England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Thursby St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Thursby lies in north central Cumberland about 6 miles southwest of the county town of Carlisle. Thursby is a substantial village which once sat on the A695 road which connects Carlisle with Wigton, the road now bypasses to Thursby's north. Modern developments include the route of the West Cumberland rail line which passes through the parish, albeit Thursby has no station. At the time of this transcript Thursby would have largely been a arable farming community, despite some modern growth that remains the principal economy of the parish. A few modern properties have been built as Thursby is close to Carlisle there is some commuting to the latter. Thursby is drained westwards by the River Wampool, which travels the short distance to Dalston where the Caldew is met, the Eden is joined in Carlisle and thence to the Solway Firth. Thursby sits on Cumberland's northern coastal plains at a height of around 40 metres above the sea, land rises steadily southwards rising to local heights of only around 100 metres, the fells of The Lake District form Thursby's southern aspect but are some distance away. By Cumberland standards Thursby parish was small in extent, reminiscent of a southern rural parish at almost 1,100 acres, it would have supported a population of around 500 parishioners. Like most of this area of northern Britain Thursby is not mentioned in Domesday Book which has no coverage of this area.

The Church

St Andrew's church lies at the western end of the village at the junction of Church Lane and Matty Lonning. Sadly this is not some mediaeval masterpiece but a Victorian replacement of the church that one occupied this site. The church was completely rebuilt in the local sandstone in the 1840s. Despite this Victorian build, there was still time for a restoration in 1878. The church follows the Decorated style of the 14th century in its window design. A large church as befits a substantial village, the interior is rather bereft of interest being described by Pevsner as "broad and bald". The church sits raised on a small hill above its junction, there are entrances from both Church Lane and the main entrance on Matty Lonning where wooden gates lead to a rising path. The churchyard has bordering trees but these do not unduly restrict photographic angles.