News and Events
Art in the Archives, Thursday 27 March, 7pm
A talk by Susan Benson, archivist, at Barrow Archives in Barrow Library.
Barrow Archive Centre holds works by George Romney, Ben Lones, Abel Masson, Minnie Pratt, Ethel Kay, Revd William Shepherd, Sir William Gell, and others. Artworks will be out for you to look at after the talk.
Free event but booking essential. Email barrow.archives@cumberland.gov.uk or call 01229 407377 to book your place.
Cumbria Archives' latest newsletter is out now!
Read all about it here (PDF, 5.54MB) or flick through the flipbook version
Announcement on the Curwen of Workington Hall estate archive
Pictured: Plan of Maryport, circa 1756 [DCU/Estate Plans/2]
We are pleased to announce that the Curwen of Workington Hall collection, held at our Whitehaven Archive Centre, has been presented to Cumbria Archives by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, as part of the Acceptance in Lieu (AiL) of inheritance tax scheme administered by the Arts Council. The full annual report on the scheme can be found on the Arts Council website at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-collections-and-cultural-property/acceptance-lieu
The collection, comprising some 540 boxes and 200 unboxed maps and plans is the largest single collection at our Whitehaven office. Cumbria Archives has a long relationship with the Curwen papers, being one of our first major family and estate collections to be deposited at the Carlisle Record Office in 1949. Since then, over twenty major and minor deposits have been made from the family and their solicitors through the 1960s, in 1974 and from 2005. The collection was transferred from Carlisle to the Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centre, Whitehaven on the opening of that office in 1996 which brought the collection much closer to its West Cumberland origins.
The archive, which dates from 1358, occupies a significant place in the history of West Cumbria. During the 18th to early 20th centuries the area underwent an economic transformation built on the Cumberland coalfield and the growing opportunities for trade. Along with other major landed families, the Curwen family played a significant role in the development of the local economy of West Cumberland, taking advantage of the coalfield to develop the town of Workington into a significant centre for shipbuilding and iron and steel making.
The Curwen papers are a rich source of research for colliery records and, coupled with those of the harbours, illustrate the development of the coal industry and trade in West Cumberland in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The fortunate survival of many estate account books for the period of the mid-18th century to the early 19th century allows us, for example, to see lists of colliers working in the Curwen mines, labourers and servants on the Curwen estates and even foodstuffs consumed and household goods required at Workington Hall. The court books from 1700 for the manors of Workington and Harrington yield a comprehensive picture of the state and growth of these towns, supplemented in the 19th century by the receipt books for ground rents, listing tenants and premises. The collection also includes a fascinating insight into the era of the 18th century enlightenment. Many of the papers centre around John Christian Curwen (1756-1828), who must rank as one of the most interesting and progressive of Cumbrians of his day. He was a member of the Christian family who married into the Curwen family and assumed that surname as his own and was first cousin to the ‘Bounty’ mutineer Fletcher Christian. John Christian Curwen was Member of Parliament for Carlisle from 1796 to 1812 and from 1816 to 1820, following this with a period as member for Cumberland from 1820 to 1828. The greatest strides in the development of the Curwen estates occurred during his time. He made a national mark in his campaigns for reform of the Corn Laws and Agrarian Laws, and for Catholic emancipation. His practical interest in agricultural reform can be traced in the proceedings of the Workington Agricultural Society, of which he was founder-president. These volumes contain reports on Curwen's experimental farm at Schoose in Workington, and on such other items as the estate he purchased between Windermere and Hawkshead to encourage forestry. To modern eyes, however, one of the most interesting of his projects was his introduction of social insurance and mutual benefit schemes for his colliery workers, of which a little can be seen in the records of the various colliers' and friendly societies in the collection. The collection also includes papers of the Christian family estates in Cumberland at Ewanrigg, including papers relating to Broughton Colliery and some papers relating to their Manx estates based around Milntown.
The collection is held under the reference DCU and can be searched on CASCAT - our archive catalogue. You can view the records at Whitehaven Archive Centre, which is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4.30pm.
Important changes to access to records at Kendal Archive Centre
From October 2024, public access to County Offices, Kendal, will cease. Kendal Archives Centre will provide an interim public service from the Herdwick Room in the local studies library at Kendal Library, Stricklandgate, Kendal LA9 4PY. Please note the following important changes to our service:
- Please book an appointment and request records at least 72 hours before your intended visit as researcher spaces are limited in the Herdwick Room
- Our opening hours will change to Wednesdays to Fridays, 10am-4pm (no lunch closure)
- We cannot offer a drop in service at the Herdwick Room - an appointment will be required
- Our contact details will remain the same
- We can arrange deposits at County Offices by prior appointment. Please contact us for further details.
New records added to CASCAT
See lists of the new records added to our catalogue by each of our archive centres in 2024 here (PDFs).