Recent Posts
Branded, burned, hanged – punishments in the 18th century
Branded for life is a figure of speech; in the 18th Century, branding was a punishment dished out by judges for a range of offences. The old saying ‘may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb’ me... Read More
Port Carlisle – a history built on hope
Port Carlisle – a history built on hope is my 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 a... Read More
Average wages and a drunken elephant
What was the average wage in 1843, in the UK? The date is random, but the question is an important one for family history and social history research. Knowing what people earned in the past is the bes... Read More
Tracing your family history: Wills
Among William Shakespeare’s almost countless famous lines is one from his will: ‘Item, I give unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture.” If you’re tracing your family history or... Read More
Hundreds of holes, in Carlisle Cathedral
Carlisle Cathedral inside is, I once heard a visitor like: “like something out of Harry Potter.” And its walls inside and out tell the city’s history: inside, through memorial tablets; outside, ... Read More
Thomas Ollivant of Hesket-in-the-Forest
Thomas Ollivant, ‘clerk’ (vicar) of Hesket-in-the-Forest, Cumberland, died in 1686. His will included an inventory with a lot of names – local people who owed him various sums of money. These de... Read More
Kirkoswald parish registers
Kirkoswald parish registers have a lot to tell family and social historians, even if your family have zero connection with this Cumbrian parish. Trawling through parish registers is a lot harder than ... Read More
Church presentations a family history resource
You won’t find church presentations on genealogy sites, but if you can read original records, they are worth looking out for. Unless you live near the relevant archives, searching parish records... Read More