Irthington Parish, 1848

IRTHINGTON (St. Kentigern), a parish, in the union of Brampton, Eskdale ward, E. division of Cumberland; comprising the townships of Irthington, Laversdale, Newby, and Newtown; and containing 1,049 inhabitants, of whom 270 are in the township of Irthington, 3 miles (W. by N.) from Brampton. The parish comprises by admeasurement 6,266 acres, of which 5,669 are arable, 408a. 1r. 38p. pasture, and 188a. 1r. 16p. woodland. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 1. 5., and in the patronage of the family of Dacre; net income, £222. The church is in the Norman style. Near it is the site of a castle, said to have been the chief seat of the barony of Gilsland before the erection of Naworth Castle. Watch Cross, where Horsley fixes the Aballaba of the Romans, but which other antiquaries suppose to have been only an exploratory post, and where Roman inscriptions have been discovered, is in the parish.