Cartmel is a village in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
, England, northwest of
Grange-over-Sands
Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...
close to the
River Eea
The River Eea () is a small river in the Lake District, Cumbria, England running through the Furness region, which until 1974 was part of Lancashire. It is a relatively short system that arises from numerous small becks and streams throughout th ...
. The village takes its name from the
Cartmel Peninsula
Cartmel Peninsula is a peninsula in Cumbria in England. It juts in a southerly direction into Morecambe Bay, bordered by the estuaries of the River Leven to the west and the River Winster to the east. It is, along with the Furness Peninsula, ...
, and was historically known as Kirkby in Cartmel. The village is the location of the 12th-century
Cartmel Priory
Cartmel Priory church serves as the parish church of Cartmel, Cumbria, England (formerly in Lancashire).
Priory
The priory was founded in 1190 by William Marshal, created 1st Earl of Pembroke, intended for a community of the Augustinian Canon ...
, around which it initially grew.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, since 1974 it has been in the administrative county of Cumbria.
Whilst its history has been in its ecclesiastical and agricultural communities, Cartmel has since the mid-twentieth century developed as a minor tourist destination, being just outside the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
.
Several attractions in the village, including
Cartmel Racecourse
Cartmel Racecourse is a small national hunt racecourse in the village of Cartmel, now in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, historically in Lancashire. Nine racedays are held each year, starting on the Whit Holiday weekend at the end of May and e ...
and a
Michelin-starred restaurant, cater to this tourist trade.
History
The name Cartmel means ‘sandbank by rocky ground’, from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
(rocky ground) and . The place-name is first attested in 677, when the
Cartmel Peninsula
Cartmel Peninsula is a peninsula in Cumbria in England. It juts in a southerly direction into Morecambe Bay, bordered by the estuaries of the River Leven to the west and the River Winster to the east. It is, along with the Furness Peninsula, ...
was granted to
St Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...
, whose influence may explain why by the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
the village was known as Kirkby, a name indicating the location of a church.
Cartmel Priory
Cartmel Priory church serves as the parish church of Cartmel, Cumbria, England (formerly in Lancashire).
Priory
The priory was founded in 1190 by William Marshal, created 1st Earl of Pembroke, intended for a community of the Augustinian Canon ...
was founded in the village in 1190 by
William Marshal
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...
, created 1st
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
, intended for a community of the
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
Canons regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
and was dedicated to
Saint Mary the Virgin
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
and
Saint Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
. To support the new house, William granted it the whole
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
of the district of Cartmel.
Following the
dissolution of the monasteries, much of the local land fell into the ownership of the Preston family at nearby
Holker Hall
Holker Hall (pronounced Hooker by some) is a privately owned country house located about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Cartmel in the ceremonial county of Cumbria and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is "the grandest ...
. Through marriage Holker became part of the estate of the
Cavendish Family
The Cavendish (or de Cavendish) family ( ) is a British noble family, of Anglo-Norman origins (though with an Anglo-Saxon name, originally from a place-name in Suffolk). They rose to their highest prominence as Duke of Devonshire and Duke of Newc ...
, and today is the home of
Lord Cavendish. As well as the estate around Holker, the Cavendish family still owns much of the land of the Peninsula.
Agriculture was the chief industry of the area until the mid-twentieth century,
dominated by the lands of the Cavendishes, and remains an important part of the village. Nearby
Grange-over-Sands
Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...
eclipsed Cartmel as the biggest settlement on the peninsula in the nineteenth century, growing as a
Victorian seaside resort when the
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.
History
Formation
In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested i ...
was built across the peninsula. Cartmel village was, and remains, served by a station in nearby
Cark
Cark (sometimes Cark in Cartmel) is a village in Cumbria, England. It lies on the B5278 road to Haverthwaite (and to the A590 road) and is ½ mile north of Flookburgh, 2 miles southwest of Cartmel and 3 miles west of Grange-over-Sands.
It is ...
, open in 1857 and called
Cark and Cartmel.
Hospitality and Tourism
Tourism has grown in the village since the middle of the twentieth century. In 1923
Cartmel Priory Gatehouse
Cartmel Priory Gatehouse is a medieval building located at Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It is listed Grade II* and is part of a scheduled monument. It belongs to the National Trust.
upright=1.2, The gatehouse seen from the villa ...
became a museum for the Priory, and was used for exhibitions and meetings, before being presented to the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
in 1946. By 2011 it was mainly in private residential use, although the Great Room is opened to the public on several days a year. The Priory itself is still the local parish church, but is open to visitors outside of service times.
Cartmel Racecourse
Cartmel Racecourse is a small national hunt racecourse in the village of Cartmel, now in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, historically in Lancashire. Nine racedays are held each year, starting on the Whit Holiday weekend at the end of May and e ...
dates back to at least the nineteenth century, but grew in popularity when it became a
National Hunt
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...
course after the Second World War. It started to attract major professionals in the 1960s, and now hosts popular meetings two or three times a year, with its biggest meeting traditionally in
Whit Week
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the H ...
.
Writers who encouraged the growth of tourism to Cartmel include Lancashire dialect writer and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, who authored sixteen books on Lancashire people and their communities and was fond of Cartmel. The frontispiece in his 1937 book ''Lancashire Brew'' is 'Cartmel from an etching by Joseph Knight', the founder of the
. Later
destination. Cartmel
was first sold at the village shop in 1984 and grew in popularity: it is now sold in supermarkets around the UK. The Cartmel Sticky Toffee Company, who make it, moved to a larger factory in nearby
in the 2000s but still operate and sell from the village shop in Cartmel.
'' restaurant in the village. The restaurant quickly became one of the UK's most popular, and held top spot as the UK's best restaurant in ''The Good Food Guide'' from 2014-2017, returning to the top in 2020. In 2022 it became the first restaurant in the UK outside London and the South-East to gain
. Rogan makes use of the agricultural hinterland of Cartmel and most of the produce supplied to the restaurant is grown on the peninsula, including Rogan's nearby twelve-acre (5 hectare) farm.
and the village also hosts Unsworth's Yard, a collection of artisan-food retailers who use local produce.
.
.
.
.
, ''Lower Allithwaite Parish Council''.