Hi
I would think the St Nicholas will be C of E. Almost certainly. It is not an area I know particularly. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. If the family were literate then they could well have corrected spellings of Reed on birth certficates however the census enumerator usually filled in his pages once he got home. They would not have any control over the spelling so it is worth checking all variants. Read, Reid, Reade etc.
Do you have a subscription to
www.ancestry.co.uk? If not it may be worth it if you are relying on a computer to do most of your research. It now has census from 1851 - 1901 on it and plans for the 1841. The transcriptions are a bit odd sometimes but on the whole it is worth every penny. The equivalent of a Sunday paper cost per week here if you take the annual sub.
The registers for Whitehaven are at Carlisle record office so it might be worth contacting them to see if they have a written transcript on the shelves that can be searched quickly.
Further census records for you.
In 1861 he is a widower age 55 Occupation Farmer at Lonsdale Place Moresby ref RG9 3945 F61 p2 plus Housekeeper
1871 Moresby ref RG10 5252 F49 p14 Master Mariner age 61. Elizabeth 43 plus servant If he really is a Master Mariner thn he may be in Lloyd's Captains register which is online somewhere I think. Kept at Kew Record Office.
1891 Lonsdale Place Harrington age 85 living on own means and Blind. Elizabeth 56 plus servant Rg12 4312 F133 p7.
Worth the price of that paper??
Andrea