Lonsdale and Kendal within the archdeaconry of Richmond. The barony of Appleby, which had been bestowed by Henry I. in the see of Carlisle, formed in 1291 the deanery of Westmorland within the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle. The barony of Kendal was placed by Henry VIII. in his new diocese of Chester, of which it remained a part until in 1856 it was constituted the archdeaconry of Westmorland within the diocese of Carlisle. In 1859 the Westmorland portion of the archdeaconry of Carlisle was subdivided into the deaneries of Appleby, Kirkby Stephen and Lowther; and the additional deanery of Ambleside was formed within the archdeaconry of Westmorland. The only religious foundation of any importance in Westmorland was the Premonstratensian house at Shap founded by Thomas, son of Gospatric, in the 12th century.
The early political history of Westmorland after the Conquest is a record of continuous inroads and devastations from the Scots. In the Scottish invasion of the northern counties which followed the battle of Bannockburn Brough and Appleby were burnt, and the county was twice harried by Robert Bruce in the ensuing years. In 1385 a battle was fought at Hoff near Appleby against the Scots under Earl Douglas, and in 1388, after Otterburn, the Scots sacked Appleby with such effect that nine tenths of it lay in ruins and was never rebuilt. In the Wars of the Roses, Westmorland, under the Clifford influence, inclined to favour the Lancastrian cause, but was not actively concerned in the struggle. In the Civil War of the 17th century the chief families of the county were royalist, and in 1641 Anne, countess of Pembroke, hereditary high sheriff of the county, garrisoned Appleby Castle for the king, placing it in charge of Sir Philip Musgrave, the colonel of the train-bands of Westmorland and Cumberland. In 1642 a memorial was presented to Charles signed by nearly 5000 of the inhabitants of Westmorland and Cumberland protesting their loyalty and readiness to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in his service. Appleby Castle surrendered in 1648, but the strength of the royalist feeling was shown in the joy which greeted the news of the Restoration, the mayor of Appleby publicly destroying the charter which the town had received from Cromwell. The Jacobite rising of 1745 found many adherents in Westmorland, and a skirmish took place on Clifton Moor between the forces of Lord George Murray and the duke of Cumberland.
The economic development of Westmorland, both on account of natural disadvantages and of the ravages of border strife, has been slow and unimportant; the rugged and barren nature of the ground being unfavourable to agricultural prosperity, while the lack of fuel hindered the growth of manufactures. Sheep-farming was carried on in the moorland districts, however, and the Premonstratensian house at Shap supplied wool to the Florentine and Flemish markets in the 13th and 14th centuries. The clothing industry, which spread from Kendal to the surrounding districts, is said to have been introduced by one John Kempe of Flanders, who settled there in the reign of Edward III., and a statute of 1465 alludes to cloths of a distinct make being manufactured at Kendal. In 1589 the county suffered severely from the ravages of the plague, 2500 deaths being recorded in the deanery of Kendal alone. Speed, writing in the 17th century, says of Westmorland that “it is not commended either for plenty of corn or cattle, being neither stored with arable grounds to bring forth the one, nor pasturage to lead up the other; the principal profit that the people of this province raise unto themselves is by clothing.” The comb manufacture was established at Kendal in 1700, and about the same time the development of the boot and shoe trade to some extent supplemented the loss consequent on the decline of the clothing industry. There were two paper-mills at Milnthorpe in 1777, one of which existed eighty years before.
Westmorland returned two knights for the county to the parliament of 1290, and in 1295 two burgesses for the borough of Appleby. Under the Reform Act of 1832 Appleby was disfranchised and Kendal returned one member.
Antiquities.—Notable ecclesiastical buildings are almost entirely wanting in Westmorland, though mention may be made of the ruins of Shap Abbey, which lies near the small market town of that name in the bleak upper valley of the Lowther. The Perpendicular western tower and other fragments remain. Late Norman work is preserved in some of the churches, as at Kirkby Lonsdale, and in a few castles. Among the castles, those at Appleby, Brough, Brougham and Kendal are notable, but examples are numerous. Among old houses, Levens Hall dates from the 16th century, and Sizergh Hall embodies part of an ancient castle; both are in the Kendal district. The formal gardens at Levens Hall are remarkable. Lowther Castle, near Penrith, the seat of the earl of Lonsdale, is a fine modern mansion, in a Gothic style more satisfactory in broad effect than in detail.
See Joseph Nicholson and Richard Burn, The History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland (2 vols., London, 1777); William Whellan, The History and Topography of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland (Pontefract, 1860); Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeologiral Society (Kendal, 1870, &c.); R. S . Ferguson, History of Westmorland (Popular County Histories, 1894); Sir D. Fleming, Description of Westmorland (1671); T. Gibson, Legends and Notes on Places of North Westmorland (London, 1887); M. W. Taylor, Manorial Halls of Westmorland (Kendal, 1892); T. Ellwood, Landnama Book of Iceland as it illustrates the Dialect and Antiquities of Westmorland (Kendal, 1894); Victoria County History, Westmorland.
WESTON, THOMAS (1737—1776), English actor, was the son of a cook. His first London appearance was about 1759, and from 1763 until his death he was admitted to be the most amusing comedian on the English stage. Foote wrote for him the part of Jerry Sneak in the Mayor of Garratt. Abel Drugger in the Alchemist was one of his famous performances; and Garrick, who also played this part, praised him highly for it.
WESTON-SUPER-MARE, a seaside resort in the Wells parliamentary division of Somersetshire, England, on the Bristol Channel, 13712 m. W. by S. of London by the Great Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901), 19,048. It is built partly on level ground near the shore, and partly on the slopes of Worlebury Hill, which aids in giving shelter from the north and east. Among the fir-clad slopes of the neighbourhood, which command a fine view of the Welsh hills across the Channel, there are many beautiful walks and drives. An esplanade extends for about 3 m., and public gardens have been laid out on Worlebury Hill, from the far end of which a long pier projects, linking the rocky islet of Birnbeck to the town. Grove Park, once the manor house, is owned by the council, and is used as a free library, its grounds being open. Other institutions include a museum opened in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and the West of England Sanatorium, to which two large conservatories are attached, as a winter-garden for invalids. The town has long been famous for its potteries, and there are mineral water-works and fisheries. Large quantities of sprats are caught. Intermittent springs exist in Weston, which are affected by the ebb and flow of the tide.
WEST ORANGE, a town of Essex county, New Jersey, U.S.A., in the N.E. part of the state, about 13 m. W. of New York City. Pop. (1890) 4358, (1900) 6589 (1772 foreign-born); (1905, state census) 7872; (1910) 10,980. It is served by the Orange branch of the Erie railroad, and is connected with neighbouring towns and cities by electric hues. The town has an area of about 7 sq. m. It is crossed in a N.E. and S.W. direction by two ridges—the First (also called the Orange or Watchung) Mountain and the Second Mountain. Eagle Rock (about 650 ft.), on the summit of First Mountain, commands a splendid view. On the eastern slope of First Mountain are Hutton Park, containing the grounds of the Essex County Country Club, and Llewellyn Park, a beautiful residential tract of 750 acres, named in honour of its originator, Llewellyn S. Haskell (1815—1872). West Orange has various manufactures, including phonographs, lawn mowers and felt hats. In 1862 parts of the townships of Orange, Caldwell and Livingston were united into a new township named Fairmount. In 1863 another part of Orange was added and the name of the new township was changed to West Orange. In 1900 West Orange was chartered as a town.
See H. Whittemore, The Founders and Builders of the Oranges (Newark, 1896).
