Kendal: Travellers’ Journals
1. John Ogilby (1675)
2. William Camden Britannia (1610)
3. Celia Fiennes (1698)
4. Daniel Defoe (1742)
5. Thomas Machell (1691)
John Ogilby ‘The Continuation of the Road from LONDON to CARLISLE in Cumberland’ from Britannia (1675)
... At 239'4. [miles from London] you pass through Carnford a small Village; whence over Care-bridg and by Lighton Hall on the right, at 243'5. you enter Westmerland, and 6 Furlongs beyond come to Burton 2 Furlongs long, situate on the South-side of Farleton Knot, an indifferent Thorough-fare with a Market on Tuesdays.
This is reckon’d the Mid-way between Lancaster and Kendal, the Remainder whereof is very Mountainous, else litle occurs only passing between Holm Church and Park, and a mile beyond Frandon [Farleton] seated upon Holton Crag about 2 Furlongs to the Right; a direct Road crossing 2 or 3 Rills carries you over Sallat Brow and by Grove Chapel on the Right, brings you at 253 Miles to Sidwick alias Siggeswick a small Village, and at 254 Miles to Notcliff [Natland] a Village of 2 Furlongs, entring Kendal at 256'1. extending a Mile upon the Road, and affording a large History which in this Place only thus:
Kendal, a fair, large and well-frequented Town, esteem’’d the Beauty of the County, pleasantly seated on the River Can or Kent, of no great Antiquity, but remarkable Industry, exercising great Manufacture of Cottons, Druggets, Hats, Stockings, &c. has a large Church to which belongs 12 Chapels of Ease, and on the East-side of the River stood formerly a Castle, whereof the Ruinous Walls now only remain: It is Govern’d by a Mayor, 12 Mayors-Peres or Aldermen, 12 Common-Councel Men, a Recorder, &c. near the Church stands a fair Freeschool well endow’d, with Exhibitions to Queen’s College in OXFORD: It has a great Market on Saturdays, and 2 Fairs annually on the 25th of April and 28th of October, and between those terms a great Beast-market every Fortnight.
John Ogilby Britannia: a Geographical and Historical Description of the Principal Roads thereof (1675) 75.
William Camden Britannia translated Philemon Holland (1610)
The more Southerly part of this shire, contained in a narrow roome betweene the river Lone and Winandermere, is reputed fruitfull enough in the valleis, although it can shewe many felles, with rough & stony rockes lying ever bare without grasse: and is all tearmed by one name, The Baronie of Kendale and Candale, that is, The Dale by Can: for it tooke name of the river Can, which running rough upon stones cutteth through it: On the West banke whereof standeth Kandale or Kendale, called also Kirkeby Kandale, a towne of very great trade and resort, with two broad and long streets crossing the one over the other, and a place for excellent clothing and for industrie so surpassing, that in regard thereof it carrieth a great name: For, the inhabitants have great trafficke and vent [sale] of their wollen clothes throughout all parts of England ... As for the Castle the ancient seat of these Lords [the Parrs] standing over against the towne, it runneth to decay through age, and neglect ... As for any glory else of antiquity, Kendall to my knowledge challengeth none. And yet I was once of opinion, that it was CONCAGII a station place sometimes of the Romanes: But time hath now instructed me better ... [He goes on to describe the waterfalls by Levens and Beetham.]
William Camden Britain, or A chorographicall description of the most flourishing kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the ilands adioyning, out of the depth of antiquitie beautified vvith mappes of the severall shires of England: vvritten first in Latine by William Camden Clarenceux K. of A. Translated newly into English by Philémon Holland Doctour in Physick: finally, revised, amended, and enlarged with sundry additions by the said author (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610) 759 transcribed from Early English Books Online 1
Celia Fiennes Journey to the North of England in 1698: on Kendal
Thence I went to Kendall in Westmoreland over steepe stony hills all like rocks 6 miles to one Lady Middleton; and by some Gentlemen which were travelling that way that was their acquantaince had th advantage of going through her parke and saved the going round a bad stony passage; it was very pleasant under the shade of the tall trees; it was an old timber house [Leighton Hall] but the family being from home we had a free passage through on to the road againe much of which was stony and steep far worse than the Peake in Darbyshire; this Lady Middleton was a papist and I believe the Gentlemen that was travelling were too; in this park is the 3 Brother tree which a little from the root measures 13 yards circumference; thence to Kendall ten mile more, most of the way was in lanes when I was out of the stony hills, and then into inclosed lands; here in 6 mile to the town you have very rich good land enclosed, little round green hills flourishing with corn and grass as green and fresh being in the prime season in July; there is not much woods but only the hedge rows round the grounds which looks very fine; in these Northern Countyes they have only the summer graine as barley oates peas beans and lentils noe wheate or rhye, for they are so cold and late in their yeare they cannot venture at that sort of tillage, so have none but what they are supply’d out of other countys adjacent; the land seemes here in many places very fertile; they have much rhye in Lancashire Yorkshire and Stafford and Shropshire and so Herriford and Worcestershire which I found very troublesome in my journeys, for they would not own they had any such thing in their bread but it so disagrees with me as allwayes to make me sick, which I found by its effects when ever I met with any tho’ I did not discern it by the taste; in Suffolke and Norfolke I also met with it – but in these parts its altogether the oatbread.
Kendall is a town built all of stone, one very broad streete in which is the Market Crosse, its a goode tradeing town mostly famed for the cottons; Kendall Cotton is used for blanckets and the Scotts use them for their plodds [plaids] and there is much made here and also linsiwoolseys [a linen and wool mixture, like Viyella] and a great deale of leather tann’’d here and all sorts of commodityes twice a weeke is the market furnished with all sorts of things.
The River Can which gives name to the town is pretty Large but full of Rocks and stones that makes shelves and falls in the water, its stor’d wth plenty of good ffish and there are great ffalls of water partly naturall and added to by putting more stones in manner of Wyers, at wch they Catch Salmon when they Leape with speares. The Roaring of ye water at these places sometymes does foretell wet weather; they do observe when the water roares most in the fall on the Northside it will be ffaire, if on the Southside of the town it will be wet. Some of them are falls as high as a house ... There are 3 or 4 good houses in the town, ye rest are like good traders houses very neate and tight. The streetes are all pitch’d wch is Extreame Easy to be repair’d, for the whole Country is like one Entire Rock or pitching almost all ye Roads. At the Kings arms, one Mrs Rowlandson, she does pott up the Charr ffish the best of any in the Country: I was Curious to have some and so bespoke some of her ...
Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle edited Emily Griffiths (London: 1888).
Daniel Defoe A Tour Thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain (1742):
I now enter’d Westmorland, a County eminent only for being the wildest, most barren, and frightful of any that I have passed over in England, or in Wales. The West Side, which borders on Cumberland, is indeed bounded by a Chain of almost unpassable Mountains, which, in the Language of the Country, are called Fells, and these are called Fourness Fells, from the Promontory which I just mentioned, and an Abbey built also in antient times, called Fourness. The whole County is divided into the Barony of Kendal, which is very mountainous, and in the Diocese of Chester; and the Barony of Westmorland, a large champaign Country, in the Diocese of Carlisle.
It must be owned, however, that here are some very pleasant manufacturing Towns, and consequently populous.
The Manufacture in which the People are imployed, are chiefly Woollen Cloths, especially at Kirkby-Lonsdale, and Kendal.
Kendal is a rich and populous Town, has a Free-school well endow’d, and drives a great Trade in Woollen Cloth, Cottons, Druggets, Serges, Hats, and Stockens.
Over the River Ken, whereon Kendal stands, are Two Bridges of Stone, and another of Wood. At some small distance from the last, are to be seen the Ruins of a Castle; which was the Birth-place of Catharine Parr, the Sixth Wife of Henry VIII. The Church is fair and spacious, and there are Two Chapels of Ease to it. Near the Church-yard stands a fair publick School, whence a certain Number of Scholars are elected to Queen’s-college, Oxon ...
When we had enter’d at the South Part of this County, I began indeed to think of Merionethshire, and the Mountains of Snowden in North Wales, seeing nothing round me, in many Places, but unpassable Hills, whose Tops, covered with Snow, seemed to tell us, all the pleasant Part of England was at an End. The great Winander Mere, extending itself like a Sea, on the West Side ... is the Boundary of the County, as I have said, on that Side; and the English Appenines, as Mr. Camden calls the Mountains of Yorkshire North-riding, lie like a Wall of Brass on the other ...
But notwithstanding the terrible Aspect of the Hills, when we had passed by Kendal, and descended from the frightful Mountains, the flat Country began to shew itself; and we soon found the North and North-east Part of the County to be pleasant, rich, fruitful, and, if compared to the other Part, may be said to be populous ...
[Daniel Defoe] A TOUR Thro’ the Whole ISLAND of GREAT BRITAIN. Divided into CIRCUITS or
JOURNEYS. Giving A Particular and
Entertaining ACCOUNT of whatever is Curious, and worth Observation ...
by a GENTLEMAN. The THIRD EDITION ... VOL. III.
(London: J. Osborn and others, 1742) 231–3.
Thomas Machell TO COME
Return to Kendal Topography index.
1. For a full transcription of Camden’s 1610 Britannia, go to the edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004) at http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk under ‘Travellers' Tales’. His edition comparing Camden’s Latin with the translation by Philemon Holland can be found at http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit. Return