Barton, Westmorland Genealogy

England Westmorland  Westmorland Parishes

Parish History
BARTON (St. Michael), a parish, in West ward and union, county of Westmorland, 4 miles (S. W. by S.) from Penrith; comprising the chapelries of Martindale and Patterdale-with-Hartsop, and the townships of High Barton, Sockbridge-with-Tirrel, Low Winder, and Yanwith-with-Eamont-Bridge; and containing 1668 inhabitants, of whom 323 are in High Barton. The parish comprises by measurement 15,000 acres, of which 4355 are in High Barton; and among its many villages is Pooley, a distinguished place of resort, distant from Penrith five miles. The soil partakes of both clay and gravel, and produces excellent corn and hay; the land lies upon a slope, and is encompassed with lofty mountains, among which, at its western extremity, is Helvellyn, and at its eastern King Arthur's Round Table. In the parish is part of the lake of Ullswater, from which flows the river Eamont, separating Westmorland from Cumberland. Barton Fell contains a great variety of valuable minerals, including jasper, agate, onyx, cornelian, chalcedony, &amp;c., besides spars and petrifactions of fish, shells, leaves, &amp;c. At Hartsop and Patterdale are extensive quarries of fine blue slate, and at the latter place is a lead-mine. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 1. 0½.; net income, £130; patron, the Earl of Lonsdale; impropriators, the Earl of Lonsdale, and E. W. Hasell, T. Gibson, and J. De Whelpdale, Esqrs. The impropriate tithes of High Barton have been commuted for £76. 13., and the vicarial for £49. 11.; the glebe consists of 75¼ acres. The church is a large low structure, beautifully situated in the vale of Eamont. Martindale and Patterdale have each a separate incumbency. A free grammar school was founded in 1649, by Dr. Launcelot Dawes and Dr. Gerard Langbaine, natives of the parish, and the latter an industrious antiquary; whose endowment of it has been augmented by subsequent benefactors to about £90 per annum

From: Lewis, Samuel A. A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 161-164. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50782 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
In December 1787 the Westmorland Court of Quarter Sessions commissioned a population survey of the county. Parish constables were ordered to send in returns listing the names and occupations of the members of every household in their constablewick. This census is found in Vital Statistics, The Westmorland "Census' of 1787. This book is available at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. The library call number is British Ref. Area 942.88 X2v.

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
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