Witherslack, together with Meathop and Ulpha, are ancient villages mentioned in the Annals of Kendale(l) in the 12th and 13th centuries. There is also a mass of information held in the Earl of Derby's papers that are kept at the Lancashire Record Office
| Damsons |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| High Fell End, was particularly noted for its damsons, along with the Lyth & Winster Valleys. They were very popular in pre-second world war days with the jamming factories. |
 |
| Dean Barwick School |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 11 April 2006 |
| The original school was erected in 1678, with money from Dean Barwick's Will, and a room for girls was added in 1824. The Will also provided an annual stipend for a Curate provided he lived' a pious and peaceable life |
|
| Farming |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| From 1900 farming carried on in much the way it had always done in the past. It altered little after the first world war. After world war two many of the men coming home from the war didn't want to return to farming |
|
| Introduction |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| Witherslack is a quiet and peaceful village situated on the east bank of the River Winster, just over 5 miles from Grange-over-Sands, 6 miles north west of Cartmel and 10 miles south-west of Kendal |
|
| Jolly Boys (or pace eggers) |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The Jolly Boys were revived in Witherslack in Holy Week before Easter in 1943. (1) Before that they were remembered in a fragmentary way until the Great War. (1914- 1918). |
|
| Meathop and Ulpha |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| In the first written record of Meathop and Ulpha in 1184. Meathop was occupied by Viking settlers or their ancestors. |
|
| Peat Digging |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| Originally everyone in the village had a strip of peat to dig for fuel, as part of their ancient rights and customs under the manor of Witherslack. |
|
| Sale of Land |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| In 1916 there was a large sale of land in Witherslack due to the death of Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Williams, a widow who lived on Holme Island. |
|
| St. Pauls Church |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| St. Paul’s Church, is a plain Gothic church, with straight headed windows with round-arched lights in the Henry VIII tradition. The construction shows a massive profession of faith in the past. |
|
| The Dean Barwick Charity |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The Dean Barwick Charity was set up at the bequest of Dean John Barwick's Will in 1664 making Peter Barwick, his younger brother, his sole executor |
|
| The Derby Arms |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The Derby Arms built in 1821 on the turnpike road, which was the main road between Kendal and Ulverston at that time, which then became the A590 to Barrow. |
|
| The Hodgsons Joiners of Palace Cottage |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| Four generations of Hodgsons have been joiners in the village. In 1897 John Bulmer Hodgson came to the village and took over from Mr. Parkinson who was also a joiner |
|
| The Manor of Witherslack |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| This sketch, ground floor is not showing, is of the house now known as Witherslack Hall Farm. It is one of the oldest houses in Witherslack, previously known as the Manor House of Witherslack. |
|
| The Parish Hall |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The Parish Hall was built in 1887 by the Earl of Derby, which consisted of a main room, a reading room that also served as a kitchen, and ladies toilets. The first minute book is for 1928. A Billiard room was built in 1927, which was the Men's Institute. |
|
| The Stanley Family Tree |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| Frederick Arthur Stanley was in Canada when the news came through Ottawa that he had succeeded to the Earldom. Five years earlier he had been created Baron Stanley of Preston |
|
| The Witherslack Sword and Axe |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The Witherslack Sword was found in the 1960's, in a sandy bed of gravel at the foot of Whitbarrow Scar, eight feet below the surface. It is two feet long and five inches wide at the handle. |
|
| The Womens Institute |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The Women's Institute was inaugurated in 1924, and the meetings from 1924-1939 seemed to have a boundless energy all of their own. Lady Maureen Stanley was unanimously voted in as President. |
|
| The World Wars |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The war seems to have had very little effect on the village. Life went on in the parish much as it had done until World War One. In fact just reading the Parish Council minutes and other local records it seemed as though it had almost never happened |
|
| Thornbarrow Hill |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| According to the Parish Council, minutes of the 14th April 1912 there was a general notice to all landowners about the cost of altering Thornborrow Hill, along side of High Fell End Farm |
|
| Water and Electricity |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| There were several requests for water as can be seen from both the Parish Council and the Women's Institute minutes. In 1934 it was agreed to ask the Westmorland RDC for a meeting, as the present spring was deemed unsuitable. |
|
| Whitbarrow Lodge |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| Whitbarrow Lodge is not strictly in Witherslack, but the family have always gone to St. Paul's Church and have associated with Witherslack in every way. |
|
| Winster Valley Reservoir Scheme |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| In 1964 Manchester Corporation Waterworks did a report on the future water resources, which stated it would transform the appearance and use of the Winster Valley |
|
| Witherslack Manor Boundary Preambulation |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The 20th Century began with the appointment of a new Vicar, the Reverend WH. Hutton, and one of his first functions in 1901 was a Church of England Temperance Society Meeting. The introductory meeting was well attended in the Parish Hall |
|
| Witherslack Mill |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| The mill was mentioned in the Manorial Court records of 1652 and used by the customary tenants of the Manor of Withers1ack, held by the Earl of Derby. |
|
| Witherslack Nurses Association |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| In 1911 the Dowager Countess, Constance, of Derby, at Mrs. Scotters request, offered to start the Nurses Fund. There had been a Nurses Fund in 1893 to 1899 at which date it lapsed according to the minutes book with no explanation as to why this occurred |
|
| Witherslack Sports Committee |
| Created:
11 April 2006 Last updated: 12 April 2006 |
| Witherslack Sports are believed to have been held for most of the century, except during the two world wars. After the first world war they were held periodically in the field below the Post Office. |
|
These page are taken with kind permission from a small book by Maureen James (B.A. Hons) Maureen says "thank you to all the people who helped me put the book together, those whom I interviewed on tape, those who lent me photographs, books and wrote peices out for me, and those who generally helped. With special thanks to Tony Brennand and Anne Walshaw and to Sarah Bradley."
Local Directory
Discussions
What's On
Market Place
Login
