Moresby, Cumberland
Historical Description
Moresby, a village, a township, and a parish in Cumberland. The village stands on the coast, near Parton station on the L. & N.W.R., 2 miles NNE of Whitehaven; occupies the site of the Roman station Arbeia; and has yielded a number of Roman relics, including structures and inscriptions. It has a post office under Wliitehaven; money order and telegraph office, Parton. The township includes the village, and extends into the country. It has a station at Moresby Parks, on the Cleator and Workington Junction railway, but Parton is the nearest station for a large part of the parish. Acreage, 2141; population, 1144. The parish contains also the township of Parton, which has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Whitehaven. Acreage, 2193 of land, besides 67 of foreshore; population, 2596. The manor belongs to the Earl of Lonsdale. Moresby Hall is a mansion supposed to be after a design by Inigo Jones. 'There is a colliery in Moresby, and ironworks and a brewery at Parton. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Carlisle; gross value, £133. Patron, the Earl of Lonsdale. The church stands on an eminence, within an ancient camp 330 feet square, and is a modern edifice in the Italian style, with a tower. There are Congregational, Primitive Methodist, and Christian Brethren chapels in the parish. There are an endowed school at Parton, founded in 1818 and rebuilt in 1886, with £50 a year, and an industrial school for girls and infants, enlarged in 1893.
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 | Moresby St. Bridget | |
| Poor Law union | Whitehaven | |
| Ward | Allerdale above Derwent |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Moresby from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Moresby (St. Bridget))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cumberland is available to browse.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
Parton (Moresby)Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Cumberland, 1615 is available on the Heraldry page.