CORONER'S INQUESTS AROUND ESKDALE
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Coroners for the area betwen the rivers Esk and Derwent were formerly appointed by the lords of Cockermouth, and their records were therefore kept at Cockermouth Castle. Today they form part of the Leconfield series of documents, which can be ordered for study at Whitehaven Record Office (ref. D/Lec/CRI). Note that this list does not include information on what documentation survives for any particular inquest, except in a few cases where it seems likely that none is available at all. Researchers should check with the Record Office staff.
Coroners for the area between the rivers Esk and Duddon were appointed by the lords of Millom. If I ever find the records, I'll add a list of inquests for Birker/Austhwaite, Birkby and Waberthwaite.
N.B. Inquests after about 1750 are filed by the date of the Quarter Sessions at which their verdicts were presented. Approximate ages of the victims are often given (in brackets after the name)
| 1708 (Feb 27) | Ravenglass | Andrew Johnson & William Parker | drowned by boat sinking |
| 1708 (Mar 3) | Ravenglass | William Frears | cut his throat |
| [see also correspondence 1708-9] | |||
| 1712 (Feb 1) | Ravenglass | Robert Bodle | drowned |
| 1728 (Nov 9) | Ravenglass | Lawrence Wild | accident involving a horse |
| 1729 (Aug 3) | Waberthwaite | Elizabeth Jackson | hanged herself at the House of Correction |
| 1741 (May 16) | Muncaster | John Caddy | drowned in River Esk |
| 1742 (Feb 18) | Waberthwaite | Clement Parke | slipped from his horse down a crag and drowned in the River Esk |
| [1745-1749 records apparently missing] | |||
| Xmas 1754 (2 Sep) | Eskdale | Joseph Bowman (70) | exhaustion & illness |
| Xmas 1762 (14 Jan) | Eskdale | Elizabeth Benson | drowned |
| Xmas 1762 (24 Mar) | Irton | unnamed female child | found in a dunghill; no evidence |
| Xmas 1762 (10 May) | Carleton [?Drigg] | Hannah Guest (4) | drowned in well |
| Xmas 1763 (21 Apr) | Ravenglass | Robert Sherwen (18) | drowned in River Esk |
| Xmas 1783 (6 Apr) | Ravenglass | Robert Atkinson | drowned in sea |
| Xmas 1786 (12 Oct) | Irton | Ruth Gaitskell (infant) | drowned in a well |
| Xmas 1791 (5 Mar) | Eskdale | Thomas Hartley | accidentally shot while loading gun |
| Xmas 1799 (17 Oct) | Irton | Thomas Mitchel Hill | hanged himself while of unsound mind |
| Xmas 1802 (29 Oct) | Drigg | Christopher Herbert | buried by fall of earth while digging in a rabbit warren |
| Xmas 1803 (22-25 Feb) | Ravenglass | Peter Simpson Charles Sutton John Swan John Jackson | drowned by boat overturning at mouth of River Esk |
| Xmas 1803 (22 Mar) | Ravenglass | Isaac Middleton | drowned as above |
| Xmas 1803 (22 Apr) | Eskdale | Mary Viccars | drowned herself in Whillan Beck |
| Xmas 1805 (16 Sep) | Eskdale | John Tyson | drowned in River Esk |
| Xmas 1805 (18 Nov) | Ravenglass | Mary Bragg | drowned in River Esk [details] |
| Xmas 1809 (20 Mar) | Ravenglass | Anthony Smith | drowned in River Esk |
| Xmas 1811 (25 May) | Muncaster | Joseph Tyson | drowned himself in River Mite |
| Xmas 1812 (18 May) | Ravenglass | Mary Watson | drowned in River Esk; |
| Xmas 1814 (19 May) | Eskdale | Rev. Aaron Marshall | hanged himself while of unsound mind [Cumberland Pacquet merely reports that he died suddenly] |
| Xmas 1818 (6 Feb) | Ravenglass | James Rushford | fell from the "Mary Ann" while intoxicated |
| Xmas 1821 (11 Oct) | Eskdale | Thomas Hartley (5) | drowned in Whillan Beck |
| Xmas 1826 (5 May) | Eskdale | Agnes Porter | drowned herself in Whillan Beck |
| Xmas 1827 (24 Jul) | Ravenglass | Jonathan Patrickson | drowned; no evidence |
| Xmas 1830 (22 Oct) | Irton | John Robinson (11 months) | burned by falling into grate |
| Xmas 1830 (10 Nov) | Ravenglass | Sarah MacMinnies | fit resulting from intemperance |
| Easter 1831 (16 Mar) | Ravenglass | Bartholomew Postlethwaite Watson | drowned in River Mite [documents missing] |
| Michaelmas 1831 (21 Jun) | Eskdale | Mary Hartley | burned by falling on a fire in a fit |
| Easter 1834 (23 Nov 1833) | Ravenglass | Benjamin Jackson | drowned in River Esk while collecting seaweed |
| Michaelmas 1835 (18 Jul) | Eskdale | William Jackson | dead in bed- natural causes |
| Michaelmas 1835 (22 Sep) | Ravenglass | Mary Charnock (16 weeks) | dead in poorhouse- no evidence |
| Michaelmas 1836 (30 Apr) | Irton | John Nicholson | dead in house- natural causes |
| Michaelmas 1836 (27 Sep) | Ravenglass | John Lewthwaite | drowned crossing ford at Cross Water |
| Easter 1837 (16 Jan) | Muncaster | William Bibby | drowned in River Esk at Eskholme |
| Easter 1837 (16 Feb) | Eskdale | Sarah Sallely | exposure- found in field |
| Easter 1840 (29 Jan) | Drigg | unknown man | found dead on seashore at Sandford |
| Easter 1842 (2 Apr) | Carleton [?not by Drigg] | Mary Jane Duggan (3 months) | dead in bed- no evidence |
| Easter 1843 (13 Mar) | Muncaster | John Porter (53) | drowned himself in Gill Beck |
| Michaelmas 1843 (13 Apr) | Irton | Jane Russell (2) | scalded to death |
| Michaelmas 1843 (10 May) | Irton | Benjamin Tyson (24) | dead in bed- natural causes |
| Michaelmas 1843 (8 Oct) | Muncaster | Elizabeth Redhead (20) | drowned on sea shore |
| Easter 1844 (3 Feb) | Ravenglass | Sarah Westray | found dead in house [documents probably missing- catalogued from petition on Quarter Sessions roll] |
| Midsummer 1844 (26 Apr) | Irton | John Jackson (69) | natural causes |
| Midsummer 1844 (9 May) | Eskdale | Matthew Towers (15 months) | drowned at Tawe House |
| Midsummer 1844 (13 June) | Eskdale | unknown man (c50) | dead on moors- no evidence |
| Michaelmas 1844 (10 Aug) | Irton | John Walton (75) | dead in bed- natural causes |
| Easter 1845 (6 Apr) | Ravenglass | Jonathan Watson (1) | drowned in a well |
| Easter 1846 (18 Mar) | Ravenglass | Ann Wilson (9 weeks) | dead in bed- no evidence |
| Michaelmas 1846 (11 Aug) | Ravenglass | Robert Allan (33) | injured in wrestling match |
| Midsummer 1849 (4 Apr) | Irton | Edward Hannah (38) | thrown from cart at Cragg House Bridge |
| Midsummer 1849 (9 Apr) | Ravenglass | John Ridley (25) | fell off railway bridge |
| Michaelmas 1850 (8 Sep) | Ravenglass | Mary Civill (5) | accidentally burned |
| Easter 1852 (13 Mar) | Eskdale | William Porter (49) | in public house- natural causes |
| Christmas 1852 (12 Nov) | Irton | John Shepherd (41) | fell from horse |
| Midsummer 1853 (15 May) | Muncaster | Ann Dixon (73) | dead in house- no sign of violence |
| Midsummer 1855 (29 May) | Ravenglass | Joseph Eilbeck (8) | drowned trying to cross the Esk/Mite/Irt confluence |
| Christmas 1855 (26 Dec) | Irton | Henry Middleton (28) | suffocated by falling soil while cleaning a well |
| Easter 1859 (7 Feb) | Ravenglass | John Parkinson (43) | suicide by cutting throat- while insane |
| Michaelmas 1859 (4 Aug) | Irton | William Mossop (69) | drowned himself in the River Irt while insane |
| Midsummer 1861 (11 May) | Ravenglass | William Mawson (55) | cut his throat while of unsound mind |
| Midsummer 1862 (29 May) | Muncaster Castle | Henry Bonner (14) | accidentally shot himself |
| Christmas 1862 (30 Oct) | Ravenglass | unknown man (c60) | found dead on Muncaster Fell |
| Christmas 1862 (8 Dec) | Ravenglass | Ann Tyson (23) | natural causes |
| Easter 1863 (20 Jan) | Ravenglass | Edward Atkinson Burrow (52) | drowned in River Esk |
| Easter 1863 (10 Feb) | Eskdale | John Russel (47) | drowned himself in well- temporary insanity |
| Easter 1866 (3 Feb) | Ravenglass | William Parker (25) | inhalation of carbonic acid gas in a well |
| Michaelmas 1866 (24 Jul) | Irton | John O'Neile (30) | drowned in River Irt |
| Michaelmas 1867 (27 Jul) | Muncaster Castle | William Rothery (13) | explosion of gunpowder |
| Michaelmas 1867 (5 Oct) | Muncaster | Thomas Benson (38) | fell from tree |
| [Midsummer & Michaelmas 1869 not deposited at Record Office] | |||
| Midsummer 1870 (12 Apr) | Eskdale | Margaret Powley (68) | found dead in bed at Beckfoot |
| Easter 1871 (19 Jan) | Eskdale | Mary Birkett (76) | found dead in garden- no violence |
| Midsummer 1872 (29 Jun) | Drigg | James Armstrong (18) | drowned in River Irt |
| Midsummer 1874 (9 Apr) | Eskdale | Thomas Lowther (38) | run over by cart while intoxicated |
| Michaelmas 1874 (19 Aug) | Irton | Peter Robertson (43) | crushed by a bull at Moorgate |