Greystoke, Cumberland

Historical Description

Greystoke, a village, a township, and a parish in Cumberland. The village stands 1½ mile from Blencow station on the Penrith and Cockermouth railway, 5 miles west by north of Penrith, was once a market-town, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Penrith. The parish contains also Little Blencow, Johnby, Motherby, and Gill. Acreage, 7511; population, 571. The surface extends southward to UUeswater, and westward to the Skiddaw Mountains, has much diversity of contour, and includes many picturesque spots of the Lake country. The manor belonged to the Dukes of Norfolk, and passed to the Howards. An ancient castle within Greystoke Park, adjacent to the NW Bide of the village, was built in 1353 by the Greystoke family; passed first to the Dacres, next to the Dukes of Norfolk; was garrisoned for Charles L in 1648, and captured and burned to the ground by a Parliamentarian force; and is. now only represented by some mined towers. A mansion in lieu of it, called Greystoke Castle, was built about the middle of the 17th century; stands on an eminence breaking abruptly down on one side to a headstream of the river Petterill; was originally more spacious than elegant, but has undergone great ornamental improvement; commands from its windows fine views of the Lake mountains; and contains many interesting pictures and objects of curiosity, a great many of which were unfortunately destroyed by fire-on 4 May, 1868. The park surrounding it, about 5000 acres in extent, contains two small lakes, and is well-stocked with deer. Coal, slate, and lime abound, and there is a lead mine with silver. A Roman camp is at Redstone, and a Drnidical circle is at Motherby. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Carlisle; net value, £483 with residence. The church is ancient and a fine specimen of the Perpendicular style, has a tower and a beautiful E window, several monuments and brasses, and was formerly collegiate.

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 Greystoke from the following:

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

Land and Property

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

Maps

Online maps of Greystoke 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)

Villages, Hamlets, &c

Visitations Heraldic

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