Coverham (Holy Trinity)
The parish extends over a space of forty superficial miles, and is divided into the High dale and Low dale. The former contains 12,480 acres, and includes the townships of Gammersgill, Swineside, Arkleside, Blackrake, Bradley, Coverhead, Pickle, and Woodale, with the village of Horsehouse, which gives name to a chapelry that consists of the preceding townships. The latter comprises 9640 acres, and includes, besides Caldbridge, East Scrafton, Carlton, Melmerby, and West Scrafton, the hamlet of Coverham Abbey, in the vicinity of which stand the ancient church and mill of the monks, and which, with Agglethorpe Hall and its dependencies, forms the township of Coverham, with 1090 acres of rich land. The river Cover, which confers its name upon the district, is a rapid stream abounding with trout; the dale through which it runs is supposed to have been the birthplace of Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, born in Yorkshire in 1488, and who, in 1535, published the first edition of the Bible ever printed in English. Both coal and lead are found in the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with the tithes of Arkleside, Blackrake, Coverhead, Pickle, Swineside, and Woodale, and in the patronage of the Tomlinson family; net income, £180. The tithes of Coverham township have been commuted for £84. The church, which is thought to have been built in the 12th century, is a neat edifice, consisting of a nave, chancel, and south aisle, with a tower, and contains in the windows some remains of painted glass of great beauty. In the churchyard, which comprises less than two acres, is a spot where neither the church can be seen nor the bells heard, which is occasioned by a very sudden descent on the south-east side, towards the bottom in which the abbey stands, while the noise of the stream propelling the mill-wheel, shuts out the sound of the bells.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.