Rockcliff, Cumberland

Historical Description

Rockcliff, a village and a parish in Cumberland. The village stands on the river Eden, 1½ mile W of the Caledonian railway, and 4½ miles NW by N of Carlisle, and has a station on the railway and a post office under Carlisle; money order office, Stanwix; telegraph office, Carlisle. The parish ia divided into the townships of Churchtown Quarter and Castletown Quarter, extends to the river Esk and Solway Frith, and comprises 4938 acres of land and 4603 of water and foreshore; population, 659. The manor belonged anciently to the Ratcliffes, passed to the Dacres and the Strongs, and belongs now to the Earl of Lonsdale. Rockcliff Hall and Castletown House are chief residences. Remains exist of an old castle of the Dacres. A mineral spring near the Eden throws up a scum which tinges paper with a beautiful gold colour. The ecclesiastical parish includes the village of Cargo, in Stanwix parish. Population, 742. The living is a vicarage, with Cargo annexed, in the diocese of Carlisle; net value, £274 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. The church was rebuilt in 1849, is in the Decorated style, and has a tower and spire. A reading-room was built in 1882 and is supported by subscriptions.

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 Rockcliff from the following:

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

Land and Property

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

Maps

Online maps of Rockcliff 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.