Catalogues and guides

As well as our online catalogue, CASCAT, and the guides below, researchers should also consult our Advance Order collections page before requesting records. More online resources for family, Cumbrian and national history can be found on our useful links page.

Family History Indexes

Indexes created by Cumbria Archives or by volunteers covering:

Church and Chapel registers
Cemeteries and monumental inscriptions
Cumberland Militia records
Newspaper indexes
Admissions to Garlands Mental Asylum
Bastardy Bonds, Cumberland Quarter Sessions
Shipping indexes
Other indexes including workers, police and offenders

Family History Indexes

Church Records

Further information and links to finding records of the following:

Church of England (parish, cathedral and diocesan records)
Roman Catholic churches
Non-conformist churches and chapels
Wills and probate before 1858

Guide to Church Records

Non-Official Records

Collections originating from private sources:

Great War Resources

These indexes and resources cover local Cumbrian connections to the First World War, including hospitals, Belgian refugees, the Border Regiment's Lonsdale Battalion, war memorials and newspaper indexes relating to servicemen and events. Other stories and material from the county's collections can be found on the Cumbria Libraries World War One website.

World War One Resources

Public Records

Public Records are created by Government departments, courts and other bodies covered by Public Records legislation. The National Archives has appointed the Cumbria Archive Centres as Places of Deposit for these records.

These include quarter sessions and other courts, coroners, health authorities and hospitals, railways, shipping and nationalised industries and their predecessors (British Steel, National Coal Board, Carlisle State Management Scheme), Inland Revenue, insurance and old age pensions.

See our guide for further information on these categories of records and for links to the catalogues.

Guide to Public Records