Gleaston
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Gleaston is a village with a population of around 400 in the
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 ...
area of South
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. C ...
, situated between the towns of
Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of 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 B ...
,
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, w ...
and
Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census to ...
.
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 Lancash ...
, the history of the village can be traced as far back as the mesolithic period and it was the centre of the manor of
Muchland Muchland is a medieval manor in Low Furness in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of Bardsea, Urswick, Scales, Stainton, Sunbrick, Baycliff, Gle ...
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 ...
. Today it is largely a commuter village for the nearby towns, but its past is still visible in the remains of
Gleaston Castle Gleaston Castle is a medieval building in a valley about north-east of the village of Gleaston. The village lies between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness in the Furness peninsula, Cumbria, England. Gleaston Castle has a quadrilate ...
and Gleaston
Water Mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...
, which is open as a tourist attraction.


Etymology

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 manus ...
of 1086 records Gleaston as ''Glassertun''. Joan Lee suggests that this could mean 'farm by a stream' from the Brythonic ''glas'' and
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
''tun'', as there is a swift stream or '' beck'' running through the village. Alternatively it could mean 'green hill farm' from the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
words ''glas - haugr - tun''. It has also been proposed that the name was derived from the British words, ''glas'', green, ''er'', fallow or ploughed land, and ''ton'', a town or village. Cites ''Mannix & Co., History, Topography and Directory of Westmorland, 1851'' The greater part of Gleaston, the villages of Leece and Dendron, are included in the parochial parish of St. Matthew Dendron. The ancient village of Leece is built round a tarn and appears twice 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 manus ...
. Lies was listed in the
Manor of Hougun The Manor of Hougun is the historic name for an area which now forms part of the county of Cumbria in North West England. Of the three most northern counties of England surveyed in the Domesday Book of 1086 (Northumbria, Durham and Cumbria), only t ...
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 ...
.Gleaston and its Water Mill
/ref>


Pre-history

Archaeological digs in the 1990s brought to light the ancient history of the village. Mesolithic,
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
and
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 prin ...
artifacts were found and the position of a prehistoric lake, which once covered a field between the castle and the mill, was discovered, proving that the local area has been inhabited for thousands of years. Since the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
Gleaston would probably have been inhabited by 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 ...
tribe who were based at Carlisle and covered most of modern Cumbria, or possibly the
Setantii The Setantii (sometimes read as ''Segantii'') were a possible pre-Roman British people who apparently lived in the western and southern littoral of Lancashire in England. It is thought likely they were a sept or sub-tribe of the Brigantes, who, at ...
tribe from Lancashire. Both were later incorporated by the Brigantes. Successive waves of Norse, Saxon and
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
invaders and settlers have all added to the history of the local area.


Gleaston Castle

In the 13th century the Lords of the Manor of
Muchland Muchland is a medieval manor in Low Furness in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of Bardsea, Urswick, Scales, Stainton, Sunbrick, Baycliff, Gle ...
moved their seat of residence from nearby
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-Furne ...
to Gleaston and probably built a wooden hall on the site of the present castle, about 0.5 km north of the village. The building that stands today was begun in the 14th century by the first Baron of Aldingham, John de Harrington. The castle consisted of a quadrangular courtyard surrounded by high curtain walls, with substantial towers at the four corners. The north western tower would have contained the great hall and lord's apartments. The castle was abandoned in 1458 when the family line died out and the manor eventually passed to the crown.


Gleaston Water Mill

Just north of the village is Gleaston Water Mill. Now a tourist attraction, the mill would once have been used to grind
oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...
s for farmers throughout the Furness area. The present mill was built in 1774 on the site of an earlier one and its water wheel and milling machinery are still in working order. The Mill is privately owned and was restored in the early 1990s and preserved for posterity. Also on the site are the Dusty Millers restaurant and Pigs Whisper country store.


The village now

Much of the village that can be seen today is 20th century. Since the 1960s the village has experienced a small scale population explosion. Previously there were five farms within the village itself as well as a pub, post office,
Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
and police station, most of which were 19th century buildings. The oldest remaining buildings all date from the 17th century and there are numerous 18th century buildings. Today, all the amenities and the five farms have disappeared and all the buildings have been converted into dwellings as Gleaston gradually became a commuter village for nearby Barrow and Ulverston. Most of the fields and large gardens in the village were also given over to development as pressure rose in the 1970s and 1980s to provide the growing number of workers at
Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...
(now BAE Systems),
Glaxo GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...
and
Furness General Hospital Furness General Hospital (FGH) is a hospital located in the Hawcoat area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital, which replaced four local hosp ...
with homes. Gleaston even has its own small estate called ''Mounts Meadow''. The village has its own large
village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...
, a small football pitch which was made by Bryan Hindle and brothers Paul and John Clarke, a community hall and a children's playground, which are all owned and run by the villagers themselves. Every year a sports day and barbecue is held to raise funds and for locals to meet and enjoy themselves and the village has its own bonfire and
fireworks display Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
every
November 5 Events Pre-1600 *1138 – Lý Anh Tông is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, beginning a 37-year reign. *1499 – The '' Catholicon'', written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc in Tréguier, is published; this is the first Bre ...
. In the year 2000, to celebrate the
millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
a short walk was created in a small piece of woodland adjacent to the green, behind the beck.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Aldingham Aldingham is a civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. It contains 28 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade  ...


References

*Lee, Joan ''Place Names of Cumbria'' (Manchester Free Press, 1998)


External links


Cumbria County History Trust: Aldingham
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Gleaston Village website
{{authority control Villages in Cumbria Furness Aldingham