Eskdale, Cumberland Family History Guide

Eskdale is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Cumberland, created in 1747 from a chapelry in St Bees Ancient Parish.

Alternative names: Eskdale and Wasdale

Parish registers begin:

• Parish registers: 1625
• Bishop’s Transcripts: 1676

Nonconformists include: Wesleyan Methodist

Adjacent Parishes

• Muncaster
• Borrowdale
• Millom
• Wasdale Head
• Irton

Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

ESKDALE, a chapelry in St. Bees parish, Cumberland; on the river Esk, 7 miles NE by E of Ravenglass r. station. It has a post office under Whitehaven. Acres, 13,000. Real property, with Wasdale, £1,728. Pop., 346. Houses, 63. The property is much sub-divided. The surface consists largely of moor and mountain. Micaceous iron ore is found. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £66. Patron, W. Stanley, Esq. The church is very good; and there are charities £10.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

ESKDALE, with Wasdale, a chapelry, in the parish of St. Bees, union of Bootle, Allerdale ward above Derwent, W. division of Cumberland, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Ravenglass; containing 375 inhabitants. This place, with Wasdale and Nether Wasdale, comprises 30,000 acres, of which 26,680 are common land or waste. It is remarkable for two waterfalls, Birker-Force and Stanley-Gill, about three-quarters of a mile distant from each other; the former dashes over a bare precipitous rock, and the latter, though somewhat inferior in height, is equal to it in beauty and grandeur.

The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £66; patron and impropriator, E. Stanley, Esq. The chapel, dedicated to St. Catherine, is a very ancient structure; in the east window is a painting of the saint, and above the eastern gable is a stone cross. A school was endowed by Edward Wilson in 1722, and by Edward Hartley in 1752.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848

Parish Records

FamilySearch

Census

Census returns for Eskdale and Wasdale, 1841-1891

1851 census, Eskdale, Netherwasdale and Wasdale Author: Russell, M. M., Mrs.

Church Records

Bishop’s transcripts for Eskdale, 1676-1871 Author: Church of England. Chapelry of Eskdale (Cumberland)

Church records, 1870-1891 Author: Bible Christian Church. Millom and Dalton Circuit (Lancashire)

Parish register printouts of Eskdale, Cumberland, England ; christenings, 1778-1871 Author: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogical Department

Parish registers for Eskdale, 1625-1930 Author: Church of England. Chapelry of Eskdale (Cumberland)

The registers of St. Catherines, Eskdale, for the years 1630-1812 Author: Church of England. Chapelry of Eskdale (Cumberland)

Computer printout of Eskdale, Cumb., Eng

Parish register printouts of Eskdale, Cumberland, England ; marriages, 1778-1867 Author: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogical Department

Cemeteries

St. Catherine, Eskdale parish church : ground plan of church and graveyard Author: Porter, John; Porter, Bruce H.; Porter, Lorna D.; Thompson, Bertie

Poorhouses & Poor Law

Parish records, 1699-1903 Author: Eskdale (Cumberland)

Public records

Parish records, 1699-1903 Author: Eskdale (Cumberland)

Directory Transcriptions

Kelly’s Directory of the Leather Trades 1880

ESKDALE

Boot & Shoe Makers
Porter John
Porter Joseph

Clog & Patten Maker
Porter Joseph

Maps

Vision of Britain historical maps

Administration

• County: Cumberland
• Civil Registration District: Bootle
• Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Richmond Western Deaneries – Copeland
• Diocese: Carlisle
• Rural Deanery: Copeland
• Poor Law Union: Bootle
• Hundred: Allerdale above Derwent Ward
• Province: York