In my previous post on Cumbrian names, I looked briefly at at the riding names (the border reivers), and at the big landowners and politicians who dominated Cumberland and Westmorland for centuries. P...Read More
Cumbrian surnames may not, for the most part, be exclusive to old Cumberland or Westmorland. But, there many surnames that are strongly associated with the twin counties. Are there Birds on your famil...Read More
Thirlepolle, thirlepoole, thirle-polle, however you spell it, it even has Google baffled. What kind of creature were they? And how did our ancestors eat them? In short, a thirlepolle could have been e...Read More
Port Carlisle – a history built on hope is my new book, written because it’s something I wish I’d been able to find in bookshops in the past. There are some excellent books about aspects of life...Read More
If the militia in the late 1700s were akin to Dad’s Army, the commander of the Westmorland Militia was… well, he was Wicked Jimmy. Most families have a black sheep somewhere down the centuries, bu...Read More