BRIDEKIRK, Cumberland - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"BRIDEKIRK, a parish in the ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, in the county of Cumberland, 2 miles to the N. of Cockermouth, its post town. It lies on the N. of the river Derwent, not far from the Maryport and Carlisle railway, and includes the townships of Great Broughton, Little Broughton, Dovenby, Papcastle, Ribton, and Tallentire. The parish contains some quarries of limestone and freestone. This place was one of the possessions of Gisburn Monastery, on the dissolution of which the manor was granted by Henry VIII. to Henry Tolson, but the lands have long been enfranchised and are freehold. Bridekirk Hall, and the principal part of the demesne lands, are the property of F. L. B. Dykes, Esq., of Dovenby Hall, who is also patron of the living, which is a vicarage* in the diocese of Carlisle, of the value of £240 per annum, and was conveyed by the Crown Commissioners about 1560, to Robert Lamplugh, Esq., of Doventry Hall, from whom it has descended to the present patronage. The church, which is very ancient and partly in the Norman style, is dedicated to St. Bridget. It contains a very curious and interesting font, supposed to be of earlier date than the Conquest. It is about two feet high, and on its sides are curious symbolical sculptures and a Saxon inscription. The circumstances of the Fall, the Expulsion from Paradise, and the Baptism of Christ, are among the subjects represented. The meaning of the inscription appears to be doubtful at present. Camden conjectured that this font was brought from Papcastle, the probable site of a Roman station. Dovenby School and Dovenby Hospital, for six poor people, are in the patronage of F. L. B. Dykes, Esq. The poor have the benefit of several charitable endowments, producing about £120 per annum. This parish was the birthplace of Sir Joseph Williamson, Secretary of State to Charles II., and of Thomas Tickell, the poet, whose father held the vicarage. KIRK-BRIDE, (or Kirk St. Bridget). See Bridekirk, county Cumberland." "DOVENBY, (or Dolphinsby), a township in the parish of Bridekirk, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, in the county of Cumberland, 2½, miles-N.W. of Cockermouth. There is an endowed school for both sexes, founded by Sir Thomas Lamplugh in 1609. Mrs. Dykes, of Dovenby Hall, is lady of the manor." "GOAT, a hamlet in the parish of Bridekirk, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, county Cumberland, 1 mile N.W. of Cockermouth. This forms a township with Papcastle, and is situated on the banks of the Derwent, at the foot of the stone bridge which here crosses the river. Derwent Bank and Woodbank are the principal residences." "GREAT BROUGHTON, a township in the parish of Bridekirk, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, in the county of Cumberland, 4 miles to the W. of Cockermouth. It is situated on the N. bank of the river Derwent, near the Cockermouth branch of the Whitehaven Junction railway. The inhabitants are employed in the coal-works of the neighbourhood. Here are an endowed free school and an almshouse, founded about 1740 by Joseph Ashley, the revenue of which is about £30 a year." "LITTLE BROUGHTON, a township and district parish in the parish of Bridekirk, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, in the county of Cumberland, close to Great Broughton. The manufacture of tobacco-pipes and of coarse pottery is carried on in the village. Here has recently been erected, a district church, called Christ Church. The living is a perpetual curacy,* value £150, in the dioc, of Carlisle. There are chapels belonging to the Wesleyans, Quakers, and Baptists. Little Broughton was the birthplace (1714) of Abraham Fletcher, who distinguished himself as a mathematician and botanist." "PAPCASTLE-WITH-GOAT, a township in the parish of Bridekirk, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, county Cumberland, 1 mile N.W. of Cockermouth. It is situated on an eminence below the river Derwent, which is here crossed by a stone bridge, connecting this township with that of Cockermouth. The village occupies the site of the Roman Derventio, mentioned by Antonine, and of which station there are traces, comprising coins of Claudius, Hadrian, pavement and other relics of antiquity. The castle at the time of the Norman conquest became the property of Waltheof, Lord of Allerdale, and was dismantled, that its materials might be used in the erection of Cockermouth Castle. Mrs. Dykes is lady of the manor." "RIBTON, a township in the parish of Bridekirk, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, county Cumberland, 5 miles W. of Cockermouth, and 3 N.E. of Workington. It is situated on the N. bank of the river Derwent, and has an ancient chapel, which was dedicated to St. Lawrence, but is now in ruins." "TALLENTIRE, a township in the parish of Bridekirk, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, county Cumberland, 4 miles W. of Cockermouth, and 1 mile N.W. of Bridekirk. The village is situated on a declivity of the Solway Frith and the Scottish coast. The soil is of a light, sandy, and loamy nature, with a subsoil of gravel, The Hall is very old. William Brown, Esq., is lord of the manor and chief landowner."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]