Recent Posts
Victorian jokes – contain your excitement
Victorian jokes, to borrow a phrase, are no laughing matter. Ok, I’ll re-word that. Victorian jokes are no laughing matter to 21st century ears. There are many obvious things that have changed dow... Read More
Annetwell Street – resort of thieves
Annetwell Street, Carlisle, isn’t much of a street today. Running alongside the Radio Cumbria building, it seems sidelined by the busy A595 Castle Way that slices through the city in front of the ca... Read More
The treadmill – an ‘efficient engine of punishment’
Among the items on the agenda for visiting magistrates in Carlisle in October 1848 was the prison treadmill. The treadmill was down the list of topics to be discussed, but it is a reminder of this cur... Read More
Elizabeth Senhouse, a venerable lady
May 6 1890 saw the death of a venerable lady (as she was termed) from a famous Cumbrian family: Elizabeth Pocklington Senhouse. Mrs Senhouse of Netherhall, Maryport, was 86, and what had started as a ... Read More
William Pinder: punishment in the 1800s
William Pinder was a man no one would want to add to their family tree. But his life story tells us a surprising amount about crime and punishment in the mid-19th century. In Westmorland, a crime of a... Read More
Kingstown Carlisle, a hotbed of crime
‘Affray at Kingstown Carlisle’ probably isn’t going to be top of anyone’s search terms online. But if you’ve chanced on this post, you’ll discover it had a turbulen... Read More
Curious deaths – death certificates and family history
Cause of death is a key feature of death certificates, not only for family (and the state) at the time, but also for social and family historians. Knowing an ancestor died of TB helps us to ‘know’... Read More
Cumbrian surnames
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