Dalzell Dynasty: Land, Industry, and Moor Row
The Dalzell Dynasty of West Cumberland: Land Ownership, Industrial Development, and the Transformation of Moor Row
1. Executive Summary: The Dalzell Dynasty of West Cumberland
The Dalzell family’s historical and economic influence in the West Cumberland village of Moor Row is exhaustive, rooted in late 18th-century land acquisition and culminating in 19th-century industrial exploitation and political prominence. Their narrative traces a 150-year arc of social mobility, starting with the fortuitous marriage of a local gardener to an heiress and concluding with their descendants securing a seat in the national Parliament.
The family successfully transitioned from being minor landed gentry - a status achieved through the inheritance of the Wildridge estates at Low Moor Row - to pioneering industrial capitalists. This allowed them to monetise the valuable haematite iron ore reserves beneath their holdings. This pivot generated long-term generational wealth and physically shaped the village, permanently cementing the family name in the main thoroughfare, Dalzell Street. The period between Thomas Dalziel's detailed 1798 land survey and the formal placing of the Dalzell estates under trusteeship by 1885 marks the zenith of the family's direct territorial and developmental control over Moor Row and its surrounding mineral fields.
2. Origins of Influence: The Late Georgian Foundations (c. 1760–1820)
2.1 The Foundational Marriage and Land Inheritance
The Dalzell dynasty in Moor Row begins with the founding couple, Thomas Dalziel (born 1739, died April 18th, 1818) and Elizabeth Wildridge (born 1737, died December 11th, 1818). They were married by licence on January 9th, 1768, in St. James’ Church, Whitehaven. The marriage certificate recorded Thomas Dalziel’s occupation as "Gardener," a trade that typically positioned him within the artisan or labouring class.
However, the marriage proved to be the essential economic catalyst for the family's ascent. Elizabeth Wildridge was the daughter of John Wildridge, and upon her parents' passing, she inherited the family estates, specifically the lands at Low Moor Row located on what would become Church Street. This union immediately elevated Thomas Dalziel from a gardener to a landed proprietor. The family’s subsequent ownership of land and the existence of large, dedicated gravestones - found at St. Bees Priory, where they are buried, and later memorialised at St. Bridget’s Church, Moresby - confirm that they were established as "respectable" and "comparatively wealthy" gentry, setting them apart from the vast majority of the labouring local population.
This initial acquisition through the Wildridge inheritance was the defining strategic action that predicated the Dalzell family's entire industrial history. By securing the land at Low Moor Row, which lay directly over the valuable haematite iron ore deposits, the family gained control of precisely the territory that would become the industrial heart of the area decades later. This early landed status was not merely symbolic; it was the prerequisite for obtaining the necessary licences to exploit the mineral resources, a right typically reserved for established landowners. Therefore, the Dalzell family’s economic power was fundamentally rooted in this fortunate inheritance and strategic marriage, providing the platform for their subsequent industrialisation.
Further evidence of Thomas Dalziel's status as an organised landholder is the detailed plan of his Moor Row property, which he commissioned in 1798. The plan provided a formal record of the property, including the house and what appeared to be a laid-out garden or plant nursery. While the nursery detail connects back to Thomas's original profession, the commissioning of the plan itself - potentially spurred by Inclosure legislation - demonstrates formal, deliberate land management typical of the minor gentry class, occurring decades before the large-scale industrial boom. This 1798 plan remains a vital archival trace, establishing the exact extent and early use of the land that would later be converted into industrial capital.
2.2 The Dual Estate and Succession of 1818
The early Dalzell family was geographically flexible, operating between two key holdings: Moor Row, which was then a collection of scattered farms within the parish of Egremont, and Stockhow Hall, located in the parish of Lamplugh. Although they spent time at Stockhow Hall (their son William was baptised in Lamplugh in 1773), Thomas and Elizabeth returned to live at Moor Row, where they both died in 1818 within months of each other.
The succession following Thomas Dalziel's death in 1818 was critical. Despite the unfortunate absence of a discovered will, the estate was divided to secure the financial standing of the next generation. John Dalziel (1770–1841), the eldest son, took control of Stockhow Hall, maintaining the family’s presence in the farming gentry tradition. Critically, the second son, Anthony Dalzell (1772–1850), inherited or was gifted the strategically valuable land parcels at Moor Row. This distinction was paramount, as Anthony was subsequently able to obtain a licence to mine on this inherited land. It is during this subsequent generation that the family surname began to evolve consistently from the older "Dalziel" spelling to the later and more prevalent "Dalzell," a transition frequently noted on graves and memorial stones around the 1820s to 1840s.
3. Social and Intellectual Capital: The Dalzell Clergy and Gentry
3.1 The Reverend Anthony Dalzell and Civic Roles
The second generation solidified the family's social position through professional achievement and civic engagement, most notably through the career of the Reverend Anthony Dalzell (1772–1850). Although he held the rights to the future industrial land in Moor Row, Anthony pursued a highly respected and stable professional life. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen, ordained as a deacon in 1795, and became a priest in 1796. He went on to serve for nearly half a century as the Perpetual Curate (effectively the vicar) of the parish of Clifton, situated north of Lamplugh and west of Cockermouth, a position he held from 1804 until his death in 1850.
Anthony Dalzell’s influence extended into the educational sector, as he was also the proprietor of a school located in Workington. This professional path demonstrates that the family intentionally diversified its interests, balancing inherited landholdings with intellectual capital and civic service. The family’s collective strategy was to maintain traditional gentry status (farming via John, and the clergy via Anthony) while leveraging professional income streams and community respect. This established stability allowed them to strategically position the Moor Row land, controlled by Anthony, for high-risk, capital-intensive industrial exploitation later on, without jeopardizing the entire family patrimony.
The Reverend Anthony Dalzell’s standing as a trusted figure in the community is further evidenced by his frequent appointments as an Executor for local wills, highlighting his central role in the legal and social framework of Cumberland. This accumulated social capital, combined with their protected financial position, was vital for the family's move into industry. The family members were explicitly recognised as "pillars of the local, and indeed national, community", a reputation that provided the essential social licence and connection to capital required to transition successfully into large-scale industrial ownership.
4. The Industrial Zenith: Land Ownership and the Iron Ore Boom (c. 1850–1885)
4.1 The Village Transformation and the Dalzell Name
The mid-19th century witnessed the dramatic transformation of Moor Row, which rapidly grew from a collection of scattered farms to a densely populated industrial community, fuelled by the haematite iron ore industry. The village became a key junction on the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway and housed workers required for local sites, including the massive Montreal mine, which produced up to 250,000 tons of ore annually.
The Dalzell family’s involvement in this industrial development is permanently marked on the physical landscape. The village’s main thoroughfare was named Dalzell Street. This street was named after Thomas Henry Dalzell J.P. (born c. 1822), the son of the Reverend Anthony Dalzell. More significantly, the Dalzells were active property developers. The homes built on Dalzell Street around 1859 are regarded as the oldest of the terraced rows in Moor Row. This pre-dates the height of their mining operations and confirms the family acted as early housing providers for the incoming workforce, ensuring that their land provided a reliable income stream from industrial rents and that labour was housed conveniently for their future operations and the adjacent railway facilities.
4.2 Dalzell’s Moor Row Mine and Rapid Monetisation (1880–1881)
Thomas Henry Dalzell J.P., having inherited the rights to the Moor Row land, was the individual who most directly capitalised on the industrial boom. In 1880, Thomas Dalzell opened three pits near Moor Row, formally creating the operational entity known in historical records as the Moor Row (Dalzell) Mine. These pits targeted the valuable ore bodies, specifically working "guts" (irregular masses of ore) and steeply sloping veins primarily in the 4th and 3rd Limestone strata.
The most revealing action of the Dalzell’s entrepreneurial strategy was the rapid transfer of these assets. The three pits opened by Thomas Dalzell in 1880 were "almost immediately taken over in 1881 by the Maryport Haematite Iron Company". This swift acquisition by a major industrial concern indicates that the Dalzells used their land rights to prove the value and viability of the mineral assets, then immediately monetised them. By selling or leasing the operational rights, they avoided the immense capital and management demands of running a large-scale mine, opting instead to secure a potentially massive cash sale or long-term royalty payments from a large industrial enterprise.
This tight window of activity - pitting in 1880, transfer in 1881, and the estates formalised under trusteeship by 1885 - documents the successful execution of a sophisticated land-to-capital conversion strategy. The family realised the ultimate financial benefit from the Wildridge inheritance, turning inherited land into accumulated, managed wealth. The subsequent establishment of the trusteeship confirmed that the family was moving away from direct industrial involvement toward passive wealth management, securing the capital for future generations.
5. Succession, Trusts, and Political Connections
5.1 The Administration of the Estates (Post-1885)
The wealth generated by the industrial era required professional, long-term administration. By 1885, the extensive Dalzell estates were being officially managed by the trustees of the family. These estates were not limited to Moor Row but covered vast parcels of land "along the road from Moor Row to Woodend past Gutterby and around Frizington and Aspatria". This geographically expansive holding confirms their position as one of the major landowning families in West Cumberland, strategically positioned to benefit from the region's industrial boom. The use of a trusteeship was a prudent measure to handle the consistent flow of rents, royalties, and investments resulting from the successful exploitation and sale of mineral rights, thereby protecting the accumulated fortune for the Dalzell heirs.
5.2 Genealogical Apex: The Burnyeat Connection and Political Achievement
The highest point of the Dalzell family's social and political ambition was achieved through intermarriage with the local gentry. Sarah Frances Dalzell (born 1849, died 1938), a fourth-generation descendant, married William Burnyeat J.P., D.L., of Millgrove. This union integrated the Dalzell industrial fortune and land legacy with another distinguished local family.
The definitive proof of the Dalzell dynasty's success is found in their offspring. The couple’s eldest son, William John Dalzell Burnyeat M.A., J.P. (1874–1916), successfully entered the highest levels of national governance, serving as the Member of Parliament (M.P.) for the Whitehaven constituency from 1906 to 1910. This achievement fulfilled the observation that one of the earliest generation's descendants would become an MP for the very constituency where Thomas and Elizabeth Dalzell had founded their dynasty less than a hundred years prior.
This complete social ascent is explicitly documented on the remarkable gravestone at St. Bridget’s Church, Moresby, which records five generations of the family, complete with maiden names and key dates. Erected after 1862, this monument serves as a deliberate genealogical charter, connecting the industrial magnates and the political inheritors back to the founding couple, Thomas and Elizabeth Dalziel, providing a lasting testament to their rise from local landholders to national elite.
6. Synthesis and Final Assessment
The Dalzell family’s deep connection to Moor Row serves as a compelling case study in 18th and 19th-century Cumbrian social history and capital formation. Their narrative demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of opportunity: they leveraged an initial inherited status (the Wildridge land) into professional status (the Reverend Anthony Dalzell), which, in turn, allowed them to secure and exploit the mineral wealth underneath their property (Thomas Henry Dalzell J.P.).
The enduring physical marker of their legacy is Dalzell Street, which contains the earliest terraced housing in Moor Row, signifying their role as town builders and employers. Economically, their influence peaked with the strategic sale of Dalzell’s Moor Row Mine in 1881 to the Maryport Haematite Iron Company, a move that assured the family's financial security for the long term, formalised through the 1885 trusteeship of their extensive estates. The culmination of this calculated ascent was the election of their descendant, William John Dalzell Burnyeat, as the local Member of Parliament, marking the ultimate realisation of their social and political ambition.
Dalzell Economic and Industrial Timeline in Moor Row
To visualise the critical junctures of the family's economic transformation, the following timeline outlines the key land and industrial events:
Table 2: Dalzell Economic and Industrial Timeline in Moor Row (1768–1885)
| Date Range | Key Event / Transaction | Dalzell Individual(s) | Significance to Moor Row |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1768 | Marriage of Thomas Dalziel and Elizabeth Wildridge | Thomas Dalziel & Elizabeth Wildridge | Established Dalzell control over Low Moor Row land (Wildridge inheritance). |
| 1798 | Detailed Land Plan of Moor Row Property | Thomas Dalziel | Formal evidence of organised landholding decades before the mining boom. |
| Post 1818 | Moor Row land inherited; mining licence acquired | Anthony Dalzell | Pivotal moment: transition of land from agricultural/gentry use to potential industrial exploitation. |
| c. 1859 | Dalzell Street constructed; earliest terraced housing | T. H. Dalzell (Namesake) | Physical development of Moor Row infrastructure to house industrial workforce (town building). |
| 1880 | Opening of three iron ore pits (Dalzell Mine) | Thomas Dalzell | Direct, short-lived involvement in haematite mining operations. |
| 1881 | Dalzell pits acquired/leased by Maryport Haematite Iron Company | Thomas Dalzell / Estate | Rapid monetisation of mining rights; secured substantial long-term capital (royalties). |
| 1885 | Dalzell estates formally run by Trustees | Trustees of the Family | Formal end of direct individual family management; marked shift to passive wealth management. |
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| Visualisation Of Thomas Henry Dalzell |
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