Copeland - The Dissenting Churches

The Dissenting Churches of Copeland

 A dissenting church is one which does not follow the rites of the established Church of England. The problem for the family historian in researching families attending one of these churches is the availability of any of the usual BMD records. Some have survived many have not.

 The Early Dissenters

In common with most rural communities there was not a lot of dissention in Copeland as revealed by the Protestation Returns of 1641 and the enquiries / surveys made by the Bishop of his clergy from time to time.

Such enquiries can be summarised as follows:

There were small numbers of Roman Catholic families in the Copeland district & there were Quaker communities centred on the Cockermouth - Pardshaw area. There was also an early Quaker community in the upper Eskdale / Ulpha district that had its own burial ground on the fell side - said to be near Woodend.

There was a growing Methodist following in Whitehaven & district after John Wesleys visit of 1749

The Baptists had a following in the south of Copeland in the fell areas between Ulpha & Eskdale associated with the congregation at Hawkeshead Hill. A member of this group, John Wilson of Low in Ulpha, converted one of the farm outbuildings to a chapel in 1808. The Baptist records, where they exist, have the problem that the members of this church were not baptised until they were adult.

There is a dissenting chapel in Bootle, the Lady Huntingdons connection, that was paid for by Joseph Whitridge (of London) and opened in 1780. It is still open today.

  Impact of Migration

 As the larger towns such as Whitehaven developed then the number of religions multiplied which were often brought in by the migrant workers.

Irish migrants had come to Whitehaven on the boats used to carry coal to Ireland from the Whitehaven coal pits. Originally they came for the summer harvest season and then returned home but when the potato famine occurred circa 1840 this changed to large scale migration into Copeland and then onwards from there.

This movement was true of other places - with a large increase in Catholics associated with the Irish immigrants working in iron mining & manufacture in the Cleator district. Similarly there were substantial Methodist & Bible Christian communities associated with the miners coming from Cornwall & Devon into the Millom district to work in both the Eskdale & Hodbarrow Iron mines.

The following table includes those Churches of which I am aware. There must be others.

Whitehaven’s dissenting churches

Presbyterian Congregational (Irish based)

1695

Society of Friends Meeting house

1724

Catholic - Blessed Virgin started in

1780

Catholic - St.Gregory - Quay St.

Catholic - St.Beghs

1834

Primitive Methodist (Mount Pleasant)

1789

Independent Chapel (Lady Huntingdons connection)

1793

Wesleyan Methodist Chapel - Lowther St.

1818

Wesleyan Association Chapel

1836

Baptist Chapels (rebuild)

1842

Congregational Chapel - Scotch St.

Plymouth Brethren - Sandhill’s Lane

Christian Brethren - High St.

Seamen’s Mission - Lowther St.

Hogarth Mission - Wellington Pit

Kirk Mission - High St.

Workington’s dissenting churches

Catholic - Our Lady & St.Michael

1814

Presbyterian Chapel - Thompson St.

Baptist Chapel - Harrington Rd.

Church of Christ

Congregational - South William St.

Exclusive Brethren - Oxford St.

Free Episcopal Church of England

Plymouth Brethren - Corporation Rd.

1891

Primitive Methodist - Corporation Rd.

1900

Primitive Methodist - John St.

1882

United Methodist - Vicoria Road

1891

Wesleyan Methodist - William St.

Wesleyan Methodist - Westfield

1889

Wesleyan Methodist - Barepot

Welsh Presbyterian - St.Johns Court

Duke St. Mission

Salvation Army - Edkin St.

Cleator’s dissenting churches

Cleator St.Bega RC

1853 - 1885

Cleator St.Marys RC

1885

Kiln Brow Methodist

1844 - 1934

Wesleyan Methodist Chapel

1879 - 1932

1834 - todate

Primitive Methodist - 3rd.Chapel

1875 - 1890

Primitive Methodist - 4th.Chapel

1893 - 1965

Wath Brow Mission Church

1881

There have been Congregational and Presbyterian Chapels in addition.

Cockermouth’s dissenting churches

St.Joseph RC

1856

Friends Meeting House

Congregational Chapel

1651

Congregational Chapel - rebuilt

1856

Primitive Methodist Chapel

Wesleyan Methodist Chapel

1841

Egremont’s dissenting churches

Egremont St.Mary RC

Bigrigg United Methodist Chapel

1862

Egremont Wesleyan Chapel

1873

Egremont United Methodist Chapel

1893

Frizington’s dissenting churches

Frizington, St.Joseph RC

Frizington, Primitive Methodist Chapel

1876

Frizington, Wesleyan Methodist Chapel

1884

Frizington, Christian Brethren Gospel Hall

1892

Harrington’s dissenting churches

St.Mary RC

1893

Wesleyan Chapel

1886

Primitive Methodist Chapel

1891

Presbyterian Chapel

1881

Plymouth Brethren

Millom’s dissenting churches

Millom - RC

1868 - 1888

Millom - RC Our Lady & St.James

1888 - to date

Primitive Methodist Chapel

1866

Wesleyan Methodist Chapel

1872

Baptist chapel

1884

there were also Bible Christian & Welsh Calvanist chapels in the town

Other dissenting churches

Bootle - Congregational chapel (Lady Huntingdons)

1780 - todate

Dean - Ullock Wesleyan Chapel

1870

Dean - Pardshaw Wesleyan Chapel

Dean - Pardshaw Hall Friends Meeting

Eaglesfield - Wesleyan Methodist Chapel

1845

Eskdale - Wesleyan Methodist

1849

Eskdale - Bible Christian

1874 - c.1883

Gosforth - Wesleyan Methodist

1874 - to date

Irton with Santon - Methodist Chapel

Lamplugh - Kelton Primitive Methodist Chapel

Moresby - Primitive Methodist Chapel

Parton - Congregational Chapel

1861

Parton - United Methodist Chapel

Parton - Christian Brethren

St.Bees - United Methodist Chapel

Seascale - Wesleyan Chapel

1888 - to date

Nev. Ramsden, November 2008.