•  Lanercost, Cumberland

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In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Lanercost like this:

LANERCOST, a parish in Brampton district, Cumberland; on the rivers Irthing and Kingwater, the Roman wall, and the Lancaster and Carlisle railway, near Milton, Low Row, and Rosehill r. stations, 2½ miles NE of Brampton. It comprises the townships of Askerton, Burtholme, Kingwater, and Waterhead; and it has a post-office under Carlisle; but the post-town for great part of it is Brampton, under Carlisle. ...

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Acres, 36,510. Real property, £12,174. Pop. in 1851,1,644; in 1861,1,519. Houses, 273. The property is much subdivided. The manor and much of the land belong to the Earl of Carlisle. About two-thirds of the surface are pasture. Much of the scenery is very beautiful. An Augustinian priory was founded here, in 1169, by Robert de Vallibus, Lord of Gilsland; was visited by Edward I. in 1289; suffered devastation by the Scots in 1296; was visited by Edward I. again in 1299 and 1306; gave lodging to Robert Bruce in 1311; was pillaged by David in 1346; and was given, at the dissolution, to Thomas, Lord Dacre. The church of the priory was built mainly with stones from the Roman wall; continues to exist as a very fine architectural antiquity; and stands over crypts, containing some Roman relics. The nave is the only portion in a state of repair; was recently renovated; is used as the parish church; comprises eight bays; has, in the W front, a Norman door of three orders; and has a clerestory of eight round-headed lancets. The transept is 96 feet long; has two bays in each wing; and contains monuments of the Dacres and the Howards. The choir is 78 feet long; and has two tiers of lancets at the E end, and two windows on each side. The tower is low and battlemented; and has, at the NW angle, a bell-cot. There are also a Roman entrance-gate, and several remains of the monastic buildings; and all these, like the church, were built mainly with stones from the Roman wall. That wall itself, in its course through the parish, from Rosehill westward to the church, has left some interesting features, including remains of a station at Birdoswald, and reaches of its own masonry 7½ feet thick and in comparatively good preservation. The station at Birdoswald was Amboglanna; was occupied by the first cohort of the Dacians; comprised an area of 5½ acres; has yielded a very large number of inscriptions; retains walls 5 feet thick, eight courses in height, and still tolerably sound; has interesting remains of gateways, particularly of a very noble double one; and is marked, throughout the interior, with the lines of streets and the ruins of buildings. Another station probably was near the church. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £178.* Patron, the Earl of Carlisle. The p. curacy of Gilsland is a separate benefice. There are a dissenting chapel and four parochial school.

Lanercost through time

Lanercost is now part of Carlisle district. Click here for graphs and data of how Carlisle has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Lanercost itself, go to Units and Statistics.

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