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Copeland - The Dissenting Churches

Copeland - The Dissenting Churches


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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.