Hide
Kirkby Lonsdale
hide
Hide
hide
Hide
Hide
Hide
"Kirkby Lonsdale, that is the kirk-town in Lonsdale, hath its name from the dale in which it is situate, through which the river Lon (corruptly called Lune) runs all along from north to south; which river also gives name to the town of Lancaster; at which place the said river runs into the sea. Which dale also gave title to the noble family of Lowther, until the title became extinct on the death of the late Henry viscount Lonsdale. Kirkby Lonsdale is the largest town in the county, next unto Kendal; and is beautifully situate upon the banks of the river, over which there is a large stone bridge of three arches; for the repair of which bridge, there was a grant of pontage in the third year of King Edward the first. The parish of Kirkby Lonsdale is bounded on the East by the limits of the county of York; on the South, by the county of Lancaster and the parish of Burton in the county of Westmorland; on the West, by the said parish of Burton and the parish of Kendal; and on the North, by the parish of Kendal, and the parish of Sedberg in the county of York: and contains within it the several townships of Kirkby Lonsdale, Casterton and Hutton Roof, Lupton, Barbon and Manserghe, Middleton, Killington, and Firbank. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. . . The impropriation, and patronage of the vicarage,... were granted to Trinity College in Cambridge by Queen Mary in the first year of her reign."
[Nicolson and Burn: The history and antiquities of the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland. 1777. Transcribed by Anne Nichols ]
Hide
Kirkby Lonsdale contained several townships which became separate parishes:
Casterton and Hutton Roof, Lupton, Barbon and Mansergh (1728), Middleton, Killington, and Firbank.
Lupton later became a separate parish (but does not have a separate page on this site)
Hide
M.Is for Kirkby Lonsdale were transcribed in Monumental Inscriptions of Westmorland by E. Bellasis 1888-89 and are available on Westmorland Papers.
Returns do not survive for the 'census' of 1787.
Census returns are available from the usual sources for 1841-1911.
The 1881 census for the township of Lupton are available in a transcript
| Congregational Chapel, Kirkby Lonsdale, Congregational |
| St Joseph, Kirkby Lonsdale, Roman Catholic |
| St Mary Impressive Norman arcade remiscent of Durham Cathedral. S aisle and double N aisle running length of the church. Chancel with triple lancets of c1200. W tower with upper storey of 1705. C19th S porch. Many monumemts inside. This and other photographs are on Geograph site. Historical and architectural notes on National Heritage List (English Heritage site). Photograph(s) and description on VisitCumbria. Access and contact details on Church of England site |
| All Saints. Lupton Small neo-Norman church of 1867. Historical and architectural notes on National Heritage List (English Heritage site). This and other photos are on Geograph site Photograph(s) and description on VisitCumbria. Access and contact details on Church of England site |
Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts are held by Cumbria Archives :
originals at Kendal RO and microfilm copies at Carlisle RO.
| Kirkby Lonsdale | Lupton | |
| WPR19 | WPR 74 | |
| Baptism registers | 1538-1967 | |
| Marriage registers | 1538-1972 | 1927-1977 |
| Banns registers | 1754-1910 | |
| Burial registers | 1538-1973 | |
| Bishops transcripts | 1676-1874 |
Search the CASCAT online catalogue 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).
The non-conformist register for Back Lane Independent Chapel (Congregational?), Kirkby Lonsdale 1816-36 (bb) is held in Kendal Records Office and at the Public Record Office
The University of Leicester History, Directory & Gazetteer of Cumberland & Westmorland, 1829
- Ask for a calculation of the distance from Kirkby Lonsdale to another place.
Records relating to the Barony of Kendale, CWAAS, William Farrer & John F. Curwen (editors) are available on British History Online:
Cumbria County History Trust has published a "Jubilee Digest" for the townships of Kirkby Lonsdale and Lupton
Magna Britannica et Hibernia.Volume 6: Westmorland by Thomas Cox (Vicar of Bromfield, Essex) 45 pages, printed in 1731.
Transcription by Sarah Reveley, Joan Fisher and Lisl Schoenwald. (Rootsweb Westmorland Listmembers) (c) 2003
"LONSDALE, or Kirkby Lonsdale, that is, the Church Town in Lonsdale, so called, because it stands in the Tract, which adjoining to the River Lone, is called the Vale of the Lone, where it is the chief Town, to which the neighbouring Inhabitants resort to Church and Market. The Market is weekly on Tuesday, and Fair yearly on (blank) This Town is chiefly of Note for giving the Title of Viscount to the antient and reputable Family of Lowther, of whom Sir John Lowther, Vice-Chamberlain to King William III and Queen Mary, and one of their Privy Council, was created by their Majesties Baron Lowther, and Viscount Lonsdale; but because their chief Seat is at Lowther Hall in this County, we shall defer our Account of that noble Family, till we come to speak of that Place. John de Kirkby, that stout Prelate who vanquished the Scots almost miraculously, was born (as is supposed) in this Town. He was first a Canon, and then Bishop of Carlisle, which Place, when the Scots invaded England, and burnt it, with an Army of Thirty thousand Men under the Conduct of William Dowglas, Anno 1345. he not being able to bear the Insult, stirred up the Gentry of that Country to oppose them, and with the Help of Thomas Lucy and Robert Ogle, Persons of the greatest Interest in those Parts, got such a Company together, that make Use of an advantageous Station, he utterly vanquished and ruined the Scots. If it be said, that this Bishop had more Passion than Piety, and that it had better became him to pray than to fight, the Answer is ready, That it was a Kind of Necessity that forced him to act St. Peter's Part in drawing his Sword, for his Own, and the Nation's just Defence, which neither Religion nor Reason forbid. He must want Piety as well as Courage, who will not oppose a publick Enemy; and it a Bishop may not be Plaintiff in a military Case, surely he may be a Defendant."
You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SD585821 (Lat/Lon: 54.233017, -2.63821), Kirkby Lonsdale 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.
Wills for Kirkby Lonsdale will be at Carlisle since about 1858 but before that will be at the Preston R.O. as it was in the Diocese of Chester until that time.
Hearth Tax records for 1674 Kirkby Lonsdale transcribed on Edenlinks.
Hearth Tax records for 1674 Kirkby Lonsdale transcribed on Edenlinks. (Cas)
Hearth Tax records for 1674 Lupton transcribed on Edenlinks. (KL)