ASKHAM, a township and a parish in West Ward district, Westmoreland. The township lies pleasantly on the Lowther river, opposite Lowther Castle, 2½ miles SW of Clifton r. station, and 5 S of Penrith; and it has a post office under Penrith. Real property, £1,822. Pop., 323. Houses, 67. The parish-includes also the township of Helton. Acres, 4,327. Real property, £3,469. Pop., 503. Houses, 105. Askham manor belongs to the Earl of Lonsdale; and there is another manor. Askham Hall, on Askham manor, is a gloomy edifice of 1574, with embattled roof. Limestone is quarried. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £180.* Patron, the Earl of Lonsdale. The church is good; and there are charities £21.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))