Askham is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Westmorland and Furness Westmorland and Furness is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, Royal ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. It is in the historic county of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 360, decreasing slightly to 356 at the 2011 Census. It is on the eastern edge of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

National Park, south of Penrith. Nearby are the remains of

Lowther Castle Lowther Castle is a ruined country house in Lowther, Cumbria, Lowther, Cumbria, England. The estate has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. The house was largely built between 1806 and 1814 for ...

, the site of the annual Lowther Show, a three-day event of country pursuits.

History and culture

The primary landmark of Askham is Askham Hall. It evolved from a

pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

in the 14th century and was passed to the Sandford family after the Helbecks and Swinburns. In 1575, Thomas Sandford had it enlarged. In 1828 it served as a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

before being passed to the

Lowther family This article summarises the relationships between various members of the family of Lowther baronets. *Sir Christopher Lowther **Sir John Lowther, of Lowther (d. 1637) ***Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet, of Lowther, Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet (160 ...

in the 1830s – the 7th Earl of Lonsdale used the hall as his residence following the abandonment of

in 1937. Askam Hall became a

grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

building in 1968. After 2012, the Countess of Lonsdale converted it into a hotel. The manor was 'anciently' referred to as ''Ascum''. Many public houses, such as the Punch Bowl, have old beams with splits in them where coins are forced for luck. This practice may be linked to examples called "

wish tree A wish tree (or wishing tree) is a tree, usually distinguished by species, location or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. Postulants ma ...

s", often hawthorns, which are traditionally linked with fertility, as in "May blossom". The trunk and branches in these cases are covered with hundreds of coins that have been driven through the bark and into the wood. The local traditions are that a wish will be granted for each of the coins so treated. Another local custom is the throwing of coins from the bridge onto a boulder that lies below the water level. Getting the coin to stay on the rock gives the thrower good luck. These are examples of "

touch pieces A touch piece is a coin or medal believed to cure disease, bring good luck, influence people's behaviour, carry out a specific practical action, etc. What most touch pieces have in common is that they have to be touched or in close physical conta ...

". Obvious connections exist with water generally and the practice of throwing in coins to seek favours of the water spirits.

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to Bampton with a total population of 1,432.

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Askham
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Westmorland and Furness {{Cumbria-geo-stub

History and culture

Governance

See also

References

External links