Dacre, Cumberland Family History Guide

Dacre is an Ancient Parish in the county of Cumberland.

Other places in the parish include: Great Blencow, Newbiggin, Soulby, and Stainton.

Parish church:

Parish registers begin: 1559

Nonconformists include: Society of Friends/Quaker and Wesleyan Methodist.

Parishes adjacent to Dacre

• Barton
• Skelton
• Newton Reigny
• Greystoke
• Watermillock
• Penrith

Historical Descriptions

Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

Dacre, a township and a parish in Penrith district, Cumberland. The township lies on the rivulet Dacre, 4½ miles SW by W of Penrith r. station; has a post-office under Penrith; and gives the title of Baron to the family of Brand. Real property, £2,177. Pop., 151. Houses, 37. The parish contains also the townships of Stainton, Soulby, Newbiggin, and Great Blencow. Acres, 8,205. Real property, £9,124. Pop., 967. Houses, 191. The property is much subdivided. The manor belonged to the Brands of Dacre, and passed to Hassells of Dalemain. Dacre Castle, the seat of the Brands, was converted into a farm-house, and is represented now by four square embattled towers, with connecting walls. The Brands got their title of Dacre, originally, D'Acre, from the exploits of one of them at the siege of Acre in Palestine, under Coeur de Lion; and Sir Walter Scott describes their bill-men as

“With kirtles white and crosses red
Array'd beneath the banner tall
That stream'd o'er Acre's conquered wall.”

An ancient monastery stood here; and Athelstane, in 930, after achieving a victory in the neighbourhood, received in the monastery the homage of the Cumbrian and the Scottish kings. His victory was sung in a Saxon ode which is still extant. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £150. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is a neat edifice; and contains monuments of the Brands and the Hassells. A curious monumental structure, consisting of four stone bears clasping a rude pillar, is in the churchyard. Two schools have £9 and £191 from endowment; and other charities have £35.

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

Administration

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