Cumbria Archive Service serves the English county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

. Rather than having just one

county record office In the United Kingdom (and particularly in England and Wales) the term county record office usually refers to a local authority repository, also called a county archives. Such repositories employ specialist staff to administer and conserve the h ...

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...

operates four local record offices, now known as archive centres, in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...

, Carlisle, Kendal and

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

The four archive centres

Carlisle Archive Centre was officially opened in 1962, although archives had been collected before that date and archive staff had been appointed from c.1944 onwards. For many years, it operated from the Alma Block within the grounds of Carlisle Castle. It moved to newly converted premises at Petteril Bank House, on the south side of the city and about two miles from its centre, in 2011. Important collections include family and estate records of the

Earls of Lonsdale Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Low ...

from the 12th-20th centuries. The staff provide administrative assistance for the Egremont Estate Office at

Cockermouth Castle Cockermouth Castle () is in the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria on a site by the junction of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent. It is a grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. History The first castle on this site was built by the ...

.Janet Foster & Julia Shepherd, ''British Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the United'', 3rd edition 1995, . Kendal Archive Centre was also established in 1962 under a joint archives committee for the former counties of Cumberland and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

and the City of Carlisle. Few archives other than local authority records had been collected before this date. The office operates from the main County Offices in the town. Important collections include

Appleby Castle Appleby Castle is in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland overlooking the River Eden (). It consists of a 12th-century castle keep which is known as Caesar's Tower, and a mansion house. These, together with their associated buildings, are set ...

estate records (containing papers relating to

Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, '' suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became '' suo jure ...

, 1590-1676), and the business records of

Thomas Mawson Thomas Hayton Mawson (5 May 1861 – 14 November 1933), known as T. H. Mawson, was a British garden designer, landscape architect, and town planner. Personal life Mawson was born in Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, and left school at age 12. ...

, landscape architect, 19th-20th centuries. Barrow Archive Centre was opened in purpose-built premises in 1979 (following local government reorganisation and the creation of the new county of

). Records had been collected locally in temporary premises at

Dalton-in-Furness Dalton-in-Furness is a town and former civil parish in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. In 2011 it had a population of 7,827. It is located north east of Barrow-in-Furness. History Dalton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, w ...

since 1975 and the new office also absorbed records from the Furness Collection, gathered from 1948 onwards by the Central Library in Barrow. Following building extensions the record office joined with the local studies library in 1998 to provide a unified service within a joint search room. Important collections include records from the Furness estate office of the

Duke of Buccleuch Duke of Buccleuch (pronounced ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Cou ...

.Janet Foster & Julia Shepherd, British Archives, 4th edition 2002, Whitehaven Archive and Local Studies Centre was officially opened within specially converted premises in August 1996. It collects archives mainly from the south and west portions of the former county of Cumberland. All four archive centres are recognised by the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

as places of deposit for public records. They are also designated as diocesan record offices by the Bishop of Carlisle. A specialist unit for the conservation and repair of records operates from within the archive centre at Petteril Bank House, Carlisle.

References

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External links

WebsiteCASCAT online catalogue

The four archive centres

References

External links

See also