Wythop
Township in Brigham parish, Allerdale above Derwent ward, Cumberland.
Acreage:
3,353 acres [1,357 ha], including 1,292 acres [523 ha] of common fell, enclosed 1830.
Population:
falling from 137 in 1801 to 87 in 1861, then rising to peak of 131 in 1921 before falling across later 20th century to 51 in 2001.
Landownership:
manor of Wythop, in forest of Derwentfells and honour of Cockermouth; granted c.1260 to John de Lucy, younger son of lord of Cockermouth. Had passed to Robert Lowther by 1429 and descended in Lowther family until sold 1606 by Sir Richard Lowther to Richard Fletcher, from whom it descended to Fletcher-Vane family of Hutton-in-the-Forest (q.v.).
Economy:
hill farming; forestry (Wythop woods noted for valuable oak timber in later 17th century). Silica mine and brick manufacturing plant south of Wythop Hall in operation 1935-9.
Places of worship:
chapel of ease recorded 1552; rebuilt (or replaced by) chapel near Kelswick, built 1673; in turn replaced by church of St Margaret of Antioch on new site, built 1865-6.
Schools and other institutions:
for Embleton and Wythop school, see Embleton.
Bibliography - Wythop
John Askew, Guide To The Interesting Places In And Around Cockermouth With An Account Of Its Remarkable Men And Local Traditions (Cockermouth 1872).
Derek Denman, ‘Wythop, a Railway renaissance’, Lorton &Derwentfells Local History Society Journal, No. 34 January 2005. Note: This article makes use of ‘a valuable collection’ of material on Wythop and Embleton held in the L&DFLHS Archive, assembled by the late Ann Bowman who researched the history of Wythop Mill (which to a large extent actually lies in Embleton CP) While there are references to Wythop in general articles, no references to substantive research on Wythop have been found in the Transactions of CWAAS. [Compiled by S. Shaw]
Ron George, A Cumberland Valley (A History of the Parish of Lorton). Bovate Publications, Ontario, Canada 2003. Although focussing primarily on Lorton, Wythop is included in this study.
Angus Winchester, Landscape And Society In Medieval Cumbria (Edinburgh, 1987) Although having a much wider theme this book makes substantial references to medieval Wythop.
H.E. Winter, History of Cumberland Villages (Millom, 1997).
