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Barton

Old undated map showing location of parish by William Mackenzie, scanned by Sarah Reveley. Click for full version of whole county (n.b. 700KB to download)."The parish of Barton, at least a great part of it, anciently belonged to the barony of Kendal, and was in the hands of the Lancasters barons of Kendal; a branch of which family removed into this parish, and settled at Sockbridge, and continued there for many generations, until that branch ended in daughters; and the posterity of the eldest of those daughters enjoy the manor of Sockbridge, and divers other possessions in the said parish to this day [1777].

It is bounded (beginning at the middle of the river Eamont over against the church, and descending down the river) by the parishes of Dacre and Penrith in the county of Cumberland on the West and North, to the place where the river Lowther runs in. Thence, ascending the river Lowther, it is bounded on the East by the parish of Brougham up to Lowther bridge. Thence bounded further on the East by the parishes of Clifton, Lowther, Askham, and Bampton. On the South, and again towards the West, by the parishes of Kendal and Gresmere in the barony of Kendale, and by the parishes of Crosthwaite and Greystock in Cumberland; and contains in the whole about 115 families, whereof there are only three or four dissenters.

The church is dedicated to St. Michael; and is a vicarage.

A considerable part of Ulleswater, from the middle eastward, is within the manor of Barton... At the head of the said water, above Patterdale, lies the manor of Hartsop, probably so denominated from abounding with deer anciently... Descending by the water from Hartsop, we come to Patterdale, so called probably from St. Patrick, to whom the chapel seems to be dedicated. For in the bishop's register it is called Patrickdale... And nigh unto the chapel is a well called St. Patrick's well. This dale is also part of the ancient barony of Kendal.... Higher up.. is Deepdale, so called from its situation; where there are about ten families. [in 1777]

Martindale is so denominated probably from another species of beasts of venary, namely the martern, valuable for its fur. This place is separated from Patterdale by an high hill called Boredale. Martindale has a small chapel, about 5 miles distant from the church towards the south-west.

Pooley, a village at the foot of Ulleswater, taketh its name undoubtedly from that great pool or lake. The village contains about ten families. [in 1777]

The manor of Sockbridge contains in it the hamlets of Sockbridge, Tirrel, and Thorp. The village of Sockbridge lies west of the church, and contains about 15 families. Tirrel, a little south-east of Sockbridge, contains about 10 families. And the village of Thorp is a little west from Sockbridge, and contains about 4 or 5 families. [in 1777]

The hamlet of Winder (so called perhaps from its height and exposure) is part of it in the manor of Sockbridge, and part in Barton. A little below Sockbridge, on the same side of the river Eamont, is Yanwith or Yanwath (perhaps so called from some wath or ford found there, by way of distinction from the village called the Bridge a little below). The village of Yanwath contains about 12 families [in 1777].

Eamont Bridge is a small village, containing about 12 families, [in 1777]. It is so called from a fair stone bridge over the river Eamont. "

Nicolson and Burn: The history and antiquities of the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland. 1777. Transcribed by Anne Nichols.

Cemeteries

Monumental inscriptions were transcribed in Monumental Inscriptions of Westmorland by E. Bellasis 1888-89 and are available on Westmorland Papers.

Census

Returns survive for Barton itself in the 'census' of 1787 and 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. There are trancriptions on EdenLinks for

Census returns are available from the usual sources for 1841-1901.

Transcripts are available on the Barton Banter site.

Transcript and index for 1851 has been published by the Cumbria Family History Society and also in 'North Westmorland - An Index to the 1851 Census' compiled by David Lowis and Barbara Slack.

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Church History

Click here for picture of St Michael's church by Les Strong St Michael.
Central tower with barrel-vaulted Norman lower stage. Much other Norman work in nave and chancel. South and North aisles of C13th. Porch, and stables of C17th.
Click here for picture of Pooley Bridge Chapel by Les Strong
St Paul.
Chapel. Pooley Bridge.

Church Records

The parish records and BTs are held at the Kendal Record Office of Cumbria Archives Service. The Record Office reference is WPR93

Baptism registers 1676-1876
Marriage registers 1676-1961
Banns registers 1754-1949
Burial registers 1676-1862
Bishops transcripts 1666-1877

For searching on www.familysearch.org see Jake Prescott's list of IGI batch numbers.

Transcripts are available on the Barton Banter site.

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Directories

The details for the parish from the Parson & White's Directory for 1829 are transcribed on Edenlinks site.

A trade directory of 1858 is transcribed on Barton Banter.

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Description and Travel

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History

Barton is O.E. bere-tun grange for bear (barley)

"Barton, or as it is called in our Historians, Barton-Kirk, a Village
situate on the River Eimot, almost at its coming out of the Lake called Ulleswater. The Parish wherein it is, is remarkably large, for it reaches from the Bounds of Rydal and Ambleside on the South to the River Loder, or Lowther, on the North fifteen or sixteen Miles. The Lordship of this Town did most antiently belong to the Lord Dacre of the North, for Ranulph de Dacre died possessed of it 13 Edw. III. His Posterity enjoyed it divers Successions, till Ranulph Lord Dacre, Brother of Thomas late Lord Dacre, firmly adhering to the House of Lancaster against the House of York, and being slain in Towton-field, by which Victory King Edward IV obtained the Throne, was attainted in the following Parliament, and all his Estates being forfeited to the Crown, that King gave them all to Sir Richard Fienes, or Fenys, his Chamberlain, who had married Joan the Daughter and sole Heir of the above mentioned Thomas Lord Dacre, accepting and declaring him by his Letters Patent Lord Dacre, and by his Grant settling upon him and his Wife Joan, and the Heirs of their Bodies, this Manor, and all other the Lands of Thomas Lord Dacre her Father, by the Attainder of the late Lord Dacre Ranulph, her Uncle. In this Family of Fienes this Lordship continued till 36 Eliz. Margaret Fienes transferred it by Marriage to Sampson Leonard, Esq: who thereupon claimed the Barony of Dacres, and obtained it.
This Place is famous for the Births of two great Men, viz. Dr. Gerard Langbain, who from a poor Scholar in Queens College, Oxford, became first Fellow of the said House, where he was so eminent for all Kinds of Learning, and especially of Antiquities, that he was chosen by the University Keeper of the Archives or Records in 1644, and the next Year after Provost of his College; and in June following proceeded Doctor of Divinity. He was of a great Esteem for his Honesty and Skill in satisfying Doubts and composing Controversies. His great Learning rendered him acceptable to Archbishop Usher, Selden, and other Prodigies of Literature of his Time, and his Piety and publick Spiritness to all that knew him. He wrote several Things, but that which deserves to preserve his Memory here is, that a little before his Death, he settled twenty-four Pounds per Annum upon the Free-School of this Town, towards which he owned, that he had received twenty Pounds of a certain Doctor in Oxford, who desired to have his Name concealed. He died Febr. 10 1657-8.
Dr. William Lancaster, late Provost also of the same College, was a Native of this Place, and on that Account, 'tis probable, was a considerable Benefactor to the School.
Dr. Lancelot Daws, educated in Queens College, Oxford, where he was made Fellow, and being a studious Person, became a singular Ornament of his House. Removing from his College he became Minister of this his native Place, and being eminent in this Station, was raised to a Prebend in the Church of Carlisle, and further preferred to the Rectory of Ashby in this County. He submitted to the Men in Authority in the rebellious Times, but seems no Ways concerned in defending or maintaining their Transactions, but rather seems to have lamented the Disorders of his Time, by certain Sermons entitled, God's Mercies, and Jerusalem's Miseries. He was forty-eight Years Pastor of this Church, and died March 11 1653. He was buried under the Communion Table in the Chancel belonging to this Parish Church.

Yanewith, a Lordship of the aforesaid Lord Clifford, of which he died possessed, and left as before. Near this Place the Loder joins the Eimot, where there is a large round Entrenchment, with a plain Piece of Ground in the Middle, and a Passage into it on either Side. It goes by the Name of King Arthur's Round Table; and it is possible enough that it might have been a Justing Place. However, it is clear, it could never have been a Place of Strength, because the Trenches are on the Inside. The Form of it is [DRAWING] Near this is another great Fort of Stones, heaped up in the form of an Horse-shoe, and opening towards it, called by some King Arthur's Castle, and by others Mayburgh or Maybrough, of which Place see more above."

Magna Britannica et Hibernia.Volume 6: Westmorland by Thomas Cox (Vicar of Bromfield, Essex) 45 pages, printed in 1731.
Transcription by Sarah Reveley,  Joan Fisher and Lisl Schoenwald. (Rootsweb Westmorland Listmembers)  (c)  2003

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Maps

A present-day web map is available from Multimap.

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Population

1641/2 329(est)
1671 479(est)
1801 634

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Probate Records

Barton is in the diocese of Carlisle and wills will be in Carlisle Record Office.

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Last updated: April 2006 Dave Huddart