MALLERSTANG FOREST PENDRAGON CASTLE HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OP MALLERSTANG FOREST AND PENDRAGON CASTLE. BY THE KEY. W. NICHOLLS (Author of " Tho History and Traditions of Ravenstonedale "). MANCHESTER: JOHN HEYWOOD, DEAXSGATE AND RIDGEFIELD. LONDON : John Hcywood ; Simpkin, Marshall, into the solid crust, leaving the two ridges of Wild Hour Fell on the one hand, and Hugh's Seat on the other. Could we, however, transport ourselves into the dim and far-reaching past, we should see those two ridge summits connected by a table-land instead of what we now see a picturesque and romantic valley. And I confess, at the out- set, that. I was drawn into an enquiry in'o the history and tradition! of your dale, not on account of its social, com- mercial, or political importance, but mostly owing to the fascination which its scenery has exercised upon my mind, together with its most remarkable memorial the ruin of 10 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Pendragon Castle which Whellan, in his "History of Westmorland," says, is " one of the most interesting relics of antiquity in the county." The name of the dale is, as you know, Mallerstang Forest, and it is a township of the parish of Kirkby Stephen. The etymology of the name I have been unable to find a trace of; and, instead of guessing what it might be, perhaps it woiild be better to leave it as one of the things of the past which we cannot know.* In all the old writings it is called Mallerstang Forest. Now in such documents we find, notably in Blackstone, that the word forest did not mean what we understand it to mean to-day, a considerable extent of land thickly covered with trees, but a piece of waste ground given up to game in fact, a chase. Whellan, in his history of this county, says, " This district was anciently a vast forest, inhabited by every description of game." And that this was the character of the Mallerstang Forest we have evidence. For example ; it is on record in the " Appleby Sessions Indictment Book," ''That at a petty sessions, held Michaelmas, 1665, before Sir Philip Musgrave, Knight and Bart., Sir John Lowther, Bart., Sir John Lowther the younger, Bart., and John Dalston, Esquire, four of His Majesty's justices of the peace, Thomas Knewstubb, Ralph Shaw, Henry Shaw, Thomas Whitfield, Adam Fothergill, Robert Guy, Richard Heseltine, and Henry Dixon were convicted of killing a deer within the Forest of Mallerstange, belonging to the honourable Ann, Countess * Since writing the above, I have met with the following etymology of the name in Whitaker's "History and Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven." He says : "This wild tract was, I suppose, so called Mallard Stank, the pool of the Mallard, referring to some early expansion of the Eden which has long since burst its mounds." The Rev. J. Wharton, of Stainmore, has also sent me the following note to the like effect : " Mallerstang (Mallard Stagnum), morass of the wild duck ; compare Dun-Mallard (Ullswater) and Garstang." MALLERSTASG FOKK.- I. 11 Dowager of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomerye, who, on examination, confessed, and were each of them fined 20, according to the statute."* And tradition says that the last deerkeeper in Mallerstang lived in a place called Ilidding- house, from near which he could see a large portion of the forest, and when he saw anyone disturbing the deer he used to shout at them with such stentorian lungs, that he could be heard a long distance, and went by the name of "Gobe." Still it is evident that, at a period anterior to the seven- teenth century, of which I have been speaking, this dale was well wooded, and the trees that grew here were mostly birch and alder, and hazel bushes, and some oak, but not much. As we might expect, the land is rich in fuel for fire, from turf down to black hard peat, and this, until about thirty years ago, previous to the introduction of railways, supplied most of the inhabitants with fuel ; and so well did the folks keep themselves supplied with peat, that if they had a wet season, a great many of them had enough for the following year. The first name connected with the dale of which we possess any record is Uther Pendragon. He is a half- historical and half-mythical person; he is, so to speak, in the dim twilight between legend and history. It is not my business here to enter upon the value of oral tradition handed down through the ages from sire to son ; but of this we are sure, that the recollections of the people and the evidence of the oldest extant documents show that the castle in your midst was always called Pendragon Castle. Now in Geoffrey of Monmouth's British History I find a record of Uther Peudragon. I am aware that he is not a For the ;ilmvo uxtnict I have pleasure in acknowledging the kindness of Canou Machsll, who has the Hills' Westmorland M3S. in his possession, and from which, at the request of Mi.-s A. N. Hill, he copied it. Vol. iii., page 405. 12 MALLERSTANG FOREST. high authority ; still he lived in the early part of the twelfth century ; and I give you his account of Uther Pendragon, which, after the spirit of the age, is no doubt mixed up with legend. He says : - " Daring these transactions at Winchester [the murder of Aurelius Ambrosius, the brother of Uther, by poisoning] there appeared a star of wonderful magnitude and brightness, darting forth a ray at the end of which was a globe of fire in the form of a dragon, out of whose mouth issued forth two rays ; one of which seemed to stretch out itself beyond the extent of Gaul, the other towards the Irish Sea, and ended in seven lesser rays. At the appearance of this star a general fear and amazement seized the people ; and even Uther, the king's brother, who was then upon his march with his army into Cambria, being not a little terrified at it was very curious to know of the learned men what it portended. " Among others, he ordered Merlin [Merlin was a sage who was supposed to possess a measure of prophetic insight] to be called, who also attended in this expedition to give his advice in the management of the war ; and who being now presented before him, was commanded to discover to him the signification of the star. At this he burst out into tears, and with a loud voice cried out : ' 0, irreparable loss ! 0, distressed people of Britain ! Alas, the illustrious prince is departed ! The renowned king of the Britons, Aurelius Ambrosius, is dead ! whose death will prove fatal to us all unless God be our helper. Make haste, therefore, most noble Uther, make haste to engage the enemy ; the victory shall be yours, and you shall be king of all Britain. For the star and the fiery dragon under it signifies yourself, and the ray extending towards the Gallic coast portends that you MAI.I.KU.STANG FOREST. 13 shall have a most potent son, to whose power all those king- doms shall l>e subject over which the ray reaches. But the other ray signifies a daughter, whose sons and grandsons shall successively enjoy the kingdom of Britain.'" The chronicler, after having referred to the death of Aurelius Ambr<>siu<, which had actually taken place, proceeds: " Uther, the brother of the deceased king, having assembled the clergy of the kingdom, took the crown, and by universal consent was advanced to the kingdom. And remembering the explanation which Merlin had made of the star above mentioned, he commanded two dragons to be made of gold iu likeness of the dragon which he had seen at the ray of the star. As soon as they were done with wonderful nicety of workmanship, he made a present of one to the Cathedral of Winchester [there i-.re many legends of various kinds of King Arthur, his son, connected with this cathedral still]; but reserved the other for himself, to be carried along with him to the wars. From this time, therefore, he was called Uther Pendragon, which in the British tongue signifies the dragon's head ; the occasion of this appellation being Merlin's predicting from the appearance of a dragon that he should be a king." The preceding has a mythical cast, and any historian would accept it with caution ; still the substratum of it may be true. In the year of our Lord 420, after the Romans had left the island, we know that the Britons, no longer overawed by the presence of the Roman legions, refused to acknowledge the authority of the provincial and municipal governors of Rome, and restored the power of the ancient chiefs under the supremacy of an elective monarch, who bore the title of Pendragon, and administered the affairs of the central govern- 14 MALLERSTANG FOREST. ment. The word pen is British for head, and dragon for leader or chief. Dr. Miluer Fothergill, in writing to me on this subject, says : " Pendragon was the generalissimo of the united Cymric Tribes. Uter was in all probability the Pendragon of the Cumbrian Cymri who long held their own against the tide of Saxons." And I am disposed to accept this view of the chief from whom the castle here takes its name. For is there anything fabulous or even improbable in the fact that such a monarch would build a stronghold in this valley, which is the best outlet from the north into the Craven district and the midlands of England ] And if he did, would it not be likely to be remembered 1 Moreover, Whitaker, after speaking of Pendragou Castle, proceeds : " With respect to the name, which, among authentic records, first appears in an inquisition of the 8th Edward II. [1314-5], I shall only observe that, as this place was certainly included in the limits of the Strath Cluyd Britons, a fortress might really have been erected on the spot by Uther. It is easy to defer too little as well as too much to remote tradition.' It is not probable that Uther Pendragon often lived here, or that the original castle was intended to be other than a keep in a most important military position. Nicholson and Burn, in their "History of Westmorland," give quite another and a different account of Uther Pen- dragon, and here is what they say : " The Castle of Mallerstang, called Pendragon Castle, is said to have been built about the time of Vortigern by Uter Pendragon." So far this agrees with Geoffrey of Monmouth. The writer proceeds, "Who this Uter was may be difficult to ascertain. There was a family of the name of Ughtred of ancient time ; and during the time of the Saxons in England MAI.I.F.KSTAM. ioi:i>r. 15 before the Norman conquest there was a famous warrior of the name of Uchtred, son of Waltlieof, Earl of Northumber- land, who, with a much inferior army, gave the Scots under their king Malcolm a most signal overthrow, for which victory Kin- Kt helred gave to Uchtred his daughter, the Princess Kl-iva, in marriage, and with her the counties of Northum- berland and York for a portion. Pendragon seems not to be properly the name of a man, but an epithet only, describing his warlike quality. Pen, it is well known, signifies a moun- tain or something that is great, and dragon hath been applied in all ages to military persons." The radical defect of Dr. Burns' account of Utcr Pendragon is, that the link is wanting that should connect Uchtred, the Saxon warrior, with the castle here. He received with his wife, we are told, Northumberland and York for a portion. Pendragon Castle is in neither of those counties, and the name of its founder was Uther and not Uchtred. Moreover, there is a tradition current in the district that the Saxons besieged the castle, and, considering it impregnable, resorted to treachery, and poisoned the well which is still pointed out to visitors and that Uther and his garrison were poisoned, owing to drinking of its water. This is as much as 1 have been able to glean of Uther Pendragon. All are amved, however, that he lived in ancient British or early Saxon times; and as an evidence of how thoroughly his existence has entered into the traditions of the people, I have it, on the authority of Canon Simpson, that to this day the ghost of Old Uther is said to appear on Shap Fell. He was the first chief of this dale. Few were the inhabitants here ; indeed we have evidence that the only inhabitants were those who lived in the castle. Solemn must have been the scene ; the castle, rude and massive, set in a forest of trees, the hiding-place of the wild boar and the wolf. 16 MALLERSTANG FOREST. The first lord of the manor, properly so called, of whom we have any record, is Hugh de Moreville, a much less undefined person than Uther Pendragon. The highest point of the eastern ridge is called Hugh's Seat, where Anne, Countess of Pembroke, erected a stone pillar, and upon it the inscription is cut, A. P. 1664. There is a tradition current amongst the people that upon this mountain he concealed himself during a Scotch invasion. Another that I have met with is that after he had been hunting he sat down there and partook of refreshment. This is incontrovertible, that he was one of the four knights who murdered the Archbishop Thomas a Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral, in the year 1170. The other knights engaged in the bloody deed were Reginald Fitzurse, Richard Brito, and William de Tracy, but with them at present we are not concerned, except that this should be said in extenuation of all, that they received their first hint from the king, Henry II., when he was holding his court at Bur, near Bayeux, at which they were present. Now a hint from the king, which could not be easily misimderstood, amounted to a command to loyal knights. They crossed the Channel, proceeded to Canterbury, secured an interview with a Becket, which they did not wish to be of a pacific character, and after mutual recrimination in the palace, on which I need not enter, the archbishop fled for refuge into the cathedral, whither he was followed by his assailants, and there, in the deepening twilight of December 29th, 1170, he was murdered. I am indebted to Dean Stanley's " Historical Memorials of Canterbury " for the following facts ; and every allusion to De Moreville is, to his credit, that whatever blame may be awarded to the perpetrators of this crime, the lightest share must rest upon him. Dean Stanley, after referring to the other knights, MALLERSTANG FOREST. 17 eays, "Moreville was of higher rank and office than the others. He was this very year Justice Itinerant of the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland, where he inherited the barony of Burgh -on-the-Sands, and other possessions, from his father Roger and his grandfather Simon. He was, likewise, forester of Cumberland, owner ofihe Castle of Knareaborough, and added to his patemal property that of his wife, Helwise de Stute-ville." The following is the next allusion: "He, the archbishop, in his turn complained of the insults he had received. First came the grand grievances of the preceding week. ' They have attacked my servants, they have cut off my sumpter mule's tail, they have carried off the casks of wine that were the king's own gift.' It was now that Hugh de Moreville, the gentlest of the four, put in a milder answer : ' Why did you not complain to the king of these outrages ? Why do you take upon yourself to punish them by your own authority?' The archbishop turned round sharply upon him. ' Hugh, how proudly you lift up your head ! When the rights of the Church are violated I shall wait for no man's permission to avenge them. I will give to the king the things that are the king's, but to God the things that are God's. It is my business, and I alone will see to it.' " The historian adds : " For the first time in the interview the archbishop had assumed an attitude of defiance." Later on in the account we read : " Hugh of Horsea planted his foot on the neck of the corpse, thrust his sword into the ghastly wound, and scattered his brains over the pavement. ' Let us go ; let us go,' he said, in conclusion, ' the traitor is dead ; he will rise no more.' This was the final act. One only of the four knights had struck no blow. Hugh de Moreville throughout retained the gentler disposi- tion for which he was distinguished, and contented himself B 18 MALLEBSTAXG FOHEST. with holding back at the entrance of the transept the crowds who were pouring iu through the nave." After the murder the four knights hastened to Saltwood, where they stayed for the night; and tradition states that they proceeded together to the residence of Hugh de Moreville at Knaresborough, where they remained for twelve months. During this year he was discontinued from his office of Justice Itinerant in the counties of Northumberland and Cumber- land. This was done to appease popular indignation, rather than as a punishment inflicted by the king ; for within the first two years of the murder the murderers were living at Court in Normandy 011 familiar terms with the king, and constantly joined him in the pleasures of the chase, or else hawking and hunting in England. And in the first year of King John, Hugh de Moreville is recorded as paying twenty- five marks, and three palfreys for holding his Court as Justice Itinerant in the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland, so long as Helwise, his wife, shall continue in a secular habit. He procured about the same period a charter for a fair and market at Kirkoswald, and died shortly afterwards, leaving two daughters. There is a legend that he and the other knights went on a pilgrimage of expiation to the Holy Land, and died there ; but it is a myth that arose out of the superstitions that, like a nimbus, gathered around the name and memory of Saint Thomas a Becket. Hugh de Moreville visited the north after having been a spectator of the tragedy, for in all the representations of the martyrdom, in painted windows or iu ancient frescoes, Hugh de Moreville is stationed aloof from the massacre. On his way from Knaresborough he must have passed through this dale, and, no doubt, rested for awhile in Pendragon Castle. In strange contrast were the grand and sombre surroundings MA!.l.i:itSTAX<; FOREST. 19 of this Wcstmorluinl f the Vale of Mallerstang, was much decayed by the multitude of vaccaries, i.e., cow pastures, and chiefly by the archery of "Roger the forester." The name of this man still lingers amongst the people as an individual of strong and defiant character. Probably if we were living nearer to the period, there would be current anecdotes told concerning him, just as there still are in the neighbourhood of Sherwood Forest of " bold Robin Hood." There were also, we are informed by the same authority, other archers of Lundsdale ; also pnrprestures, i.e., encroach- ments, were made in many places within the forest and in the boundary of the forest, by sufferance of the said Prior after he took upon him the guardianship. " Iii the 8th Edward II. [1314] the jurors find that in the Vale of Mallerstang there is one castle called Pendragon, with a vaccary held by Andrew de Harcla of the rent of 6d. a year." In that year 1314 Robert de Clifford, the owner of Pendragon, died fighting for the king at Bannock- bnrn. His eldest son was at that time about 15 years old. The strong probability, therefore, is, that Andrew de Harcla was invited by the Clifford family to take charge of Pen- dragon Castle during his minority, at a rent that was merely nominal. Roger de Clifford came of age in 1321, but fought against the king in his adherence to the Earl of Lancaster at Borough Bridge, 1322, when he was taken prisoner, and his lands forfeited to the king. He died in 1327. Then again in the 1st Edward III. [1327] the jurors find that belonging to Roger de Clifford, deceased, was the castle of Pendragon, together with the forest of Mallerstang to the 26 MALLERSTAXG FOREST. same belonging ; that the buildings of the castle cannot be extended, for that the costs of maintaining the same exceed the profits thereof. Also that in the said forest there are divers vaccaries, and other profits of herbage in the hands of tenants at will, who pay yearly at Martinmas and Whitsuntide, 30. Anne, Countess of Pembroke, relates in her memoirs that " Idonea de Veteripont, one of the daughters and co-heiresses of Robert de Veteripont, Avho married Roger de Leyburn, made a great part of her residence in Westmorland at Brugh Castle, under Stanemore, and at Pendragon Castle in Mallerstang, and the latter place i.e., Pendragon Castle was her chief and beloved habitation." From this we may conclude that she loved retirement, and to be under the influence of your grand hills. She died here in Pendragon Castle in 1334. Also at this castle, we leai-n from Whitaker. in 1337 Edward Baliol was honourably received, on his expulsion out of Scotland, by Robert de Clifford, and enter- tained with magnificent hunting in the adjoining forest of Mallerstang. The lord of the manor in this way most fully shewed the honours of hospitality to one who makes himself momentarily conspicuous in history by his daring and successful invasion of Scotland, then under the Regency of Randolph, Earl of Morey, in 1332. Accompanied by some English noblemen bent on recovering their forfeited estates in Scotland, he landed with a few hundred followers at Kinghorn, in Fifeshire, defeated the Earl of Fife, pushed boldly into the country, and in Duppliu moor, in Perthshire, routed with immense slaughter an army upwards of ten times more numerous than his own. On the 24th September, seven weeks from the date of his landing, he was crowned King of Scotland at Scone. He had only enjoyed the kingly MALLEK.STANG K)!;i 27 dignity for about three months when he was surprised in his camp at Annan, and nearly lost his life, as well as the crown he had so recently assumed. Subsequently he was expelled from Scotland. We arc not told how long he remained an honoured visitor in Pendragon Castle, enjoying the hospitality of Robert de Clifford, but during the visit the forest was gay by day with magnificent hunting, and the castle brilliant by night. In 1341 the castle was burnt down by the Scots. This was in the l~>th year of Edward III., during a period of fierce hostility between the two kingdoms, which ended in the defeat of the Scottish army at Nevil's Cross, near Durham, and the taking of the Scottish king, David II., prisoner. The castle was restored, however, and in the year 1541 was again reduced to ruin. The cause of its ruin on this occasion I cannot ascertain ; it took place in the 32ud year of the reign of Henry VIII. Henry, son of Henry Lord Clifford, and Ann St. John, his wife, was lord of the manor. He was afterwards created Earl of Cumberland, by Henry VIII., and Knight of the Garter. He was several times Lord Warden of the Marches, and behaved with great nobleness and gallantry in the wars against Scotland ; and possibly the castle was on this occasion also demolished by the Scots. To this ruin Camdeu refers in his history. And when you remember that the materials for his history came no lower than 1589, you will see clearly that he became conversant with the ruin in the lifetime of those who must have remembered the demolition. He savs : "The noble river Eden, called by Ptolemy, I tuna, rising in Yorkshire (?), has at first only a small stream ; but increasing gradually by the confluence of several little rivers seeks a passage through these mountains to the north-west, by Pendragon Castle, to 28 MALLERSTANG FOREST. which age has left nothing but the name and a great heap of stones." In a note to the above, Edward Gibson, who translated and edited the work in 1695, says: "Pcndragon Castle was not a great heap of stones in Mr. Camden's time ; when the walls, being four yards in thickness (with battle- ments upon them), were standing till the year 1660, that the most noble lady, the Lady Anne Clifford, Countess- Dowager of Pembroke, Dorset, and Montgomery, repaired this ancient home of her ancestors, with three more castles which she had in this county, and removing frequently from one to another, kept hospitality and diffused her charity all over the country. This castle is washed on the east by the river Eden ; and on the other -sides there are great trenches, as if the first builder had intended to draw the water round it. But the attempt proved ineffectual, from whence they have an old rhyme hereabouts- Let Uter Pendragon do what he can, The river Eden will run where it ran." There are two or three statements in this extract which need remark, and the first is, that Gibson is somewhat severe on his author in saying that it was not a heap of stones possibly it was not in the most literal sense ; for in the in scription that appeared over the castle gate we learn that "it had layen ruinous without timber or any covering ever since the year 1541." From this it would appear clearly that the castle was uninhabitable, which is probably what Cam- den meant by the expression " a heap of stones." Gibson also says that the castle is washed on the east by the river Eden ; it is on the west. The well known couplet as at present rendered by the people is : " Let Uter Pendragon do what he can Eden will run where Eden ran." MALLEK.STAXO FOREST. 29 This saving is frequently appropriated and applied to express determination and firmness. Carefully I have enquired into its history, and have discovered merely, that it is very ancient. The objection to the possibility of the attempt that occurs to the visitor is, that the bed of the river is at present very much below the castle. It is possible however, that it has worn down its bed during the last 1,000 or 1,300 years. Undoubtedly the moat is only partly made. Dr. Simpson says " Uter endeavoured to strengthen the stronghold by drawing around it the waters of the Eden. The stream which is sometimes much swollen and rapid was however, too much for him, the dam which he had made across the river was washed down, and the memory of this attempt to turn the water out of its usual course, only re- mains in the old proverb." Aune, Countess of Pembroke, restored the castle in 1660 A.D., and in her diary she says she formed the design of restoring it so early as the year 1615 for a library for Mr. C. Wolridge. Ou its restoration, the following inscription cut upon a stone was over the entrance irate "This Peudragon Castle was repayred by the Lady Ann Clifford, Countess dowager of Pembroke, Dorsett, and Moiitgomerie, and Vescie, High Sheriffesse, by inheritance, of the county of Westmorland, and Lady of the honour of Skipton in Craven, in the year 1660 so as she came to lye in it herself for a little while in October, 1661 ; after it had laycn ruinous without timber or any covering ever since the year 1541. Isaiah Chap. 58, ver. 12. God's name be praised." She also built a bridge here over the Eden; and iii 1662 we learn from her memoirs " a wall of lime and stone round the piece of ground she had caused to be taken in being quarters high, and ninety roods in compass, with two gates, 30 MALLERSTANG FOREST. and within it a stable, coach house, brew house, bake house, wash house, and a little chamber over the gate that is arched." The buildings here referred to were outside the castle moat ; and some of them seem to have stood on the north side of the gate going into the field in which the castle stands, and perhaps, some of them in the field where the well is, not far from the river. The castle was afterwaids dismantled by Thomas, Earl of Thanet, in the year 1685. Its necessity as a keep had ceased to exist, and so he unroofed it, and taking possession of the lead which was worth something in those days, and all other valuables, left the castle a ruin. After this, in the estimation of the inhabitants, it was little more than " a heap of stones," and became, henceforth, a quarry from which stones were taken for building purposes on the estates of the lord of the manor. Hence, there may be seen at the present day, stones built into the walls and door ways of cow houses, which by their chiselled work, shew their former relation to the castle. Some of the men and women, however, of the last generation saw the stones carted away from the ruin with regret. In our day, the work of further demolition, except that which is the work of time, has ceased. Time, however, is an invisible but constant destroyer ; and we cannot but be in sympathy with the lines of Wordsworth's dream of its restoration. He says : " How glad Pendragon though the sleep Of years be on her ! she shall reap A taste of this great pleasure viewing, As in a dream her own renewing."* We wonder whether this dream will ever become a reality. A reality such as this castle was is impossible ; neither * From song at the feast at Brougliam Castle. MAI.I.KHSTANi; 1<>K1>T. 31 would it be desirable. The ruined stronghold reminds us more forcibly than any other object of the dark ages. Mr. Fronde, in his able history, recognises church bells as " the peculiar creation of the mediaeval age." Bell music, how- ever, has a place, and a charming place in our social life to-day which \ve should not like to part with. "Whereas a feudal stronghold is an anachronism in the age in which we live, and whilst it suggests the cavalcade and the chase, it has another side, and tells of unsettled times, of strife, of lawlessness, of insecurity of life and property, and of the thraldom of the people. Pendragon Castle, which seems to sigh for restoration, rebuilt, and the abode of domestic comfort, such as every truly English home is, would be a splendid crown to its dark and sullen history. And the flag which I saw last summer floating over Appleby Castle, would look equally well floating over one of the restored towers of its sister at Pendragon. We learn from Mac-hell's MSS. that in 1664 Robert Braithwaite, gentleman, lived at Pendragon Castle, four years after its restoration, and that his wife threw herself off the top of Pendragon Castle, and destroyed her life. We also learn from the Kirkby Stephen church register that in the year 1648 there was buried at Kirkby Stephen Richard Darby, slain by Robert Atkinson, Bluegrass, Mallcrstang, and that he slew him in the next bottom close, above Pen- dragon Castle, on Lord's day in the afternoon. Tradition says that the occasion was a duel, and the weapon used, a sword. So far as I can learn this is all we know of Pendragon Castle, the foundation stones of which have for so many centuries listened to the babbling waters of the Edcu. " I have seen, says the ancient bard of Mallerstang, the walls 32 MALLERSTANG FOREST. of Pendragon, but they were desolate. The music had resounded in the halls ; but the voice of its people is heard no more. The stream of Eden had removed from its place, by the fall of the walls. There the thistle shook its lovely head. The moss whistled in the wind. The fox looked from the windows, and the rank grass of the wall waved round his head. Desolate is the dwelling of Pembroke ; silence is in the house of her Fathers ! " * The desolation here referred to has been the source of poetic inspiration to many, from one of which I will make a selection. It is from an old MS. book written by Mr. Garthwaite, who was a schoolmaster in Mallerstang 60 years ago. The poem is signed H. H. In a fair vale where sinuous Eden rolls, The vestige of an ancient castle stands ; The asylum of him whose name it bears, When civil discords raged within this land. Oft has this lofty dome re-echoed back The clarion's sound ; delight of martial minds. Within these walls has once been hung Such tapestry as adorns a Prince's court. Its tables oft have groaned with massy plate ; And sumptuous feasts prepared for purpled guests. Oft has the shining goblet graced the board Filled with the liquor of Hesperian fruit. Embossed in gold, here, forms of heroes stood, Whose valiant feats the sculptured metal told. Helmets and spears torn from the conquered foe The boasted trophies of these martial knights In this grey dome once cast an awful glare. But ah the fate of sublunary things, That lofty pile with turrets in the clouds Whose well cemented walls thickness immense, And sullen doors on massy pillars hung, * From Garthwaite's M8S. composed or copied by Fawcctt Hunter, of Fell End, Ravenstonedale, dated 1707. MAI. I. LILIAN.; FOREST. 33 That op'ning jarred harsh discord to the i \\- Could bid defiance to the strongest foe, And all the battering engines of the age, Now falls a victim to all-conquering time. Bleak winter's howling blasts of wind and rain Koch after each succeeding to the change, Compel at last these adamantine walls, To shudder down loud thundering to the moon. I shall now call your attention to the Episcopal Chapel in this township. That the building is ancient is un- questionable, but the date of its erection I cannot learn. .Miss Fawcett, in a valuable communication which I have received from her on the subject, says : " I have heard my father [the late Rev. J. Fawcett] say that he believed it was built about 1311." That would be in the reign of Edward II., when Robert de Clifford, who was afterwards slain in the battle of Bannockburn, was the lord of the manor. Canon Simpson, it seems to me, gives the obvious reason of the original erection of the chapel. He says : " Owing to the distance of the parish church, provision was, no doubt, made at Mallerstang, as was usual in such outlying places, to have prayers said in some, convenient place by a layman ; the clergyman of the parish, himself, attending on certain special occasions to preach a sermon or administer the holy communion. The building was very probably used on week days as a schoolroom, and the prayers said by the schoolmaster." In confirmation of the foregoing, as it affects modern days, Miss Fawcett has informed me that her father had told her that Dr. Robinson not unfrequently sent him over from Ravenstonedale, on a Sunday, some time before he was ordained, to read the prayers and a homily in the chapel here. Over the porch of the door of the chapel, there used c 34 MALLERSTANG FOREST. formerly to be a stone with this inscription : " This chapel was new repaired and covered with bleto slates, in 1768." From this we infer that the roof was thatched before ; indeed of this there is undoubted evidence. Beneath this stone there was another, which the wind blew down some years ago, and was replaced by the Rev. R. Robinson, the late incumbent, when he likewise re-slated the roof on the front side of the chapel, and took down and rebuilt the east wall, at his own cost. The present stone bears exactly the same inscription as the old one, and is as follows : " This Chappie of Mallerstang, after it had layne ruinous and decayed some 50 or 60 years, was newe repayred by the Lady Anne Clifford, Countesse Dowager of Pembroke, Dorsett, and Montgomery, in the year 1663; who also endowed the same with lands, which she purchased in Cawtley near Sedbergh to the yearly value of eleven pounds for ever." We learn from this that "the Chapel had layne ruinous and decayed some 50 or 60 years." Probably this was largely owing to the unsettled state of things during the Reformation. Ecclesiastically, things had got out of gear. The old order had not yet changed, giving place to the new. Meanwhile, the condition of the people must have been sad in the extreme. There was no other place of worship for them to go to, and they must have been, in the language of scripture, as "sheep not having a shepherd." And all honour to Lady Anne, Countess of Pembroke, that she pitied the destitute condition of the people here by restoring the Chapel, and making provision for the permanent settlement of a minister, who should conduct divine service and teach the children to read and write ; and in those days, when there was no School Board as you have to-day, such a provision was a great boon. The original deed, under the hand of the Countess of KAIUBRAM KORl>r. 35 Pembroke, now in the possession of the Atkinson family at Dale Foot, is as follows : "Whereas 1 lately purchased eertain lands in Cawtley near Sedbergh in the County of York, to the yearly value of XI 1 or thereabouts nhich lands I have -riven unto and settled upon the Chapel of Mallerstang in the County of Westmorland for ever, for and to the use and maintenance of a reader to read divine service, aud to teach and instruct the children of the dale of Mallerstang aforesaid to read and write, which charge hath been aud is still diligently and care- fully performed by Rowland Wright, clerk, to the general good satisfaction of the neighbourhood there ; and my desire is and I do hereby recommend the same to such of my heirs as shall succeed me in my lands of inheritance in the said County of Westmorland, and to any others whom it may concern that the said Rowland Wright may be continued in the said charge during his life, and enjoy the yearly profits of the said lands, and other the appurtenances belonging to the said Chapel of Mallerstaug, he behaving himself (as he hath hitherto done) without any just cause of exception. "Anne Pembroke, "Brougham Castle, this 22 of Novr., 1667. " Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of "Robert Braithwaite, " Geo. Sedgwick, "Edmond Barker." The Rowland Wright mentioned aforesaid, I am inclined to think, was the first one appointed under the new order of things, and that, too, after a lengthened interval of pastoral 36 MA.LLERSTANG FOREST. neglect. And I am also inclined to think that the appoint- ment was made by Lady Anne, and that the endowment of 11 was a subsequent provision towards his support. I learn from Mr. Garthwaite's papers that in the year 1671 Robert Moore was appointed minister. He was, I should suppose, the immediate successor of Rowland Wright, whose name is mentioned in the aforesaid deed of endowment dated 1667. And it maybe interesting to you to know that the folllowing inscription was on the pulpit in the Mallerstang Chapel : ROBKHT MOORE scripsit 1691. " And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which he made for preaching." Neh. viii. 4. " And he read in the Book of the Law of God distinctly, and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading." Neb. viil 8. Robert Moore, minister, came anno 1671. This pulpit was replaced by a pulpit and reading-desk made in the year 1798, and which is the one, I presume, now in use. I have also the following list through the kindness of Miss Fawcett. It is headed, " A book of yearly wages payable to the Chapel of Mallerstang, written by Mr. Robert Moore, June the 15th, 1672," as follows : OUTHGILL. s. d. Henry Garth waite .......... 1 8 Henry Hebden .............. 1 2 Thos. Fothergill John Atkinson GabL Fothergill . Henry Shaw Thos. Wright 1 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 9 4 SHORGILL. s. d. Thos. Knewstubb and John his Brother Paul Knewstubb .. 2 10 1 2 Widow Turner Thos. Newstubb, Ralph Shaw, and Lionel Turner . 1 1 1 1 6 2 MALLERSTANG FORE.ST. * CASTI.KTHWAITE. Richard Fothen$ill and Tlios. Whitfield 8. d. I 8 ..11 AlSGII.I.. Henry Whitfield 8. d. 8 1 1 6 4 1 6 8 Thos. Ward Thos Whitfield, jnr John Shaw ..02 Mr. Robt. Braithwaite ... ..20 10 \V. Whitfield II ft Richard Shaw SoUTHWAITK. Thoe. Waller Matt Whitfield 6 1 ..11 Kl.il. MI I.. Thos. Tunstall 5 8 2 10 10 1 8 8 8 James Fothergill ..04 John Fothergill . 2 2 Thos Kiiewstubb 1 1 2 Edward Shaw Edwd Fothergill 7 W. Shearman The tenement let to Hy. Hugh Fothergill and Wm. Fothergill 1" John Shaw Rd. Tunstall Robert Shaw HANGING LUND. Henry Shaw 8 ..24 HA/.KLGILL. W. Gibson 6 8 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 6 Jno. Knewsttibb ..14 Rowland Fothergill ..24 DEEP GILL. WRirVieok 6 01(1 Robert Shaw John Hugginson Tlir*! \Vli-i v*yn 01 A Thos. Tunstall W. Dent Brian Hugginson . 1 2 Widow Birtal SAND POT. Widow Wliarton 3 8 ..15 ANCKH HOLME. Widow Shaw 7 10 2 3 4 Geo. Hanson .. Thos. Dent .. 1 Adam Shaw Widow Wliarton ..14 Anth. Shaw John Wharton ..10 Dr. Bum says : " about 3 10s. a year. 51 62 The ancient salary of the chapel was ' And the foregoing amounts to about * Sec Appendix, p. 121, for note on derivation of this, and some of the other names. 38 MALLERSTANG FOREST. that sum, commenced, no doubt, by certain payments which landowners in the dale had agreed to make when the chapel was founded, and Canon Simpson is of opinion that the original list may possibly be found in the Registry at Carlisle, and would most likely give us the date of the present foundation of the chapel. Here, I may add, that there are those hearing me who a few years ago saw a copy of such a list signed by Robert Hunter, avowedly taken from a list much older. I have endeavoured to unearth it, but have been unsuccessful. I fear it has been destroyed.* It w r ould appear from this that we cannot trace the sub- scriptions to the minister earlier than 15i3. Still there is nothing in Robert Hunter's testimony to discredit the- possible existence of an earlier list. The subscriptions of the people continued until the year 1810, except that they had diminished with the increase of the chapel endowments. In the Terrier of the chapel lands I find the following : " Item ; The inhabitants of Mallerstang pay yearly to the Curate for his use the sum of two pounds seventeen shillings and elevenpence." This is the last record I possess of any contributions being raised by the people. However, the minister does not seem to have suffered on that account, for whilst Rowland Wright had eleven pounds a year plus the people's three pounds ten shillings, the Rev. Jeffery Bowness, in whose time the Terrier of 1810 was made out, received altogether ninety-four pounds, taxes included. * Since delivering the above I have had the good fortune to meet with another copy of the list of wages payable to the minister, of the same date, in the possession of Mr. Thos. Blades. His copy, however, has, in addition to the list, the following valuable note: "I have also a similar account by a Mr Wright," [Mr. Moore's predecessor, I judge, Mr. Rowland Wright] "dated October, 1609. In both accounts there seems to be n reference to an account,, dated October, 1543. I am, yours, &c., 1814. ROBERT HUNTER." MALLERSTANQ FOREST. 39 In 1867, the date of the last Terrier, there is no record of subscriptions ; but I read : " These three estates," at Cawtley, (larsdale, and Sedbergh, the combined rents of which amounted to 157, "constitute the whole of the property belonging to the living of Mallerstang. They are free from tithes, rent charges, and all payments whatsoever." And the present provision for your minister in this year, 1882, is, I understand, much better, which is as it should be; inasmuch as the wise man says, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof." In the year 1670 Archbishop Sheldon addressed a circular letter to all the bishops of his province, " commanding them to take notice of all Nonconformists, holders, frequenters, maintainers, and abettors of conventicles, especially of preachers or teachers in them ; and of the places where they were held : ever keeping a more watchful eye over the cities and great towns, from whence the mischief is for the most part derived unto the lesser villages and hamlets," &c. Canon Simpson informs me that in the year 1676, after the issue of Archbishop Sheldon's letter, the following names were returned from Mallerstaug as amongst those who obsti- nately refuse or wholly absent themselves from the Com- munion of the Church of England at such times as by law they are required : Thorn. Wright, and Dorothy hia wife. J. 0. Knewstubb. Hen. Whitfield, jnn., and his wife. Eliztli. Grosedale. John Shaw, and Agnes hia wife. Thos. Knewstubb, and Elizth. his wife. Wm. Shaw, Cocklake. The foregoing were Nonconformists. Where they met for 40 MALLERSTANG FOREST. worship we know not, though the fact, coiild it be ascer- tained, would doubtless be interesting to you. We need not be surprised to learn that there were Nonconformists here ; they were at that time numerous in the adjoining dale of Ravenstonedale, where they enjoyed the ministry of the Rev. Christopher Jackson, of Magxll. Coll., Camb., who had been ejected from the Church at Crosby Garrett. Calamy tells us in his Nonconformists' memorial, "that he lived meanly upon a little estate in the parish of Ravistonedale, preaching occasionally." He adds: "Some minister who had conformed once telling him that he had a bare coat, he made this answer, ' If his coat was bare, it was not turned.' " This dry and pithy retort is in itself characteristic of the Ravenstondale people. From the fact that there was con- siderable intercourse between the two dales, and that the names of Mallerstang in the foregoing list are identical with those of Ravenstonedale, I think it likely that they were in deep sympathy with each other on this question. Moreover, at that time Philip, fourth Lord Wharton, was living at "Wharton Hall, just beyond the boundary of your dale towards Kirkby Stephen ; and it is known to most of you that he was a distinguished Nonconformist. It is not my business or intention to enter upon the controversies of those sad and troubled times, except that I think it only fair to add that whilst the endeavour of the heads of the Church of England was then to make the gate of admission to the Church as strait as they could, the desire is now to make it as wide as possible. The following is a list of the ministers of whom we have any record : Rowland Wright. Clerk. 1667. Robert Moore. 1671. MAI.I.KHSTANG FOK -11 After this we come to a gap which, for want of infor- mation, we cannot fill up. Thomas Gascoigne. Clerk. 1740. Lancelot Pattison. Clerk. 1754. Jeflery Bowness. 1761. John Bird. Clerk. Wm. I'.ir.l. do. John Fawct-tt. do. 1819. Robert Robinson. do. 1844. Wm. Almvick. do. 1878. The Rev. R. Robinson, your last incumbent, was known to myself. He was a kindly man when I made his acquaintance. He once informed me that in the year 1835 he was the "Wolvcrhampton Lecturer, which was certainly an honour. He was a clergyman of the old school, who took an interest in the secular as well as spiritual interest of his charge. He never ta\ight the day school, but paid a schoolmaster from 25 to 30 a year to do it for him, which was supplemented, I understand, for some time by a committee who, in order to secure the services of a duly-qualified man, made it up to 50 by subscription. He was the son of the well known Rev. Dr. Robinson, who conducted a high class school in Ravcnstone- dale, and of whom the Bishop of Carlisle (Bishop Law) said to your late minister : " Your father, by his college school, kept a light for the Church of England in your part of the county of Westmorland which, but for him, would have been in a dark and destitute condition." Your minister was born and brought up in Ravenstoncdale, and for his native parish he ever cherished, I can testify, almost a romantic love everything and everybody from Ravenstonedale pleased him ; and, at his express wish, his remains now lie in the churchyard there. 42 MALLERSTANG FOREST. It would not be in good taste for me to characterise your present incumbent, except to say that in all nay relations with him I have ever found him courteous and gentlemanly. Soon after the appointment of your present incumbent, the chapel, which had got out of repair, was renovated and reopened on the 8th of May, 1879, after it had been closed for six months. The pulpit at the north side of the Com munion table was lowered, and the reading desk removed to the south side. The Communion rails were new. A new floor was laid down. The gallery at the west end was taken away. A heating apparatus was put in ; also new outer and inner doors. A vestry was made and suitably furnished, and all at the expense of Sir J. H. Tufton, now Lord Hothfield, the patron of the living. And may your church ever remain, what I believe it is to-day, a source of bright, gospel light. The following are the sources of the chapel's endow- ment : 1. An estate, the original endowment of the chapel, situated at a place called Wards in Cautley, in the parish of Sedbergh and county of York, given by Lady Ann, Countess of Pembroke, &c., the rent of which is 32.* 2. An estate called Little Town, in Garsdale, in the parish of Sedbergh, from money given by the Earl of Thanet, 1714, and Queen Anne's bounty. Rent, 65. 3. An estate, situated at Gill, in the parish of Sedbergh, from money (400) given by the late Lady Gower, 1772, and added to the bounty of Queen Anne. Rent, 60. It is the opinion of Canon Simpson that no regular incumbent was appointed until after the grant of Queen Anne's bounty; before that it was a chapel of ease to the church *The above is taken from the terrier of the chpael lands, 18G7. MALLER8TANG FOREST. 43 at Kirk by Stephen. From the same authority I also learn that the three townships of Mallerstaug, Naitby, and Wharton formed one of the four divisions, each of which was entitled to appoint a churchwarden of the parish church of Kirk by Stephen, and so long as church rates were levied, Mullerstang had to contribute its share to the mother church. It still pays tithes to the vicar of Kirk by Stephen, bestowed originally by St. Mary's Abbey, York, and was commuted in the year 1842 at 62 per annum. There are no rectorial tithes, and never were, which proves that the land in Mallerstang was generally pasture and meadow. Seventy years ago, the inhabitants, finding it a long way to carry their dead to Kirkby Stephen, petitioned the Bishop to consecrate a burial ground near their own place of worship. The first interment was that of Margaret Moore, and took place July 15th, 1813. She was aged 82. Through the kindness of the vicar, the Rev. W. Alnwick, I have looked through the register, and have been surprised at the evidence which it furnishes of the longevity of the people. I select one page, and take the names seriatim as they occur, i.e., in the exact order in which the burials took place.* 1823. Dec. 28. Buried Mary Ward of Outhgill. Aged 91. 31. Elizabeth Brunskill of Cocklake, Aged 86. 1824. Feb. 4. Margaret, widow of Hugh Blenkhorn. She died iu Ingram in the parish of Aiagarth and county of York. Aged 87. Mar. 7. Richard Fothergill, late of Sand Pot He died at Southwaite. Aged 86. "Here I should say that I received the firat intimation of this page from the late Mr. G. Blades. This family have kept a private register of the burials in M;illcrM:iiig Churchyard from the beginning. 44 MALLERSTANG FOREST. 1824. June 9. Buried John Metcalfe of Aisgill, late at Hazlegill. Aged 87. 16. Robert Atkinson of Blue grass. Aged 92. 22. Anna Rennison, Cocklake. Aged 76. Aug. 11. Mary Brown, Tarn House, Ravenstonedale. Aged 78. There is a sense of completeness that the graveyard God's acre, as the Saxons called it surnmnds the chapel. It obviates the necessity of funeral journeys to Kirkby Stephen through all kinds of rough weather, which the late Geo. Blades told me he was old enough to remember ; and, moreover, it is a satisfaction to yo\\ to have the remains of your dear ones lying in your midst. From the recollections of inhabitants I learn that the chapel door was of double oak, very massive, with a sort of ring for a handle or sneck. The windows were glazed in lead, with iron bars across to protect them. Inside the chapel there was a gallery at the west end. The seats were made of oak, and some of the backs were beautifully carved. The pulpit and reading desk were likewise of oak. There is a chalice and plate that, were presented by the Rev. W. Williamson, Vicar of Kirkby Stephen, and likewise the large Bible and Prayer Book used in church. In the bottom entrance of the chxirch there used to be a stone let into the wall, with a round hole hewn out of the stone, with an outlet to pour the water out that had been used at baptism. The half of the incumbent's fees for burials, christenings, and churchings, xised to be claimed by the vicar of Kirkby Stephen ; and at the death of every landowner 8s. 6d. was paid to the vicar as a mortuary fee. Every Easter Tuesday the vicar of Kirkby Stephen preached in the chapel, and, after service, examined the registers and received the fees, MAI.I.KH.MANC; KollEBT. 4-"") and afterwards the incumbent and churchwardens dined with him at the King's Head, Outh-gill. The vicar of Kirkby Stephen provided four bottles of wino yearly for the Sacrament. The vicar of Kirkby Stephen sent his clerk every Easter to collect dues, 3d. for every communicant and so many eggs each house, likewise .">d. for every smoke in the farmhouses. There are three books kept in the iron chest which used formerly to stand in a recess behind the pulpit. The Registers commence in the year 1730. There used to be a library belonging to the Chapelry of Mallcrstang. The books were well bound, aud had a paper insido with Mallerstang CliajKl Library written upon it. The subjects generally treated upon Theology. The burial ground was consecrated by Bishop Goodenough on the 9th of July in the year 1813. The school was in an upstairs room in the chapel. The room is small, and badly lighted. Miss Fawcett says in her recollec- tions : "In the year 1819 my father was appointed curate of Mallerstang at a stipend of .50 a year, and out of this small income he had to teach the school. Hero many of the old dalesmen received a plain, practical education, and had instilled into them the principles of honesty and uprightness, under his care. And many of the old farmers will tell you with pride that the new system of education, with their Board Schools and iiew-fangled ways, are not able to turn out such scholars as parson Fawcett did." From a subsequent communication, Miss Fawcett also says: "The tables, with the Commandments and Lord's Prayer and Creed, over the communion table, were painted and re-lettered by John Moore, of Mallerstang, the father to the present Moores of Ravenstouedale. I believe the people used formerly t<> sit on benches in chapel. When my father 46 MALLERSTANG FOREST. was curate, the chapel was re-seated with pews. There xised to be a gallery at the west end of the chapel, but the hand of change has been laid on the old building, and all these, like the good old times of former years, have disappeared. The parish clerk was John Fothergill, or rather John at Green (for he hardly knew his own name), and old Joe Atkinson, the sexton. These were two notable characters, in their day, in the dale ; and when old Atkinson had to leave his house at Shor Gill to come to Outh-gill, a distance under three hundred yards, he told my father he could not imagine what he had done that he should be transported. Such was the love they had for their old homesteads. The late Bishop, Dr. Waldegrave, preached in Mallerstang Chapel in August, 1867, to a crowded congregation. His subject was the brazen serpent, and his sermon will long live in the remembrance of the people. The present Bishop, Dr. Goodwin, visited Mallerstang in 1874, but has never preached in the chapel. He expressed himself much pleased with the simplicity and romantic beauty of the valley." LECTURE III. IT is not my intention in these lectures to enter with anything like detail upon the forest laws. You will see that it is sufficient for my purpose to say that they were framed by William the Conqueror, and adopted soon after the Norman Conquest. The whole of this part of the county was given to Ranulph de Meschines, one of the knights of William the Conqueror ; and the laws of the forest here were no doubt modelled on those of his august master. Nicholson and Burn, in their " History of West- morland," say : "Also in the tenures of many of the manors, there were certain services respecting the forests ; as to keep airey of hawks for the lord's use, to herd the lord's hogs during mastage season, to watch with nets or dogs at such a station." Whether such oversight of game was a condition of tenure here or not I cannot say, although the fine of 20 each, levied on Thomas Knewstubb and others, for killing a deer in the forest of Mallerstang so late as the year 1665, and to which I called your attention in the first lecture, was very severe, when you think of the much higher value of money in those days. Happily, however, that period has gone, and although your forest has never been disforested, I understand, practically it makes no difference to you. There is no one living who ever remembers to have seen a deer on 48 MALLERSTANG FOREST. the hills ; and the lesser game also have disappeared before the advance of cultivation. Indeed the very term forest, which at one time gave your dale its pre-eminent distinction, has disappeared. Who would ever think now-a-days of speaking of going to Mallerstang forest 1 Invariably it would be Mallerstang, or, if speaking in the dialect, Mauston. Those of you who have not read Whitaker's " History of Richmondshire," will be glad to peruse the following extract, which bears directly upon the forest which once existed here. He says: "After all the encroachments of cultivation in Swaledale since the time of Doomesday, much forest ground remained, connected perhaps with the largest tract of Avaste in South Britain. The forests of the Earl of Richmond, besides that of Wensleydale, comprehended that part of Stainmore included within the parish of Bowes, all Apple- garth, and Arkengarthdale. These were afterwards reduced to the New Forest of later date, as it name imports, than the rest, and lying wholly in the parish of Kirkby Ravens- wath. North-west was Lnne [Lunds] Forest, and beyond Stainmore and Mallerstang in Westmorland. Southward lay Bishopdale Chase connected with Longstrathdale in the West Riding, and all were ranged by herds of wild deer, the noblest chase of our ancient hunters, whose pursuits were certainly the best preparatives for war both to the knight and his steed. Of these the New Forest alone subsists even in name. The Duke of Leeds is ranger." Here I should add that up to within the last few years the sum of 11s. 2d. was paid annually out of the poor rates to George Lane Fox, Esq., called " the Duke of Leeds' money." For some time I have been unable to learn its meaning or design ; the foregoing extract makes it clear. It was originally a fine paid to the ranger of the forest. There is one paragraph MAI.LKKSTAKG FOREST. 49 more from Whitaker with which I should like to furnish you, us it is decidedly to the point. He continues: "But of this wild extent of waste, a great part becoming the property of the Crown, and in consequence liable to neglect and depredation, Swaledale, which was carefully protected by the Wharton family, became the last refuge of the persecuted deer, which remained in considerable numbers northwards from Muker as late as the year 1725. With the deer vanished their ancient refuge and browse, the woods which were- gradually consumed by the smelt mills, for after the warm and sheltered gills were stripped, the stags pined for want of their accustomed winter food, of which many died, while the rest fell an easy prey to poachers. After the nobler pursuit had ceased, hawking and netting of grouse was in use in the year 1725, when shooting-flying was introduced to the great astonishment of the dalesmen." Although Mallei-stang is a township or chapelry of Kirkby Stephen it is distinct as a manor. The Court book now in the possession of the bailiff, Mr. Thomas Blades, which contains the entries of the admittances made from time to time of the tenants of the lord of the manor into the estates of Mallerstang, bears date on its first page, 1742. The three or four pages following are taken up with the laws of the manor. These laws are the result of a dispute which Earl Sackville had with his tenants in Westmorland about their fines after the death of the Earl Thomas. After a long contest in Chancery, a trial at bar in 1739 was directed to be, by a special jury of the County of Middlesex [in which eleven witnesses were produced by the tenants from Westmorland whose ages together amounted to a thousand \rurs] on the two following issue??, viz, : 1. Whether by the custom of the respective manors of D 50 MALLEBSTAXG FOREST. Brougham, Appleby, Brugh under Stainmore, Pendragon, Kirkby Stephen, Kings' Meaburu, Langton, Mallerstang, Knock, Sowerby, East Stainmore, South Stainmore, Scatter- gate and Burrel, Woodside, Moorhouses, Burgate, Burgh Over, and Burgh Nether, on the death of the last general admitting lord, a reasonable fine to be assessed at the will of the lord, not exceeding two years' value be payable ; or any other and what fine ? 2. Whether by custom of the said manors, on the death or alienation of the tenant, a reasonable fine to be assessed at the will of the lord, not exceeding two years' value, be payable, or any other and what fine 1 The verdict of the jury was that such fines according to the yearly value were not payable. But that first, by custom of the same manors, and every of them, on the death of the last general admitting lord, a fine to be assessed at the will of the lord, not exceed- ing ten pence for every penny old rent, commonly called a tenpenny fine, is payable ; and second, that by custom of the said manors and every of them, on the death or alienation of the tenant, a reasonable fine to be assessed at the will of the lord not exceeding seventeen penny fine is payable. And the same was decreed accordingly by the Lord Chancellor Hardv/ick. And by consent as to other matters in dispute it was referred to Robert Fenwick and Joseph Taylor, Esquires, and such other third person as they should appoint to settle the same : who made an award, and the same was inserted accordingly in the decree." Then follow the manorial laws which have been in operation ever since the year 1739. 1. That the tenants hold their tenements according to the ancient custom of tenant right, and as customary estates of inheritance, descended from ancestor to heir under certain MAI.r.KKSTAXQ FOREST. 51 ancient yearly rents, and such general and dropping fines [fines of sale] as are settled and ascertained by the order in this cause. 2. By the custom of the said manors upon all admittances where the ancient rent exceeds Is. 3d., and no more is payable to the steward for every single admittance : and where one tenant hath several admittances at the same court, and the ancient rent of any one of them exceeds Is., then 3s. is payable for the first admittance, and 6d. for every other : where the ancient rent doth exceed Is. then Is. only is payable for every single admittance ; and where one tenant hath several admittances at the same court, and the ancient rent of one of them exceeds Is., in such case Is. only is payable for the first and 6d. for every other. 3. That the tenants have a right to open quarries within their own estates, or in the wastes of the manor, and get stones for building or repairing their houses or fences, or other necessary uses upon their estates, without licence of the lord or of his steward ; but may not open quarries, or get stone out of quarries in lease or opened by the lord without such licence. 4. That the tenants have right to cut up, take and carry away turf, peat, heath, furze and bracken or fern, upon the wastes for fuel and thatching without such licence. 5. That the tenants have right to plow and make such husbandry of their lands as they think fit, without such licence. 6. That the tenants have a right to lease or demise their tenements for any term not exceeding three years. 7. That all absolute sales or alienations ought to be by deed poll, or indented ; and the same to be presented at the next court, in order for the purchaser to be admitted on 52 MALLERSTANG FOREST. payment of droping fines, " Femes covert " interested in lands alienated to be examined privately by the steward. 8. That the tenants may mortgage for any term not ex- ceeding three years without licence or fine ; but when the mortgage(e) is admitted he shall pay a droping fine [i.e., the fine of sale]. 9. That the tenants may without licence or fine exchange lands lying intermixed in common fields for lands of equal :value in the same manor ; so it be with the approbation of the lord or his steward. 10. That the tenants may cut down and sell underwood growing in their respective tenements : and may cut down and use any other wood or timber for repair of their tene- ments, hedge boot, plough boot, cart boot, estovers, and other necessary uses, provided the same be set out by the lord or his steward (the same to be without fee) in 20 days after request in writing, attested by one witness, and if not set out within that time the tenants may cut down and use the same. 11. That the lord may fell timber provided he leave suffi- cient for repairs, necessary boots, and estovers. Some of the foregoing laws are still in force, and others are obsolete, being out of harmony with the spirit of the present age. There is no danger, however, of these being revived under the wise and liberal rule of the present lord of the manor. In the year 1808 the tenants of Ravenstonedale purchased their freedom of the lord of the manor, and perhaps I may be excused for suggesting that the tenants of Mallerstang should, with the consent of the lord of the manor, imitate their example. Feudalism rendered its service in its day, but that day has gone, and all the influences of our age are working in an opposite direction. MALLER8TAXG FOREST. 53 The fines of the lord of the manor amount to about 45 per annum. His Court is held at Kirkhy Stephen once a year, and is presided over by his steward. One jury " homage jury" is held for Mallerstang, composed as far as can be of owners of property in Mallerstang. One jury also is held for Kirkby Stephen, and a grand jury is constituted out of the two, Malk-rstniiL.' and Kirkhy Stephen being represented in equal proportions, i.e., six for each. At this Court admit- tances are made either by descent or alienation, i.e., by eale. From the Court book I learn that up to within the last few \v.-irs, when an encroachment of the common had been made by one of the tenants, the lord's rent upon it, together with grassam and joist, were determined upon. In the present day no such encroachments are allowed. It is entirely beyond the scope of these lectures to give any lengthy extracts from the Court book. Still it may interest you to hear the first few entries. After the following intimation "May 6th, 1743. After the rental in the first page was signed by the jury, the verdict was delivered to the steward, and the following tenants were admitted tenants " we read : " Mr. Lancelot Pattinson, son and heir of Thomas Pattiuson, Esqre., deceased, was admitted tenant of several mcssauges and tenements, with the finable rent of 3 5s. 2d., grassam and joist, 1 Is. 4d. (2) William Hutchinson was admitted tenant by deed of purchase from Lancelott Hutch- insou of a messuage and tenement with the finable rent of 1 13s. 4|d., grassam and joist, 3s. 4d." (3) Ralph Milner was admitted tenant by deed of purchase from John Bousfield cf a messuage and tenement with the finable rent of 12s., grassam and joist 6d. (4) John Bainbridge was admitted tenant by a mortgage deed from Mary Rudd of a messuage and tenement with the finable rent of 18s. (Hd., grassam and joist 3s. 3|d. 54 MALLERSTANG FOREST. The entries are all of a very business-like character. The farms are usually given in case of admittances. Admit- tances usually specify the name of the farm or farms. The originals with the signatures, and in many instances more amplified particulars, are in the possession of the lord of the manor. Interspersed with the decisions of the Court revised lists occur of those who were liable to pay rent to the lord of the manor. The first in the book is dated October 23, 1754, and is as follows : " The finable rent the Tenants were admitted tenants to their estates with, to the Right Honble Sacville Earl of Thanet at a Court held the 23rd day of October 1754 for assessing the general fine by William Gorst Gentleman steward. Also the grassam and joyst due out of each Tenement. Finable Rent. Grassam & Joist. Pk. Finable Rent. Grassam & 8. d. Pk. 8. d. John Wharton 1 14 24 4 3 Thomas Dent 7 Hi 1 7 Philip Wharton 9 3 1 04 Thomas Ward 11 74 1 6 Thomas Ward 3 4 6 Thos. Gascoigne Clerk 4 7 64 Isabel Wharton 10 0| 1 4 James Fothergill 2 8 4 Richard Morland 6 64 2 J5 11 John Fothergill 2 5 >! 3S Thomas Ward 11 04 1 44 Lancelot Pattison, clerk- 3 5 24 7 1-2 Richard Fothergill 4 !! )' John Hutchinson 1 1 )) i Agnes Whitfield 1 Thomas Garth waite 3 H Edward Metcalf H :> Anthony Ward .... 3 104 !) 8| Adam Robinson 6 4 9 John Shaw 12 34 i! 114 MALLERSTAXG FOREST. 55 Finable Rent. 8. 6 1 6 6 1 13 17 6 6 8 5 d. Pk. 6* *i 4 8 4 1 0* 6 5 4 9 I." 19 11 18 03 JohnMetcalf Eleanor Robinson Matthew Robinson William Hutchinson Agnes Winn Joseph Fothergill William Fothergill William Grainger John Fothergill Anthony Fothergill John Atkinson Richard Dixou I i) > >, 2 11 " ", 5 , 4 2 2J 56 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Finable Rent. Grassani & Joist. a. A. Pk. s d. Pk. Robert Jonson ,,93 . 11J Benjamin Shaw ,,46 ,, ,, 5i Jonathan Shaw ,,76 10i William Winn 192 3 8 Thomas Tunstall 11 1 1 2 John Tuustall 12 6 1 1J Brian Hugginson 15 2 1 Brian Hugginson 071 1 2| Robert Hugginson 10 6 ,,16 Edward Hazel 13 5 ,,28 Samuel Shaw 098 10J In the foregoing list mention is made of charges iii grassom and joiest : the meaning of grassom is grassing upon the common, and joiest agistment or cattle gates ; these are not subject to lords' fines. Also the plack is mentioned, a small coin which owing to the diminution in the value of money, has gone entirely out of use, as the farthing is going out of use in our day. Mr. Garthwaite, to whose MSS. I have referred before, copied the following from a Kendal paper, dated 1813. "Tradition says some brass tokens were coined at Keudal about the year 1656 called placks, and states that three of them were of the value of a halfpenny." On the plack the Reverend W. Thompson has furnished me with the following excellent note. He says " The plack was a copper coin formerly current in Scotland. It was of the value of one-third of an English penny. The word is derived from the French plaque a thin piece of metal. It is of frequent allusion in Scottish literature. I quote one out of several allusions in Burns : " There's ae wee faut they whiles lay to me, I like the lasses Gude forgie me ! For mony a plack they wheedle frae me, At dance or fair." MALLER.STAXG FOMi 57 Another from Anderson's Cumberland ballads : " At Carel, when for six pounds ten I Belt twea Scotty kye, They pick'd iny pocket i' the thrang, And deil a plack had I." No doubt the name had its origin in Scotland, although it seems to have been locally applied also to the Kendal Trades- men's Imiss tokens, a description of several of which is given in Nicholson's "Annals of Kendal." He says (and this agrees with Mr. Garthwaite's extract), " Tradition calls these pieces placks, and it is stated that three of them were of the value of a halfpenny." The following is the last revised list of tenants given in the Court book, from which you will see that whilst the tenants numbered 70 in 1754 the names numbered 30 in 1880. They are as follows : Customary Grassom Free Rent. and Joist. Rent. 8. d. A s. d. 8. d. John Grimshaw 2 15 , 6 94 ditto ... . 2 14 99 Oi 99 , 5 114 99 J9 2 Anthony Metcalf (in trust) ., 18 V 4r **** J 11 2 it ditto (intrust) 9 , i \J 17 04 2 54 )? 99 1 ditto late Elizh. Cleasby ,, 12 u J 6 l 7 99 2 6* Wni. Cleasby late Anthony Metcalf 2 6 2J 9 2| >i ii Thomas Cleasby (Ridding House) . . . i, 1 6 11 11 Ii ii it Abram Dent late Alice Hunter ,i 8 4 11 ii 10i ii ii Abram Dent late Isabella Dent ,, 15 2 ,, 1 H ii it George Blades late Peggy Blades ... 5 6 ii ii George Blades 2 10 54 , 4 54 George Blades late Dixou ii 1 ** A 8 99 a Thos. Blades late Anthony Morland ,, 13 5 ',', i li'i ii it ii ii ditto late Robert Hutchinson. ,, H ,, i H ii it ditto late Ann Atkinson ,, 5 7 ii ,, 1 11 n ditto late Ann Atkinson 1 2 If ,, 2 94 11 11 ditto late Ann Garth waite ... ,, 8 5 1 U ii it * Incroach. 58 MALLERSTAXG FOREST. Thos. Blades late Peggy Blades ditto late Joseph Throup James Atkinson, late Robert Atkin- son Henry Walley late Sarah Robinson. Matthew Robinson Matthew Metcalf Robert Burra late Matthew Thomp- son ditto late ditto Robert Fothergill Jane Fawcett | , , ,, ,_, Mary Fawcett \ late Mar y Fawuett - Jane Fawcett late Mary Fawcett ... Ann Fawcett Eliz th Fawcett Mary Fawcett Jane Fawcett John Grainger Philip Harrison Agues Ann Thompson late John Thompson Eleanor Shaw Joseph King late Abrahm Dent . . . Thomas Mason late John Dickinson Midland Railway Company late George Blades ditto late John Grainger ditto late John Grimshaw ditto late ditto ditto late A. E. M. & J. Fawcett ditto late Jane Fawcett... ditto late Anthony Metcalf ditto late ditto ditto late Abraham Dent... ditto late Jane Fawcett ... ditto late Robert Burra (in trust) ditto late A. E. M. & J. Fawcett Customary Rent. 8. d. ,, 7 10J ,, 1 1 1 64 123 1 2 10J 4 5 3J 1 18 64 6 6 5 7| , 5 71 5 7| ., 5 74 1 11 18 1 1 6 7 6 36 2 14 3 4 13 1 4 1 3 2 1 6 1 3 Grassom and Joist. s. d. i 04 Free Rent. s. d. 12 71 ,, 4 31 >. n 104 i> * 11 104 10 5 9f ., 2 8| )) 2 ,,22 ,,1 ,, 2 6 * Pasture Rent. MALLERSTANG FOREST. 59 Also amongst the admittances there is one entry which shows that the subject of it must have produced considerable excitement at the time, to draw aside a chronicler who in every other instance is so colourless and indifferent to what is passing. It is this : " At a court holden by adjournment the 21st day of May, 17o4. The reason of this court not being kept at the usual time was occasioned by the great contested election for the burrow of Applby betwixt Lord of Thanet and Sir James Lowther, which election continued a month, and at the shutting up of the books Lord of Thanet had a majority of 13 votes." Evidence is furnished here of one of those election struggles which at the time engrossed so much attention, but has long since been forgotten. The last admittance but one is of Mr. Thomas Blades, dated October llth, 1882, to the estates of his father, Mr. George Blades, recently deceased. Mr. Thomas Blades also succeeds his brother as* bailiff of the manor, and to his kindness and courtesy I am indebted for much valuable information in these lectures. The following is a copy of the written record of the admittance into the Court Book, and as it is the last, at this date given, I will furnish it in full : The Court Leet, and Court Baron of the Right Honorable Henry James Baron Hothfield of Hothfield, Lord of the said Manor held at the Black Bull Inn Kirkby Stephen within the MM Man.. ron Wednesday the eleventh day of October 1882 STBPHKB by Edward Heelis Esqr Steward of the said Manor The names of the Jurors to enquire for the Lord of the Manor afore- said and between Tenant and Tenant for Malleretang Thomas Blades Foreman Robert Fothergill Abram Dent Thomas Cleasby John Thompson Robert Troughton John Clark John Harrison John Iveson James Savage Lancelot Fairer John Dodd Who being sworn and charged, Present and find as follows, * See Appendix, page 12:.'. GO MALLEBSTAXG FOREST. We the Homage Jury of the Lordship of Mallerstang present and find George Blades deceased, and Thomas Blades his only surviving Son and Customary Heir of All that Messuage and Tenemant consisting of a Dwelling House and Other Out Buildings and several Closes of Land thereto belonging at Angerholme Also a close of Land Called Low- Holme part of a Tenement called Ingends containing by estimation four Acres and five perches be the same more or Less Also a messuage and Tenement Situate and being at Ingheads con- sisting of a Dwelling House two Barns and several Inclosures of Land with the Apurtenances in Mallerstang within the said Manor of the several yearly Customary Rents of 2 10s. 2d. Is. 8d. and 5s. Grassam and Joist 4s. 5gd. and sixpence and Other Dues Duties and Services Finable Rent 2 16s. lOd. Grassam and Joist 4s. ll^d. THOMAS BLADES Foreman We also present and find that Matthew Metcalf by Deed dated the 30th day of December 1881 hath Alienated to John Bland Davis all that Messuage and Tenement and several Closes or Inclosures and parcels of Land theirunto Belonging Called Southwaite (formerly Winn's) Also All that Messuage and Tenement and several Closes of Land called Castletliwaite (formerly Wards) containing all together 42 Acres 1 Rood and 19 Perches or thereabouts, with the Apurtenances in Mallerstang within the Said Manor of the yearly customary Rent of 1 2s. lOJd. Grassam and Joist 2s. 2fd. and two Placks and other Dues Duties and Services Finable Rent 1 2s. lOid Placks Grassam and Joist 2s. 2Jd. 2 THOMAS BLADES Foreman. We now come to the roads. The present road through Mallerstang is modern. It was made under an Act sixth year of George IV., cap. 12, 1825, and was dis-turupiked a few years since. The course of the old road, and for which I have the authority of the late Mr. Geo. Blades, was as follows. These are his words : " It crossed Hell Bridge out of Yorkshire into Westmorland, over Hell Gill Woad to Woad* End, down Woad Side to Elm Gill. Thence along * The word "woad" is said to be a corruption of "wold," and on the word wold, Webster says in his Dictionary : " Wold, in Saxon, is the same as wald and weald, a wood ; sometimes perhaps a lawn or a plain." M AI.LKKSTANC FOREST. 61 on the common to Thrang Bridge. Thence along down, the fields to Ivlen. Across the Eden to Shorgill. Theuce through the fields to Sand Tot. Thence down the common to Birkett,* Thence across the Eden to Wharton Park." The following is another contribution also on the roads from the same authority ; and so quaint and graphic is it that you would be sorry for it to be omitted. He says : " The pack horses used to come into Mallerstang from Cotterdale ; they 1 a place called Cotter End, across the common, and over Hell Gill Bridge; there they entered Mallerstang, kept on the common until they came to Thrang Bridge. Those that had set out from Grisedalef came across the common until they came to High Shaw Paddock ; they then came along some enclosed common ; on leaving that enclosed common they entered Mallerstaug Common, thence down to Aisgill, and from Aisgill to ThrangJ Bridge, where the two parties generally met on their way to the Kirk by market with butter in their baskets." Mr. Geo. Blades remembered pack horses going from Swaledale to Kirkby Stephen. He particularly recollected noticing their wooden saddles, on which they tied bags, etc. Here I may remind you that there is still an inn at Kirkby Stephen with the sign of the Pack Horse ; and when the Mallerstangians used to go to Kirkby Stephen to be married, the damsels rode on horse- back on pillions behind their trusty swains. Also Mr. Blades told me that he remembered "about sixty years ago a Scotch drover came into the township with a herd of Highland cattle. The man, tired, sat down, and the beasts lay around him. On rising to continue his journey he played the bag- pipes, and the cattle followed him ! " * The place where the birch tree grows, t Grisedale, i.e., Dale of the wild boar. The radical meaning of this word is hurrying, pressing. 62 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Whilst we are on this subject of roads, I should add that there was also a road that branched off at Aisgill, and went over Anger Holme road, and crossed the boundary over Scarth Nick, thence down the common in Raveiistonedale to Stenners Keugh, joining the old road from Sedbergh to Kirkby Stephen at Street. This road is used occasionally still. The other road from Mallerstang into Ravenstonedale, and of which the writer has in the winter time had troublesome experience, branches off from Pendragon Castle, and passes over Green Law, on to Ash Fell. Previous to the introduction of railways, the road through Mallerstang was a great and crowded thoroughfare during Brough Hill Fair. It is said that many of the inhabitants of Ravenstonedale used to go there to witness the animated scene "a miscellaneous panorama of men and things defiling through the dale " and that they might lose no time, took their knitting with them. Amongst the inhabi- tants, I am told, there were some thrifty ones, who, eighty years ago, used to go up to Hell Gill Bridge, and set out on tables, nuts, apples, gingerbread, sweeties, ttc., to sell .to those who were going to or from Brough Hill Fair. At other times, however, the road was sequestered and dangerous for travellers to venture \ipon, owing to highwaymen three especially who lived in the dale. Their names were Ned Ward, a native of the dale, who lived at Farclose House; Riddle, who was a border man ; and Brodrick, who seems to have come from Orton. These men seem to have been highwaymen of the magnanimous stamp that is to say, they would not rob the poor or any of their neighbours ; indeed, though their practices were known, they were in a certain sense respected by their neighbours. However, this high- way robbery very properly came to an end at last. A robbery MALLERHTANG FOREST. 63 hiul been committed in which these men were implicated. Two officers on horseback went to Shorgill and secured Brodrick. They then went on up the dale, and crossed Thnmg Bridge, and entered Ward's house, standing only a short distance beyond it, to apprehend Ward. He was at the time only partly dressed, and asked permission to go up stairs and finish dressing. No sooner was he on the upper storey than he removed the thatch, got out on the roof, descended, leapt on one of the officer's horses, and galloped off. Almost immediately, of course, one of the officers was in full pursuit on the other horse, which was the better of the two. The chase must have been exciting. So Ward galloped down Boggle Green, and finding his pursuer close upon him, leapt from his horse and crossed the Eden. This his pursuer could not do, and so sent a bloodhound in full pursuit. Meanwhile- Ward descended the dale, and came to Hall Hill. The dog was now close upon him. This, Scaife, a resident, seeing from his house, sent a lad to him with a thick stick, with which he disabled the dog. Soon afterwards he con- cealed himself in a coal level, and from thence, when he thought it safe, went to his cousin at Ladfoot. Here he clothed himself, and set out for Newcastle, where he worked for many years in the mines. Mr. " Joe Steel " saw him in Kirk by Stephen long after, an old man; he and his brother Kit were together. Brodrick, who had turned king's evi- dence, remained in prison for awhile. On regaining his freedom he was an altered man ; he became a good and useful member of society. He was a mason by trade, and built Musgrave Bridge, and the portico and stables of the King's Arms, Kirkby Stephen. Here I must notice the public houses. Outh Gill had an inn twenty years ago. Indeed there had been an inn there 64 MALLERSTAXG FOREST. from time immemorial, its sign was the King's Head. Cranberry was also a public house thirty years ago ; its sign was the Black Bull. The woman who kept it about a hundred years ago was quite a character. Her name was Betsy Ward, though she was usually called "Rapsy Bett." She had never married. I understand ; but it is said that Avhen the Scotchmen were driving their cattle and sheep into the Craven districts of Yorkshire, they occasionally put up at her house for the night. When they enquired l - Where shall we leave our cattle, missus, what part is yours?" she used to say, standing with her face to the common, and winking as hard as she could, with a peculiarity that belonged to her, while pointing to the common, " Put them where you like ; all that I see is my own." Such an anecdote shows of how much less value land was in those days. However, she did recognise the rights of her neigh- bours to a share of the common, of which she occasionally took a large portion, by giving them a jolly feast at the Christmas season. It was really a good feast, tradition says, that they did not soon forget. There was a public-house at Hell Gill, called The Checkers,* kept by Jemmy Taylor. Also there was a beerhouse at Outh Gill, called The Gate. Quite modern. It was opened by Mr. John Dickinson. The name of the farm, which was The Gate, suggested the sign. Under the sign were the words : This gate hangs well and hinders none, Refresh and pay and travel on. There are the following Latin words over a loft outer door at Outh Gill (the property of Captain Grimshaw) which has * A common sign of a public-house. The arms, I understand, of the Arimdels, who were the first to possess the exclusive right of selling foreign wines. This was in the reign of Edward IV. MALI.KHSTAM; FOREST. 65 evidently belonged to an older building ; most likely a public-house : " Hospes inire jubet justos exire nefaatoe." The landlord bids honest folk to enter, and knaves to depart. The old inn to which the Latin inscription originally belonged stood where the new burn opposite the Smithy at Outh Gill now stands. The old building, which had degenerated into a barn, was pulled down some thirty years There are those who can remember some features, such as a brick oven, which testified to its former use as a dwelling house. The present public-house was built by Mr. John Dickinson in the year 1870, when the licence was taken out. Its first landlord was Win. Thompson. Its sign is The Castle Inn, so called, of course, after Pendragon Castle. A turnpike gate used to stand a short distance above this house. There were occasional incursions of Scots through the dale on their way to the Craven district. Their course was by Soulby and Green Law. There is a tradition that in the year 1715, while the Scots were coming south to xiphoid the claims of the Pretender, " a rnerrie neet " was being held here ; the news was announced, with the addition that they were marching towards Mallerstang. This had the effect of breaking up the party; the men hid their pewter and prepared for resistance. Some time not long antecedent to 1695, several of the tenants of the Lord of the Manor enclosed common, in one case at Hanging Lunds, and in the other at Aisgarth alias Aisgill, without the consent of the Lord of the Manor. In the year 1C95 they formally and by deed made their submission to the Lord of the Manor, each set of encroachers agreeing to pay the yearly rent of 4 to the Lord of the Manor, payable 66 MALLERSTANG FOREST. at Martinmas and Whitsuntide, to continue for 21 years, expiring 16th May, 1716. The following is a copy of the deed : " We whose names are hereto subscribed customary tenants to the Rt. honble. Thos. Earl of Thanet Island &c. at Aisgarth alias Aisgill within the forest or dale of Maller- stang parish of the manor or lordship of Ky. Stephen in the county of Westmld. Having in the year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred and ninety four improved, inclosed, or walled in parcell of the common or waste ground at Hell gill woad near Hell gill bridge called Aisgarth alias Aisgill pasture within the said fforest or dale, and made the same a a pasture or grassing for cattle without the privity, license, or consent of the above said Earl whereby we are trespassers to the said Earl and have made ourselves subject to actions at law for the same. "We do therefore hereby submit ourselves to the above said Earl and become farmers and lessors thereoff, and do hereby jointly and severally covenant, promise and agree to, and write the above said Earl to pay unto the said Earl his heirs, executors and assigns the clear yearly rent of four pounds of lawfull money of England at the feast of St. Martin the Bishop in winter, and the feast of Pentecost yearly by equal portions for the same the first payment thereoff to commence at Martinmas next. In witness whereof we have hereto set our hands the sixteenth day of May in the seventh year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord William the third by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France, and Ire- land Defender of the faith etc. and in the year of our Lord 1695. MALLERSTAM. FOREST. G7 " Signed and delivered on stamped parchment by Henry Bousfield, Henry Shaw, senior, Henry Wh : t- field, Robert Atkinson, Agnes Shaw for her son John, Richard Moreland for j. Ellen Shaw, and Wm. Whit- field in the presence of us Thomas Carleton. Richard Waller. William Binflosk. Thomas Longfellow.* -a. Henry Bousfield. John Shaw, senr. Henry Whitfield. Robert Atkinson. Agnes Shaw on behalf of John Shaw her son, an infant. Richard Moreland 1 on behalf of Ellen Shaw his j- 1 for R. sister, being lame. Another submission of the tenants on the same date'and under similar circumstances, owing to the taking] in of Hanging Lunds, was "Signed and delivered stamped parchment on by William Whitfield, Thomas Whitfield, senr., Thomas Whitfield, junr., William Kirkbride, and Win. Kirk- bride for his son Thomas, in the presence of us Thomas Carleton. Richard Waller. William Biuflosk. Thomas Longfellow. Willyam Whitfield. Thomas AVhitfield, seur., his mark 1 1 Thomas Whitfield, jun., his mark ~f William Kirkbride, his mark X William Kirkbride oiA the behalf of Thomas ! Kirkbride, his son, f his mark * The name Longfellow is by no means common ; and its coincidence with the name of the great American poet struck me. Through my friend, the Rev. J. Whartoii, vicar of Stainmore, 1 learn that when the poet Longfellow was in the I,ake District a few years ago, he said in the Assembly Room, Penrith, that he was a Cumberland man in two senses i.e., Cumberland in the United States of America, and that his family originally came from Cumberland in England. 68 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Occasionally there were boundary riding disputes by the representatives of other manors. These frontier differences arose out of a difference of claim in some portion. of the boundary. At the boundary riding, therefore, a representa- tive of the lord of the adjoining manor, in consequence of a notice received from the agent of the other lord of the manor, appeared upon the scene at the appointed time, and uttered a decided protest when the boundary of the lord of the manor whom he represented was invaded and claimed by the neighbouring lord. Meanwhile, the lord of the adjoining manor, or his agent, went over the disputed portion and included it in his boundary. At such points the protests were looked for. The present steward of Ravenstonedale, Mr. Anthony Metcalfe-Gibson, once told me that four generations of Anthony Metcalfes, beginning with his great grandfather, had been stewards, and had gone down to one of the disputed points of the Raveustonedale boundary at Cautley at different times to make a protest, that the claim may not be ignored or lost. In 1710, when the representatives of the Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Thanet, met the officers of Lord Wharton, who were riding the boundary of Swaledale, we read that they were correct, " save that in carrying their flag from the said High Seat to ye grey stone in Careless Bank the said Earl Wharton's officers surrounded about fifty acres of the said Earl of Thanet's waist ground belonging to his manor or dale of Mallerstang aforesaid as wee believe. And the said Mr. Carleton [Earl of Thauet's steward] then told the said Earl of Wharton's officers that in so carrying their flagg they carried it wrong, and that the several bounder marks above was the true known ancient bounder marks deviding the said Earl's said manners and dales ; and desired to see the said Earl Wharton's bounder roll, but they MALLERSTANG FOREST. 69 diil not produce or show any; only the said M. E. Smalos showed a paper, in which some of the said bounder marks were named." From the foregoing it would appear that the protests were not merely matter of course affairs, but that they were very distinctive and decided. I have also a record of "a stop made to Mr. Lowther's officers riding their pretended bounder of Ravenstoncdule, adjoining to the Earl of Thanet's manners of Kirkby Stephen and Mallerstang, 19th August, 1730. The boundary was ridden by Mr. Thomas Whelpdale and Mr. James Watson, stewards and agents for Robert Lowther, Esqre. They were opposed by Mr. Richard Strother, steward to the Earl of Thanct. "And the said Richard Strother then told the said Mr. Whelpdale, and the company along with him, that the said Earl of Thanets bounder marks for the mannor of Kirkby Stephen went along from the said hurrock of stones, at the out edge of Ash Fell, down through tarn wett mire to tarn wet hole, thence to the highway leading from Kirkby Stephen to Sedbergh, thence along on that highway to Scandall bridge, otherwise Stauerskew bridge, thence up Scandall beck to the head thereof, tip between the coal shafts by the side of Middletong to where Ky. Stephen bounder meets with Mallerstang, thence eastward to Wild- bore fell pike, joining to Mallerstang bounder all the way, thence by the edge of Wildbore fell next Ravcustonedale to the hurrock of stones on Scaudall head, thence as heaven water deals to bland stone, and thence to a hurrock of stones on Galloway Gates ; and then told the said Mr. Whelpdale, and other company along with him, that they ought to ride by the bounder marks above mentioned, and discharged 70 MALLERSTAXG FOREST. them from coming within the said early bounder marks, and told them that if they did they would be trespassers." I have also a record of a "stop made to Mr. Lowther's officers riding their pretended bounder of Naitby, adjoining to the Earl of Thauet's manner of Mallestang. Augt. 18th, 1730." . . . And the said Richard Strother then read over xmto the said Mr. Whelpdale, and other company there present, so much of the said Earl of Thanet's manor or Lordship of Mallerstang from the said Mr. Lowther's manor or Lordship of Naitby as follows, viz. : Beginning at Water gate scar, thence through Sopkeld, otherwise Killing close, to a place where a crab tree formerly stood, and was marked by Henry Lord Clifford, great grandfather to George Earl of Cumberland, as his bounder, near which place, in the year of our Lord 1651, when these bounders were rid for the Right Honble. Anne, late Countess Dowager of Pembroke, stood an ash tree, which upon that occasion was marked A. P. as a bounder mark, Thence through Ashbank (which is also part of Sopkeld) where an house formerly was built, through which house the bounder went, thence to the foot of Naitgill by Ravenscar to Kitchingill foot, thence up Kitchingill to Tailbrigg Sike, thence up Tailbrigg sike to the row of coves, thence to the gingling cove, thence through Lampes moss to a greystone in Careless Bank on the north east of the fell end. And the said Richard Strother then told the said Mr. Whelpdale that they ought to ride the bounder of Nateby by these bounder marks. But the said Mr. Whelpdale told the said Richard Strother that the bounder marks of their bounder of Naitby were as follows, and that they would ride that way, viz. : From Watergate Scarr up the river Eden to Blew- grass, thence along Eden to Agill Sike foot, so up Agill sike to M.U.LEIWTANt; KKEST. 71 Stoney gate that rises on to the fells eud, then over the height of ffells eml down in a direct line to .Greystone. And the said Mr. Whelpdalc said they claimed all the royalties within their said pretended bounder for Mr. Lowther ; but one Mathew Robinson one of the said Mr. Lowther's truants of Naitby said that when he rode the said bounder of Naitby with the late Lord Wharton's officers they did not then claim the royalties of a place they included within their pretended bounder called the Bells, but only a right of common and turbary. Notwithstanding which the said Mr. Whelpdale and those along with him rode their bounder of Naitby, by the pretended bounders of Naitby in the manner they did have included above three hundred acres of the said Earl's liberties common or wast ground belonging to the said manor or lordship of Mallerstang, all which we shall be ready to prove when thereunto required. Witness our hands this eighteenth day of August, Anno Dni. 1730. Tenants of ) Joseph Shaw. Richard Strother, Mallerstang. j Thomas Ward. Thos. Busey, Chr. Harrison, Joseph Thompson, Thos. Yeatts, John Barnett, Charles Hastwell, Miles Hutchinson, Jos. Thornton, The most recent dispute grew out of the construction of the Midland Railway. In the year 1869, the Midland Railway Company, pursuant to an Act of Parliament, gave notice to the landowners of Mallerstang that they would 72 JIALLERSTANG FOREST. take possession of severed plots of land, some of it being in dispute. A meeting was held of the Commoners at Kirkby Stephen, llth January, 1870. The first point in the dispute was the extent of Birket, and the second the rights over it. During the trial the former claim was relinquished. The nature of the claim on the part of Lord Lonsdale was that a deed was executed in 1590, whereby the Earl of Cumberland granted to his predecessor in estate [Lord Wharton and his tenants] the exchisive right of pasturage ; the landowners of Mallerstang contending, on the other hand, that the landholders of Wharton had a right with them to the herbage, but not an exclusive right, and it was decided in their favour. The value of the common land of Mallerstang, disputed and undisputed, was paid over to the Committee appointed by the Commoners of Mallerstang. The question of costs has not yet been finally settled. The boundary ridings are observed at varying intervals of time, not often exceeding that of a generation. The circum- stances of these ridings are often those of excitement to the male portion of the community, the conspicuous figure being at such times the bearer of the flag, accompanied by a representative of the lord of the manor, if not the lord of the manor himself, and many of the leading men in the parish. The last boundary riding of Mallerstang took place on the 12th day of July, 1865, when Mr. Parkin Blades, and others, carried the colours. I understand that Miss Maria Atkinson, of Dale foot, rode horseback with the party, being the first lady that had accompanied a boundary riding party since Lady Anne of Pembroke, in the year 1651, when tradition says she not only rode the boundary, but cut A. P. in an ash tree which was a boundary mark. MAI.U:I>TAM. I-'..I:I->T. 73 The representative of the lord of the manor at the last boundary riding was Edward Heelis, Esqre. The legal document marked "G," which, through the kindness of the aforesaid Mr. Heelis I can furnish you a copy of, is as follows : "The boundary of the manor or lordship of Mallerstang, ridden and perambulated for Sir Richard Tufton, Baronet, l>rd of the said manor or lordship, on Wednesday, the twelfth day of July, in the twenty-ninth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lady Victoria, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, and in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. 1. Beginning at Watergate Scar. 2. Thence through Sopkeld otherwise Killing Close to a place when a crab tree formerly stood which was marked by Henry Lord Clifford, great grandfather to George, late Earl of Cumberland, as his boundary mark; near which place in tin- year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and fifty-one, when the said boundary was ridden for the Right Honourable Ann, Countess Dowager of Pembroke stood an ash tree which upon that occasion was marked A. P. as a boxmdary mark. 3. Thence through. Ash Bank [which is also part of Sopkeld] where a house formerly was built through which house the boundary went. 4. Thence to the foot of Naitgill. 5. Thence up Naitgill by Ravcnscar to Kitchin Gill foot. 6. Thence up Kitchen Gill to Taillbridge Syke. 7. Thence up Taillbridge Syke to the row of coves. 8. Thence to the Gingling Cove. 74 MALLERSTANG FOREST. 9. Thence through Lamps Moss to a grey stone in Careless Bank, on the north east of Fells End. 10. Thence to the lower end of Seavyman in Ulgill head. 11. Thence to the north end of High seat. 12. Thence as Heaven water deals to the south end of High seat. 13. Thence over Little Sleddle head to Gregory Chapel. 14. Thence along Gregory Band to a hurrock of stones at Langill Head. 15. Thence to the height of Hugh Seat Morville. 16. Thence as Heaven water deals to the Skaith of Skaites. From thence the boundary used to go to Capel Mey Skyke, thence down Capel May Syke to Withow Syke, and thence to White Birk but disputes having arisen touching the boundaries between the Earl of Tbauet and the township and manor of High Abbotside and the township of Lower Abbotside and manor of Dale Grange otherwise Lower Abbotside in the parish of Aisgarth in the county of York or one of them, the Commissioners appointed under the Act of Parliament of the fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Fourth for inclosing lands within the said manors did by their award dated the fifteenth day of September 1827 fix and determine the same as follows : The following is a full record of the decision of Com- missioners referred to in Boundary Ridings, 1840 and 1865, at No. 16: " Abbotside Commons. " Whereas an act of Parliament was made and passed in the fifth year of the reign of his present Majesty King George the Fourth intituled 'An act for inclosing lands in the Township and manor of High Abbotside and in the MAI.I.KII.STANG FOREST. 75 township of Lower Abbotside and manor of Dale Grange, otherwise Lower Abbotside in the parish of Aisgarth in the county of York.' And whereas considerable doubts have arisen and existed touching and concerning the boundary between the said manors of one of them and the manor of Mallerstang hi the parish of Kirkby Stephen in the co. of Westmorland. " Now we Jeremiah Coulton and Thomas Bradley the < 'uiamissioners named and appointed in and by the said act having given due notice of our intention to ascertain, set out, fix and determine, the said boundary to the several persons interested therein in the manner required by law and having met pursuant to such notice at the house of Mr. Robert Brunskill the Bull Inn at Shaw Parrock in Lunds in the parish of Aisgarth aforesaid on Monday the twenty seventh day of August last, and on several subsequent days and times by virtue of several adjournments of our said meeting, and having heard the several parties interested therein or their agents or solicitors, and having examined various witnesses upon oath touching and concerning the said boundary, and having viewed and inspected the same as claimed by the Lords of the said manors respectively, and the owners of lands and tenements within the same, have ascertained and set out, and do fix and determine the same to commence and begin at a place called White Birks, and to proceed from thence direct to the water of Hell Gill, and so up the said water to the first sike (on the east side thereof) above Lamb Folds, and from thence in a direct line as the same is now staked out to the Skarth of Skaitbs and from thence in a direct line as the same is staked out to the boundary of the manor of Muker in the parish of Grinton, in the saiil county of York which said boundary is parti- 76 MALLERSTANG FOREST. cularly described and delineated in the map or plan thereof hereunto annexed. " Dated the fifteenth day of September one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven. " JERE. COULTON. " THOMAS BRADLEY." 17. From the said Skaith of Skaites in a direct line to the first Syke (on the east side thereof) above Lamb Folds. 18. Thence down Hell Gill water to the White Birks where the dispute ended. 19. Thence up Stubbing Rigg to Middle Gill, otherwise Smithy Gill Howe. 20. Thence to a hurrock of stones at the east end of Swarth Fell, called Swarth Fell pike. 21. Thence to a hurrock of stones in Galloway Gates. 22. Thence as Heaven water deals to Blandstou. 23. Thence to a hurrock of stones on Scaudall Head. 24. Thence to the pike on Wildbore Fell. 25. Thence to the top of Mickle Arke. 26. Thence along Stoney Gate to Merepott. 27. Thence to the great cove on Greenlaw Head. 28. Thence to the head of Fothergill Beck. 29. Thence down Fothergill Beck to Eden Water. 30. Thence up Eden Water to Water Gate Scar. This boundary was ridden and perambulated in the presence of us. Signed Edwd. Heelis, junr George Blades. Wm. S. Fulton. G. H. Bailey. W. Wilson. J. Grimshaw. John Dickinson. Alex. Hogg. Thos. Mitchell. Mark Ellwood. John Metcalfe. Edwd. Forsyth. MALI.ER8TAXG FOREST. 77 Robert Medcalfe. John H. Scott James Allan. Thos. Atkinson. Robt Atkinson. Wm. Richardson. John Richardson. Joseph Metcalfe. James Ellwood. Joseph Ellinson. Matthew his X mark Metcalfe. Stephen Atkinson. Wm. Allen. John Richardson. Matthew Metcalfe. John his X mark Atkinson. William Harper. Parkin Blades. Wm. Balden. John Richardson, junr. Matthew Muckelt, yeoinan. George Outran. John Morland, junr. Frances Maria Atkinson. Joseph Barker Hind. James his X mark Graham. MichL Morland. Anthony Allen. William his X mark Mounsey. John Dalton. Richard his X mark Dent Wm. Fothergill. James Wright FLAG BEARERS. Parkin Blades. George Currah. John Richardson. Joseph Parker Hind. John Richardson. Wm. Wilson. Matthew Metcalfe. MALLERSTANG BOUNDARY. Notice is hereby given that the boundary of the Manor or Lordship of Mallerstang in the County of Westmorland will be ridden and perambulated by the Agents and Tenants of Sir Richard Tuftou Baronet, Lord of the said manor, or Lordship on Wednesday the twelfth day of July next and that they will commence the said riding and perambulation at a place called Watergate Scarr by nine o'Clock in the forenoon of the said day when and where all Lords of the several adjoining manors or Lordships and all other persons concerned may attend if they think proper. (iiven under my hand this twenty first day of June 1865. JOHN HEELIS Steward of the said manor or Lordship. Copies of the above notice were inserted in the Kendal 78 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Mercury of the twenty fourth of June and the first and eighth of July 1865 and in the Cumberland and Westmore- land Advertiser of the twenty seventh of June and the fourth day of July 1865. I hereby certify that a true copy of the above notice was affixed by me on the door of the parish Church of Kirkby Stephen and on the door of the chapel of Mallerstang the twenty seventh day of June 1865. PARKIN BLADES. MALLERSTANG BOUNDARY. I do hereby give you notice that the boundary of the Manor or Lordship of Mallerstang in the County of West- morland will be ridden and perambulated by the Agents and Tenants of Sir Richard Tufton Baronet, Lord of the said Manor or Lordship on Wednesday the 12th day of July next, and that they will commence the said riding and perambu- lation at a place called Watergate Scarr by nine o'clock in the forenoon of the said day, when and where you may attend if you think proper. Given under my hand this twenty-first day of June 1865. JOHN HEELIS Steward of the said manor or Lordship. Copies of the above notice were delivered as follows : To the Reverend John Winn one of the Lords of the manor of Griesdale and to Henry Thompson Esqre. Lord of the manor of Uldale on the seventh day of July 1865 ; and to Thomas Cleasby and Matthew Thompson Esqres. Lords of the manor of White Birch and to Matthew Thompson Esqre. another of the Lords of the manor of Grisedale on the tenth day of July 1865. PARKIN BLADES Bailiff of the said Manor or Lordship. MALLERSTAXG FOREST. 79 The ]>(pyov e Se ^tv oOev irap^Xdop-tv /ecu Trar>)p KCI Itiuere apud ostium suscepto fonte tenus coufecto Genio Itunre et nymphis V. S. YESNUOM SUMLEILUG peregriuaus X^ r . Martii A.C. MDCCCL. TRANSLATION. " Let us flee with our allies to our dear native land." Homer. " Iliad," II., 140. *' Seek the channel of the soul whence, or by what means, after being the slave of the body, thou shalt raise it [the soul] again to the position from which thou wert derived, uniting thy deed to the holy Word." [The Greek ia quoted by Coleridge " Friend," VoL III., p. 82 from *' Zoroastr. Oracula, Initio. Edit. Opsopocl 1599."] * They are, I presume, the symbol of the Trinity, and the Tau (T) Cross of our Saviour inverted. 9 82 MALLBRSTAXG FOREST. '' We have a country from which we came and our father is there.'' [I do not know the source of this quotation.] " Having commenced his journey at the mouth and finished it at the source, William Mounsey, a wandering hermit fulfilled his vow to the Genius and nyraphs of the Eden on the 15th of March in the year of Christ 1850." It is not an uncommon thing to find an urn or an obelisk at the source of important rivers ; and we can forgive an enthusiast for erecting a memorial stone at the source of the river beside which he was brought up. For both the original and the translation I am indebted to the Rev. W. Thompson, of Sedbergh. Mr. Thompson, in his communication to me, adds : " I have done the best I can in translating the pre- ceding ; but I ought to say that, never having seen the stone myself, I cannot vouch for the absolute accuracy of the transcription. It was done by a former schoolmaster in Mallerstang." He also adds : " I must have been about six or seven years old when William Mounsey appeared on the scene in Mallerstang. I distinctly remember my admira- tion of his fine flowing beard ;" which, I may add, was so unusual in those days, that it secured for him the nickname amongst the people of "the Jew," by which name he is known in the dale to this day. It only remains for me to express a regret that Mr. Mouusey failed to have a transla- tion of the Greek and Latin inscription cut on one side of the stone, as the omission of this led to its destruction, for during the construction of the Midland Railway through this dale, some navvies were spending one Sunday after- noon near the source of the river ; discovering the stone, they endeavoured to read it ; failing in this, and finding that it was locked up in languages which few comparatively could read, they in a fit of vexation broke it into three pieces. If MALLERSTANG FOREST. 83 I, an inhabitant of Ravenstonedale, may suggest on such a subject, it is, that you restore the stone with the inscrip- tion, and the translation added thereto. Proceeding from the source of the Eden, I must first call your attention to the name of its infant bed Hell Gill. The general impression is that it was called Hell Gill because it is a, deep riven chasm. At the bridge its depth is 60 feet of perpendicular rock, its width 10 feet. Beneath Hell-Gill bridge there is a lower one, which was the first built, and this is called "the devil's bridge," the tradition being that the devil built it, that he wore a leathern apron at the time, and that whilst carrying the last apronful of stones its string broke ! No doubt the name of the bridge grew out of the name of the gill, a name not uncommon in this district for a concealed place; and the story of the devil's building it was an inven- tion of the fancy or superstition of the people. From a com- munication I had from Mr. Hutchinson, of Kirkby Stephen, and who is the owner of Hell Gill farm, I learn that in the old deeds it is called Hale Gill, and not Hell Gill. Still, if I may give an opinion on this subject, it is, that the old name for it is Hell Gill, owing to its being a concealed and awful chasm, dark at mid-day, and a most romantic cradle from which the infant river emerges on its way through the dale. One particular spot near the bridge is called Dick Turpin's leap, though there is no reliable tradition that he was ever there. About twenty years ago, James Blades, a shepherd, who was in quest of sheep, fell into the gill. He was dis- covered shortly afterwards, bruised and insensible; eventually, however, he quite recovered. Should this book fall into the hands of a tourist, I would say, visit Hell Gill by all means, and Eden Springs if you are 84 MALLERSTAXG FOREST. a good pedestrian, and return to Outhgill, the village of Mallerstang, by the old road now covered over with grass and you will be charmed with the wall of rock on either hand, and especially Wild Boar Fell, and the view of the valley before you lengthening out towards Kirkby Stephen. Here I should give the dimensions of the dale, for the particulars of which I am indebted to Canon Simpson. He says : " In the Tithe Award, the contents of the Parish of Mallerstang are given about 1836-7 Mallerstang Arable land 3 acres, 2 roods, 34 perches. Meadow 851 acres, 1 rood, 19 perches. Pasture 1053 acres, 5 perches. Common 3000 acres. Eoad and River 36 acres, 2 w roods, 24 perches. Total 4944 acres, 2 roods, 24 perches. Of late the land has been much improved by draining, and now there is no arable land ; and it appears from the Tithe Award that there never has been much, as there is no rectorial or corn tithe award ; it is." all either meadow or pasture. In the foregoing the Common is estimated at 3,000 acres, which must have been a guess, as it had not been measured. The following are the various particulars of the dimensions of the common, river, public roads, and land planted, as given in the Ordnance map, and in the schedule thereto headed "No. on plan," "Area in acres," andj" Remarks" : MALLERSTANG. No. on Plan. Remarks. Area in Acres. 1. Moor 463-669 2. Public road 2'585 3. River, &c 11773 MAI.U;I:STAN<: FORK.ST. 85 No. on Tim. Remarks. Area In Acres. 4. Waste 1'057 5. Stream '234 14. Plantation '175 26. Wood, &c : 3'526 53. 1-261 56. part of T393 72 2-283 85A. Public road '955 86. Pasture, &c. (encroachment, and now common or waste again) \ 96. Publicroad -831 104. Castle ruin 2'494 127. Underwood -582 14-2. Occupa'.ion road (Castlethwaite) 1'016 191. Publicroad 15'287 194. Waste, c 776 198. Pinfold -014 208. Stream -055 215. Plantation -042 247. -118 263. River, &c 16'880 272. Wood -377 375. Plantation -118 431. Wood, &c :: -117 432. Plantation '-912 436. Stream '374 438. River, &c 3'275 440. Wood, &c -189 468. -959 487. Plantation -210 488. Publicroad -070 493. Wood, &c 199 495. Moor (west of Eden) 2274'055 496. Publicroad 2'151 498. Moor (east of Eden) 3613'976 499. Publicroad 4'872 502. -463 86 MALLERSTANG FOREST. SUMMARY. Acres. Acres. 1. Moor 463-669 4. Actually moor 1*057 86. , -611 142. (occupation road) ... 1'016 194. Waste 776 495. Moor 2274'055 498. 3613-976 Total of Common, exclusive of ) ,,. -, , . 6355-160 public roads and river \ Inclosed land, exclusive of public ) roads and river \ Public roads, viz. : 2 2-585 85A -955 96 -831 191 15-287 488 -070 496 2-151 499 4-872 502 -463 Total of public roads 27'214 3. River 11773 5. Practically part of river "234 263. River .'. 16'880 438. 3-275 32-162 Total according to Ordnance Survey 8379'919 There is a sandstone quarry in the dale, situated at Swarthfell. It is not much worked at present, but it has furnished a great deal of stone for the roofing of houses in this and the adjoining parish of Ravenstonedale. A few years ago, a coal mine, on the common, reached by a road from Outhgill, was worked, and the coal was used by the inhabit- ants of this dale ; but it never yielded much, and remained MALLERSTANQ FOREST. 87 for some time unused. Now I understand that it is worked again. There is a lead mine at the Bells, at the foot of the dale, that was worked by the Peases, of Darlington, at first without success ; whereupon the company offered a reward to any of the men who might discover a vein or pocket of lead, and the following is the late Mr. G. Blades' account of the result : " Jno. Scott of Southwaite got up early one morning with the hope and determination to discover a pocket in a particular part of the shaft where he expected to find it. He attacked the spot in question with his pick, and soon found to his satis- faction that he had discovered a pocket. Having convinced himself of his success, he sat down and smoked his pipe ; happy no doubt as a king. The discovery was made known to the Peases. They worked it very successfully. The lead was found in a very pure state, and some of the lumps were so large that it took two or three men to turn them over, and when they were split open they shone like silver. One piece was sent to Appleby Castle as a specimen of what the mine produced. The general opinion is that the Pease Co. for many years worked with much profit this now disused mine." Mines of copper and tin have also been worked here, the fonner at Aisgill moor, where there are, or were lately, the remains of a "smelt mill" The tin mine was worked in Anger holme woad, by persons of the name of Shaw. But neither the copper nor tin mines seem to have been worked with any profit, most probably owing to the cost of carriage and the want of coal. The refuse stones from the tin mines, being of a whitish substance, were sold for stoning hearth- stones, by a well-known character in his day, and to whom I shall have occasion to refer again later on, known by the name of "Joss Dick or Mauston Dick." 88 MALLERSTANG FOREST. But it is quite time that I called your attention to the people those that are still remembered for their character or social position and also to the manners and customs of the people generally, and the first and most remarkable per- sonage is Captain Atkinson. He was captain of the militia, and was a man of considerable social influence. He owned, I am told, the following estates Dale Foot, New Hall, Mill Becks, Winton (occupation of George Winter), and Wharton. He seems to have been a zealous supporter of the rule of Oliver Cromwell, and as evidence of it, we are informed " that when Captain Atkinson, a native of Winton (and hanged with two others, April 1, 1664, for being concerned in Kaber plot), attempted to choose a roundhead mayor by force of arms, the town (Appleby) resisted, and chose a moderate man ; and though this man, Captain Atkinson, induced the Protector to impose a new charter upon them, yet they kept their old one to the last." At the Restoration Captain Atkinson adhered to the laws which the nation generally had set aside ; and gathering a band of followers together, rose in rebellion against the constituted authority at Kaber Rigg. He and his men seem to have offered very small resistance ere he was taken prisoner, and subsequently tried by a special commission as a traitor. In this trial it is said that Lady Pembroke was deeply interested, and had set her mind on his execution. He was hanged within the grounds of Appleby Castle, in the year 1664. The following remark- able tradition was told me by Mr. G. Blades, and was confirmed by some of Captain Atkinson's descendants : On the morning of the execution, a king's officer arrived at Stainmore, and asked at the inn. whether there was any particular news. Whereupon they informed him that Captain Atkinson had been executed that morning. "Why," he M.U.I. H:vr.\\<; H>i: 89 replied, " I have his reprieve in my pocket." His property was henceforth confiscated ; and his eldest son, who was unmarried, lived with the Earl of Thanet. His widow and the rest of his children lived at Dale Foot, where the rent paid for a number of years afterwards was nominal, and where his descendants continue to this day ; thus reminding us that we see displacement from violent causes of social as well as geological strata. On the other side of the valley, and within sight of Dale Foot, is the scat of the Wharton family ; and it is very well known that Philip, Lord Wharton, who was a contemporary of Captain Atkinson, was as decided a Parliamentarian as he was. His estates, too, in the course of three subsequent generations, were confiscated in the reign of Queen Anne. The descendants of that family, too, are amongst us ; and men who bear the name of Wharton, and inherit the traditions and blue blood of the race, are to be found not only amongst the middle class, but amongst the noble army of workers whose arms would be the plough or the scythe, and whose motto is, " Industry must prosper." When we look at these ups and downs, to be found more or less in every district, we are led to attach increasingly less import- ance to the accident of birth and station, and more to character ; most heartily singing with the Poet Laureate : " Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood." Of those who have gone out of this dale and risen in the world, you have only one conspicuous example, and he was John Blades. He lived at Lunds, which is a little beyond your township; still, his kinsfolk lived here, so that I think you may claim him. He went up to London about ninety years ago, and through Mr. William Milner, of Tottenham 90 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Court Road, I learn that it is current at the Guildhall that he went to London with the proverbial halfcrown only in his pocket; and it is believed that when, on his first arrival, he was walking down Ludgate Hill, he asked some one at the door of the house of which he afterwards became sole pro- prietor, for a situation, he was at once engaged as a porter. Evidently he attended well to his humble duties, and by so doing was advanced to something better. The late Mr. Blades told me that he was for some time a commercial traveller of the house, and represented them not only in England but on the Continent as well, where he solicited orders for cut and ornamental glass of the most sumptuous description. The next step in his advancement was his marriage with his employer's only daughter and child. Owing to this largely, he succeeded to the business ; and from the position he afterwards came to occupy in the City of London, he must have been greatly respected there. Mr. G. Blades had the impression that he became Lord Mayor of London, but through the careful investigation of Mr. Milner, who is himself related to the same family, I learn that he became one of the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex. He was a liberal benefactor of the City Guild to which he belonged " The Glass-sellers' Company " and he is said to have made, at his own cost, the opening from Fleet Street to St. Bride's Church, which brought the latter into view.* * Since writing the above I have received, through the kindness of Mr. Wm. Milner, the following note from Mr. G. T. T. Plowman, one of the churchwardens at present of St. Bride's. He says ; "He [Mr. Blades] entered the parish of St. Bride in 1779, was Constable in 1787, and Churchwarden in 1S12. He erected a tablet in the vestibule of the church as an affectionate tribute to the memory of his three brothers. As regards the approach to the church from Fleet Street, there is an engraving in the vestry showing the improvement, and bearing the names of 21 gentlemen with Mr. Blades as treasurer, and stating that the improvement was made by public subscription at a cost of 10,000." It would appear that the alteration was effected by a public subscription, but as Mr. Blades was the treasurer, he was most likely a liberal contributor to that work. MALLERSTANG FOREST. 91 You may be interested to know that the office of Sheriffs of the City of London and Sheriff of Middlesex is held jointly by two persons who are nominated by the Lord Mayor and elected by the Livery of the City. The Livery are the freemen of the City who have taken upon them the livery and clothing and become members of one of the City Guilds, which position also gives a vote for members of Parliament for the City. The sheriffs are elected for one year. They do not always become or seek to become Lord Mayors, their office being quite independent, although much associated with that of the Lord Mayor. On the other hand, the Lord Mayor, who is elected from amongst the Aldermen, must have been Sheriff before he can become Lord Mayor. The office of Sheriff is analogous with that of the High Sheriff of a County ; but the Sheriffs of London, from their connection with the Lord Mayor, have to appear with him upon many ceremonial occasions, and they share with him the cost of the Lord Mayor's banquet and procession. The office of Sheriff is also sometimes held by men of somewhat higher social and commercial position than those who now become Lord Mayors. The Lord Mayor, although almost always moderately rich and of respectable position, has never, at any rate for many years, been one of the leading hankers or merchants of the City, but generally a prosperous tradesman. The Sheriffs have occasionally been of higher standing. Mr. Blades held the office of Sheriff of London in the vi'ur 1813, when another North of England man, Mr. George Scholey, of Sandal, in Yorkshire, was Lord Mayor. Mr. G. Blades, in his communication to me, remarked " Mr. Blades came down from London to see us all, I should think, about sixty years ago. I, with others, dined with him at Hawes. 92 MALLERSTANG FOREST. I should have known him to be a Blades, for he had a nice red cheek." His father's name was Thomas Blades, who was a statesman in the possession of a farm at West End. Of such a career you may be proud, and it should act as a splendid stimulus to the young men of the district. At the same time do not fail to appreciate the industry and manly integrity which one is bound to recognise as features Avhich belong not only to this dale but to this county; and remember that a field receives its colour not from a brilliant flower here and there, but from the prevailing hue of the flowers which grow upon it. In other words, whilst you may be proud of one who rose to a high social position, it is of far more importance that you should keep manifest the evidence that you are, as I believe you to be, honest, industrious, and true. LECTURE IV. 'ALLERSTAXG is iu no way remarkable for its archaeological remains, apart from its castle. Still, there are some features of interest in it in this respect. In a paper read by Canon Greenwell, at Penrith, at the first meeting of the Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 1866, I find the following : " On May 31st we [Canon Simpson and himself] examined two cairns situated in Mallerstang on a piece of haugh land, just above the river Eden. The position of the cairns is unusual, as it is very uncommon to find them placed on low-lying ground. It has been sixty feet in diameter. Wo made a partial examination, but did not find the interment ; several clippings of flint and numerous pieces of charcoal testified to the sepulchral character of the mound, and Mr. Simpson and I propose to complete the investigation on some future occasion.* About fifty yards from this was a smaller cairn, fifteen feet diameter, and one and a half feet high. In the centre of this, in a hollow, sunk in the surface of the ground, one and a quarter feet deep, was the deposit of the burnt bones of a body under a flat stone. Above them, on the north side, were the remains of a small * Canon Simpson tells me that no further discoveries have been made. 94 MALLERSTANG FOREST. urn of the type called "an incense cup," much decayed. It has been three inches high and three inches wide, and has one hole now, and probably had once two, through the side. This class of urn, the use of which is very difficult to understand, is by no means an unfrequent accompaniment of a burnt body. They are visually pierced with two holes, sometimes at the top, but as often near the bottom of the urn. They also occur without any holes, and sometimes with a large number through the side. I have one from Yorkshire which has twenty-seven holes in rows of three running round the urn. The whole surface of the urn from Mallerstang, even to the bottom, is covered with an ornamental pattern, made by punctures of a small pointed implement. In this cairn we found no flint. We at the same time opened one of those rectangular mounds, called giants' graves, so many of which remain in the district, and which look like barrows, though of a rather uncommon shape. Several have been examined at various places, all of which showed no signs whatever of their being places of burial. They are certainly artificial, but I can offer no conjecture as to their origin or purpose." Canon Simpson is of opinion that they are bracken stack bottoms, as they are generally found near a place where that plant seems to have abounded. They are found on the side of Smardale Gill, and in Ravenstonedale. When examined they have yielded no results. No doubt there is great probability in this conjecture ; others incline to the opinion that in times remote, so remote perhaps as to be, properly speaking, pro-historic, the giants' graves, as they have for ages been called, were burial places. Captain Grimshaw has in his possession an interesting document which furnishes a list of " those persons that is at MAI. i. MI-TAN.; I'"!, 95 full ago within ye fforest of .MallT>tange which is lyable to pay yo powle." It is without date, but Captain (inmshaw is of opinion that it is about 180 years old; and I should think that he is correct. It is niKvrtain what the object of the poll tax was, possibly to raise money towards a national subsidy, or towards defraying the expense of a levy of soldiers; fur Nicholson and 1 1 urn say, "It is a vulgar mistake that this county paid no subsidies during the existence of the border service, as supposing it to be exempted from sn.-h payments merely upon that account." The list is as follows : (First page.) B . "Widdow Atkinson, and one servant, wages 3, & 3 children 8 Edward ffothergill Ids wife & 2 children at age 4 Michaell ffothergill his wife & 3 children 5 Thos. Knewstnpp his wife & 2 children 4 Richard Hesletoii & his wife 2 Jefrey Guy & his wife 2 ch 4 John ffothergill & his wife & 3 children 5 Daniel Whitfield & his wife o and one maid seruant j Robert Guy and his wife 2 George Harrison 1 Widdow Harrison one child 2 Thomas Whitfield & his wife 2 Bartholomew Wharton & his wife ) _ and his mother \ " Robert Brauthwaite Gent his wife j 5 2 and ! m-mants, one wages 20s... \ 3 William Shaw & his wife 2 John Atkinson & his wife ) 4 and one maid seruant wages 20s. \ 2 Widdow Shawl child 2 Henry Shaw and his wife ) 2 and one maid seruant wages 20s. \ 2 Row: Wright 1 Widdow Loadman & 2 children 3 Tho: Ward & his wife & 3 child . 5 96 MALLERSTANG FOREST. (Second page.) s. Henry Whitfield & his wife 2 Tho. Dent Senior and his wife 2 Tho. Dent Junior and his wife 2 Michaell Wharton & his wife & child 3 John Wharton & his wife & 2 children 4 Jonathan Glidall and his wife.. ) 2 and one maid seruant \ 1 John Kuewstupp & his mother 2 Widdow Turner & her daughter] 2 Thos. Wright and one maid servant 2 Anthon Bell 1 Ralph Shaw & his sister & ) seruant ) , 1 John Atkinson 1 Tho: Kuewstupp & his wife ) 3 one maid seruant \ 1 Phillip Wharton & his wife 2 One maid sarvuant wagis 20s 2 Tho : ffothergill & his wife & one child 3 2 chd 4 2 Willm Birkbeck his wife & mother ) and his maid seruant wages 20s. \ Tho : Wharton & his wife 2 John Knewstupp his sister & servt 3 Jeferay fothergill 1 Widdow Huggiuson 1 child 2 Briham Hugginson & his wife ) 2 and seraunt \ 1 Willm Bulmar & his wife 2 Tho: Shaw & his wife 1 child 3 John Hugginson & his wife 2 child : = 4 Tho: Tunstallfe his wife 3 child ) 5 And one maid seruant wages 20s. ) 2 (Third page.) s. William Shaw and his wife one child ) , and one maid seruant ] Widdow Birkdaile & her daughter 2 Cudbart Shaw & his wife 1 child 3 Adam Shaw & his mother 2 Robert Shaw & his wife 1 man J 3 one maid seruant wages 20s. ) 2 MALLERSTANG FOI: 97 Henry Shaw & liia wife 2 child 4 Tho: Blades & his wife 2 child 4 Matthew VVhitefield & his wife ) 2 One maid seruant \ 1 Henry Whit field & his wife 3 child 5 and Isabea Robinson 1 Tho Whitfield & his wife & sister 2 child 5 Widdow shnw & her sonn & daughter 3 Henry Shaw & his wife 2 John Knewstuppe 2 children 3 Rowland ffothergill & his wife & cousin 3 Witldow Turner 2 Tho: Thorneborow & his wife) 3 and one maid seruant \ 1 John Shaw & his mother 2 child 4 Hugh Shaw & his wife 1 child 3 Tho: Shaw 1 Richard Tunstall & his wife 3 child 5 Richard Shaw & his wife one child 3 Willm Shaw his wife 1 child one maid seruant ( Widdow Dinsdall 1 Indorsement. John Wharton William Shaw is Apointed collector hereof by the Commission rs." The number assessed I make to be 205, and reckoning 50 for such as were under the age of 15, make 255. In looking at these numbers we must remember that there were in early days houses so insignificant, shielings, one might call them, that they were passed over in any legal documents. The folks who lived in these primitive houses had only a field and small garth or pasture, called grassam, attached ; indeed, the large pastures of to-day are divided into grassams. Their cows were turned out on the common during the day and came home for the night. The following are the more recent returns of the number of the population and of the houses : 98 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Houses. Inhabitants. In 1801 67 314 In 1813 53 249 In 1821 243 In 1831 256 In 1871, during the construction of the Midland Railway, 583 In 1881 60 271 Judging from the preceding figures there has been a diminution of the population since 1801, but it has not been very considerable. Nevertheless, it is the opinion of the aged and intelligent people with whom I have conversed that, taking into account the remains of foundations which they have discovered, and the houses they know of which have gone down, there must have been a considerably larger population 150 years ago than at present. I am told that at Sand Pot, and at Elm Gill, and at Aisgill, within recent memory there were clusters of houses, where now there are only two or three in each place, and there are traces of others farther back. Mr. G. Blades told me that in Sweet Close there was found a hearthstone with peat ashes upon it, and also, above Angerholme, a stone and ashes. At another place, not far away, stones were being dug out for a fence, and they came upon another hearthstone with peat ashes ; and the groundwork stone, shewed that it was a small house. Very much of the wood has disappeared. At one time it must have been considerable, for not only are roots constantly being turned up, but the names of divisions of the dale, such as Southwaite and Castlethwaite, and Hanging Lund bear evidence of considerable wood, and in addition to this many of the farms are called after trees, such as Birk Birch rigg Elm Gill Hazel Gill Sycamores. MALLERSTANG FOREST. 99 The following arc the names of fields : Ash bank Ellers Alders Rowantree dale Hollin (holly) close Asps. Of names of places you have Ash Bank, and White Birks Hill, and Birkett. In the course of time nuich of the wood has been cut down, withoiit being replaced by young trees. This process is apt to go on here and elsewhere, and so, in the course of time, a wooded district, such as yours has been, comes to be in no way remarkable for its abundance of trees. There is one handsome tree still standing on the land of Mr. Geo. Blades, and which he kindly took me to see. It is a syca- more, and is the handsomest tree of its kind I know of in the district. In those days when the popxilation was larger, and your fathers were more overshadowed with trees than you are now, the habits of the people, from all I can learn, were simpler. Knitting was a universal occupation, both for the men and women; indeed, it used to be said, when two young folks were "wed," that if they were good knitters they would do. The kind of knitting was the making of pop jackets and caps, such as those worn by sailors. They often spent an evening in each others houses, and this was called "going a sitting." They sat in a semicircle on stools, around the fire, and did their knitting exclusively by its light. At supper time bread and milk and cheese were brought out and put upon a " coppy " stool. Men as well as women engaged in knitting, with which they occupied them- selves as they were walking along the road, or in intervals when they were shepherding. Their work when done 100 MALLERSTANG FOREST. they took to James Law, of Outhgill, forty years ago. He kept a draper and grocer's shop, and the folks arranged to "wear" their earnings with him. He took the knitted work to Kendal, or sent it by the carrier. In the spring, his wife, Mary, a woman of some character, made a special journey to Kendal, and brought back gown pieces, from which the women of the dale made a selection, and the inspection of the aforesaid gown pieces on the wife's return was an event of considerable excitement. For these the women paid by knitting during the winter. Into the question of the dress of the present as compared with the past, it is scarcely my business to enter. For my own part I cannot see that any fault can be found with the tweed suits worn by our young men, though their fathers will affirm that there is nothing like the homespun. Then, too, the young girls are, as a rule, comely in their attire, though their mothers look back with regret upon the dark blue woollen stuffs of the maidens' own spinning, worn in their days. Dr. Milner Fothergill, in a paper he contributed to Good Words, on the subject of dress, a few months ago, contended, and I think rightly, for warmth and siutability, two features that should ever be borne in mind. Owing to the introduction of machinery, knitting has fallen into disuse, and notwithstanding other advantages you are, from a pecuniary point of view, losers by the change. In those days more money was cleared and saved. Indeed, in the dale of Dent, I understand that farms have been purchased by this branch of industry, and so essential was it as an aid to subsistence, that early in the century, when the revo- lutionizing influence of machinery began to be felt, some of the inhabitants of your Dale were forced to leave and migrate to the manufacturing towns, especially Bradford. MAI.LERSTANO FOREST. 101 The dalesmen of the latter end of the last century and the beginning of this, were not without their amusements. Their favourite recreation was, I understand, fox hunting. They dearly loved a chase. I am indebted to Mr. Metcalfe- Gibson for the following : One Sunday morning whilst Divine Service was being held, the old parish clerk became aware that a fox hunt was going on, the dogs being at full cry. Being himself a keen fox hunter, he was more interested in the hunt than in the service. The dogs lost scent ; this was perceived by John Fothergill, the parish clerk. Now they are on his track. The clerk excited by the fact said, instead of what he should have said in the Church Service, "Ah, they have him again." On another occasion Master Reynard was run to earth. Some of the men dug down until they came to a crevice in the rock, into which the fox had crept, when " Fox Willie," a well-known character, put his ami in to seize the fox. The men then called out, " Has ta got hand." "We've baith got hand, pull away." Whereupon he was drawn out by his feet, fox and all. I have said that they did their knitting exclusively by firelight ; but at some other times they used rushlights. Indeed, this was the only light they used, when they used one at all. The rushes were cut and gathered on the fell, and hung up in bundles upon crooks in the kitchen ceiling. For use they were peeled almost, but not quite all round, and then dipped in the fat of sheep or rough grease of the house that was saved up for that purpose. When the rush was ready it was placed in a candlestick which somewhat resembled nippers, and as it burnt on, was pushed through. The light shed was at the best but feeble, and so did little more than make the darkness visible. And yet people in well-to-do circumstances \ised the light almost exclusively. 102 MALLERSTANG FOREST. Mr. Geo. Blades informed me as an example, that the grandfather and grandmother of Mr. William Cleasby, who lived at Aisgill, did not burn more than one pound of " white candles " in the year. I have been told the following anecdote of a man who had come from some other parish, and saw for the first time a pair of snuffers. He picked them up, looked at them, saw in part their design, and then, snuffing the candle with his finger and thumb, deposited the burnt wick in the box of the snuffers. Then, looking up with the air of a discoverer, remarked, " Very ingenious things ! " As in the adjoining parish of Kavenstonedale, sales were called in the church yard on Sunday morning, after divine service. Once a year there was " Shoemakers' Sunday," on which day the people assembled at " The King's Head," and paid their shoemakers' bills. The Sunday fell in August on St. Crispin's day, the shoemakers' patron saint, and just before the fair at Settle, at which the shoemakers bought their leather. The day was characterised by drinking, and an amount of holiday dissipation. There was one well- known character "Joss Dick" who used to spend a great deal of his time, at the season, in cutting down rushes, which he sold down the country, as well as stones for stoning. Moss besoms, too, were generally used here ; and the particular kind of moss being abundant in the dale, they were exported. They also made besoms of birch twigs, and their creels also they made themselves. Of these things not a single specimen remains. A few decrepit spinning-wheels are among you, which tell a tale of bygone days, when the dale was more self-contained than it is now, and the people realised themselves more fully to be a community of them- selves, rather than as a fringe of a great population. Your MALLERSTAXG FOR1>T. 103 gills were haunted, and the impending shadows of the almost perpendicular ridge on either side gave an austerity I had almost said a foreboding superstition to your fathers. " There was the steamlike spray which rose from the waterfall on the mountain side in rainy weather, and which popular imagination transformed into an auld wife's kettle ; there was, too, Rob Roy, who was said to inhabit a cave at Castle- thwaite ; and the black hen, which invariably frustrated all attempts to unearth the buried treasure a chest of gold of Pendragon Castle, by scratching in at night the soil which had been dug out by day." Beautiful white ladies, it is said, had been seen walking about the ruins of Pendragou Castle at the witching hour of twelve o'clock at night. Also it was said a headless ghost had been seen coming out of the gate before the castle. And as au indication that the castle was regarded as the rendezvous of ghosts, I leani that two or three of the fields adjoining it are called "Boggles." Nor need wo be surprised at this superstition. The desolate ruin, with broken windows and doorways, half seen and half hidden by bushes, would be likely to suggest supernatural visitants to the imaginative and credulous mind. In the History of Ravenstoned