Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for LONGTOWN

LONGTOWN, a town, a township, two sub-districts, and a district in Cumberland. The town stands on the river Esk, adjacent to the North British railway, at the forking of the branches toward Carlisle and Gretna, 3 miles S of the boundary with Scotland, and 8½ N by W of Carlisle; was founded, at a remote period, by the Grahams of Netherby; continued, till a recent period, to be only a poor village; is now a well built place, with good modern houses, and regular spacious streets; is a seat of petty sessions and a polling-place; and has a postoffice ‡ under Carlisle, a railway station, a stone bridge over the Esk, a church of the Church of Scotland, a United Presbyterian church, a United Free Methodist chapel of 1866, and a free school founded in 1754. Markets are held on Mondays and Thursdays; a fair for horses, on the Thursday before Whitsunday; and hiring fairs, on Whit-Thursday and at Martinmas. Many of the inhabitants are weavers in the employment of manufacturers at Carlisle.-The township includes the town, comprises 2,538 acres, and is in the parish of Arthuret. Real property, £5,810. Pop. in 1851,2,234; in 1861, 2,863. Houses, 497. The increase of pop. arose from the establishment of a bobbin mill, and from the employment of labourers at the forming of the railway.- The two sub-districts are High Longtown and Low Longtown. H. L. sub-d. contains the parishes of Stapleton and Bewcastle, and the chapelry of Nichol-Forest. Acres, 48,637. Pop., 3,291. Houses, 529. L. L. sub-d. contains the parishes of Arthuret, Kirklinton, and Scaleby, and the Moat, Middle, and Nether quarters of Kirk-Andrews-upon-Esk parish. Acres, 38,234. Pop., 7,178. Houses, 1,262.—The district consists of these two sub-districts. Acres, 86,871. Poor rates in 1863, £3,910. Pop. in 1851,9,696; in 1861,10,469. Houses, 1,791. Marriages in 1863,38; births, 259,-f which 53 were illegitimate; deaths, 177,-of which 66 were at ages under 5 years, and 10 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60,396; births, 2,979; deaths, 1,756. The places of worship, in 1851, were 7 of the Church of England, with 1,770 sittings; 1 of the Church of Scotland, with 250 s.; 1 of the Presbyterian Church in England, with 300 s.; 2 of the United Presbyterian Church, with 500 s.; 2 of Quakers, with 370 s.; 3 of Wesleyans, with 490 s.; and 1 of the Wesleyan Association, with 35 attendants. The schools were 17 public day-schools, with 694 scholars; 17 private day-schools, with 614 s.; and 11 Sunday schools, with 772 s. The workhouse is in Netherby township; and, at the census of 1861, had 72 inmates.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a township, two sub-districts, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Longtown RegD/PLU       Cumberland AncC
Place: Longtown

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