Arlecdon, Cumberland
Historical Description
Arlecdon, a township and a parish in Cumberland, 4¾ miles E by N of Parton railway station, and 5½ ENE of Whitehaven. The parish also includes the townships of Frizington and Whillimore, and has a post office under Carnforth, and a station for goods on the Cleator and Workington Junction railway. Arlecdon and Frizington are governed by a local board. Area of township, 3649 acres; population, 5596. The area of the parish is 5556 acres; population, 5697. Coal, lime, and ironstone are worked, and there is a good chalybeate spring. The living is a vicarage with Frizington, in the diocese of Carlisle; joint gross value, £230 per annum. Patron, the Bishop of Carlisle. There are two churches-St Michael, the parish church, and St Paul, at Frizington. There is also a Wesleyan chapel.
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 | Arlecdon St. Michael | |
Poor Law union | Whitehaven | |
Ward | Allerdale above Derwent |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register of marriages dates from 1730, burials 1735 and baptisms 1752.
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (parish church)
The church of St. Michael is a small building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave and a tower containing 8 bells: it was rebuilt in 1829 at a cost of about £794, raised by a rate on the parishioners, except £100 given by Dr. John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester, in whose diocese it then was: the interior contains a marble tablet to the late Joseph Steele, of Acre Walls, d. 30 Sept. 1835, besides other memorials: the church was restored in 1906, reseated and panelled in oak, an oak roof put on and a tower built at a cost of about £5,000, defrayed by Mrs. Higgins, of High House and Hereford, in memory of her father and mother, formerly resident in this parish: the peal of 8 bells was given by various families, and a lych gate by Thomas Dixon esq. J.P. of Rheda: there are 200 sittings.
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 Arlecdon from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Arlecdon (St. Michael))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cumberland is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Arlecdon 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
Arlecdon and Frizington were constituted a Local Government District by Order in Council, 1 May, 1882, and were thenceforward governed by a Local Board, but under the provisions of the "Local Government Act, 1894," the district was then controlled by the Arlecdon and Frizington Urban District Council, consisting of 9 members. By Local Government Board Order No. 31,577, 28th Sept. 1894, the Urban District was extended to include the Rural part of Arlecdon civil parish.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
FrizingtonWhillymoor
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Cumberland, 1615 is available on the Heraldry page.