Westmorland
is served by the Cumbria
Archive Service and the principal office relevant for the
county is: Kendal
Record Office, County Offices, Strickland Gate, KENDAL,
Cumbria LA9 4RQ
Telephone: +44 (0) 1539 773540
E-mail: kendal.record.office@cumbriacc.gov.uk
There is an ARCHON
directory Kendal RO detailing some of their holdings
However
there will also be some useful material at other record offices,
especially Probate
Records which will be found at Carlisle
(e-mail),
Preston,
York
and London. Other
relevant material might be found at Barrow
(e-mail).
The
Cumbria Archives catalogue
is available online.
The A2A site has
extracts from catalogues of record offices. There are also searchable
resources on the National
Archives site. These
include Westmorland Quarter Session records at Kendal. Individual names
are indexed. The
most useful library for genealogical material in Westmorland is Kendal
Library.
The Society
of Genealogists Library in London also has much useful
material.
The
essential book for family historians is Cumbrian Ancestors published by
and available from Cumbria
Archive Service. Also
Cumberland and Westmorland: a genealogical bibliography. Stuart
Raymond. 1993. Published Federation of Family History Societies. ISBN 1
872094 56 2 Westmorland
books can be searched in the catalogue of the LDS Family History Library
in Salt Lake City. Much
useful information can be found in Cumbria
FHS Publications including many transcriptions for the 1851
census. There is an index
to Newsletters The
Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological and Antiquarian Society
(CWAAS) has listing of its publications
and the contents (1997-) for its invaluable transactions.
These latter are held by several public libraries within Cumbria and
elswhere. Other sources of
publications and bookships are listed on Les Strong's EdenLinks
The
following books (record transcriptions) have been digitised on British
History Online;
- The
Later Records relating to North Westmorland or the Barony of Appleby
by J Curwin 1932
and has a wealth of information for North
Westmorland parishes
- Records relating to the Barony of Kendale
- Volume 1 William Farrer
& John F. Curwen (editors) (1923) CWAAS. Record Series, 4.
(20 townships of the parish of Kendal)
- Volume 2 William Farrer
& John F. Curwen (editors) (1924). CWAAS Record Series, 5.
(33 townships in the parishes of Grasmere, Windermere, Heversham,
Beetham, Burton and Kirby Lonsdale.)
- Volume 3 John F. Curwen
(editor) (1926) CWAAS Record Series, 6.
(the barony of
Kendale, plus records for individual townships supplementary to volumes
1 and 2.)
Biography
The
worthies of Westmorland or, Notable persons born in that
county since the reformation.
by George Atkinson. Published
in 1849, J. Robinson (London) is available as full-text on Internet
Archive
Worthies of Cumberland
and Westmorland on Steve Bulman's site
Cumberland
and Westmorland M.P.'s from the Restoration to the Reform Bill of 1867,
1660-1867.
by Richard Saul Ferguson Published in
1871, Bell 2nd Daldy (London) available full-text on OpenLibrary
Lords & Earls of
Westmorland; Gentlemen of Note from Magna Britannica et
Hibernia.Volume 6: Westmorland by Thomas Cox printed in 1731.
Earls
of Westmorland Wikipedia
The
ejected of 1662 in Cumberland and Westmorland their predecessors and
successors.
by Nightingale, B. Published in 1911,
Univ. Press (Manchester) is available on Open Library
Cemeteries (and
Monumental Inscriptions) MIs
for certain churchyards have been published in: Monumental Inscriptions
of Westmorland by E. Bellasis 1888-89
It is a 2 volume set
and a copy is availablefor example in Kendal Library.
Some parishes are transcribed and searchable on Westmorland
Papers. The transcripts for the other parishes are available
on this site from the respective parish pages. An
index of Monumental
Brasses in the county is available
Returns
for the national censuses of 1841 to 1901 are available on microfilm
from the usual places, including Kendal Library.
They are
searchable online at e.g. Ancestry.com
by subscribers. The 1901 census is available for a fee online
on the PRO
website The
summary
of census results for 2001 (38 pages) is available on the
Online Historical Population Reports site The
database of places on the
1891 census will aid locating the appropriate film.
The
British
1881 census is searchable on the LDS familysearch site, and
is also available on computer and microfiche at Mormon Family History
Centres and other libraries, and also available for purchase on CD-ROM.
Much
of the 1851 census has been transcribed by Cumbria
FHS and booklets can be purchased. Names appearing in these
transcripts are available in a name
index from Roland Grigg.. There is also 'North Westmorland -
An Index to the 1851 Census' compiled by David Lowis and Barbara Slack.
This indexes heads of households. For places on the 1851 census see the
place
index by Roland Grigg. There
was also a 'census' of 1787 (also known as the Constables' Census) the
surviving returnsof which are held at the Kendal Record Office of
Cumbria Archives Service. The Record Office reference is WQ/SP/C. They
are transcribed in Vital Statistics published by Curwen Archives Trust
1992. ISBN 1897590008.They contain names of all householders, their
families and tenants, and their occupations. There is an index
to the 1787 census on Edenlinks. There
are also lists of inhabitants of Westmorland parishes 1695. These
survive only for part of the Borough of Kendal and for Lonsdale Ward.
They contain the names of householders, their families and servants and
their occupations. They are held at Kendal RO and their reference is
WD/Ry Box 32. A card index is available. Though not actually a census, there are also
Protestation Oath records for 1641 which record the males over 18 who
swore an oath of allegiance (and those who didn't). These returns have
survived for the East and West wards and a transcript has been
published. The earliest "census" was the Domesday
Book which covered parts of Westmorland.
Ecclesiastical History etc
from Magna Britannica et Hibernia.Volume 6: Westmorland by Thomas Cox
printed in 1731. There
are some fine churches in Westmorland with work dating from Saxon and
Norman times to the present century.
Many pictures are now
available on this site and also on the Edenlinks site, on
Steve Bulman's Images
of Cumbria and churches
sites,
and included in Visit Cumbria's Churches of
Cumbria
County
Churches: Cumberland and Westmorland by J. Charles Cox
Published in 1913, G. Allen & company, ltd. (London)
For
brief descriptions see under the parish concerned, but for detailed
descriptions see: Salter
M. The Old Parish Churches of Cumbria. Folly Publications. 1998. ISBN
1871371356 Pevsner
N. The Buildings of Cumberland and Westmorland. 1967. Actual
church
plans are available online.
Parish
Registers will usually be in the Kendal Record Office,
as will the Bishop's Transcripts. There should also be copies at the
Carlisle Office. Microfilm versions should also be available through
LDS Family History Centres. Use
the normal sources for indexes and obtaining microfilms. In particular
the International Genealogical Index (IGI) is available on the Mormon
LDS Church Familysearch site, and Westmorland
parishes are searchable via Hugh
Wallis' interface. A list of IGI batch numbers is also
made available by 'Jake' Prescott. There
are also published Printed
Parish Registers available at the Society of Genealogists.
Some of these are available at other major UK libraries.
The registers for 4 Westmorland parishes are included in a parish
register index by Roland Grigg (Internet Archive).
Some are available on the Edenlinks
site. See
also Ted Wildy's UK Marriage
witness index entries for Westmorland
[ ftp ].
Diocese
of Carlisle Marriage License/Bonds are at Carlisle RO and
have been published by Cumbria FHS/Cumbria Archive service in 6 volumes:
1 (1668-1739), 2: 1740-1752, 3: 1753-1762, 4: 1763-1774, 5: 1775-1788, 6: 1789-1800 Older
church records include Westmorland Protestation Returns 1641-2 which
record the males over 18 who swore an oath of allegiance (and those who
didn't). These returns have survived for the East and West
wards and a transcript has been published by M A Faraday. There
are not many Roman Catholic records for Westmorland.
The
county was in Hexham Diocese in 1860 and had only 2 chapels: Kendal and
Dodding Green (records in Kendal record Office for 1762-1941).
The best source of details of 'early' RC records is Michael Gandy,
"Catholic Missions and Registers 1700-1880" vol. 5 North West England
2nd Ed. 1998 (ISBN 0 9528879 2 4). A
list of Papists
of Kendale 1650 is transcribed on EdenLinks. Noin-conformist
registers are usually deposited at the PRO in London. Microfilm copies
for many are available in the Kendal Record Office. Details
of Society of Friends are given on the Quaker
FHS Site
General
details on registration of births,
marriages and deaths and their indexes are provided on the
GENUKI England site. Brett
Langston has provided details of Westmorland
Registration Districts 1837-1930. Certificates
of birth, death and marriage can be obtained from the Superintendent
Registrar at Kendal
District Register Office.
[Ordering guidelines are given on
the Genuki Register Offices
webpage]
This
county was divided into two grand divisions called the Barony of
Westmorland and the Barony of Kendal. The former was divided into two
wards called East Ward and West Ward, and the latter comprised the
Kendal and Lonsdale Wards, forming the south-west part of the county.
Transcriptions of descriptions from Parsons & White 1829 are
given on Edenlinks.
Magna Britannica et Hibernia.Volume
6: Westmorland by Thomas Cox printed in 1731 includes
topography and natural history.
Description
of the county of Westmoreland by Fleming, Daniel
Sir Read Online D. Quaritch; [etc., etc.], 1882
available on OpenLibrary
Westmorland.
by Marr, John Edward (1909), University Press (Cambridge county
geography series) is available in full-text from Open Library
The
place-names of Cumberland and Westmorland. by Sedgefield,
Walter John
Published in 1915, University Press
(Manchester) is availables as full-text from Open Library
Historical
Guides
to the Lakes are available on a site maintained by the
Geography Department, Portsmouth University. Black's
Guide to the English Lakes of Cumberland and Westmorland by
Blacks, Edinburgh is available in Open Library
Legends
of Westmorland and the Lake district. Published in 1874,
Hamilton, Adams, and Co.; [etc., etc.] (London) is available in Open
Library
Old photos of Westmorland are available on the Francis Frith
site
Westmorland is now part of Cumbria and is
best-known for including part of the beautiful Lake District National
Park.
It contains the largest lake - Windermere - and
second highest mountain - Helvelleyn - in England.
Many
present day photographs are available on Visit Cumbria.
Links to Westmorland, Lake District
and Cumbria sites are provided.
A
number of printed directories exist covering or including the county.
There is a collection in Kendal Public Library covering 1829-1938.
The
Leicester University project Historicaldirectories.org
[select Westmorland] has facsimiles of a number of directories for the
county.
These include: - Pigot & Co.'s Directory, 1828-29. [includes
Westmorland]
- White's History, Directory &
Gazetteer of Cumberland & Westmorland, 1829
- Post
Office Directory of Westmorland, 1858
- Post Office
Directory of Cumberland & Westmorland, 1873
- History,
Topography & Directory of Westmorland, 1885
- Kelly's
Directory of Westmorland, 1894
- Kelly's
Directory of Westmorland, 1897
- Kelly's
Directory of Westmorland, 1906
- Kelly's Directory
of Westmorland, 1910
- Kelly's Directory of
Cumberland & Westmorland, 1914
Parson & White's Directory for 1829 is
indexed as Principal Inhabitants of Cumberland and Westmorland with
Furness 1829, R. Grigg, Ed., Beewood Coldell, 1988. ISBN: 1871418003
and still available on web archive: A
| B
| C
| D
| E
| F
| G
| H
| I
| J
| K
| L | M
| N
| O
| P
| Q
| R
| S
| T
to V | W
to Z
The
details for all parishes from this directory are transcribed on Edenlinks
site. Harriet
Martineau's Directory of the Lake District 1855 is transcribed by
Roland Grigg (available through the Wayback Machine Internet Arvhive):
A
to C | D
to H | I
to R | S
to Z These
and several other Cumbrian directories have been combined on Roland
Grigg's website (Internet Archive): . Westmorland
is included in Pigot's
Trade Directory 1830 searchable database.
Cumberland
& Westmorlabd directories are available on Your
Old Books and Maps site Publications
available for sale in microfiche format include: Pigots Directory of
Westmorland 1828/9. "Owners Of Land 1873"
available from MM
Publications, The White Cottage, The Street, Lidgate, Near Newmarket,
Suffolk. CB8 9PP priced at GBP £1-50 each.
[
Post free UK & Europe. Overseas add £1 to the
order. ]
Use
the national church
database to identify a particular place in Westmorland (or to
identify other places within a certain distance.
| Or search the place index for Westmorland (in the 1891
census). | | The
index includes "Registration District", "Registration Sub-district",
"Place", "PRO Piece Number" and "LDS Film Number". Enter the place-name
in the text-box and press the "Search" Button. For
places on the 1851 census see the place
index by Roland Grigg. Old
Cumbria Gazetteer Portsmouth Univ, Geography Dept. History and Gazetteer from
Magna Britannica et Hibernia.Volume 6: Westmorland by Thomas Cox
printed in 1731.
Gazetteer
of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 compiled at
the Centre for Metropolitan History
The
Ordnance
Survey site is useful for identifying and locating places.
There is also a useful map
site [for the whole of the UK] with a placename search
facility for locating places
Genealogy
Pedigrees
recorded at the heralds' visitations of the counties of Cumberland and
Westmorland
made by Richard St. George, Norry, king
of arms in 1615, and by William Dugdale, Norry, king of arms in 1666.
by Saint-George, Richard Sir Published in 1891, C. Thurman and sons
(Carlisle) available in OpenLibrary
Papers
and pedigrees mainly relating to Cumberland and Westmorland.
by William Jackson Published in 1892, Bemrose & sons, etc.]
(London, is available full-text on Internet Archive
A mail-list
for Westmorland genealogy is hosted and archived by
Rootsweb
History
Magna Britannica et Hibernia.
Volume 6: Westmorland
by Thomas Cox
45 pages, printed in 1731.
Transcription by S
Reveley, J Fisher and L Schoenwald. (Rootsweb Westmorland
Listmembers) (c) 2003 | "Westmorland is an inland
County, no where touching on the Sea, but bordering on the East on Part
of Yorkshire and the Bishoprick of Durham, on the South on Lancashire,
and on the West and North on Cumberland: It extendeth thirty Miles in
Length, but is not much above twenty-four Miles in Breadth, which
making it 120 Miles in Compass, it contains in it thirty-two large
Parishes, in which are a great Number of Chapels of Ease, eight
Marker-Towns, Six thousand five hundred and one Houses, Five hundred
and ten thousand Acres of Land, which is divided into two large
Baronies, viz. the Barony of Westmorland, which is a large Champian
Country, and the Barony of Kendale, which is full of Mountains, or as
they are called by the Inhabitants, Fells. These two Parts belong to
two Dioceses, viz. the former Carlisle, and the latter to Chester.
This County was Part of the large Country of the Brigantes,
of whom we having given a large Account in Cumberland, we shall
supersede any Description of them here, as we shall also of the
Northumbrian Kingdom established by the Saxons, of which this Shire was
a Part, because we have also set down the Succession of the Kings
thereof in Northumberland, to which we thought it most properly to
belong, because from that County it took its Name, and thither also we
refer our Reader.
How
the Conqueror, after England became perfectly subject to him, dealt
with this little County, our Historians are altogether silent. 'Tis
probable, it was so remote from his Eye, that he little regarded it;
and though his great Commanders were greedy to heap to themselves great
Inheritances from the Saxons Spoils; yet this being an hilly barren
Country, we do not find it disposed of to any, till the Reign of King
John, who rewarded the great Services of Robert de Vipont, who had been
with him at the memorable Battle of Mirabel, in which the French and
Poictovins received so terrible an Overthrow; with a Grant of the
Castles of Appleby and Burgh, and the whole Bailiwick of Westmorland,
to hold during the King's Pleasure. This Robert still continuing in the
King's Wars, had the next ensuing Year another Grant for his better
Support of the Premisses, together with the Services of all those that
held not by military Services, to hold to him and his Heirs, by the
Wife that he then had, by the Service of four Knights Fees for all
Service; provided, that he should not commit Waste in the Woods of
Winesell, nor hunt in them during the King's Life, except he were there
himself in Person, and saving to the King and his Heirs, all Pleas of
the Crown.
In the two Baronies of Westmorland and
Kendal before-mentioned, we find no Hundreds, but only Wards,
Deaneries, Parishes, and Constablewicks; all which but the Deaneries,
not being distinctly known to us, we are obliged to treat of the Towns
in an Alphabetical Order, putting the Market-Towns in capital Letters
for the more easy finding them. The Reason given by our Antiquaries,
why this County was not divided into Hundreds, Rapes or Wapentakes, as
all the other Counties of England are, is, because in antient Times
these Parts paid no Subsidies, being sufficiently charged in Border
Service against the Scots" |
History
and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland,
by Joseph Nicolson and Richard Burn, 1777 is available from Google Books
A
history of Westmorland by Richard Saul
Ferguson Published in 1894, E. Stock (London) is available
from Internet Archive
Bygone
Cumberland and Westmorland. by Daniel Scott Published in
1899, W. Andrews & co. (London) available on Internet Archive
Legends
of Westmorland and the Lake district. Published in 1874,
Hamilton, Adams, and Co.; [etc., etc.] (London) is available in Open
Library
Inventories,
Registers, Catalogues Some
of the county was included in the Domesday
Survey of 1086.
Feet
of Fines - abstracts on medieval.org.uk giving details of
conveyance of freehold property in Westmorland 1360-1485.
Information
on manors is available on Lancaster University's Cumbrian
Manorial Records website. The register is coming soon.
The Manorial
Documents Register can be searched by selecting Westmorland
as the county.
The
Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland & Cumberland by
Michael Waistell Taylor Published in 1892, T. Wilson is available on
Open Library
Maps Links
to web versions of maps of Westmorland and surrounding area from
several centuries are provided on
Facsimiles of C19th Ordnance Survey maps of Westmorland are
available on the Landmark Oldmaps
site. A Mordern
map of 1695 is available on Sarah Reveley's site. There
is also an undated
map by Mackenzie A
Boundary Commisioners' map of 1885 (Eyre & Spottiswoode) is
available on the londonancestor.com
site
Current
OS maps are available on the Ordnance
Survey site.
Links to Westmorland military history
sites are found elsewhere
Surname
frequency data is available in Cumbrian Surnames Part 1 and Part 2
| Newspaper Name | Place of publication |
BL Holdings |
| The Appleby Chronicle, Kirkby Stephen Reporter
and North Westmorland Journal. | Appleby | 1886-1886 |
| Cumberland & Westmorland Herald.-
archive website | Penrith | 1925 to date |
| Cumberland and Westmorland Advertiser and
Penrith Weekly Chronicle | Penrith | 1855-1898 |
| Cumberland and Westmorland Advertiser, and
Penrith Literary Chronicle. | Penrith | 1854-1855 |
| The Kendal Mercury and Westmorland Advertiser. |
Kendal |
1834-1840 |
| The
Kendal Mercury and Northern Advertiser | Kendal | 1840-1880 |
| The Lake District Herald, etc. | Penrith |
1920
to date | | The Lancaster Gazetteer, and
General Advertiser for Lancashire, Westmorland, etc. | Lancaster |
1801-1803 |
| Mid Cumberland and North Westmorland Herald |
Penrith |
1891-1925 |
| Penrith Herald, and East Cumberland and
Westmorland News | Penrith | 1869-1891 |
| Penrith and District Times. | Penrith |
1898-1898 |
| Penrith Times and Cumberland and Westmorland
Advertiser. | Penrith | 1898-1901 |
| Westmorland Advertiser and Kendal Chronicle. |
Kendal |
1811-1834 |
| The Westmorland Gazette, etc.. - website |
Kendal |
1818
to date | | The Westmorland Gazette, etc. |
Kendal |
1818-1826 |
| The Westmorland Journal. | Kendal |
1875-1875 |
| Westmorland Journal and
Kendal Guardian. | Kendal | 1878-1880 |
| Westmorland Mercury and Times. | Kendal |
1913-1917 |
These can be searched in the British
Library newspaper catalogue for further BL holding details.
An extensive list of Cumberland,
Westmorland and Furness newspapers and their holdings is
available on Cumbria County Council's eLibrary. A list is published by CWAAS: A Hand-list of
newspapers published in Cumberland, Westmorland & North
Lancashire. By F. Barnes & J.L. Hobbs (1951, PB, ISBN 1 873124
07 0) (£1/£1.50) Transcribed items are being added to Cumberland and Westmorland
Newspaper Transcriptions
The Westmorland Gazette archive is searchable on the British Newspaper Archive (articles downloadable for a fee)
Occupations
Tables
for occupations recorded in censuses e.g. for 1841
and 1901
are given on the Online Historical Population Reports site
Most
employment within the county were connected with agriculture
Westmorland
agriculture, 1800-1900 by Frank W. Garnett Published in 1912,
T. Wilson (Kendal) is available on Internet Archive
a selective bibliography
of other occupations is available.
Poor Houses / Poor Law
Poor
Law Unions existed for East
Ward, Kendal
and West
Ward documented on Peter Higginbotham's site.
Details are also given on Ross Brett's website for East
Ward and Kendal (internet
archive)
Population
Westmorland with only 65,010 inhabitants had
the third lowest population in England in 1871. Population
tables and statistics are provided on this site.
And also other statistics
on the VisionOfBritain site.
Probate
Records Most
wills for the North of the County will be in the Carlisle
R.O. as this is the Diocesan office for the Carlisle Diocese.
Wills
for the Southern half of Westmorland will also be at Carlisle
since about 1858 but before that will be at the Preston
R.O. as it was in the Diocese of Chester until that time.
Being
situated in the Province of York, some probate material relevant to the
whole of the county will be in the Borthwick
Institute in York. The
booklet Index and Extracts of Cumbrians in Wills proved at the P.C.C.
is published by Cumbria
FHS and includes wills for Westmerians available in
the National
Archives in London.
North
country wills 1383-1558 Church of England. Province
of Canterbury. Prerogative Court. Andrews & Co., 1908-
available on Internet Archive
Taxation
Name lists have been transcribed on EdenLinks
for: A
transcription is available for Land
Tax Commissioners, 1836
This
page last updated November 2012 | 
