Description from T. Bulmer & Co's History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, 1884

History, Topography and Directory of East Cumberland, comprising Its Ancient and Modern History; A General View of its Physical Features; Agricultural Condition, Mines and Minerals; Statistics, &c., &c.
by T.F. Bulmer, T. Bulmer & Co., Manchester, 1884. Transcription by Don Noble © 1997

FARLAM.

Is bounded on the north by Brampton and Denton, on the east by Midgeholme, on the south by Hayton, and on the west by Brampton. It comprises the townships of East and West Farlam and Midgeholme, the last of which is now annexed to the recently created parish of Midgeholme. Lying near to the backbone of England, the surface of the parish is generally of a hilly character. Coal is found in the parish and is extensively worked by T. C. Thompson, Esq; limestone is also abundant, and is quarried on a large scale at Forest Head. The soil about Milton is light and gravelly, but in the neighbourhood of Kirkhouse and Farlam Hall is rich and loamy. The Manor of Farlam, or Farleham, anciently a fee of Gilsland, was given by Hubert de Vallibus to one Walter de Windsor, whose posterity took the name of Farlam. In the reign of Edward III., John de Farlam, having no issue, devised the manor to Ranulph de Dacre and Margaret Multon, his wife, through whom the barony of Gilsland came into the possession of the Dacres. The manor has ever since passed with the barony and is now held by the Earl of Carlisle; the following also are landowners: Major Thompson and Messrs. John Stephenson, Greensyke, and James Murray, Rochburn. East Farlam township contains a village of its own name, and the hamlets of Kirkhouse and Hallbank Gate. West Farlam contains the village of Milton, one and one half miles from Brampton.

A list of Trade Directories held by libraries in the modern Counties, Metropolitan Districts or Unitary Authorities of Cumbria, Darlington, Co Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland and York. This includes all or part of the historical counties of Co Durham, Cumberland, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire.

• Directories 1762-1864
• Directories 1865-1894
• Directories 1895-1914
• Directories 1914-1977
• Library Addresses

UK and Ireland: Directories

Directories were published for many large towns from about 1800, aimed at commercial travellers, though some earlier ones exist. A few decades later such publications were produced covering small towns and rural areas. These directories generally provided a brief description of each town or place covered, plus a listing of prominent residents and of the various tradesmen, and in due course were published annually. As the 19th century progressed directories became more and more comprehensive, and can be of considerable help in locating people and tracing their movements. A growing number of these directories are now being made available online or on CD-ROM.

Useful reference books:

Shaw, Gareth and Tipper, Alison. British Directories: A bibliography and guide to directories published in England and Wales (1850-1950) and Scotland (1753-1950)., (1988).

Norton, J. Guide to the National and Provincial Directories of England and Wales, excluding London, published before 1856, Royal Historical Society (1950).

Links:

• Leicester University's Digital Library of Historical Directories - The aim of this project was to make available one directory for each English and Welsh county for the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s. In addition, a sample of directories was made available for the period 1750-1849, and for the 1860s, 1870s, 1880s and 1900s.
• GENFair - listing of trade directories for many counties (CD or Downloadable).
• Protestation Returns are held in the House of Lords Library - "The Protestation Returns are the closest record we have to a census from 1642. If you can trace your ancestors back to 1642, and you know which county and parish they lived in, it may be worth looking to see if their names are in the Protestation Returns."
• The Yellow Pages Archive - the Berkshire Record Office hold the national archive of Yellow Pages telephone directories. 
• British Telecom Archives have a number of record collections of value to genealogists. Of particular value is their extensive collection of Telephone Directories, dating from 1880 to the present day, which are available on microfilm in their public searchroom.
• Residential Number Search allows searches for residential, commercial and freefone telephone numbers.
• Commercial "people finder" services are offered by ukphonebook.com and 192.com.
• Ancestry's (subscription) Schools, Directories & Church Histories people search facility.
• U.K., City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s - Ancestry
• Directories - The Genealogist