Category: Cumbria history
Inglewood Forest: Lowther land grab
Inglewood Forest – the area roughly between Penrith and Carlisle – lost most of its trees centuries ago. And in the 1760s, it was the scene of an unusual tussle of ownership. As a sheet of paper l... Read More
The Solway Artillery Range – what could go wrong?!
The Solway Artillery Range: those behind the scheme Cammell Laird is, as its website declares, one of the most famous names in British industry. They aren’t exaggerating when they say it is known ac... Read More
Bonesetter – a family occupation
Bonesetter: a person, usually not formally qualified, who set broken or dislocated bones. The above gravestone, at Beacon Edge Cemetery, Penrith, caught my eye. It is rare to see an occupation mention... Read More
Bonfire Night 1855, in Cumberland
Bonfire Night – a quick history Bonfire Night is two days away – although ‘Bonfire Night’ is always dragged out across at least ten days, when it comes to people letting off fireworks! For any... Read More
Manorial records – long live the lord!
Manorial records can be an interesting resource if you’ve taken your family history back to the 1700s or even earlier. They aren’t an ‘easy’ resource to work with. You can spend a couple of ho... Read More
Jutland, Gibraltar, and Newbiggin Hall
Which Newbiggin Hall is this? There is more than one! Newbiggin Hall – the one at Newbiggin, near Temple Sowerby – became the home of the Crackenthorpe/Crackanthorpe family in the 1300s. Here ... Read More
Slander and ‘witchcraft’ in Stuart England
The following examples of slander (and an allegation of witchcraft) were found in a manorial court book, and all come from 1691. Manor courts The manor was Inglewood (Forest), in Cumberland. Manor cou... Read More
The Moon and the Cumbrian who disagreed with William Herschel
A post for Saturday July 20, 2019: the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing. A trawl through local newspapers in the late 1700s show Cumbrians were interested in the heavens. And one Cumbrian Ch... Read More