Cumberland Hundreds

King Alfred divided Cumberland into five hundreds:

Allerdale above Derwent; Allerdale below Derwent; Cumberland; Leeth; and Eskdale.

William the Conqueror gave the county of Cumberland to Ranulph de Meschines, who had married his niece, and whom he made Earl of Carlisle, or some say, of Cumberland. Earl Ranulph divided the county into eleven baronies; Copeland, Allerdale below Derwent, Wigton, Burgh, Dalston, Greystock, Gilsland, Crosby, Liddell, and a nameless barony in the south-east part of the county, given to Adam FitzSwein. Earl Ranulph reserved in his own hands the forest of Inglewood, which later became part of the Crown demesne. A part of this was some time, by royal grant, vested in the Kings of Scotland, afterwards resumed by the Crown, and granted to the Nevils. The whole was granted by King William III. to the Portland family, and in 1816 was vested in the Duke of Devonshire.

See:

• Dr Angus Winchester and Dr Eleanor Straughton, "A Guide to Superior Lordship in Cumbria", Cumbrian Manorial Records, Department of History, Lancaster University, http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/manorialrecords/cumbria/cumberlandlist.htm accessed 17 September 2017;
• Lysons, Daniel, and Samuel Lysons, "General history: Baronies", Magna Britannia: Volume 4, Cumberland, (London: T Cadell and W Davies, 1816) liii-lv. British History Online. Web. (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol4/liii-lv : accessed 16 September 2017).
• William Hutchinson, The History of the County of Cumberland, and Some Places Adjacent, from the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time: Comprehending the Local History of the County; Its Antiquities, the Origin, Genealogy, and Present State of the Principal Families, with Biographical notes; Its Mines, Minerals, and Plants, with Other Curiosities, Either of Nature or of Art. 2 volumes, (Carlisle: Printed by F. Jollie, 1794) Digital Image Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/historyofcountyo01hutc#page/18/mode/2up/ accessed 17 September 2017).