Beetham, Westmoreland

Description
Beetham, a township and a parish in Westmoreland. The township lies on the river Beetha, 1 1/2 mile S of Milnthorpe. Acreage, 5170; population of the civil parish, 1196; of the ecclesiastical, 631. The parish extends down both sides of the river Kent to Morecambe Bay; includes the townships of Farleton, Haverbrack, Witherslack, and Methop-with-Ulpha; is traversed by the Lancaster and Carlisle and the Furness railways; and contains the village of Amside, with a station on the latter railway, and a post office tinder Milnthorpe. The surface is diversified, hilly, and picturesque. Slate and limestone occur, and paper-making is carried on. Beetham Hall, formerly the seat of the Betham family, now the property of the Earl of Derby, was a fine castellated mansion, but is in ruins. Cappleside House also was a great mansion, with 117 feet of frontage, but is likewise in ruins. The towers of Arnside and Holslack, supposed to have been erected to guard the bay of Morecambe, make a conspicuous figure, but are also in ruins. The living is a discharged vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle; gross value, £219 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Carlisle. The church is a neat edifice, and contains monuments of the Betham and Wilson families, and a manuscript history of the parish, written by the vicar Hutton. The perpetual curacy of Witherslack is a separate benefice. A grammar school, founded by Dean Barwick, has an endowed income of about £40 per annum, and there are some large charities.