89-589: Fitz Park is a public park in Keswick , Cumbria . Landscaped in the Victorian period, the park contains shrubberies and specimen trees, and provides open space for recreation. There are sports grounds for tennis and bowls, and the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery is situated there. The home ground of Keswick Cricket Club is located in the park. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1955, when Cumberland played
178-472: 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
267-407: A ring of eight bells, with the tenor bell weighing 15½ hundredweight (787 kilos). In 1765 there were four bells, increased to six in 1767, and to the present eight in 1882. Unusually for Cumbria, they are rung from the ground floor, and consequently have an elaborate system of rope guides. Ringing can be easily observed by the public through the glass partition windows. The first full peal on
356-486: A "forest of Celtic cross headstones". The first vicar of Crosthwaite whose name is on record was Jeffrey Wethamstede, incumbent in 1294. Probably the best-known vicar was Hardwicke Rawnsley , a co-founder of the National Trust , who was appointed vicar of Crosthwaite, and Rural Dean , in 1883. After 34 years Rawnsley retired to Grasmere where he died. He is buried in the churchyard of his former parish, not far from
445-562: 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
534-462: 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
623-585: 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
712-407: 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,
801-758: 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
890-625: A number of 15th-century effigies, the reredos by the Keswick School of Industrial Art and the altar draped with a banner bearing the Greek motto "εν τούτῳ νίκα", meaning "in this sign you will conquer", a motto adopted by Constantine the Great and by the Knights Templar . The reredos incorporates three repoussé panels by Edith Rawnsley and John Birkett, who were also responsible for the hanging lights,
979-560: 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
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#17328552109091068-485: 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,
1157-491: 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
1246-404: 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
1335-406: 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
1424-552: 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,
1513-543: 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
1602-427: 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
1691-528: 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
1780-539: 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
1869-659: 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,
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#17328552109091958-550: 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
2047-400: 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
2136-624: 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
2225-583: The Lancashire Second XI in the Minor Counties Championship . Cumberland used the ground from 1955 to 1966 and 2000 to 2008; during this time the ground hosted 10 Minor Counties Championship matches, with the final match held at the ground in that competition being between Cumberland and Northumberland in 2008. During that time the ground has also hosted 2 MCCA Knockout Trophy matches, the last of which came in 2001, when Cumberland played
2314-509: 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
2403-579: 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
2492-513: 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
2581-423: 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
2670-414: 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
2759-402: 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
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2848-539: 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
2937-403: 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
3026-624: 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
3115-452: 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
3204-484: 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
3293-615: The Lady of Allerdale. The new church was built of stone and consisted of the nave , a north aisle and a chancel with a chancel arch. There was neither a south aisle nor a tower. The foundations of this structure still exist. In 1189 Richard I gave the rectory of Crosthwaite to the Cistercians of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. Monks from the abbey worked the parish for the next three hundred years from their base at Monks Hall, which later became
3382-610: 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
3471-409: 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
3560-468: 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
3649-587: 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
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3738-527: 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. St Kentigern%27s Church, Crosthwaite Crosthwaite Parish Church is a church at Great Crosthwaite on
3827-636: The Northumberland. The ground has also hosted a single List-A match between Cumberland and the Nottinghamshire Cricket Board in the 1st round of the 2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy which was played in 2002. In local domestic cricket, St George's Road is the home ground of Keswick Cricket Club . 54°36′13″N 3°08′06″W / 54.60353°N 3.13491°W / 54.60353; -3.13491 Keswick, Cumbria Keswick ( / ˈ k ɛ z ɪ k / KEZ -ik )
3916-732: 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
4005-572: 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
4094-568: 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
4183-461: 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 ;
4272-479: 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
4361-512: 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
4450-475: The bells was 5,040 changes of Grandsire Triples on 17 December 1895 and was conducted by Stephen Hogarth. There is a remarkable set of the ringers' rules dating from 1826, which is displayed in a large frame in the ringing chamber; they were penned by the English master from St Bees School . The church has Tudor consecration crosses , both inside and out. It is unique in having had a complete surviving set of twelve exterior crosses. Nine interior crosses remain;
4539-399: 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
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#17328552109094628-523: 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
4717-531: The church about 1400. The font ewer was made at the Keswick School of Industrial Art , which was co-founded by Rawnsley's wife, Edith. The church has a large organ. The present instrument dates from 1920 when the organ dating from 1837 was rebuilt and enlarged. It is dedicated to the men of Crosthwaite who died in the First World War. Their names are listed on a plaque in the north aisle. The church has
4806-466: 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
4895-519: 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
4984-460: 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
5073-410: 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
5162-532: 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,
5251-548: 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
5340-534: 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
5429-525: 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,
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#17328552109095518-522: 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 )
5607-406: 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 ,
5696-479: 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
5785-448: The medieval period was the erection of the present tower; the exact date is not recorded. The church was little changed, and was evidently neglected, in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century there was extensive internal work, some of which, in Wilson and Kaye's word, was "unfortunate". Among those responsible was George Gilbert Scott , who restored the church in 1844. The work
5874-421: The mosaics and the pulpit. The monument to Robert Southey (1846) is by John Graham Lough . Southey is depicted in marble, with one hand resting on his heart and the other on a book, with an epitaph by William Wordsworth ; "Ye Vales and Hills, whose beauty hither drew/The poet's steps, and fixed him here, on you/His eyes have closed." The churchyard contains some "outstandingly good" slate gravestones and
5963-672: 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
6052-416: 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
6141-483: 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
6230-415: The other three are thought to have been inadvertently destroyed during 19th-century attempts at restoration. According to Wilson and Kaye the existence of the crosses shows that the church was consecrated "to the 'English use' ( secundum consuetudinem )" and not according to Roman Catholic rite. In a 1960s guide John Betjeman drew attention to some of the above and to the finely carved 14th-century font,
6319-455: The outskirts of Keswick in Cumbria , England. It is dedicated to St Kentigern and is the Anglican church of the parish of Crosthwaite. Since 1951 it has been a Grade II* listed building . The church has an evangelical tradition. There has been a church on the site since the 6th century. The present building is largely medieval, with some Victorian internal alterations. Among the vicars of
6408-456: The parish was Hardwicke Rawnsley , co-founder of the National Trust . The first church at Crosthwaite is believed to have been built in 553 AD under the direction of St Kentigern, who preached the Gospel in the area before moving on to Wales. No records survive of this building, or of its Saxon successor. Both were probably wooden structures. In 1181 Jocelyn of Furness wrote of a new church at Crosthwaite recently built for Alice de Romilly,
6497-479: 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
6586-463: 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
6675-403: 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
6764-533: 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
6853-434: 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
6942-434: The site of Keswick hospital. During the 14th century (the historians of the church, Tom Wilson and J W Kaye estimate the date to have been about 1340) a chapel was added to the north side of the chancel, and later a south aisle. In the early 16th century there were major changes to the building; the chancel arch was removed, a clerestory was added and existing side chapels were reconstructed. The last important change during
7031-514: 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
7120-589: 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
7209-586: 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,
7298-539: 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:
7387-413: 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
7476-558: 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
7565-478: Was funded by a local benefactor as part of the memorial to the poet Robert Southey , who is buried in the churchyard. In addition to Scott's internal alterations, the church was re-roofed and re-seated. The altar designed by Scott was moved to St John's in the Vale church in 1893. In 1909 the western end of the south aisle was converted into a baptistry to mark Hardwicke Rawnsley 's 25 years of service as vicar. The font , moved to its new site, had been given to
7654-479: 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
7743-470: 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
7832-440: 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
7921-535: 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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