No 37 - February 2006 The Newsletter Lorton & Derwent Fells Local History Society Brackenthwaite Buttermere Embleton Loweswater Mockerkin Pardshaw Wythop www.derwentfells.com Brandlingill Manor in 1954 Courtesy of KCMG This is the old Manor at Brandlingill in 1954 as it was shown in a sale catalogue in which everything, including the building materials, was for sale. Has anyone got memories of it? Was it known as a manor house and what was the history of this rather grand building? Please let us know 2 Editorial Title deeds This is the second Newsletter in our Michael Baron has heard that Balliol revised format of two Newsletters and two College, Oxford, holds several title deeds Eavesdroppers a year. I’d just like to make of local properties which are referred to on two related points. The first is to invite its website and these include Lanthwaite comments on this new setup; in this way, Green Farm, Low Hollins Farm, High we can, I hope, make improvements. And Hollins Farm, Oakbank Farm, Netherclose it is not only comments - I do need Farm, Rannerdale Farm, Croft House suggestions and material for future issues. Farm, Wilkinsyke Farm, Pottergill, The second point is that I’ve had a few Bowderbeck Cottage and Bowderbeck comments on the type of paper used for Barn. the first smaller-sized (and outside printed) ca. 160 items, 1581 - 1959 and ten files Newsletter. It was printed on gloss paper 1934 - 1963. The website is (no www!): and I can understand it’s not being to http://web.balliol.ox.ac.uk/history/archives everyone’s taste. When the time comes for and look under “H. Estates” and printing this issue, I’ll discuss it with the “Cumberland”. printer and you should see any result of that in front of you now! I was given a very interesting Oral history landmark notebook a few weeks ago by Jan Tinker Some time ago, it was decided to provide whose parents were Norman and Betsy copies of our oral history collection of Brown of Whin Garth in High Lorton. The recordings to the long-established notebook contains the Minutes of the Ambleside Oral History Group for public various meetings held to celebrate access; a few weeks ago, about half our coronations and jubilees from 1911 to 1977 recordings - now transferred to CD - were and Norman was involved in the later handed over in a ceremony in Ambleside. ones. Some of the celebrations were The photo, which appeared in the extremely well organised with many sub Westmorland Gazette on 6 January 2006, committees and it all makes good reading. shows Hetty Baron-Thieme (who has been I’m sure I speak for all members in thanking Jan for letting us have the notebook which now resides safely in our Archive. I’m very grateful to a number of members for supplying articles and general information for this Newsletter; most have been used and they have helped to make this a ‘varied’ issue. Sorry to go on about this, but it is important to receive contributions - and of course this includes suggestions - regularly in order to keep the the leading light in our oral history group Newsletters varied and interesting - this is since it was started by Ron George) with particularly important for our country “our” CD cabinet in Ambleside library. members of course. MSG With her are Dr Rob David, Chairman of the Ambleside group, Jane Renouf, a founder member of the Ambleside group, 3 Derek Denman, our Chairman and Cecil The meaning of ‘boon’ Otway who is 95 and was one of the first by Derek Denman people to be interviewed by the Ambleside group nearly 30 years ago. There is an old farmstead in Lorton called As a reminder, our interviews were Boonbeck, and years ago I asked Ron recorded on audio cassettes and they are all George what he thought it meant, and he being enhanced in quality and transferred said ‘above’ in the context of being the to CD by a BBC engineer. Copies of the only farmhouse in High Lorton that was interviews will, of course, be kept in our above Whit Beck, in that you crossed Whit Archive too. MSG Beck to reach it. This was supported by the Your chance to be Treasurer Chris Bower has been our Treasurer since 2000 and has seen us safely through a period in which our accounts have become a little more complicated but very much more secure. Chris has said that he wishes to hang up his abacus at the next AGM and we are looking for a new volunteer to be the Treasurer of the Society. The accounts The old waterwheel at Boonbeck Farm are in a good state and no formal taken from Whit Beck qualifications are required. Chris will be use of ‘boon’ in various field names happy to advise potential treasurers on recorded at various times in both High and what is involved. We are very fortunate Low Lorton. In the parliamentary survey of to have had Chris’s support for these the manor of High Lorton, taken in 1649 past few years. after its owner, the Church of England, was temporarily abolished, the first close behind the farmhouses in High Lorton was usually called ‘boonhouse’ or some variant Membership subscriptions are due! spelling, often translated by the time of the tithe in apportionment in 1840 to ‘above Actually, last November! If you haven’t house’. The close above the church was rejoined yet, please would you send your ‘boonkirk’ and the 17th century deeds of subscription(s) by cheque to: Lorton Hall, in a different manor, list a The Treasurer close ‘boondyke’, which is above the dyke. Mr C C Bower But outside of Lorton I could find no 87 High Brigham Full member £8 other case, and the various experts Brigham consulted equated ‘boon’ to its use in Cockermouth Country mem £4 boondays, a service obligation, and could CA13 0TL not help. At last another case has been found Please include your name, address and and explained in a forthcoming book by telephone number. Many thanks. Professor Diana Whaley, of Newcastle University, entitled A dictionary of Lake 4 District place names. There is in Gosforth a Early Toilets place called Boonwood, also known as by Walter Head Abovewood(e) in 1597, Bounwood in 1692, Bone Wood in 1774 (a confusing In 1850, a severe storm at Skara Brae on mutation) and Bonewood in 1802. The the west coast of the Orkneys removed the meaning is, of course, ‘above the wood’ turf from some sand dunes, exposing the and the derivation is from Old English outline of eight 5000 year old stone houses. ‘bufan’. So a problem is solved and we are Located close together, all eight appeared not alone. to be of the same one-room design. In a I hope that we will be obtaining a corner of each house there was a doorway copy of the book for the archive, to be leading into a 70cm square alcove which borrowed by members, but it will be a had a hole in the middle of the floor. The fascinating publication for those of us who hole was connected to a network of drains are curious about names, and it will be which travelled underneath each house and published by the English Place Names down towards the sea. These cubicles are Society at around £19 when spring arrives. the oldest lavatories so far discovered. Locally, the earliest form of toilet is thought to have been a hole in the open The Lorton yew interpretation board ground - a cess pit. Later refinements were a shelter from the elements and a seat. The wooden seats were usually made of oak and this remained true for seats into the 20th century. Prior to the 18th century, the only type of indoor toilet was a chamber pot which was then emptied into the outdoor cess pit. The early chamber pots for the working man were made of copper while crockery ones were used by the wealthier people. Over the years, elaborate pots were made, many with striking designs. The earth closet, promoted by Henry Moule in the late 18th or early 19th This board (which looks much better in century, was a large advance in this area, colour!) was erected last year in a joint the earliest ones were essentially a bucket venture between the Lorton Parish Council with soil in it located in an outside building; and us, the local history society. It extra soil was added at intervals and the celebrates the 200th anniversary of William bucket was periodically emptied. Wordsworth’s visit with his sister which The first flush toilet was invented inspired his famous poem. It’s well worth by Sir John Harrin in 1596 but was not having a look at it and one nice feature is widely adopted. The ‘S’ shaped trap was the map, which was surveyed in 1770 by invented by Alexander Cummings in 1775 Thomas Donald, only a few decades before for use with early toilet bowls. This allowed the poet’s visit. the toilet bowl to empty directly into the cess pit with standing water in the ‘S’ trap sealing the toilet from the cess pit’s foul air. The traditional ‘U’ bend trap was invented 5 in 1782 and this allowed the flush toilet to beck and the fearful stench emitted from it develop rapidly. A large quantity of water, in hot weather is enough to cause a delivered quickly, was pestilence ...” required to flush the At High Hollins in Brackenthwaite, pan so early cisterns the outside stone-built lavatory was built (either a wooden box on sloping ground.