Westmorland

Westmorland (an older spelling is Westmoreland, an even older spelling is Westmerland) is an area of north west England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It was an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now is part of Cumbria. 

Early history
At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 the county was said to form part of Yorkshire. 
The historic county borders are with Cumberland to the north, County Durham and Yorkshire to the east, and Lancashire to the south and west. 

The highest point of the county is Helvellyn at 950m (3,117 ft). According to the 1831 census its area was 485,990 acres. 1831 Census cited in Vision of Britain – Ancient county data 

Appleby, the historic county town, was also a historic borough until it was reformed in 1885.

According to the 1971 census, Westmorland was the second smallest administrative county with people in England, after Rutland. The spead of population was as follows: 1971 Census; Small Area Statistics

DistrictNumber of PeopleMunicipal Borough of Appleby  1,944Municipal Borough of Kendal  21,602Lakes Urban District  5,815Windermere Urban District  8,065North Westmorland Rural District  14,778South Westmorland Rural District  20,633

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the county was abolished and its former area was combined with Cumberland and parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire to form the new county of Cumbria. The former county now forms part of the districts of South Lakeland and Eden.

References

Category:1889 establishments in England
Category:1974 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Category:British shires
Category:Historic counties of England