Burton in Lonsdale is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

Craven District Craven is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England centred on the market town of Skipton. In 1974, Craven District was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton Rural District, al ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England, close to the border with

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 Lancas ...

and

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. ...

. It is in Lonsdale (the River Lune valley and its tributaries). The parish is approximately 1,500 acres (6 km²) in area and has many farms – dairy, beef and sheep. Little is grown, except grass to feed the animals. The village was historically part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

until 1974. Formerly famous for country pottery, it is now a quiet village situated between two national parks (the

Lake District National Park The Lake District National Park is a national park in North West England that includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was desi ...

and the

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland ( Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was d ...

) and by the side of the River Greta.

History

The settlement is mentioned in 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 ...

as being in the Hundred of Amounderness, later being recorded in the

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...

of Ewecross. The name derives from the

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 settlers in the mid-5th ...

''burh-tūn'', a farmstead with, or near, a fortification (the castle). It was first recorded in 1130 as being either ''Burtona de Lanesdala, Burton(a) in Lanesdala,'' or ''Burton(a) in Lanesdale''. The village contains a motte that is the remains of Burton in Lonsdale Castle. The castle belonged to the Mowbray family, and is believed to have been abandoned sometime in the middle of the 14th century. In his will of 1593 Henry the 4th Earl of Derby bequeathed his manor of Burton In Lonsdale to his second son the Hon William Stanley who less than two years later became the 6th Earl after the poisoning of his older brother Ferdinando the 5th Earl. Stoneware and earthenware pottery was produced between about 1650 and 1944, in a total of thirteen potteries, using locally available clay and coal. It is said Burton was known as 'Black Burton' because of the amount of smoke produced by the kilns' fires when firing pots. The firing was carried out over several days at a time, on a regular basis. The quality of the coal (initially locally sourced) was to blame for the amount of smoke. This was eventually replaced by better coal from South and West Yorkshire when the railways arrived in the locality. Burton pottery is notoriously difficult to identify as most potteries did not mark their products. Coal and clay were readily available from the Ingleton Coalfield, which outcropped at Burton in Lonsdale. The River Greta winds its way past the village to the south. Several woodlands are sited on the banks of the river, some of them ancient. The paths leading to the wood has pottery remnants strewn across them.

Modern village

In 2001, the census recorded 579 people living in the civil parish, which was unchanged at the 2011 Census. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population to be 600. The village has a community run shop (containing a small post-office) where local goods such as meats, cheeses and vegetables are available. In August 2014 the village founded a road cycling club called Lonsdale Wheelers CC. The club meets on the first and third Sundays of every month with a 10.00 start from the village shop. The Village Hall hosts a number of regular clubs and events, details on the Village Hall page. Events include circuit training, a monthly music night, a WI group and karate. Also for the 2014–15 season a football club, Burton United F.C, was formed and admitted into the North Lancashire and District Football League. The club however folded at the end of the 2015–16 season. The club played their home games at Burton recreation ground. The village school closed in 2014, after pupil numbers fell to 13. The school had been built in 1853, with money donated by Richard Thornton, a millionaire who had been born in the village. Pupils now travel to Bentham for schooling. The nearest railway station is at , some away, and the town of Settle is to the south-east.

Notable people

Laurence Binyon Robert Laurence Binyon, CH (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. Born in Lancaster, England, his parents were Frederick Binyon, a clergyman, and Mary Dockray. He studied at St Paul's School, London ...

(1869–1943), poet who wrote For the Fallen, lived in the village between 1870 and 1875. The view of

Ingleborough Ingleborough () is the second-highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent), and is frequently climbed as part of the Three Peaks walk. A large part o ...

influenced his poem ''Inheritance'' *

James Dyson Sir James Dyson (born 2 May 1947) is a British inventor, industrial designer, farmer, and billionaire entrepreneur who founded Dyson Ltd. He is best known as the inventor of the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, which works on the princip ...

(1914–1990), physicist who lived in the village in his childhood * Geoffrey Holmes, historian, lived in Burton in Lonsdale from 1969 onwards * Richard Thornton (1776–1865), the Victorian millionaire was born in Burton in Lonsdale. He donated £10,000 () to fund a school in the village.

References

Sources

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External links