Published Materials
British History On-line
Part of one of the original volumes of the VCH for Cumberland is available on-line, as is the volume of the VCH Lancashire which covers that part of the county now in Cumbria
Victoria County History of Cumberland Volume 2 (1905)
A part-volume, covering the history of the religious houses in the county, including the early history of Carlisle cathedral
Victoria County History of Lancashire - Eight volumes (1907-14)
Volumes 2 to 8 are available on line. Volume Eight covers Lonsdale hundred, the northernmost part of the historic county, now in Cumbria. It includes the parishes of Cartmel, Hawkshead and Ulverston.
Victoria County History of Yorkshire - Eight Volumes (1914-2002)
Eight volumes are available on line - however, these do not include the part of Yorkshire now in Cumbria.
RCHME, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in Westmorland (1936)
The Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England survey, covering the whole of the historic county of Westmorland, including the towns of Kendal and Appleby.
J. Curwen, The Later Records Relating to North Westmorland - or the Barony of Westmorland (1932)
Contains abstracts and transcriptions of documents for the local history of the northern part of the county, arranged by parish. It provides information on churches, manors and schools, plus extracts from the Hearth Tax of 1669-72. Towns covered include Appleby, Brough and Shap.
W. Farrer & J.F. Curwen, Records Relating to the Barony of Kendale, Volume 1 (1923)
W. Farrer & J.F. Curwen, Records Relating to the Barony of Kendale, Volume 2 (1924)
W. Farrer & J.F. Curwen, Records Relating to the Barony of Kendale, Volume 3 (1926)
Calendar of Patent Rolls
searchable online for period 1216-1452: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/patentrolls/
Calendar of Fine Rolls
searchable online for reign of Henry III: http://www.frh3.org.uk/
Historical Directories
Digital library of local and trade directories, 1750-1919, searchable by period, place or keyword: www.historicaldirectories.org/
History of Parliament
Here you can access parliamentary biographies from 1386-1832, as published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons series. You can also find a historical description of each constituency: http://www.histparl.ac.uk/
Nicolson & Burns History of Cumberland & Westmorland On-Line
You can read Joseph Nicolson and Richard Burns The History and Antiquities of the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland, 1777, here
