A Brief History Early History Humans have been active in the Lake District for at least 8,000 years. The once densely forested fells and valleys were a safe and bountiful territory for prehistoric hunter-gatherers, and later, around 2500 b.c. , after the forests had receded due to changes in weather patterns, settlers used the clearings in the lowlands for small-scale farming. The mysterious stone circles that dot the landscape are thought to be primitive calendars that helped the inhabitants decide when to plant and when to harvest. Castlerigg near Keswick is the best example. During the Stone Age, these early farmers devised ways to make axes and other tools from the harder rocks in the area, and as time passed, permanent settlements began to be established in this sheltered backwater. Roman Influence The Romans occupied this region in the first century a.d. , but there is very little evidence to show that they actually conquered it. They built only a few settlements and roads in this part of Britain, which was very near the northernmost reach of their empire. Sturdy forts protected the mountain passes, and though the remains of a bathhouse at Ravenglass suggest that creature comforts weren’t entirely lacking, life for the average Roman soldier was fairly harsh. A trip to remote Hardknott Fort, which protected the route through Eskdale and Hardknott Pass, provides a stark impression of what the invaders from the south were up against. Although the Romans stayed in Britain until a.d. 400, Hardknott, or Mediobogdum as it was known in those days, had been abandoned as early as the end of the second century. Whether the northern tribes made the pass difficult to defend by their constant raiding is still debated by scholars, but it is known that the local inhabitants weren’t willing to give the Romans free rein over the whole territory. Even after Hadrian’s Wall was built in the second century a.d. , marauding bands from the north figured out a way to circumvent this formidable line of defense by launching their boats across the Solway Firth, landing on the coast of Cumbria south of the Wall, and attacking the Romans from behind. The Celts and Christianity The Celts arrived in the wake of the Roman withdrawal at the end of the fourth century. During the fifth century a number of Celtic tribes came together to form the Kingdom of Rheged, which is said to have stretched north over what is now the Scottish border and south as far as the River Mersey. Little is known about the kingdom, though it is documented that at this time the Celtic monks St. Kentigern and St. Herbert introduced Christianity to the region. Place names attest to the Celtic influence at every turn. It was a Welsh Celtic tribe that named the northern stretches of this territory “Cumbria” (the area was officially known as Cumberland until 1974). Penrith and Blencathra are also Celtic names, established during this early period of settlement. Later, in the seventh century, Anglian Christians moved in from the east and took over much of the land; from that point up until the tenth century the Lakelands were ruled from neighboring Northumbria. The Angles settled in the eastern lowlands, pushing the Celts onto higher and less fertile ground and west toward the coast. Viking and Norman Conquests In the early tenth century Viking raiding parties from Scandinavia began skirmishing with the Celtic tribes along the coast. Eventually, however, the warring gave way to Viking settlement and intermarriage with the Celts. The two races coexisted in the higher valleys, clearing tracts of land and establishing small villages. It is Viking vocabulary used today to describe many of the features of the landscape: fell (highland plateau), tarn (small lake), and force (waterfall) are all words from Scandinavian languages. The Vikings also left a legacy in unusual place names, such as Ullswater and Patterdale. Large stone crosses at Gosforth and Irton are two of the few physical remnants of their presence here. The defeat of English forces at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 enabled the Norman forces of France to assume royal power. Life changed fundamentally: vast tracts of land were given to Norman lords and Roman Catholic religious orders. The monasteries and priories — including the very powerful abbey at Furness — assumed total control over all activities, and the residents became serfs to these new landlords. This new form of economic management changed the landscape of the Lake District once and for all. Climate changes had already had the effect of reducing the amount of forest land; the monks accelerated this process by clearing many more acres in order to make room for ever-growing herds of sheep. This growth in animal husbandry led to the extinction of many of the non-domesticated animals that had roamed the countryside; numerous species, including the wild boar, died out by end of the 13th century. Although remote from larger urban centers, the Lakeland area did not escape the Black Death, suffering three outbreaks in the mid-14th century. At the same time, marauding Scottish clans began to attack the Lakes. The border between England and Scotland was disputed, and the area was a constant battleground. English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314 heightened the tension. Kendal became a frontier castle, and pele towers — square defensive structures, from the word pel, meaning stake — were attached to the larger houses in the Lakes were to provide additional protection. You can still see these towers at Muncaster Castle and Dalemain. The defeat of the Scots at Flodden in 1513 finally turned the tables, and the pressure on the Lakes decreased. Tudor Upheaval and the Statesmen In the middle of the 16th century, the whole of England underwent a period of great turmoil. In 1536 King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself head of a new Protestant faith, the Church of England. The great Catholic abbeys and priories, which had been the backbone of the economy, were destroyed by Henry’s troops; social organization was replaced with terror and confusion. The monetary wealth and vast tracts of land owned by the monasteries were redistributed according to Henry’s favor. Many of the men who benefited were absentee landlords who needed people to manage the land for them. This resulted in the emergence of a new class of so-called “statesmen” or yeomen farmers, who came to comprise a new middle class. These permanent tenants paid rent to the landowner and made all the important decisions about the use of the land. As a class they came to even greater power and wealth by organizing trade and controlling the flow of goods in the area. Many were eventually able to buy the land they had been farming, and over time grand manors came to replace the more humble farmhouses earlier generations of yeomen had occupied. It was these statesmen who created a relatively secure micro-economy for the Lakes region, an economy based on agriculture and small-scale industry such as the production of textiles, bobbins, and charcoal. The Industrial Revolution The yeoman, or statesman, economy thrived for some 300 years, but with the rise in automation brought by the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, the demand for hand-crafted goods such as cloth plummeted — machine-produced goods were more plentiful and considerably less expensive. And in another shift in the economy, it was found that lamb could be raised more cost-effectively on lowland farms — in part because of the richer, more nutritious grazing land available there — and as a result Lakeland farms became less profitable. New roads brought competition from outside the area, which broke the local monopoly of the statesmen. The population of the Lakes region began to decline as people left to find a better life in the new industrial centers such as Manchester and Liverpool. Only Keswick thrived, primarily because of the pencil industry, for which it was world-famous. Writers and the Victorian Tourist Invasion At the same time that the Industrial Revolution was wreaking havoc, however, a small but influential group of writers and poets settled in the area and began to write about its natural beauties and its lifestyle. William Wordsworth, the most famous of the group, was a local man, born in Cockermouth. He encouraged many in his literary circle to experience the beauty and peace of his native landscape, and as result of his efforts, its fame began to spread. The improvements in roads and means of transportation that had in part been responsible for the decline of the yeoman economy now made it possible for more visitors to view the natural beauty of the Lakes region. Many of the high packhorse routes had ceased to be used for the transportation of goods, but these old “rights of way” for foot and bridle traffic were now transformed into an extensive network of marked and mapped routes ideal for recreational walkers and hikers. Preservation and Conservation In 1857 the Great Western Railway Company built a main line to Scotland, skirting the Lakes on its way north. Some years later it submitted plans to expand the line into the heart of the region in order to link the towns of Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, and Keswick. This appalled Wordsworth, who said that the Lake District should be viewed as “a sort of national property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy. ” After much debate, a line that terminated at Windermere and spared the rest of the Lake District was completed. Windermere and nearby Bowness became major resort towns. Then in 1879 the Manchester Corporation obtained permission to create a reservoir at the site of the Thirlmere lake. Outraged at the threatened loss of a beautiful natural valley, a group of concerned individuals formed the Lake District Defense Association to protect the lakes environment from further destruction and to oppose commercial exploitation. This organization was the precursor to the National Trust, which was founded in 1895 to “hold places of national interest and natural beauty for the benefit of the nation. ” It didn’t win every battle, but assisted by high-profile friends such as Beatrix Potter, the National Trust slowly came to exert more influence. It now owns a number of important areas in the Lakes and many hundreds of historic sites all over the UK. As the main industries of the region continued to decline, the number of visitors continued to grow; it seemed that tourism could at least breath some life back into the region. The Pressure of Popularity Since the National Trust was founded, the area has benefited from increasing protection. The Forestry Commission, set up in 1919, is responsible for areas like Grizedale Forest. The Lake District National Park was created in 1951 to preserve the entire landscape and allow public access to areas of natural beauty. Throughout this time, the number of visitors has continued to grow, as has the volume of motor traffic. While the Lake District encourages and welcomes visitors, its popularity can damage the landscape and tax local transportation services. In 1974 a total reorganization of local government throughout the UK did away with the old counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland and created the larger county of Cumbria. Today, the National Park Authority and the National Trust work with the Cumbria County Council and professional bodies like the Lake District Tourism and Conservation Partnership to formulate sensible plans for the future. Traffic and transportation policies are coordinated to alleviate bottlenecks, and footpath preservation allows continued access to the fells and remote valleys. All of these efforts are aimed at balancing the needs of the land, the farmers, and the visitors, ensuring that the Lake District remains a beautiful, natural place with many secrets to be discovered.