Westmorland (sometimes spelled Westmoreland) in North West England was abolished in 1974 following Ted Heath's Local Government Act 1972. Westmorland became a part of Cumbria along with Cumberland, parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire, including the Furness peninsular. In 2022 Westmorland was reconstituted as Westmorland and Furness following the abolition of Cumbria County Council. Westmorland and Furness have no High Sheriff as Cumbria has remained the ceremonial county.
The traditional county of Westmorland, like neighbouring Lancashire, was itself a new creation during the Middle Ages. It seems to have been treated as part of Yorkshire in the 11th century, and the eventual boundaries represented a merger between an earlier entity called Westmorland, and the Barony of Kendal, which was apparently originally considered part of the Honor of Lancaster, though it did not become part of Lancashire. Kendal is also now part of Cumbria.
The original Westmorland is sometimes referred to as Westmarieland and is later referred to as the Barony of Appleby or "Northern Westmorland".
The following is an incomplete list of historical sheriffs.
Except where separately referenced, names are taken from the website of the Public Record Office in Kew. The references given are also used throughout English archives.
Between the thirteenth century and 1849, the office of sheriff was hereditary, firstly granted in perpetuity by King John to Robert de Veteripont and afterwards held by the de Clifford family and then by the Earls of Thanet, until the 11th earl died with no successors. Due to the continued absence of the earlier incumbents on military service the duties would be actually be undertaken by a trusted deputy sheriff.
The office was finally abolished in 1974 when the shrievalty of Cumbria was established.
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.
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby is the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. It was known just as Appleby until 1974–1976, when the council of the successor parish to the borough changed it to retain the name Westmorland, which was abolished as an administrative area under the Local Government Act 1972, before being revived as Westmorland and Furness in 2023. It lies 14 miles (23 km) south-east of Penrith, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of Carlisle, 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Kendal and 45 miles (72 km) west of Darlington.
Baron Hothfield, of Hothfield in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1881 for Sir Henry Tufton, 2nd Baronet, who was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland the same year and who also served briefly as a government whip in the Liberal administration of 1886. His eldest son, the second Baron, notably served as Mayor of Appleby, Westmorland. On the death of his son, the third Baron, in 1961, this line of the family failed. The late Baron was succeeded by his first cousin, the fourth Baron. He was the only son of the Hon. Sackville Philip Tufton, second son of the first Baron. On his death in 1986 this line of the family also failed and the titles passed to his first cousin, the fifth Baron. He was the eldest son of the Hon. Charles Henry Tufton, third son of the first Baron. As of 2017 the titles are held by his son, the sixth Baron, who succeeded in 1991.
The Eden Valley Railway (EVR) was a railway in Cumbria, England. It ran between Clifton Junction near Penrith and Kirkby Stephen via Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Earl of the Isle of Thanet, in practice shortened to Earl of Thanet, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Nicholas Tufton, 1st Baron Tufton. He had already succeeded as second Baronet of Hothfield in 1631 and been created Baron Tufton, of Tufton in the County of Sussex, in 1626, also in the Peerage of England. The Baronetcy, of Hothfield in the County of Kent, was created in the Baronetage of England in 1611 for his father, John Tufton. Lord Thanet was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He married Lady Margaret Sackville, daughter of Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset and Lady Anne Clifford. Their son, the third Earl, successfully claimed the barony of de Clifford through his maternal grandmother Lady Anne.
Westmorland and Lonsdale is a constituency in the south of Cumbria, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats (2015–2017).
Sackville Tufton, 8th Earl of Thanet (1733–1786) was an English nobleman.
This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Westmorland. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974 and replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria. From 1751 to 1974, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Westmorland.
South Westmorland was a rural district in Westmorland, England from 1894 to 1974. It saw various boundary changes during its existence, particularly in 1935, when it absorbed Kirkby Lonsdale urban district, whilst parts merged with Ambleside and Grasmere Urban Districts to form Lakes Urban District at the same time. The district was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, with the area becoming part of the South Lakeland district of Cumbria.
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.
This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Westmorland.
Brougham Castle is a medieval building about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, had been chosen by the Romans for a Roman fort called Brocavum. The castle, along with the fort, is a scheduled monument: "Brougham Roman fort and Brougham Castle".
Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet, 18th Baron de Clifford PC was an English nobleman and politician.
Appleby was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Westmorland in England. It existed for two separate periods: from 1295 to 1832, and from 1885 to 1918.
Henry James Tufton, 11th Earl of Thanet was a peer in the peerage of England and a noted English cricketer of the 1790s.
The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions are now largely ceremonial. The high sheriff changes every April.
Richard Tufton, 5th Earl of Thanet, styled The Honourable Richard Tufton until 1680, was an English nobleman.
Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet of Newbottle, Northamptonshire, known as Sackville Tufton until 1729, was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 until 1729 when he succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Thanet.