Westmorland, England Genealogy

Westmorland, is an inland county located in the upper north western part of 'England'.

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"WESTMORELAND is an inland county bounded on the NW and the N by Cumberland, on the NE by Durham, on the E and the SE by Yorkshire, and on the S and the SW by Lancashire... Much of the scenery is romantic or picturesque; and that in the west forms a main part of the features of the English lake region...

"The county contains 31 parishes and a part; is divided into Kendal borough, and East, West, Kendal, and Lonsdale wards... comprises 487,567 acres... The only town with more than 2,000 inhabitants is Kendal; but there are about 220 smaller towns, villages, and hamlets...

"The county is governed by a lord lieutenant and custos, a hereditary high sheriff, 15 deputy lieutenants, and about 105 magistrates; and is in the... diocese of Carlisle. The assizes are held at Appleby; and the quarter sessions are held there and at Kendal... The places of worship within the electoral county, in 1851, were 78 of the Church of England, 1 of United Presbyterians, 9 of Independents, 4 of Baptists, 4 of Quakers, 1 of Unitarians, 29 of Wesleyans, 16 of Primitive Methodists, 13 of the Wesleyan Association, 1 of Wesleyan Reformers, 2 of Sandemanians, 1 of Brethren, 4 of isolated congregations,  and 2 of Roman Catholics...

"Population in 1801 was 40,805; in 1821, 51,359; in 1841, 56,454; in 1861, 60,817..."

The above extract is from: John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72). See the full account on Vision of Britain.

Civil Districts
When civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837, Westmorland was divided into a number of registration districts, each containing several parishes. Click here to see a list of the civil districts in Westmorland and the parishes covered by each. Read more about England Civil Registration.

Parishes
See a list of parishes of Westmorland with links to articles.

Probates
Before 1858, every town and parish in Westmorland was under the probate jurisdiction of several ecclesiastical courts. To read more about probate records and see a list of Westmorland towns and parishes and the probate courts that had jurisdiction over them, go to Westmorland Probate Jurisdictions.