Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British Isles
Vision of Britain
/ref> is a historic county in North West

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 ...

spanning the southern

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 ...

and the northern Dales. It had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. Between 1974 and 2023 Westmorland lay within the administrative 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 April 2023, Cumbria County Council will be abolished and replaced with two unitary authorities, one of which,

Westmorland and Furness Westmorland and Furness is a future unitary authority area in north-west England, which will come into being on 1 April 2023 on the abolition of Cumbria County Council, together with Cumberland. The council will cover the areas currently served ...

, will cover all of Westmorland (as well as other areas), thereby restoring the Westmorland name to a top-tier administrative entity. The people of Westmorland are known as Westmerians.

Early history

Background

At the beginning of the 10th century a large part of modern day

was part of the

Kingdom of Strathclyde Strathclyde (lit. " Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as ...

, and was known as '' "Scottish Cumberland" ''. The Rere Cross was ordered by

Edmund I Edmund I or Eadmund I (920/921 – 26 May 946) was King of the English from 27 October 939 until his death in 946. He was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu, and a grandson of King Alfred the Great. After ...

(r.939-946) to serve as a boundary marker between England and Scotland ('' "Scottish Cumberland" '').

County of Westmorland

At the time of

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 ...

in 1086, the county did not exist; half was considered to form part of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and the other half as part of

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 ...

. Before 1226, the

Barony of Kendal The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English historic county of Westmorland. It is one of two ancient baronies that make up the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland (also known as North Westmorland, or the Barony of Apple ...

was part of the

Honour of Lancaster The Honour of Lancaster was a medieval English honour (a large estate) located primarily in the north-west of England, between 1066 and the 15th century. Details The Honour of Lancaster was established after the Norman conquest of England afte ...

while the

Barony of Westmorland The Barony of Westmorland (medieval Westmarieland or Westmaringaland) also known as North Westmorland, the Barony of Appleby, Appleshire or the Bottom of Westmorland, was one of two baronies making up the English historical county of Westmorlan ...

was part of the Earldom of Carlisle, the latter became Cumberland and was part of Scotland at times. Both baronies became a single county of Westmorland in 1226/7. Neighbouring

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 ...

was also formed at this time.F.A. Youngs, ''Guide to the Local Administrative units of England, Vol.II, Northern England'', London, 1991 Appleby was the historic county town, having been chartered in 1179. It was a parliamentary borough from 1295-1832, and incorporated by letters patent in 1574.

Geography

The historic county boundaries are with

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 ...

to the north,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

and

to the east, and

to the south and west.

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

forms part of the western border with Lancashire north of the sands, and

Ullswater Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being about long and wide, with a maximum depth a little over . It was scooped out by a glacier in the Last Ice Age. Geography It is a typical Lake District "ribbon lake", ...

part of the border with Cumberland. The highest point of the county is

Helvellyn Helvellyn (; possible meaning: ''pale yellow moorland'') is a mountain in the English Lake District, the highest point of the Helvellyn range, a north–south line of mountains to the north of Ambleside, between the lakes of Thirlmere and Ul ...

at . According to the 1831 census the county covered an area of .

Division into wards

Westmorland was subdivided into the two baronies of

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 ...

(or sometimes Appleby) and Kendal. As with Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland it was divided into

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s. The baronies were each further subdivided into two wards: *Westmorland **East ward – Appleby, Brough,

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penri ...

Orton Orton may refer to: Places England * Orton, Eden, Cumbria, a village and civil parish * Orton, Carlisle, Cumbria, a parish * Orton, Northamptonshire, a village and civil parish *Orton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire * Orton, Staffordshire, a hamlet ...

Tebay Tebay is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the historic borders of Westmorland. It lies in the upper Lune Valley, at the head of the Lune Gorge. The parish had a population of 728 in the 2001 census, increasing to 776 at th ...

**West ward – Askham, Bampton, Barton,

Patterdale Patterdale (Saint Patrick's Dale) is a small village and civil parish in the eastern part of the English Lake District in the Eden District of Cumbria, in the traditional county of Westmorland, and the long valley in which they are found, also ...

Shap Shap is a linear village and civil parish located among fells and isolated dales in Eden district, Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Westmorland. The parish had a population of 1,221 in 2001, increasing slightly to 1,264 at the 2011 ...

Yanwath Yanwath is a village in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, 1 mile south of Penrith. There is a primary school at Yanwath, with 192 pupils. Yanwath Gate Inn, in the centre of the village, dates from the 17th century. It is a Grade II liste ...

*Kendal **Kendal ward –

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern headwater) of Windermere, England's larges ...

Burton-in-Kendal Burton-in-Kendal is a village and civil parish on the extreme southern edge of Cumbria, England. The parish contains around 660 houses and in the 2001 census had a population of 1,411, increasing at the 2011 census to 1,497. Historically with ...

, Grasmere,

Grayrigg Grayrigg is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 223, increasing at the United Kingdom Censu ...

Kentmere Kentmere is a valley, village and civil parish in the Lake District National Park, a few miles from Kendal in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, at the 2011 census Kentmere had a population of 1 ...

, Kendal,

**Lonsdale ward –

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

Modern history

In 1889, under the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

was created for Westmorland, taking functions from the

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

. The county council was based at Kendal, rather than the historic county town of Appleby. Kendal had been chartered as a municipal borough in 1835, Appleby in 1885. The county had no

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

s throughout its history, so the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

, the area under the control of the county council, was coterminous with the geographic county. Aside from the two municipal boroughs of Kendal and Appleby, the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

divided the county into urban districts and rural districts: *Five urban districts:

Bowness on Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was histor ...

, Grasmere,

*Three rural districts: West Ward, East Westmorland, South Westmorland In 1905 a new

urban district was formed, while Windermere absorbed the neighbouring Bowness UD. A

County Review Order The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales. The Act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their boar ...

in 1935 reduced the number of districts in the county: *A new Lakes Urban District was formed by the merger of Ambleside and Grasmere UDs and adjacent parishes in West Ward and South Westmorland RDs *East Westmorland RD, most of West Ward RD and Shap UD were merged to form North Westmorland Rural District *South Westmorland RD absorbed Kirkby Lonsdale UD, at the same time losing an area to Lakes UD. Despite their title, many of Westmorland's urban districts, such as Lakes, Grasmere, and Shap, were quite rural in character. According to the 1971 census, Westmorland was the second least populated administrative county in England, after Rutland. The distribution of population was as follows: In 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, the county council was abolished and its former area was combined with

and parts of

and

to form the new county of

, administered by a new

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...

. The area forms parts of the districts of South Lakeland and Eden. In July 2021 Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced the dissolution of Cumbria County Council and its six district councils and their replacement in April 2023 by two unitary authorities: Cumberland, and Westmorland and Furness. The latter will re-unite and re-establish historic Westmorland within a single administrative unit, along with the Furness (Lancs), Penrith (Cumberland) and Sedbergh (Yorks) areas.

Naming

J. E. Marr explains the name "Westmorland" thus:

The name applied to the district by the
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
was originally Westmoringaland, 'the land of the people of the western moors,' in distinction from that of the people of the eastern moors, on the east side of the Pennine chain. The present name has not, however, been derived from that of Westmoringaland, but from Westmarieland or Westmerieland, used in the twelfth century, hence Westmerland. The meaning of this is land of the western ''meres'', and not ''moors''. Mere means boundary as well as a lake, and it is doubtful whether the word as used here refers to lakes or boundaries. There is no doubt that Westmerland is the more correct spelling ..

Coat of arms

The

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

granted the Westmorland County Council a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

in 1926. The design of the shield referred to the two components of the county: on two red bars (from the arms of the de Lancaster family, Barons of Kendal) was placed a gold apple tree (from the seal of the borough of Appleby, for the Barony of Westmorland). The crest above the shield was the head of a ram of the local Herdwick breed. On the ram's forehead was a

shearman Shearman is an English surname, which may be pronounced as "Sherman" (as for example with John Shearman). Notable people with the surname include: * Ben Shearman (1884–1958), English footballer * Billy Shearman, English footballer * Bob Shearman ...

's hook, a tool used in the handling of wool. The hook was part of the insignia of the borough of Kendal, the administrative centre of the county council.

Legacy

From April 2023, Westmorland will reappear on national maps as part of

unitary authority. During the intervening period, Westmorland has still been used as a place name by organisations and businesses in the area such as: *''

The Westmorland Gazette ''The Westmorland Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kendal, England, covering " South Lakeland and surrounding areas", including Barrow and North Lancashire. Its name refers to the historic county of Westmorland. The paper is now owned ...

'' (founded 1818) *The

Westmorland County Agricultural Society The Westmorland County Agricultural Society (WCAS, established 1799) is a registered charity which supports agriculture and related activities in and around the former county of Westmorland, England. Its activities include the annual Westmorland ...

(founded 1799), which organises the annual Westmorland County Agricultural Society Show *The

Westmorland County Football Association The Westmorland County Football Association is the governing body of football in the county of Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a ...

, the regional division of the Football Association that administers many football leagues including the Westmorland Association Football League. *The Westmorland Geological Society (formed 1973) *The

Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 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 ...

(founded 1866) *The Westmorland Youth Orchestra *The Westmorland Shopping Centre, Kendal *The Westmorland Cricket League * Westmorland Motorway Services, the company behind

Tebay services Tebay Services are motorway service stations on the M6 motorway in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. The northbound opened in 1972 and the southbound in 1993. They are known for their family-run business which eschews the typical facilitie ...

in Westmorland and Gloucester Services. *In 1974 the

successor parish Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs: a total of 300 successor parishes were formed from the ...

council formed for the former borough of Appleby adopted the name

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. It ...

. *

Westmorland General Hospital Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) is a hospital near Oxenholme in Kendal, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Kendal Memorial Hospital f ...

in Kendal *Westmorland croquet club The southern part of the county, the former Barony of Kendal or that part of Westmorland that is part of South Lakeland, is included in the

Westmorland and Lonsdale 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 ...

parliamentary constituency. In June 1994, during the 1990s UK local government reform, the Local Government Commission published draft recommendations suggesting that Westmorland's border with Yorkshire and Lancashire be restored for ceremonial purposes. The final recommendations, published in October 1994, did not include such recommendations, apparently due to lack of expression of support for the proposal to the commission. In September 2011, the Westmorland Association, a local society which promotes the county's identity, successfully registered the

Flag of Westmorland The Westmorland flag is the flag of the historic county of Westmorland. It was registered with the Flag Institute as the flag of the county in 2011. __TOC__ Design The design was developed in consultation with the Flag Institute and has been ...

with the

Flag Institute The Flag Institute is a UK membership organisation headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, England, concerned with researching and promoting the use and design of flags. It documents flags in the UK and internationally, maintains a UK Flag Regi ...

. In 2013, the

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction o ...

Eric Pickles Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 to 2017. He served in David Cameron's Cabinet as Secretary of State for ...

, formally recognised and acknowledged the continued existence of England's 39 historic counties, including Westmorland. In April 2023, local government in Cumbria will be reorganised into two unitary authorities, one of which is to be named

and would cover all of the historic county along with parts of historic Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumberland.

Notable people

* Sir Thomas Strickland carried the Flag of St. George at the battle of Agincourt. * St.

John Boste John Boste (c. 1544 – 24 July 1594) is a saint in the Catholic Church, and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Life John Boste was born in Dufton, Westmorland around 1544, the son of Nicholas Boste, landowner of Dufton and Penri ...

, Roman Catholic priest and martyr * Mary Wakefield, patron of music celebrated with annual Mary Wakefield Festival *

Nicholas Freeston Nicholas Freeston (28 August 1907 – 6 February 1978) was an English poet who spent most of his working life as a weaver in cotton mills near his home in Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire. He published five books of poetry, occasionally writing in L ...

(1907–1978), award-winning Lancashire poet, born in Kendal * George Romney, portrait painter, many paintings by him at

Kendal Town Hall The Town Hall is a municipal building in Highgate, Kendal, Cumbria. It is a Grade II listed building. It serves as the headquarters of Kendal Town Council and also forms part of the complex of buildings which served as the headquarters of the f ...

William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal Sir William Parr, KG (1434–1483)Linda Porter. ''Katherine, the Queen'', MacMillan, 2010. . was an English courtier and soldier. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Parr (1405–1461) and his wife Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Tunstall of T ...

, who was father to Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and thus the grandfather of Queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

, Henry VIII's sixth wife. The Parrs' ancestral castle,

Kendal Castle Kendal Castle is a medieval fortification to the east of the town of Kendal, Cumbria, in northern England. The castle, which is atop a glacial drumlin, was built in the 13th century as the Caput baroniae for the Barony of Kendal. By the 15th ce ...

, is located in Kendal. * Tom Barker, trade unionist and socialist, born in

Crosthwaite Crosthwaite is a small village located in the Parish of Crosthwaite and Lyth, South Lakeland, Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Coun ...

Margaret Cropper Margaret Cropper (1886–1980) was a Westmorland poet, author and hymnist, who rivalled Norman Nicholson as the leading 20th-century Lake Poet. Life and writings The fourth of five children, Margaret Cropper was born into a long-established Quake ...

, poet *

Mary Rolls Mary Rolls née Hillary (also known as Mrs Henry Rolls; 13 September 1775 – 8 April 1835) was an English poet. Life Born on 13 September 1775 to Hannah (née Wynne; 1738–1806) and Richard Hillary (1703–1789) in Westmorland, she was raised ...

, poet

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

External links

The Westmorland AssociationWestmorland County Agricultural SocietyMap of Westmorland
on Wikishire {{Coord, 54, 30, N, 2, 35, W, display=title, region:GB_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki * History of Cumbria Geography of Cumbria Counties of England established in antiquity Counties of England disestablished in 1974 Former counties of England