Bewcastle² township contains 181 inhabitants and about 36 scattered houses, ten miles N. by E. of Brampton. The Church stands at the extreme S.E. end of the parish, on the site of a large Roman station, where, it is supposed, there was anciently a considerable town. It is dedicated to St. Mary³, and is a plain edifice, rebuilt in 1793, with a small square tower, but no side aisles. The date of its foundation is unknown, but, about the year 1200,the advowson was given to the prior and convent of Carlisle, and is now in the patronage of the dean and chapter of Carlisle, and incumbency of the Rev. John Maugham. The benefice is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £2, but has been augmented With a prescript of £60 0s. 6d. a year, in lieu of tithes, commuted, in 1842, for the same sum, and a few years since it was still further augmented by Sir James Graham, with £20 a year for ever, out of the rents of his estates; and in 1844 the ecclesiastical commissioners gave £13 a year to the living, which is now worth £120 per annum. Near the church is a very commodious rectory house, built in 1837, at a cost of about £600, of which £400 was obtained from queen Anne's bounty, £50 from the bishop, and the remainder was contributed by the rector himself. The other place of worship in this parish is a Presbyterian Chapel, built in 1790, and now under the ministry of the Rev. Wm. Tweedie. The late Rev. William Lauder, who was minister of this chapel from its foundation till his death, furnished several valuable corrections for Hutchinson's History of Cumberland, and rescued the industrious and hospitable inhabitants of the parish from the dismal shade which is thrown over their character in the first volume of that work, and for which a deep regret is expressed in the second. Though this parish was for ages the receptacle of desperadoes, and the very name of "the men of Bewcastle had carried with it a degree of terror," the inhabitants have for a number of years been as moral, honest, and courteous as those of any neighbouring parish. Here is a school, aided by public subscription, and to which the Presbyterian synod of England granted £10 in 1847. There was, until lately, another school, also assisted by subscription, and the masters were in the habit of going about with the scholars, in rotation, for victuals; but the present master's family being inhabitants of the place, he declines availing himself of the privilege of the "whittle gate."

Bewcastle township contains 2285 rateable acres of land, rated at £1290 5s., mostly the property of Sir J. Graham and Henry Farrar, Esq.; and on the demesne belonging to the former are the antique ruins of a once strong fortress, built by Bueth, lord of Gilsland, and called Bueth Castle, afterwards Botchcastre, and now Bewcastle. Bueth held this manor before the Norman Conquest, and his son, Gilles Bueth, afterwards claimed part of Gilsland, but was murdered by Robert de Vallibus, at a meeting convened for the purpose of settling the dispute; and his possessions having come to the crown were granted by Henry II to Hubert de Vallibus, the last of that name in Gilsland, whose daughter and heiress, Matilda, married Thomas de Multon, from whom Bewcastle passed to the Swinburnes, who held it for several generations. Edward I, in the 7^th year of his reign, granted to John Swinburne, the privilege of holding a market and fair here. In the reign of Edward II, Sir John Scrivener held the manor in right of his wife, the heiress of the Swinburnes, but it afterwards passed to the crown, and was granted by Edward IV to his brother, Richard, duke of Gloucester. In the reign of Henry VIII it was held by one Jack Musgrave; but James I, in 1615, demised it to Francis, earl of Cumberland, for the term of 40 years, rendering for the same the yearly sum of £5; and finally, Charles I, in 1630, granted it, in consideration of £200, to Richard Graham, Kt., to be held by him and his heirs in capite by one entire knight's fee, and the annual rent of £7. 10s. This deed is now in the possession of Mr. George Routledge, of Bankhead. The Right Hon. Sir Jas. R. G. Graham, Bart., M.P., is the present lord of the manor, and owner of the castle demesne. This castle was destroyed in 1641, by the parliamentary forces, and the garrison removed to Carlisle. Many of the tenants are enfranchised, but several still pay customary rents, heriots at the death of a tenant, and fines at the death of the lord, or change of tenant, &c. The custom of the manor was established under a decree in chancery, in the 6^th Charles I.

The runic monument, or obelisk, in Bewcastle church yard, has for a length of time engaged the attention of the curious. It is a cross of one entire square stone, about 15 feet high, springing from an octagonal pedestal, and "is nearly the frustrum of a square pyramid, each side being equal, 2 feet broad at bottom and 1½ at top, wherein a cross was fixed, which has been demolished long ago by popular frenzy and enthusiasm." Each side of this ancient Danish obelisk has a profusion of inscriptions, figures, &c., emblematic of the conversion of the Danes to Christianity, and commemorative of the death and interment, as is supposed, of one of their kings. The remains of another cross are visible at Cross-hill, about 3 miles N. of the church, near the black line river, and about 6 miles from Bewcastle, at a place called Currocks, in the midst of a moss, is a large collection of stones about 10 yards high and 130 in circumference. A Roman spear, found here a few years ago, may be seen at Mr. G. Routledge's. The Maiden Way⁴ runs through this parish, and within half-a-mile of it is another heap of stones called Hemp's graves, probably a corruption of Camp's graves, as there is every vestige of a camp in its vicinity. Another heap of stones, about 30 yards in circumference, may be seen at a short distance from this place, and here many human bones, ancient coins, &c. have been found.

Bailie, or Bailey, township, contains 11248 acres, rated at £2311 17s. 6d., and extends from 2½ to 6 miles N.N.W. of Bewcastle. Here is a lofty range of crag, stretching to the point where Cumberland, Scotland, and Northumberland unite, and there are several romantic localities in this township. Its population, in 1841, was 431, and its principal landowners are Sir Wastel Brisco and John Charlton, Esq.

Belbank comprises 2849 acres, rated at £1203 15s., and a population of 445 souls, resident in 97 houses, distant from one to four miles W. of Bewcastle. Near to the hamlet of Oakshaw are coal and lime works; and on the opposite bank of the white line, in Stapleton parish, is another township of the same name.

Nixons township comprises 217 inhabitants, and 47 dwellings, including the small hamlet of Cross Hills, distant 3½ miles N. by W. of Bewcastle. It contains 4501 acres of land, rated at £969 15s. Christenbury Craggs⁵, which cover about three acres of ground, are situate on the summit of a hill near the borders of Northumberland, in this township. They command extensive prospects, and when viewed at a distance, have the appearance of a ruined fortress. "The front of the rock is between 50 and 60 feet high, and finely broken by innumerable fissures, which run from top to bottom, and separate the half isolated masses, which in some places assume the appearance of columns, and display an air of rude uniformity more pleasing to contemplate than the most admired production of art. The caves and apertures of these rocks were sought in former times as an asylum by the freebooters." The remains of several old houses in this parish clearly evince that they were once used as places of defence against the attacks of the mosstroopers; the lower part of the house affording shelter and protection to the cattle, whilst the family occupied the upper part. Pelawhill farm house is the only one of this class now inhabited or in a habitable state.

Mannix & Whellan, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Cumberland, 1847