Upper Holker

HOLKER UPPER, a township, in the parish of Cartmel, union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands, N. division of the county of Lancaster, 1¾ mile (N. by W.) from Cartmel; containing 1,114 inhabitants. Walton, now named Upper Holker, and Barnegath, are ranked as a bailiwick in the grant of a manor of Cartmel, in fee farm, in 1641. The seat here of the Bigland family stands near the summit of a hill whose sides are hung with spring wood, and in front is a fine tarn abounding with wild-fowl: the views embrace the Fells of Furness, the sands of Leven, and the Pile of Fouldrey, with the extensive bay of Morecambe, which at the height of the tide appears little short of an ocean. The old mansion called Walton Hall is said to have been the residence of William de Walton, prior of Cartmel. A school is endowed with about £130 per annum, almost entirely derived from land; and there is another, endowed with £44. 10. per annum.