This long-awaited volume, the first installment in the Victoria County History of Westmorland, covers the 13 townships of scenic and historic Lonsdale Ward from prehistory to the near present.


This landmark book is the first Victoria County History publication for the historic county of Westmorland and the 250th volume in Red Book series. It provides an account of the 13 townships comprising Lonsdale Ward, one of the four ancient divisions of the county of Westmorland, parts of which now lie in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Most of these townships belonged to the parishes of Burton-in-Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale, both centres of pre-Conquest worship. Kirkby Lonsdale developed as a market town at a major crossing of the River Lune. The medieval Devil's Bridge has long attracted visitors and tourists to the town, as has the view from St Mary's churchyard, which was immortalised by J.M.W. Turner and John Ruskin. Lying on a major north-south route, Burton was a significant corn market from the late 17th century. With a largely rural upland landscape, agriculture was the chief occupation in the area for centuries. An exception was Holme, where a flax mill and industrial settlement developed in the 1800s. A lack of industry helped to preserve the historic character of Kirkby Lonsdale and Burton-in-Kendal, where many Georgian buildings survive.