church, the county gaol, and court houses, with several other public
buildings, which are already described; and the latter, the new church or chapel of ease.
Blackwell1, or Blackwell High Township, contains the hamlets of High and Low Burnthwaite, Durdar, Ratten Raw2, and Stoneraise, with several scattered houses situated from three to four miles south of Carlisle. Its population in 1846 was 324, and it contains 2323 acres of land, of the rateable value of £1565 10s.,and belonging to several proprietors, the largest of whom is Mr. Joseph Scott, but Sir George Musgrave, Bart. is lord of the manor, which was anciently a parcel of the forest of Inglewood, but was given by Henry I to Oswald de Logis, baron of Wigton. Margaret de Wigton, the heiress of this baronial house, gave the manor, in the reign of Edward III to Sir Robert Parvinge, the king's sergeant at law, for his successful efforts in conducting her cause when her title to the barony was impugned by the heir-at-law, Sir Robt. de Bridekirk, on the ground of her mother's incontinency. Sir Robert de Parvinge afterwards became Lord Chancellor and Lord High Treasurer, and in 1339 obtained a licence to enclose his woods. His descendants sold their township to Sir William Stapleton, who sold it to lord Dacre, from whom it passed to Thomas, earl of Sussex, whose co-heiress conveyed it to Sir Christopher Musgrave, ancestor of the present proprietor, Sir George Musgrave, Bart. Thomas Lowry, by will dated 22nd November, 1779, bequeathed £200 to this township, one half of the interest of which to be paid to the schoolmaster, and the other half to poor widows. In 1785 Thomas Pattinson left the interest of £10 to the schoolmaster of Blackhall; and in 1798, Mrs. Grace Graham bequeathed £100 to Durdar School.
High and Low Burnthwaite consist of five farm houses, and a few cottages, four miles south of Carlisle; Durdar, two farm houses, and several cottages, three miles south of Carlisle; and Ratten Raw, four farms, and a few cottages, three miles south of Carlisle.
Blackwell, or Blackhall (Low) township has a small village, two miles S. from Carlisle, and the hamlets of Floshes, and Scugger Houses, contains 200 souls, and 930 acres, of the rateable value of £1247 belonging to the Lowry, Dykes, Bell, Wilson, Wild, and a few other families. Sir George Musgrave, Bart. is lord of the manor, and owner of Blackwell Hall, a very ancient farm house, on a commanding height, above the river Caldew. The name Blackwell, Blackhall, Blackhill, or Blackhell, as it is variously called, is said to be derived from its having been anciently a black heathy district, being part of Inglewood forest. In an old mansion here is a large oak table, and a drinking cup, said to have been used by the chevalier prince Charles, in 1745; and in 1841, Mr. Duncan Mc'Alpin found a curious seal in his garden, supposed to have belonged to the same extraordinary individual.
Botcherby, or Botchardby, township, has a small village, and several neat houses, pleasantly situated one mile east from Carlisle; contains 130 inhabitants, and 482 acres of land, of the rateable value of £1058. Mr. John Bowman is the largest land owner.
Botchergate, or Botchardgate3, is a township forming the southern suburb to the city of Carlisle, and containing 370 acres. The manor of Botchergate, or Prior Lordship, formerly belonging to the priory of Carlisle, and now to the dean and chapter, extends over the chief part of Saint Cuthbert's parish. This township, and the hamlet of Botchardby, were anciently held by one Botchard, a native of Flanders, and passed in marriage with his daughter Isolda to Guy, the Forester, who paid 6s. 2d. cornage for them to Henry I, and took the name of Botchardby, which, after four generations, became extinct in female issue, and the estates passed to the Parvings, the Stapletons, the Musgraves, and others.
Brisco township has a small village occupying a pleasant and airy situation, three miles south from Carlisle; also the hamlet of Woodbank, on the river Petteril, where there are extensive iron works, established in 1846. The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, which intersects the township, passes close by this hamlet. Brisco is included in the dean and chapter's manor of Botchardgate, but about £3 a year is paid as quit rent to Sir Wastel Brisco, of Crofton Hall, whose ancestors were its ancient lords and possessors, and who received their name from this township, which was formerly called Birksceugh, signifying a Birch-wood. It contains 350 inhabitants, and 1901 acres of land of the rateable value of £2195 2s. 10d.
Brisco Hill is a neat house in this township, commanding beautiful prospects, the seat and property of J. Fallowfield, Esq.
Newbiggin Hall, now the residence of the Misses Clarke, but the property of Henry A. Aglionby, Esq. was anciently the occasoinal abode of the prior of Carlisle, who built a tower of defence here against the incursions of the Scots. The walls of this mansion are about nine feet thick, and the whole of the first floor has a plain vaulted roof.
Woodside, the seat and property of Miss Losh, is a large and handsome mansion, situate in a beautiful and well-wooded lawn. The Woodside estate has been for many generations held by this family; the present proprietress is daughter of the late John Losh, Esq., and the largest land-owner in the township. Messrs. Thomas and John Lowthian, Joseph Sewell, and colonel Martin, have estates here also.
Carleton is a pleasant village on the Penrith road, three miles S. by E. of Carlisle. This township is also in the manor of Botchergate, and contains about 200 souls and 1330 acres of land, of the rateable value of £1611, belonging to several owners, many of whom are resident. The principal non-resident proprietors are Charles Ravaz, Esq., William and Samuel James, Esqrs., --- Ferguson, and H.A. Aglionby, Esqrs., Mrs. Dawson, and R. Story, and J. Armstrong, Esqrs. There are several neat houses in the village, and a few good dwellings scattered over the township. Near to the old Roman road is a farmstead called Scalesceugh, built in 1746, the property of Mr. Robinson, who has in his possession a gold coin of the emperor Nero, found by one of his labourers about forty years ago.
Harraby township has a small village on the Penrith road, a mile and a half S. by E. of Carlisle, contains only 75 inhabitants, and 590 acres of land, mostly the property of the Fawcett, Fairbairn, Lowry, and Spedding families, and to the executors of the late admiral Taylor. Harraby Grange, containign 174A. 1R. 1P. was formerly called the Manor of Henderbye, but now belongs to the dean and chapter, as part of the manor of Botchergate, of whom it is held on a leasehold tenure.
Harraby Green is principally in this township; and here, on the banks of the Petteril, are a corn mill, a skinnery, and three neat residences, two of which are on the opposite side of the river, in Upperby township.
Upperby is a village on the west side of the small river Petteril, two miles S.E. of Carlisle. Its township contains 602 souls, and 446 acres of land, belonging, chiefly, to John Fawcett, Esq., major Wild, and Messrs. Robt. Lamb and J. Pears; and is in the dean and chapter's manor of Botchergate.
Petteril Bank, the seat of John Fawcett, Esq., occupies a pleasant situation on Harraby Green, in this township, and commands a good view the vale of the Petteril, and of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway. A neat District Church was erected on an elevation a little east of the village in 1840, and consecrated in 1846.The site and burial ground were given by Mr. Fawcett, and the funds for its erection were raised by subscription, principally through the laudable exertions of the Reverend John Fawcett, incumbent of St. Cuthbert's, Carlisle. There is also a Parsonage House about to be built contiguous to the church, the funds for which are already collected. The Revd. William Cockett, M.A., the present incumbent, receives £80 per annum from the Church Pastoral Aid Society, until it is permanently endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The district assigned to this church by the bishop includes the townships of Upperby, Brisco, Harraby, Carleton, Botcherby, and High and Low Blackwell, containing collectively, according to an enumeration made in 1846, a population of 1898 souls. The patronage is now in the incumbent of St. Cuthbert's, but will eventually be invested in the dean and chapter of Carlisle. Attached to the church is a well-attended Sunday school.
Mannix & Whellan, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Cumberland, 1847