The age before Google

Catherine Clark from Whitehaven Record Office tells of the days before Google

BEFORE we had Yellow Pages and internet search engines we would have picked up a small book, a trade directory, to find out about local goods, services and prominent residents. We have a fine selection in our local studies library in the Record Office, or... [more]

Punishment of old

School log books provide a fascinating glimpse of school days of old

THE log books for Beckermet School dating from 1875 have recently arrived at Whitehaven Record Office.

Some log books can be really dull, just recording visits of HM Inspectors and noting down attendance figures without comment. However as I started to browse... [more]

Bizarre end of a showman

WHAT made a West Cumbrian lad give up coal mining to join a travelling show? That was the question posed to us by a Scottish local librarian for an item on BBC Radio Scotland.

Their documentary show, Past Lives, allows members of the public to request investigation of family history myths and mysteries. Our case featured Wilfred Cape... [more]