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.
