History of Threlkeld England

Contents
  
The village - It's origin and history.
Village names and jobs.
The care for the poor.
The manorial court.
Taxation in the fourteenth century.
Wills.
The history of a farm.
Field names.
Mining.
The railway.
Roads and highways.
The school.
The church.
Postscript 1985.
Postscript 1997.

THE VILLAGE - ITS ORIGIN AND HISTORY

The history of Threlkeld goes back for at least 800 years, though very little is known of its earliest days. The name is Norse, and it means “the spring (or well) of the thrall (s ?)”. Thrall is a Feudal term for a man bound in service to his Lord. The word “keld” is by no means uncommon in place-names in this part of England, for people naturally settled close to a supply of water. Old spellings of Threlkeld are Trellekell (1197-Pipe Rolls), Threlekelde (1247) and Threlcot (Speed Map of 1610). It cannot now be determined to whom the serf or serfs who originally gave the name to Threlkeld were in thrall, but no doubt the settlement was made close to water flowing down from Blencathra with the purpose of taming the land to see what it could produce for the benefit of the thrall's master. The taming of the land had started many centuries earlier but it still must have been an extremely arduous task because of the physical problems with which the thralls would have had to grapple.
 
Before human interference began in Neolithic times about 3500 BC the hills would have been densely wooded to a height of at least 2000 ft, and the valley would have been an almost impenetrable swamp. The physical features assumed their present form with the decay of the last glaciers some 10,000 years ago. The ice gouged out the steep and rough hollows on the hills and deposited the gouged-out material as till on the valley floor. This till was left as a thick sheet when the ice finally melted and no doubt there was, at least intermittently, a lake stretching east-wards from the narrow defile through which the River Greta now flows down towards Keswick. After the ice melted and the climate became warmer, plants could return, mosses and lichens at first, then arctic flowering plants arid grasses, followed, as the climate warmed up still further, by pines and birch, and later oak, with alder and willow swamp along the valley bottom. This was the kind of situation with which the first inhabitants had to cope. It would be most interesting if one could get a glimpse of what the neighbourhood of Threlkeld looked like in those days. But one thing is certain, and that is that there would be no distant views, for the dense growth of trees would mean that everywhere one's view was restricted except on the summits of the Fells.

The open landscape of today is completely unnatural, and is the result of man’s interference by cutting down the trees for wood and charcoal, as well as in order to clear the ground, and then by ensuring that the trees do not regenerate by pasturing the now open hills with sheep. The result may be more attractive and beautiful--certainly much more varied--than the thickly wooded landscapes which the first settlers at Threlkeld found, but it is not natural. If all grazing were now to stop and trampling by walkers reduced to a minimum, scrub of hazel and hawthorn would creep up the hillsides and be followed by taller trees, for woodland is still clearly the vegetational climax in the present climatic conditions. 

There had been a previous settlement which has left no name, but only the remains of rough buildings and walls, on a fairly flat shelf of ground above the present quarry. This settlement probably occupied ground already largely cleared of trees by previous settlers' pasturage. It presumably involved a further amount of tree-felling, and is provisionally dated in the Dark Ages, perhaps roughly from 300-900 AD but it may well have been occupied before Roman Times. Why and when it was finally abandoned is not known. Perhaps the arrival of the Norse thralls frightened the former Celtic settlers away. In any case, though for many hundreds of years the hills had been considerably denuded of trees, the much more intractable valley swamps and woods were probably still untamed. 

The present village is dominated by Blencathra, popularly known as Saddleback. This name is something of a problem. The first element, blen, is Welsh for top or summit. It occurs widely in these parts, as well as in Wales, with some variations in spelling. (Blencow, for instance, is probably Blaen = “top” and Haugr = “hill”; Blencogo seems to be Blaen = “top”, “Cog” = “Cuckoo” and Haugr = “hill” ). But the second element, cathra, is very uncertain. It has been suggested that the personal name Arthur is concealed here; but no Arthur is known to have had any connection with these parts. Perhaps a more likely suggestion links cathra with the Welsh catheir, a seat or chair. “Chair-top” would then refer to the same physical feature as “Saddleback”. But this is conjecture. Another interesting name is that of the river which flows along the valley. Before it is joined by St. John’s Beck and becomes the Greta, it is called the Glenderamackin. Here again it is the last element which presents the difficulty, for Glen-der-a means “valley of the water of the river”. (See Ekwall: Dictionary of English Place-Names). Mackin is uncertain, as is Terra at the end of Glenderaterra, the beck which flows down to the Greta at the western boundary of the present parish between Blencathra and Lonscale Fell. The Tithe Map of 1838 gives Glendera Maugham instead of Glenderamackin. But it looks very much as if this is an attempt to give a known shape to a word the meaning of which had been long since forgotten. 

By the year 1220 AD Threlkeld was a sufficiently large settlement to have a priest, for there is a Manuscript in the British Museum attested by Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, and Bartholomew, Prior of Carlisle, on which Randulf, Priest of Threlkeld, was a witness. There must have surely been a Church here even then, however small and primitive its structure, in which Randulf could lead the worship. The oldest locally surviving document so far known relating to Threlkeld itself dates from the same time or perhaps a few years earlier and certainly before 1234 when Adam of Derwentwater was dead. It concerns the gift of some land. “Gift by Thomas, the Clerk, son of Simon of Threlekelde, to Adam, son of Peter of Craistoc (now Greystoke) for his homage and service of one toft which Roild, brother of William of Threlkelde held within the bounds described in a charter of G. the grantor’s brother, and one croft with two bovates of land in the same territory with one messuage and croft of one acre of land which belonged to Arnald and two acres of land in the Strends within the territory of the same vill of Threlkeld which he had given by the charter to John of Derwentwater and also three wandales in the Strends as is contained in a charter of his brother G. and also in a charter of the same John of Derwentwater who in turn had held by Thomas’ gift. Witnesses: Thomas, son of Ran (ulph) of Daker, William of Jonesbi, Adam of Derwentwater, William of Threlekelde, R. the forester, Adam of Hotun, G. of Talentir, William the clerk.” 

Threlkeld was obviously until quite recent times a very isolated and largely agricultural settlement. But, with the existence of lead mines the last of which was closed soon after 1910, and the opening of the Granite Quarry just before the turn of the century, Threlkeld became a semi-industrial village, and even though the Quarry now employs far fewer men than formerly because modern machinery has been installed the semi-industrial nature of the place still remains, with more and more men employed outside the village itself. In fact, at the present time Threlkeld is largely a dormitory for folk who work at Keswick, and a pleasant place to which many people have retired, and in which a considerable number of people from away have bought holiday houses. 

Blencathra Hospital, at about l,000 ft. up on the hillside, was opened in 1904 for sufferers from tuberculosis. The money was raised by subscription, and many organizations and individuals made gifts. It was nearly the first sanatorium to open in England, but was just beaten by Meathop in Westmorland. Even as recently as 1904 the first resident doctor, Dr Goodchild, received only £150 a year. It was largely owing to his devotion and vision that the Hospital became a place of mental and spiritual renewal from which many returned to their homes with fresh optimism and zest for life, even if they were by no means in every case finally cured of the disease. For many had to return not just once more, but often several times. Naturally, because of the high risk of infection, there was little contact between the Hospital and the village, but more recently, when drugs had replaced the open-air, sunshine and good food type of treatment, the risk of infection was greatly reduced, and Blencathra Hospital became a source of employment for people who lived in the village and went to work there day by day instead of having to live there in seclusion. As tuberculosis was mastered by the new treatment the Hospital was gradually given over to the care of geriatric patients, and latter there was no resident doctor. For the last few years before its closure on March 12th, 1975, it was entirely a home for geriatrics. It is hoped that eventually the buildings will be used for outdoor pursuits and courses for young people, especially for those who come from the larger towns and cities, for it is ideally situated for that purpose. This hope looks as if it will be realized, for early in 1976 the Cake District Planning Board took over the buildings with a view to adapting them for holiday and recreational purposes. 

Additional Note- 
Mr. B. C. Jones has kindly supplied a glossary of the terms used in the ancient document quoted above. 
Toft - means a homestead or a site for a homestead and it's buildings. 
Croft - as in toft the croft means a piece of arable ground, usually enclosed and attached to the homestead. 
Bovate - is strictly as much land as one ox could reasonably be expected to till annually. In Cumberland this was probably about 8 acres and would represent an average peasant arable holding. 
Messuage - is really the same as toft except that it is more likely to mean the dwelling house. The context would be important here. 
Wandale - a single division or share in the large open arable field belonging to a township.  

VILLAGE NAMES AND JOBS

The place name Threlkeld subsequently became a family name. It was originally connected with the family who lived at Threlkeld Hall. The only remaining signs of the original building are a raised pile of stones and a largely filled in moat to the South of the present farmhouse. Sir Lancelot de Threlkeld was an eminent member of the family in the 14th Century and it is probably he who originated the family name. The “de” shows that he took this name from the village. In many other cases personal names were given to places to describe where the people concerned lived, or worked, or owned land--for instance Mungrisdale, Mungo’s pig valley. The name or names of the original thrall or thralls here are not known so in this instance the village name came first and the family name second. Other names simply describe the purpose for which the place existed without any personal reference at all, for example, Keswick, “Cheese Farm” --the same name as Chiswick in London. The surname Threlkeld has also been given as a Christian name--a custom often found in these parts, for instance Derwent, Robinson, Stuart. But the name is still well established as a surname, and there are twenty-seven entries in the 1976 Telephone Directory which covers Cumbria and North Lancashire. And we quite frequently get enquiries for information about the village from people not only in Great Britain but as far away as America and Australia who either have the family name Threlkeld or have close relatives with that name. The addresses of people with the surname Threlkeld who have recently signed the Visitors’ Book in the Church are given as Carlisle, Blackpool, Cambridge, Exeter, Fareham (Hampshire), Battle (Sussex), Stanmore (Middlesex). St. Louis (U.S.A. ), Louisiana (U.S.A.), California (U.S.A.), Sacramento (U.S.A.), Ontario (Canada)--two separate families, Toronto (Canada). So the name obviously has a wide distribution throughout the world. 

It is interesting to trace the history of surnames in the village from the Parish Registers. Some names suddenly appear and then just as suddenly disappear. A case in point is the name Spark. There are two Marriage entries, as follows:

Date	Names	Occupation	Place of 	Father's		Father’s				Residence	Name		Occupation
					
Sept. 28	Joseph Spark	Miner	Threlkeld	William Spark	Miner
1839	Jane Mitchell	Servant	Threlkeld	John Gaiety		Spinner

May 21	William Spark	Miner	Threlkeld	William Spark	Miner
1843	Rebecca Birkett	*	Crosthwaite 	John Birkett 		Yeoman

*Living with her parents

There are four Baptism entries, as follows: 

February 23, 1840 - Jane, daughter of Joseph and Jane Spark, Towngate, Lead Miner. 
May 8, 1843 - William, son of Joseph and Jane Spark, Towngate, Lead Miner. 
November 25 1843 - John, son of William and Rebecca Spark, Towngate, Lead Miner. 
July 19, 1845 - John, son of Joseph and Jane Spark, Towngate, Lead Miner.  

There are no Burial entries, and the name completely disappears. Where did the Spark families go, and why? 

Three characteristic names at the present time are Airey, Hebson and Hewer. Unlike Cockbain and Gaskarth, which have now disappeared from the village and are very ancient names, these three are comparative newcomers. 

Airey (derivation uncertain) first appears in 1872 at Scales, and they apparently came as farmers. The sad first entries are the Baptism of a daughter Hannah on May 1st, followed by her burial, aged 1 month, on May 4th. The name Hewer (derivation probably as it sounds) first appears in 1883, at Towngate, and this family seems to have come as miners. 

Hebson (short for Herbertson) first appears in 1887, at Scales, and they apparently came as masons. So these three names, so well represented at Threlkeld at tile present time, first appeared within 15 years of one another close on 100 years ago. 

If one looks at the Registers of about 200 years ago (say 1783-89) one finds the following surnames, many of which are still found in the neighbourhood, even if not in all cases within the parish boundaries: - Hudson, Stephenson, Dixon, Wharton, Watterson, Howe, Clarke, Hodgson, Akitt, Wilkinson, Mounsey, Mayson, Grave, Todhunter, Fox, Scott, Wetherald, Prodhoe, Wren, Abbot, Crosthwaite, Mandale, Morley, Gate, Ivison, Martin, Gaskarth, Benson, Cockbaine, Watson, Edmundson, Nicholson, Clemet, Alcock, Gillbanks, Thwaite, Moffat, Relph, White, Dalton, Stanley, Rodger, Robinson, Sirey, Wilson, Greenhow, Workman, Jackson, Braithwaite, Tolson. 

The sad case of a baby of one month being buried three days after her Baptism was mentioned above. This kind of thing was all too common, as the following statistics show: 
 
Five-year samples of Baptisms and Funerals
 
Years Baptisms  Total  < 1 Year  1-10 Yrs  10-30 Yrs  > 70 Yrs  	Total of           Population
(incl)								        outer groups
	
1830-4	57	56		8	6	4	20	38	320 (1831)
1860-4	83	47		9	5	3	12	29	380 (1861)
1890-4	92	59		21	5	5	8	39	529 (1891)
1920-4	108	50		8	2	7*	14	31	559 (1921)
1940-4	35	63		3	2	2	32	39	614 (1931)
		563 (1951)
1960-4	38	57	        1            0	3	29	33	537 (1961)
* Three from Blencathra Sanatorium, non-parishioners. 

The above figures show clearly how premature mortality has decreased--18 under 30 years old out of a total of 56 funerals in 1830-4, as compared with 4 out of 57 in 1960-4. The figures also give a picture of the population changes--an upward jump between 1891 and 1931 from a previous level between 320 and 440 as shown on the full statistics of the ten-yearly census figures, followed by a gradual decline up to the present day. In 1831 there were 64 occupied houses and 4 unoccupied, the average number of persons per house being 5. In 1961 there were 164 houses (unoccupied number not stated) and the average number per house had gone down to 3.25. 

It is interesting to see what the occupations of Threlkeld people were in past days. The census of 1841 gives such a list, and states that the total population was 363 inhabiting 67 houses. There were 5 houses unoccupied. The list of jobs is as follows:  

*	Farmer - many. 
*	Agricultural labourer - many. 
*	Female Servant - many. 
*	Lead Miner - many. 
*	Of independent means - several, mostly elderly. 
*	Publican 4. 
*	Grocer 2 (1 in Village, 1 at Scales). 
*	Minister of Religion - 2 (1 retired - Christopher Cockbain, Wescoe). 
*	Tailor - 1. 
*	Carpenter - 1. 
*	Blacksmith - 1. 
*	Schoolmaster - 1. 
*	Waller - 1. 
*	Cooper - 1. 
*	Miller - 1. 
*	Joiner - 1. 
*	Tollgate Keeper - 1. 
*	Bonnet maker - 1. 

The choice of Christian names has not altered in the past 200 years nearly as much as might be imagined. For instance, if one takes the Registers for the period 1785-1800 one finds that the nine most frequent boys’ and girls’ names are as follows, the numbers giving the total for each name in the years counted:- 

            Boys’ Names                    Girls’ Names
       John        	(79)        	Mary         	(62)
       Thomas  	(51)         	Anne 	(35)
       Joseph     	(38)         	Jane 	(25)
       William 	(29)         	Sarah 	(19)
       George 	(15)         	Elizabeth    	(11)
       Timothy   	(12)         	Betty        	( 9)
       Christopher 	( 9)         	Dorothy      	( 7)
       Isaac       	( 9)        	Ruth 	( 4)
       Edward      	( 8)         	Margaret     	( 3)

If Betty is included under Elizabeth as being really the same name, another girls’ name can be added--Rebecca (2). 

Finally a word about the long-established local names, Gaskarth and Cockbain. Gaskarth = goose garth (enclosure), presumably denoting the situation of the cottage where the man lived who was first given this name (as, eg,  Woodend). Cockbain is more obscure, but there is evidence that a Caithness man named Cock settled here after marrying a Hebridean girl named Baits and used the two surnames joined together. 

THE CARE OF THE POOR

From time to time there were population crises resulting from starvation. One such occurred in 1587-8 and is documented from records at Greystoke, Kirkoswald, etc. It resulted from a series of bad harvests assisted by an outbreak of typhus, not plague. The times of the worst calamity were in the winter when plague was almost impossible. 1597 and 1623 were also famine years, and in the latter year mortality was high nearly everywhere. 

In the eighteenth century each village was responsible for its own poor, as well as schooling, welfare services, etc. Charitable gifts from the past paid the Schoolmaster, provided the roads, etc, as well as the administration of the Poor Law. In addition the parish taxed itself through Rates. Up to 1839 these things were provided by the virtually self-governing village. The Poor States were levied on a parish basis by law under the Act of 1603. This made care of the poor an obligation on all parishes. After 1839 Poor Law Boards for a wider area were established. Threlkeld would have come within the Penrith area--this was the first step towards government by remoter bodies. Before that the village would consider those who had left it as their responsibility; hence appeals from Hawkshead or Kendal for help, as documents testify. Threlkeld's parish rate provided for them. Not only the old, the unemployed and vagrants were helped by the Overseers of the Poor, though undesirable migrants and paupers could be removed forcibly to their previous place. 

An extract from the Accounts for 1817 will show clearly the kind of help which was given at that time.  

1817				£.  	s. 	d.
	Feb. 				
		12th 	to 2 Sailors wives	0   	0  	7
		22nd 	to Mary Crosthwaite	0   	3  	0
	Mar
		 6th	to a Letter from Hawksd	0   	0 	8
		 8th	to a Sailor	0   	0  	6
		15th	to 2 new books for Thompsons	0   	1  	0
		21st	to Dr. Denton for W. Scott	0        15  	0
		20th	to fathering B. Cockbaine's Child	0   	2  	0
		21st	to a Warrant and Backing	0   	4  	0
		----	to a Certificate	0   	1  	0
		2lst	to a Journey to Bowness	1  	0  	0
		30th	to Expenses about Marrying	0   	5  	0
		----	to Molly Nicholson Cart of Coals	0        12  	0
	April 
		 4th	to a Letter from Hawksd	0   	0  	8  
		----	to Robert Holliday for calking Clogs	0   	1  	6
		----	to Mr. Alcock for J. Clemet Clogs repd	0   	1  	1
		15th	to Mole catcher	2   	2  	0
		----	to 3 Journeys to Keswick	0   	6  	0
		----	to self one day seeking J. Clemet	0   	3  	0
		----	to expenses of Do. at Wythburn	0   	5  	0
		----	to 3 other men for seeking J. Clemet	0   	9  	0

It would be most interesting if one could know more details about some of the above items, but light can be shed on the subject of letters from Hawkshead. A certain Maby Nicholson had gone there from Threlkeld and expected to be helped from her place of origin. The following is a letter which she sent: 

Mr. Thos. Skelton, Hawkshead, July 22nd, 1814. 
I am under the necessity of applying to you for one guinea towards Firekelden as have been nearly starved these two years back and was affraid of troubling you. I am so very much affected with the Rheumitism that I can scarcely get up at Morning. I thought to have comen over but I do not know how the journey is long and expensive traveling and as I am past making much endeavours for my support I hope you will consider to give me something weekly as I have no other Prospect before me so I hope you will give me an answer by the Post. Else I must come over shortly and am your obt. sert. 
MABY NICHOLSON. 

THE MANORIAL COURT

Many interesting glimpses of life at Threlkeld in past days can be obtained through the records of the transactions of the Manorial Courts which all customary tenants were obliged to attend. These records make it very clear that tenants were expected to keep their walls and gates and buildings in good repair, and were fined if they did not do so. 

We should much like to know further details about the more intriguing items in the records, but imagination must be left to fill in the bald statements, and imagination can easily lead one astray. Anyhow, the following are a few extracts from the Courts Baron Records of Threlkeld held in the year 1634: 

We the head Jury do fynd Richard Clarke third son of John Clarke dec; heire unto his said father of the Messuage or Cottage at Towngate of the yearly rent of 2s 8d. until either of his brothers or any of their issue come into the country and make better challange thereof. 

Margaret Gibson for two hedge faults 3d.
William Pickering for one hedge fault in fell garth 6d.
Thomas Thompson for suffering his part of laddry yeat to lie down 20d.
John Atkinson of Grailes a by house fault 6d.
William Grave for the like 6d.
Eliz. Thompson for not dressing her watercourse at Iynegarth yeat and for not carrying the said water on the loane there 6d.
John Scott of Highrow et alii for not seeking crownests before
Mayday last 12d.
Thomas Hudson for making an assault upon Alice Hudson 5s.
The said Thomas for blood upon the said Alice 3s. and 4d.
Thomas Hudson for pulling down a little coat or fence at Alice Hudson's house-end 6d.
Christopher Crosthwaite for fishing Thomas Gaitsgarth's ground cont. penal: 6d.
Robert Crosthwaite for the like 6d.
Thomas Ritson for making an assault upon Thomas Thompson 5s
Richard Cockbaine for breaking the pinfold 3s. and 4d.
                                       etc., etc.

The following are a few extracts from the Court held in 1641: 

John Thompson for the decaye in reparation of one house called bye house 6d
Chris. Hudson for the like 6d.
James Tompson for the decay of a barne 3s. 4d.
Mary Gibson for a garthe fault in the pasture close 6d.
Margaret Gibson for one garthe fault 6d.
Xtopher Hudson for moss fault 6d.
Ellis Hudson for 3 bye houses 18d.
Ellis Hudson for one watter course at Field Head 3s. 4d.
John Gadwill for one tupe not clotted 12d.
Xtoffer Atkinson for one tupe not clotted 12d.
John Scott for a rescue upon Thos. Tompson wife 2s.
Richard Willmson for herding of his sheep upon Threlkeld Common 6s. 8d.
Not appearing at the Lords’ Court. We amerce Wilfred Irton for not appearing at the Lords' Court he being resydent within the jurisdiction of the Court Leitt 12d.
Non excusantur. We amerce Richd. Scott for not excusing himself or any to his use from the Lords’ Wood 6d.
Gowaine Wilkinson for the lick 6d.
                                      etc., etc.

Mr BC Jones has supplied the following comments on terms used above. 
Moss fault - I think this may mean an opening or fissure in a bog and will perhaps be the same as the dialect word moss breek. Probably in this context an infringement of a by law relating to the moss. 
Pinfold - this was a pound and was the place where straying animals were held until their owners redeemed them. 
Loane - is probably lane, but once again the context might be important here. 
Laddry yeat -defeats me. Yeat means a gate. In Cumberland dialect the word ‘lad’ could mean a pile or stack of stones and the same word was used in High Furness apparently to describe a shelterd place. Could ‘alddry yeat’ mean the gate to the sheepfold? The name occurs as a field name near Scoggarth on the Tithe map 1838. 
Tupe- is tup or ram. The meaning of clotted in this context is not clear. 

 

TAXATION IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY

The Taxation Roll of 1332 gives the earliest known list of names--at least of those rich enough to be caught by National Taxation, the chief purpose of which at that time was to finance the King’s wars. Persons were assessed on the value of their personal goods, one-fifteenth of which was due to be paid in tax. The interest of this Taxation Roll lies even more in the names which it gives than in details of the taxes, for the fourteenth century was the time when surnames were beginning to be fixed. One can see in this list of names cases of surnames already fixed, surnames just in the process of becoming fixed, and Christian names to which no surnames have yet been affixed at all. 

At Threlkeld there were 30 persons rich enough to be taxed, and some examples of their names and the value of their personal goods are as follows:  

Thomas Todhunter was assessed at eleven shillings and ten pence. So this well known local name had clearly already become a surname of the type which describes an occupation. William Skot was assessed at £2. 2s. 10d. There were many Skots (Scotts) in this neighborhood, and this surname describing the country of origin had obviously become fixed at an early date. The surnames Trumper (assessed at £1. 1s. 6d.) and Topping (10/6) are probably nick-names—“a nickname” is really “an eke name”, eke being an old word for “also” or “additional”-- additional, that is, to the Christian name. Such nicknames were often passed from father to son, as they still tend to be in these parts, irrespective of whether the meaning of the nickname (e.g. Crookshank = crooked leg) still applied to subsequent generations. In this way nicknames which really only applied to the original bearer became fixed as surnames. One would not like to think that everybody called Dolittle was as idle as the original bearer of that name! There was in the Threlkeld list a Walker, assessed at £1. 1s. 6d. This is an occupational name connected with the processing of wool. Wool was at that time the really important industry over almost the whole of what is now Cumbria. Robert de Ayrawe (the ‘de’ suggests a place name) was assessed at £1. 11s. Od. Is there here any connection with the name of the waterfall Aira Force, near Ullswater? Another name ‘presumably’ connected with a place is Robert de Monsthwaite. Could this be a misspelling of Mousthwaite, a farm name which survives to the present day for some ruins just inside the NE parish boundary? Robert de Aula that is “of the Hall”, the second richest man in Threlkeld. was assessed at £3. 16s. 6d. and he was probably the farm bailiff at Threlkeld Hall. Hall had clearly not yet become a fixed surname, and is here used in its literal sense of simply describing where the person concerned lived. There is a John, son of Henry batesson, an Elias, son of William, and a John, son of Isabell. In this last case the mother's name is probably given because she was an heiress. These last examples have no surname at all at this stage, though the very frequent “-son” surnames began to be fixed not much later. 

The total value of personal goods at Threlkeld in 1332 was £47. 11s. 11d. of which 1/15th, that is £3. 3s. 6d. was to be collected in tax. Commissioners were appointed by the King for each County. They were responsible for seeing that the tax was collected. In those days. so long before Tax Return Forms, constables had the power to enter a house in order to look at the money and goods, so that tax evasion was not as easy as might be imagined. The names of clergy do not appear on the Taxation Roll. They paid at the rate of one-tenth of the value of assessed goods, and the assessment was made on ecclesiastical preferment. Unfortunately no record of the one-tenth tax survives in the Public Record Office. 

The full list for Threlkeld is interesting enough to give in full. This extract comes from the book  Cumberland Lay Subsidy 1332   edited by JP Steel and published at Kendal in 1912. 

THRELKELD
HAS IN GOODS:	£. s. d.	HAS IN GOODS:	£. s. d.
William de Threlkell	2. 8. 0.	Roger Mawe	0. 11. 0.
Alan de Harscough	1. 14. 10.	Robert, son of Henry	0. 14. 4.
Adam, son of William Whit	2. 13. 4.	Nicholas Kay 	0. 14. 8.
		Roger Walker 	1. 5. 6.
Robert Burel	2 .19 . 2.	William Trumper	1. 1. 6.
Adam Doncanmaugh	2 . 5 . 5.	William Toppyng	0. 10. 6.
John Mothep	1. 9 .10.	William de Wilton	1. 17. 0.
John, son of Isabell	1. 5. 6.	Robert de aula	3. 16. 6.
John, son of Henry batesson	0. 12. 4.	Roger, son of Simon	2. 13. 6.
		Thomas Todhunter	0. 11.10.
John Burel 	1. 1. 0.	William Whit 	7. 2 . 8.
Richard Lukky	0. 1.9 8.	Robert de Ayrawe	1. 11. 0.
Adam Lukky	1. 17. 9.	William Skot	2. 2 .10.
William del bank	0. 10. 9. 	Adam, son of Allot	1. 13. 6.
Elias, son of William	0. 10. 6.	William Raisemyste	0. 12. 8.
John Cokkayn	0. 14. 8.	Robert de Monsthwait	0. 16. 2.

Sum of all goods in Vill aforesaid 	£47. 11. 11.
Of which one-fifteenth 		£3. 3. 6.

WILLS

A further glimpse of past history can be obtained through wills, a good many of which have survived. Portions have sometimes been destroyed or are illegible as is the case with the will of Thomas Peill who was Incumbent of Threlkeld from 1573 till his death in 1602. 

The will of Thomas Peill of Threlkeld, Mate, proved at Carlisle 10th September, 1602. 

In the name of god Amen..............I thomas Pe[ille] of threlkeld curat, sicke in bodie and yet...........remembrance................ this may last will and yrstament Written .............of health and whereby I bequith my soull to the almig[htyl..............with full beliffe [in] salvation oneli by the merites of Christ Jesus ....... wone word [sl and deed as unprofitable and onelie a ............... god almightie ...........Ite I. Command and my will is............. and grounes I have within the presinctes of Cockermouth or the same be yeven of. shalbe sold and the price therof to be ..........twext my tow [sons] Christoffer Peille and John Peille. Item. I geve......... my daughter [fiftye] pownes for her Childs portion.Item ........... vances my wif shall have the tuition and bringinge uppe of .......... and the goverment of all ther goods during her pure .....that she to have fourtien pownds towards her pref[erment] .................. my goods and chattels and to dealt with no further but.................. my my children to be brought up under the tuition of my sup [ervisors] herafter named. Item. I command that that my tow sonnes be maintained at the best Scoles of Learning till they [y] be maisters of Arte and then to be ther owne governours and that my wif to have alwayes the bringing up of my dawghter. Item-my will is that if Lorten parishen will make forth the stocks to a sufficient lyevinge to maintaine A maister of art and A husher that then I geve to the same parishen xxli within thre yeares after my death and that the same scone maister either in his owne person or upon his owne charges preach eighte times within Norton pareshe yearlie. The rests of all mye goodes unbequithed my debtes payed and funerall expenses I give to Christoffer Peill and to John Peill my sonnes whom I make my executors Supervisors hearof, Peter Peill my brother, John Peill his sonne, Allan Peill my brother, Mr. Thomas Fletcher, Mr. John Banckes of Keswicke and Thomas Bancke of Wedope. In witnes wherof I have to this my present will written with my owne hand sett my seall, sign manuell and my name the day and yeare first above written. this is the true Copie save onlie the hand and seal with these witnesses names. 

Leonard Lowther              Anthony todhunter
John Dobson                  and John Clarke

Md. that Sir Thomas Peill did add this to his will 1599, march the ixth and did sett it downe with his owne mouthe that his dowghter, Margaret Peill shold have nothinge butt as her mother wold thincke good unles that she shold be Ruled by her mother in the Coyse of her husband which if shee doe then to have fiftie powndes as it is in his will. 

Witnesses:
   Leonard Lowther              John Clarke

Probate granted lo September 1602 to Frances Peale the testator is widow. 
Memorandum that sinse ..............written his further mynd and will................s viijth day of................if my wif frances be insient with Child ..............said child to have fiftie pownds oute of my goods. Item .................thatt the poure of this parish shall share fortie shill [ingsl ...........to be geven in the town gate........... Item my further will ........................[Pic[kering] and his tenantes through his and ther Libarall ....................foundationes of A gramer scolle within threlkeld ................nce for ever, the maister therof to be A maister [of Art] .................[or at least] bacheler of art thatt then I geve to the same xli to be delivered to the said skole within three yeares ...............in therof and presentlie clock. 

other witnesses:
   Leonard Lowther            Anthony todhunter
   John Dobson                Richard Jackson
   Thomas Scott here w............

THE HISTORY OF A FARM

On the hillside to the East of the Quarry stands the house called Newsham. Some of its history can be reconstructed, though of course much remains uncertain. It appears on the Tithe Map of 1838, and further back on the Map of 1774 drawn up on the basis of a survey made in 1771. Earlier still, in 1738, the customary owner of the property was Mrs. Susannah Irton who later married James Spedding of Whitehaven. She presumably bought the property from the Lowthers and the rent was 12/-. She did not farm the land herself, but she was answering for Williamson’s farm, and the name was then Tippot Hill. 

The rent of 12/- was fixed from time immemorial. In 1634 an agreement to settle the fines was entered into by a Thomas Williamson, the tenant at that time. The Registers show that Williamson, a not very common name in the area, occurred at least as far back as 1599 when a Gawen Williamson was buried. Unfortunately no farm identification is given in connection with this entry in the Registers. A marriage of Thomas Williamson and Margaret Greenhewe took place on June 10th, 1607, but no Baptisms of children of this marriage were recorded, and the family may not be the same as that connected with Tippot Hill. This must not be taken to imply that there were no Baptisms, for the Registers of that date are clearly very far from complete and many Baptisms, Marriages and Burials must have taken place which were never entered. The next entry of the name Williamson, however, provides a much more helpful link. Thomas Williamson married Margaret Stirketh on June 2nd, 1627. This Thomas died in 1663 and left a Will which was proved on April 14th that year. An Inventory was attached, and this document clearly identifies the man Thomas Williamson with Tippot Hill and Newsome. His trade was apparently some sort of smith according to the Inventory, but of course he farmed the land as well. Just possibly his work as a smith might have been connected with the use by pack-horses of the old road from Matterdale to St. John’s-in-the-Vale high up on the fellside above Newsham. 

His assets amounted to £63. 7s. 4d.; his funeral expenses were £3. The next Williamson to leave a Will was John Williamson (1714), probably a son of Thomas. He gave 20/- to the poor. The last Williamson, Tristram, gave up the farm by the time Mrs. Susannah Irton bought it in 1738. The farm was then probably let out on short lease to tenants and details are very difficult to discover. Before Mrs Susannah Irton bought it the Williamson family will have owned the property, but as customary tenants of the Lord of the Manor. This involved payment of money, called a finest when the Lord died, or when the property was sold, as a kind of fee for admitting the new tenant. In such cases of customary tenancy attendance at the Manorial Court was obligatory, as was service for the Lord on certain days of the year--for ploughing on the Lord’s desmene, reaping, carting produce, and so on. For this service the customary tenant received food, and certain other privileges in kind. as well as security of tenure for himself, and his descendants so long as no cause for dispute arose. 

Finally a word about names. Tippet Hill was almost certainly the name of the district, and the farm simply took its original name from that. The derivation is very problematical. Possibly the first element is associated with "tup" for the district would be almost useless for anything but sheep. This, however, is mere conjecture. The name “Newsham” simply implies that a new intake on Tippot Hill was made. This probably took place in the 16th Century. The farm then came to be called Newsham and the name Tippot Hill, both for the farm and the district in which it stood, just disappeared, though Tippot Hill as a district name did survive until the 18th Century. 

Note on Fines and Tenure 
Customary tenant paid a fine on succession and every time the property changed hands whether by sale or mortgage. These fines were called dropping fines. 

Every customary tenant paid a fine on his tenement on the death of a lord. These fines were called general fines. 

The boon services were payable in kind but were often commuted to money payments. 

Security of tenure on customary estates was absolute. Lords could distrain on goods for rents or fines withheld, but they could not evict. 

The legal term for these estates was ‘customary estate of inheritance’. 

FIELD NAMES

The names by which fields are known are often very ancient and their meaning is frequently obscure. They were given by the local people, and as there were several waves of immigration and settlement it often happens that more than one language is involved. Here at Threlkeld the following languages enter into the picture:

Celtic - the ancient language of the indigenous population, including Old Welsh. 
Anglian - from Yorkshire probably rather than Durham. 
Norse - from Ireland, having adopted some Gaelic words, and not in the main direct from Scandinavia. 
Norman - from French-speaking people after the Conquest. 

It is therefore not surprising that many field names are now inexplicable.
 
In the Tithe Map of 1838 the following names occur, among others:  Back of the Door; Fore Doors; Above House; Fell Close; New Close; Town Field (Common); Mell Butts (butt = a left-over piece of ground); Birk Ing; Thoomire (8 times; mire = meadow); Spoonmire; Buddy Close; Elbow Guard; Blackacre (? previous habitation burnt down); Hoghouse (Hog = 1 year old sheep); Mattockinglea; Piper Spout; Nowtlea (Nowt = a horned beast); Rudding (clearing); Laddry; Outgang; Sieve (rushy) Acre; Kiln Croft; Cozzel hole. 

Some of these names are still in use, for houses rather than fields nowadays, eg,  New Close, and Elbow Guard, referring apparently to the shape of the small garth or enclosure in which the house stands. 

MINING

Mining in the Lake District certainly went on in Roman times, but not many traces of this are left. However, as far back as the 12th century, Caldbeck and Alston were centres for silver and lead mining. No records now exist before the 16th century, but it seems that copper was mined by the Romans, for a piece of pony track at a copper mine at Coniston dates from the time of the Roman occupation. In more recent times, mining took place extensively in Elizabeth the First's reign and became exceptionally busy during the last century when over 100 men were employed at Threlkeld alone. Here the mining was chiefly for lead, and the remains of workings can be seen in several places. But most clearly at Gate Gill where the ravine and the adjoining hillsides are extensively scarred. By the time that these workings were at their height of productivity the bulk of the timber still left from the depredations of previous centuries had long since been ravaged to provide charcoal and open sheep pasture. So the present largely treeless condition of the fell slopes had by then taken shape. 

Mining at Threlkeld can hardly be considered in isolation from mining in the whole of the Keswick area. In 1474 a Commission was appointed to look into mining at Keswick and Alston. This chiefly concerned copper for plating ships. In 1564-5 the Mines Royal was started at Keswick and because there was little local skill miners were brought from Germany. It took some while before they were accepted by the local folk, and at first they were put on an Island on Derwentwater. It appears that most of the mining at that time took place in the Newlands Valley at Goldscope Mine. Lead was being mined at Newlands throughout the 17th century, but much mining ceased in Cromwell’s time and smelt works were pulled down. They were rebuilt about 1700 by the " Dutch " (" Deutsche ?"). 

As soon as the Threlkeld mines were actively exploited, miners began to be employed here from outside the village. Since there were not enough men in the village who were able to do the work, men used to travel from Keswick on foot--there was no other way. Many local families gave these men board and lodging for the working week, and this continued right up to the time when the Threlkeld mines were closed, though of course the time was--then long past when pack-horses were the only means of transportation, and the Railway had been in operation for many years. The work at the mines had, however, brought many fresh families to live at Threlkeld, so the employment of Keswick men became progressively less necessary. 

By 1870 about 2,000 men were employed in mining in the Lake District. They generally worked an eight-hour shift, a custom which went back to Elizabethan times. They wore long leather jackets with a large tail at the back to drain water off the legs. They wore felt hats and in them the lights (candles - tallow made of mutton fat from local sheep), were fitted. The candles were fixed to the hats by lumps of clay. The miners wore clogs but no socks. Instead straw was put in the clogs, and when it became wet it was taken out and fresh straw from the miners' bag was put in. Pay was poor for such unpleasant work, coupled with the fact that miners had to walk long distances to and from the mines. In 1569 at Raughton Gill, Caldbeck, a miner got 6d a day; in 1870 4/-; at Threlkeld it was still 4/- in 1900, but in 1929 10/-; for piece work at Caldbeck in 1969 about £3.  So clearly mining in this area was never a desirable job, though it was better than nothing. 

Pollution of the Greta from lead mining at Threlkeld became a burning issue with a complaint lodged with the County Council by the Derwentwater Angling Association on May 14th, 1890. They alleged that fish were dying, spawn was destroyed and the flies upon which the fish depended for food were disappearing. Their case was actively championed by Canon Rawnsley, Vicar of Crosthwaite, Keswick. The County Council asked the Mining Company at Threlkeld to inspect the filter beds, as they were convinced that there was a case to answer and they demanded remedies. The Mining Company gave an outright denial, and they called unreasonable a request from the Council that an expert should examine the mines. The council then tried to get a prosecution started, to which the Mining company replied that they were being harassed by people who did not know what they were talking about. They were losing money because of this dispute and it must be remembered that they gave employment to many at Threlkeld. Further, they had provided all means of rendering noxious matter harmless. To this it was replied that it could be demonstrated that fish were thriving above the mines and dying in the river below them. A year later a Public Enquiry was held, and this enquiry found that there was a prima facie case that the Mining Company was polluting the Greta. The Company was given three months to rectify this before any legal action would be started. At first the Company refused to adopt any further methods to remedy the alleged pollution, and resented interference with an industry which had been carried on at Threlkeld for 300 years. But finally the Company climbed down, and no action was taken. There was no doubt a fault in the filter beds which was allowing noxious matter to escape into the river, but it was inevitable that in the 1890's the debate was not carried on in the strictly scientific terms which would be essential nowadays, and probably the objectors’ case was greatly exaggerated. 

THE RAlLWAY

The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway was opened for mineral traffic on November 4th, 1864, and for passenger traffic on January 9th, 1865, the construction having commenced in May, 1862. The original capital was £200,000 with a further £66,000 to be raised by loans. 

The first Chairman of the Company, Mr. Thomas Alison Hoskins, was much concerned for the spiritual welfare of the men engaged in constructing the line, and he appealed for contributions to a fund to provide chaplains (part-time) to take one Sunday Service and attend the sick for £25 a year, and a Scripture-reader (full-time) for £60 a year. A room was provided at Penruddock in which to hold the Sunday Services. 

The main purpose of the Railway was to provide a link between the iron ore mines in West Cumberland and the Steelworks in Durham and South Yorkshire. A considerable quantity of the iron ore was smelted at blast furnaces in Cumberland, and the resulting pig iron exported to the East, but some ore was sent direct to Durham as well. Coke from the Durham coalfields was sent westwards in return, as the coal mined in West Cumberland was not suitable for making coke for the blast furnaces there. “Mineral train No. 1” (8-45 a.m. from Penrith) was involved in the first fatal accident on the line. In misty weather about a mile East of Threlkeld, a platelayer, James Thompson, aged 47, was walking between the rails, and the engine crew saw nothing of the man until  “his cap flew one way and his body the other,” as they stated at the inquest. 

At the Half-yearly Meeting on August 28th, 1897, Mr. W. H. Hudson of Penrith, a lover of the Lake District and of fresh air, suggested that a special train should be obtained made up of open-sided coaches with no roof, drawn by a “smart little engine”, and that special trips should be run between Threlkeld and Bassenthwaite Lake for 1/- a time per head. The directors replied that they would “look into the matter”, and that was the last to be heard of the idea. 

On December 13th, 1917, there was nearly a serious accident. A gunpowder van, loaded with explosives, had been shunted at Troutbeck and the guard had not only omitted to apply the van brakes properly but had also failed to put a sprag in the wheels. The van careered down the incline towards Threlkeld, and when the signalman at Highgate saw it he immediately warned the staff at Threlkeld Station, who consisted of the Stationmaster and a porter-signalman having their lunch. The latter, with great presence of mind, seized some old sleepers and placed them across the track just beyond the Station. Almost at once the van approached at about 30 m.p.h. It hit the sleepers and pushed the end ones along the line until it came to rest, mercifully not derailed, near the bridge under the Keswick-Penrith road. The signalman was later rewarded for his prompt action. 

At the Annual Meeting in February 1920, Mr. H. T. Pape appealed for a renewal of the Sunday services which had been cancelled during the 1914-18 War. Mr. Ridley replied that it was a question of expense. It cost £24 in wages alone to put a train on in each direction on Sundays. Mr. R. Williamson of Cockermouth asked how much a Sunday train cost before the war. The Secretary replied, “£2.14s.0d.” 

There had been amicable relations between the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway and the North Eastern Railway who had running rights mainly in connection with the East Coast-West Coast mineral traffic for which the Railway was originally constructed, but there was constant friction and distrust with the London and North-Western Railway, and a fear that it would be taken over and swallowed up by the far larger and more powerful concern. This never happened, but in March 1923, the Railway inevitably became a small section of the newly constituted London Midland and Scottish Railway. The newly constituted London and North Eastern Railway continued to work mineral traffic at first, but this was beginning to decline and was later killed by road transport as in the end was passenger traffic as well. 

In 1935 work on strengthening bridges between Penrith and Keswick made it possible for 4-6-0 “Class 5’s” and “Jubilees” to run over that portion of the line, but between Keswick and Cockermouth “Cauliflowers” still reigned undisputed. The last of the “Jumbos” having gone to the scrap-heap. 

The advent of British Railways did little or nothing to revive the flagging traffic. Train timings became more and more inconvenient and the timing was of the poorest order. The advent of Diesel-units improved matters, but the line was doomed through the rapid increase of road transport, and after several enquiries, and attempts to keep the line open, it was finally closed on March 4th, 1972, and the track was taken up. 

Additional Notes 
Threlkeld Signal Box was opened by George Schollick on September 27th, 1893, when the doubling of the track between Threlkeld and Troutbeck had been completed. His daughter, Mrs JE Stuart, travelled on the first train to use the doubled track on September 27th, 1893, and she also traveled on the last train on March 4th, 1972, when the Station and Signal Box were used for the final time. 

Extracts from Mr. George Schollick's Diary: 

Jan. 11, 1899 
J. Tabberer Jnr., big toe crushed at Threlkeld Quarry. Died from the effects. Interred at Threlkeld Church Sunday, January 29th, 1899. 

June 2, 1901 
(Sunday), Double line opened between Troutbeck and Penruddock 

Oct. 14, 1903 
(Wednesday), Wesleyan Chapel opened at Quarry. 

Jan 12, 1906 
Joseph Whittam, Relief Signalman. Troutbeck, run over with light engine. Leg cut off. Died at Keswick Hospital, January l9th. 1906 

March 13, 1907 
Faulder Watson, Brundholme, killed on line between Threlkeld and Keswick. 

July 8, 1911 
Attempt murder on Troutbeck Common on Saturday. 

July 9, 1911 
Man found hanged on Millfel on Sunday. 
Sept. 10, 1913  
Accident between Troutbeck and Threlkeld with runaway horse and cart from Troutbeck Station; ran into Wagonett from Lake Hotel, Keswick. Killed one horse and two passengers seriously lamed. 

Jan. 17, 1914 
Mrs. Knox, Culgaith, run over 9 a.m. 68 pass. Train at Threlkeld. Died at Keswick Hospital (Saturday). 

Feb. 15, 1915 
War bonus for railway men sanctioned. 

Aug. 28, 1916 
Engine broke down at High Gate. Single line worked on down road. 

Oct. 23, 1916 
Milk raised to 4d per Quart (Monday). 

Oct. 28, 1916 
No. 30 up Goods broke coupling near High Gate, ran back off slip points and blocked up road (double load). Breakdown gang clearing road on Sunday (Oct. 29th). 

Nov. 27, 1916 
No. 30 up Goods broke down between Threlkeld and Troutbeck. Single line working on down road (W. Hamilton, driver). 

July 17, 1917 
Fire at Threlkeld Sanatorium (hay destroyed). 

Aug. 1 and 2, 1917 
Railway Bridge on fire (over river) near Threlkeld 

Station. Fire Brigade from Keswick. 

Sept. 19, 1918 
First weekly pay on the CK and P for all Platelayers and Trafficmen. 

Feb. 17, 1919 
Threlkeld Station Staff commenced 8 hours per day from 10 hours. 

March 29, 1925 
New Centre Girder put in Bridge 73. Two steam cranes working on Sunday. 

Nov. 1927 
Threlkeld Quarries working short time--three days a week. 

ROADS AND HIGHWAYS

Turnpike roads were improved roads with tolls as income to ensure their maintenance over long distances as opposed to maintenance on a parish basis by what was called “Statute Labour” under the supervision of a locally elected “Surveyor”--a parishioner with no real expertise. They were the first deliberately planned network of roads since Roman times. Economic pressures and the need for transportation gave impetus to this development in the eighteenth century. Previously pack horses had been used in Cumberland for moving peat, turves etc: * The roads were routes rather than roads in the proper sense of the word, and some of the present paths may have been such routes. How old they are is unknown; perhaps some are pre-Roman with the Roman military roads superimposed on them. Some routes have been traced through finding stone axes. Often these routes are high up on the Fells, as since Neolithic times there had been progressive clearance of the hill woodlands whereas the alder and willow swamps of the valley bottoms remained for much longer as almost impenetrable barriers. It is not known with any certainty when or how these were first drained and tamed. 

The Roman roads can be traced with much more certainty than the ancient routes. The Roman road from Penrith certainly came through Blencow and Greystoke to the Roman Camp at Troutbeck. From there it probably went by High Gate, Birkett Field, Hill Top and Causeway Foot where it joined the known Roman road coming up from Ambleside. There may have been a Roman Fort at Keswick. At any rate from there one road went over Whinlatter to Papcastle and the west at Moresby, and another branch went North to a signalling station at Bothel where it joined the road from Carlisle. 

After the Romans left and the Angles, and later the Vikings came the roads which the Romans had made had an influence on the sitting of their settlements: but at some point of time the roads were abandoned, and the road from Plumpton and Penrith to Keswick was not used in medieval times. 

The settled population had no wheeled traffic and so no need of the previous roads. So it came about that later developments were made in ignorance of the Roman roads. At Threlkeld the settlement site clearly moved from one side of the river to the other when the Norsemen arrived. 

In 1745 a plan was brought out for improving the old route from Penrith to Cockermouth, which passed through Threlkeld, by making it into a turnpike road. This kind of development was taking place widely at the time. That objections to road improvements are no new thing is shown by a letter written by a Threlkeld man, John Wren, on August 12th, 1745, urging that the proposed scheme for a turnpike road should be dropped.

Good Sr., Threlkeld August 12th, 1745 
The Affair about a Turnpike-way from Penreth by Keswick or Hesket to Cockermouth being afresh to be brought on the Anvile before Our Justices next Assizes at the Bush in Carlisle, this comes to beg your intercession with our Lord or these Justices against all Turnpikes in this County, where Highways and Bridges are in good and sufficient Repair, because this may prove a way of oppressing the country and bubbling them out of their money and Labour about Highways; but particularly against any Turnpike through his Lordship of Threlkeld, which ye con- ceive will be of very ill consequence to the Tenants and of no advantage to the Town of Keswick because since all the Roads and Bridges between Penreth by Keswick to Cockermouth are in very good Repair. Gentle- men, Traders and others will rather choose to travel the old beaten Road gratis than it may be pay a shilling or Eighteen Pence for a new untrodden Path and it may be not so plain and safe as the good old Way. These are the sentiments not only of the Country People hereabout, but also of not a few in Penreth, Cockermouth, and of all others that inhabit between these two Market Towns; and therefore it is that I am more earnest in the matter than otherwise I would have been for my Lord's own Tenants. But turn the way, as it will, the poor Commons like not Turnpikes, no more than Threlkeld, particularly that by Keswick which pray bend all the Force you can against it and therein youl mightily oblige all the Freeholders about us, and 
Your most humble and obedt. sert JOHN WREN. 

Throughout the subsequent century traffic must have been very thin. Even in the early part of the present century the roads wore clearly quiet. We have no figures for Threlkeld itself, but a census of traffic was taken from February 27th to March 5th, 1911, on the Keswick to Ambleside road at Castlerigg Tollbar. And no doubt a similar pattern would have applied here as well. The results of this census were as follows:

General condition of road and weather: Damp and showery. 
Time: From 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 
Enumerators’ names: Frank Ivinson and E. Dixon.
 
Classification of Vehicles	Feb.	Feb.	Mar. 	Mar.	Mar.	Mar.	Mar.	Total
27	28	1	2	3	4	5	Vehicles
Ordinary Bicycles and
tricycles			35	31	32	30	32	58	21	239
Motor Vehicles
Ordinary motor cars		3	10	7	11	8	9	9	57
Motor bicycles and
tricycles 					1	4	3	4	14	26
Horse drawn Vehicles
Omnibus (including Public
Service and Hotel) 			2 		2	2	2		8
Two-wheeled vehicles
(one horse)			25	14	13	15	27	32	7	133
Other Traffic
Herds of cattle 		4				1	1		6
Flocks of sheep and pigs	2					1		3
Horses (led or ridden)		4		2	3	2	3	2	16
TOTALS			73	57	55	65	75	110	53	488

When one thinks of the continuous stream of cars and lorries which travel along this road nowadays, and the even denser stream which goes past Threlkeld--fortunately no longer through the village since the building of the By-Pass in 1965--it seems almost impossible to realize that no more than sixty-six years have gone by since the above census was taken sixty years which have seen more changes in the pattern of life than the whole of previous human history. 

*NOTE supplied by Mr. B. C. Jones. 
Turf and peat - usually the same thing in the North country, but I suppose there could be a distinction between peat which derived from wet grasses or heather and peat derived sphagnum. In Scotland it was common to cut surface turves on moorland for fuel as distinct from cutting peat from a true peat moss. Turves were also used for roofing as well as for fuel. In the north the word turf was rarely used to describe a grass sod. 

 

THE SCHOOL

It is now impossible to say when Threlkeld first had a School. It was one of the duties of a parish priest to teach the children, and no doubt Randulf did this when he was here in 1220 AD. Anyhow, in 1659 Anthony Gilbanke of Gardesse (now called Guardhouse) gave by his Will “twenty pounds towards a free-school, and the use to be given yearly to the schoolmaster at Threlkeld Church.”  It looks as if previously only those who were fairly prosperous could send their children to be taught. At this time obviously the School was held in the Church, a very usual custom, but when Threlkeld Church was demolished in 1776/7 and the present building was put up, Threlkeld had a separate School for the first time. It was a two-roomed School, opposite the present School, and this building has long since been converted into a comfortable house. A schoolroom for girls was built above the boys’ classrooms in 1842, but only seven years later, in 1849, the curate of the parish, the Reverend AE  Hulton, arranged the purchase for £25 from Mr Plasket of the piece of land where the present School stands. He instructed a surveyor to plan the building of a new schoolroom, with space for three classes, a lofty roof and large windows, and two separate playgrounds for boys and girls. Thus the present School began its history. Shortly before this, in 1844, there died here the Reverend Christopher Cockbain, who had come back in retirement to the village where he had spent his childhood. In his Will he bequeathed £50 to form a fund for supplying Bibles and Prayer Books for the children. This fund is still in use, and every child at the present time receives a copy of the New Testament in the New English Bible translation, on leaving Threlkeld School. 

It is often assumed that the majority of people in the past were illiterate, and that only very recently was this situation remedied. But the Marriage Registers show that between 1840 and 1844, to take a random sample, out of a total of 60 possible signatures only 8 persons were incapable of signing and merely made a mark witnessed by some other person present at the ceremony. Between 1860 and 1864 out of a possible total of 32 only 5 made a mark, and between 1880 and 1884 (ten years after the passing of the Education Act which made schooling compulsory) out of a possible total of 40 only one mark was made. Clearly Threlkeld School had been doing its primary job of teaching literacy efficiently long before the Education Act was passed in 1870. 

Much has happened, of course, since the present School was erected in 1849. It was then, naturally, a Church School, under the control of the ecclesiastical authorities. When, under the 1944 Education Act, Church School Managers had to choose between aided and controlled status, Threlkeld School became for a few years an aided School, but in the late 1950’s it was decided to relinquish this in favour of controlled status, as the financial obligations of aided status were more than the village could meet. This has by no means severed the close link with the Parish Church and its Rector, and the advantages have, at least so far, outweighed the disadvantages which have proved to be more imaginary than real. 

A certain amount of alteration and extension has naturally taken place in the past hundred years, and there are some improvements which are still badly needed but it can be said that considering its age the School is remarkably comfortable, especially now that the heat-wasting effects of the original “lofty roof” have been counteracted by false ceilings. If the original plan had been less satisfactory the School might have been entirely rebuilt by now according to modern conceptions of what a School should be like. But on the other hand it might have been closed and the children drafted to Keswick, and then Threlkeld would have finally lost its village School. 

The older children are in any case now drafted to Keswick, for since Lairthwaite Secondary Modern School was opened in 1951 all children from Threlkeld have gone to Keswick on reaching the age of eleven, and this School then became purely a Primary School for children living “in the Threlkeld area”, for some children live just outside Threlkeld Parish, though this is the nearest and most convenient School for them to attend. In the 1970’s there have been usually about sixty to sixty-five children, in three classes. 

Up to 1952 there had been a School at Threlkeld Quarry. At the turn of the century when a considerable number of families had moved to the Quarry houses which had recently been built, the School catered for as many as one-hundred children, but by 1952 there were only eleven left. So this Quarry School was never in Threlkeld Parish, for that part of the present Parish which lies South of the Glenderamackin was only transferred from the Parish of St John’s-in-the-Vale in 1957. In any case this only affected the Ecclesiastical Parish, for the Quarry Houses are still in the Civil Parish of St. John’s-in-the-Vale and in the Rural District of Allerdale (so looking westwards), whereas the ancient Parish of Threlkeld north of the river is in the Rural District of Eden and looks eastwards. 

THE CHURCH

It has already been mentioned that there was a priest of Threlkeld by 1220 AD. Much of the history of the Church in this village is of course unknown, but the Reverend Thomas Collinson, who was Incumbent of Threlkeld from 1798 until 1857 edited the earliest known account of the history of the Chapelry. It is so interesting that it is worth reproducing here in full.
 
Observations on the Parochial Chapel of Threlkeld, with an account of the ancient salary--copied from the oldest writings thereunto belonging. 

We may observe, in the first place, that the large and extensive Parish of Greystoke is divided into ten Hamlets, four whereof have erected and endowed Chapels at their own expense (viz.) Threlkeld, Watermilock, Materdale and Mungrisdale. Of these, Threlkeld is the most ancient. This parochial Chapel was--at its first institution dedicated to St. Mary, and in Memory of whom, one of the Bells has the following Inscription in capital letters:  AVE MARIA GRATLA PLENA. 

The chief reason no doubt why St. Mary’s is more independent on the Parish Church than the other Chapels, is its great antiquity. It is we find exonerated from many Burdens, which the other Chapels were obliged to support. It is indeed beyond our ability to point out with any degree of precision, at what time, or even in what century the erection of St. Mary's took place. Dr. Burn however the present chancellor gives us authority to assert that it is the most ancient Chapel in the Diocese. The salary appropriated to the use of the Minister for his maintenance by the inhabitants of the hamlet of Threlkeld at the first Institution of the Chapel, was a tenth part of the corn and hay paid in kind, with a parcel of ground annexed to the Tythe, by computation five acres commonly called Glebe Lands; these with the Surplice Fees were the whole of the Minister's salary. This hamlet, uncultivated and unimproved as it must necessarily have been at that time, and probably long after the erection of the Chapel, could not be supposed to yield in Tythe more than the value of three pounds. For we find that in the time of Marmaduke, Bishop of Carlisle, a Modus was affixed in lieu of Tythe which only then amounted to the sum of three pounds seventeen shillings. This prescriptive argument made between Henry Lord of Threlkeld and the Inhabitants of the one part, and the Minister of Threlkeld on the other, was confirmed, to the great advantage of the former, by an Order of the said Marmaduke, which Order is lodged in the Bishop's registry at Carlisle. This Prescription has been improved since that time by some inclosures from the Common, generally called Thumeres. These it is evident have been taken up since the time of Marmaduke (who was consecrated Bishop of Carlisle in the year 1430, and translated to Lincoln in the year 1450) because they pay distinct from the Toft or Tenement, and are much higher rated, which renders it evident that they have been inclosed long after the time of Marmaduke Lumely. This circumstance is favourable for the mention of that sole right which the Inhabitants of Threlkeld claim on that Common which is generally called Threlkeld Pasture, from which these Thumeres have been so lately taken. For if an adjoining neighbourhood had any right or claim upon the said Common, they would not have suffered so great a Part thereof to be inclosed without some valuable consideration, which no Man has yet ever presumed to assent. 

The Glebe Lands in their uncultivated state and without a Mansion House, we may compute at One Pound ten shillings. For we have the authority to assert that the Mansion House was first erected in the Ministry of Mr. Edward Wilson who was inducted to the Curacy in the year one thousand six hundred and two. If we view the salary in its infancy it will stand thus
 
	£. 	s.	d.
Tythe in kind	3. 	  0. 	0.
Glebe Lands 	1. 	10. 	0.
Surplice Fees	0. 	10.	0.
Ancient Salary	£5. 	  0.	0.

Dr. Burn in his History of Cumberland assures us that Marmaduke Lumley was the nineteenth Bishop out of fifty-two who have been consecrated of Carlisle. We have also a particular account of him from Mr. Nicholson's Manuscript, Secretary to Bishop Littleton, Malmaducus Lumley ex-pronobile Baronum Lumeliorum familia prognatus a capitula-Carliolensi electus ou consecrates, um amos 20 sedisset, Lincoliam translatus est, Lincoliae anno vix spatio confecto decessit. Improved value of the salary belonging to the Curacy of Threlkeld--payable by the inhabitants in prescription for Tythe Hay and Corn yearly. 

		£ . s. d.
at Lammas and Michaelmas 	4.   3. 1.
Payable yearly at Easter by the Rector of Greystoke out of Tythes	0. 12. 0.
The clear value of the Glebe Lands communibus annis by Estimation five acres	9.   0. 0.
Bequeathed to the Use of the Curate of Threlkeld and his successors the sum of 
	fifteen pounds by Thomas Crosthwaite, D.D. of Queen'.s Col. Oxford, 
	yearly Income 	14. 0. 0.
Surplice Fees etc. yearly about	  0.16.0.
Imprd. Value	29. 3. 1.
Tho. Collinson.

The most ancient Acct. of the perpetual Curacy of Threlkeld now exstant. 

As a supplement to the above ancient account of the history of the Chapelry, the following, dating from about 1600 or slightly earlier, is of some interest. It gives a glimpse of the meagre wordly rewards of being Incumbent of Threlkeld at that time. 

Item the Curate to have yearlie owte of the communion monie at Easter. xii s Item the Curate to have of the improvements within Threlkeld when theie are plowed of the most parte of them (111d or 1111d) Item it having bene accustomed to a curate of Threlkeld to have the smalle offerings (illegible)....(the parish of) Graystocke for the same yeare..(? Easter ?) the marriage offerings..... Item to the partie maried. Iteln it having bene used within my Incumbencis the (? Curate ?) to be the proctore within Threlkeld..and (? to have ?) for his paines yearlie at St. Mark's Day.....viii S. besid(e) s a good fleece at woole tyme. Per me Thomas Peill mod......d....Curat/ de Threlkell 

The present Church was built in 1777 on the site where there had been an unknown number of previous Churches. The Bell Tower and the two Bells were incorporated from a previous Church. The Reverend T. Collinson’s notes mention one of these Bells, both of which are ancient. One is certainly not less than 500 years old, and was made at the foundry of Johannes de Kurkham at York. The other Bell, which is larger, is thought to be even older. All the interior fittings were taken out (and these included some very interesting Box Pews) and entirely new fittings were put in when the Church was restored in 1910-11. Much of the floor was covered with tiles made at Threlkeld Quarry, and the Font of Threlkeld Granite was made by a local craftsman, Mr Knight. The three tablets which now hang on the west wall of the Church had been previously found under the floorboards, and they obviously come from a previous building. There is unfortunately little else which survived the rebuilding of 1777. But there are some ancient documents which are now housed for safety at the Archives at Carlisle. These include a Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals which begins in 1573. The Church also possesses an ancient Chalice, the Gaskarth Chalice, dated 1634, Thomas Gaskarth being at that time a Churchwarden. Additions continue to be made to the Church. These include the stained glass in the East Window, given by Captain Apall Olsen in memory of his wife, the standard candlesticks and flower pedestal in memory of the Reverend and Mrs. E. Rraithwaite, and the kneelers at the Communion Rail made by Threlkeld people under the guidance of Mrs. Mansfield. 

In 1703 Bishop Nicholson reported on the Churches of Cumberland and his entries are of considerable interest. Of Threlkeld he writes: “Their Register Book begins at 1573 .....Before we shut this book we must observe one extraordinary custom of the place to be proved by it. Formal Contracts of Marriage are herein recorded; and Sureties entered for the payment of five shillings to the poor by the party that draws back.” Needless to say this custom no longer exists, but there is still a local custom concerning weddings--the young folk always tie up the two gates securely while the service is in progress; so the couple (or their friends) have to break the fastenings afterwards before they can leave the churchyard. The young folk then scramble for coins thrown to them as the wedding party leaves. To return to Bishop Nicholson's comments, he writes: “The seats are mostly unbacked. There are no Communion Rails, nor any Letter'd Monument.”  Threlkeld Church still makes no pretence of being rich or ornate, but a great deal of progress has been made since 1703. 

Threlkeld Parish used to be confined to the north of the Glendera-mackin from the eastern side of the Quarry near Newsham, though the boundary went south of the river from that point to take in Newsham, Guardhouse and Birkett Field. This of course meant that the Quarry houses were in St. John’s-in-the-Vale Parish. The boundaries of the ecclesiastical parish (but not the civil parish) were redrawn in 1957 to take in the Quarry houses and the few other houses in the bottom of the valley as far as Mire House. This intensifies the uncertainty as to which direction Threlkeld really should belong, for, as mentioned above, Threlkeld north of the Glenderamackin originally belonged to Greystoke, together with Mungrisdale, Matterdale and Watermillock, while that part of the present parish of Threlkeld south of the Glenderamackin which was taken from St. John’s-in-the-Vale parish belonged originally to Crosthwaite (Keswick). This uncertainty has been the cause of many disputes over land, rights of pasturage on the common, and so forth, from the earliest times, and clearly was already in evidence by the time of the earliest known document concerning Threlkeld, to which reference was made near the beginning of this booklet. 

POSTSCRIPT, FEBRUARY 1985.

Since this booklet was first printed two items need to be brought up-to-date. The first is the good news that the former buildings of Blencathra Hospital are now a thriving complex of holiday houses and a Centre for groups (mostly of young people) spending a holiday in this ideal situation. The second is the sad news that the Quarry has finally closed. The scar on the hillside will gradually become less obvious as trees and bushes colonize it, but the loss of an important source of employment remains. 

Uncertainty about the future of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Threlkeld still remains after nearly eight years without an Incumbent. Faithful work has been done by retired Clergy and by the Vicars of St. John’s, Keswick. But this is not a final solution. Some had hoped that Threlkeld would return to Greystoke out of which it was originally carved, as Matterdale and Mungrisdale already have done, but it looks as if the final solution will have to be a merging with Parishes to the South and West. It should be mentioned that for some years a link with Greystoke was maintained by an annual pilgrimage on Mothering Sunday for the Family Communion in the Mother Church of the area, at which the Clergy and people of the separate parishes all took part. But boundaries of civil and ecclesiastical districts have to be drawn according to the needs and habits of the people--where they go for work, school, shopping, business and pleasure. There is no doubt that Keswick rather than Penrith is the area towards which Threlkeld people lean. Ecclesiastically Threlkeld has for a good many years now been in the Rural Deanery of Derwent to the West, though the curious anomaly still remains that Threlkeld North of the Glenderamackin is in the civil District of Eden, while Threlkeld South of the Glenderamackin is in the civil District of Allerdale. This creates problems--over conditions of transport on the buses, such as concessions for pensioners, allocation of Council Houses, and so forth. The two parts even have different Members of Parliament! 

But, whatever may eventually be decided, we may feel confident that the Church will stand in the centre of the village to minister to the needs of the people, as it has done for so many years in the past. 

POSTSCRIPT, 1997.

Threlkeld now has a vicar living in the Rectory which once housed the Revd. Vine-Hall. Revd. Bryan Rothwell is the new vicar of Threlkeld as well as vicar of St John’s in the Vale and Chaplain of the Carlisle Diocesan Youth Centre. He moved there in June 1996 and the village is pleased that there is a vicar resident in the parish once again. 

I am still looking for updates of what has happened in Threlkeld. Since I don’t live in Threlkeld and have never been there I rely on visitors to this page for any information. If you have something you want to see added email me and I will see that it gets added.