is a plain Gothic building, containing in its upper room a finely sculptured figure, by Stephens, of “William, Earl of Lonsdale,” 1863. The Church possesses some good Norman features which are worthy of careful examination, and many interesting monuments to the Lowther family. Among these may be named the following:—
In the north transept a large altar tomb to William, first Earl of Lonsdale of the second creation, who died March 19th, 1844; and Augusta, his countess (daughter of John, ninth Earl of Westmoreland), who died March 6th, 1838. Here, too, was buried the late third Earl, who died in August, 1876. There are also tablets to the memory of James, first Earl of Lonsdale, 1802, and his countess, Mary, daughter of John, Earl of Bute, 1824; and to Richard, Lord Lonsdale; and brasses to Colonel the Hon. Henry Cecil Lowther (father of the late earl), 1867; and to Lucy Eleanor, his wife, daughter of Philip, fifth Earl of Harborough, 1848; and to the Hon. Arthur Lowther, their son, 1855.
In the south transept are a remarkably finely sculptured monument with a reclining figure to the memory of John, Viscount Lonsdale and Baron Lowther, 1700, and Catherine, his countess; and other noble monuments to Sir John Lowther, 1637; Sir John, 1675; and Lord William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck, who married the Hon. Mary Lowther, 1828. In the same transept is a recumbent effigy in plate armour, over which is a tablet of remarkable character, bearing a family pedigree. This almost unique example of inscription is as follows, each item being, on the tablet, enclosed in squares, which, however, we have not followed:—
“Sr Rich: Lowther Knig: succeded Hen: Lod: Scroope in ye office of Lo Warden of ye West Marches, & was thrice a Commissionor in ye grete affayres betweene England & Scotland, all in ye time of Qveene Elizabeth & after he had seene his children to ye 4th degree geven them vertuous edvcation & meanes to live advanced his brothers & sisters ovt of his owne patrimonye governed his family & kept plentifvll hospitalitye for 57 yeares together, he ended his life ye 27th of Ian: Ao Dni. 1607. Ætas. svæ 77 vttring at his last breth these verses followinge”
Beneath this inscription is a plain black tablet let into the stone, which has, there can be no doubt, at one time borne, or been intended to bear, the verses. It is now quite black and plain, so that the “verses” Sir Richard was “vttring at his last breth” are literally “blank verse.”
In the south aisle are tablets to Colonel Lowther (grandfather of the present Earl of Londale), 1867, and Lucy Eleanor Shorard, his wife, 1848; to Elizabeth, second daughter of William, Earl of Lonsdale, 1869; to Mary, third daughter of the same earl, and widow of Lord Frederick Bentinck, 1863; and to Anne, fourth daughter of the same, and widow of Sir John Beekett of Sowerby, 1871.
From Lowther Church a delightful path leads by the side of the river Lowther to Askham Bridge, near which are the village Church, the charming Rectory-house, and Askham Hall, a noble old Border stronghold, now the residence of the Rev. Dr. Jackson, the respected and venerable Provost of Queen’s College and Rector of Lowther. Few spots in the whole district can compare in loveliness with Askham Bridge. The rocky bed of the river—flat table rock, full of deep wide cracks—the masses of stone hurled down upon its surface, the rich green and brown of its water, the number of fish seen disporting among the rocks, and the rich, deeply tinted, and massive foliage by which the whole is overhung, form a picture of faultless loveliness.
Of the district around Lowther we cannot say more than a few brief words. It is, as we have already observed, a district rich in natural beauties of mountain and lake, of hill and valley, of wood and river; but it is also equally rich in places of historic interest and in objects of antiquarian importance. The whole of the Lake district, including the two counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland, is, indeed, one grand storehouse of places of note, and objects to which attention is worthy to be drawn. It is only of a few that we can speak.
Penrith, one of the oldest towns of the district, with its ruined castle, its beacon, its “giant’s grave” and other Danish or Saxon remains, its famous old grammar school, its interesting church, its plague record,[A] and its altar-piece, the exquisite work of Jacob Thompson; Clifton, memorable as the scene of the battle of Clifton Moor, and where the old border stronghold, the house where the Duke of Cumberland slept, and the oak-tree under which the slain were buried, are still pointed out; Eamont Bridge, where “A welcome into Cumberland” is held out as the sign of the inn on crossing the river into that county, and close by which are the curious earth-works of “King Arthur’s Round Table” and “Mayborough;” Brougham Castle, a grand old ruined fortress, on the site of the Roman station Broconiacum, and the place from which Lord Brougham derives his title; Brougham Hall, “the Windsor of the North,” the seat of Lord Brougham and Vaux, a fine castellated mansion, with a glorious chapel, full to repletion with Art-work of costly and elaborate character; the famous stone circle “Long Meg and her daughters,” three hundred and fifty yards in circumference; Dacre Castle, a grand old fortress, whose owners fought at the siege of Acre under Cœur de Lion, and thus named their own stronghold now in ruins; Eden Hall, famous as the hall where is preserved the goblet called the “Luck of Eden Hall,” about which hangs so much traditional mystery, and the prophetic import of the couplet—