Staveley, Cumbria

Staveley () is a village in the Westmorland and Furness Unitary Authority, in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it is situated northwest of Kendal where the River Kent is joined by its tributary the Gowan. It is also known as Staveley-in-Westmorland and Staveley-in-Kendal to distinguish it from Staveley-in-Cartmel (a small village near Newby Bridge which is now in Cumbria but was previously in Lancashire). There are three civil parishes – Nether Staveley, Over Staveley and Hugill (part). Their total population at the 2011 Census was 1,593 but this includes those living in the hamlet of Ings in Hugill parish.

Governance

Historically within the county of Westmorland, it became part of the new non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in 1974.

Staveley is divided between three civil parishes;
* The village south of the rivers Gowan and Kent is in Nether Staveley,
* Most of the village north of the Gowan is in Over Staveley
* Part of the village to the north-west is in Hugill
The parishes now share a grouped parish council, formed in 2004, known as Staveley with Ings Parish Council.

Geography

The village is strategically placed at the junction of the rivers Kent and Gowan, at the mouth of the Kentmere Valley. Three hills overlook the village; Reston Scar on the north side on which much of the village is built, Piked Howe to the northeast known to the locals as Craggy Wood and Lily Fell to the south in the direction of the village of Crook on the opposite side of the A591 bypass. Piked Howe and Reston Scar sit either side of the opening into the Kentmere Valley. Both mark the beginning of a larger horseshoe chain of hills known as the Kentmere Round.

The nearest village to the west is Ings, a small settlement which now shares schools and parish minister with Staveley.
To the south of the village is Crook, and to the north Kentmere which can only be accessed by road via Staveley village centre, meaning that the two villages have had a close relationship with each other for many centuries. But the village which had the strongest links to Staveley in more recent years is arguably Burneside which is the next stop on the railway line to the east on the way to Kendal. National Cycle Route 6 and the Dales Way footpath run through Burneside and Staveley.

The village got its name from the woodworking industry that thrived in the area due to the forests that originally covered the surrounding hills, and the close proximity of two rivers for processing the wood. Staveley means literally the 'field of staffs' (from the Middle English plural ''stave'' for ''staf'' OE ''stæf'' and the ME ''leye'' meaning pasture from Old English ''leah''; akin to Old High German ''loh'' thicket, Latin ''lucus'' grove).

Woods in the area include:
* Beckmickle Ing (3.58 ha). A semi-natural wood with wet woodland adjacent to the River Kent. It is managed by the Woodland Trust
* Craggy Plantation, which is mainly deciduous. This area was used in the 1990s for testing various measures to control the spread of North American grey squirrels into the native red squirrel habitats.
In 2016 the Lake District National Park Authority announced its decision to sell Craggy Wood. After a successful appeal to raise the necessary funds, ownership was transferred to the Cumbria Wildlife Trust who intend to manage it as part of a larger nature reserve by linking it to Dorothy Farrer's Spring Wood.
* Dorothy Farrer's Spring Wood (4.6 ha). This wood is managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. There is a tradition of coppicing, which the trust continues in the interests of biodiversity. Birdlife includes the pied flycatcher.
* Mike's Wood (3 ha) native woodland planted in the 1990s by the organisation Friends of the Lake District.

River Gowan

The Gowan, a tributary of the Kent, comes into the village from the west after passing through the village of Ings. There is sometimes flooding at the confluence.

There are two road bridges and also pedestrian bridges over the River Gowan in the village.
As a result of the Storm Desmond flood both the road bridges were closed because of damage to their structures, cutting the village in two for vehicular traffic. The Station Road / Abbey Square bridge was reopened after minor repairs. Gowan Old Bridge, a twin arch stone bridge with attached concrete footbridge near the confluence of the rivers, had severe damage to its central pier and remained closed. It was demolished in June 2016, after the re-routing of the gas main. A new single-span concrete beam bridge was constructed to replace it and opened on May 18, 2017.

History

The area has been inhabited since around 4000 BC (evidence of which can be seen close to High Borrans) when ancient Britons established farms.
It has been suggested that the Romans built a road near Staveley to link the Roman forts at Kendal ('' Alauna'') and Ambleside ('' Galava''). However, the existence of any Roman road in the immediate vicinity of Kendal is not confirmed. On the other hand, the Roman road at High Street (a few miles north of Staveley) is well evidenced.

Weekly markets and a three-day annual fair were held from 1329 when the village was granted a market charter.

In the 18th century a turnpike road from Kendal to Ambleside was constructed through Staveley. In Dorothy Wordsworth's journal for 1802 there are references to an inn at Staveley (possibly the Eagle and Child). She wrote:
"I am always glad to see Stavel(e)y; it is a place I dearly love to think of"

Since the 1840s Staveley has had a railway station on the Windermere Branch Line from Windermere to Oxenholme. It is one of only a few locations in the Lake District National Park to have a station, but in the 19th century most tourists continued their journey to the railhead

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