Items listed here concern the history of some part of Cumbria. A fiction title may be included if it reflects the times and might help understand life in the area. If you offer, or know of an item that should be listed here, please let me know. Thanks. From George MacDonald Fraser The Steel Bonnets, George MacDonald Fraser, Harvill, London, 1986. ISBN: 0 00 272746 3 (Paperback). This is perhaps the best description of the times that defined much of the history of the border and our ancestor's lives. From the cover: "If Jesus Christ were emongest them, they would deceave him," it was said of the border reivers, the rustlers, outlaws and gangsters who terrorized the Anglo-Scottish border of four hundred years ago. Their's is an almost forgotten chapter of British history, preserved largely in folk tales and ballads. It is the story of the great raiding families - Armstrongs, Elliotts, Grahams, Johnstones, Maxwells, Scotts, Kerrs, Nixons and others - of the outlaw bands and broken men, the "hot trod" pursuits, and the great battles of English and Scottish armies across the Marches." The Steel Bonnets is also available from iBS. Click on title to see purchase information The Candlemass Road The Candlemass Road , George MacDonald Fraser, Harvill, An Imprint of Harper Collins, London, 1993. ISBN 0 00 6477208. This is historical fiction; entertaining and very interesting as it concerns real names and places from the Bewcastle and border area, set during the border troubles and laced with reiver names: Noble, Elliott and Armstrong. A very good read by an author who is an expert on the area and its history. Click on title to see purchase information History of the Manor & Castle of Bewcastle A Chronological History of the Manor & Castle of Bewcastle by Mike Jackson, 1998, Carlisle Mr. Jackson has spent many years studying the history to Bewcastle Parish and this thirty eight page book catalogs references he has found from almost one hundred different books from various libraries in both England and Scotland. I have had the enjoyable, and sometimes puzzling, task of placing the information in some form and order,... and have made a number of corrections and additions. Mike has put these pieces together, interpreting and commenting based on the experience gained over many years of reading literally hundreds of manorial and castle histories. This is quite useful, and interesting, if you're researching in or near Bewcastle. It is available directly from the author: Mike Jackson Moss Nook Faugh Carlisle, Cumbria CA4 9DX (01228) 70538 The price is £5.00, postpaid in the UK, £7,00 elsewhere. Checks in Sterling only please as Mike has no ability to accept other currencies. A History of Cumberland and Westmorland A History of Cumberland and Westmorland, Dr. William Rollinson, 1978, ISBN 1860770096. This well illustrated and quite readable book covers the history of Northwest England from prehistoric and Roamn times, through the turbulent periods of border strife lets us understand the events that shaped our ancestor's lives. As I am primarily a genealogist, not a historian, I like this book as it seems to hit the right balance between simple overview and great detail. At 120 some pages, it provides the depth to understand the records you will be reading, without losing your interest. Click on title to see purchase information Top of Page Debatable Land Debatable Land, Candia McWilliam, 1995, ISBN 0330336622. Click on title to see purchase information History of Cumberland Villages History of Cumberland Villages , H.E. Winter., Regentlane, Millom, 1997. ISBN: 1900821508 This is a 124 page book that covers most of the small villiages in the county. It is geographically organized and, although it lacks an index or real table of contents, I had no trouble finding any of the places I sought. The county is divided into five sectional chapters and, with the provided map, it took little effort to find a village even when I had no idea where it might be. It also contains a short, but useful glossary of local terms: "beck", a stream; "tarn" a small mountain lake; or "rigg", a ridge. Though it covers no single place in any depth, it is a quite handy and interesting book to have on the shelf. Click on title to see purchase information Butcher, The: Duke of Cumberland and the Suppression of the Forty-Five Butcher, The: Duke of Cumberland and the Suppression of the Forty-Five, Speck, W.A., Welsh Academic Press, 1995. ISBN: 1860570003 Click on title to see purchase information The Cottage on the Fell Over a period of approximately 5 years in the 1980s, a series of 61 articles appeared in Cumbria magazine (the UK's best selling regional publication) under the title The Cottage on The Fell. The articles, which described life in a tiny Lake District cottage just outside Caldbeck, birthplace of huntsman John Peel, were very well received and there was general disappointment when the series came to an end. "I often stand on the outskirts of Wigton, our nearest town, and look up the long, straight road that climbs goodness-knows-how-many hundreds of feet up to the cottage on the fell. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred when it is fine and dry in the town, the fell tops are shrouded in mist. "Up there" is another world; we surely should have webbed feet, but at all times there is a wild beauty in the fell landscape." The complete set of 61 articles has now been published in book form (ISBN 0-9527165-0-X) (104 pages, A5 size, softback) by: NEM Computer Publishing P.O. Box 159 St. Helier, Jersey JE4 5NX, U.K. Whilst not strictly a family history research resource, author Anne Utting's sympathetic writing has imbued The Cottage on The Fell with the unique atmosphere of Cumbria and the English Lake District. A sample of The Cottage on The Fell can be found at: http://caldbeck.simplenet.com/sample.html Availability: direct from publisher. Cost: UK - £4.50 incl. shipping; USA - $10.00 incl. airmail shipping; Australasia - AU$ 10.00 incl. airmail shipping. Non-UK orders, cash please, overseas cheques cause problems! E-mail orders to nemco@itl.net are welcome. An internet order form is available at: http://caldbeck.simplenet.com/orderform.html. Top of Page Cumberland Families and Heraldry Cumberland Families and Heraldry: With a Supplement to an Armorial for , Hudleston, Boumphrey, Hughes, CWAAS, 1978. ISBN: 1873124082 Click on title to see purchase information Ninety Four Years in Eskdale A well known member of the Cumbria Family History Society, John Porter, passed just as his book, Ninety Four Years in Eskdale was published. This is a most interesting book as he knew so much of the history of the valley. It is available from: Mrs. J. Martin Church View Cottage Finsthwaite Ulverston Cumbria LA12 8BJ Price in U.K. £5.50, Sea Mail, £5.75, Air Mail to US & Canada £6.25 Cheques in Sterling only please. All profits to go to St. Bega's Church, Eskdale Green Top of Page

Copyright ©, 1997,98 Don Noble. May be electronically copied for personal use. Updated 25 January 2003 - noble@dfnoble.com