Holme Cultram, Cumberland Family History Guide
Holme Cultram is an Ancient Parish in the county of Cumberland.
Alternative names: Abbey Holme
Other places in the parish include: Abbey Holme, Abbeytown, Abbey Cooper, East Waver Holme, Holm East Waver, Holm St Cuthbert, Holme Abbey, Holme East Waver, Holme St Cuthbert, Skinburness Marsh, and St Cuthbert Holme.
Parish church: Virgin Mary
Parish registers begin: 1581; Separate registers exist for Holme St Cuthbert.
Nonconformists include: Independent/Congregational, Society of Friends/Quaker, and Wesleyan Methodist.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
Holme Cultram
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
HOLME-CULTRAM, a parish in Wigton district, Cumberland; on the Carlisle and Silloth railway, the river Waver, and the Solway frith, around the village of Abbeytown and the town of Silloth, which have stations on the railway, and post offices under Carlisle.
It contains the townships of Abbey-Holme, Holme-St. Cuthbert, Holme-East-Waver, and Low Holme; and comprises 24,920 acres of land, and 14,042 of water. Real property, £26,926. Pop. in 1851, 3,212; in 1861, 3,867. Houses, 743. The increase of pop. was caused by the opening of the railway, and by the forming of the new town and port of Silloth. The property, in most parts, is much subdivided. The coast appears, from various records, to have undergone very great changes by irruption of the sea.
A Cistertian abbey, noticed in our article Abbey Holme, was a centre of much influence, and a place of considerable events. King Alexander of Scotland plundered it in 1216; Edward I. of England was at it in 1300; Robert Bruce partially demolished it in 1322, though his father had been buried in it; and Michael Scott, the reputed wizard, was a monk in it, and, together with his magic books, was buried within its enclosure. Wolsty Castle, a fortress erected by the abbots to secure their treasures, books, and charters from the sudden forays of the Scots, stood a short distance to the W. There are a steam mill, and brick and tile works.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £170. Patron, the University of Oxford. The church is a renovated portion of the old abbey buildings. The chapelries of Newton-Arlosh, Holme-St. Cuthbert, and Low Holme, are separate benefices, in patronage of the Vicar. There are good national schools.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
HOLME-CULTRAM (Virgin Mary), a parish, in the union of Wigton, Allerdale ward below Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 6½ miles (W. N. W.) from Wigton; containing 3037 inhabitants, of whom 933 are in the township of Low Holme, 868 in that of Abbey-Holme, 766 in that of St. Cuthbert, Holme, and 470 in that of East Waver-Holme.
This parish is bounded on the west by the sea, and on the north by the estuaries of the Wampool and the Waver. It comprises about 22,000 acres, of which nearly 3000 are moss, and the remainder inclosed and cultivated land; the surface is generally flat, with some bold undulations, and there are quarries of excellent freestone.
The village is pleasantly situated on the west bank of the river Waver, over which is a neat bridge of three arches; built in 1770, at the expense of the parishioners.
The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king’s books at £6. 13. 4.; net income, £140; patrons and impropriators, the University of Oxford. The church was mostly rebuilt in 1606, the greater part of the old edifice having been destroyed by fire. It was the church of an abbey of Cistercian monks, founded in 1150, by Prince Henry of Scotland, and so richly endowed that, at the Dissolution, the revenue was estimated at £535. 3. 7.: in the churchyard are various remains of the conventual buildings. The abbots were summoned to several parliaments by Edward I. and II.: the last abbot was instituted to the rectory.
The Society of Friends have a meeting-house at Beck-foot. At Newton-Arlosh are the ruins of an ancient chapel, said to have been once the parochial church. Walsey Castle, a strong fort, has dwindled into a small heap of ruins.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Complete Pocket Gazetteer of England and Wales 1807
Abbey Holme, or Holme Cultram, (Cumb.) a vil. situate on an arm of the sea, 16 miles dist. from Carlisle, and 310 from London. The abbey is said to have been founded by David I. king of Scotland.
Source: Complete Pocket Gazetteer of England and Wales; Crosby Rev. J. Malham; 1807.
Abbey Holme
The National Gazetteer 1868
ABBEY HOLME, a tnshp. in the par. of Holme Cultram, in Allerdale-below-Derwent ward, in the co. of Cumberland, 6 miles N.W. of Wigton, and 15 E. of Maryport. The Carlisle and Silloth Bay railway passes through the parish and has a station at Holme. There are still some remains of the Cistercian abbey founded here in 1150 by Prince Henry of Scotland, and St. Mary’s church is said to have formed part of the abbey church.
Source: The National Gazetteer: a Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands compiled from the latest and best sources and illustrated with a complete county atlas and numerous maps. Vol. 1. Virtue & Co. London. 1868.
A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom 1808
Abbey-Holm, or Holm-Cultram, a parish and market-town in the division of Allerdale ward, Cumberland, 4 miles from Wigton, and 309 from London; containing 428 houses and 2187 inhabitants, of whom 230 were returned employed in trade.
The parish is divided into four townships, was formerly of great repute, and had a stately abbey, founded by David I. king of Scotland, who resided chiefly in Cumberland. The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and is a vicarage, value 6l. 13s. 4d. Patron, the University of Oxford.
The town is pleasantly situated on the river Waver, near Solway Frith. About 5 miles distant from the sea-shore are the vestiges of an ancient castle, built by the abbots of Holm-Cultram, for securing their books and charters from the depredations of the Scots. Here formerly was a good market on Saturday, now almost in disuse. – Houseman’s Description of Cumberland.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of the United Kingdom. Benjamin Pitts Capper. 1808.
Abbey Cooper
Cumberland The National Gazetteer 1868
Abbey Cooper, a small hmlt. in the par. of Holme Cultram, in Allerdale-below-Derwent ward, in the co. of Cumberland, 1 mile W of the vil. and 5 from Wigton.
Source: The National Gazetteer: a Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands compiled from the latest and best sources and illustrated with a complete county atlas and numerous maps. Vol. 1. Virtue & Co. London. 1868.
Abbey
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales Circa 1870
Abbey, a railway station in Cumberland; on the Carlisle and Silloth railway, at Abbey-Holme, 17 miles WSW of Carlisle.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Parish Registers
Marriage Licences and Allegations
London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869
The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.
Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London’s Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.
Blennerhassett, William (Blennerhassatt) (sic subs.), of Holme Coultrom, co. Cumberland, esq., bachelor, about 22, and Mrs. Frances Musgrave, of Heyton Castle, said county, spinster, about 20, consent of father, Sir Edward Musgrave, of same, knight and bart., — at St. Margaret, Westminster. 12 March, 1671/2. V.
Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Administration
- County: Cumberland
- Civil Registration District: Wigton
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Carlisle (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Carlisle
- Rural Deanery: Allerdale
- Poor Law Union: Wigton
- Hundred: Allerdale below Derwent Ward
- Province: York