Addingham, Cumberland
Historical Description
Addingham, a parish in Cumberland, on the river Eden, 2 miles from Little Salkeld railway station, and 6½ NE of Penrith. It contains the townships of Hunsonby and Winskill, Little Salkeld, Glassonby, and Gamblesby. Post town, Langwathby (R.S.O.) Population, 777. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle; net value, £330. Patron, the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. The church is good, and there are chapels for Congregationalists and Wesleyans. There is an endowed school at Hunsonby. Dr Paloy was vicar from 1792 till 1796. The Roman Maiden way runs through the parish, and a remarkable Druidical monument, called Long Meg and her Daughters, with a splendid view from the Crossfell Mountains to Helvellyn, occurs on an eminence about a mile ENE of the church. The monument comprises sixty-nine enormous unhewn stones, most of them in a circle of about 350 feet in diameter, and a predominant upright block 14 feet in girth and 12 feet high. Wordsworth pronounces this "family" of Druid stones unrivalled in singularity and dignity of appearance, and says- A weight of awe not easy to be borne Pell suddenly upon my spirit-cast From the dread bosom of the unknown past, When first I saw that family forlorn." The Lacy caves, consisting of five large rooms cut out of the solid rock, are near here.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Cumberland | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Addingham St. Michael | |
| Poor Law union | Penrith | |
| Ward | Leath |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish registers date from the year 1604.
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (parish church)
The parish church of St. Michael, locally in the civil parish of Glassonby, and half a mile from the village of that name, is a small and plain, but ancient edifice of stone, in the Norman style, with some square-headed Perpendicular windows, and consists of chancel, nave, south-west porch and a western bell-gable with 2 bells: the east window and two others in the chancel and also two in the nave are stained: the communion plate includes a silver chalice and paten, dated 1612: the church was repaired in 1839, and in 1898 further alterations were made, when the chancel and nave were re-ceiled, new clergy and choir seats and pulpit provided, the chancel floor re-laid and other interior improvements made at a cost of £500: there are 200 sittings. In the churchyard stands the fine head of an ancient cross, recovered from the bed of the river about 1820. In 1913 various remains from the old churchyard of St. Michael were recovered from the bed of the river Eden; they consist of a hogback stone, a flat tombstone, on which is carved a cross and a sword, a square block with a rectangular hole in the centre, in all probability the original base of the ancient cross mentioned above, and one or two other stones of less importance.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Addingham from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Addingham (St. Michael))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cumberland is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Addingham are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Parochial History
Addingham was formerly divided into four townships, viz. Glassonby, Little Salkeld, Hunsonby with Winskill, and Gamblesby with Unthank, but under the provisions of the "Local Government Act, 1894," these were made separate parishes for civil purposes.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
GamblesbyGlassonby
Hunsonby and Winskill
Little Salkeld
Winskill
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Cumberland, 1615 is available on the Heraldry page.