Cumwhitton

There are no record repositories within the parish. Information on County Record Offices and Libraries generally may be found on our Cumberland Archives and Libraries web page. Additional records are at the University of Durham - Library Archives and Special Collections.

• History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, T.F. Bulmer, T.Bulmer & Co., Manchester, 1884. The Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society:
  • Farlam and Cumwhitton, T.H.B. Graham, 1918, N.S. Vol. 19.

"THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure, consisting of nave, chancel, and tower. The period of its first erection is not known, but a church occupied the spot when the Valor of Pope Nicholas was taken, in 1291, at which time it was returned as a rectory, valued at £8 14s. 6d. A few years later, when Edward II., in order to raise money laid a tax on church livings, Cumwhitton, or as it was then called Cumquintington, escaped on account of its poverty. This church was possessed of rectorial privileges until appropriated to the priory of Carlisle by one of the early lords. After the suppression of monastic establishments, all the church patronage, held by the prior of Carlisle, was transferred to the Dean and Chapter, who have since continued to exercise that privilege. The tithes were commuted in 1840 for a yearly rent-charge of £175, viz., great tithes for £105, and meal tithes £70. Hutchinson tells us that "the Dean and Chapter demise all the rectory of Cumwhitton, except the curate's house and garden, viz., all the glebe lands and meadows called Kirkcroft, tithes, oblations, &c., under the yearly rent of fifteen eskeps of haver meal, and 10s. in money, besides the curate's stipend of £10." The living is now worth £295, and is held by the Rev. William Maudsley. There is very little in the church requiring special mention. A small circular window of stained glass has been inserted in the south side to the memory of the Rev. John Leach, incumbent of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and member of a family resident in this parish for many generations ; and a new bell, raised by subscription, has been recently placed in the tower. The vicarage, erected about 50 years ago, is a very plain building, situated at the south end of the village." (Extract from Bulmer's 1884 History & Directory, cited above)

The original records and bishops transcripts are held in Carlisle RO, but readers can only access registers on microfilm.
The reference number links to the CASCat catalogue listing for all church records for the parish.

IGI batch numbers are those compiled by Hugh Wallis on Rootsweb (Hugh Wallis)  that  can be used to search directly in FamilySearch.
Alternatively try the Archers Software interface.

The FamilySearch Research Wiki page also indicates coverage on other resources, including paying and subscription access genealogical platforms.

• Geograph
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• A Description of Cumwhitton transcribed from T. Bulmer & Co's History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, 1884 by Don Noble.

• The transcription of the section for Cumwhitton from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Cumwhitton to another place.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NY506523 (Lat/Lon: 54.86303, -2.771147), Cumwhitton which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• Cumwhitton fell under the authority of the ancient diocese of Carlisle and wills prior to 1858 were proved in the consistory court there. Records from 1548 to 1858 include original wills, letters of administration and inventories, although there are significant gaps in the years before 1661. These are deposited with the CRO at Carlisle. Comprehensive indexes exist, at the Carlisle CRO, in card files easily accessible in the reading room. The indexes cover from 1617 to 1941, listing the year of probate and the residence of the deceased. This is extraordinarily helpful in distinguishing between many individuals of the same name. Microfilm of many of these records, and a partial typescript of the indexes, is available at the Kendal office of the CRO.
• The Province of York covered most of northern England, including this parish, and anyone who died leaving property in more than one diocese within the province would have their will proved in the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of York (PCY) or sometimes in the Chancery Court of the Archbishop of York. These records are now deposited with York University, Borthwick Institute of Historical Research.
• For probate from 1858 on, and general information, see our England - Probate page. However please note registered copy probate records for Cumberland are also available 1858-1941 at the Record Office in Carlisle.