Month: March 2018
A timid vicar, manslaughter and a reiver connection
A tragic case of mistaken identity in Walton in April 1851 ends (in the Carlisle Journal’s account) with a reminder of our reiver forebears. For the victim was William Elliot Armstrong of Sorbietree... Read More
Need-fire – a Celtic tradition that lasted till the 1840s
The need-fire – a Celtic response to cattle disease – might not mean much to people today. But, it’s only 160 years or so since desperate farmers finally abandoned it. And it seems to have been ... Read More