Place:Westward, Cumberland, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

Westward is bounded on the north by Thursby, on the east by Sebergham and Dalston, on the west by Wigton, and on the south by Bolton and Caldbeck parishes, and is about six miles in length, from north to south, and five in breadth, from east to west. The soil, which is in a high state of cultivation, consists chiefly of a strong fertile clay, with a portion of sand, in Woodside Quarter, and produces excellent crops of wheat, oats, &c., except towards the south and south-east parts, where it is rather cold and wet. The higher ground abounds with limestone; and the Shawk and Howrigg quarries have long been noted for the production of red and white freestone, slate, flags, &c., esteemed the best in Cumberland. Here are also seams of cannel and other coal; but these minerals have not been wrought for many years. Drainage has been, of late years, very assiduously practiced in this parish, which contains a wood of near 400 acres, called Westward Park, belonging to General Wyndham, who has here a tile manufactory, where the farmers may purchase tiles at the extremely low price of 3s. per thousand. The number of acres in the parish, including woods, roads, &c. (of which there are about forty miles) is 13,120, and of rateable acres 11,660, rated to the poor rate, in 1847, at £12,138; and it contained, in 1841, a population of 1311 souls. It is divided into four townships, viz., Brocklebank, Rosley, Stoneraise, and Woodside, which support their poor conjointly; but it has neither village nor township of its own name, being "made up," says Hutchinson, "of a number of houses, lying scattered up and down."

The manor, which comprises the whole parish, was first annexed to the royal forest of Inglewood, by Henry II, who received a grant of it from Alan, second lord of Allerdale, and was called Westward, from its being the western ward of the forester's charge within the forest. It continued in the Crown till 1344, when Edward III granted it to Thomas Lucy, on his marriage with the king's cousin. It subsequently passed to the Percys, and from them to the Earl of Egremont, so that general Wyndham is the present lord, having succeeded to the late Earl's estates in Cumberland.

Stoneraise contains also the small hamlets of Foresterfield, Red Dial, and Warble-bank, with several dispersed and pleasantly situated dwellings, bearing different names; among which are, Greenhill House, Forest Hall, Rays Lodge, Stoneraise Place, Greenrigg, Cunning-garth, Westward Park, &c., &c. Greenhill House is a large mansion, rebuilt about four years ago, two miles S. of Wigton; and the others are from 1½ to 2½ miles from the same town. This division, though having no village of its own name, is the largest and most fertile in the parish - comprising 3484 acres of rich freehold land, rated at £4412 15s.; a great part of which belongs to resident yeomen. The other principal land owners are general Wyndham, Miss Matthews, Robert Jefferson, Joshua Rigg, M.D., John Stead, Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart., F.L.B. Dykes, Esq., and Mr. John Barnes. At the Red Dial Inn, 1½ mile S. of Wigton, are held the manor courts; and here the magistrates meet monthly, for the appointment of surveyors of highways, overseers of the poor, the granting of licences to publicans, and the transaction of other business connected with the ward. Fairs are held at Red Dial hamlet annually, on the 1st of August, for sheep and wool; and on the 21st of September, for sheep only.

Brocklebank township, or quarter, forms the southern extremity of the parish, and is a hilly district, bounded on the south by Catland and Warnell Fells. Besides the hamlet of Brocklebank, which is about five miles S.S.E. of Wigton, the township also contains the small hamlets of Clea green, Reathwaite, with several dispersed dwellings, amongst which are Clea-hall, now a farm house, with fine prospects, the property of Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart., one of whose ancestors received it by intermarriage with an heiress of the Musgraves, of Crookdake. The other principal landowners are general Wyndham (the largest), the earl of Lonsdale, Mr. J. Westmoreland, Mr. Thomas Milton, and Miss Beaty. It contains 2886 acres, rated at £1679, and its population in 1841 was 171 souls.

Rosley township has a small village, occupying a delightful situation on the southern acclivity of an eminence, five miles E.S.E. of Wigton, and nine miles S. by W. of Carlisle. It has long been noted for its large horse and cattle fairs, which are held on Whitmonday, and on every alternate Monday after till Lammasday. "These meetings are much regarded by the breeders of 'stock' and lack nothing that any other fair can boast of, as may be seen in Evan Clarke's humorous description of them in his Cumberland poems." Two other fairs for cattle, horses, and sheep, established here in 1845, are held on the 21st of April, and on the 3rd Monday in October; these are also likely to flourish, especially the former, which is on the third day before the great fair at Penrith. Rosley green is a large piece of common, commanding extensive and panoramic views.

The hamlets of Brackenthwaite and Craggs, the former 2½, and the latter 3 miles S.E. of Wigton, are also in Rosley quarter, which contains 2845 acres of freehold land, rated to the poor, in 1847, at £2851 10s.,belonging to Sir Wastel Brisco, General Wyndham, the heiresses of the late Sir P. Musgrave, Henry A. Lea, Esq., Mr. Richardson, Mr. Bewley, and several resident yeomen. In the village of Rosley is a neat dwelling, the residence of Mr. Joseph Rook, who also owns the heights, an estate in Woodside quarter, left to him by the late Joseph Hodge, Esq., of Wigton. Population of Rosley, 279.

Woodside township, or quarter, comprises the hamlets of Westwood-side, Eastwoodside, East and West Curthwaite, Howrigg, and the Heights, extending from 2½ to 5 miles east of Wigton, and containing 2445 acres, rated at £3194 5s. Sir W. Brisco is the largest proprietor in this township; but Mr. John Gibson, Miss Lowry, and Mr. Joseph Rook, have estates here, besides several resident yeomen. Twenty houses is an undivided lordship, of customary tenure, under arbitrary fines, and belongs to Sir W. Brisco, Sir W. Lawson, and the Duke of Devonshire, the latter receiving a free rent. A meal tithe was levied on this manor by one of the lords of Inglewood Forest, for the support of the hounds which were kept at Forester Fold, and the inhabitants were subject to its payment, till the enclosure of the commons, when land was allotted in lieu thereof. They are toll free at Rosley, Wigton, and Penrith. At the Heights is a chapel of ease, built in 1840, at a cost of about £700, raised by subscription, except £70 obtained from the incorporated society. It is endowed with £100, secured on a railroad debenture, the interest being £5 per annum, "and the dean and chapter of Carlisle will augment the living of Westward, with a stipend of £15 a year, in consideration of the duty performed at this chapel," which is a great desideratum to the inhabitants of this district. Its site was given by the late Mr. Hodge. Previous to the enclosure of the common land, several trenches and other vestiges of encampments could be traced in this parish, particularly near the Heights; but most of them have been levelled, and large quantities of stone removed from their sites. Population of Woodside, in 1841, 415.

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

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