Distington, Cumberland

Historical Description

Distington, a village and a parish in Cumberland. The village stands near the coast, 4¼ miles from Whitehaven, with a, station on the Cleator and Workington Junction railway, and a head post office (R.S.O.) The parish comprises 3 acres; population, 1819. Hayes Castle, now a ruin at the southern extremity of the village, was the seat of the Morcsbys. Coal is worked, and many of the inhabitants find employment in the ironworks. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Carlisle; net value, £400 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Lonsdale. The church was rebuilt in 1885, and contains fine stained glass windows. There are Wesleyan, Presbyterian, and Primitive Methodist chapels.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

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 Distington from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Distington)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cumberland is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Distington 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)

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Cumberland, 1615 is available on the Heraldry page.