Not to be confused with Lethe

Lethe

In Greek mythology, Lethe was one of the five rivers of Hades. Also known as the Ameles potamos , the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld, where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness...

.

Leath was one of the wards of the ancient county

Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...

 of Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

 in north west England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Cumberland unlike most other English counties was divided into wards rather than hundreds

Hundred (division)

A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...

.

The ward was bounded on the south by Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

, the north by Cumberland

Cumberland (ward)

The ward of Cumberland was one of the ancient divisions of the historic county of Cumberland, England. In most other counties these divisions were called hundreds or Wapentakes.The ward included Carlisle and Wigton and took in parts of Inglewood Forest...

 and Eskdale wards, the east by the counties of Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

 and Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

 and on the west by the wards of Allerdale above Derwent and Allerdale below Derwent.

The ward largely corresponds to that part of the modern Eden District

Eden, Cumbria

Eden is a local government district in Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Penrith. It is named after the River Eden which flows north through the district toward Carlisle....

 that lies within Cumberland that is the former Penrith

Penrith, Cumbria

Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....

 urban

Urban district

In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....

 and rural

Penrith Rural District

Penrith was a rural district within the administrative county of Cumberland, England that existed from 1894 to 1974 with slight boundary changes in 1934....

 districts and the Alston with Garrigill Rural District.

Market town

Market town

Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

s in the ward were Penrith (the largest settlement and seat of local government), Kirkoswald

Kirkoswald, Cumbria

The village, civil parish and former market town of Kirkoswald lies in the Lower Eden Valley of Cumbria, formerly Cumberland, about from Penrith. The village is usually referred to locally as KO....

 and Alston

Alston, Cumbria

Alston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...

. At one time the village of Greystoke

Greystoke, Cumbria

Greystoke is a village and civil parish on the edge of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England, about west of Penrith. The village centres on a green surrounded by stone houses and cottages.-Buildings:...

 had held markets.

A large part of the ward once made up the main part of the Royal hunting ground

Royal forest

A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...

 known as Inglewood Forest

Inglewood Forest

Inglewood Forest is the name now given on maps to a large tract of mainly arable and dairy farm land with a few small woodland areas between Carlisle and Penrith in the English non-metropolitan county of Cumbria or ancient county of Cumberland....

 which was subject to Forest Laws up until the reign of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

.

The manors

Manorialism

Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

 of Penrith, Langwathby

Langwathby

Langwathby is a village and civil parish in northern Cumbria, England. It is situated about north east of Penrith on the A686 road. The village lies on the banks of the River Eden....

, Castle Sowerby

Castle Sowerby

Castle Sowerby is a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. It has a population of 337, and includes the hamlets of How Hill, Millhouse, Newlands, Sour Nook, Southernby and Sowerby Row....

 and Great Salkeld

Great Salkeld

Great Salkeld is a small village and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, a few miles to the north east of Penrith.The village is believed to have been connected at one time by a bridge over the River Eden to Little Salkeld...

 were part of the royal estate known as the Honour

Honour

Honour or honor is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or corporate body such as a family, school, regiment or nation...

 of Penrith which eventually passed into the hands of the Dukes of Devonshire

Duke of Devonshire

Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...

.