Brigham, Cumberland Genealogy

England Cumberland  Cumberland Parishes

Parish History
"BRIGHAM (St. Bridget), a parish, comprising the borough and market-town of Cockermouth, and the townships of Blindbothel, Brigham, Buttermere, Eaglesfield, Embleton, Gray-Southan, Mosser, Setmurthy, and Whinfell, in the union of Cockermouth, Allerdale ward above Derwent, W. division of Cumberland; the whole containing 7397 inhabitants, of whom 490 are in the township of Brigham, 2 miles (W.) from Cockermouth. This parish is situated among the lakes Bassenthwaite, Buttermere, Crummock, and Loweswater, which, with the rivers Derwent and Maron, form its boundaries; and is intersected by the Cocker, which falls into the Derwent at Cockermouth. The surface is hilly, but since the inclosure of the waste land, the high grounds have been chiefly brought into cultivation: there are quarries of limestone, freestone, and blue slate, and a mine of coal has been opened. The village, which contains some respectable dwellinghouses, is built upon an eminence on the south bank of the Derwent, commanding a richly diversified prospect. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20. 16. 0½ net income, £190; patrons and impropriators, the family of Lowther, to whom, in 1813, land was assigned in lieu of all tithes for the township of Brigham. The church, situated at the distance of half a mile from the village, has a handsome window of five lights in the decorated style, at the east end of the south aisle; a curious circular window of the same date; and a monumental arch richly canopied. A chapel of ease was erected by the Rev. Dr. Thomas, in 1840; and there are separate incumbencies at Buttermere, Cockermouth, Embleton, Lorton, Mosser, Setmurthy, and Wythrop. The dissenters have several places of worship."

From: Lewis, Samuel A., "A Topographical Dictionary of England" (1848), pp. 369-375. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50829 Date accessed: 29 July 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
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Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Cumberland Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851 *Vision of Britain

Web sites
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