Historic county of England
Cumberland
(
KUM
-b?r-l?nd
) is an area of Northern England which was
historically a county
. The county was bordered by
Northumberland
to the north-east,
County Durham
to the east,
Westmorland
to the south-east,
Lancashire
to the south, and the
Scottish
counties of
Dumfriesshire
and
Roxburghshire
to the north. The area includes the city of
Carlisle
, part of the
Lake District
and
North Pennines
, and the
Solway Firth
coastline.
Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974, when it was subsumed into
Cumbria
with
Westmorland
as well as parts of
Yorkshire
and
Lancashire
. It gives its name to the
unitary authority area
of
Cumberland
, which has similar boundaries but excludes
Penrith
.
Early history
[
edit
]
In the
Early Middle Ages
, Cumbria was part of the
Kingdom of Strathclyde
in the
Hen Ogledd
, or "Old North", and its people spoke a
Brittonic language
now called
Cumbric
. The first record of the term 'Cumberland' appears in AD 945, when the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
recorded that the area was ceded to
Malcolm I
,
king of Alba
(Scotland), by King
Edmund I of England
. As with
'Cymru'
, the native
Welsh
name for
Wales
, the names 'Cumberland' and 'Cumbria' are derived from
kombroges
in
Common Brittonic
, which originally meant "compatriots".
[1]
[2]
At the time of the
Domesday Book
(AD 1086) most of the future county was part of Scotland, although some villages around
Millom
, which were the possessions of the
Earl of Northumbria
, had been incorporated into
Yorkshire
.
[3]
In AD 1092, King
William Rufus
of England invaded the Carlisle district, settling it with colonists. He created an Earldom of Carlisle, and granted the territory to
Ranulf le Meschin
. In 1133, Carlisle was made the
see
of
a new diocese
, largely identical with the area of the earldom. However, on the death of King
Henry I of England
in 1135, the area was regained by King
David I of Scotland
. He was able to consolidate his power and made Carlisle one of his chief seats of government, while England descended into a lengthy
civil war
. The Cumbric language is believed to have become extinct in the 12th century.
[4]
The area returned to the English crown in 1157, when
Henry II of England
took possession of the area (from
Malcolm IV of Scotland
). Henry II formed two new counties from the former earldom:
Westmorland
and Carliol ? originally an abbreviation of the
Latin
Carlioliensis
'[bishop] of Carlisle'. Westmorland also included areas formerly part of the
Earldom of Lancaster
. The lead- and silver-mining area of
Alston
, previously associated with the
Liberty of Tynedale
was later also added to the new county of Carliol for financial reasons.
[5]
By 1177, Carliol had become known as Cumberland.
[6]
The border between England and Scotland was made permanent by the
Treaty of York
in 1237.
Geography
[
edit
]
The boundaries formed in the 12th century were not changed substantially over the county's existence. There are four English historic counties and two Scottish counties that it borders:
Northumberland
and
County Durham
to the east;
Westmorland
to the south, the
Furness
part of
Lancashire
to the southwest;
Dumfriesshire
to the north and
Roxburghshire
to the northeast.
To the west the county is bounded by the
Solway Firth
and the
Irish Sea
. The northern boundary is formed by the
Solway Estuary
and the border with Scotland running east to Scotch Knowe at Kershope Burn. The boundary runs south from Scotch Knowe along the
Cheviot Hills
, then followed a tributary of the
River Irthing
and crossed Denton Fell to the
River Tees
. From Tees Head the boundary crosses the
Pennines
to descend Crowdundale Beck, from where it followed the
rivers Eden
and
Eamont
to the centre of
Ullswater
. The line follows Glencoin Beck to the top of
Helvellyn
ridge at
Wrynose Pass
and along the
River Duddon
(near
Millom
) to the sea .
The highest point of the county is
Scafell Pike
, at 3,208 feet (978 m), the highest mountain in England.
Carlisle
is the
county town
.
Sub-divisions
[
edit
]
The Earldom of Carlisle was partitioned into baronies. When the County of Cumberland was created, the baronies were subdivided as
wards
, a
county sub-division
also used in
Durham
,
Northumberland
and
Westmorland
. These originated as military subdivisions used to organise the male inhabitants for the county's defence from Scottish troop incursions.
[7]
Each ward was composed of a number of parishes, areas originally formed for ecclesiastical administration. In common with other northern England counties, many
ancient parishes
in Cumberland were very large, often consisting of a number of distinct townships and hamlets. Many of these ancient parishes eventually became
civil parishes
and form the lowest level of local government.
Allerdale above Derwent
[
edit
]
Parishes
[8]
|
Notes
|
Arlecdon
|
|
Beckermet
St John
|
Included part of township of Calder & Beckermet or Calderbridge
|
Beckermet St Bridget
|
Included townships of
Ennerdale
& Kinniside, Eskdale & Wasdale
|
Bootle
|
|
Brigham
|
Included townships of
Blindbothel
,
Buttermere
,
Cockermouth
,
Eaglesfield
,
Embleton
,
Greysouthen
, Mosser, Setmurthey, Whinfell
|
Cleator
|
|
Corney
|
|
Crosthwaite (part)
|
Included township of
Borrowdale
|
Dean
|
|
Drigg and Carlton
|
|
Egremont
|
|
Gosforth
|
Included township of Bolton
|
Haile
|
|
Harrington
|
|
Irton with Santon
|
Included township of Santon & Murthwaite
|
Lamplugh
|
Included townships of Kelton & Winder, Murton
|
Lorton
|
Included townships of Brackenthwaite, Wythop
|
Loweswater
|
|
Millom
|
Included hamlet of Birker with Austhwaite, township of Ulpha
|
Moresby
|
Included township of Parton
|
Muncaster
|
|
Ponsonby
|
Included part of township of Calder & Beckermet or Calderbridge
|
St Bees
|
Include townships of Hensingham, Lowside Quarter, Netherwasdale, Preston Quarter, Rottington, Sandwith, Wheddicarr,
Whitehaven
|
Waberthwaite
|
|
Whicham
|
|
Whitbeck
|
|
Workington
|
Included townships of Great Clifton, Little Clifton, Stainburn, Winscales
|
Allerdale below Derwent
[
edit
]
Parishes
[8]
|
Notes
|
Allhallows
|
|
Aspatria
|
Including townships of Hayton & Mealo, Oughterside & Allerby
|
Bassenthwaite
|
|
Bolton
|
Including townships of Bolton Gate, Bolton Wood & Quarry Hill, Bolton Lowside, Isel Old Park, Sunderland
|
Bridekirk
|
Including townships of Dovenby, Great Broughton, Little Broughton
|
Bromfield
(part)
|
Including townships of
Allonby
, Langrigg & Mealrigg,
Papcastle
, Tallentire, Westnewton
|
Caldbeck
(part)
|
|
Cammerton
|
Including township of Seaton
|
Crosscanonby
|
Including townships of Birkby & Canonby, Blennerhasset & Kirkland, Crosby, Maryport
|
Crosthwaite (part)
|
Included townships of Castlerigg St John's & Wythburn,
Keswick
, Ribton, Underskiddaw
|
Dearham
|
Including township of Ellenborough & Ewanrigg
|
Flimby
|
|
Gilcrux
|
|
Holme Cultram
|
Including townships of Abbey Quarter (or Holme Abbey), Holme East Waver Quarter, Holme St Cuthbert's Quarter, Holme Low Quarter
|
Ireby
|
Including townships of High Ireby, Low Ireby
|
Isel
|
Including township of Blindcrake and Redmain
|
Plumbland
|
|
Torpenhow
|
Including townships of
Bewaldeth and Snittlegarth
, Bothel & Thrupland
|
Uldale
|
|
West Ward
|
|
Eskdale
[
edit
]
Parishes
[8]
|
Notes
|
Arthuret
|
Included townships of Braconhill, Lineside,
Longtown
, Netherby
|
Bewcastle
|
|
Brampton
|
|
Castlecarrock
|
|
Crosby
|
High & Low
|
Cumrew
|
Outside and Inside
|
Cumwhitton
|
Included township of Northsceugh
|
East Farlam
|
|
Hayton
|
Included townships of Little Crosby, Fenton & Faugh, Talkin
|
Irthington
|
Included townships of
Kingwater
,
Laversdale
, Newby, Newtown
|
Kingmoor
(hamlet)
|
Extra-parochial liberty belonging to the Corporation of Carlisle
|
Kirkandrews upon Esk
|
Included townships of Kirkandrews Moat, Kirkandrews Nether Quarter, Kirkandrews Upper Quarter,
Nichol Forest
|
Kirklinton
|
Included townships of
Hethersgill
,
Westlinton
(or Levington)
|
Lanercost
|
Included townships of Askerton, Burtholme & Banks, Lineside
|
Nether Denton
|
|
Scaleby
|
East and West
|
Stanwix
|
|
Stapleton
|
Included townships of Belbank, Solport Quarter, Trough
|
Upper Denton
|
|
Walton
|
High and Low
|
West Farlam
|
|
Leath
[
edit
]
Parishes
[8]
|
Notes
|
Addingham
|
Included townships of
Gamblesby
,
Glassonby
,
Hunsonby
&
Winskill
|
Ainstable and Rushcroft
|
|
Alston with Garrigill
|
Included the
Chapelry
of
Garrigill
|
Caldbeck (part)
|
Township of
Mosedale
|
Carlisle, St Mary's (part)
|
Township of Middlesceugh & Braithwaite
|
Castle Sowerby
|
|
Croglin
|
|
Dacre
|
|
Edenhall
|
Included township of
Langwathby
|
Great Salkeld
|
|
Greystoke
|
Included townships of Berrier & Murrah, Bowscale,
Hutton John
,
Hutton Roof
, Hutton Soil,
Matterdale
,
Mungrisdale
,
Threlkeld
,
Watermillock
|
Hesket in the Forest
|
|
Hutton in the Forest
|
|
Kirkland
|
Included townships of
Culgaith
, Kirkland &
Blencarn
|
Kirkoswald
|
Included township of
Staffield
|
Lazonby
|
Included township of
Plumpton Wall
|
Melmerby
|
|
Newton Reigny
|
Included township of
Catterlen
|
Ousby
|
|
Penrith
|
|
Renwick
|
|
Skirwith
|
|
Cumberland Ward
[
edit
]
Cumberland Ward included
Carlisle
and
Wigton
as well as parts of
Inglewood Forest
. The
parish
of
Stanwix
just to the north of
Carlisle
was partly in both Eskdale and Cumberland wards.
* Parts or all of these parishes and townships constituted the City of Carlisle, and were largely outside the jurisdiction of Cumberland Ward.
Local government from the 19th century
[
edit
]
During the 19th century a series of reforms reshaped the local government of the county, creating a system of districts with directly elected councils.
Poor law and municipal reform
[
edit
]
The first changes concerned the administration of the
poor law
, which was carried at parish level. The
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
provided for the grouping of parishes into
poor law unions
, each with a central
workhouse
and an elected
board of guardians
. Cumberland was divided into nine unions: Alston with Garrigill, Bootle, Brampton, Carlisle, Cockermouth, Longtown, Penrith, Whitehaven and Wigton.
In the following year the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
was passed, reforming boroughs and cities in
England and Wales
as
municipal boroughs
with a uniform constitution. The corporation of the City of Carlisle was accordingly remodelled with a popularly elected council consisting of a mayor, aldermen and councillors.
Local boards and sanitary districts
[
edit
]
Outside of municipal boroughs, there was no effective local government until the 1840s. In response to poor sanitary conditions and outbreaks of
cholera
, the
Public Health Act 1848
(
11 & 12 Vict.
c. 63) and the
Local Government Act 1858
allowed for the formation of
local boards of health
in populous areas. Local boards were responsible
inter alia
for water supply, drainage, sewerage, paving and cleansing. Eleven local boards were initially formed at Brampton, Cleator Moor, Cockermouth, Egremont, Holme Cultram, Keswick, Maryport, Millom, Penrith, Whitehaven, Wigton and Workington.
Further reform under the
Public Health Act 1875
(
38 & 39 Vict.
c. 55) saw the creation of
sanitary districts
throughout England and Wales. The existing municipal boroughs and local boards became "urban sanitary districts", while "rural sanitary districts" were formed from the remaining areas of the poor law unions.
Three more local boards were formed: Arlecdon and Frizington in 1882, Harrington in 1891 and Aspatria in 1892. In addition Workington and Whitehaven received charters of incorporation to become municipal boroughs in 1883 and 1894 respectively.
Local government acts of 1888 and 1894
[
edit
]
In 1889, under the
Local Government Act 1888
, the
Cumberland County Council
was created as the
county council
for Cumberland, taking over administrative functions from the Court of
Quarter Sessions
. The
Local Government Act 1894
reconstituted the existing sanitary districts as
urban districts
and
rural districts
, each with an elected council.
The Act of 1888 also allowed any municipal borough with a population of 50,000 people or more to become a "
county borough
", independent of county council control. In 1914, Carlisle successfully applied for this status, ceasing to form part of the
administrative county
, although remaining within Cumberland for the purposes such as
Lieutenancy
and
shrievalty
.
Reform in 1934
[
edit
]
The
Local Government Act 1929
imposed the duty on county councils of reviewing the districts within their administrative county so as to form more efficient units of local government. In general, this meant the merging of small or lightly populated areas into larger units. A review was carried in Cumberland in 1934. The following table lists the urban and rural districts before and after the changes.
District 1894?1934
|
District 1934?1974
|
Alston with Garrigill RD
|
Arlecdon & Frizington UD
|
Part of Ennerdale RD
|
Aspatria UD
|
Absorbed by Wigton RD
|
Bootle RD
|
Part of Millom RD
|
Brampton RD
|
Part of Border RD
|
Carlisle RD
|
Part of Border RD
|
Cleator Moor UD
|
Part of Ennerdale RD
|
Cockermouth RD
|
Cockermouth UD
|
Egremont UD
|
Part of Ennerdale RD
|
Harrington UD
|
Absorbed by Workington MB
|
Holme Cultram UD
|
Absorbed by Wigton RD
|
Keswick UD
|
Longtown RD
|
Part of Border RD
|
Maryport UD
|
Penrith RD
|
Penrith UD
|
Whitehaven RD
|
Part of Ennerdale RD
|
The distribution of population in 1971 was as follows:1971 Census; Small Area Statistics
District
|
Population
|
County Borough of Carlisle
|
71,580
|
Cockermouth Urban District
|
6,366
|
Keswick Urban District
|
5,184
|
Maryport Urban District
|
11,612
|
Penrith Urban District
|
11,308
|
Municipal Borough of Whitehaven
|
26,721
|
Municipal Borough of Workington
|
28,431
|
Alston with Garrigill Rural District
|
1,917
|
Border Rural District
|
29,267
|
Cockermouth Rural District
|
21,520
|
Ennerdale Rural District
|
30,983
|
Millom Rural District
|
14,088
|
Penrith Rural District
|
11,380
|
Wigton Rural District
|
21,830
|
In 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972
, the administrative county and county borough were abolished and their former area was combined with
Westmorland
and parts of
Lancashire
and the
West Riding of Yorkshire
to form the new county of
Cumbria
. The area from Cumberland went on to form the districts of
Carlisle
,
Allerdale
,
Copeland
and part of
Eden
.
[9]
Legacy
[
edit
]
The name continues in use as a geographical and cultural term, and it survives in
Cumberland sausages
;
HMS
Cumberland
; the Cumberland Fell Runners Club; the Cumberland Athletics Club; and various organisations and companies, such as the local newspapers
The Cumberland News
, and
The West Cumberland Times and Star
, and the
Cumberland Building Society
. It is also mentioned in
Macbeth
as the kingdom given to Prince Malcolm, and is also the initial setting for the
Geoffrey Trease
historical novel
Cue for Treason
.
In June 1994, during the
1990s UK local government reform
, the Local Government Commission published draft recommendations, suggesting as one option a North Cumbria
unitary authority
(also including
Appleby
, the historic county town of Westmorland). It also suggested that Cumberland could be reinstated as an independent
ceremonial county
. The final recommendations, published in October 1994, did not include such recommendations, apparently due to lack of expression of support for the proposal to the commission.
The
Grass-of-Parnassus
was the
county flower
. It had been associated with the county since 1951, when it was included in the
coat of arms
granted to the Cumberland County Council. It subsequently featured in the arms granted to Cumbria County Council and
Copeland Borough Council
, in both cases to represent Cumberland. The flower was also attributed to Cumbria in 2002 as part of a national
County flowers of the United Kingdom
campaign by the charity
Plantlife
.
In 2012, a flag based on the arms of the former Cumberland County Council was registered as the
flag of Cumberland
with the
Flag Institute
.
In 2013, the
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
,
Eric Pickles
, formally recognised and acknowledged the continued existence of England's 39 historic counties, including Cumberland.
[10]
[11]
[12]
In 2021, it was announced that on 1 April 2023 local government in Cumbria would be reorganised into two
unitary authorities
, one of which is
Cumberland
and includes most of the historic county, with the exception of
Penrith
and the surrounding area.
[13]
The new authority covers 77% of the area and 90% of the population of the historic county.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Cymric"
.
Online Etymological Dictionary
. Retrieved
25 September
2010
.
- ^
Davies, John (2007) [1990].
A History of Wales
. Penguin Books. pp. 68?69.
- ^
Barrow, G. W. S. (2006).
The Kingdom of the Scots: Government, Church and Society from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century
(2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press.
ISBN
0-7486-1803-1
.
- ^
W. F. H. Nicolaisen,
Scottish Place Names
, p. 131
- ^
"Carlisle Diocese: History and Description"
.
Clergy of the Church of England database
. Retrieved
2 February
2014
.
- ^
Marr, J. E. (1910).
Cambridge County Geographies: Cumberland
. Cambridge University Press.
- ^
W L Warren
(1984). "The Myth of Norman Administrative Efficiency: The Prothero Lecture".
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
. Fifth Series.
34
: 113?132.
doi
:
10.2307/3679128
.
JSTOR
3679128
.
S2CID
162793914
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
The wards and their constituent parishes were as of 1821.
Youngs, Frederic A Jr. (1991).
Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.2: Northern England
. London:
Royal Historical Society
. pp. 648?649.
ISBN
0-86193-127-0
.
Whillier, Thomas (1825).
A General Directory to all the Counties, Hundreds, Ridings, Wapentakes, Divisions, Cities, Boroughs, Liberties, Parishes, Townships, Tythings, Hamlets, Precincts, Chapelries &c. &c. in England
. London: Joseph Butterworth & Son. pp. 28?31.
- ^
Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System
. London:
HMSO
. 1974.
ISBN
0-11-750847-0
.
- ^
"Eric Pickles: celebrate St George and England's traditional counties"
. Department for Communities and Local Government. 23 April 2013
. Retrieved
22 June
2013
.
- ^
Kelner, Simon (23 April 2013).
"Eric Pickles's championing of traditional English counties is something we can all get behind"
.
The Independent
. London
. Retrieved
22 June
2013
.
- ^
Garber, Michael (23 April 2013).
"Government 'formally acknowledges' the Historic Counties to Celebrate St George's Day"
. Association of British Counties
. Retrieved
22 June
2013
.
- ^
"Names for two controversial Cumbria councils revealed"
.
BBC News
. 5 November 2021
. Retrieved
12 March
2022
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Cumberland Heritage
by
Molly Lefebure
(Chapters include Camden, Briathwaite, Millbeck, Fellwalkers,
Carlisle
Canal, Armboth,
John Peel
(farmer) and the
Blencathra
), with endpaper maps of old Cumberland.Detail taken from a copy of
Cumberland Heritage
published by Victor Gollancz,
London
in 1970,
ISBN
0575003766
External links
[
edit
]
54°45′N
3°00′W
/
54.750°N 3.000°W
/
54.750; -3.000