Cumbria County History Trust
Established | May 2010 |
---|---|
Location | Cumbria, England |
Website | www.cumbriacountyhistory.org.uk |
The Cumbria County History Trust (CCHT) was launched in May 2010[1] to coordinate and gather resources for the Victoria County History of Cumbria project,[2] a collaborative community project created to research and write the histories of all parts of Cumbria, and to make historical information generally available, within the framework and standards of the Victoria County History of England.[3]
General
The aim of CCHT is to initiate a step-change in the awareness and understanding of Cumbria’s local historical heritage, by harnessing the enthusiasm for local history which exists widely across Cumbria, and pooling expertise. Its ultimate aim is to write the history of every town and village in England. To date, a team of over 100 volunteers from across Cumbria has compiled brief histories, called Jubilee Digests for each of the 340 parishes/townships in the county, using the Civil Parishes as they existed around 1900, forming a springboard for future work. In addition a smaller core of volunteers has embarked on researching and writing full parish/township histories, in the standard style of the Victoria County History, which will eventually form part of the national work of local historical reference. Please see the Completed Draft Histories section for more details.
Early Work
No VCH town or village histories had been published for the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland before the VCH Cumbria project was launched in 2010; the only parts of Cumbria previously to have been researched in detail by the VCH were those parts which were formerly in Lancashire. The story of the early attempts to publish a VCH for Cumberland and Westmorland has been told by John Beckett in a paper in the Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and archaeological Society, New Series, vol XI, (2011) pp. 207–225[4]
Lancashire
The Furness and Cartmel areas (Lonsdale North of the Sands) were covered in VCH Lancashire, Volume VIII (published in 1910)[5]
Cumberland
Two introductory volumes were published in the early twentieth century, Volume 1 (1901), which covered Early Man, Pre-Norman Remains, Introduction to and Texts of the Cumberland Domesday, Early Pipe Rolls, and Testa de Nevill[6] and Volume II (1905) which covered Political History, Industries, Sport Ancient and Modern, Forestry [7]
Westmorland
Nothing has been published to date
Jubilee Digests
The Jubilee Digests are so named after the Queen’s Jubilee, as they were launched in 2012. All 340 Digests are accessible through an interactive map or search engine on the CCHT website.
The aim of the Jubilee Digests is to summarise aspects of each community’s history from the earliest times to the present day, in a standard format, using a limited set of specified sources.
Each ‘Jubilee Digest’ contains the following information:
- Name of place: status (i.e. whether ancient parish, township or chapelry); parish, ward and historic county in which it lay; modern local government boundary changes
- Acreage of administrative unit and extent of common moor or fell, with date of enclosure
- Population: overview of number of inhabitants from 1801 to 2001
- Landownership: summary of manorial descent (if known); other major estates (if known)
- Economic activity other than farming (i.e. mines, quarries, manufacturing, markets etc.)
- Places of worship both Established Church and nonconformist
- Schools and other institutions, such as libraries, almshouses, village halls
Completed Draft Histories
A list of completed full parish/township in draft form is accessible and downloadable from the CCHT website.[8]
Resources
In addition to the Jubilee Digests and Draft Histories, CCHT has made available a full transcript of Cumbrian Census figures from 1801 to 2001, by ward[9]
The CCHT website also contains a range of images available for download, including photographs of all the townships covered by the Jubilee Digests, plus images taken from:
- Hutchinson's History of the County of Cumberland, Vol 1 1794
- Sketches and photographs from sketchbook compiled by Joseph Hall (1839-1899) of Parkgate, Waverton: Cumbria Archive Centre, Carlisle, DX 1065/50
- Aqua-tints and engravings from Thomas West's "A Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire", 6th edn, 1796
- Aqua-tints and engravings from Thomas West's "A Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire", 6th edn, 1796
- Illustrations by A Reginald Smith from W G Collingwood 'The Lake Counties', (New Edition 1932)
- Old Maps of Cumbria Gallery: extracts of old printed maps showing Cumbria. All the maps illustrated are in private ownership and there are no copyright restrictions on their use
- Engravings from Thomas Pennant's Tour from Downing to Alston Moor 1801
Project Direction
All the work on the Victoria County History of Cumbria project is being done by volunteers, under the overall direction of Professor Angus Winchester of Lancaster University and with volunteer guidance and support provided by Dr Sarah Rose, Volunteer Co-ordinator.
Volunteers are provided training to ensure that the high standards of scholarship expected from the Victoria County History are maintained, and that the output, both Digests and Draft Histories, provides a factual, reliable and authoritative work of reference for everyone with an interest in the history of their town or village - and possibly their family too.
A practical guide for volunteers contributing to the Victoria County History (Cumbria) Project has been published and is freely available. It contains guidance on all aspects of researching and writing the history of a parish or township for the VCH, drawing attention to sources and themes of particular relevance to the history of local communities in Cumbria.
Trustees
The Cumbria County History Trust (CCHT) is a registered charity (Charity Registration Number 1137379). The charitable aims of the Trust are:
- to further the education of the public in the history and heritage of the County of Cumbria and its communities and to promote and foster public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the history of the area in general.
- to undertake research into the history and heritage of the County of Cumbria and its communities and to disseminate the useful results of such research for the public benefit.
CCHT has a current membership of 138 individuals and 12 societies. The project is managed by the Board of Trustees, chaired by Bryan Gray, CBE.
The trustees are:
- Bryan Gray [Elected Chair]
- Richard Alexander Allport Brockington [CLHF, Secretary]
- David Galbraith [University of Cumbria]
- John Garside CBE DSc FREng [Treasurer]
- June Lenna Hall, MA [Elected 30/10/10]
- Tiffany Hunt [Elected 30/10/10]
- Anne Rowe [Cumbria County Council]
- Marion McClintock, MBE, BA [Elected 30/10/10]
- Robinson Stuart Matthews [Diocese of Carlisle]
- Vivienne June Cassandra Rees, M.A.(Oxon), M.Litt.(Lanc) [LDNPA]
- Dr William Dermot Shannon [CWAAS]
- Professor Keith Stringer, MA, PhD, FRHistS, FSA [Lancaster University]
- Mary Wane, OBE [FOCAS]
- Sarah Ellen Woodcock [National Trust]
Patrons and Sponsors
This project is part financed by the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society, the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The Trusts Patrons are:
- Sir Christian Bonington CBE
- Sir James Cropper KCVO
- Lord Inglewood
- Dr David Starkey, CBE
The Trust is supported by the following organisations:
- Cumbria County Council
- Cumbria Local History Federation
- Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society
- Diocese of Carlisle
- Friends of Cumbria Archives
- Lake District National Park Authority
- National Trust North West Region
- Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne
- Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)
- University of Cumbria
- University of Lancaster
References
- ↑ "A Future for Cumbria Past". Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ↑ "Cumbria County History Trust". Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ↑ "Victoria County History". Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ↑ "The Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society and the Victoria County History".
- ↑ "The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster Volume Three". Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ↑ "The Victoria History of the County of Cumberland Volume One". Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ↑ "The Victoria History of the County of Cumberland Volume Two". Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ↑ "Completed Draft Histories, Cumbria County History Trust".
- ↑ "Cumbrian Census figures 1801 to 2001, by ward". Retrieved 11 February 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cumbria County History Trust. |
- Lancaster University – Official website
- Professor Angus Winchester - Lancaster University
- Dr Sarah Rose - Lancaster University