Bewcastle Church

The CHURCH stands at the extreme southeast end of the parish, on the site of the Roman station, where, it is supposed, there was at one time a considerable town. There appears to have been some doubt as to its dedication; Nicholson and Burn place it under the patronage of St. Cuthbert, and Hutchinson under St. Mary; but it is now invariably named after the northern saint. The present church is a plain structure, rebuilt in 1792-3, but a portion of the old chancel was incorporated in the present building. History is silent respecting its foundation, but we may reasonably ascribe to it a Saxon origin. The date 1066 occurs on an old buttress.

According to the testimony of Dr. Todd, the advowson was given, about the year 1200, to the prior and convent of Carlisle by Robert de Buetheastre, by whom is probably meant Robert de Vallibus.

The benefice is a rectory, valued in the King's Book (compiled from an ecclesiastical survey made in the reign of Henry VIII.) at £2. When Edward II. was taxing church livings in order to raise money to carry on his inglorious wars, he found Bewcastle in such a state of impecuniosity that there was not sufficient income to pay the stipend of the parish priest.

The living is now in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle, and is worth £200 a year. The tithes were commuted in 1842 for a yearly payment of £60 Os. 6d.; a rent charge of £20 a year was left by the late Sir James Graham; £26 a year is paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; £31 Os. 1d. is the produce of money invested in the Furness railway; and £16 a year from Queen Anne's Bounty. The benefice is now held by the Rev. T. E. Laurie, M.A., who was inducted in 1874.

In the churchyard is one of the most interesting archaeological monuments, which the vandalism of a past age and the corroding hand of time have permitted to exist down to the present day. It is a tall slender pillar nearly fifteen feet high, of hard and durable white freestone, which has most probably been obtained from a ridge of rock on White Lyne common, five miles distant from the church. The obelisk is in form nearly the frustrum of a square pyramid resting upon an octagonal pedestal, and measuring at the base twenty-two inches by twenty-one, and tapering to fourteen inches by thirteen at the top. The pillar originally terminated in a cross, but this disappeared long ago, having been demolished, says one writer, by popular frenzy and enthusiasm. Local tradition, which is not always a satisfactory guide, attributes its demolition to a stray shot from the guns of Cromwell, but Mr. Maughan, from whose Paper on the Bewcastle Cross these particulars are extracted, thinks that it was removed by Lord William Howard, the "Belted Will" of Border minstrelsy. The sides are profusely sculptured with runes and symbolism, which have been variously read and explained by different writers. Camden, who died in 1623, saw this cross, but failed in deciphering the inscription and sculptural ornamentation. He says: "In the churchyard is a cross of one entire square stone, about twenty feet high, and curiously cut; there is an inscription, too, but the letters are so dim that they are not legible. But seeing the cross is chequered like the armorial bearings of Vaux, one may conjecture that it has been made by some of that family." All our modern antiquaries, however, assign its construction to a period long anterior to the time when the family of Vallibus held sway in Gilsland and Bewcastle. Its runic lettering and style of ornament certainly point to the Anglo-Saxon age. Mr. Hutchinson observes that "the cross must, of necessity, be older than the time of the de Vaux, who do not figure in history until after the Norman Conquest "; and the late ingenious Mr. Howard, of Corby, accounts for the similarity of the chequer-work in the cross and the arms of de Vaux, by supposing that "the family of de Vallibus very possibly took their arms from this column, being one of the most remarkable things in the barony." This style of decoration was in use long before either a de Vallibus or even a Saxon set foot in this island. Cloths woven chequerwise, of which our Scottish plaids are perfect remains, were worn by the Ancient Britons; and their descendants, the inhabitants of Wales, are still passionately attached to the chequer pattern; indeed, so great is their veneration for their ancient emblem, that whenever a Welshman leaves his native mountains to reside in an English town, he is sure to carry this symbol along with him. A human figure in a chequered robe is sculptured on the side of an altar which was found in digging a cellar for the Grapes Inn, on the site of the Roman station at Carlisle, thus establishing the probability that the cheque was used among the Romans in Britain.

Each of the four sides of the monument is profusely sculptured but the west side is the most interesting to the archaeologist, as it contains a long inscription in runic characters, the interpretation of which reveals the origin of the column. It is thus read (substituting Roman letters for the runic) by the Rev. Mr. Maughan: + THISSIG BEACN THUN SETTON HWAETRED WALTHGAR ALWF- WOLTHU AFT ALCFRITHU LAN KYNIING EAC OSWIUING. + GEBID HEO SINNA SAWHULA, that is, "This slender pillar Hwætred, Wæthgar, and Alwfwold set up in memory of Alcfrid, a king and son of Oswy. Pray for them, their sins, their souls." The reader will observe that nearly all the above words (the proper names excepted) are still in use, though slightly altered, in modern English. Thissiq has become this; beacn, a sign or token, is now beacon; thun is thin; setton, set; aft is the root of after; ean is ane or yan, still used in the northern counties for one; kyniing has become king; gebid the syllable ge is simply an expletive and bid, to ask or pray, is still so used in " bidding to funerals "; sinna is now sins ; and sawhula, souls, the vulgar pronunciation of which (sawl) is not far removed from the Anglo-Saxon.

If the reading offered by Mr. Maughan be correct then we may infer that king Alcfrid, of whom the cross is commemorative, died at Bewcastle, and found his last resting-place within the precincts of God's Acre, and this is confirmed by the traditions of the district. Alcfrid was king of Northuinbria, a district including all the counties north of the Humber, and also those in the south of Scotland, and died about 664. Of the three noble Saxons, Hwætred, Wæthgar, and Alwfwold, who erected the monument nothing is known; but their request that future generations should pray for their souls proves the antiquity of that doctrine. Below the inscription is the figure of a man, habited in a gown, which reaches to the middle of his legs, holding a bird, most probably a hawk, in his hand. Above are two figures, which, from their indistinctness, are not easily determined. Bishop Nicholson conceived them to be the effigies of the Blessed Virgin and child, but Mr. Maughan and later writers suppose them to represent John the Baptist and the Agnus Dei or Lamb of God. Below are the fragments of a Runic inscription, though in the Latin language, XGESSUS KRISTTUS, which, as is easily seen, signify Jesus Christ.

The south side of the cross is divided into five compartments; the lower, middle, and upper ones are filled with that kind of ornamentation known as knot-work, or as sometimes called magical knots. It consists of the most intricate interlacing or coiling of bands or twigs. This species of embellishment is known as Celtic or Hibernian, and was introduced into this country by Irish monks, thus placing early Britain under a tribute to Irish art. In the second compartment are two vines intersecting each other in graceful curves, and in "the fourth is another vine, in one of the curves of which a vertical sun-dial has been placed, somewhat resembling the dial placed over the Saxon porch on the south side of Bishopstone Church in Sussex, and also resembling the Saxon dial placed over the south porch of Kirkdale Church, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, a short description of which may be found at page 60 of the eleventh volume of the Archaeological Journal. In the Bewcastle dial the principal divisions are marked by crosses, as on the fore-mentioned dials, which are considered as examples of very early date, the Kirkdale dial having been made, as it is supposed, between the years 1056 and 1065." Above the fifth compartment on this side is a fragment of a Runic inscription, but the portion now remaining, LICE, is too small and indefinite to afford any clew to the import of the original sentence. Between the compartments are traces of four inscriptions, which Mr. Maughan reads thus (substituting Roman letters for the Runic characters)-FRUMAN GEAR ECGFRITHU RICES THÆS KYN- INGES, that is, "In the first year (of the reign) of Egfrid, king of this kingdom (Northumbria)." If this reading be correct it indicates most probably the year of the erection of the monument. Egfrid was a son of Oswy and brother of Alcfrid, mentioned in the inscription on the west side, and ascended the throne of Northumbria in the year 670.

The north side is also divided into five compartments. In the highest and lowest are vines running in graceful curves and bearing foliage and fruit. "In the second and fourth divisions are two curiously-devised and intricately-twisted knots." The third division is filled with the chequer or diaper work previously mentioned. Between the compartments are lines of Runes which are, however,. now so indistinct that various readings have been offered. Mr. Maughan conceived them to he the following proper names, com- mencing with the lowest rune :- KYNNBURTHUG or Cyneburgo, the name of Alcfrid's queen ; KYNESWITHA, the sister of Cyneburgo; MYRCNA KYNG i.e., king of the Mercians; and the uppermost rune WULEHERE, who was a son of Penda, brother of Cynburga, and king of Mercia.

On the cast side, which, facing the church, has suffered less than the other three from the corroding effects of the weather, a vine is represented springing from the ground and running in graceful curves to the top. Branches, bearing bunches of grapes and foliage, start from the curves and run into spiral coils, on each of which sits an animal or bird, represented in the act of feeding on the fruit.

Adjoining the rectory is a small school, erected in 1855, but now only used as a Sunday school. The Bewcastle School Board, to which also Askerton in the adjoining parish of Lanercost is contributary, have a school at Park in this township. The Rev. John Cleathing, Leicestershire, bequeathed a considerable sum of money for the education of the poor of the parish of Bewcastle, of which his mother was a native. The interest of the endowment is about £10 a year. There was here, a few years ago, another school supported by sub- scription and the custom of Whittle-qate. This was a privilege that the master enjoyed of entering the houses of those persons whose children he was educating, and living at free quarters. He carried his whittle with him, and was at liberty to help himself to whatever was prepared for family consumption.

At a place called Lowgrains or Low Grange, in this township, is a strong petrifying spring; and on the side of the Bullcleugh is another spring, the water of which is impregnated with iron.

There are two hills in the township called Black and White Preston, on the east end of Greyfell common, and another on the west end called the Pike. Here it was formerly customary for the inhabitants to assemble on Midsummer's eve and light bonfires, which were called Tanliteens.