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Wigton cum Woodside, Cumberland

Historical Description

Wigton-cum-Woodside, a market-town, a township, and a parish in Cumberland. The town stands on the Carlisle and Maryport railway, 11 miles WSW of Carlisle, 16 from Maryport, and 310 from London; belonged at the Norman Conquest to W. de Meschines; was given by him to Edward de Wigton; suffered much in the times of the Border feuds, and was burned by the Scots in 1322. It is governed by an urban district council, is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, publishes a weekly newspaper, carries on brewing, tanning, and the manufacture of ginghams, muslins, fustians, and checks; consists chiefly of two streets, the smaller one transverse to the extremity of the larger; has a head post office, a railway station, three banks, a church, Congregational, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels, a Roman Catholic church, a Friends' meeting-house, mechanics' institute, an endowed grammar school, a county police station, a workhouse, a cemetery, Sanderson's Charity with £135 a year, and other charities. A beautifully carved drinking fountain was erected in the market-place at a cost of £12,000 in 1872. It is 32 feet high, and is surmounted by a massive gilt cross, the four bas-reliefs on the sides of the base being from designs by the late Mr Thomas Woolner, R.A., and representing the four acts of mercy. Markets are held on Tuesday, and fairs for horses and cattle on 20 Feb., for cattle and merchandise on 5 April, and on Whit-Tuesday and Martinmas Tuesday for hiring agricultural servants. The township comprises Kirkland. Area of the township, 4974 acres; population, 4346. The ecclesiastical parish contains also Waverton and Oulton townships. Population, 5102. The manor belongs to Lord Leconfield. Old Carlisle, on the site of a Roman station, is about one mile S of the town. The living is a vicarage, with Waverton annexed, in the diocese of Carlisle; gross value, £372 with residence. Patron, the Bishop. The church, rebuilt in 1790, consists of chancel (restored in 1882), nave, aisles, W porch, and embattled western tower. A chapel of ease was built at Waverton in 1865.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

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

Ancient CountyCumberland 
Ecclesiastical parishWigton St. Mary 
HundredCumberland 
Poor Law unionWigton 

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 Wigton cum Woodside from the following:


Land and Property

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


Maps

Online maps of Wigton cum Woodside are available from a number of sites:


Villages, Hamlets, &c

Oulton
Waverton

Visitations Heraldic

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