IRTHINGTON PARISH: This parish is circumscribed by the parishes of Crosby, Scaleby, Kirklinton, Hayton, Brampton and Walton, and derives its name from the Irthing, which flows at its southern extremity. It is intersected by the site of the great Roman Wall, and also my the military road from Newcastle to Carlisle. It is divided into the four townships of Irthington, Laversdale, Newby and Newtown.KIRKLINTON PARISH: This parish, called in old documents Kirk-Levington, extends about eleven miles along the south side of the river Lyne, having an average breadth of two miles. It is bounded on the north by the river just named; on the south by Stanwix, Scaleby, and Walton; on the east by Stapleton; and on the west by Rockcliffe. Freestone is abundant, and is quarried in several places, but the great majority of the inhabitants are employed in the cultivation of the land. The parish is divided into three townships - Hethersgill, Middle Quarter and West Linton. The village of Kirklinton, situated four miles E. by S. of Longtown, and nine miles N.N.E. of Carlisle, is partly in Middle Quarter and partly in Hethersgill; the church, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, being in the former and the hall and rectory in the latter. The village of Hethersgill is situated about six miles N.W. of Brampton and contains the church of St. Mary, erected in 1876 as a chapel of ease to Kirklinton. Westlinton is in the S.W. of the parish and there is located a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.Church History
The church at Kirklinton, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, was erected in 1845 and displaced an old Norman edifice, supposed from its very early Norman architecture, to have been built in the reign of Henry I. The present edifice is a handsome Gothic structure of red freestone, consisting of a nave, chancel, porch, and embattled tower. Whilst excavating for the foundation of the tower, sixty human skeletons were found buried within a short space of each other. But neither incriptions nor monument of any kind was found to identify these mouldering remains of humanity, or to indicate the period of their interment. STAPLETON PARISH: Stapleton is encompassed by Nichol Forest, and the parishes of Bewcastle, Lanercost, Kirklinton, Arthuret and Walton. It comprises the townships of Belbank, Soloport, Stapleton and Trough although the people live in dispersed dwellings scattered over the parish, there being no village or hamlet containing more then ten or a dozen houses. It extends about three miles by five and lies about eight miles North from Brampton. WALTON PARISH: This parish lies on the north side of the river Irthing, between the rivulets Kingwater and Cumbeck, and is bounded on the north by Kirklinton and Stapleton, on the east by Lanercost, on the south by Brampton, and on the west by Irthington. It is divided into two townships, High Walton and Low Walton, whose united area is 4150 acres. ... As there are neither mines nor manufactures in the parish, the inhabitants are entirely dependent upon the cultivation of the land. The Roman Wall passes through the district, and the visitor will experience little difficulty in tracing both it and the fosse [ed.: a ditch or moat] in several places. The Manor of Walton formed a portion of the Barony of Gilsland, and was given by Robert de Vallibus or Vaux, second baron, to the Abbey of Lanercost, which he had founded. It continued in the possession of the priory until the dissolution of that house; and in 1543, the manor of Walton, along with the other domains of the late abbey, was granted to Thomas Dacre, Esq., afterwards Sir Thomas Dacre, Knight, an illegitimate son of Thomas Lord Dacre of the North. It continued in the same family until 1789, when it was sold by William Dacre, Esq., to John Johnson, Esq., from whom it has descended to G.J. Johnson, Esq.,J.P. of Castlesteads. The following are also extensive landowners: Major General Frederick Thomas Whinyates, Cheltenham; Rev. Thomas Calvert, Rev. William Dacre, Irthington; George Routledge, Esq., Hayton; Mrs. Stanger and Miss Nichol. ..
The village of Walton is three miles north of Brampton, and ten miles from Carlisle. Like many other villages that lie along the route of Hadrian's barrier, its name is characteristic, and "bears testimony to its relationship with the Roman Wall, many of the stones of which may be detected in the cottages." 