Biography

Tour of North Lancashire and Cumbria

Daniel Defoe (c.1660-1731) writer, political journalist, newspaper editor, economist, merchant, and novelist, author of Robinson Crusoe (1719), Moll Flanders (1722), and A Journal of the Plague Year (1722), to name but three items from his prodigious output, published A Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain divided into circuits or journeys: giving a particular and entertaining account of whatever is curious, and worth observation ... particularly fitted for the perusal of such as desire to travel over the island in 1724. It is however considerably different from previous descriptions.

This is an economist’s view of Britain: ‘The Observations here made, as they principally regard the present State of Things, so, as near as can be, they are adapted to the present Taste of the Times: The Situations of Things is given not as they have been, but as they are; the Improvements in the Soil, the Product of the the Labour of the Poor, The Improvement in Manufactures, in Merchandizes, in Navigation, all respects the present Time, not the Time past’.

From this point of view, the northern part of the region is unpromising, especially when compared with the flourishing state of Liverpool and Manchester. He observes that Lancaster ‘lies, as it were, in its own Ruins, and has little to recommend it but a decayed Castle, and a more decayed Port (for no Ships of any considerable Burthen) ... here is little or no Trade, and few People’. Appleby was ‘once a flourishing City, now a scattering, decayed, and half-demolished Town’ because of the depredations of the Scots. He remarks with pleasure the rise of Whitehaven as a port, especially for coal, and that its inhabitants ‘have of late fallen into some Merchandizing also’. He worries that the lack of profitability has meant that the once-flourishing Cumbrian mining industry seems to have ceased.

He has no inkling that it might one day be replaced by scenic tourism: the hills have ‘a kind of an unhospitable Terror in them’ and he turns his back on them in relief to consider the few thriving towns with some kind of industry. As for antiquities, the staple of earlier serious topographical works, and incidentally the area in which the region might have a claim to fame, ‘the looking back into remote Things is studiously avoided, yet it is not wholly omitted’, which gives his account a very different and, he would point out, more modern emphasis. It could hardly be more different from the New Description of England and Wales published in the same year by his friend the cartographer Herman Moll. His text is there to accompany the maps, and is a patchwork of familiar quotations, with a heavy emphasis on Roman antiquities.

He stresses that his observations of the whole of Britain are based on personal experience: ‘seventeen very large Circuits, or Journeys have been taken thro’ divers Parts separately, and three general Tours over almost the whole English Part of the Island, so that he is very little in Debt to Other Mens Labours, and gives very few accounts of things, but what he has been an Eye-witness of himself’. This disguises the considerable number of sources (he acknowledges his debt to Camden, though possibly not as much as he should have) which he uses in his research. As well as topographical accounts, these include maps, especially those by Robert Morden.

There is no reason to believe he did not make his ‘Circuits’. The Tour is an overview, however, not a day-by-day account of travels, and only intermittently a guidebook. To us, it is of more interest in showing how things have changed since Fox's journeys, and heralding the age of the turnpike (the first Turnpike Act was passed in 1663, though they proceeded piecemeal, and the far North West was very much at the end of the queue). An Appendix to Volume Two discusses the state of roads nationwide (though unfortunately only as far as the North Midlands), and compares the new turnpikes with the Roman road network — the one form of ‘antiquity’ to which he devotes a considerable amount of space and approval.

Defoe’s tour of North Lancashire and Cumbria 1694²

From A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain Volume 3 (London: Colburn and Bentley, 1724-7) pages 221-239
The subheadings are editorial, and not in the original.

Preston and Lancaster
[page 221]       But I must now look Northward. This great county, as we advance, grows narrow, and not only so, but mountainous, and not so full of Towns or Inhabitants as the South Part, which I have been over; Preston and Lancaster are the only Towns of Note remaining.

Preston is a fine town, and tolerably full of people, but not like Liverpoole or Manchester; besides, we come now beyond the trading Part of the County. Here’s no Manufacture; the Town is full of Attorneys, Proctors, and Notaries, the Process of Law here being of a different Nature than they are in other Places, it being a Dutchy and County Palatine, and having particular Privileges of its own. The People are gay here, though not perhaps the richer for that; but it has by that obtained the Name of Proud Preston. Here is a great deal of good Company, but not so much, they say, as was before the late bloody Action with the Northern Rebels; not that the Battle hurt many of the immediate inhabitants, but so [page 222] many Families there and thereabout, have been touched by the Consequences of it, that it will not be recovered in a few Years, and they seem to have a kind of remembrance of Things upon them still.

Lancaster is the next, the County Town, and situate near the Mouth of the River Lone or Lune. The Town is antient; it lies, as it were, in its own Ruins, and has little to recommend it but a decayed Castle, and a more decayed Port (for no Ships of any considerable Burthen); the Bridge is handsome and strong, but, as before, here is little or no Trade, and few People. It surprized me to hear that there is not above sixty Parishes in all this large County, but many of them are necessarily very large.

This Part of the Country seemed very strange to us, after coming out of so rich, populous and fruitful a Place, as I have just now described; for here we were, as it were, lock'd in between the Hills on one side high as the Clouds, and prodigiously higher, and the Sea on the other, and the Sea it self seemed desolate and wild, for it was a Sea without Ships, here being no Sea Port or Place of Trade, especially for Merchants; so that, except Colliers passing between Ireland and Whitehaven with Coals, the People told us they should not see a Ship under Sail for many Weeks together.

Here, among the Mountains, our Curiosity was frequently moved to enquire what high Hill this was, or that; and we soon were saluted with that old Verse which I remembered to have seen in Mr. Cambden, viz.
            Inglebrough, Pendle-hill and Penigent,
            Are the highest Hills between Scotland and Trent.
[page 223]  Indeed, they were, in my Thoughts, monstrous high; but in a Country all mountainous and full of innumerable high Hills, it was not easy for a Traveller to judge which was highest.

Nor were these Hills high and formidable only, but they had a kind of an unhospitable Terror in them. Here were no rich pleasant Valleys between them, as among the Alps; no Lead Mine and Veins of rich Oar, as in the Peak; no Coal Pits, as in the hills about Hallifax, much less Gold, as in the Andes, but all barren and wild, of no use or advantage either to Man or Beast. Indeed here was formerly, as far back as Queen Elizabeth, some Copper Mines, and they wrought them to good Advantage; but whether the Vein of Oar fail’d, or what else was the reason, we know not, but they are all given over long since, and this Part of the Country yields little or nothing at all.

But I must not forget Winander Meer [Windermere], which makes the utmost Northern Bounds of this Shire, which is famous for the Char Fish found here and hereabout, and no where else in England; it is found indeed in some of the Rivers or Lakes in Swisserland among the Alps, and some say in North Wales; but I question the last. It is a curious Fish, and, as a Dainty, is potted, and sent far and near, as Presents to the best Friends; but the Quantity they take also is not great. Mr. Cambden's continuator calls it very happily the Golden Alpine Trout.

Westmorland: Furness Fells, Kirby Lonsdale, Kendal, Kirby Stephen,

Here we entred Westmoreland, a Country eminent only for being the wildest, most barren and frightful of any that I have passed over in England, or even in Wales it self; the West [page 224] Side, which borders on Cumberland, is indeed bounded by a Chain of almost unpassable Mountains, which, in the Language of the Country, are called Fells, and these are called Fourness Fells, from the famous Promontory bearing that Name, and an Abbey built also in antient times, and called Fourness.

But ’tis of no advantage to represent Horror, as the Character of a Country, in the middle of all the frightful Appearances to the right and left; yet here are some very pleasant, populous and manufacturing towns, and consequently populous.

Such as [sic] Kirby Launsdale, or Lunedale, because it stands on the River Lune, which is the Boundary of the County, and leaves the hills of Mallerstang Forest, which are, in many Places, unpassable. The Manufacture which the People are employed in here, are chiefly Woollen Cloths, at Kirkby Launsdale, and Kendal, and farther Northward, a Security for the Continuance of the People in the Place; for here is a vast concourse of People. In a word, I find no room to doubt the hills above mentioned go on to Scotland, for from some of the Heighths hereabouts, they can see even into Scotland it self.

The Upper, or Northern Part of the County, has two manufacturing Towns, called Kirkby Stephen, and Appleby; the last is the Capital of the County, yet neither of them offer any thing considerable to our observation, except a great Manufacture of Yarn Stockings at the former.

My Lord Lonsdale, or Lonsdown, of the antient Family of Louther, has a very noble and antient Seat at Louther, and upon the River [page 225] Louther; all together add a Dignity to the Family, and are Tests of its Antiquity. The House, as now adorned, is beautiful; but the Stables are the Wonder of England, of which, having not taken an exact View of them my self, I am loth to say, at second-hand, what Fame has said; but, in general, they are certainly the largest and finest that any Gentleman or Nobleman in Britain is master of.

When we entred at the South part of this County, I began indeed to think of Merionethshire, and the Mountains of Snowden in North Wales, seeing nothing round me, in many Places, but unpassable Hills, whose Tops, covered with Snow, seemed to tell us all the pleasant Part of England was at an end. The great Winander Meer, like the Mediterranean Sea, extends it self on the West Side for twelve Miles and more, reckoning from North Bridge [Newby Bridge] on the South, where it contracts it self again into a River up to Grasmere North, and is the Boundary of the County, as I have said, on that Side; and English Appenine, as Mr. Cambden calls them, that is, the Mountains of Yorkshire North Riding, lie like a Wall of Brass on the other; and in deed, in one sense, they are a Wall of Brass; for it is the Opinion of the most skilful and knowing People in the Country, that those Mountains are full of inexhaustible Mines of Copper, and so rich, as not only to be called Brass, Copper being convertible into Brass, but also to have a Quantity of Gold in them also: It is true, they do at this time work at some Copper Mines here, but they find the Oar [ore] lies so deep, and is so hard [page 226] to come at, that they do not seem to go cheerfully on.

North Westmorland: Eden Valley, Appleby, Stainmoor

But notwithstanding this terrible aspect of the Hills, when having passed by Kendal, and descending the frightful Mountains, [we] began to find the Flat Country show it self; we soon saw that the North and North East Part of the County was pleasant, rich, fruitful, and, compared to the other Part, populous. The River Eden, the last River of England on this Side, as the Tyne is on the other, rises in this Part out of the Side of a monstrous high Mountain, called Mowill Hill, or Wildbore Fell, which you please; after which, it runs through the middle of this Vale, which is, as above, a very agreeable and pleasant Country, or perhaps seems to be so the more, by the horror of the Eastern and Southern Part.

In this Vale, and on the Bank of this River, stands Appleby, once a flourishing City, now a scattering, decayed, and half-demolished Town, the fatal Effects of the antient inroads of the Scots, when this being a Frontier County, those Invasions were frequent, and who several times were Masters of this Town, and at length burnt it to the Ground, which Blow it has not yet recovered.

The Searchers after Antiquity find much more to recreate their Minds, and satisfy their Curiosity, in these Northern Countries than in those farther South, which are more populous and better inhabited, because the Remains of antient things have met with less Injury here, where there are not so many People, or so many Buildings, or Alterations, Enclosings [page 227] and Plantings, as in other Places; but, for my purpose, who am to give the present State of things, here is not much to observe; nor are there many Houses or Seats of the Nobility in this Part, tho' many antient Families dwell here, as particularly Strickland, from the lands of Strickland, Wharton from Wharton Hall, Louther from the River Louther, as above, Warcop of Warcop, Langdale of Langdale, Musgrave from Musgrave, and many others.

The Roman Highway, which I have so often mentioned, and which, in my last Letter, I left at Leeming Lane and Peers Brigg [Piercebridge], in the North Riding of York, enters this County from Rear Cross upon Stanmore, and crossing it almost due East and West, goes through Appleby, passing the Eden a little north from Perith, at an antient Roman Station call’d Brovoniacam, where there was a large and stately Stone Bridge; but now the great Road leads to the Left-hand to Perith, in going to which we first pass the Eden, at a very good Stone Bridge call’d Louther Bridge, and then the Elnot [Eamont] over another.

Penrith

Perith, or Penrith, is a handsome Market Town, populous, well built, and, for an inland Town, has a very good share of Trade. It was unhappily possessed by the late Party of Scots Highland Rebels, when they made that Desperate Push into England, and which ended at Preston; in the Moor or Heath, on the North part of this Town, the Militia of the County making a brave Appearance, and infinitely out-numbering the Highlanders, were drawn up; yet, with all their bravery, they ran away, as soon as the Scots began to advance to Charge them, and [page 228] never fired a Gun at them, leaving the Town at their Mercy. However, to do Justice even to the Rebels, they offered no Injury to the Town, only quartered in it one Night, took what Arms and Ammunition they could find, and advanced towards Kendal.

Carlisle

From hence, in one Stage, through a Country full of Castles, for almost every Gentleman's House is a Castle, we came to Carlisle, a small, but well fortified City, the Frontier Place and Key of England on the west sea, as Berwick upon Tweed is on the East; and in both which there have, for many Years, I might say Ages, been strong Garrisons kept to check the invading Scots; from below this Town the famous Picts Wall began, which cross’d the whole Island to Newcastle upon Tyne, where I have mentioned it already.

Here also the great Roman Highway, just before named, has its End, this being the utmost Station of the Roman Soldiers on this Side.

Detour to West Cumbrian Coast: St Bees, Whitehaven,

But before I go on to speak of this Town, I must go back, as we did for our particular Satisfaction, to the Sea Coast, which, in this Northern County, is more remarkable than that of Lancashire, though the other is extended much farther in length; for here are some Towns of good Trade; whereas in Lancashire, Liverpoole excepted, there is nothing of Trade to be seen upon the whole Coast.

I enquired much for the Pearl Fishery here, which Mr. Cambden speaks of, as a thing well known about Ravenglass and the River Ire, which was made a kind of Bubble lately: But the Country People, nor even the Fishermen, [page 229] could give us no Account of any such thing; nor indeed is there any great Quantity of the Shell-fish to be found here (now) in which the Pearl are found, I mean the large Oyster or Muscle. What might be in former Times, I know not.

The Cape or Head Land of St. Bees, still preserves its Name; as for the Lady, like that of St. Tabbs beyond Berwick, the Story is become fabulous, viz. about her procuring, by her Prayers, a deep snow on Midsummer Day, her taming a wild Bull that did great Damage in the Country; these, and the like Tales, I leave where I found them, (viz.) among the Rubbish of the old Women and the Romish Priests.

In the little Town, which bears her Name there, is a very good Free-School, founded by that known and eminent Benefactor to, and Promoter of pious Designs, Archbishop Grindal; it is endowed very well by him, and the Charity much encreased by the late Dr. Lamplugh, Archbishop of York: The Library annexed to this Foundation is very valuable, and still encreasing by several Gifts daily added to it; and they show a List of the Benefactors, in which are several Persons of Honour and Distinction. The Master is put in by the Provost and Fellows of Queen’s College in Oxon.

Under this Shore, the Navigation being secured by this Cape of St. Bees, is the Town of Whitehaven, grown up from a small Place to be very considerable by the Coal Trade, which is encreased so considerably of late, that it is now the most eminent Port in England for shipping off Coals, except Newcastle and Sunderland, and even beyond the last, for they wholly sup[page 230]ply the city of Dublin, and all the Towns of Ireland on that Coast; and 'tis frequent in time of War, or upon the ordinary Occasion of cross Winds, to have two hundred Sail of Ships at a Time go from this Place forDublin, loaden with Coals.

They have of late fallen into some Merchandizing also, occasioned by the great Number of their Shipping, and there are now some considerable Merchants; but the Town is yet but young in Trade, and that Trade is so far from being ancient, that Mr. Cambden does not so much as name the Place, and his Continuator says very little of it.

Cockermouth; Derwent Fells, Skiddaw

About ten Miles from Whitehaven North East, lies Cockermouth, upon the little River Cocker, just where it falls into the Derwent. This Derwent is famous for its springing out of those Hills, call’d Derwent Fells, where the ancient copper mines were found in Queen Elizabeth’s time, and in which, it was said, there was a large Quantity of Gold. But they are discontinued since that Time, for what Reason, I know not; for there are several Copper Mines now working in this County, and which, as they told me, turn to very good Account.

Some tell us, the Copper Mines on Derwent Fells were discontinued, because there being Gold found among the Oar, the Queen claimed the Royalty, and so no body would work them; which seems to be a Reason why they shou’d have been applied to the Search with more Vigor; but be that how it will, they are left off, and the more probable account is, what a Gentleman of Penrith gave us, namely, that the Charge [cost] of [page 231] working them was too great for the Profits.

Here are still Mines of black Lead found, which turn to very good Account, being, for ought I have yet learned, the only Place in Britain where it is to be had.

Here we saw Skiddaw, one of those high Hills of which, wherever you come, the People always say, they are the highest in England. Skiddaw indeed is a very high Hill, but seems the higher, because not surrounded with other Mountains, as is the Case in most Places where the other Hills are, as at Cheviot, at Penigent, and at other Places. From the top of Skiddaw they see plainly into Scotland, and quite into Dumfries-shire, and farther.

Cockermouth stands upon the River Derwent, about twelve Miles from the Sea, but more by the Windings of the River, yet Vessels of good Burthen may come up to it. The Duke of Somerset is Chief Lord of this Town, in right of his Lady, the only Heiress of the ancient Family of the Piercy’s, Earls of Northumberland, and which the Duke of Somerset enjoys now in Right of Marriage [de jure uxoris].

The Castles and great Houses of this Estate go every where to Ruin, as indeed all the Castles in this County do; for there being no more Enemy to be expected here, the two Kingdoms being now united into one, there is no more need of strong Holds here, than in any other Part of the Kingdom. At Cockermouth there is a Castle which belongs to the same Family, and, I think they told us, the Duke has no less than thirteen Castles in all, here and in Northumberland.

[page 232]   This River Derwent is noted for very good Salmon, and for a very great Quantity, and Trout. Hence, that is, from Workington at the mouth of this river, and from Carlisle, notwithstanding the great Distance, they at this Time carry Salmon (fresh as they take it) quite to London. This is perform'd with Horses, which, changing often, go Night and Day without Intermission, and, as they say, very much out-go the Post; so that the Fish come very sweet and good to London, where the extraordinary Price they yield, being often sold at two Shillings and Sixpence to four Shillings per Pound, pay very well for the Carriage.

Tourist Attractions of Cumberland and Westmorland

They have innumerable Marks of Antiquity in this County, as well as in that of Westmoreland, mentioned before; and if it was not, as I said before, that Antiquity is not my Search in this Work, yet the Number of Altars, Monuments, and Inscriptions, is such, that it would take up a larger Work than this to copy them, and record them by themselves; yet, passing these, I could not but take notice of two or three more modern things, and which relate to our own Nation: Such as,

1.  That of Hart-Horn Tree, where they shew’d us the Head of a Stag nail’d up against a Tree, or rather shew’d us the Tree where they said it was nail’d up, in Memory of a famous Chase of a Stag by one single Dog. It seems the Dog (not a Greyhound, as Mr. Cambden’s Continuator calls it, but a stanch Buckhound, to be sure) chas’ a Stag from this Place, (Whitfield Park) as far as the Red Kirk in Scotland, which, they say, is sixty Miles at least, and back again to the same Place, where, [page 233] being both spent, and at the last Gasp, the Stag strain’d all its Force remaining to leap the Park Pales, did it, and dy’d on the Inside; the Hound, attempting to leap after him, had not Strength to go over, but fell back, and dy’d on the Outside just opposite; after which the Heads of both were nail’d up upon the Tree, and this Distich made on them; the hound’s name, it seems, was Hercules.

      Hercules kill’d Hart a Greese,
      And Hart a Greese kill’d Hercules.

2.  Another thing they told us was in the same Park, viz. three Oak Trees which were call’d the Three Brether, the least of which was thirteen Yards about; but they own’d there was but one of them left, and only the Stump of that; so we did not think it worth going to see, because it would no more confirm the Wonder, than the Peoples affirming it by Tradition only. The Tree or Stump left, is call’d the Three Brether Tree, that is to say, one of the three Brothers, or Brethren.

3.  West of this Hart-horn Tree, and upon the old Roman Way, is the famous Column, call’d the Countess Pillar, the best and most beautiful Piece of its kind in Britain. It is a fine Column of Free-Stone, finely wrought, enchas’d, and in some Places painted. There is an Obelisk on the top, Several Coats of Arms, and other Ornaments in proper Places all over it, with Dials also on every Side, and a Brass-Plate with the following Inscription upon it:

[page 234]   THIS PILLAR WAS ERECTED ANNO MDCLVI, BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE ANNE COUNTESS DOWAGER OF PEMBROKE, AND SOLE HEIR OF THE RIGHT HONORABLE GEORGE EARL OF CUMBERLAND, ETC. FOR A MEMORIAL OF HER LAST PARTING IN THIS PLACE WITH HER GOOD AND PIOUSE MOTHER THE RIGHT HONORABLE MARGARETE COUNTESS DOWAGER OF CUMBERLAND, THE SECOUND OF APRIL, MDCXVI, IN MEMORY WHEREOF SHE ALSO LEFT AN ANNUITY OF FOUR POUNDS, TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE POOR WITHIN THIS PARISH OF BROUGHAM EVERY SECOND DAY OF APRIL FOR EVER UPON THE STONE TABLE HERE BY.

    This Countess of Pembroke had a noble and great Estate in this County, and a great many fine old Seats or Palaces, all which she repaired and beautified, and dwelt sometimes at one, and sometimes at another, for the Benefits of her Tenants, and of the Poor, who she always made desirous of her Presence, being better’d constantly by her Bounty, and her noble House-keeping. But those Estates are all since that Time gone into other Families.

    [page 235]  This Lady was of the Family of Clifford; she had no less than four Castles in this County, of which Pendragon Castle was the chief, which is a fine Building to this Day.

4.    At Penrith also we saw several remarkable things, some of which I find mentioned by the Right Reverend Continuator of Mr. Cambden, and which I was glad to see, so confirm’d my Observation, viz. (1.) Two remarkable Pillars fourteen or fifteen Foot asunder, and twelve Foot high the lowest of them, though they seem equal. The people told us, they were the Monument of Sir Owen Cæsar, the author above-nam’d calls him, Sir Ewen Cæsarius, and perhaps he may be right; but we have no Inscription upon them. This Sir Owen, they tell us, was a Champion of mighty Strength, and of gygantick Stature, and so he was, to be sure, if, as they say, he was as tall as one of the Columns, and could touch both Pillars with his Hand at the same time.

    They relate nothing but good of him, and that he exerted his mighty Strength to kill Robbers, such as infested the Borders much in those Days, others related wild Boars; but the former is most probable. (2.) On the North side of the Vestry of this Church is erected in the Wall an ancient square Stone, with a Memorial, intimating, that in the Year 1598 there was a dreadful Plague in those Parts, in which there dy’d; [page 236]

    N.B. By this Account it should seem that every one of those Towns had separately more People than the City of Carlisle, and that Kendal, which is the only manufacturing Town of them, was the most populous. We did not go into the Grotto on the Bank of the River Eden, of which mention is made by Mr. Cambden’s Continuator; the People telling us, the Passage is block’d up with Earth, so I must be content with telling you, that it seems to have been a lurking Place, or Retreat of some Robbers in old Time; as to its being a Place of Strength, I do not see any Possibility of that; but its Strength seems to be chiefly in its being secret and concealed; it had certainly been worth seeing, if it had been passable, the Entry is long and dark, but whether strait or crooked, I cannot say, the Iron Gates leading to it are gone, nor is there any Sign of them, or what they were hung to.

    But though I am backward to dip into Antiquity, yet no English Man, that has any Honour for the glorious Memory of the greatest and truest Hero of all our Kings of the English or Saxon Race, can go to Carlisle, and not step aside to see the Monument of King Edward I. at Burgh upon the Sands, a little way out of the [page 237] City Carlisle, where that victorious Prince dy’d. Indeed I cannot wonder that two Writers, both Scots, viz. Ridpat and Mr. Kay, should leave it, as it were, not worth their Notice, that Prince being the Terror of Scotland, and the first compleat Conqueror of their Country, who brought away the sacred Stone at Scone Abbey, on which their Kings were crowned, also the Regalia, and, in a Word, made their whole Country submit to his victorious Arms.

    Near this Town, and, as the Inhabitants affirm, just on the spot where the King's Tent stood in which he expired, for he died in the Camp, is erected a Pillar of Stone near thirty Foot high, besides the Foundation. On the West Side is the following Inscription:

Memoriæ Æternæ Edvardi I. Regis Angliæ longe Clarissimi, qui in Belli apparatu contra Scotos occupatus. Hic in Castris obiit. 7 Julii, A.D. 1307.

On the South Side:

Nobilissimus Princeps Henricus Howard, Dux Norfolciæ, Comes Marshal Angliæ, Comes Arund. &c......ab Edvardo I, Rege Angliæ oriundus P. 1685.

On the North Side:

Johannes Aglionby, J. C. F. i.e. Juris-consultus fieri fecit. Beneath, Tho. Langstone fecit. 1685.

[page 238]   It is not to be ask’d why Mr. Cambden takes no Notice of this because it was not erected till near an hundred Years after his Survey of the Country, only the Place was marked by the Country People, or perhaps by the Soldiers of his Army, by a great Heap of Stones rolled together upon the Place; but this Monument was erected, as is said above, by a private Gentleman, for the eternal Memory of a Prince, who, when he lived, was the Darling of the World, both for Virtue and true Fame.

Back to Carlisle

But I return to Carlisle: The City is strong, but small, the Buildings old, but the Streets fair; the great Church is a venerable old Pile, it seems to have been built at twice, or, as it were, rebuilt, the upper Part being much more modern than the lower.

King Henry VIII fortify’d this City against the Scots, and built an additional Castle to it on the East Side, which Mr. Cambden, though I think not justly, calls a Cittadel; there is indeed another Castle on the West, Part of the Town rounds the Sea, as the Wall rounds the whole, is very firm and strong. But Carlisle is strong by Situation, being almost surrounded with Rivers. On the East it has the River Poterell [Petteril], on the North Eden, and on the South the Cande, or Canda, or Calda [Caldew], which all fall into the Arm of the Sea, which they call the Solway, or Solway Firth.

Here is a Bridge over Eden, which soon lets you into Scotland; for the Limits are not above eight Miles off, or thereabout. The South Part of Scotland on this Side, coming at least fifty Miles farther into England, than at Berwick. There is not a great deal of Trade [page 239] here either by Sea or Land, it being a meer Frontier. On the other Side the Eden we saw the Picts Wall, of which I have spoken already, and some Remains of it are to be seen farther West, and of which I shall perhaps have Occasion to speak again in my Return. But being now at the utmost Extent of England on this Side, I conclude also my Letter, and am,

SIR, &c.

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