Crosby-Upon-Eden (St. John)

CROSBY-UPON-EDEN (St. John), a parish, in the union of Carlisle, Eskdale ward, E. division of Cumberland, 4 miles (N. E. by E.) from Carlisle; containing 403 inhabitants, of whom 146 are in the township of High Crosby, and 133 in that of Low Crosby. This place is supposed to have derived its name from an ancient cross, to which, in the time of Henry I., the inhabitants resorted for prayer, previously to the erection of the present church on its site. The parish is finely situated on the river Eden, by which it is bounded for nearly three miles, and is intersected by the military road from Newcastle to Carlisle; the southern portion forms part of the fertile vale of Eden, and towards the north the surface rises to a considerable elevation, commanding extensive and richly varied prospects. Freestone of a reddish colour, and of a fine compact texture, is obtained in the neighbourhood. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £3. 11. 5½.; net income, £100; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Carlisle. The church, situated in the village of Low Crosby, is a small ancient edifice. An additional church has been erected; and a national school, built in 1806, is supported by subscription. In the northern part of the parish, the sites of the Roman wall built by Severus, and of the ditch by Adrian, are plainly discernible.