The Bewleys of Cumberland
Some thousands of families today in the English-speaking world bear the surname of Bewley. A number of these families can trace their origins back to Thomas de Beaulieu, who lived in the 14th century in Thistlethwaite, Cumberland, England.
The story of the family has been told by one of his distinguished descendants, Sir Edmund Thomas Bewley of Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin, Ireland, in his book The Bewleys of Cumberland, published in 1904.
The early Bewleys
Sir Edmund's book traces the probable connection with the de Beaulieus of Hainault, North France. Members of the family later moved to the parish of Caldbeck and held a number of distinguished positions in the county over the next three centuries, as well as representing the county in Parliament at different times. The book also includes pedigrees of the family, covering the period from 1332 to the beginning of the 20th century.
Bewleys and the Quakers
In the 17th century another Thomas Bewley became closely involved with George Fox. Several of the family joined the Society of Friends, otherwise known as the Quakers. This tradition has continued to the present day, particularly in Ireland.
New Online edition
In recent years many people worldwide have been interested in tracing their ancestors. Bewleys and others with a connection to the family are no exception. Many would like to acquire a copy of The Bewleys of Cumberland, but very few are in circulation today. Thomas Bewley of Abingdon, Oxford, England, owns one of them.
Over the past two years he and his son Richard have painstakingly reproduced the whole book to produce an online version, which includes the full text, the coat of arms, the original illustrations, the indices and (most crucially) the six Pedigrees. It has been a very time-consuming task, but Thomas and Richard would now like to make the book available to all those interested in the history of the family.
Title |
Filesize |
Download Link |
| 1. 2008 Introduction | 113KB |
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| 2. The Bewleys of Cumberland by Sir Edmund Thomas Bewley | 2.56 MB |
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| 3. Pedigree A - complete | 1.40MB |
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| 4. Pedigree B - complete | 1.16MB |
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| 5. Pedigree C - complete | 647KB |
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| 6. Pedigree D - complete | 1.56MB |
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| 6a. Pedigree D - continued | 0.67MB | |
| 7. Pedigree E - complete | 852KB |
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| 8. Pedigree F - complete | 981KB |
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Helping the blind
We have decided to make this available free of charge, but we should be delighted if you were to make a donation in the name of the family to a local organisation supporting blind people, wherever in the world you live.