Outerthwaite Farm V2
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A History of Outerthwaite Farm v2 Phil Rowland - Mar 2019 Outerthwaite Farm (April 2018 Pat Rowland) Outerthwaite Farm is located on the road between Allithwaite village and Flookburgh in the ancient parish of Cartmel, in the southern-most part of Cumbria. It is situated in a slightly elevated position on south facing slopes and now a little way from the northern coast of Morecambe Bay. Fig. 1. OS Map of the area 1890 (1). Now in the county of Cumbria, before 1974 the area was known as Lancashire north of the sands. To the south, between the farm and the coast, was marsh and common land named Bank Moor and Winder Moor, where animals will have been grazed prior to the nineteenth century, and parts of which were purchased or allocated to the farm at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Today the farm is predominantly grassland and meadow with beef cattle and occasional over-wintering sheep. The farm has in the past been part of the Holker Estate, and today is in private ownership (Table 1). The tenant farmers at Outerthwaite are listed in Table 2. Books, journal articles, census information and material from the Lancashire Archive at Preston have been used to prepare this article. The origin of the name Outerthwaite (pronounces Ooterthwaite by locals) is considered to be Viking with thwaite meaning a clearing and outer on the edge (2). The names of the other farms on the peninsula south and west of the village of Allithwaite also appear to be of Viking origin i.e. Canon & Raven Winder, Wraysholme, Roughholme & Holme. Named Utterthwaite Hall the farm first appears on a survey map produced by Dr Keurden in 1685 (3). The next published map to show the farm is the 6” Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1847-8 and published in 1851 (1). Fig. 2. Dr Keurden’s map 1685 (Lancashire Archive DDX 194/45-51) - an annotated tracing. Fig 3 The farmhouse today and the spice cupboard with inscription R S E and 1651 (Pat Rowland Feb 2019). The earliest date for the farm is recorded on a spice cupboard, 1651 (Fig. 3). In 1651 the birth marriage and death records are sparse or non-existent and therefore it has not been possible to identify the family with the surname initial S. Three possible families are Sim(p)son, Seatle or Saul. The Spence(r) family lived in the vicinity although their location is more likely to be where Allithwaite Lodge is now located (4). Early History of the Owners of Outerthwaite After the Norman conquest Henry 2nd gave the territory to William Marshall who gave it to the canons of Cartmel Priory. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 the land was annexed to the Duchy of Lancaster and the commons were restored to the canons. The land on which Outerthwaite stands appears to have been purchased by George Preston of Holker. The farms of Outerthwaite, Canon Winder, Boarbank, Epland and Mireside passed from Christopher Preston (d 1594) to his wife Ann (5). She left the Outerthwaite Estate to her grandson Richard Westby who was the son of Ann’s daughter Elizabeth’s 3rd marriage to Thomas Westby (d 1643). Ann also bequeathed to Jon Diconson & his sons the lands and tenements called Borebanks, Epland & the Meadow. Jon, described as a gentleman, was residing at Outerthwaite between 1612 and 1627 (Table 3). When Richard Westby died in the 1660’s Outerthwaite passed to his wife Jennet and their daughter Elizabeth (d 1691) who married Thomas Walton (d 1683). Their son Thomas married Anne Leyburn in 1705. Huddleston recounts that Thomas Walton joined in the Jacobite rising of 1715 but he was captured and found guilty of high treason on 26 June 1716 and his estate was forfeited. The estate was sold to Croft Corles, a cheesemaker from London, for £651. Outerthwaite was let to Thomas Leece for £52/y (5). Outerthwaite in the 18th Century Agriculture in the area in the 18th century was regarded as being very backward (6). Stockdale also gave a bleak picture of husbandry near the end of 18C (7). In 1731 (Fig. 3) the farm extended westwards from the causeway, and down to Wraysholme to the south of the Allithwaite to Flookburgh Road, and from Locker Lane to the North up to Boarbank. The plan also shows a building on the road which is still standing but now derelict (Fig. 4). It is unclear whether this property was a cottage or barn at this time. The field names in the 1731 (Fig. 4) plan show some of the agricultural use at that time. Meadows provided feed for the sheep in winter and oats, barley and corn would have been grown to provide staple food on the corn thwaite (field 21). Cawsey Close (plot 3b) is adjacent to the causeway leading to Wraysholme and Wyke. Towards the end of the century potatoes may have been introduced. Field Names associated with the 1731 Plan 2. Epp Lands; 3a. Little Height Field; 3b. Cawsey Close; 4. Good Wife Meadow; 10b. High Four Acre; 10a. Low Four Acre; 11. Long Meadow; 16. Buildings, Garden & Orchard; 17. White Head Meadow; 21. Corn Thwaites; 9. Tenter Close; 27. Great Burbank; 30. Middle Burbank; 31. Little Burbank; 29. High Burbank; 32. Crow Close. Fig. 4. Plan 1731 showing farm buildings and Barn or Cottage (Ref DCCA from the Lancashire Archive) Fig. 5. Barn (today derelict - shown on 1731 farm plan). Pat Rowland April 2018. The barn on the Flookburgh Road, described by the present owner John Moore as a 2- storey building with a shippon below and a barn above, burned down in 1958 and has since remained derelict (Fig. 5). The farm was advertised for sale in 1732 and the advert stated that sheep and cattle were bred and grazed on the extensive marshland to the south of the farm (8). It is at this sale that Bryan Jopson may have purchased the farms of Mireside and Outerthwaite. At this time the cattle will probably have been longhorns and the sheep herdwick or silverdale breeds (9). However, sheep were a prominent element in local farming and their wool if not of high quality was valued for its warmth and great durability (2). Sheep were wintered in a fold and fed on hay, straw and peashaulm. Cattle, fattened on the commons, were killed at Michaelmas for winter consumption (10). Flax or hemp will have been grown (field 2 – Fig. 4, Fig.6) possibly from the 15th century until the early 19th century. This would have been woven into cloth which would have been stretched and dried, after processing, on frames erected on the tenter close (field 9 – Fig. 4, Fig. 7). Fig. 6. Field named Hemplands, Pat Rowland April 2008. Fig. 7. Field named Tenter Close (today known as Webster Field) Pat Rowland April 2018. Commons and Enclosure Act During the 18th century the 24 sidesmen of the Cartmel Parish managed the occupation of the commons which included Winder Moor and Bank Moor immediately to the south of Outerthwaite Farm, and they met on a regular basis to receive reports. Stockdale (7) quotes extracts from some of the meetings which were recorded in the Old Church Book. For example, in 1776 the fines raised from Winder Moor were used to clean out drains and in 1788 workmen were appointed to pull down an illegal fence and level a ditch on Winder Moor. Stockdale (7) records that ‘In 1796, an Act of Parliament was obtained “for improving dividing and enclosing the commons, waste grounds and mosses in the Parish of Cartmel. The act covered 8000 acres and the cost of the Bill & expenses were covered by the landowners: Lord Frederick Cavendish, Thomas H Machell, James Stockdale, Langdale Sunderland, George Bigland & Jeremiah Dixon.’ The Enclosure Act involved the conversion of bare waste land into numerous well- fenced enclosures, allotted by the Commissioners. Roads were made to access the new fields and sea embankments constructed on the shores of the Bay for the protection of Bank Moor, Wyke and Winder Moor. Enclosures was not beneficial to neither the smallholders who until then had had rights on the common land nor new properties (defined as less than 20 years old) who did not receive any allocation. The allocations from the commissioners were based on the size of original properties. Those who had made an encroachment for 20 years or more and had paid a rent to the 24 sidesmen of the Parish, were granted the title but they did not receive any further allocation of common land (7). At that time, Stockdale records that Bank and Winder Moors were covered twice every 24 hours at Spring tides by the sea leaving stagnant water on the marsh and the associated problem of ague. The first embankment was commissioned in 1797. The construction of the road to Holywell and Humphrey Head, and the road west from Wyke past Holm and over Winder Moor was commissioned, with all the bridges, sluices drains and fences. A further embankment constructed in 1807 was preceeded by the following announcement: In the course of next summer an embankment upon Winder Moor will be erected 7 to 11 feet in height and about 2.75 miles in length. A letting will take place in the coming spring. Any person desirous of undertaking the whole or any part may apply to James Stockdale of Cark or Richard Tower of Ulverston (11). Peter & Thomas Butler: Tenant Farmers at Outerthwaite (1782-1824) The Jopson family appear to have owned both the farms at Mireside and Outerthwaite from 1732 until Outerthwaite was sold off in 1798.