question to any Cumbria experts out there

[kena]

Hi, please can anybody tell me if Brayton Gate in the parish of Allhallows would be a place or a farm. Have found a death there of a 1 year old called Richard Reay in 1821 and the parents names on a baptism for a Richard Reay in 1820 in Aspatria match up with some of my ancestors whose parents were also of Brayton Gate when the kids were baptised.

Very grateful for any help anybody can give me.

Thanks

Anna

[Geoff E]

Brayton Gate was probably related to Brayton Hall, just a mile or two NE of Aspatria.

Find the hall at www.old-maps.co.uk search for Baggrow, then move north a bit.

[kena]

Hi Geoff, Thanks very much for that, my ancestor John Reay (who was the father of all these kids) was a stonecutter/stonemason so I don't know what that would be in relation to the hall.

Anna

[Geoff E]

Was Isaac REAY one of your lot?

http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/farmer/viewarticle.aspx?id=82096&imageindex=5

[kena]

Hi again, not so far as I know but he could maybe be a distant relative, you never know.

Anna

[RedFox]

Hi, kena.  I was in Aspatria last year and was disappointed to learn that the farm area at Brayton has been demolished.  I think there was a very destructive fire.  There is an exclusive restaurant on that site now.  Another trip I may get a chance to investigate it.  Sir Lawson's family would be appalled; their families lived there for several generations.

I think Aspatria, Brayton, and Allhollows are all close to being together from what I've seen on a map.  Also, having been in the area, things are not very far apart. 

My mother's family lived in Aspatria, Newtown, and Fletchertown.  As well as Gilcrux, Plumbland, and Dearham.  The later village is further toward the southwest.   

It's well worth the time I spent there, also the time spent in the Castle Record Office in Carlisle and Wigton.   You may find quite a bit on the Reay family in those two offices.  I've seen the name many times in perusing the 1841 - 1881 census records, so there were a lot of them.  I have copies of the records; only for the pages pertaining to my family.  Also the Cumberland list through RootsWeb.com.

Most of my info originally came from Ancestory.com, but I no longer have access to it at home.  However, most libraries (including mine) have a subscription.

Good luck with your continued research.   RedFox

[kena]

Hi Redfox, Thanks very much for the info, please was the Brayton area very big do you know, also do Wigton and Thursby also lie in close proximity to it.

Thanks

Anna

[RedFox]

Hi, kena.  Wigton lies between Aspatria and Carlisle.   It's about a 10-15 minute drive to Wigton from Aspatria, I would guess, thinking back.  There are several good highways out of Carlisle, one that passes the outskirts of Wigton, then goes down to Aspatria.  The other is south of the area.   

Don't recall where Thursby is, although I've heard of it.  There are a number of small villages in that area.  One place to check would be MultiMap.com.  I used that site for all the planning when I went to England last year.  I got so I really knew the area (at least for the places I was looking for) and their location in relation to Carlisle, where I stayed for 11 days/12 nights.

A map might give you a better idea of the size of Brayton.  My guess is, the Lawson family had a lot of land.  They were quite wealthy; he was Sir Lawson, I believe and an MP.  There was both farming and mining on the land.  Haven't been able to come up with the name of the other map site I've used. 

Sorry I couldn't be more help.  So much was going on during my trip, I had to keep a diary.  Maybe I should refer to it; I'm operating on memory right now.   RedFox. 

[kena]

Hi RedFox, Thanks very much for that, I think a place close to Thursby might be Westward. Next May I will be going up to the Scottish Borders where I also have quite a few ancestors as my greatgrandmother was actually born in Newcastleton in Roxburghshire, while I am there I should also be visiting round different villages in the Stapleton/Bewcastle area (my familyname, Kennedy come from that area, especially Stapleton where there are still quite a few gravestones of my direct ancestors coming right down to my grandparents). Unfortunately I won't be able to go to the area where my Reay's are from this time but I really hope to get up there one of these days.

Thanks again

Anna