Build the bigger picture of your past with millions of Cumbria records online

Cumbria is England’s most northwesterly county. It is bordered by Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, as well as by Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders. Historically, Cumbria has had periods of being in Scotland.

Carlisle is Cumbria’s only city and largest settlement. Barrow-in-Furness is its only town. The county is mountainous, coastal and rural, and has an extensive network of rivers. Over the centuries, its landscape has provided an abundance of sheep pastures, water for mills and a thriving wool industry. Mining and quarrying probably date back to when the Romans settled here.

During the Industrial Revolution, good-quality iron ore and coal saw many quarries and collieries open in Cumbria. Other notable industries from the time were heavy engineering, textiles, shipbuilding and paper. By the 20th century, many of them were in decline because of competition and the effects of World War 1.

Until the Vikings invaded, Cumbria was a Celtic-speaking region. The county is home to England's highest mountain (Scafell Pike) and deepest lake (Wastwater). Despite its remoteness, Cumbria saw the first recorded African community in Britain. Over 1,800 years ago, troops from North Africa were based at a fort on Hadrian’s Wall at Burgh by Sands, where it’s believed they settled and had families.