CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY......Part IV ADDINGHAM CHURCH AND CROSS. The next draw-up was at Addingham Church. In the churchyard there is a very interesting, but rude, stone cross. It has evidentally been taller originally. The sculpture is fine, but obscure; it is nearly the same as that of the cross at Gosforth. DR. SIMPSON said the Society must have it photographed; as it would be impossible to fix the date until this and similar crosses had been classified and compared. MR. STALKER, was of opinion that it contained an inscription. Entering the church itself, we found the chancel quite new. MR. LEES produced the old hand bell, and pointed to the little window recess out of which it had probably been rung on the elevation of the host in pre-Reformation days. He said there were plenty of old pictures showing the priest or an assistant in the act of ringing the bell in this way. DR. SIMPSON remarked that these window recesses were anciently used for many purposes. One was that of displaying a torch after a funeral, in order to frighten off the evil spirits. KIRKOSWALD CASTLE. At Kirkoswald there was another stay, to inspect the striking remains of the old Castle and Church. The former was described by DR. TAYLOR. But first he gave a short sketch of its history. On the authority of DR. TODD, the Castle of Kirkoswald is said to have been founded originally in the year 1202 by RANDOLPH EGAIN. By a marriage of an heiress of the EGAINS, it passed to the famous SIR HUGH de MORVILLE, who was one of the four Knights concerned in the assassination of THOMAS A. BECKETT, and who, in the reign of KING JOHN, obtained licence to fortify the Castle and enclose the park. From the MORVILLES it decended to the MULTONS, by whom, in the reign of EDWARD II, it was further enlarged and fortified. In the seventh year of EDWARD II, the Castle and manor of Kirkoswald, the barony of Gilsland, and other large possessions, by the daughter and heiress of THOMAS de MULTON, were transferred by marriage to RALPH, BARON OF DACRE, Dacre Castle. It wa during the 15th and 16th centuries, during its occupation by the powerful family of the DACRES, that the castle rose to its full pride and magnificence, and about the year 1500 it received its last improvement from THOMAS de DACRE, who “encompassed it with a large ditch for its better security, and beautified it at great expense”. In the rein of RICHARD III, a division of the vast possessions of the DACRES ensued, and the Castle of Kirkoswald passed to the branch known as the DACRES OF THE SOUTH, to the FIENNES and the LEONARDS, the last of whom was created EARL OF SUSSEX by CHARLES II – having married an illegitimate daughter of that king by the DUCHESS OF CLEVELAND – and on his death, in 1715, the castle and the property all round was sold to the MUSGRAVES, in whose possession it now was. It was during the decadence of the DACRES that the spoliation of the castle began, some of its finest decorations being removed to Naworth early in the 17th century. The destruction of the walls has been so complete, that it is difficult to form a plan of the wards adn chambers of the castle. The site is about a quarter of a mile to the south-east of the village, and the approach is by an ancient causeway. The moat, which is broad, and must have been from twelve to twenty feet deep, encloses a level area of about an acre and three quarters, in the centre of which stands the fortress. The plan of the Castle seems to have been quadrangular, about 150 feet square, yet not regular nor complete, seeing that the line of the wall re-enters at the south-east, leaving a receangular recess. Two towers still stand at the angles of the south face. .......Part V will follow............ ___________________________ Barb, Ontario, Canada.