In An Armorial for Westmorland the authors state that "the Blenkinsop family, originally of Blenkinsop [near Greenhead] in Northumberland, acquired Helbeck in Westmorland, when Richard de Blenkinsop married Isabella, daughter and heir of Thomas de Helbeck, in the early 14th century".

From a similar volume on Cumberland we find the owner of Corby Castle, Richard Salkeld, had a daughter, Margaret, who married Thomas Blenkinsop of Helbeck at the end of the 15th century.

Writing about the manor of Corby, THB Graham stated "by indenture dated March 12 1505 the manor was partitioned in equal moieties [shares] between the two eldest daughters of Sir Richard Salkeld", Margaret Blenkinsop, then a widow, being one.

As a result Corby Castle was physically divided into two but there is nothing to suggest a Blenkinsop lived there.

Margaret Blenkinsop was "succeeded by her son, grandson and great-grandson, named respectively Thomas, and here great-great-grandson Henry, sold the Blenkinsop moiety of the manor", for £770 on November 22 1605 to Lord William Howard.

Also in the 17th century the Blenkinsops lost Helbeck in the Civil War.

Within the manor of Corby was another branch of the family at Little Corby.

Skipping several generations William Blenkinsop was born at Little Corby in 1780 and married at Wetheral in 1800, Martha Studholme of Orton Rigg, she being five years his senior.

Possibly William Blenkinsop worked at Langthwaite cotton mill at Warwick Bridge before he left for Dalston where he went into partnership with William Johnston and John Carrick to run the Low Green cotton spinning mill in the 1820s, this belonging to Colonel Sowerby of Cummersdale.

An idea of the size of the Dalston mill is given in the 1851 census when William Blenkinsop is described as a cotton spinner employing 31 men and 48 women.

When the mill was destroyed by fire in January 1859 it was described as then belonging to Messrs Johnston and Dover (Blenkinsop having died in 1851) they having purchased from Colonel Sowerby.

The Carlisle Journal stated it was "formerly known as Blenkinsop's factory" and had recently been raised an extra storey to four high.

There was a water wheel but also a boiler house and gas retorts, the whole left a complete ruin and only partly insured.

William Blenkinsop had two sons, John and William.

The junior William, born in 1805, had become the manager of the Bedlington Ironworks in Northumberland and married Ann Blamire at Carlisle in 1836, she being of Dalston.

The ironworks had pioneered the manufacture of wrought-iron rails, these being used to lay the Stockton and Darlington railway.

But William junior met a sad end at his father's house at Low Green, Dalston in December 1845, where the inquest found he "had been labouring under nervous excitement for a fortnight and showed signs of delirium tremens".

Hearing a noise from the bedroom William's father had gone to see if his son wanted anything only to find the bedclothes soaked in blood.

His father asked if he had been cutting himself and William replied "he believed his throat would be cut. He had a sad night with the banditti who had come into the house to murder his father, mother and sister".

William had lost too much blood and died within an hour of his father finding him.

After William senior died his wife went to live in London where she died in 1860.

John Blenkinsop, their other son, had gone south to marry at Exter but returned to Cumberland where he died in 1882.