Asby, Westmorland Genealogy

England Westmorland  Westmorland Parishes

Parish History
ASBY, GREAT (St. Peter), a parish, in the union and division of East ward, county of Westmorland, 4½ miles (S. by W.) from Appleby; containing, with the townships of Asby-Windewath, Asby-Coatsforth, and Little Asby, 407 inhabitants, of whom 222 are in the first, with the hamlet of Garthern; 129 in the second; and 56 in the third, with the hamlet of Asby-Overgrange. It comprises by computation 6500 acres, and is bounded on the south by the parish of Crosby-Garret and by Orton Fells; the surface is diversified with hills and valleys, and watered by numerous rivulets, near the margin of one of which, in the hollow called Asby Gill, is Plate hole, a remarkable cavern, intersected by a small stream, and which has been explored to an extent of more than 500 yards. The substratum is principally limestone, and on the common belonging to the manor has been lately discovered a very valuable fossil marble. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £23. 13. 4.; patron, Sir F. F. Vane; net income, £205. The church is a very ancient structure with lofty gables, and strengthened by massive buttresses: the parsonagehouse occupies the site of a nunnery, the chapel and prison of which are still partly remaining, the latter being used as a cellar. There was formerly a chapel at Little Asby, dedicated to St. Leonard. A school-house was built in 1688, by George Smith, citizen and merchanttailor of London, to which Dr. Thomas Smith, Bishop of Carlisle (who was born at Whitewall, near the village), gave £100. Near the church is St. Helen's well

From: Lewis, Samuel A. A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 77-81. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50761 Date accessed: 29 August 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
Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Westmorland 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
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.