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Staveley () is a village in the
Westmorland and Furness Westmorland and Furness is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, Royal ...
Unitary Authority, in Cumbria, England.
Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
part of
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
, it is situated northwest of
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
where the
River Kent The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. It originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles (32 km) into the north of Morecambe Bay. The upper reaches and the western bank of the estuary ...
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 Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
). 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 History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
within the county of
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
, it became part of the new non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in 1974. Staveley is divided between three
civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishe ...
; * 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 Over Staveley is a civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. The parish comprises most of the village of Staveley, Cumbria, Staveley north of the River Gowan, Cumbria, River Gowan, and areas of farmland and fell (including Brunt K ...
* 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 Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
and Gowan, at the mouth of the
Kentmere Kentmere is a valley, village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Lake District National Park, a few miles from Kendal in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in We ...
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 Kentmere is a valley, village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Lake District National Park, a few miles from Kendal in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in We ...
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 Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
.
National Cycle Route 6 Route Parts of the route are currently incomplete and some sections follow other routes. London to Milton Keynes The proposed route is to begin in central London, running from via Paddington railway station to the Grand Union Canal. The ...
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 Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
plural ''stave'' for ''staf'' OE ''stæf'' and the ME ''leye'' meaning pasture from
Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''leah''; akin to
Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...
''loh'' thicket,
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''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 The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia. Taxonomy There have been ...
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 Cumbria Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Cumbria, in North West England. It runs more than 40 nature reserves, and aims to broaden the awareness and knowledge of the wildlife in the county. History The trust was establis ...
who intend to manage it as part of a larger
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
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 Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...
, 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 Storm Desmond was an extratropical cyclone and fourth named storm of the 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season, notable for directing a plume of moist air, known as an atmospheric river, which brought record amounts of orographic rainfall ...
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 Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...
('' 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 High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
(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 Dorothy Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romanticism, Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had ...
'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 Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
on the Windermere Branch Line from
Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...
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 {{Short pages monitor {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Westmorland and Furness Westmorland