MORESBY, Cumberland - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"MORESBY, a parish in the ward of Allerdale-above-Derwent, county Cumberland, 2½ miles N.E. of Whitehaven, its post town. It is situated on the coast of the Irish Sea, and contains the townships of Moresby and Parton. It was the site of the Roman station Arbeia, where foundations of buildings, coins, &c., have been found. The substratum is very productive of coal, and freestone. The village is of small extent and chiefly agricultural. There is an iron foundry within the parish. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Carlisle, value £105. The church, dedicated to St. Bridget, is a modern stone edifice with a square tower containing two bells. The church is situated on rising ground within a camp of 330 feet square. The charities produce about £42 per annum, which goes to Williams' school. The Earl of Lonsdale is lord of the manor." "PARTON, a township in the parish of Moresby, ward of Allerdale-above-Derwent, county Cumberland, 4 mile N.E. of Whitehaven. It is a station on the Whitehaven Junction railway. It is a small fishing village, situated on the coast, with a harbour for small craft. The pier was washed away in 1795. There are extensive engineering and boiler works, employing a large portion of the inhabitants. A tunnel has been cut through Redness Point in continuation of a line of railway from the neighbouring coal works to Whitehaven. There is a free grammar school, erected and endowed by J. Williamson in 1818. In 1837 a girls' school of industry and infant school were erected at the expense of Miss Mary Robinson."

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