When I was asked to prepare a Casterton heritage walk as part of the village celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, I uncovered a wealth of information that I did not use in the walk – in fact about 90% of what was written in the first draft did not make the final cut.
You can download a copy of the walk; alternatively, hard copies are available at the back of the Church for a small donation.
There is so much information available about our village in several books, the Cumbria archives, genealogical websites, archive newspaper sites, trade directories, old maps and from our own erudite villagers’ discoveries, that I felt that it would be a shame not to explore these further and share what I have found and what I will find.
The plan is to prepare a monthly article, which will be a ‘Sketch’ of an aspect of Casterton. The ‘Sketches’ will be primarily about locations within the village, but will also include economic activity, infrastructure and other miscellaneous topics that arise from the research.
The hope is that this will become a shared resource for the village which will generate comment and, who knows, more information from persons with ancestral connections to Casterton.
Simon Drakeford
August 2022
Something a bit different for this Sketch. Last year, I was asked by the staff at the Kendal Branch of the Cumbria Archives if I would write an article for their newsletter to explain how I use the archives for…
Introduction Old Manor and Old Manor Farm are now two private residences. As will be seen in this Sketch, for centuries, they were a single residence. In the distant past it was the Manor House, although as shown later, few,…
Introduction My research and findings for Norwood Farm, now known as Norwood Farm Cottages, has been quite complex. The earliest mention I have found of ‘Norwood Farm’ is in the 1851 census. However, as shown below, there is unmistakable evidence…
Introduction One of the most ancient documented industrial buildings in Casterton is a watermill. There is ample evidence of Casterton’s mill in old documents, local field names, archive newspapers, maps, and books. This Sketch draws together this evidence to produce…
Introduction Following on from my Sketch about Casterton’s Lime Kilns a few months ago (see a-sketch-of-castertons-lime-kilns), this Sketch looks at the history of our solitary Malt Kiln. When I started writing this Sketch I was expecting it be quite straightforward.…
The farmer who owns the private field that the Stone Circle stands in is not keen to have visitors into the field. Please respect this and do not walk on the private land. Introduction As well as Casterton having a…
Introduction Dotted around the parish of Casterton were sixteen lime kilns, eighteen if you count a twin kiln as two, some of which are still standing. Using old maps, field names that reference a kiln, archive newspaper listings of farm…
Introduction Gale Garth, also historically known as Casterton Fell Tenement, is one of the oldest farms in Casterton, predating Bull Pot by several hundred years but due to their proximity to each other, sharing its more recent history. Along with…
Introduction This Sketch continues the history of Casterton’s Village Hall. As noted in my first Sketch about the Hall which examined the history of the Hall from 1910 to 1969, in November 2023, I was handed a battered small suitcase…
Introduction Our ‘local’ under four different names, has been serving the village and villagers for centuries. During these years it has been at the heart of the village community, serving as a meeting point to greet old friends and offering…
Introduction Bullpot Farm is the most isolated farm in Casterton. Located to the far east of the parish, nestled close to the boundary of the parish of Leck. Throughout the centuries, the farm has been referred to in several ways,…
Enclosure walls on the slopes of Brownthwaite[1] Introducing the Author Following on from the first ‘Guest’ Sketch written by Jean Hamlett about the mysterious visitors to the Casterton Hotel in the Second World War, presented below is a second ‘Guest’…
Introduction In November 2023, I was handed a rather battered small suitcase which was filled with documents relating to the history of the Casterton Village Hall. It had been passed on from Secretary to Secretary until being deposited in the…
Introduction When you visit Casterton Village Hall, on the right-hand wall there is a simple plaque which offers some basic details about when the Hall was built and who were the main benefactors. There is however an omission from the…
Introduction There are several printed biographies of one of Casterton’s most famous sons. This Sketch references these and tries to present a narrative that is easier to read than the often very verbose and flowery Victorian chronicles quoted below. The…
A Review of Pre 1828 Maps Unlike the previous houses I have written about, Rock Cottage was not a ‘grand house’ such as Old Hall or Norwood House, nor was it a substantial farm such as Gowrey, rather it was…
Introduction For this month’s Sketch, we have something different, a ‘Guest Sketch’. That is to say a Sketch written about Casterton by somebody other than myself. I very much welcome anybody to contribute their own writings about the history of…
Introduction When I first requested the Kendal archives to retrieve the 1965 Scrapbook of Casterton prepared by the Casterton Women’s Institute as part of that national institution’s 50th Jubilee celebrations, I was given an unexpected document. It was a handwritten…
Introduction In the Cumbria County Archives in Kendal lies a document from which the following quote was taken.[1] Football Club ‘The Football Club, which has been in existence for three years, has for two seasons been affiliated to the North…
Preliminary Notes This house has a long history, previously researched by a local historian, David Smail, who sadly died in 2021. He was commissioned by the Bayley family to write a short family history in partnership with Fleur Bayley in…
Introduction Last month’s Sketch examined the history of the Turnpike Road in Casterton from when the Trust was first established in 1762 until the year before an Act of Parliament was passed in 1826 which inter alia legislated that a…
Introduction This sketch is about the Turnpike Road that passes through Casterton from the time that it was turnpiked around 1762 until 1825, the year before a new Act of Parliament was passed which legislated inter alia that a Toll…
Introduction This sketch is about a building that is no longer there. The plot of land is on the site of the Village Green. Part of the footprint of the building was absorbed into the current road and footpath, apparently…
A Sketch of an 1846 Visit to Casterton Introducing Mr Fitzwilliam In May 1846, more than 175 years ago, Henry Fitzwilliam travelled from Leeds to Casterton, the place of his birth. He was an old man on a nostalgic trip,…
A Sketch of Casterton’s Roman Road The Romans Arrive In BC 55 and 54 Julius Caesar made two military forays into England but did not invade. In AD 43 the Roman Emperor Claudius ordered four legions to conquer Britain and…
The Start of Family Life Norwood House, which was originally called Norwood Cottage, is a fine example of Georgian architecture built for a gentleman of independent means. The earliest definitive evidence of the existence of the house is in 1841,…
