Bewcastle, Cumberland Family History Guide

Bewcastle is an Ancient Parish in the county of Cumberland.

Other places in the parish include: Bailie, Nixons, and Bailey.

Alternative names:

Parish church:

Parish registers begin:

• Parish registers: 1737
• Bishop’s Transcripts: 1665

Nonconformists include: Church of Scotland/Scottish Presbyterian and Presbyterian Church in England.

Adjacent Parishes

• Lanercost with Kirkcambeck
• Stapleton
• Falstone
• Greystead
• Nicholforest

Historical Descriptions

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

BEWCASTLE, a township and a parish in Longtown district, Cumberland. The township lies in an upland tract, between the rivers Line, Kirkbeck, and Irthing, 6½ miles NNW of Rosehill r. station, and 10 NE of Brampton. Real property, £1,918. Pop., 152. Houses, 27. Here was a Roman station, garrisoned by part of the second Roman legion, to protect the workmen employed in building the Roman wall. Here also was a Norman castle, repaired by Bueth, a Norman baron, lord of the manor, immediately after the Conquest, and called from him Bewcastle. The structure was square, each front about 87 feet long; was occupied by a border garrison in the time of Elizabeth, and demolished by parliamentary forces in 1641; and the ruin of it, in one part about 40 feet high, is still standing. Many Roman coins and inscriptions have been found. The right of fair and market was acquired in the time of Edward I.; but has long been in disuse. The parish includes also the townships of Nixons, Bailey, and Bellbank; and its Post Town is either Gilsland or Brampton under Carlisle. Acres, 30,000. Rated property, £8,693. Pop., 1,091. Houses, 205. The property is much subdivided. The manor was given, in the time of Charles I., to Sir Richard Graham; and it remains now with his descendant Sir F. U. Graham of Netherby. Large portion of the surface is wild and waste. Coal, limestone, and lead are found. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £120. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. The church is small and good, on a rising-ground within the fosse which surrounds the station. An ancient obelisk, a single block, 14 feet high, with sculptures and inscriptions which were but lately deciphered, stands in the churchyard. There is an English Presbyterian chapel.

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

Maps

Vision of Britain historical maps

Administration

County: Cumberland
Civil Registration District: Longtown
Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Carlisle (Episcopal Consistory)
Diocese: Carlisle
Rural Deanery: Carlisle
Poor Law Union: Longtown
Hundred: Eskdale Ward
Province: York