March 2018 ~ Cumbrian Characters

All mod cons, on a 1777 stagecoach

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Harriet

If you wanted to visit distant relatives for Easter in the 1700s, you might well go by stagecoach. Some of the experiences of doing so have a resonance today! Carlisle to London, in just three days In... Read More

A timid vicar, manslaughter and a reiver connection

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Harriet

A tragic case of mistaken identity in Walton in April 1851 ends (in the Carlisle Journal’s account) with a reminder of our reiver forebears. For the victim was William Elliot Armstrong of Sorbietree... Read More

Need-fire – a Celtic tradition that lasted till the 1840s

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Harriet

The need-fire – a Celtic response to cattle disease – might not mean much to people today. But, it’s only 160 years or so since desperate farmers finally abandoned it. And it seems to have been ... Read More

Snow in March – beware of low-flying sheep!

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Harriet

With the UK gripped by snow this first day of March 2018, here’s a look back to some rough weather in 1881. Low-flying sheep isn’t a popular search on Google! But, it does make a fun headline.... Read More

Cumbrian Characters

Family history is so much more than names and dates

Month: March 2018

A timid vicar, manslaughter and a reiver connection

Snow in March – beware of low-flying sheep!