Muchland is a medieval

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

Low Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of villag ...

in the county of

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 ...

in northern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of

Bardsea Bardsea is a village in the ''Low Furness'' area of Cumbria, England. It is two miles to the south-east of Ulverston on the northern coast of Morecambe Bay. It is in the historic county of Lancashire. History Bardsea, or ''Berretseige'', is m ...

Urswick Urswick is a civil parish that includes the villages of Great Urswick and Little Urswick. It is located in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. The villages are situated to the south-west of the town of Ulverston. In the 2001 census the paris ...

Scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

, Stainton, Sunbrick,

Baycliff Baycliff is a seaside village in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria in England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Ulverston, in the civil parish of Aldingham. At the centre is a village green, and many of its buildings date from ...

Gleaston Gleaston is a village with a population of around 400 in the Furness area of South Cumbria, situated between the towns of Barrow-in-Furness, Dalton-in-Furness and Ulverston. Historically in Lancashire, the history of the village can be traced as ...

Aldingham Aldingham is a village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is situated on the east coast of the Furness peninsula, facing into Morecambe Bay, and is about east of Barrow-in-Furness ...

, Dendron,

Leece Leece is a village on the Furness peninsula in Cumbria, England, between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness. Amenities The village. is built around a tarn and a village green, and Henry Armer & Son, a smithy established in 1914 th ...

and Newbiggin. The area also features the historic remains of Gleaston Castle, Aldingham Castle, Gleaston Water Mill, the Druids' Temple at Birkrigg, plus many prehistoric remains around Urswick and Scales.

The Place

The area that became Muchland in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

is situated on the eastern side of the

Furness Peninsula Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

in southwest Cumbria. On its eastern side, it is bounded for its entire length by the sands of

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

, the shore of which has eroded considerably since the manor was created. Along the coast lie the villages, from north to south, of: *

* Newbiggin *Goadsbarrow Muchland derives its name from Michael's Land after Michael le Fleming who was granted the lands by Henry I sometime between 1107 and 1111. These lands lay eastwards of Abbey Beck and southwards of the moors of Birkrigg and

Swarthmoor Swarthmoor is a small village near Ulverston, in Cumbria, England. Located on the Furness peninsula, it was historically part of Lancashire. Etymology Swarthmoor Village was named after its location on the Swarth Moor, which was formerly a mar ...

and stretched right down to the southernmost tip of the peninsula at Rampside.F Barnes, Barrow and District, 1968 At that time the southern limit of the manor was

Walney Channel The Walney Channel separates Walney Island from the British mainland. The northern portion of the channel opens into the Duddon Estuary and is both narrower and shallower. The southern half of the channel is wider and is regularly dredged to allow ...

, but it was later moved inland to follow the line of Sarah Beck or Roosebeck. This land became the new manor of Aldingham. Aldingham is home to the Church of Saint Cuthbert, who was laid here after death on his journey to be buried. A little further down is the remains of Aldingham Moat and Aldingham Motte, both homes to the Lords of Aldingham in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Newbiggin was once home to Sea Mill, one of the three mills of the manor. The western boundary of the manor is now the Borough of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

, which was originally land belonging to

Stephen of Blois Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 unt ...

, but belonged to

Furness Abbey Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former Catholic monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the coun ...

from 1127 until 1536 when

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

dissolved the monasteries. There were numerous debates over the hunting rights between the Lords of Aldingham and the Abbots of Furness in places like Leece and Stainton, which lay at the western boundary of the manor. The small village of Dendron, also on the western boundary, is home to the seventeenth century Saint Matthew's Church where the artist George Romney went to school for a time. Further east from Dendron is Gleaston, the geographical and administrative centre of the manor from the mid-thirteenth century. The village is dominated by Beacon Hill to the northeast, which legend says was used to signal danger to

Piel Castle Piel Castle, also known as Fouldry Castle or the Pile of Fouldray, is a castle situated on the south-eastern point of Piel Island, off the coast of the Furness Peninsula in north-west England. Built in the early-14th century by John Cockerham, ...

to the south, which can clearly be seen from the top of the hill. The village boasts the remains of Gleaston Castle and Gleaston Water Mill, the second corn mill of the manor. Gleaston Beck runs through the valley here from Urswick Tarn in the north to the coast at Newbiggin. North of Gleaston are Scales and Little and Great Urswick. Little Urswick is now home to Low Furness Primary School, but was previously home to a seventeenth-century grammar school. Great Urswick, built around two sides of Urswick Tarn, boasts the ancient Church of Saint Mary and Saint Michael. It would seem this area was of considerable activity in the Iron Age. To the east of Urswick is Birkrigg Common, so called because it was shared in common with the men of Urswick and Aldingham. This rocky hill has a number of archeological sites, including an ancient stone circle, and has views across Morecambe Bay, Furness and the mountains of 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 ...

. On the edge of the common lies the small hamlet of Sunbrick, which is now little more than a few farms and houses, but shelters a small walled Quaker graveyard where leading

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Margaret Fell Margaret Fell orMargaret Fox ( Askew, formerly Fell; 1614 – 23 April 1702) was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends. Known popularly as the "mother of Quakerism," she is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and mi ...

, who lived at nearby

Swarthmoor Hall Swarthmoor Hall is a mansion at Swarthmoor, in the Furness area of Cumbria, North West England. Furness was formerly part of Lancashire. The Hall was home to Thomas and Margaret Fell, the latter an important player in the founding of the Religious ...

, is buried. The northern boundary of the manor generally follows the line of the road leading from Lindal-in-Furness in the west to Conishead Priory on the coast. Beyond it is the market town of

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...

and the manor of Pennington.

The Lost Villages of Muchland

It is known that several villages which once existed in Muchland have since disappeared off the map. Local legends are full of tales about villages on the coast being swept away by the encroaching tides, although there is little to substantiate the tales. It is certain that the gravelly coastline must have suffered considerable erosion over the past centuries and that any village too near the shore might have fallen victim to its advances. Aldingham, for example, may once have been up to a mile in length, stretching out into what is now Morecambe Bay with the church at its centre. Besides those villages lost to the sea, several others have disappeared. Perhaps the most interesting is Hart, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ''Hert''. There was later a mill named Hart Mill which is known to have been in the vicinity of Gleaston. Archeological investigations have taken place to discover the site of this early mill around the valley where Gleaston Water Mill now stands, but they have yielded little evidence. The name Hart was probably shortened from Hart Carrs, which means 'marsh of the harts'. To the south of Gleaston, at the end of Carrs Lane, there is a large flat area which has been drained, through which still flows Hart Carrs Beck. It is possible that the village once stood in this area. Two other villages named in the Domesday Book have also disappeared, but are even more difficult to track down. Crivelton probably stood on the coast between Rampside and Roose but has since been washed away by the sea. The name is recorded as ''Clivertun'' in the Domesday Book, which suggests a location on a cliff. Fordbootle was probably situated somewhere around modern-day Stank, although its name suggests a location beside a watercourse, possibly further west on the River Yarl. Both Clivertun and Fordbootle were listed in the Domesday Book as vills or townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by

Earl Tostig Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed ...

. Around 1153

Roose Roose or Roosecote is a suburb and ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The word 'roose' is Celtic for "moor" or "heath" and the suffix 'cote' of Roosecote means "hut" or "huts" (the word 'cottage' is derived from 'cote'). Before the buil ...

, Crivelton and Fordbootle were part of an exchange of land between Muchland and Furness Abbey, suggesting that it was certainly situated in that area. A final village to be mentioned in the Domesday Book is Alia Lies, meaning 'another Leece'. The position of this lost village is by no means certain, but it may have been in the area of Old Holbeck, to the west of present-day Leece, or nearer the coast to the south of the village.

History

Before the Manor

The area later named ''Muchland'' has been inhabited since at least the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

period and evidence of

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

habitation has been found in caves at Scales. Remains of prehistoric settlements from the mesolithic to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

have been found at Gleaston and Scales, including a bronze sword and axe head, and human bones. It is believed that a post-glacial lake near Gleaston would have provided food and resources for a small community from the end of the last ice age to the Bronze Age. There is a small stone circle on Birkrigg Common known locally as the Druids' Temple which revealed a Bronze Age burial urn during excavations L6 292741 In the Iron Age, when the

Carvetii The Carvetii (Common Brittonic: *''Carwetī'') were a Brittonic Celtic tribe living in what is now Cumbria, in North-West England during the Iron Age, and were subsequently identified as a ''civitas'' (canton) of Roman Britain. Etymology The ...

and, later,

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

tribes inhabited the region, there was a great deal of activity on the rocky ground surrounding present-day Urswick and Scales. There are visible remains of a fort to the north of Great Urswick L6 274753 a settlement northwest of Little Urswick known as Urswick Stone Walls L6 260740and a homestead to the east L6 275734as well as numerous tumuli and burial chambers in the area. The Romans may also have been present in Urswick during their occupation. Recent archeological investigations in the area may have uncovered the presence of a Roman fort (a claim which has been criticised by leading local archeologists) and it is believed that the parish church of St Mary and St Michael may contain remnants of a

sub-Roman Sub-Roman Britain is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the End of Roman rule in Britain, end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo-Saxon settlement. The term was originally used to describe archaeo ...

church which could have been the centre of a monastery, although all of these claims are yet to be substantiated by solid evidence. It is possible that the Romans exploited the rich iron-ore resources of the area, which had been utilised in previous times and provided the catalyst for a booming industrial economy in the area in the 19th century. In the 4th century AD this part of England belonged to the kingdom of

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman Britain, Rom ...

, known as Northern Britain or Kyle, but was later in a division of that kingdom known as

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and ba ...

. Little is known about the local history at this point, but it is known that the area would have remained Celtic until around the 8th century when Rheged was annexed to

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

and English

Angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...

began to filter in. In 685AD land in south Cumbria was granted to

Saint 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 ...

and it was recorded that the area still had a significant British population. Part of an early English cross bearing a

runic Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

inscription from around this period is available to view in Urswick church. The English slowly displaced or assimilated the native

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

Celts, although they may have remained in pockets around the region (as is evidenced by place names such as

Walney Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...

, meaning 'Isle of the British' from Old Norse ''walna''+''ey''). In 925AD Norsemen began landing on the local shores from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

via

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

but they seem to have been peaceable farmers rather than vicious warriors and they settled amongst the English and British in the region, although part of a Norse sword was found in nearby

Rampside Rampside is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located a few miles south-east of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, in the north-western corner of Morecambe Bay on the Furness peninsula. History There is evidence tha ...

. The Norse influence on the area was a significant one, shown not only by the large number of Norse place-names in the area, but also by the discovery of a 12th-century inscription at Loppergarth near

, which contained a curious mix of both Norse and English runes.

The Lords of Muchland

The le Flemings

After 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 ...

in 1066 the small manor of Aldingham was granted to

Roger de Poitou Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in Normandy in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both England and through his marriage in France. He was the third son of Roger of Mon ...

as part of a much larger holding which included land across much of the north of England. At that time the area was on the very fringe of Norman England. When the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

was compiled in 1086 Aldingham had been confiscated from de Poitou for his part in a plot against

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

, but it was returned to him shortly after. By 1102 Aldingham had been confiscated from de Poitou once again, but before this he had built a ringwork near the coast at Aldingham. Around 1107 Aldingham was granted to Michael le Fleming ( Latinized to ''Flandrensis'', "of Flanders") and it was he who gave his name to the manor, literally "Michael's Land". At this point the manor stretched from

around Rampside and Roose north to Sunbrick and Great Urswick. It was Michael or one of his sons that erected the motte at Aldingham on the site of

's ringwork L6 278698 In 1153, the second Michael le Fleming agreed an exchange of land with Furness Abbey, giving up Roose, Fordbootle and Crivelton for Little Urswick and part of Foss, near

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, so that the Abbot could get greater access to his port at Piel. By the early 13th century the wealth and importance of the manor had increased significantly and the Lord of the manor was granted the right to hold his own courts

Leet Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance. ...

and

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. The manor of Bardsea was also added to the le Fleming estate. Around this time the seat of the manor of Muchland was moved from the motte at Aldingham to a nearby moated site L6 279700 probably due to the advance of the sea and the erosion of the hill on which the motte stands. In 1227 the overlordship of Muchland was changed from the

Duke of Lancaster The Dukedom of Lancaster is an English peerage merged into the crown. It was created three times in the Middle Ages, but finally merged in the Crown when Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413. Despite the extinction of the dukedom the title h ...

to Furness Abbey. This seems to have been an unwelcome decision for the Lords of Aldingham, as the Abbot began claiming rights to lands within the bounds of Muchland. Over coming years, William le Fleming (''alias'' de Furness) got into several disputes over hunting rights with his neighbour the Abbot of

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

which eventually resulted in William being exempt from formal attendance at the Abbots Court and the men of Muchland being banned from entering the Abbot's town of

Dalton-in-Furness Dalton-in-Furness is a town and former civil parish in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. In 2011 it had a population of 7,827. It is located north east of Barrow-in-Furness. History Dalton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, wr ...

The de Haringtons

In the mid 13th century Michael de Furness - direct descendant of the first Lord of Aldingham - died crossing the Leven Sands in

after dining at

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 Canons ...

and the manor passed to the Cansfield family from Lancashire through Michael's sister Alina de Furness. It was probably Richard de Cansfield who initiated the move inland from Aldingham to Gleaston, where a wooden hall was probably built about 0.5 km north of the present village L6 262715 When Alina and Richard's son William de Cansfield was drowned in the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

the manor passed again through a female heir to the de Harington family from north west Cumbria. The son of that marriage, John de Harington (1281–1347) was knighted in 1306 and was created

Baron Harington Baron Harington, of Aldingham, was a title in the Peerage of England. On 30 December 1324 John Harington was summoned to parliament. On the death of the 5th baron in 1458, the barony was inherited by the heir to the Baron Bonville, barony of Bo ...

upon being summoned by

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

to Parliament in 1326. It was he who was responsible for the building of Gleaston Castle on the site of the previous hall, which was begun before 1325 and finished around 1340. The 1st Baron seems to have been quite a contradictory character. Not only was he a member of Parliament, he sat on councils, was a

Commissioner of array A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...

for eight years, sat on various commissions in the north of England, and completed his obligatory military service with Edward, Prince of Wales and Andrew de Harcla. But he was also involved in a faction opposed to

Piers Gaveston Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall (c. 1284 – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...

and complied in his murder, for which he received a pardon in 1313 and was pardoned again in 1318. His activities with Andrew de Harcla in the

Scottish Marches Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras, characterised by violence and cross-border raids. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17th century ...

led to his being outlawed in 1323 on discovery of Harcla's treason, but he was pardoned upon surrender then awarded as custodian of the truce with

. During their time as lords of the manor of Muchland the de Harringtons increased their estate greatly through marriage to heiresses, gaining lands in Devon, Cornwall, Leicestershire, Ireland, and further lands in

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. In 1460 the only male heir to the manor, William Bonville was killed at the age of 17 along with his father and grandfather at the Battle of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

leaving behind a new born baby girl, Cecilia. She later married Thomas Grey, 1st Marquis of Dorset, who was grandfather to

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 151723 February 1554), was an Kingdom of England, English courtier and nobleman of the Tudor period. He was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as "the Nine Days' Queen". Orig ...

, who was father of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

who became Queen of England but was beheaded after nine days by Queen Mary. And so the manor passed to the crown in whose hands it remained until it was given to the Cavendish family of

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 ...

in the 18th century who held it until 1926 when it was sold.

Genealogy

Descendants of Michael le Fleming. Lords of Aldingham are highlighted in bold. Michael le Fleming, Lord of Aldingham , ''(d.1150)'' , Michael le Fleming m. Christiana de Stainton ''(d.1186)'' , , William de Furness m. Ada de Furnys Osulf of Flemingby ''(c.1150-1203)'' , , , , Michael de Furness m. Agatha Fitz Henry Robert of Hafrinctuna ''(1197-1219)'' , , , , William de Furness Thomas de Harrington , , , -----------------------------, , Michael de Furness Alina m. Richard de Cantsfield Michael de Harrington ''(d.1269 crossing Leven Sands)'' , , , ------------------------, , William de Cantsfield Agnes m. Robert de Harrington ''(drowned in R. Severn)'' ''(d.1293)'' , ''(d.1297)'' , Joan Dacre m. John de Harrington, First Baron of Aldingham , ''(1281-1347)'' , Robert de Harrington , ''(d.1334)'' , Joan de Birmingham m. John de Harrington , ''(1328-1363)'' , Alice de Greystoke m¹. Robert de Harrington m². Isobel Loring , ''(1356–1406) , ----------------------------, John de Harrington William de Harrington m. Margaret ''(d.1418)'' ''(1390-1457)'' , , William Bonville m. Elizabeth , , William Bonville m. Katherine Neville ''(c.1443-1460)'' , , Cecile m. Thomas Grey , , Thomas Grey , , Henry Grey m. Lady Frances Brandon , ,

Toponymy

Muchland was originally 'Michael's Land', which changed to 'Mickle Land' from the local version of Michael, which was confused with another local term 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 ...

''mikkel'' meaning 'great' and so became 'Much Land' Adgarley means 'Eadgar's slope' from Old English ''Eadgars hlið'' Aldingham means 'home of Alda's people or descendants' from the Old English ''Alda+inga+ham''. omesday ''Aldingham'' Bardsea ?unsure. Possibly 'bard's resting place' from Celtic ''bard eisteddfa'' omesday ''Berretseige'' Baycliff ?unsure. There are no notable cliffs in the area, despite the village overlooking

. arly form ''Belleclive'', 1212 Birkrigg Common 'ridge with birch trees' from Old Norse ''birkr hryggr'' Bolton probably 'farmstead with a shelter' from Old Norse ''boðl tun'', the Domesday Book records this as ''Bolton-le-Moors'' Crivelton ?unsure. Domesday records this lost village as ''Clivertun'', which probably means 'village on a cliff' from OE ''clif+ton''. There may be an additional Old Norse element meaning 'hill', ''klif+haugr+tun'' Dendron Probably clearing in a valley from Old English ''denu+rum''. omesday ''Dene'' Fordbootle 'dwelling by a ford' from ''ford+boðl'' omesday ''fordebodele'' Gleaston means 'green hill farm' from Old Norse ''glas+haugr+tun''. omesday ''Glassertun'' Goadsbarrow means 'Godi's or Gauti's burial mound' with the Old English ''beorg'' Harbarrow There are several explanations. The second element is certainly 'hill' from Old English ''beorg''. The first is probably 'hare' from Old English ''hara'' (there is a Hare Hill nearby), but may also be 'herd' from ''heord'', 'oats' from Old Norse ''hafri'', or 'grey' from Old English ''har''. Hart now lost, this probably just means 'hart' or 'stag' from Old Norse ''hjortr''. It seems likely this is a shortening of the name Hart Carrs, which means 'marsh where harts live' with Old Norse ''kjarr''. Hart Carrs Beck flows through an area of flat, often boggy land. omesday ''Hert'' Holbeck 'stream in a hole' from Old Norse ''hol-bekkr' Leece means 'glades' from Old English ''leahs''. omesday ''Lies'' Newbiggin means 'new building' with Old or Middle English ''biggin'' Rampside either 'Hrafn's shieling' from Old Norse ''Hrafns saetr'' or 'ram's head' from Old English ''ramms heofod'', referring to the shape of the coast Roose 'moor' from the Brythonic Celtic ''ros'' Scales means 'huts' from Old Norse ''skalis'' Scarbarrow ?unsure. Possibly 'hill with huts' from Old Norse ''skali berg'', but may also be 'hill with a scar' - there is a small stream which has eroded the hill into a steep gully. Skeldon Moor possibly ridge or ledge from a local word ''skelf'', or 'shell midden' with Old Norse ''skel dun'' and Old English ''mōr'' Stainton means 'farm by stones' from Old Norse ''steinn+tun'' omesday ''Steintun'' Sunbrick means 'pig slope' from Old Norse ''svin+brekka'' omesday ''Suntun'', meaning 'pig farm' Urswick ?unsure. '-wick' could either be related to

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''vicus'' meaning 'town', which is a common feature of places along Roman roads (there's evidence of one to the north); or it could be from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''wick'' meaning 'farm'

References

{{Reflist Furness