Blencogo

Has, in accordance with the Local Government Act of 1894, been constituted a distinct civil parish, but for all ecclesiastical matters it remains united with Bromfield. It lies within Allerdale-below-Derwent ward and petty sessional division; westward electoral division; and the poor law union, county court, and rural districts of Wigton. An area of about 1,717 acres is enclosed within its limits, the assessment value of which is £2,144, and gross rental £2,377. The population in 1801 was 167; in 1851, 229; in 1881, 190; and in 1890, 180.

The Manor of Blencogo was given by Waltheof, first lord of Allerdale, to Odard de Logis, in whose posterity it seems to have continued for several generations. Nothing further is known of its descent until the reign of Henry VII, when it was granted by that king to Richard Cholmley, Knt.; and in 1543 we find the manor in the possession of a Richard Cholmley, who may have been the aforesaid Richard, or perhaps his son. He held both the manor and the town of Blencogo of the king as of his manor of Wigton, by the service of one knight's fee, 13s. cornage, 7s. 6d. for puture of the bailiff, 2s. seawake, suit and court at Wigton, and 50s. relief when it shall happen. In 1578, Anthony Barwis held the manor of the Earl of Northumberland, subject to the aforesaid conditions; and in 1589, Queen Elizabeth conveyed it to Walter Copinger, and Thomas Butler, of London, gentlemen, to hold by fealty only, and not in capite. It was again in the possession of the Barwises in 1634; and in the next century it passed by purchase to the Thomlinsons. It is now the property of George Reay, Esq. The following are also landowners:- Mrs. Parkin, Walter Scott, William Parkin-Moore, Esq., S. Wood, W. Williamson, the trustees of Windows and Fletchers, and Mary Timpson.

The parish possesses an excellent school, founded and endowed by George Dixon, Esq., of Carlisle and Blencogo. It is a good stone building in the early English Style, and was erected in 1854, at a cost of about £600. The endowment fund produces an income of £28 per annum. The school is attended by about 50 children. The vicar and churchwardens of Bromfield, for the time being, are the trustees.

Blencogo Hall, formerly the residence of the Thomlinsons, is now a farm house. A Mission Room at Leegate to seat about 120 was opened in 1888.

BIOGRAPHY. - The Rev. Jonathan Boucher, M.A., was born here in 1737, and after his return from America, where he had spent several years, published "A View of the Causes and Consequences of the American Revolution." He was also an able coadjutor to Mr. Hutchinson, in his compilation of the History and Antiquities of Cumberland; and spent 14 years preparing a provincial and archæological lexicon, as a supplement to Johnson's Dictionary, but it was never published. He died at Epsom, of paralysis, in 1804, aged 67 years.

Bulmer's History & Directory Of Cumberland, 1901

30 July 2006

© Steve Bulman