Welcome to
Cumbria, EnglandGenWeb
Cumbria - is an area of outstanding natural beauty with the Lake District National Park at its heart. The county was created in 1974 following Government boundary changes, with the merging of Cumberland & Westmorland, part of Yorkshire and the area known as 'Lancashire North of the Sands' - also known as Furness. The move created much confusion. The Government at that time stated that the "new counties" were administrative areas only, and that the geographic boundaries of traditional counties such as Lancashire had not been changed. Unfortunately, the media refer to these administrative areas all too frequently and ignore the fact that places such as Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston, etc. are still in Lancashire. If administrative areas had not been called counties much of this confusion would have been avoided. For more information, check out the website of:
The main industry today is tourism, with shipbuilding
continuing in Barrow-in-Furness. Some woodland industries such as coppicing
still survive. WH Wakefield opened the first gun powder mills in Cumbria,
at Sedgwick near Kendal in 1764. Gunpowder production ceased in the county
in 1937. The famous copper mines at Coniston have long since closed,
but slate is still worked in the area by the Burlington Slate Company,
which ships it all over the world. Before the coming of roads, Furness
was a wild & inaccessible region. Travellers had to cross the dangerous
sands of Morecambe Bay on foot. Many were drowned by swift tides or swallowed
up in quicksand. In the 14th Century,
the Prior of Cartmel was concerned with the safety of his monks so he obtained
permission from the Crown to appoint an official guide to the Kent Sands.
The monks of Conishead Priory in Furness appointed a guide to the Leven
Estuary, and both these offices are still maintained today by the Duchy of
Lancaster.
by
Elizabeth Wood
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Mailing Lists of Interest
UK-ULVERSTON-FHS
- A mailing list, sponsored by Ulverston's Heritage First!,
for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the Furness area of England. ( Additional information on this area can be found on the Heritage First! website)
To subscribe send the word "subscribe" (without
the quotes) as the only text in
the body of a message
to
UK-Ulverston-FHS-L-request@rootsweb.com
( for
mail mode)
UK-Ulverston-FHS-D-request@rootsweb.com
(for digest
mode)
CUMBERLAND - A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical
or historical interest in the
county of Cumberland, England. To subscribe, send the word "Subscribe"
(without the
quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to:
Cumberland-L-request@rootsweb.com
( for
mail mode)
Cumberland-D-request@rootsweb.com
(for digest
mode)
ENG-WESTMORLAND -
A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in
the county
of Westmorland, England. To subscribe, send
the word "Subscribe" (without the
quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to:
ENG-WESTMORLAND-L-request@rootsweb.com
( for
mail mode)
ENG-WESTMORLAND-D-request@rootsweb.com
(for digest
mode)
LANCSGEN. A mailing list
for anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the county of
Lancashire,
England. To subscribe send the word "Subscribe" (without the quotes) as
the only
text in
the body of a message to:
Lancsgen-L-request@rootsweb.com
( for
mail mode)
Lancsgen-D-request@rootsweb.com
(for digest
mode)
Delete your
signature file or else your mail will be bounced
back to you.
Once you have subscribed
you will receive a welcome message from the Listowner.
It's a good idea
to save these instructions for future reference, should
you wish to unsubscribe.
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