Welcome to the local history of Addingham, in Cumberland (now Cumbria). It has four townships: Hunsonby with Winskill, Gamblesby, Glassonby and Little Salkeld.

 

My book ‘The Illegitimate Thread: a study of illegitimacy in the parish of Addingham, Cumberland, 1820-1939’ was published in 2024 and was shortlisted for the 2025 Lakeland Book of the Year award. It can be downloaded for free – please see the Publications page.

 

The biographical accounts on this website are the results of trawling through many different public records to reveal the individual stories of the mothers, children and fathers for this book. I have investigated almost 175 women who gave birth to an illegitimate child. I have also included a small number of cases where, after investigation, it turned out that no illegitimacy was involved, despite the evidence indicating it.

 

In making these biographies available, I hope to help those exploring their own family history. It is clear that very few Addingham women resorted to the workhouse. The picture we get from Victorian novelists does not apply here. Most families worked together to bring up the child within the community.

 

Please search on the ‘Biographies’ page above for accounts of most of the women and children. They may be a little slow to load.

 

If any descendants of the women choose to get in touch with me to fill out or correct the histories with personal knowledge, then that would be a wonderful bonus. I am also happy to check my database for particular individuals who lived in Addingham. I can be reached via the ‘Contacts’ page.

 

 I have included some of my other material, such as transcripts of the census and of the baptisms, marriages and burials registers, and a number of my published articles.  I hope that others may find these helpful in their own researches. 

 

 

Lydia Gray © 2025

Click to access Resources >>>