# Leath

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Not to be confused with [Leith](/source/Leith) or [Lethe](/source/Lethe).

For the surname and other uses, see [Leath (surname)](/source/Leath_(surname)).

**Leath** was one of the [wards](/source/Ward_(politics)) of the [historic county](/source/Historic_counties_of_England) of [Cumberland](/source/Cumberland) in north west [England](/source/England). Unlike most other English counties, Cumberland was divided into wards rather than [hundreds](/source/Hundred_(division)).

The ward was bounded on the south by [Westmorland](/source/Westmorland), the north by [Cumberland](/source/Cumberland_(ward)) and [Eskdale](/source/Eskdale_(ward)) wards, the east by the counties of [Northumberland](/source/Northumberland) and [Durham](/source/County_Durham) and on the west by the wards of [Allerdale above Derwent](/source/Allerdale_above_Derwent) and [Allerdale below Derwent](/source/Allerdale_below_Derwent).

In the [Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales](/source/Imperial_Gazetteer_of_England_and_Wales) (1870–72) [John Marius Wilson](/source/John_Marius_Wilson) described Leath:

*LEATH, a ward in Cumberland; bounded by Northumberland, Durham, and Westmoreland, and by the wards of Eskdale and Allerdale; and containing Addingham parish, twenty other parishes, and part of another. Acres, 216,296. Pop. in 1851, 29,103; in 1861, 28,675. Houses, 5,819.*[1]

The ward largely corresponds to that part of the modern [Eden District](/source/Eden,_Cumbria) that lies within Cumberland that is the former [Penrith](/source/Penrith,_Cumbria) [urban](/source/Urban_district_(Great_Britain_and_Ireland)) and [rural](/source/Penrith_Rural_District) districts and the [Alston with Garrigill Rural District](/source/Alston_with_Garrigill_Rural_District).

[Market towns](/source/Market_town) in the ward were Penrith (the largest settlement and seat of local government), [Kirkoswald](/source/Kirkoswald,_Cumbria) and [Alston](/source/Alston,_Cumbria). At one time, the village of [Greystoke](/source/Greystoke,_Cumbria) had held markets.

A large part of the ward once made up the main part of the [Royal hunting ground](/source/Royal_Forest) known as [Inglewood Forest](/source/Inglewood_Forest), which was subject to Forest Laws up until the reign of [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII_of_England).

The [manors](/source/Manorialism) of Penrith, [Langwathby](/source/Langwathby), [Castle Sowerby](/source/Castle_Sowerby) and [Great Salkeld](/source/Great_Salkeld) and at times [Glassonby](/source/Glassonby) and [Gamblesby](/source/Gamblesby) were part of the royal estate known as the [Honour](/source/Honour) of Penrith, which eventually passed into the hands of the [Dukes of Devonshire](/source/Duke_of_Devonshire).

## References

1. ["A Vision of Britain Through Time: Leath"](http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20576). *www.visionofbritain.co.uk*. GB Historical GIS/University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leath) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leath?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.