Ainstable, Cumberland

Description
Ainstable, a village and a parish in Cumberland, between the Croglin and the Eden rivers, 2 miles from Armathwaite railway station, and 11 N by E of Penrith. It is divided into the High and Low quarters, and includes the hamlet of Ruckcroft. It has a post office under Kirkoswald (R.S.O.); Armathwaite is the money order and telegraph office. Acreage, 4433; population, 439. A Benedictine nunnery was founded here by William Rufus, and its site, on high ground, is now marked by a stone pillar. Nunnery, a mansion taking name from it, stands on lower adjacent ground, amid scenery which is highly picturesque, and has been sung by Wordsworth. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle; value, about £320. The church was built from the Plumpton Walls, contains a tomb of John de Deutorem, and is in good condition. Dr John Leake, the founder of the Westminster Lying-in Hospital, was a native.