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| Established | May 2010 |
|---|---|
| Location | , England |
| Website | www.cumbriacountyhistory.org.uk |
The Cumbria County History Trust (CCHT) is a charity launched in May 2010 [1] to coordinate and gather resources for the Victoria County History of Cumbria project, [2] a collaborative community project created to research and write the histories of all parts of Cumbria, and to make historical information generally available, within the framework and standards of the Victoria County History of England. [3]
The aim of CCHT is to initiate a step-change in the awareness and understanding of Cumbria's local historical heritage, by harnessing the enthusiasm for local history which exists widely across Cumbria, and pooling expertise. Its ultimate aim is to write the history of every town and village in England. To date, a team of over 100 volunteers from across Cumbria has compiled brief histories for each of the 348 parishes/townships in the county, using the Civil Parishes as they existed around 1900. Edited versions of these histories can be found on each place page of on the CCHT website and have been published as a book, Cumbria: An Historical Gazetteer . [4] In addition, a smaller core of volunteers has been researching and writing full parish/township histories, in the standard style of the Victoria County History. Please see the Completed Draft Histories section on the project website for more details about their progress. Our first VCH parish history was published in March 2018 and covers the three fellside villages of Kirkowald, Staffield and Renwick. See Richard Brockington and Sarah Rose, The Victoria History of Cumberland: Kirkoswald and Renwick (University of London, 2019). Ultimately, CCHT aims to cover the whole of Cumbria in 16 'Red Books'. The first, for the Lonsdale Ward in Westmorland, is due to be published in late 2024.
No VCH town or village histories had been published for the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland before the VCH Cumbria project was launched in 2010; the only parts of Cumbria previously to have been researched in detail by the VCH were those parts which were formerly in Lancashire. The story of the early attempts to publish a VCH for Cumberland and Westmorland has been told by John Beckett in a paper in the Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and archaeological Society, New Series, vol XI, (2011) pp. 207–225 [5]
The Furness and Cartmel areas (Lonsdale North of the Sands) were covered in VCH Lancashire, Volume VIII (published in 1910) [6]
Two introductory volumes were published in the early twentieth century, Volume 1 (1901), which covered Early Man, Pre-Norman Remains, Introduction to and Texts of the Cumberland Domesday, Early Pipe Rolls, and Testa de Nevill [7] and Volume II (1905) which covered Political History, Industries, Sport Ancient and Modern, Forestry. [8] The first VCH parish history of Cumberland was published in March 2018 – Richard Brockington and Sarah Rose, The Victoria History of Cumberland: Kirkoswald and Renwick (University of London, 2019).
Nothing has been published to date
The CCHT website aims to be the major online source for the history of Cumbria. Included among the many resources on there is a full transcript of Cumbrian Census figures from 1801 to 2001, by ward. [9] Each place page contains links to a number of place-specific sources, including the most relevant papers in the CWAAS Transactions. There is a range of images available for download from the Gallery, including images taken from:
All the work on the Victoria County History of Cumbria project is being done by volunteers, under the overall direction of Dr Fiona Edmonds Director of the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University and with volunteer guidance and support provided by Dr Sarah Rose, assistant editor.
Volunteers are provided training to ensure that the high standards of scholarship expected from the Victoria County History are maintained, and that the output, both Digests and Draft Histories, provides a factual, reliable and authoritative work of reference for everyone with an interest in the history of their town or village – and possibly their family too.
A practical guide for volunteers contributing to the Victoria County History (Cumbria) Project has been published and is freely available. It contains guidance on all aspects of researching and writing the history of a parish or township for the VCH, drawing attention to sources and themes of particular relevance to the history of local communities in Cumbria.
The Cumbria County History Trust (CCHT) is a registered charity (Charity Registration Number 1137379). The charitable aims of the Trust are:
The project is managed by the Board of Trustees, chaired by Sir Roland Jackson.
The other trustees (as at September 2023) are:
This project is part financed by the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society
The Trusts Patrons are:
The Trust is supported by the following organisations:
Cumbria is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle, which is also its county town.
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District National Park and just north-west of Morecambe Bay, within the Furness Peninsula. Lancaster is 39 miles (63 km) to the east, Barrow-in-Furness 10 miles (16 km) to the south-west and Kendal 25 miles (40 km) to the north-east. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678.
Sizergh Castle is a stately home with garden and estate at Helsington in Cumbria, England, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Kendal. Located in historic Westmorland, the castle is a Grade I listed building. While remaining the home of the Hornyold-Strickland family, the castle with its garden and estate is in the care of the National Trust.
Westmorland is an area of Northern England which was historically a county and is now fully part of Cumbria. People of the area are known as Westmerians. The area includes part of the Lake District and the southern Vale of Eden.
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of England, and was dedicated to Queen Victoria. In 2012 the project was rededicated to Queen Elizabeth II in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee year. Since 1933 the project has been coordinated by the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London.
Lancashire is a county of England, in the northwest of the country. The county did not exist in 1086, for the Domesday Book, and was apparently first created in 1182, making it one of the youngest of the traditional counties.
Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. It lies within the Lake District National Park and was historically part of Lancashire. The parish includes the hamlets of Hawkshead Hill, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains one primary school and four public houses.
Clifton is a small linear village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies 3 miles (4.8 km) south east of Penrith.
The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English historic county of Westmorland. It evolved from one of two ancient baronies that make up the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland. In 1974, the entire county became part of the modern county of Cumbria and ceased to have an administrative function. At the same time, Kendal borough along with some other rural and urban districts in Westmorland was merged with the neighbouring parts of Lancashire, Furness and Cartmel, and also the Sedbergh Rural District of the West Riding of Yorkshire into the new South Lakeland district of the new county.
Kirkoswald is a village, civil parish, and former market town located in Westmorland and Furness, England, about 9 miles (14 km) from Penrith. The village is in the historic county of Cumberland. The village, referred to colloquially as KO, had a population of 870 at the 2001 census, which rose to 901 at the 2011 Census.
Inglewood Forest is a large tract of mainly arable and dairy farm land with a few small woodland areas between Carlisle and Penrith in the English non-metropolitan county of Cumbria or ancient county of Cumberland.
The history of Cumbria as a county of England begins with the Local Government Act 1972. Its territory and constituent parts however have a long history under various other administrative and historic units of governance. Cumbria is an upland, coastal and rural area, with a history of invasions, migration and settlement, as well as battles and skirmishes between the English and the Scots.
Gleaston Castle is a medieval building in a valley about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north-east of the village of Gleaston. The village lies between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness in the Furness peninsula, Cumbria, England. Gleaston Castle has a quadrilateral plan, with a tower at each corner. The largest of these, the north-west tower, probably housed a hall.
Ninekirks is the local name for St Ninian's church, Brougham, Cumbria. Dedicated to Saint Ninian, it was formerly the Anglican parish church for Brougham, a parish which is now combined with Clifton, a neighbouring village. It is preserved as a redundant church for its architectural interest, and presents a mainly seventeenth-century appearance. It has been known as Ninekirks since at least 1583.
Renwick, formerly known as Ravenwick, is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Kirkoswald, in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. Renwick is located north east of Penrith between the A686 and B6413 roads. In 1931 the parish had a population of 174.
Portinscale is a village in Cumbria, England, close to the western shore of Derwentwater in the Lake District National Park 1+1⁄2 miles from Keswick.
William de Lancaster I, or William Fitz Gilbert, was a nobleman of the 12th century in Northwest England during the Anarchy, and the period during which his region was ruled by King David I of Scotland. His position survived the return of English rule under King Henry II, and his most important lordship, which had previously come together under Ivo de Taillebois, would evolve into what was eventually known as the barony of Kendal. According to a document some generations later, he was also referred to as William de Tailboys when younger, and then became "William de Lancaster, baron of Kendal". He died in about 1170.
The Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, founded in 1866, is a local historical, antiquarian, archaeological and text publication society and registered charity covering the modern county of Cumbria.
Greenholme is a hamlet in Cumbria, England.
Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the port in Barrow-in-Furness, and agriculture in the rural parts of the area.