Upper Denton

• There are no record repositories within the parish. Information on County Record Offices and Libraries generally may be found on our Cumberland Archives and Libraries web page. Additional records are at the University of Durham - Library Archives and Special Collections.

• History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, T.F. Bulmer, T.Bulmer & Co., Manchester, 1884.
• Shielings and Bastles, Royal Commission on Historical Momuments (England), H.M.S.O., 1970

• "The church, which is situated in the village, was restored about three years ago [Ed. restored ca. 1881]. The old fabric was a very humble structure in the early Norman style, built of stones taken from the old Roman Wall, and had undergone very little change during the course of many ages. For ecclesiastical purposes, this parish has been united with the district attached to St. Mary Magdalene, in Gilsland. In early times, this church belonged to the priory of Lanercost. Near the church is an old pele tower, supposed to have been originally the vicarage house." (Extract from Bulmer's 1884 History & Directory, cited above)

The original records and bishops transcripts are held in Carlisle RO, but readers can only access registers on microfilm.
The reference number links to the CASCAT catalogue listing for all church records for the parish.

IGI batch numbers are those compiled by Hugh Wallis on Rootsweb (Hugh Wallis)  that  can be used to search directly in FamilySearch.
Alternatively try the Archers Software interface.

The FamilySearch Research Wiki page also indicates coverage on other resources, including paying and subscription access genealogical platforms.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• The transcription of the section for Upper Denton from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Upper Denton to another place.

• "The pele tower, or fortified vicarage, is located at NY615654 on the Ordnance Survey maps. In 1970 it was roofless, in ruin, but standing two stories high. It was one of a number of fortified parsonages in the area."
  (More information is available in 'Shielings and Bastles', cited above)

• Upper Denton was a part of the Howard of Naworth family estates and the Barony of Gilsland. Many of the Manorial Records are available at the Carlisle CRO, but the bulk of the family records have been deposited in the University of Durham's Library. More detailed information may be found on the Durham University Library - Special Collections website.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NY616654 (Lat/Lon: 54.981711, -2.60154), Upper Denton which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• Upper Denton fell under the authority of the ancient diocese of Carlisle and wills prior to 1858 were proved in the consistory court there. Records from 1548 to 1858 include original wills, letters of administration and inventories, although there are significant gaps in the years before 1661. These are deposited with the CRO at Carlisle. Comprehensive indexes exist, at the Carlisle CRO, in card files easily accessible in the reading room. The indexes cover from 1617 to 1941, listing the year of probate and the residence of the deceased. This is extraordinarily helpful in distinguishing between many individuals of the same name. Microfilm of many of these records, and a partial typescript of the indexes, is available at the Kendal office of the CRO.
• The Province of York covered most of northern England, including this parish, and anyone who died leaving property in more than one diocese within the province would have their will proved in the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of York (PCY) or sometimes in the Chancery Court of the Archbishop of York. These records are now deposited with York University, Borthwick Institute of Historical Research.
• For probate from 1858 on, and general information, see our England - Probate page. However please note registered copy probate records for Cumberland are also available 1858-1941 at the Record Office in Carlisle.

[Page originated by Don Noble on 7 Sep 1997 and updated 18 Mar 2000 - Don Noble]