Whitbeck, Cumberland Genealogy

England Cumberland  Cumberland Parishes

Parish History
"WHITBECK (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bootle, Allerdale ward above Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 3 miles (S. S. E.) from Bootle; containing 208 inhabitants. The parish is situated between the Black-Combe mountain and the sea, and comprises 2279 acres, whereof 1754 are arable, 205 meadow, 35 woodland and plantations, and 285 pasture and peatmoss; exclusively of about 3000 acres of common and waste. The surface presents an uneven appearance, falling from the base of Black-Combe to a level or flat nearly as low as high-water mark, and again rising to the margin of the sea. About 26 years ago, Dr. King, now president of Queen's College, Cambridge, drove a level about a hundred yards high in the mountain, and obtained cobalt, but not in sufficient quantity to induce him to persevere. The road from Dalton to Ravenglass, and the Whitehaven and Furness railway, intersect the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £76, with a glebe of four acres, and a house; patron, the Earl of Lonsdale. The small part of the parish that is titheable pays a rent-charge of about £60; the rest has from time to time been made free by purchase. The church is a plain oblong structure, of which the chancel was rebuilt about 20 years since by the late Earl of Lonsdale. An almshouse for six poor persons was erected in 1632; the income, £24, is derived from an estate left by Henry Parke, a native of the place: at present but two old men are inmates.

At a short distance below the spot where Dr. King commenced his mining operations, rises a spring of water forming a considerable brook that passes by a farm belonging to the Earl of Lonsdale. In this water no ducks can thrive; they soon hang their wings, and pine away: neither are fish found in it, although at the distance of a few hundred yards it empties itself into a pool in which are trout and eels. The water has no bad effect upon geese; it is used for domestic purposes, and is considered pure and good. A religious house, under the abbey of Furness, is supposed to have existed here, at a farm called Monkfoss: in digging on the site a few years ago, some human bones were discovered. In the peat-mosses are found trunks of oak and fir so large, that they have been used for roofing barns and other buildings."

From: Lewis,Samuel A., "A Topographical Dictionary of England" (1848), pp. 543-551. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51398 Date accessed: 26 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 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
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.