England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Moresby St Bridget

The Parish

The parish of Moresby lies in the far west of Cumberland forming part of its western Irish Sea coastline. Moresby is located roughly 2 miles north of the industrial town & port of Whitehaven. Moresby is a loose conglomeration of smaller settlements spread around the site of hall & church both of which sit close to the A595 road which connects Whitehaven with Cockermouth. Moresby parish gives its name to two small settlements, Low Moresby & Moresby Parks, as well as other settlements such as Parton, Howgate & Lowca. The result is what Pevsner, rather unfairly, describes as the "messy coastal sprawl north of Whitehaven". Moresby has a long history, its location at providence Bay leading the Romans to build a fort between AD128 & 138 as part of the coastal defences supplementing Hadrian's Wall, today that fort remains ruined but still a visitor attraction. At the time of this transcript Moresby would still have been largely a pastoral farming & fishing community but the industrial revolution brought employment in the form of an iron works leading to the development of hamlets into industrial villages. Modern developments have come to Moresby with the construction of the coastal Cumberland railway line linking Carlisle, through Workington & Whitehaven to Barrow in Furness, the station being at Parton. Providence Bay forms the outlet for the Lowca Beck which drains the parish the short distance to the nearby Irish Sea. Moresby covers a wide range of altitudes from sea level to around 140 metres at Moresby Parks, land continues to rise inland towards the great heights of the Lake District National Park. By Cumberland standards Moresby parish covered a relative small area, just under 2,200 acres would have supported a population of a little under 1,200 parishioners. Western Cumberland was far too north and west to be under Norman control and this area has little coverage within that tome.

The Church

St Bridget's church sits between the A595 and Lowca Beck in an exposed location overlooking the sea and opposite to the 17th century Hall now a hotel. The churchyard is remarkable for containing most of the site of the Roman fort and the visitor car park for both occupies much of that churchyard. Sadly St Bridget is not the church in which the majority of these marriages would have been held, the present church having been built in the early 1820s replacing a medieval predecessor. The Italianate design doesn't please everyone, the architect of its 1880s extension, Joseph Bintley, "grudgingly adopted this style" when adding the chancel and pediment to the earlier nave and embraced western tower. The large car park is signed from the lane and provides easy access for an extended visit. The churchyard, surrounded by a low local stone wall, is totally devoid of obstructions allowing clear views from whatever angle the photographer prefers.