Place:Castlerigg St. John's and Wythburn, Cumberland, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

St John's Castlerigg and Wythburn is a civil parish in the Allerdale District, Cumbria, England. Before 1974 the area was in the county of Cumberland. In the 2011 UK census it was recorded as having a population of 422. There is a parish council; its archives 1894–1995 are held at the Cumbria Archive Service in Carlisle.

The parish covers an area on either side of the A591 road from Dunmail Raise in the south to the outskirts of Keswick in the north, and extends to include the valley of St. John's in the Vale in the northeast. From Keswick in the northwest corner, the neighbouring parishes in 1900, listed clockwise, were Underskiddaw, Threlkeld, Matterdale (all in Cumberland); Martindale, Hartsop and Patterdale, Grasmere, Langdales (in Westmorland); Borrowdale, and Above Derwent (once again in Cumberland).

The parish has also been known as "Castlerigg St John's and Wythburn", and with various variations of the presence or absence of comma, full stop after "St", and apostrophe.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of St John's Castlerigg and Wythburn from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales:

"JOHN-CASTLERIGG (ST.) AND WYTHBURN, a township in Crossthwaite parish, Cumberland; 2¼ miles SE of Keswick. It comprises the chapelries of St. John's-in-the-Vale and Wythburn. Real property: £2,622. Population: 605. Houses: 109.

"Castlerigg, on the [Wythburn], about 1½ mile SE of Keswick, commands a most magnificent view over Derwent and Bassenthwaite waters. The Vale of St. John, traversed by St. John's beck from Thirlemere to a confluence with the Glenderamakin rivulet at the formation of the Greta river, is about 4 miles long from S to N; forms a continuation of Legberthwaite, narrow, pleasant, and richly picturesque; and is overhung at the head, and on parts of the sides, by great heights commanding splendid views."

Crosthwaite was a very large ecclesiastical parish in terms of area and was divided into a number of townships of which St John's Castlerigg and Wythburn was one. In 1866 each of the townships became a separate civil parish. St John's Castlerigg and Wythburn had two chapelries: St. John's-in-the-Vale and the church at Wythburn (which does not appear to have a dedication).

St. John's in the Vale

St John’s in the Vale is a glacial valley in the Lake District National Park. Within the vale are a number of farms and small settlements, in addition to several disused quarry and mining works. St John’s Beck meanders northward along the floor of the vale, and is the main outflow from Thirlmere reservoir, which is located to the south. High on the western side of the vale lies St John’s in the Vale Church, located in a low pass between High Rigg on the southern side and Low Rigg to the north. (Source: Wikipedia, a condensation of the article.)

Castlerigg

Castlerigg is an area of Keswick and is named after a hill in the immediate area. Until the early twentieth century much of the area, comprising a large part of Keswick, was owned by the family living at Castlerigg Manor. (Source: Wikipedia)

Wythburn

The village of Wythburn was drowned in the construction of Thirlmere reservoir, completed in 1894, although its church survives. (Source: Wikipedia)

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