Grinsdale is a village and former
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, now in the civil parish of
Beaumont, in the
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
district, in the ceremonial county of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, England, historically in
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
. Grinsdale has a church called
St Kentigern's Church. It is the source of the
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
. It is also beside the
River Eden. The civil parish was merged into
Beaumont on 1 April 1934. In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 161.
Grinsdale lies beside the river Eden near Carlisle. Four Roman military marching camps were set up in the area. The rich loamy soil encouraged farming around Grinsdale. Linen manufacture and weaving once provided employment in the hamlet.
Grinsdale's church, St Kentigern, was built in 1740 outside the village and just above the river on the site where a 12th-century church once stood. It has a small west tower, a three-bay nave, and a two-bay chancel with arched windows. The church was restored in 1895.
This place gave name to a family who held Grinsdale under the
Barony of Burgh.
['Parishes: Edenhall - Grinsdale'](_blank)
Magna Britannia: volume 4: Cumberland (1816), pp. 100–109. Date accessed: 24 April 2012. The elder line failed about King John's time, when the co-heiresses married Newton and Le-Sor. Newton's lands passed by successive marriages to Martindale and Dacre, and having been forfeited to the crown, were granted to Whitmore, and passed by sale to the Dacre family of
Kirklinton
Kirklinton is a village in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district, in the English county of Cumbria. The population of the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Kirklinton Middle, taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2 ...
.
A younger brother continued the male line of the family of Grinsdale, and some of his posterity represented the city and the county in parliament. This branch became extinct about the reign of Henry IV when the co-heiresses sold their lands in Grinsdale to the Dentons, of whom they were purchased by the Lowthers about the year 1686. This estate passed to the
Earl of Lonsdale
Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowth ...
, who was
lord paramount
A lord paramount is a term of art in feudal law describing an overlord who holds his own fief from no superior lord. It thus describes a person who holds allodial title, owing no socage or feudal obligations such as military service. This was d ...
of the manor, as parcel of his
Barony of Burgh.
The church of Grinsdale was given by Hugh de Morville to the priory of
Lanercost
Lanercost is a village in the northern part of Cumbria, England. The settlement is in the civil parish of Burtholme, in the Cumberland local government district. Lanercost is known for the presence of Lanercost Priory and its proximity to ...
, and became appropriated to that monastery. King
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
granted the rectory of Grinsdale to Sir Thomas Dacre; the great tithes were sold by the Dacre family in 1751, to the respective landholders. The church, which had been many years totally in ruins, was rebuilt about the year 1743 by Joseph Dacre at his own expense.
The
Hadrian's Wall Path
Hadrian's Wall Path is a long-distance footpath in the north of England, which became the 15th National Trail in 2003. It runs for , from Wallsend on the east coast of England to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. For most of its length it ...
passes the church, on its way from
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
to
Bowness-on-Solway
Bowness-on-Solway is a village in Cumbria, England, and in the historic county of Cumberland. It is situated to the west of Carlisle on the southern side of the Solway Firth estuary separating England and Scotland. The civil parish had a popul ...
via
Kirkandrews-on-Eden
Kirkandrews-on-Eden or Kirkandrews-upon-Eden, in the past known as Kirkanders, is a village and former civil parish, now in the civil parish of Beaumont, in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The village is 4 miles nort ...
,
Beaumont, Cumbria and
Burgh-by-Sands
Burgh by Sands () is a village and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England, situated near the Solway Firth. The parish includes the village of Burgh by Sands along with Longburgh, Dykesfield, Boustead Hill, ...
. The site of
Milecastle 69 on
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...
is thought to lie close to the village.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Beaumont, Cumbria
References
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Grinsdale(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
{{authority control
Villages in Cumbria
Former civil parishes in Cumbria
Beaumont, Cumbria