income is £8 12s. 4d., and it is given in sums of 10s. each. Ellen Robinson in 1855 left £100 for the poor at Christmas; by Chancery proceedings the estate was much reduced, and only £25 9s. 8d. was received. A distribution was made in 1877, but the fund has entirely disappeared without record.

The Town field at Dalton has long been held for the use of the parish, the records going back to 1737, and the yearly rent of it—£12— is applied in relief of the rates.

The town of Barrow has no special endowments. For the poor of Walney a small fund of unknown origin exists; the capital is only £6, and the interest, 1s. 9d. a year, is applicable in moieties to the hamlets of Northscale and Biggar. (fn. 174)

Footnotes

  • 1. On some ancient guns, &, found there see Arch. xxviii, 373; Jopling, Furness, 166.
  • 2. J. Richardson, Furness Past and Present, ii, 228–9.
  • 3. In the square is a statue of Sir James Ramsden, one of the founders of the town and its first mayor. He was bom in Liverpool in 1822 and died in 1896. The statue was erected in 1872. For biography see North Lonsd. Mag. i, 95.
  • 4. Here is a statue of Henry William Schneider, another founder of Barrow, who died in 1887. Near it is one of Lord Frederick Cavendish, murdered in Dublin in 1882.
  • 5. The first post office was opened in Barrow in 1847.
  • 6. Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xvii, 118
  • 7. For these houses see J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 193, 200.
  • 8. The Census Rep. 1901 gives a total area of 19,013 acres; part of the apparent increase may be due to inclosures for the Barrow docks. The new township of Dalton has 7,990 acres, including 36 acres of inland water; there are also 403 acres of tidal water and 4,562 of foreshore.
  • 9. This includes Walney and 358 acres of inland water. In addition there are 974 acres of tidal water and 10,211 of foreshore.
  • 10. i.e. Byrlaghs; Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc), ii, 512. The quarters are indicated on the map.
  • 11. The prefix has long been obsolete. It led to confusion with the adjacent parish of Kirkby Ireleth.
  • 12. Baines, Lancs. Dir. i, 629.
  • 13. Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xii, 36–56; the field-names are fully recorded and a history of the place is given,
  • 14. Ibid. xiii, 44–73. There were at North Scale sixteen tenements in four holdings. The rotation adopted in choosing the grave or bailiff is explained.
  • 15. Ibid.
  • 16. At Chapel Meadow, near Park, an ancient grange, with baths, &, was discovered; Furness Lore. 37; Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. vi, 77.
  • 17. Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1), iv, 668.
  • 18. Baines, Lancs. Dir. (1825), i, 628. The wells mentioned are no longer used.
  • 19. a Statistics from Bd. of Agric. (1905).
  • 20. Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xxi, 11, 13–21; a plan of Dalton (1825)18 given. Church Well and Mary Bank Well are named by J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 45. The market cross, which stands on the east side of the tower, was renovated between 1824 and 1843, but was replaced by the present one in 1869–70. The whipping post remained till 1859, but the stocks were removed about 1856; Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. (new ser.), x, 325.
  • 21. Jopling, Furness, 14.
  • 22. F. Evans, Furness (1842), 176. Two quarts of ale were given to each four, paid for equally by the conductor of the funeral and the guests.
  • 23. Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 23.
  • 24. Another paper called the Times, the first penny paper in Barrow, was issued in 1866 by Joseph Richardson, publisher of Furness Past and Present, a work frequently quoted in the present History.
  • 25. There are biographies of him by his son the Rev. John Romney, by Mrs. Hilda Gamlin, Humph. Ward and W. Roberts (1904), and Arthur B. Chamberlain (1910); see also Dict. Nat. Biog. A note on his pedigree is in N. and Q. (Ser. 10), vii, 9.
  • 26. Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 27. Ibid.; Westmld. Note-bk. 346.
  • 28. V.C.H. Lancs. i, 289a.
  • 29. Hietun is perhaps Hawcoat. Kilverdiswic was one of the abbey granges in 1190; Furness Couch. (Chet. Soc), iii, 661. It may be observed that Dalton, Warte or Ireleth and Killerwick make 7 plough-lands; Sowerby and Hietun, 7; Suntun, Fordbootle, Roose and Crivelton, 14; Orgrave and Marton, 7. Ireleth may be Kirkby Ireleth.
  • 30. The charter founding the abbey distinguishes three classes: (1) The forest and Walney and all the hunting, &c.; (2) Dalton and the demesne; (3) the free tenancies, such as Kirkby and Pennington; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 302.
  • 31. Fordbootle was given in alms in 1153; Roose and Crivelton with their fisheries were given in exchange for Bardsea and Urswick; Furness Couch. (Chet. Soc), ii, 454–6. Various confirmations were secured by the monks; ibid, i, 75–7; Farrer, op. cit. 307, 309.
  • 32. The Coucher contains various charters relating to this part of the lands. In Orgrave Roger son of Orm de Orgrave gave an oxgang of land to William his brother at a rent of 16d., and then gave this service to the monks, and released also his right in the iron mine in Orgrave townfield; he also gave land on which the abbey mill stood, William allowing a mill stream to be carried through his land; op. cit. i, 32–7, 227–60. Among the field-names, &, are Stodfaldwra, Rotherisat, Herwinridding, Spitalbank, Melbreck, Leirgill, Langslack and Raulith. The allusion to a 'spital' is noteworthy. The road to Ireleth Grange is mentioned. For fines of 1235 and 1246 respecting lands and iron mine at Orgrave see Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 73, 103. In the adjacent Marton William de Merton, who was a goldsmith (Cal. Pat. 1396–9, p. 32), in 1396 gave the monks permission to mine in 4,000 acres of land in Dalton, Orgrave and Marton. William Botling and Agnes his wife, daughter and co-heir of Michael de Merton, gave the vicar of Dalton a moiety of Little Marton about 1300, the daughters of Alexander da Bouth surrendering their right; the vicar transferred to the abbey; Furness Couch. ii, 288–310. It was found that the 4,000 acres were held of the abbot in chief by knight's service, a rent of 2s. a year and by suit at the abbot's court at Dalton. The vicar's gift appears to have been made for finding a lamp to burn at high mass before the principal altar of the abbey church; Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 233–4. In a charter dated 1251 land between Lindal Grange and the Dropping Well is named 5 Duchy of Lanc. Anct. D. (P.R.O.), L 429. There are a number of charters respecting the mine of Elliscales and lands there; Coucher. ii, 261–88. It was granted to the abbey by Hugh de Morisby, heir of Simon de Boy vill, about 1270–90. Hugh son of Hugh de Morisby gave his land in Elliscales, afterwards called a manor, to Robert de Layburne, who made a feoffment of it in 1340. Robert son of Sir Robert de Layburne sold it to William Sharp in 1358. In 1384 it was conveyed to the abbey to find a wax candle to burn at high mass daily in the church at the elevation of the Body of Christ. One of the series of deeds is in Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 13. William Sharp in 1376 claimed to grind at the abbot's mill at Dalton free of multure; De Banco R. 464, m. 395.
  • 33. A survey of 1535 is printed in the Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 269–70; the brief notes in the text are taken from it. A variant of it is in Rentals and Surv. portf. 9, no. 73. Another survey of 1537, from which the account of Piel Castle is quoted, is in Rentals and Surv. R. 376. Tolls were levied at the Piel; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 195; ii, 50.
  • 34. Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 95.
  • 35. The mills were the Little Mill, Orgrave Mill, Roose Mill and New Mill. For later disputes between the lessees (the Sandys family) and the tenants, who alleged that the accommodation was insufficient, see Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 305; ii, 399, &c. A lease of the three water mills dated 1590 is B.M. Add. Chart. 19543. Later suits as to the mills occurred in 1700; Exch. Dep. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 97–100. The herdwicks (some of them are named in the text) were Greenholme, Mousell, Whatflat [Thwaite Flat] and Greensyke, Sandscale, Stanyardcote, Irelethcote and Idlecote (Walney). Disputes about these also occurred after the Dissolution. In 1539 the king's agent replied to a complaint of the tenants that Irelethcote had always been a herdwick or pasture ground for the sheep of the Abbots of Furness; L. and P. Hen. VIII, xiv (2), 121. There were also fisheries and woods. The latter in Low Furness were Greenscow, Newclose, Bennolbank, Greentarn, Hagspring, Mousellspring, Rownaldwood, Meadowclose, Boothpark, Sowerby, Rampside and Yarlside, estimated at 289 acres in all. In 1537 it was reported that the abbots had been accustomed to fell some of the undergrowth yearly for fuel, but nothing had been done since the Dissolution; and it was suggested that a wood sale yearly might produce £10 without hurting the estate.
  • 36. a e.g. in Close's ed. of West's Furness (1805).
  • 37. There is a cellar 5 ft. 6 in. deep without windows at the north end of the building commonly called 'the dungeon,' the only access to which is by a trap door in the floor.
  • 38. Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 204–5.
  • 39. Ibid. See also Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Sac. (new ser.), x, 315; plans, sections and elevations of the building in 1854 are given, 312–30.
  • 40. This probably accounts for the red sandstone.
  • 41. There is an illustration showing these windows in Close's ed. of West's Antiq. of Furness (1805), 345.
  • 42. A view in 1817 by C. Cuitt given in Gregson's Portf. of Fragments, 271, shows this structure still standing, the columns of stone or brick and wood. The plinth on the east side of the castle may have been cut away when these buildings were either erected or removed. A view from the north-east, c. 1784, showing the buildings against the north and east sides, is in Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. (new ser.), x, 322. An early 19th-century drawing from the south-west is also given, and a view showing the later buildings on the east side about 1860, pp. 324–5.
  • 43. Rentals and Surv. R. 376.
  • 44. There is a detailed account of Piel Castle by Mr. J. F. Curwen, F.S.A., in Trans, Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. (new ser.), x, 271–87, which has been used in the following description. See also Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. iii, 201, 232–40; xiv, 152. There is a plan showing the outer and inner baileys in Close's ed. of West's Antiq. of Furness (1813), 373, drawn by Thomas Atkinson of Dalton.
  • 45. The king's writ of 1404 ordering an inquiry, alleged that Stephen had endowed the abbey on condition that the monks maintained such a fortress; Beck, Annales Furnesienses, 281, quoted by Mr. J. F. Curwen, op. cit. There is no hint of such a condition in the foundation charters.
  • 46. Whitaker, Richmondshire.
  • 47. There was a grant of the site and various parts of the lands to Sir Thomas Curwen in 1541, after the fall of Thomas Cromwell Earl of Essex, to whom a grant had been made in 1539–40; L. and P. Hen. VIII, xvi, g. 1500 (1966); xv, g. 1032 (118). A story is told that Sir Thomas Curwen obtained a lease for twenty-one years from Henry VIII, refusing a grant in fee because he said the king would set the abbeys up again before his lease would expire. On sending Mr. Preston to renew it he found that Preston, who had married Curwen's daughter, renewed in his own name; N. and Q. (Ser. 1), iii, 323, quoting Sandford's MS. 'History of Cumberland.'
  • 48. Permission was in that year granted to him to make alterations in the abbey buildings, to fit them for his residence; Duchy Plead. iii, 90. He was sheriff in 1568–9 (P.R.O. List 73), so that he was a conformist in religion. John Preston of Furness Abbey is named on the map of 1590; Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc.), iv, front.
  • 49. West, Furness (ed. 1774), 255. West states that Thomas's grandfather Thomas Preston had purchased the abbey site. Thomas Preston of Furness was a freeholder in 1600 and a justice of the peace; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 230. As he was high sheriff in 1585–6 (P.R.O. List 73) and a justice he must have been a conformist in religion, like his father.
  • 50. Visit. (Chet. Soc), 60; he is described as 'of the manor of Furness.' His surviving son John was then six years old. He compounded for refusing knighthood by a payment of £20 in 1631; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 220.
  • 51. The site of the abbey, with a large number of separate parcels of the lands— Selergarth, Newpark by Millwood, Billing, Fairkening, &c.—were in 1607 sold to the Earl of Salisbury; Pat. 5 Jas. I, pt. xix. The earl sold soon afterwards to Richard Holland and Robert Cansfield; West, op. cit. 137. John Preston probably acquired it soon afterwards. The demesne lands of the manor of Furness were sold in 1608 (Pat. 6 Jas. I, pt. ii), Edward Wilson being the purchaser. He may have been acting for John Preston, as Quernmore Park was included in the same grant. Selergarth or Solargarth was a piece of pasture at the west gate of the abbey and within the walls; Duchy of Lanc. Special Com. 757. In the patent of 1607 it is placed on the east side within the walls.
  • 52. John Preston, as a recusant convicted, petitioned in 1626 for leave to make a journey to London; Cal. S. P. Dom. 1625–6, p. 336. As already stated, he compounded for his recusancy in 1630 by a fine of £80 a year. His chaplain was Fr. John D. Hudleston, a Benedictine, who noted the anniversary of his death in his missal; Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc), i, 125.
  • 53. G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, ii, 220. The first step in his promotion was made in May 1643; ibid. 455.
  • 54. He is called 'Papist and delinquent' in the Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 69, &c.
  • 55. Cal. Com. for Comp. iii, 1898–1904.
  • 56. G.E.C. loc. cit. The report may be due to an incident related by Sir Henry Slingsby; J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 232.
  • 57. Cal. Com. for Comp. iii, 1903. John claimed under a settlement made by his grandfather. His guardian was Col. Edward Cooke of Gloucestershire, a kinsman by the half-blood.
  • 58. R. M. Sergeantson, Ch. of St. Peter, Northampton, 202–3; note by Mr. Gaythorpe.
  • 59. Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 236. His daughters were Mary, who married William Lord Herbert, and Anne, who married Hugh Lord Clifford. The latter had the Preston estate in Quernmore Park, Lancaster. For Lady Preston see Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xii, App. vii, 384.
  • 60. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 172, m. 42.
  • 61. Foley, Rec. S. J. vii, 631. He adopted the alias of Saville. The baronetcy became extinct at his death.
  • 62. G.E.C. loc. cit.
  • 63. Ibid.; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 126; Exch. Dep. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 60, 80. Three small farms escaped the confiscation, two in Dalton and one in Urswick; they were used for the maintenance of the Furness mission till recent times. When they were sold part of the money was given to the church at Ulverston and part to the Jesuit novitiate; Foley, op. cit. Mr. Gillow gives a somewhat different account of the matter in Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc.), v, 237–8; but it is difficult to accept his statement that the Prestons of Ellel were 'next heirs' of Sir Thomas Preston.
  • 64. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 155. Thomas Preston petitioned for a lease, as having been 'very instrumental in the recovery thereof in discovering the said estate'; ibid. 159. He had tried to upset Sir Thomas Preston's settlements as heir-in-tail, but the 'superstitious uses' led to this part of the estates being declared forfeit to the Crown. Hence his petition for a lease, which was granted and renewed in 1689 and 1695; West, op. cit. 140. See also Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii, App. v, 246; xiv, App. vi, 67. He died in 1696, and his widow Elizabeth had in 1710 and later to prosecute various suits to preserve the abbey estate, a final grant being made by George I in 1717, by which £200 a year was to be paid to the Crown; West, op. cit. 141.
  • 65. –5 Few of their disputes came into the king's courts, though some occur in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 76, 103, 42d. 97 d. Several were claims for dower, as De Banco R. 116, m. 75 d.; 152, m. 71 d.; 180, m. 241. Among others, Joan wife of William de Merton claimed dower in 1369 against William son of William de Merton; ibid. 435, m. 249. William Grouel and Alice his wife in 1374 claimed dower in Dalton against William Sharp and others; ibid. 454, m. 249. Lindal was called a manor in 1316; ibid. 215, m. 183 d. In 1477 Thomas Broughton complained that the Abbot of Furness and others had broken his close at Dalton and taken 3,000 quarters of iron ore, worth £300, &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Writs Prothon. 6 Edw. IV, b. There are a large number of pleadings calendared in the Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.) referring to tenements all over the parish; among other places Titeup is mentioned in 1583. Several of the cases are printed in Ducky Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.). Thus in 1516 it was complained that the abbot had pulled down 'the whole town of Selergarth,' which had fifty-two tenements, and had laid a third of it to pasture; i, 68.
  • 66. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 220. The Askews of Marsh Grange are noteworthy because of Margaret Fell of Swarthmoor. The name is an ancient one in the district; William Ayscogh of Kirkby Ireleth occurs in 1441; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 3, m. 16. In 1586 Leonard Rawlinson alleged that William Askew of Marsh Grange had been seised of the same 'according to the laudable custom of tenant right used in the Queen's manor of Furness'; it was parcel of the possessions of the late monastery. In 1570 Askew sold the moiety which his mother Janet Askew then held to Rawlinson, and a year later sold the other moiety to him. Roger Askew, however, had entered into part and refused to give way. Roger was William's brother, and he stated in defence that their father Richard Askew, deceased, by his will made in 1551 left Marsh Grange to his wife Janet for ten years, after which it was to be divided between his two elder sons William and John. John having died without issue, Roger entered his moiety as heir to his brother. Rawlinson said that tenant-right lands were not devisable away from the son and heir; Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Eliz, cxl, R 7; clxi, R 4; clxvi, R 7. From the subsequent history it appears that the Askews retained one moiety of Marsh Grange. The pleadings are important as refuting a statement that has gained circulation to the effect that William Askew was a son of Anne Askew (Kyme) of Lincolnshire, who was burnt for heresy by Henry VIII in 1546. The Rawlinsons had the other moiety. In the Civil War Robert Rawlinson of Marsh Grange, as a 'Papist in arms,' had his estate sequestered by the Parliament. He was dead in 1648; Cal. Com. for Comp. iii, 1866; Cal. Com. for Advancing Money, ii, 890.
  • 67. Cal. S. P. Dom. 1648–9, p. 326.
  • 68. Index of Royalists (Index Soc), 41.
  • 69. Ibid. 44. He saved his estate by a fine of £24; Cal. Com. for Comp. v, 3204.
  • 70. James Prisoe, absent from the country 1641–52; ibid. iv, 3079. Also William Prisoe; ibid. v, 3194. The will of Thomas Richardson of Roanhead occurs among the forfeited estate papers of 1717; Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 172. In 1721 Elizabeth widow of John Blundell of Millwood sold a messuage at Barrowhead to Robert Atkinson of the Manor; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 208, from 1st 5th R. of Geo. I at Preston.
  • 71. Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iv, 47. Adjoining his house was Rampside Wood, inclosed with a good hedge.
  • 72. They are known locally as the Twelve Apostles.
  • 73. Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq, Soc. (new ser.), x, 288–97, from which most of the above description is taken.
  • 74. Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 141; West, Furness, 177. There is a brass (1669) at Dalton Church commemorating his only son; Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xv, 49.
  • 75. In 1276 Thomas Skilehar, burgess of Dalton, gave the monks of Furness permission to take 100 wagon-loads of turf from his moss at Angerton; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 169. As to the trade of the place, the grant of a shop in the town in 1264 is on record; ibid. 176. A goldsmith about the same time was living thereabouts; ibid. A toll of 4d. per horse-load was claimed by the abbot for goods brought to the fair; ibid.
  • 76. Cal. Chart. R. 1226–57, p. 243.
  • 77. Ibid. 295. This grant was probably in substitution for the former, though this is not stated; Furness Couch. i, 191.
  • 78. West, Furness (ed. 1774), 181.
  • 79. Information of Mr. S. Hart Jackson, steward of the manor.
  • 80. The separation from Barrow was by an Act of 1871; 34 & 35 Vict. cap. 61. The district was settled in 1872 and the local board created the following year; Lond. Gaz. 20 Aug. 1872; 26 Aug. 1873. The district was extended by 41 & 42 Vict. cap. 37.
  • 81. There were at first three wards, but East has been divided, the two parts being called East and Central.
  • 82. Lond. Gaz. 16 June 1876.
  • 83. The October fair proclamation is printed in Pal. Note-bk. iv, 13; N. and Q. (Ser. 7), xii, 445.
  • 84. The legal name of the borough is Barrow-in-Furness. In 1836 Barrow was 'the principal port of Furness for the exportation of iron ore' and was also 'visited for sea-bathing'; Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1), iv, 666. The place, as Barrai, is named as a grange of the abbey in 1190; Furness Couch, iii, 661. In a charter of 1433 the Abbot of Furness gave to William Harrington lord of Aldingham and Margaret his wife a right of way from the castle of Gleaston through Dalton to Barrow on foot and with all manner of carriages and horses; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 170. The year 11 Henry IV should be corrected to Henry VI, as in Furness Couch. iii, p. lii; note by Mr. Gaythorpe.
  • 85. See note 80. A board of guardians was constituted in 1876; Lond. Gaz. 19 Apr. The original bounds are given by J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 42.
  • 86. 44 & 45 Vict, cap, 121, amending earlier Acts. The first extension of the borough was in 1872, Walney and the smaller islands being then included; the second, in 1875, added a part of Yarlside; and the third, in 1881, added another part, viz. the chapelry of Rampside. For this and other information the editors are indebted to the Town Clerk, Mr. L. Hewlett.
  • 87. The first council consisted of the mayor, four aldermen and twelve councillors elected by the borough as a whole. The division into eight wards was made in 1875; Lond. Gaz. 24 Sept.
  • 88. The museum, founded in 1905, is also at the town hall.
  • 89. The gas works were established in 1861 and transferred to the Furness Gas and Water Co. in 1864.
  • 90. The hospital has an endowment of £2 15s. 8d. from a bequest by John Richardson in 1895. It was founded as St. George's Hospital in a private house by the Rev. T. S. Barrett, vicar of St. George's; in 1870 the work was taken over by a committee, the name being changed to North Lonsdale Hospital, and in 1875 new premises were secured; J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 313.
  • 91. Supplement to West's Antiq. of Furness. Close further adds that a 'gallery over the communion table contains a small handsome organ purchased by a subscription of the parish in 1789.'
  • 92. Canon Raines (Notes to Gastrell's Notitia, Chet. Soc. xxii, 512) in 1850 refers to the 'early Norman arch of the north door rudely ornamented by figures and arched bands.' This arch no longer exists.
  • 93. Designed by Paley & Austin of Lancaster.
  • 94. For a pre-Reformation bell formerly at Dalton see Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club xvii, 215. The old bells were melted down in 1865 and the records relating to them were burnt in the Cripplegate fire of 1897.
  • 95. From about 1867 to 1900 the 1571 chalice and the 1717 cover paten were missing. In 1894 they came into the possession of Mr. W. E. Whiteside and were restored by him to the church in 1900.
  • 96. a St. Ellen's garths, Furness Abbey, occur in the grant of the site in 1607; Pat. 5 Jas. I, pt. xix. There is an illustration in Furness Lore, 37 (Barrow Naturalists' Field Club, 1900).
  • 97. No church is named in the foundation charter of 1127, but Dalton Church occurs in a confirmation by Celestine III in 1195; B.M. Harl. Chart. 83 A 22. The pope ordered that fit priests should be appointed to minister in the church and have cure of souls, in subordination to the bishop; Furness Couch. (Chest. Soc.), iii, 643. Shortly afterwards the Archdeacon of Richmond made an ordination accordingly; the vicars were to be presented to him and were to have all the revenues except the tithe of corn; ibid. 644. A later decree fixed the vicar's stipend at 15 marks; ibid. 645. On the other hand, it should be noticed that to a deed earlier than 1195 one of the witnesses was Gilbert the parson of Dalton; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 181. This may be for Gilbert de Dalton, the parson.
  • 98. Disputes arose between the vicar and the abbey and the pope intervened about 1219; Furness Couch, 648. In 1225 the vicar made an agreement, renouncing part of his claim (ibid. 651), and in 1228 the Archbishop of York made his final decree, by which the vicar in future was to have 15 marks a year; ibid. 653.
  • 99. Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 328.
  • 100. Inq. Nonarum (Rec. Com.), 36.
  • 101. West, Furness (ed. 1774), 132–5.
  • 102. Duchy of Lanc. Rentals and Surv. bdle. 5, no. 15.
  • 103. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 270. The tithes of barley and oats (no wheat named) were worth £13 18s. 8d.; other tithes, £5 19s.; offerings, &c., £13 6s. 8d. Out of this 9s. was paid to the Archdeacon of Richmond.
  • 104. Ibid. 272.
  • 105. West, op. cit. 112. He expressed his intention of residing at Dalton; L. and P. Hen. VIII, xiii, 22, 583.
  • 106. The inventory of Roger Peel, parson of Dalton, 1541, was proved before Christopher Bolton, dean of Furness. The effects were worth £87; Richmond Wills (Surt. Soc.), 21.
  • 107. Pat. 8 Jas. I, pt. xxxviii—to Francis Morrice, &c.; West, op. cit. 138.
  • 108. Ibid. 136, 139.
  • 109. The rectory was acquired by John Preston, for in 1650 the whole parish was 'impropriate to the heirs of Sir John Preston deceased, a papist delinquent,' whose estates had been sequestered; Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 136.
  • 110. Lond. Gaz. 23 Feb. 1872.
  • 111. In 1650 the vicar had no fixed income beyond the £17 6s. 8d., and that had not been paid since the beginning of the war; Commonw. Ch. Surv. 137. The minister then depended on 'the benevolence of the people there residing.' An augmentation of £50 was ordered in 1659; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc.), ii, 299. Bishop Gastrell records no augmentation in 1717 except £2 from surplice fees; Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 511. There were then four churchwardens, one for each division.
  • 112. Carlisle Dioc. Cal.
  • 113. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 363, 365; Furness Couch. iii, 648, 651, 653 (1228). He was apparently the first vicar, and appointed in accordance with Pope Celestine's ruling.
  • 114. Ibid. 654.
  • 115. Ibid. A modification of the stipend was made; Robert was to have the house in which Andrew had lived and the whole of the altarage, rendering 3 marks a year to the abbey. Robert de Wath was still vicar in 1272 (ibid. ii, 446), and is no doubt the Sir Robert who was vicar in 1277; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 168.
  • 116. Furness Couch, i, 44, &c.; ii, 303 (1309), 308 (1330).
  • 117. Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 212; the date is doubtful.
  • 118. Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxii, 389.
  • 119. Ibid.; he exchanged with Golding the rectory of Whittingham (now Whicham). He is named as vicar in 1380–4 (Furness Couch. ii, 279–87), and was still there in 1391; Shireburne Abstract Bk.
  • 120. West, op. cit. 132 (1423); Furness Couch. iii, 699.
  • 121. Raines MSS. xxii, 377. There seems to have been an inquiry as to the patronage by the Dean of Furness (John Woodhouse) and the rector of Aldingham. Robert Harrington as vicar occurs in 1461; Corpus Christi Guild (Surt. Soc.), 62.
  • 122. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 272. His name occurs in the visitation list of 1548. In 1536–7 he was examined and gave evidence as to the conduct of the monks of Furness in respect of the Northern Rebellion and other matters; L. and P. Hen. VIII, xii (1), 841 (2).
  • 123. First-fruits were compounded for on 26 Nov. 1551; Lancs, and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 408. The name is given as Reginald Wright in the visitation list of 1554. For the church goods in 1552 see Chetham Misc. (Chet. Soc. new ser.), i, 22. The parish owed £13 6s. 8d. for one of the bells.
  • 124. Act Bks. at Chester.
  • 125. Ibid.
  • 126. The date is from Henry Pennant's MS. Acct. Bk. Gardner was 'no preacher' in 1610; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 7.
  • 127. Act Bks. at Chester. The Inst. Bks. P.R.O. begin at this time; the Lancashire entries are printed in Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Notes.
  • 128. Act Bks. at Chester. On the establishment of a presbytery objection was taken by the other ministers to the incumbency of Richard Tomlinson on the ground of 'several gross scandals proved against him'; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 48. He appears to have refuted the charges or made a due submission, for he was still vicar in 1649 and 1650, and an order was made that the arrears of his salary should be paid to him; ibid. 69. He appears to have had great difficulty in obtaining his dues, the people on one occasion pursuing the sheriff's officers for 8 miles, and in 1653 he complained that he was £400 in arrears and brought to extreme poverty; Cal. Com. for Comp. iii, 1903–4.
  • 129. Educated at Queen's Coll., Oxf.; M.A. 1819; Foster, Alumni.
  • 130. Educated at Clare Coll., Camb.; M.A. 1892. Vicar of Stanwix 1905.
  • 131. Educated at Durham; M.A. Mr. Leonard was previously incumbent of Ireleth.
  • 132. They are not mentioned in the documents connected with the suppression of the abbey. Walney existed in 1577 and Ireleth was built in 1608. In 1650 the latter chapel was stated to have been built for a school only. The incumbent of the chapel was also schoolmaster down to 1859.
  • 133. The two assistants in 1562 had appeared at the 1548 and 1554 visitations.
  • 134. The Bishop of Chester at one time forbade the use of Giles Brownrigge's schoolroom at Ireleth for a chapel, but in 1637 withdrew his opposition on the people promising to raise £10 a year towards a minister's maintenance and undertaking to make the building more suitable; End. Char. Rep. for Dalton, 1901.
  • 135. Commonw. Ch. Surv. 137. Walney chapel had only 6s. 6d. a year.
  • 136. a In the Bishop of Chester's visitation list of 1674 the vicar of Dalton and the curats of Ireleth (Christopher Rawlings) are named. In that of 1691 Thomas Thomson appears as schoolmaster of Walney 1662, ordained deacon the same year and appointed to the curacy in 1671. Hugh Hunter (deacon 1677) was appointed to the curacy and schoolmastership of Ireleth in 1689. Thus in 1691 there were the vicar and two deacons ministering in the parish; the schoolmaster at Dalton was a layman. For the curates of Ireleth 1671–1791 see Whitaker, Richmondshire, ii, 409.
  • 137. Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 514–17.
  • 138. Ibid.
  • 139. Churchwardens' presentments at the visitations.
  • 140. It was first begun as an iron church in 1872.
  • 141. Lond. Gaz. 15 May 1874.
  • 142. The district was assigned in 1872; ibid. 13 Aug. Before the church was built service was conducted in the schoolroom.
  • 143. a Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xvii, 116. Close, however, writing about 1810, says: 'The chapel of Rampside exhibits some features of ancient architecture in the door which is a pointed arch, and has been opposed by a similar door on the north side'; ibid.
  • 144. It was pulled down in 1877. For this and other information about the churches see Ch. Congress Guide, 1906.
  • 145. For district see Lond. Gaz. 15 Oct. 1861.
  • 146. Ibid. 23 Aug. 1867.
  • 147. Ibid. 21 Dec. 1877.
  • 148. For district see Lond. Gaz. 10 Aug. 1869.
  • 149. Henry Ware, D.D., appointed in 1889, was succeeded by Campbell West Watson in 1909.
  • 150. A Free Church Conference took place at Barrow the following year, 1907.
  • 151. J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 307. The cause originated in 1865 with the United Presbyterians.
  • 152. This has ceased to exist.
  • 153. J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 163.
  • 154. For the Primitive Methodist chapel see End. Char. Rep. for Dalton, 1901, p. 23. Before 1868 they used the old chapel in Skelgate. The Bible Christians' chapel dates from 1873; Richardson, loc. cit.
  • 155. A New Connexion chapel at North Scale has been acquired for the Church of England.
  • 156. Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. i, 267.
  • 157. Ibid. 271.
  • 158. Ibid. 272.
  • 159. At Barrow their meetings began in a private house in 1864, and a church was formed in the following year. A schoolroom was then used for service, till in 1873 the church in Abbey Road was opened; J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 309. There is a mission-room (1899) on Barrow Island. The Particular Baptists also had a preaching-room in Church Street in 1872.
  • 160. J. Richardson, op. cit. ii, 151–6.
  • 161. Fox, Journ. (ed. 1852), i, 127, 136. He preached at the churches of Rampside, Walney and Dalton after 'the priest' had finished. At his second visit to Cocken and Walney he met with violent opposition, the people assembling to beat and kill him.
  • 162. An informer in 1590 gave the queen's ministers warning that some gentlemen kept a fly boat near Piel to convey priests to and from Scotland and Ireland. He added: 'There is one Richard Bardsey, an old man who is kept about Furness. He came lately from the Pope and is a seminary priest; ver(il)y thought he was brother to one old Bardsey of Furness who was a great papist, &c.'; English Martyrs (Cath. Rec. Soc), i, 180–1.
  • 163. a Foley, Rec. S. J. iv, 535, citing S. P. Dom. Chas. I, cli, 13.
  • 164. Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc), i, 125.
  • 165. Foley, Rec. S. J. v, 356.
  • 166. This seems to refer to the passage of the Leven sands.
  • 167. Foley, loc. cit. The authority cited is the 'Annual Letters of 1688,' but some of the events appear to belong to a later time. Clement Smith died at Bardsea Hall in 1695; Urswick Reg.
  • 168. Foley, op. cit. vii, 192; Gillow, Bibl. Dict. of Engl. Cath. ii, 15; Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 169. Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 47, citing papen at Hornby Chapel.
  • 170. Foley, op. cit. v, 354, 359.
  • 171. Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xviii, 219. 'John West' was the priest in 1767— perhaps the same as Thomas West.
  • 172. Liverpool Cath. Annual, 1890–1 and later.
  • 173. The apprenticeship system is almost obsolete, and the marriage portions given are too small to be of service to the recipients.
  • 174. The interest is allowed to accumulate for several years and then given in money.