The village is located on the East side of the River Eden which runs through Cumwhitton to Solway Firth.

The east window is probably Anglo-Saxon; the South wall is Norman; and the north arcade of three bays was built around 1200.

A major excavation to record this important site was then funded by English Heritage, as it was under immediate threat from plough damage.

In total, six burials were found, dating to the early tenth century, though almost no skeletal material survived as a result of the acidic nature of the soil.

All the burials were richly furnished, and contained a wide range of artefacts, including swords, spearheads, spurs, knives, and numerous beads and other grave goods, implying that they were not Christian.

However other items, such as the buckle sets, suggest regional manufacture and provide the first evidence for either an individual craftsman or workshop in the local area.

[9] The excavations were published in 2014 by Oxford Archaeology North in their Lancaster Imprints series: Shadows in the Sand: Excavation of a Viking-age cemetery at Cumwhitton, Cumbria, by Caroline Paterson, Adam J Parsons, Rachel M Newman, Nick Johnson, and Christine Howard Davis, Lancaster.

[12] Thirty-three pieces of Blacklock's work are on display at the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle.