Recent Posts
Sarah Ann Mason strong through adversity
Sarah Ann Mason , strong through adversity A strong woman, a ‘toy boy’, sexism, a tragic accident, a cruel loss, and domestic abuse. The simple inscriptions on the grave of the Masons, in Beacon E... Read More
Strands Inn part 2
This is the second part of an article on the Strands Inn at Netherwasdale. You can find part 1 here; First, a reminder: in 1842, the Strands Inn was taken over by the Gunson family, who stayed there t... Read More
John Scott Brown thin-skinned thug!
John Scott Brown was a ‘low-bred’ man with a chip on his shoulder. The violent assault he committed gives an idea of life in 1878. Cumbrian Characters usually tries to be impartial, not to judge p... Read More
Strands Inn, Netherwasdale
The Strands Inn and Screes Inn were built in 18th century and both retain many original features, with log fires and wooden beams throughout… (they) are perfectly positioned to explore the natural b... Read More
Joseph Studholme
Joseph Studholme – a Carlisle surveyor and land agent – got a fairly brief mention in this post about William Robinson Martindale & Port Carlisle: His will doesn’t tell us a great deal more ... Read More
Thomas Cartmel Jones
The photos I took at Beacon Edge Cemetery, Penrith, last summer, were pretty random. Just a handful or so between the chapel and my great-great-grandparents’ (side-by-side) graves. Some of them turn... Read More
Seathwaite riot
Seathwaite is a small hamlet in Borrowdale valley, in the Lake District (1991 population 152 people). It’s hard to imagine anywhere less likely to be a hotbed of violence, but Seathwaite has two dub... Read More
William Robinson Martindale & Port Carlisle
William Robinson Martindale isn’t buried at St Cuthbert’s, Carlisle, but he is ‘name-checked’ on a gravestone. Which is how I came to take a photo of the latter and write a blog piece on the f... Read More