STANWIX, Cumberland

STANWIX township comprises an area of 495 acres which are assessed to the poor at £5,530. Its name is highly suggestive whilst the surrounding villages were composed of clay dabins, a mode of building as we have already seen but recently discontinued, there was here on the banks of the Eden a town of small dwellings, Stanwic A.S. 'stone town', and therefore one of considerable consequence at an early period."

[Description from T. Bulmer & Co's History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, 1884]

Archives and Libraries Bibliography Church History Church Records

Civil Registration Directories Gazetteers Probate Records

Archives and Libraries

• 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.

Bibliography

• History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, T.F. Bulmer, T.Bulmer & Co., Manchester, 1884.

• The Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society:
  • The Parish of Stanwix, Woods, J.R., 1891, O.S. 11

Church History

• An account of the Church History of Stanwix, transcribed from T. Bulmer & Co's History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, 1884 by Don Noble.

Church Records

• The following church records are available at the Carlisle office of the Cumbria Archive Service:

  Church of England, Stanwix, St. Michael's (CRO Reference: PR117)

  Baptisms	Marriage	Banns	Burial	Bishops Trans
  1662-1966	1693-1968	1754-1983	1662-1915	1668-1884

  Church of England, Houghton (CRO Reference: PR184)

  Baptisms	Marriage	Burial	Bishops Trans
  1841-1911	1868-1992	1841-1921	1840-1877

  Methodists, Houghton (Wes):

  	Baptisms
  Chapel Registers	1894-1941

Civil Registration

• Beginning 1 July 1837, births, deaths and marriages, regardless of religious affiliation, were recorded with Civil Registration Offices in Cumbria, as in the rest of England. Copies of certificates recording these events may be purchased.

Directories

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

Gazetteers

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

Probate Records

• Stanwix 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.

[Page originated by Don Noble on 29 Nov 1997 and updated 2 Sep 2004 - Phil Stringer]