Clifton

M.I.s for Clifton were transcribed in Monumental Inscriptions of Westmorland by E. Bellasis 1888-89 and are available on Westmorland Papers.

Returns survive for the 'census' of 1787 and are held at the Kendal Record Office of Cumbria Archives Service. The Record Office reference is WQ/SP/C. They are transcribed in Vital Statistics published by Curwen Archives Trust 1992. ISBN 1897590008. There is a transcription on EdenLinks

Census returns are available from the usual sources for 1841-1911.

A transcript of the 1841 census of Clifton [HO107/1162] is provided by Virginia Gretton. It includes the following names:

ABBOT, ALLISON, ATKINSON, BAILEY, BARR, BARTON, BATTIE, BATMAN, BELL, BIRD, BLACKLOCK, BROWN, CAMBELL, CANNON, CLARK, COLLIN, COPLEY, COULSTON, DAND, DICKINSON, DOUTHWAITE, ELLIOT/ELLIOTT, FALLOWFIELD, FELL, GILL, GILSON, GOOD, GOULDING, GRAHAM, HANSON, HARVEY, HERRING, HOGARTH, HOLMES, HOWS, IRVING, JACK, JACKSON, JAMES, KERSHAW, KILNER, KIRKPATRICK, KITCHEN, LANCASTER, LANTHIN, LOWTHIAN, LEGGIT, McKIE, MOSES, MOUNSEY, NICHOLSON, NOBLE, OSTLEY, PARKINSON, RICHARDSON, RIGG, ROBINSON, SANDERSON, SARGINSON, SCOT, SHAW, SIMPSON, SMITH, STAMPER, STEPHENSON, STEWARDSON, STOUT, SWAINSON, THOMPSON/TOMPSON, TINKLER/TINKLOR, WAITING, WALKER, WATSON, WESLOP, WILKINSON, WILLS, WILSON, WINTER, WORKMAN, YARKER.

Transcript and index for 1851 has been published by the Cumbria Family History Society and also in 'North Westmorland - An Index to the 1851 Census' compiled by David Lowis and Barbara Slack.

Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts are held by Cumbria Archives :
originals at Kendal RO and microfilm copies at Carlisle RO.

See the CASCAT online calogue for WPR45 for information on these and other parish records..

For searching on LDS familysearch.org see IGI batch numbers (compiled by Jake Prescott)
or use the batch number search site (by Hugh Wallis)

Nicolson and Burn: The history and antiquities of the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland. 1777. Transcribed by Anne Nichols:

"Clifton is said to have been so called from two very remarkable cliffs above which it stands, on the east side of the river Lowther; one, of hard stone like marble, about half a mile south-west from the church; the other of a fine free stone, about half a mile west from the church, and is called Cat-scar, from a number of wild cats frequenting that place formerly. The parish is bounded on the north and east by the parish of Brougham, on the south by the parish of Lowther, and on the west by Yanwath in the parish of Barton (from which it is separated by the river Lowther); and contains about 42 families, 5 whereof are dissenters. [in 1777]. The church is dedicated to St. Cuthbert; or as some say, to St. Nicholas. The parish and manor are commensurate (for it contains but one manor). It is a rectory. The village of Clifton contains about 25 families; besides which there are about 7 straggling houses at Clifton Dikes. Clifton moor is memorable in history, on account of a skirmish between William duke of Cumberland and the rebels in the year 1745; wherein about 15 were killed on both sides."

• Geograph
• Flickr

The University of Leicester History, Directory & Gazetteer of Cumberland & Westmorland, 1829

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

The Later Records relating to North Westmorland by John F. Curwen (1932) on British History Online

Cumbria County History Trust has published a "Jubilee Digest" for the township of Clifton.

Magna Britannica et Hibernia.Volume 6: Westmorland by Thomas Cox 1731. Transcription by Sarah Reveley, Joan Fisher and Lisl Schoenwald. (Rootsweb Westmorland Listmembers) (c) 2003:

"Clifton, the Lordship of Roger Lord Clifford 4th, who died possessed of it, as of other Manors above; otherwise of Note only for the Birth of Christopher Airay, educated in Queens College, Oxford, where having taken his Degree of Master of Arts, and entering into Holy Orders, he became Bachelor of Divinity and Vicar of Milford in Hampshire in or about the Year 1642. It is said in his Epitaph, that in the Time of the Troubles he kept in the right Path, but we have no Account of his Demeanor then. He wrote some Books, but we find not what, except his Fasciculus Preceptorum Logienlium, (etc?) printed at London, 1660. He died on St. Luke's Day in 1670, and lies buried in the Chancel of his Church of Milford."

Clifton is famous as the site of the last battle on English soil, and is described in Clifton Moor - The Battle of on wikipedia

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NY543265 (Lat/Lon: 54.631228, -2.708934), Clifton 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.

Clifton is in the diocese of Carlisle and wills will be in Carlisle Record Office.

Hearth Tax records for 1674 Clifton transcribed on Edenlinks.
Window Tax records for 1777 Clifton transcribed on Edenlinks.