134-532: The Derwent Pencil Museum is in Keswick , in the north-west of England . The first pencil factory in Keswick opened in 1832. The second and current factory was started in the 1920s and completed in 1950 and closed in 2007 when production was moved to Workington . The museum opened in 1981 and is home to one of the biggest colouring pencils in the world, the idea of technical manager Barbara Murray. The yellow pencil
268-472: A Saxon name; he proposed instead that the word is of Danish or Norse origin, and means "Kell's place at the bend of the river". Among the later scholars supporting the "cheese farm" toponymy are Eilert Ekwall (1960) and A. D. Mills (2011) (both Oxford University Press ), and Diana Whaley (2006), for the English Place-Name Society . Evidence of prehistoric occupation in the area includes
402-461: A "peppery old swine". In November 1884 Rawnsley and his wife began organising classes in metalwork and wood carving . There was considerable unemployment in Keswick and the surrounding area, particularly in the winter months, and the Rawnsleys aimed to provide productive and satisfying work. Rawnsley was mindful of advice given to him by William Morris : The classes, for men only, were held in
536-562: A Local Government District in 1853 and an urban district with three wards in 1894, reflecting its growth in the latter part of the 19th century. The new urban district's northern boundary was extended from the Greta to the railway, taking in Great Crosthwaite and part of Underskiddaw in 1899. In 1974 the urban district was abolished and then the town was administered by Allerdale Borough Council. The electoral ward of Keswick stretched beyond
670-499: A biography of her husband, published by his regular publisher, MacLehose, in 1923. Rawnsley published more than forty books, some on religious subjects, many with a Lake District theme, and, as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography put it, "as a minor lake poet, a vast output of verse." His memoir of Ruskin (1901) was described by The New York Times as "in many ways the best volume [of] his series of books upon some of
804-556: A firm friend, particularly of Beatrix. His views on preserving the natural beauty of the Lake District had a lasting effect on her. He was the first published author she had met, and he took a great interest in her drawings, supporting her in her determination to have them taken seriously and later encouraging her to publish her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit . They remained close for the rest of Rawnsley's lifetime, and Noel Rawnsley maintained in his later years that Potter had been
938-462: A flush-panelled central double door with Gothic top panels and Venetian windows. A carved oak fireplace inside is dated to 1684. The Moot Hall is a prominent Grade II* listed building situated at the southern end of Main Street. It was built in 1571 and rebuilt in 1695, and the current building dates to 1813. It is built of lime-washed stone and slate walling, and has a square tower on the north end with
1072-585: A hermit on an island in Derwentwater, now named after him. Kentigern, who lived and preached in the area before moving to Wales, is traditionally held to have founded Crosthwaite Church , which was the parish church of Keswick until the 19th century. Keswick's recorded history starts in the Middle Ages . The area was conquered by the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century, but Northumbria
1206-592: A large part in founding Keswick High School , one of the first co-educational secondary schools in the country, which opened in October 1898. He was chairman of the school's board of governors, and Cumberland's director of education described him as "the real founder of the Keswick High School". To Rawnsley, education was not merely about the basic " three Rs "; it had to also incorporate culture, art, awareness of nature and responsibility to all living things. Of
1340-407: A market centre, though at first the town remained only modestly prosperous: in the 1530s John Leland wrote of it as "a lytle poore market town". By the second half of the century, copper mining had made Keswick richer: in 1586 William Camden wrote of "these copper works not only being sufficient for all England, but great quantities of the copper exported every year" with, at the centre, "Keswicke,
1474-410: A modern structure. Proponents of a new bridge maintained that antiquity alone did not justify retaining an old structure: it must, they contended, have "historic associations". This argument was widely ridiculed and the council backed down, outmanoeuvred by Rawnsley, who, together with the owner of the adjacent property, offered to underwrite the cost of strengthening the old bridge. In 1912 Rawnsley
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#17328455622531608-814: A modern theatre, the Theatre by the Lake ; one of Britain's oldest surviving cinemas, the Alhambra; and the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery in the town's largest open space, Fitz Park . Among the town's annual events is the Keswick Convention , an Evangelical gathering attracting visitors from many countries. Keswick became widely known for its association with the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey . Together with their fellow Lake Poet William Wordsworth , based at Grasmere, 12 miles (19 kilometres) away, they made
1742-495: A national recreation ground". Besides Rawnsley, founder-members included Ruskin, Robert Browning , the Duke of Westminster and Alfred, Lord Tennyson , with whom Rawnsley had a family connection. As well as saving the landscape from insensitive development, Rawnsley and his colleagues aimed to protect rights of way and the use of common land . The new society gained support not only among local people but throughout Britain, including
1876-566: A parish church, St Margaret of Antioch, Low Wray . The post of vicar there became vacant and Edward offered it to Rawnsley, who was ordained priest in Carlisle Cathedral on 23 December 1877 and took up the appointment at Wray. Rawnsley and Edith were married in the Fletchers' local church at Brathay in January 1878, in a service conducted by Drummond Rawnsley. The couple's only child, Noel,
2010-560: A population of 2,777 people. The population grew at a faster rate towards the late 19th century and by 1901 it stood at 4,451 people. There has been little fluctuation in population since, and in the 1991 census the town had a population of 4,836. In the 2001 census, 4,984 people were recorded, and 4,821 in 2011. At the 2021 census, 54.3% of the population identified as Christian, 37.8% as non-religious, 0.4% as Buddhist, 0.3% as Muslim, 0.2% as Hindu, and 0.3% as some other faith. The remaining 6.7 per cent did not specify their religion. Keswick
2144-485: A round-arched doorway and a double flight of exterior steps. At the top of the tower is what the Keswick Tourist Information Board describes as an "unusual one-handed clock". Formerly an assembly building, The Moot Hall contains a tourist information centre on the ground floor, with an art gallery on the floor above. The prominent social thinker and art critic John Ruskin , who had links to Keswick,
2278-491: A slate roof. The church was extended in 1862, 1882 and 1889 by the parish's benefactors the Marshall family; the chancel windows, designed by Henry Holiday , installed in 1879, were taken down and reinstalled when the chancel was extended in 1889. St John's became a Grade II* listed building in 1951. Keswick's former parish church, St Kentigern's , at Crosthwaite, just outside the town, is also Grade II* listed. Dated to at least
2412-404: A small market town, many years famous for the copper works as appears from a charter of king Edward IV , and at present inhabited by miners". Earlier copper mining had been small in scale, but Elizabeth I , concerned for the defence of her kingdom, required large quantities of copper for the manufacture of weapons and the strengthening of warships. There was the additional advantage for her that
2546-406: A total of 332 children. By 1833 Keswick had twelve daily schools, including a new National School at High Hill. The new parish church of Keswick, St John's, started educational work in 1840 with a Sunday school which also educated infant boys, and later girls, on weekdays. A full-time boys' school opened in 1853. For older pupils, Keswick School, the free co-educational grammar school, successor to
2680-465: A tree, a bell and a salmon with a ring in its mouth – incorporating them in the mosaic floor of the church. He threw himself vigorously into parish life, "friend to both landowner and boatman, tourist and local" in Griffiths's words. At the same time he continued to campaign on a large number of national issues, not only supporting conservation but opposing such practices as vivisection, rabbit coursing ,
2814-552: A triangle sheltering the town, reaching a maximum height of 931 m (3,054 ft) on Skiddaw itself. To the west of Portinscale, to the south-west of the village of Thornthwaite , is Whinlatter Forest Park and Grisedale Pike . To the east, beyond Castlerigg stone circle, is St John's in the Vale , at the foot of the Helvellyn range , which is popular with ramblers starting from Keswick. In 2010, Electricity North West, United Utilities,
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#17328455622532948-543: Is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria , England. Historically , until 1974, it was part of the county of Cumberland . It lies within the Lake District National Park , just north of Derwentwater and four miles (six kilometres) from Bassenthwaite Lake . The parish had a population of 5,243 at the 2011 census . There is evidence of prehistoric occupation of
3082-427: Is commemorated by a memorial at Friars' Crag . Erected in 1900 on Rawnsley's initiative, it is a Grade II listed structure. Until 1838, Keswick had no Anglican church within the town boundaries and was part of the widespread parish of Crosthwaite. The present parish church , St John's, was designed by Anthony Salvin and consecrated in 1838. It is geometrical in style, with pink castle-head ashlar sandstone and
3216-484: Is much to say of anyone – that England would be a much duller and less healthy and happy country if [Rawnsley] had not lived and worked." To commemorate him, the National Trust raised funds soon after his death to buy Friars' Crag , Lord's Island and other land bordering Derwentwater. A memorial stone is set in the wall alongside the path from the Keswick landing stages to the end of Friars' Crag. Eleanor Rawnsley wrote
3350-528: Is offered to visitors at reasonable prices. Keswick is the best centre from which to visit Lakeland. During the Second World War, students from St Katharine's College, Liverpool , and Roedean School , Sussex, were evacuated to Keswick when their own buildings were requisitioned for use as a hospital and a navy base respectively. Students were also brought to the safety of Keswick from Central Newcastle High School , Hunmanby Hall School, Yorkshire , and
3484-539: Is one of the oldest continuously functioning cinemas in the country; it is equipped with digital technology and satellite receiving equipment to allow the live screening of plays, operas and ballet from the National Theatre , Royal Opera House and other venues. The town is the site of the Derwent Pencil Museum . One of the exhibits is what is claimed to be the world's largest coloured pencil. Fitz Park, on
3618-609: Is the home of the Theatre by the Lake, opened in 1999. The theatre serves a dual purpose as the permanent home of a professional repertory company and a venue for visiting performers and festivals. It replaced the Century Theatre or "Blue Box", which had spent 25 years in semi-retirement on a permanent lakeside site in Keswick, after a career of similar length as a mobile theatre. The Alhambra cinema in St John Street, opened in 1913,
3752-494: The Castlerigg stone circle on the eastern fringe of the town, which has been dated to c. 3200 BC . Neolithic -era stone tools were unearthed inside the circle and in the centre of Keswick during the 19th century. The antiquary W. G. Collingwood , commenting in 1925 about finds in the area, wrote that they showed "Stone Age man was fairly at home in the Lake District". There is little evidence of sustained settlement in
3886-400: The Derwent Pencil Museum remaining at the old site. At the beginning of the 21st century, more than 60 per cent of the population were employed in hotels, restaurants and distribution. A survey of retail premises in 2000 found that more than ten per cent were outdoor clothes shops, a similar proportion were cafés or restaurants, and more than eight per cent were gift shops. The age profile of
4020-460: The Derwentwater shore and the slopes of Catbells . When persuasion failed, Rawnsley led hundreds of demonstrators to demolish the barriers. Bott comments that this dispute roused local passions, but that the next confrontation between Rawnsley and local landowners earned national headlines. The owner of Latrigg , a fell overlooking Keswick, attempted to block access along two paths and challenged
4154-567: The Jacobite rising of 1715 . In 1735 the Crown granted the income from the estates to support the Greenwich Hospital , London. Land to the south and west were part of Greenwich Hospital's forestry and farming estates until the 19th century. In 1925 the then owner, Sir John Randles, gave the National Trust 90 acres (36 ha) of land in this estate, including the foreshore woodland. Keswick became
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4288-490: The Keswick School of Industrial Art , and he led campaigns to make access to the countryside available for everyone. Concluding that protests and legislation were not enough to protect the environment, he joined Robert Hunter and Octavia Hill in 1893 to found the National Trust to own land on the public's behalf. It grew to become one of Britain's largest and most important landowners, holding land and buildings in trust for
4422-673: The Lake District , staying in Grasmere village, where William Wordsworth had lived. Rawnsley quickly came to share the enthusiasm shown by Wordsworth and others for the Lake District landscape. In 1870, Rawnsley went up to Balliol College, Oxford , initially reading classics but switching after two years to natural sciences , with the intention of becoming a medical practitioner. He was at first an exuberant undergraduate, prominent in athletics and rowing, and not conspicuously conscientious about his studies. His outlook became more serious under
4556-471: The Liberals , generally more sympathetic to ideas about environmental protection and public access to the countryside. When English local government was reorganised in the late 1880s Rawnsley stood as an independent Liberal for the newly formed Cumberland County Council in January 1889. He was elected as the member for Keswick. Rawnsley became chairman of the council's Highways Committee. He stood out against
4690-509: The River Derwent , are Celtic, some closely related to Welsh equivalents. Several Christian saints preached the Gospel in the north of England in the late 6th and early 7th centuries AD ; in Keswick and the surrounding area the most important figures were St Herbert of Derwentwater and his contemporary St Kentigern . The former, the pupil and friend of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne , lived as
4824-454: The West Country . Rawnsley suffered a heart attack and died at Allan Bank on 28 May 1920, after a brief illness. He was buried in the churchyard of St Kentigern's alongside Edith. He bequeathed Allan Bank to the National Trust, with a lifetime lease to Eleanor, who lived there until her death in 1959. In its obituary notice, The Times wrote that "It is no exaggeration to say – and it
4958-445: The navvies building embankments were to be formative influences". Later in 1862, aged eleven, Rawnsley enrolled at Uppingham School , where his godfather , Edward Thring , was headmaster. Thring became a major influence on him: Rawnsley excelled at athletics and gymnastics, but Thring encouraged his aesthetic side, particularly his budding gifts as a poet. The historian George Bott writes: In 1869, Thring introduced Rawnsley to
5092-579: The 13th century, as "Kesewik". Scholars have generally considered the name to be from the Old English , meaning "farm where cheese is made", the word deriving from "cēse" (cheese) with a Scandinavian initial "k" and "wīc" (special place or dwelling), although not all academics agree. George Flom of the University of Illinois (1919) rejected that derivation on the grounds that a town in the heart of Viking-settled areas , as Keswick was, would not have been given
5226-513: The 14th century, it is built mainly in the Tudor-Gothic style and was expanded in 1523 and later restored in 1844 by George Gilbert Scott . The Quakers had an early meeting house in the town, replaced in 1715 by one at Underskiddaw. Protestant dissenters met at a private house from 1705 or before, moving to a chapel in Lake Road in the latter part of the 18th century. A Congregational chapel
5360-423: The 170-mile (270-kilometre) return journey from Preston to Keswick. In addition to its growing importance as a tourist centre, Keswick developed a reputation for its manufacture of pencils during the 19th century. It had begun on a modest scale in about 1792, as a cottage industry , using graphite mined locally. This developed on more industrial lines in factories purpose-built by several companies. Pencil making
5494-414: The 1760s, but they were expensive. The ten-hour journey from Whitehaven to Penrith via Keswick cost 12 shillings (numerically equivalent to 60p), at a time when country labourers typically earned 10 shillings a week or less, and the annual income of even the most prosperous tenant farmers was rarely more than £200. Nonetheless, by the 19th century the number of tourists visiting Keswick during each season
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5628-402: The 75- to 84-year-old bracket, which contains 9.6 per cent of Keswick's population compared with a national average of 5.5. Figures from the same census show that Keswick has fewer than average "large employers and higher managerial occupations" and more small employers and self-employed people. Long-term unemployment is considerably below the average for England. In medieval times the township
5762-662: The Church rather than medicine was his vocation. In 1874 he graduated with a third class degree in natural sciences and the following year was awarded his Master of Arts degree. After leaving Oxford, Rawnsley went to work among the urban poor in London. He was appointed lay - chaplain to the Newport Market Refuge, a hostel for the destitute, in the parish of St Mary's, Soho , an insalubrious part of London known for prostitution and poverty. Ruskin introduced him to Octavia Hill ,
5896-539: The Crosthwaite Free Grammar School, opened at a site diagonally opposite Greta Bridge in 1898. In 1951 a new secondary modern school was built at Lairthwaite in Underskiddaw. Junior education is provided by St Herbert's School, which had a roll of 263 in 2013. At senior level, Keswick and Lairthwaite schools merged in 1980 as a single comprehensive secondary school, with the name Keswick School. It
6030-403: The Crown was entitled to royalties on metals extracted from English land. The experts in copper mining were German, and Elizabeth secured the services of Daniel Hechstetter of Augsburg , to whom she granted a licence to "search, dig, try, roast and melt all manner of mines and ores of gold, silver, copper and quicksilver " in the Keswick area and elsewhere. As well as copper, a new substance
6164-624: The Cumbrian League and the Cumbria Rugby Union Raging Bull Competition. The rugby club is involved in the organisation of the Keswick Half Marathon, usually held in the first week of May. Keswick Tennis Club has grass courts in upper Fitz Park, and also runs hard courts on Keswick's Community Sports Area in the lower park area. Keswick Cricket Club was established in the 1880s. Its principal team competes in
6298-452: The Dog and Gun public house in Lake Road are both Grade II listed 18th-century buildings. The following are the listed buildings in Keswick. The listings are graded: The Crosthwaite Free Grammar School, adjoining Crosthwaite churchyard, was an ancient institution, its date of foundation uncertain. In 1819 the parish of Crosthwaite had five or six schools in the town and the outlying areas, with
6432-479: The English Lake District . He soon became a vigorous activist in the campaign to preserve the region from excessive industrial development. In 1883 Rawnsley was appointed Vicar of Crosthwaite , Cumberland , in the north of the Lake District. He remained in the post for 34 years, becoming known locally and nationally for his energetic efforts to improve life for working people. He and his wife Edith founded
6566-579: The Fletcher family at their house near Ambleside . The eldest daughter of his host and hostess was Edith Fletcher (1846–1916); she and Rawnsley were mutually attracted, with shared interests in art, literature and nature. In December 1875, Rawnsley, his health restored, was ordained deacon . On Thring's recommendation he was appointed to the new post of chaplain to the Clifton College mission, ministering to one of Bristol 's poorest areas. At first there
6700-484: The Keswick population is significantly higher than the English average. In 2011 children under 10 made up 7.6 per cent of the town's population, compared with 11.9 per cent for England as a whole. Between ages 10 and 20 the comparable figures are 10.2 and 12.1; and from ages 20 to 44, 25.9 as against 34.3. The percentage of Keswick's population aged 45 and upwards is above the national average, the largest difference being within
6834-610: The Lake District National Park Authority and the conservation charity Friends of the Lake District invested £100,000 to remove power lines and replace them with underground cables, to improve the quality of scenery in the vicinity. Climatically, Keswick is in the North West sector of the UK, which is characterised by cool summers, mild winters, and high monthly rainfalls throughout the year. Keswick's wettest months fall at
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#17328455622536968-557: The Lake District and, by then, in many other parts of the British countryside. In 1909 he was appointed a residentiary canon of Carlisle Cathedral, and spent three months a year staying in the Cathedral Close . A local controversy in 1911 made national news, when Rawnsley and Hunter successfully opposed the county council's proposal to demolish the medieval Portinscale bridge across the River Derwent near St Kentigern's and replace it with
7102-409: The Lake District", and continued: Keswick's chief industry is to promote the contentment and happiness of its visitors. Its pleasant position provides at the outset a tonic atmosphere ... it is set in the most delightful part of a delightful district, described by Wordsworth as "the loveliest spot that ever man has found". There are numerous places of interest and fine shops, and good accommodation
7236-468: The Liverpool Orphanage. The creation of the Lake District National Park in 1951, with strict control over new development, prevented any expansion of the town beyond its pre-war borders. Keswick's population has remained stable at a little below 5,000 residents. The town's reliance on tourism increased in 2006 when Cumberland Pencils moved production from Keswick to Lillyhall, Workington , only
7370-457: The National Trust and remained an active Canon of Carlisle. In 1918 he married Eleanor "Nellie" Foster Simpson, a long-standing friend to him and Edith, who had for some years been his secretary. After the marriage the couple's honeymoon consisted of a tour of National Trust properties in Wales, a trip that was the basis of Rawnsley's last book, a study of thirteen of the trust's properties in Wales and
7504-587: The National Trust continued to acquire land locally. In the First World War Keswick lost many of its young men: the war memorial near Fitz Park commemorates 117 names, from a population at the time of less than 4,500. By the 1930s Keswick was firmly established as the main centre of tourism in Cumberland and Westmorland. An article in The Manchester Guardian in 1934 called it "the capital of
7638-603: The Newton Rigg Farm School, near Penrith , which opened in 1896 and (at 2020) continues as Newton Rigg College . Rawnsley was also instrumental in founding a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients on Blencathra , 900 ft (275m) above sea level, where the mountain air was believed to be beneficial. His concern for the health of the community prompted him to campaign against over-processed white bread, encourage fell running and above all strive to ensure that footpaths were kept open to allow walking. He lost his seat on
7772-634: The North Lancashire and Cumbria Cricket League, Premier Division. The second team plays in the Eden Valley Cricket League, 3rd Division, and the club also has junior under-11, under-13, and under-15 teams and a women's cricket team. Keswick Fitz Park Bowls Club was founded in 1882. Hardwicke Rawnsley Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley (29 September 1851 – 28 May 1920) was an Anglican priest, poet, local politician and conservationist. He became nationally and internationally known as one of
7906-732: The Westmorland League Division One, and it also has a reserve team which plays in Westmorland League Division Two, a female team which plays in the Cumbria League, juniors who compete in the under-16, under-14, under-12 and under-10 categories in the Penrith Junior Football League; there is a veteran team, which competes in the Cumbria League. Keswick Rugby Union Football Club, established in 1879, plays at Davidson Park, and has teams that play in
8040-572: The alterations made during the Georgian period still evident. The King's Arms Hotel, in the main market square, dates from the early 19th century; it is built from stuccoed stone, with Victorian shop windows on the ground floor. The Queen's Hotel in Main Street, a pebbledashed stone building dating from the late 18th century, was renamed "The Inn on the Square" in 2015. The Bank Tavern in Main Street and
8174-447: The appointment in July 1883. By contrast with the tiny parish of Wray, which had a population of about 100, Crosthwaite was substantial, with not only St Kentigern's but five outlying churches in the surrounding countryside. The parish was founded in the sixth century, and there was much to appeal to Rawnsley's sense of history. He revived the traditional symbols of St Kentigern – a robin,
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#17328455622538308-568: The area during the Bronze Age , but from excavations of hill forts it is clear that there was some Iron Age occupation, circa 500 BC, although scholars are not agreed about how permanent it was. In Roman Britain Cumbria was the territory of the Carvetii . As the site of the western part of Hadrian's Wall , it was of strategic importance. The north of the county is rich in archaeological evidence from
8442-461: The area, but the first recorded mention of the town dates from the 13th century, when Edward I of England granted a charter for Keswick's market, which has maintained a continuous 700-year existence. The town was an important mining area , and from the 18th century has been known as a holiday centre; tourism has been its principal industry for more than 150 years. Its features include the Moot Hall ;
8576-479: The area. The poet Thomas Gray published an account of a five-day stay in Keswick in 1769, in which he described the view of the town as "the vale of Elysium in all its verdure", and was lyrical about the beauties of the fells and the lake. His journal was widely read, and was, in Bott's phrase, "an effective public relations job for Keswick". Painters such as Thomas Smith of Derby and William Bellers also contributed to
8710-512: The bank of the River Greta, is home to the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery , a Victorian museum which features the Musical Stones of Skiddaw , Southey manuscripts, and a collection of sculptures and paintings of regional and wider importance, including works by Epstein , John Opie , Richard Westall and others. After extensive restoration and enlargement the museum reopened in 2014. In 2001
8844-399: The boom of the mid-16th century had finished, the town's economy did not slide into ruin, and the population remained generally constant at a little under 1,000. The historian George Bott regards John Dalton (1709–63) and John Brown (1715–66) as the pioneers of tourism in the Lake District. Both wrote works praising the majesty of the scenery, and their enthusiasm prompted others to visit
8978-570: The borders of which met at Keswick. In 1181 Jocelyn of Furness wrote of a new church at Crosthwaite , Keswick, founded by Alice de Romilly, the Lady of Allerdale, a direct descendant of William II's original barons. In 1189, Richard I granted the rectory of Crosthwaite to the Cistercian order of Fountains Abbey . During the 13th century, agricultural land around the town was acquired by Fountains and Furness Abbeys. The latter, already prosperous from
9112-613: The cities; there was support from outside Britain, particularly from the United States. During the time the Lake District Defence Society was being formed, the Bishop of Carlisle , Harvey Goodwin , offered Rawnsley the post of vicar of St Kentigern's Church, Crosthwaite and rural dean of Keswick . Goodwin said, "In my opinion the post which I offer you is as near Heaven as anything in this world can be". Rawnsley took up
9246-499: The classes. By 1890 the school was exhibiting nationally and winning prizes. To accommodate the increased numbers of students Rawnsley raised funds for a purpose-built home for the school, adjacent to the River Greta . It opened in 1894 and in 1898 a full-time head, Harold Stabler , was appointed, succeeded in 1900 by Herbert Maryon . The school was mainly financed from sales of its products, and continued in operation until 1984. For
9380-417: The confines of the parish boundary and at the 2011 Census had a total population of 5,243. Today, Keswick is administered by Keswick Town Council and Cumberland Council . Since 2024 Keswick has been in the Penrith and Solway parliamentary constituency, having previously been part of Copeland , and before that Workington and, earlier, Penrith and The Border . Keswick lies in north-western England, in
9514-486: The construction of roads over lakeland passes, secured controls over mining pollution, and promoted adequate signposting of footpaths. As a councillor he was continually at odds with the brewing industry. He hated drunkenness, and opposed what he saw as excessive numbers of public houses and unduly lax alcohol licensing regulations but he was never a prohibitionist: after returning from a tour of French vineyards he wrote to The Times protesting against Britain's high tax on
9648-514: The council in 1895, the vote probably tipped by objections to his firm stance on public houses and alcohol licensing. During the last two years the top of Snowdon , the island in the middle of Grasmere lake , and the Lodore Falls have all come into the market. Had such a Trust as that now proposed been in existence, each of these places might have been obtained for the nation. H. D. Rawnsley, 1894 By 1890 Rawnsley had become convinced that
9782-519: The cricket ground in Fitz Park was named the most beautiful in England by Wisden Cricket Monthly . Greta Hall (see Lake Poets, below), is a Grade I listed building . The home of Coleridge in 1800–04 and Southey from 1803 until 1843, it later became part of Keswick School and is now in private ownership, partly divided into holiday flats. The three-storey house dates to the late 18th century and features
9916-481: The cruel trapping of animals, and what he called "murderous millinery" – the killing of birds to use their feathers in hats. "If there was a committee, he was on it; a church fete, he was opening it", commented Griffiths. One of his parishioners called him "the most active volcano in Europe". Both Murphy and Griffiths add that his reforming zeal sometimes made him "intolerably authoritarian"; his gardener referred to him as
10050-470: The damming of Thirlmere to create a reservoir for the city of Manchester , nearly 100 miles away. Rawnsley visited Ruskin frequently, and in 1880 they discussed "how to add happiness to the country labourer's lot". The two agreed that "idle hands should have something found for them to do by other than the Devil … We must bring joy, the joy of eye and hand-skill to our cottage homes". Ruskin suggested reviving
10184-463: The depiction of sex and violence. His loathing of indecency extended to an aversion to saucy seaside postcards. He encouraged young people not to attend "lurid crime films at kinemas", and turn instead to wholesome organisations such as the YMCA , Boy Scouts and Girl Guides . In 1898 Rawnsley was offered the bishopric of Madagascar , but declined it, feeling himself committed to his conservation work in
10318-543: The district (1908); extensive holdings in Borrowdale including the Bowder Stone (1910); and the site of the Castlerigg stone circle (1913). He was active elsewhere in the country on the National Trust's behalf. By the time of his death in 1920 the trust held 994 estates throughout England and Wales, including Waggoners Wells , Hampshire, acquired in memory of Hunter and Hydon's Ball , Surrey, in memory of Hill. Rawnsley
10452-419: The eastern states of the United States as ambassador for the National Trust. After the launch of the National Trust, Rawnsley continued to campaign on other issues about which he felt strongly. He took a leading role in the erection of monuments to Wordsworth ( Cockermouth , 1896), Caedmon ( Whitby , 1896) and Bede ( Monkwearmouth , 1903). He turned his attention to the cinema, where he was strongly against
10586-410: The end of the year, the peak average of 189.3 mm (7.45 in) falling in October. Rain, sunshine and temperature figures are shown below. The registers of Crosthwaite Church stated that there were 238 interments in 1623, believed to have been something between a twelfth and a tenth of the whole population of the parish at that time. In the 1640s there was a sharp fall in population, brought on by
10720-410: The equivalent of writing about Stratford-upon-Avon without mentioning Shakespeare, so great was Rawnsley's impact on the town. He and his wife set up classes to teach metalwork and wood carving; these grew into the Keswick School of Industrial Art , which trained local craftsmen and women from 1894 until it closed in 1986. He revived the ancient May Day festival in the town, and was a leading figure in
10854-588: The establishment of Keswick School, Blencathra Sanatorium and the County Farm School. As co-founder of the National Trust , Rawnsley contributed to Keswick's continued growth as a tourist centre, with the acquisition by the Trust of many acres of popular scenic land around Derwentwater, beginning with Brandelhow Wood in 1902. Keswick's history throughout the 20th century was one of increasing reliance on tourism,
10988-548: The extraction of iron ore. Grant to Thomas de Derwentewatere, and his heirs, of a weekly market on Saturday at Kesewik in Derewentfelles, co. Cumberland, and of a yearly fair there on the vigil, the feast and the morrow of St. Mary Magdalene, and the two days following. Grant by Edward I , 18 July 1276 Keswick was granted a charter for a market in 1276 by Edward I . This market has an uninterrupted history lasting for more than 700 years. The pattern of buildings around
11122-757: The failure of his Thirlmere campaign he was not optimistic about the outcome. Rawnsley held meetings, lobbied assiduously and wrote prolifically to legislators and newspapers. In a letter to The Standard he said: Rawnsley founded the Derwentwater and Borrowdale Defence Committee and enlisted the support of the Commons Preservation Society and the Kyrle Society , two established campaigning conservation organisations headed by well-known figures including Octavia and Miranda Hill , George Shaw Lefevre , James Bryce and Robert Hunter . The public paid heed, and protests became so widespread and so strong that
11256-534: The fertile Eden Valley , well to the north of Keswick. With the Dissolution of the Monasteries , between 1536 and 1541, Furness and Fountains Abbeys were supplanted by new secular landlords for the farmers of Keswick and its neighbourhood. The buying and selling of sheep and wool were no longer centred on the great Abbeys, being handled locally by the new landowners and tenants. This enhanced Keswick's importance as
11390-507: The foundation of the organisation at a meeting of the Wordsworth Society in 1883. He maintained that for the sake of Wordsworth's literary heritage it was necessary to protect the landscape that had inspired him. The stated aim of the society was "to protect the Lake District from those injurious encroachments upon its scenery which are from time to time attempted from purely commercial or speculative motives, without regard to its claim as
11524-525: The heart of the northern Lake District. The town is 31 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (51 kilometres) southwest of Carlisle, 22 mi (35 km) northwest of Windermere and 14 + 1 ⁄ 4 mi (23 km) southeast of Cockermouth. Derwentwater , the lake southwest of the town, measures approximately 3 mi × 1 mi (5 km × 1.5 km) and is some 72 ft (22 m) deep. It contains several islands, including Derwent Isle, Lord's Island, Rampsholme Island and St Herbert's Island,
11658-593: The importation of French wine, which he saw as unfair and as contributing to rural poverty in France. Ruskin's emphasis on practical skills was a lifelong influence on Rawnsley, and as a county councillor he promoted a mobile dairy hygiene unit. Its horse-drawn dairies toured the farms and villages, showing how to produce butter and cheese to the highest standards. Griffiths comments that it not only improved life for local farm workers but also led to increased competition against Danish dairy imports. This initiative developed into
11792-497: The influence of the art critic and social campaigner John Ruskin . Rawnsley was one of a group of undergraduate volunteers – others were Oscar Wilde and Arnold Toynbee – who undertook manual labour under Ruskin's direction to improve the road and drainage between Oxford and the village of Hinksey . The project foundered after two months when Ruskin left for Venice , but for Rawnsley it was, in Griffiths's words, "life-changing, his social conscience awakened". He began to think that
11926-522: The influx of visitors; engravings of their paintings of Cumberland scenery sold in large numbers, further enhancing the fame of the area. In 1800 the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, "It is no small advantage that for two-thirds of the year we are in complete retirement – the other third is alive & swarms with Tourists of all shapes & sizes." Coleridge had moved to Keswick in that year, and together with his fellow Lake Poets (see below )
12060-406: The largest. Derwent Isle is the only island on the lake that is inhabited; it is run by the National Trust and open to visitors five days a year. The land between Keswick and the lake consists mainly of fields and areas of woodland, including Isthmus Wood, Cockshot Wood, Castlehead Wood and Horseclose and Great Wood, further to the south. The River Derwent flows from Derwentwater to Bassenthwaite ,
12194-421: The local economy during the 1930s. The museum features as one of the locations in the 2012 film Sightseers . In December 2015, the museum was badly damaged by several feet of flood water when the River Greta broke its banks as a result of Storm Desmond and many artefacts were destroyed. Although many of the exhibits were salvaged, one limited-edition collection could not be replaced. The museum reopened to
12328-479: The market square remained broadly the same from this period until at least the late 18th century, with houses – originally timber-framed – fronting the square, and sturdily enclosed gardens or yards at the back. According to local tradition these stout walls and the narrow entrances to the yards were for defence against marauding Scots . In the event it appears that the town escaped such attacks, Scottish raiders finding richer and more accessible targets at Carlisle and
12462-672: The most northerly of the major Cumbrian lakes. The Derwent and its tributary the Greta , which flows through Keswick, meet to the east of Portinscale. The source of the Greta is near Threlkeld , at the confluence of the River Glenderamackin and St John's Beck . Keswick is in the lee of the Skiddaw group, the oldest group of rocks in the Lake District. These fells were formed during the Ordovician period, 488 to 443 million years ago; they form
12596-416: The nearby village of Braithwaite . There are no other religious buildings in Keswick; Muslim worship was accommodated on Fridays in a room at the local council building in Main Street. This has since discontinued. Keswick's old inns and their successors include many listed buildings, mainly Grade II in designation. The George Hotel, stated to be the oldest inn in the town, dates to the 16th century, with
12730-483: The new Bessemer process of steelmaking brought a great demand for the rich iron ore from west Cumberland and the coking coal from Durham on the east side of the country. The CKP was built to enable ore and coal to be brought together at steel foundries in both counties. The line opened for goods traffic in 1864, and the following year it began to carry passengers. Fares varied, but holidaymakers could buy excursion tickets at discounted prices, such as six shillings for
12864-538: The objectors to trespass, with a view to bringing a test case in court. The barriers were torn down and more than 2,000 people marched to the Latrigg summit. The case came to trial and a compromise was reached: one path remained closed but the other was recognised as an inalienable public right of way. In addition to his post at Crosthwaite, Rawnsley was appointed as an honorary canon of Carlisle Cathedral in 1891. Within his parish, his interest in education led him to take
12998-587: The old craft of hand-spinning and weaving wool; Rawnsley, considering this infeasible, opted for wood carving. He recorded that "a lady was engaged to come down from South Kensington to give a course of lessons in the three villages, and our humble home industry in the lake district was set on foot." Instruction also included techniques for metal repoussé , taught by the Swiss butler from Edith Rawnsley's family home. The young Beatrix Potter holidayed at Wray Castle with her parents in 1882. They met Rawnsley, who became
13132-496: The open spaces of the country". Hill was in favour of the idea but the Commons Preservation Society was against it, fearing that such a body would compete with it for public support; the proposal was allowed to lapse. In 1893 several important properties in the Lake District came up for sale, and Rawnsley went to London to discuss with Hunter and Hill how the sites might be acquired for the public. They agreed to revive
13266-471: The parish rooms near the centre of the town, under the supervision of Edith Rawnsley, assisted by a local designer and another professional from the South Kensington School of Design . This led to the establishment of the Keswick School of Industrial Art . It flourished and quickly gained a reputation for high-quality copper and silver decorative metalwork. By 1888 nearly seventy men were attending
13400-426: The pencil industry being the second largest source of employment. The Cumberland Pencil Company, formed at the turn of the century, occupied a large factory near the River Greta on the road leading out of Keswick towards Cockermouth. The conservation movement continued to develop; Rawnsley led successful campaigns to save the medieval Greta and Portinscale bridges from replacement with ferro-concrete structures; and
13534-437: The people of Britain. Rawnsley was a prolific writer, publishing more than 40 books, including verse, sermons, historical studies, travel accounts and biographies. He retired in 1917 and moved to the village of Grasmere , in the southern Lake District, where he died in 1920, aged 68. Hardwicke Rawnsley – known to his family and intimates as "Hardie" – was born at the rectory , Shiplake , Oxfordshire on 29 September 1851. He
13668-463: The period, but nothing is known that suggests any Roman habitation in the Keswick area, other than finds that point to the existence of one or more Roman highways passing the vicinity of the present-day town. Such nearby settlements as can be traced from the era of the Romans and the years after their departure seem to have been predominantly Celtic . Many local place names from the period, including that of
13802-401: The pioneer of social housing , and Rawnsley added to his workload the role of rent-collector for Hill's colleague Emma Cons . Under the strain of his various activities he suffered a nervous breakdown. At Hill's suggestion he went to the Lake District to recuperate, staying first with his cousins at Wray Castle , Westmorland , and then with Thring at Grasmere and finally with Hill's friends
13936-403: The plague epidemic which affected Keswick, Carlisle, Cockermouth and Crosthwaite and other areas in 1645–47. In the 1801 census , the township of Keswick, including the town and surrounding hamlets, had a reported population of 1,350 people. The population grew at a steady rate, increasing to 1,683 in 1811, 1,901 in 1821, 2,159 in 1831, 2,442 in 1841, and 2,618 in 1851. In 1871 the township had
14070-414: The proposal of a national trust . An inaugural meeting was convened at Grosvenor House , London, in July 1894; Hunter and Rawnsley were elected chairman and secretary respectively. The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty formally came into being in January 1895. Until his death, Rawnsley worked as honorary secretary to the Trust. He was responsible for the campaign to raise
14204-462: The public on 15 June 2017, with Countryfile presenter John Craven cutting the ribbon. 54°36′17″N 3°08′31″W / 54.6046°N 3.1419°W / 54.6046; -3.1419 This article relating to a museum in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Keswick, Cumberland Keswick ( / ˈ k ɛ z ɪ k / KEZ -ik )
14338-498: The real love of his father's life. In 1883 parliamentary approval was given for a scheme to build a railway line through the Newlands Valley to carry slate from quarries; the valley was, and is, regarded as one of the most beautiful and tranquil in the Lake District. A rival scheme was proposed, to run between Ennerdale Water and the coast. Rawnsley spearheaded a campaign to stop both. Ruskin gave his support, although after
14472-533: The scenic beauty of the area widely known to readers in Britain and beyond. In the late 19th century and into the 20th, Keswick was the focus of several important initiatives by the growing conservation movement, often led by Hardwicke Rawnsley , vicar of the nearby Crosthwaite parish and co-founder of the National Trust , which has built up extensive holdings in the area. The town is first recorded in Edward I's charter of
14606-472: The schemes were dropped. Griffiths writes that although by no means solely responsible for the successful outcome of the campaign, Rawnsley "became a local and national hero almost overnight, and a new awareness of landscape preservation came to the fore". The success of the campaign led to the formation of the Lake District Defence Society (later to become The Friends of the Lake District). Rawnsley proposed
14740-434: The second half of the 18th century, it was used to make pencils, for which Keswick became famous. The copper mines prospered for about seventy years, but by the early 17th century the industry was in decline. Demand for copper fell and the cost of extracting it was high. Graphite mining continued, and quarrying for slate began to grow in importance. Other small-scale industries grew up, such as tannery and weaving. Although
14874-415: The surest means of protecting land for public enjoyment was not lobbying or legislation but ownership. There had been cases in which people wished to give or bequeath property to the public, but there was no suitable national body that was legally capable of owning it. In 1884 Hunter had proposed "the formation of a corporate company" to hold properties "with a view to the protection of the public interest in
15008-470: The three founders of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty in the 1890s. Rawnsley was descended from a line of Church of England vicars, and after briefly considering medicine as a career he graduated from Oxford and took holy orders . In the mid-1870s he worked with the urban poor in London and Bristol , before being appointed in 1877 to a rural parish in Westmorland in
15142-466: The three people who later founded the National Trust, Rawnsley was the only one who associated himself even loosely with a party political movement. Robert Hunter, as a civil servant, was not permitted to do so and Octavia Hill was wary of governments and parties in general. There were two main British parties at the time: the Conservatives , seen as defending the interests of the landed aristocracy, and
15276-528: The women of Keswick and the district the Rawnsleys introduced spinning and weaving classes, led by Marion Twelves, a protégée of Ruskin. Rawnsley was proud that when Ruskin died in 1900, the pall for the coffin was handspun and handwoven in Keswick under Twelves's direction. In 1887 Rawnsley revived the moribund Keswick and District Footpath Preservation Society, with the principal aim of stopping landowners blocking public rights of way across their land. The owner of Fawe Park , Portinscale , had done so between
15410-462: The wool trade, wished to expand its sheep farming, and in 1208 bought large tracts of land from Alice de Romilly. She also negotiated with Fountains Abbey, to which she sold Derwent Island in Derwentwater, land at Watendlath , the mill at Crosthwaite and other land in Borrowdale . Keswick was at the hub of the monastic farms in the area, and Fountains based a steward in the town, where tenants paid their rents. Furness also enjoyed profitable rights to
15544-469: The young men of Cumberland to fight "for home and Empire". Among the volunteers was his son, Noel, who survived the war. Rawnsley's confidence was shaken as the war went on and the lists of casualties grew longer and longer. When the war ended he was at the forefront of organising the peace celebrations. In 1915, with a view to eventual retirement, Rawnsley bought Allan Bank , Grasmere, a house in which Wordsworth had lived between 1808 and 1811. While he
15678-416: The £6,500 needed to buy Brandlehow Woods and Fell, a 105-acre property, the National Trust's first purchase in the Lake District. He was at the forefront of successful efforts to buy other properties in Cumberland and Westmorland: the 750 acre Gowbarrow Fell at Ullswater (1906); a large tract at the southern end of Derwentwater 1908, including a wooded knoll given by the Rawnsleys to mark their 25th year in
15812-586: Was a frequent traveller. He and his wife made several walking and painting tours in the Alps , visited the Holy Land and went to Egypt when their son was working there in Sir Flinders Petrie's archaeological team. Rawnsley published accounts of his trips and books of poetry inspired by them. In 1896 he went to Russia as a newspaper correspondent to cover the coronation of Nicholas II , and three years later he toured
15946-650: Was appointed to the honorary position of chaplain to the king , and he held the post of chaplain to the Border Regiment of the Territorial Force , with the rank of colonel. When the First World War began in 1914 Rawnsley's views were straightforward: "The German envy and hate, which has been nursed against us secretly for the last 30 years, is now seen in all its open madness. It is the blackest and most devilish thing that has been heard of in history". He urged
16080-480: Was born at Wray in December 1880. According to the biographer Graham Murphy, "because of his parents' numerous activities and love of travel [Noel] suffered a somewhat solitary childhood". By this time, Ruskin had made his home in the Lake District; since 1873 he had lived at Brantwood on the shore of Coniston Water , 22 miles from Wray. He had already been involved in a conservation campaign, unsuccessfully opposing
16214-589: Was built in 1858–59. The first Wesleyan chapel was built in 1814 in a small yard off Main Street at a cost of £331 10s; the present Methodist church is in Southey Street. Since 1928 Roman Catholics in Keswick have been served by Our Lady of the Lakes and St Charles in High Hill. A new Quaker meeting house opened in the town in 1994. An Eastern Orthodox church was inaugurated in 2007, holding services in Keswick and
16348-463: Was completed on 28 May 2001, is 7.91 metres (26 ft) long, and weighs 446.36 kilograms (984.1 lb). The museum featured in a 1997 episode of the BBC educational children's television series Come Outside . The museum now receives over 80,000 visitors a year from all around the world. It is particularly popular with visitors from the county of Yorkshire, due to the importance of pencil production for
16482-586: Was destroyed by the Vikings in the late 9th century. In the early 10th century the British Kingdom of Strathclyde seized the area, and it remained part of Strathclyde until about 1050, when Siward, Earl of Northumbria , conquered Cumbria. In 1092 William II of England , son of William the Conqueror , marched north and established the great baronies of Allerdale-below-Derwent, Allerdale-above-Derwent, and Greystoke,
16616-539: Was estimated at between 12,000 and 15,000. Some of the Keswick inns that catered for affluent visitors remain as hotels, including the Queen's, where Gray stayed. The construction of the railways in the mid-19th century made the Lake District, and Keswick in particular, more accessible to visitors of modest means. The original impetus for building the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway (CKP) line came from heavy industry:
16750-413: Was found, extracted and exploited: this was variously called wad, black lead, plumbago or black cauke, and is now known as graphite . Many uses were quickly discovered for the mineral: it reduced friction in machinery, made a heat-resistant glaze for crucibles, and when used to line moulds for cannonballs, resulted in rounder, smoother balls that could be fired further by English naval cannon . Later, from
16884-558: Was founded in 1896, and in 2019 continues to be published every Friday. In an article in The Observer in 1978, Christopher Brasher wrote that as long as the Reminder flourishes, "there will be one corner of these islands that is forever England." In 1883 Hardwicke Rawnsley was appointed vicar of Crosthwaite. In a study of Lake District towns in 1974, H. A. L. Rice commented that to write about Keswick without mentioning Rawnsley would be
17018-479: Was included in The Daily Telegraph ' s list of the top thirty comprehensives in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2014. The Local Education Authority for Keswick is Cumbria . The Mary Hewetson Cottage Hospital, founded in 1892, has fifteen beds and a minor injuries unit. It underwent a major rebuilding and upgrade in 2013. Keswick is home to Keswick Football Club. The principal team plays in
17152-447: Was no building in which services could be held, but Rawnsley secured a disused factory workshop and converted it into a chapel. The ecclesiastical authorities felt that he went too far in his efforts to attract young locals, not confining himself to religious services but organising a temperance club, regular football matches and weekend country walks. He campaigned to save the disused 14th-century St Werburgh's Church from demolition. It
17286-470: Was possibly the strongest influence on the public esteem of Keswick and the Lake District. During the 18th century and into the 19th, turnpike trusts were established and major roads in Cumberland were greatly improved. With the Lake District now accessible by coach the area attracted well-off visitors, particularly at times of war in mainland Europe, which made the aristocratic Grand Tour impossible there. Regular public coach services were established in
17420-482: Was staying at Carlisle in December 1916 his wife died at Crosthwaite from cardiac arrest brought on by influenza . Rawnsley, who had also caught influenza, was too ill to attend her funeral. In his absence the service was led by the Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness , Campbell West-Watson . Rawnsley felt unable to carry on without Edith's help, and the week after Easter 1917 he resigned from St Kentigern's after 34 years and retired to Allan Bank. He continued his work for
17554-560: Was taken down stone by stone and re-erected on a new site. His enthusiasms did not endear him to the conservative hierarchy of the Bristol church, but when he left his post in 1877 he was presented with a testimonial to his work by the mayor and other leading citizens. In 1877 Rawnsley and Edith Fletcher became engaged to be married and he began making plans for their life together. His cousin Edward Rawnsley's estate at Wray Castle contained
17688-631: Was the second son and fourth of the ten children of the Rev Robert Drummond Burrell Rawnsley (1817–1882) and his wife, Catherine Ann, née Franklin (1818–1892). In 1862 Drummond Rawnsley accepted the post of vicar of Halton Holegate in the fen district of Lincolnshire. According to Hardwicke Rawnsley's biographer Vivian Griffiths, "Observing the wildlife of the Fens, the construction of the Holbeach-to-Spilsby railway and watching
17822-440: Was the town's most important manufacturing industry by the mid-19th century, textiles and leather goods having declined. The Moot Hall was rebuilt in 1813, and the lower floor was used as a market house on Saturdays. Coal gas was supplied by a gas works from 1846; the Keswick library opened in 1849; a water works began operation in 1856; and Keswick police station opened in 1857. The local weekly newspaper, The Keswick Reminder
17956-535: Was within the manor of Castlerigg and Derwentwater. The earliest surviving official record of the town is the market charter of 1276 granted to the lord of the manor, Thomas de Derwentwater. The manor was granted by Alice de Romilly to Adam de Derwentwater before 1216, and subsequently passed to the Radclyffe family through marriage. The Derwentwater estate was forfeit to the Crown after the execution of James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater in 1716 for his involvement in
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