Wigton

• 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:
  • Wigton Old Church, Collingwood, William, 1927, N.S. Vol. 28.
• History of Wigton (Cumberland), from its origin to the close of the Nineteenth Century, Carrick, T.W., 1949, Carlisle, Thurnam.
• The Registers of Wigton,The Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society, 2 Vols. P.R.S. 35 (1604-1727) & 37 (1728-1779), 1950. These are available on microfilm from Mormon Family History Centers, films no's. Vol. 1: 0962150, item 4 and Vol 2: 0962151, item 1.
• The monumental inscriptions of the parish church and churchyard and the Congregational burial ground, Wigton, Wilson, James, Wigton 1892. (568 MI's.) This is available on microfilm from Mormon Family History Centers, film no. 0823765, item 6.
• Over a period of approximately 5 years in the 1980s, a series of 61 articles appeared in Cumbria magazine under the title The Cottage on The Fell

A visit to Wigton is not complete without a visit to the parish church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. In AD 1100 the first church at Wigton was built and endowed by Odard de Logis who was Sheriff of Carlisle. During the early part of the 14th Century the Scots raided into Cumberland and as a consequence the church was greatly damaged. The present church was re-built in the late 1700s. Since that time general refurbishment of the church has taken place at intervals. The church houses some of the most beautiful stained-glass windows.

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

Transcriptions of Wigton Bishops Transcripts are available from the "Cumberland Roots" (archived) website. 

• Geograph
• Flickr

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

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

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NY255483 (Lat/Lon: 54.823979, -3.161082), Wigton 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.

• Wigton 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.